Reflections on learning around here

I've given it some thought and decided that I will do a Monthly homeschool review rather than a weekly one. I'm just trying to simplify and put less pressure on myself. If I can find time to write each week, that is fantastic. But, if we get busy and I can't, I need that to be okay, too. Last year, having that pressure to document each and every week of school became somewhat of a chore at times. I'm thinking that once a month, I can recap what we've learned, what we've read and what we've experienced in the past month. That is a commitment that I hope to feel a bit less pressure about meeting. If you really want to see some of what we're doing as we are doing it, check the three reading logs across the top. I'm trying to update those daily or every couple of days with the books that we read aloud and that the girls read themselves. A book doesn't make it to the list until after it's read, so that is your record of some of what we have actually done.

Anyhoo. Even though I don't intend to do a "Week in Review" for the past two weeks, I wanted to spend some time reflecting on some of the things that have been working for us and some of the things I've already decided to change a bit.

What is working for us?

Music in the morning.
   Monday morning I made a point to stop my quiet time at 8:00 am on the dot. I put in our "Masters of Classical Music: MOZART" CD and headed to the kitchen to start breakfast. When the girls came out (excited to start school) and smelled homemade pear cinnamon oatmeal on the stove, heard Mozart on the speakers and saw Momma in her apron, putting dishes away, they said it felt so good. I made a mental note of that and have since done the same each day ~ 8:00 am on the dot, my computer time ends, Mozart is turned on and I'm in the kitchen doing the work of the day. It works for us. It feels good to me. It signifies the start of the day. It signifies that Momma is plugged in (or rather that Momma is now "unplugged") and ready to hold the rhythm of the family. Plus, I can stop worrying about "scheduling Composer Study" ~ it's now on the agenda each and every day and doesn't take up a bit of our lesson time! The Hippie and I planned out the months of the year with our 10 CDs and we will have a new composer each month. I know that is a bit shorter than the typical "one composer per term" Charlotte Mason recommendation, but if we're hearing the music every single day I think one month is enough. We like it this way.

Ten minutes of copywork and no more ... and from books we are actually reading.
   I spent most of the summer thinking I just wouldn't be able to come up with my own copywork each day and that I needed to just buy something. I'm so glad I didn't do that. It really was easy to sit down the Saturday before and pick out four days worth of copywork from books we are actually reading, plug short sentences into this worksheet maker (cursive for the Hippie and print for the Princess) and be done with it. I really believe they are more interested in the writing when it is something they recognize. They get excited about it. Another key, though is that I have set the timer for 10 minutes and made them stop wherever they were at the end of 10 minutes. Period. I want ten minutes of perfect handwriting instead of 15-20 minutes of sloppy mess. Each day the Hippie was able to finish and the Princess finished about half. But, both were beautifully written and that is what matters!

Dictation with the Hippie. 
   I cannot express enough how beautifully this went this week. My oldest child (up to now) has hated copywork and anything to do with writing (when Momma requested it). Charlotte Mason says not to begin dictation and written narration until the child is in 4th grade or about 9 or 10. Boy, did she know what she was talking about. We did our first dictation exercise on Monday and the Hippie loved it. She wanted to do it every day (she's only going to do it once a week, but I love the enthusiasm). Again, I agonized over buying something, but in the end decided on the more natural route and am so happy that I did. On Monday morning, I asked her if she'd like to do her dictation exercise (she didn't even know what that would be) from Bambi or The Last Little Cat (two books we happen to be reading aloud at the moment). She chose The Last Little Cat because her copywork that day had been from Bambi. I chose a paragraph for her to look at, told her to pick out any words she might have trouble spelling and wrote those on the board. She then took mental pictures of each word and spelled them orally. I asked her to look over the paragraph again, looking at capitalization, punctuation and spelling. I told her to listen closely because I would not repeat myself ~ she would only get the sentence one time. I then dictated one sentence (she did not know which one it would be) a few words at a time for her to write. She ended up doing it perfectly ~ no mistakes at all. She was so proud of herself! Awesome.

Written Narration with the Hippie.
   Just like I said above, I really thought this was going to be met with whining and complaining. But, again the girl totally surprised me ... in such an amazing way. I expected sloppy handwriting, 2 or 3 short sentences and major complaining. What I got was beautiful, carefully written handwriting, an entire wide-rule page and even more detail than the original story. She blew me away, big time. We had just used The Dog and His Shadow in our oral English lesson, so she chose to do her first written narration on that. As I said, she wrote it better than the first one. Double awesome!

English in Momma's bed
   Grammar is another subject I agonized over. I originally planned to have the Hippie just do Intermediate Language Lessons from Emma Serl in the workbook format. Again I was thinking "easier for me" ~ just do it. But, again (even after purchasing and printing over 200 pages ~ ugh, hate to waste paper and ink like that), I ultimately decided to go the gentle,natural route of doing English lessons orally and with me and only having her write the dictation, copywork and written narrations from books we are actually reading. Again, I am so glad I did. Twice this week, the Hippie and I curled up on my bed and went through several English lessons orally and then called it a day. She loved it and it was simple and natural. I'm telling you, natural is better! Once this week, the Princess and I did the same (only going through one or two lessons instead of several). Again, that bonding time is so special. I chose English for the Thoughtful Child because I already owned it. Keep it simple, right?

Fresh air and movement
   This is so important. We started each day with a short walk and I am convinced that it made things better. After breakfast and chores, we headed out the door for just about 30 minutes. We walked and talked and looked at all the nature we could see (tons, by the way). It got each of us some fresh air, some sunshine, a little bit of exercise and got the wiggles out so that they could concentrate when they got home. Success!

Candle and prayer
   In Waldorf circles, school generally starts with "circle time". Well, the typical "circle time" just isnt' me, but we do signify the start of our learning time and this works well for us. We have a special "school candle" (that the girls picked out at the Farmer's Market last week) that we light. We then hold hands and say a prayer ~ going around and letting all three of us speak. We say "Amen" and blow out the candle and get to work. It centers us. It bonds us. And, we always start the day by Giving Thanks to He who deserves it. What could be better?

Tea time after lunch
   What is "tea time", you ask? Well, I had originally planned to do it after quiet time and before they went out to play. I wanted to have a dedicated time, make them some tea and fit in things like Picture Study and Composer Study and Poetry and Shakespeare at this time. Just some time together over tea (theirs was caffeine-free, of course) reading together. Well, as it turns out, no one in this family is coming back to anything "schooly" after rest time. The Princess had suggested doing it before rest time anyway because then the tea could relax her (as she said). So, I thought ~ great idea. We ended up doing our tea time after lunch and clean up. I fixed up tea for each of us, we took it outside and we read aloud. It was great. We read the classic story of Paul Bunyan one day and the next day we took turns reading TONS of poetry to each other. Blissful.

German and typing 
   Again with the subjects I fretted over "scheduling" and didn't need to. The Hippie asks to do her typing every day even though I only "scheduled" it twice a week. And, our German CDs and songs have been on as much as Mozart (by request), again, even though I only "scheduled" it twice a week. Some things really are better left to the natural, Unschooly way. I'll still keep them on my schedule just to remind me, but I don't think I'll have to make it happen!

Scheduling the hair brushing to audio or video
   Sounds silly, doesn't it? Well, we have a lot of hair in this family and although my girls are good at many things, keeping their hair free of tangles is not one of them. In recent history, we had a habit of letting it get pretty bad and then once in a while, Momma would spend an agonizing hour removing dreadlocks from each child's hair. Well, no more! I take a stand, lol. I actually scheduled hair-brushing time! The Princess is on Monday and the Hippie is on Wednesday. We listened to audio history while brushing, so it was part of our school day. And, the girls' hair is beautiful now. Can't beat that! I figure that as long as Momma hits the hair once a week and they continue to brush and fix it each day (which they've done beautifully), then hopefully it will never get that bad again. Let's hope.

God and memory at breakfast
   We started doing our "God readings" at breakfast last year and really liked that. I have their attention when they are eating and can read a bit from the Bible or Wisdom and the Millers (our Proverbs for Children) or something of the like. We can discuss it. And, it doesn't take any time out of our lesson time. It is perfect. This year, I've added Memory to that time slot. We're working on memorizing "Come Little Leaves" by George Cooper at the moment. Perfect for fall.

Keeping the rhythm!!! 
   I cannot stress this enough. It is imperative that Momma keeps the rhythm! If the children come out and find Momma sitting at the computer, not dressed and ready to go, they will follow suit. If they come out and find Momma doing what she is supposed to be doing, they will as well. It's that simple. Whether we like it or not, Momma's make or break the school day right from the start. Whether I feel like it or not, I must get up before them, have my time to get in a good place for the day and be ready for them when they come out. Period.

Reading every day
   The girls have read every day. Period. Some during our "lesson time" while I was working with the other and some more during "quiet time". I made a nice little log for them to record books they read (we all love lists, don't we?) and they read. Period. The Princess also reads aloud to me for 10 minutes each day. I had only "scheduled" that once a week, but she requested it each day, so I'm following her lead. Again, it's a lovely cuddling time on the couch. It's working.

Squirrel math
   This is working well because we have squirrels in our yard that the girls named over a year ago, so I can easily talk about Nutmeg and Peanut Butter (yes, those are two of the names) collecting acorns. If Nutmeg has 8 acorns and Peanut Butter has 4, how many do they have together (8 + 4)? If Cinnamon comes along and they want to share them equally, how many will each one get (12 / 3)? Okay, so they each have 4 acorns ... a new friend comes along with 4 more. Now, how many do they have (4 x 4). Uh oh, winter is here and they have forgotten where they hid 7 of them. How many are there now (16 - 7). You get the idea. Tons of fun. And, it works.

Switching bedtime reading to single stories instead of chapter books
   I decided to change up our bedtime routine to include single stories like fairy tales or picture books instead of a continuing chapter book at this time. The reason was simple ~ too often we would end up not reading before bed, so the chapter books would drag on forever and really not be that great because we barely remembered what was going on. With this new system, I can read the chapter books during "school time" (hopefully following through much more often so that we can actually make some progress) and we have time at night to fit in all the great picture books and fairy tales we love so much but never had time for. It's worked well. With this new plan, we read bedtime stories much more often! I think one story is less pressure or doesn't sound as daunting as one chapter. Whatever it is, it works for us.

Family time and family learning
   Lessons are important, yes. But so is life. Our family bike rides and family beach walks and Nature Study with Daddy and our family Zoo trip and our visit to a local fort and historical Native American preserve and our impromptu night at the Art Walk have been fantastic and have been just as educational as our Squirrel math and dictation and copywork! It is so important not to get so bogged down in "lesson plans" that you forget the good stuff! Get out there and have fun as a family ... and learn a thing or two!

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Wow. If you are still with me, you must be a homeschooler, lol. No one else in their right mind would read this much chatter. I had some ideas to talk about the changes I've made or our daily or weekly rhythm, but I'm thinking this post is long enough. I'll put those into another post for you. If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll do my best to get back to you.

What is working so far in your homeschool this year?

Until next time,

IrieMomma 

SUMMER SCHOOL

Summer 2009

I know I've talked here before about how we school year round and I like to have our school year start in January and end at the end of the calendar year.

But, then June rolls around.

Public school kids get out of school.

Homeschool families start talking (either online or in person) about how they are finished for the year.

The Homeschool group plans more beach and pool days.

And, it hits me.

    Distraction.
      
      Lack of focus.

         Excitement about future plans (going to Germany in September).

Ultimately, I start thinking that maybe it is better to follow a typical school year.

SORT OF.

With breaks where we need them and never taking 3 months off completely. 

I start thinking how nice it would be to do something totally different in the summer, like a unit on marine biology or cats or travel to Narnia for the summer.

Or to just plug away at the skills stuff (math, reading, writing), but let the rest be child-directed.

Or, work on that math and reading and then just bake and play games and play with friends on the street and watch documentaries.

Or, have the time to clean out the school room or clean out a closet or organize the junk drawer.

So, this week was not a typical week.

At all.

I knew when it started that Momma had a very intense to-do list of business-type stuff that would completely distract me from school.

Like getting passports for the family and completing the application for my children's health insurance or the paperwork involved in my student loan payment plan and paying bills and balancing the checkbook and doing laundry and going to the post office.

So, I tried to just have a checklist of the basics for the girls to do on their own while I "worked".

In all honesty, that worked well for the Hippie, but not so much for the Princess.

Then, I just let things be this week and I started to formulate a plan for our summer.

I made a list of my goals (what things I do want to accomplish this summer) and how we might meet them.

I made out a "Summer Schedule" that allowed for a small amount of "school time" each day (an hour to an hour and a half) and then some time for baking and games and playing with friends and household projects and getting ready for Germany and Momma's planning time for next school year.

And, I decided that we will start "Summer School" next week.

And, I will plan how we want to proceed and start 2nd and 4th grades when we return from Germany.

I'm excited.

What does your homeschool do during the summer?

Comparisons and rhythm

I've had some questions lately about our rhythm and where I'm getting my ideas for school.

Let me start by reminding anyone who is reading this that we do NOT do it all.

Our day is NOT perfect.

My days are NOT free from tears, whether they be my almost 9 year old daughter's, my other child's or MINE.

My days are NOT free from chaos ~ two dogs that drive me crazy most of the time and make it impossible to keep my house clean, three kittens that do the same, paychecks that continue to get smaller, bills that cannot be paid, stress and more stress and my constant feelings of failure.

Please do not look at a post on my site and think that I have it all together.

Because I do not.

I am TRYING.

Each day is a new day.

And, each day I NEED a new day ... to make up for the one before it.

I am only starting to feel like we are getting into a groove.  But, we still don't have any math because I don't have any and I have no way of buying what I want/need. So, while our homeschool may be gaining some ground and moving in the direction of success, it is by no means perfect.

And, I'm utterly distracted. ALL . THE . TIME .

I truly want to be a PRESENT parent, but I fail miserably at that ... daily.

I am distracted because I am always planning (the upcoming school year, the next twelve school years, next week's school, you name it) ahead (in my head) and thus cannot just BE in the moment.

I am distracted because I am stressed about money.

I am distracted by animals and clutter and dust and dirt and hair and loud and hyper children who bicker.

So, if your house feels chaotic and you look here and think for even a second "Why can't I get it together like HER?", stop yourself. Because, ironically I am looking at your blog thinking the same exact thing! :)

Well, now that I got all of that off of my chest, let me answer a couple of questions.

Our rhythm?

The basic daily rhythm looks like this:

• Morning Routine (dress, make bed, breakfast, teeth, animals, etc.)
• Chores (we're working on this ~ honestly THEY do theirs more often than I do)
• School
• Snack & Recess (tends to stretch FOREVER)
• School
• Lunch
• Quiet Time
• Play Outside
• Dinner
• PJs, Teeth, Read Aloud
• Bed

That's the GENERAL rhythm around here.


Sometimes we find it hard to start again after recess. But, honestly that is MY fault, not theirs. They are out there having fun and I get distracted and don't feel like doing school anymore. I'm working on that.

I don't plan too much in a day.


I purposely don't plan to have more than about 2 to 2 1/2 hours worth of school because MOMMY doesn't want to do it after lunch. The idea is to start about 9:30, snack around 10:30 or so and then school some more from 11:00 or 11:30 to 12:00 or 12:30.

Our Weekly Rhythm looks like this:

• Monday ~ Home ... School
• Tuesday ~ Home ... School
• Wednesday ~ School in a.m., library and Handwork group in afternoon
• Thursday ~ NO SCHOOL ... Homeschool Group
• Friday ~ Home ... School
• Saturday ~ Clean
• Sunday ~ Family Time ... Football

I only schedule four days of school work. EVER.


One thing we've recently started and is working VERY well is that we have a Science Lesson on Sunday with Daddy. I'm ashamed to admit that my straight-A getting self has the hardest time wrapping my brain around moon and earth and sun and rotation and seasons and all of that stuff. I have "book smarts" but get all mixed up with some very common sense stuff. So, when I looked at my third grade science stuff and saw that the first lessons were about the earth's revolution and the moon and all that stuff that I barely understand myself, I asked my husband if he would like to teach this stuff on Sundays. He said he'd love to. And, he's done a lovely job so far. I even understand it now! Good Job, Daddy!

So, he teaches the concept on the weekend (girls don't even realize it is school) and then I have the Hippie make an entry into her Science Lesson Book on Monday (draw what she learned and write a sentence or two about what she learned). This is working well for us.

Well, I could write forever about school. So many more thoughts running around in my head. But, I must go have dinner with my family. If you are a fellow home-educating Momma and have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I love making new blogging buddies!


Many blessings on YOUR journey. May we all learn to stop comparing ourselves to others. Boy is that one we struggle with constantly! 


Love and Light

Daily Rhythm

I promised I'd share our daily routine with you.  I know that I love to read how other Moms fit it all in.

Of course, we have to get back into this rhythm.  So, this will be a work in progress.  But, it is a start.

For as long as I can remember, our basic rhythm has been this

• Wake
• Morning Routine (dress, make bed, breakfast, clean up, teeth, etc.) 
• Chores 
• School (or whatever if we aren't schooling)
• Snack
• More of the same (school or whatever)
• Lunch
• Free Time
• Quiet Time
• Snack
• Free Time while I make dinner
• Dinner
• Evening Routine (teeth, pjs, story, etc.)
• Bed

I'd like to make a few minor changes. 

For one, I really want to make sure that we get outside each and every day ... ME included.  That is something that has not ever happened.  I tend to spend all of my free time on the computer (shame shame).  The Hippie likes to do things outside, but the Princess doesn't really.  She likes to draw and play with her horses.

I'd like to insert a time where all three of us do something active outside each afternoon.  That will kill two birds with one stone ~ get us outside and get us all some exercise.  I've been trying desperately for years now (and failing, by the way) to figure out how to schedule in exercise for me.  It finally dawned on me that even though these girls are skinny minnies, they still need exercise for health.  And, maybe the reason I have such a hard time scheduling it in my own life is because I never formed the habit as a child.  If we just all do something together, maybe it won't be a perfect work out for me, but at least we'll all be moving and we'll all be outside and we'll all be together.  I'm thinking bike rides, walk to the park, walk to and on the beach, etc.


So, that's my first goal/change.


That means I am most likely going to have to cut our Quiet Time shorter.

Ever since the girls were younger, I have always been a stickler for nap time.  Even when the naps ended, Quiet Time has continued (when we are home) ~ they read books or play quietly in separate rooms.  This is usually when I can get things done on the computer, make phone calls, clean the kitchen, once in a blue moon I might actually turn on the TV or read a book, sometimes fit in a blog post, etc.

I'd love to continue them forever, ensuring a BREAK for me.  I'd love to force myself to blog and then read and relax, NOT do stuff.

But, if I want to ensure that chores get done daily (instead of me breaking myself on Saturday cleaning the entire house at one time) and that we do school daily and that the girls have enough FREE time and that we get outside and that we eat and all of that, I think I'm going to have to shorten the Quiet Time.  Maybe I'll just have to train them to GO have their FREE TIME while I finish whatever I couldn't squeeze in while they were reading.  :)


Anyway, here is the Basic Rhythm I've come up with for our Home Days

• Momma wake earlier for tea and computer (crucial)
• Morning Routine
• CHORES (specific ~ different each day so the whole house is cleaned by the weekend)
• School Time (snack in there)
• Free Time while Momma attacks her TO DO List
• Lunch 
• Literature Read Aloud
• Quiet Time
• Tea for Momma / Snack for them
• OUTSIDE TIME
• Dinner Prep for Momma / Free Time for Girls
• Dinner
• Evening Routine while Momma & Daddy clean kitchen

Like I said, this has been the basic rhythm of our lives for a while.  The hard parts will be:

• Waking up before the girls
• Shorter Quiet Time (less break for me)
• Getting outside daily

The other hard part is that this rhythm can only really happen about twice a week!  


On Tuesdays, we have to be at Theater by 12:30.  That will make for a crazy morning!
On Wednesdays, we have to go to the Library and Handwork and I have to make dinner before!
On Thursdays, we are totally gone for the day for field trips and stuff.

You get the idea.  Nothing is perfect, but having a general rhythm to your days helps immensely.  It helps for the children to know what is next.  It helps for me to know that I can not think about such-n-such right now because I have the time allowed for it later.  If there is an allotted time for paying bills and phone calls, I don't have to let those things get in the way of schooling.  I can put them out of my mind for a while, knowing I'll get to them later. 


How do you fit everything into your day?