The Aesthetics of Homeschooling

We are fortunate, we have an entire room devoted to education in our house. It's the second bedroom, technically, but Z took the dormer room (which is the biggest, coolest room). By the time I get done with how I truly want to decorate it, it will be lined with bookshelves. Technically, one could lock themselves in this room for several years and learn all you need to know about certain subjects.

Value?

But what is the value of the education? Education doesn't depend upon a well laid out room. Education, in a way, doesn't even depend upon making sure you have the best tools to do the job. Education depends upon the craving of the student to learn, the passion of the teacher, and how they share knowledge. The Greeks had Socratic discussion, modern students have smart boards and Ipads. I'm all for technology, we're a techno geek family for sure. Right now I have a 50 ft Ethernet cable running under my desk and all the way upstairs because our wireless router is being wonky. Z had to hook up the cable last night. A new router is on the list for this week.

Yet, aside from our use of technology in everyday life, we don't use a lot of it in the classroom. Some of our classes have an online video component, one is an online self-paced class. The bulk of his education comes from books and dialogue. You want to have a discussion on the absurdity of the English language? Z is your man.

Creating perspective? 

So does the appearance of education matter? It creates an impression, provides perspective. Some people think homeschooled students are all eager, vivid learners who love coming to school. *cough*choke*sputter* Until recently Z was not a fan of school. He's not a fan of morning, that's for sure. But someday he will look back and reflect upon his educational experience. I hope he sees that his parents cared about his education, that they valued him and his burgeoning brain enough. Not that you have to homeschool to do that, we just happen to see it as the best path for this child. If we had more children the decision would have been made based upon the individual. As it sits, Z agrees about homeschooling. Good, because I'm not a morning person either. 

Aesthetics? 

Does it matter that our classroom is cozy? Not really. Does it help my mindset? Yes. Would it matter we did school under a bridge? I hope not. If that is all we had, that's what we would use. Many years ago some friends shared this quote:

Start where you are

Use what you have

Do what you can 

Homeschooling doesn't demand that you rush to your nearest IKEA and set up 40 Billy Bookcases before you begin. You don't have to have a shiny new expensive history curriculum, or a laptop, or even Amazon Prime *gasp!*. You have to have a student, a metaphorical machete to wind your way through the jungle of education, and some idea where the forest may lead you. Don't get bogged down in the details. The best item in your classroom, where ever that may be, is the look of revelation on your child's face when they finally understand something. 

Of Pruning and Priorities

Some days it seems the doors of opportunity are barred. Some days you bolt them close yourself. Today Z and I discussed priorities surrounding classes. We made the tough decision to drop Russian from our schedule. We like Russian, we enjoy the language, we're learning, yet it's the lowest priority subject on the ninth grade schedule. With the addition of science to the schedule, it's taken a lower priority.

It's all good, that leaves us more time to focus on Japanese and will make our rotation of subjects flow more smoothly. It also leaves Z with six and a half credits for the year instead of seven. I'm okay with that. I am still debating on whether to assign credit to his programming, which he has spent well over half a credits time pursuing so far this year.

I am a little sad though to drop Russian. It's a cool language, it's fun to practice and read. We may add it back in next term or next year. However, we have to keep the focus on the core skills of writing, grammar, math and the coverage of science and history. Z was all right with it. We hadn't gotten to it in the last two weeks anyway. *sigh*

Part of making hard choices is prioritizing. Z knows if he can get ahead in his key subjects we'll add it back in. Part of growth is pruning that which isn't working correctly too. A tree grows better when it is trimmed properly right? Hard choices, but hopefully this tree will grow better now too.

High School and Other Life Forms

News for the week: Curiosity lands on Mars, Mt. Tongariro, better known from the Lord of the Rings movies as Mt. Doom, erupts for the first time in 100 years, and we finished our first week of high school.

It went surprisingly well. We finished all assignments, and I only need to tweak two subjects, both of them victims of my over zealous planning nature. Vocabulary is a minor subject this year, Z has a good vocabulary naturally, so the lessons can't overwhelm the English credit. I think we'll cut the number of words in half for each week. It will work better for learning the skill I have in place, how to write on index cards and refer to them. He's actually writing without a fuss and his handwriting has improved despite our lack of written work over the summer.

Russian is another subject to tweak. We'll probably spend more time with the alphabet and taking more time with reading smaller words. I'm not sure how that will affect our speed, but this was always planned as a work-at-your-best-pace class. Plus, Z may end up helping me as much as I'm helping him. I won't say whether that was part of my diabolical plan all along. We spent 90 minutes on Russian yesterday and it wasn't as hard as I thought. We worked on the alphabet and writing out  little works and translating them.

The schedule is actually working out. Z has been up and ready to work on all days but one. Then we only started ten minutes late because he's had a hard time going to sleep the night before.

An interesting addition to the week has been his work on his programming, computer programming that is, and computer exploration. This is all done without mom, I'd just mess it up. It's his hobby and this week involved putting a Linux system on his laptop and troubleshooting the wireless on the HP laptop, apparently HP wireless doesn't like Linux. Thankfully it's his laptop. He was so excited he figured it all out last night and was probably up half the night dealing with the software. We don't have set bedtimes on Friday or Saturday. He's learning a lot of skills on his own and bringing that ability to troubleshoot to the classroom.

I will make a note about math. It was hard for him this week, but he worked without fussing (joy!), he did it mostly on his own, and he even wrote the dates on his assignments and showed his work. We've discussed the math required if he would want to major in computers in college. It's a ways off yet, but we discussed the importance of focusing now, so that he can be prepared. We'll see if he's up for the challenge.

It was a good week and that is a good thing.

Curiouser and Curiouser

It seems fitting that today we start high school. Another rover landed on Mars this morning, the perfect day for us to begin. When Z was little I used to tease that I would send him to Mars. His favorite question is why, he is intensely curious. So, Curiosity lands on Mars and we're going to land on our first day of high school. Yes, as a friend suggested, I do believe some Bradbury is in order for today. That wasn't on the schedule, but then that's how we roll in our school, make a schedule and then improvise on a whim. At least there is a schedule if we wind up lost.

We're also reading the story of Pandora's Jar. In the version I'm reading they translate the last thing left in the jar as anticipation (pauses for a Rocky Horror memory...). Anticipation can be good or bad. It is usually translated as hope, hope is well, so hopeful. I like hope, I use, but anticipation seems more fitting as we open this year. Anticipation relies somewhat on our choices, which is my point in reading that story today. This year will be what we make it. If we wind up on Mars on Day  One, that leaves a lot of room for exploration this year. I hope to make it so (groan, it's okay, I'm on my first cup of coffee).

Going Integrated

I have been known to panic if I don't have a plan. That doesn't mean I'm going to stick to the plan, but there is comfort in knowing it's there. Planning for next year has been driving me loopy. Having to order in small batches is like pulling off a band-aid slowly.

My original plan, back some umpteen posts ago, was to use an Integrated science approach over the first three years of high school. After I figured out we'd need physics, chemistry, and biology materials all in the first year, I realized it didn't fit my budget. I thought I had exhausted my search on a truly integrated text, like one text, not three. In fact, I'm pretty sure 42 isn't simply to answer to life, the universe, and everything. It's probably the number of math and science texts I currently own. Want proof? Haha, a math funny. Sorry, still working on coffee.

Science 

Math

Granted, many of these books were bought at thrift stores or as reference or to be used later. After seeing all of these wonderful math and concepts separated out, we've decided to integrate both subjects. (throws up hands)

The science I'm still working on and will reveal in a future post. The math choice is Singapore's Discovering Mathematics. We're going back to 1A to solidify some shaky concepts and make sure algebra has a good base. Discovering Mathematics has four levels and the plan (she giggles while typing) is to complete the four levels in two and a half to three years by continuing math instruction over the summer (groans from the audience). At that point, he'll be ready for trig or pre-calc, I haven't researched exactly that will leave him in the sequence. This is currently about his interest level in math and higher level science. If that interest changes, we'll create an alternate plan. 

Z works better with an overall picture of a subject. We've use integrated before and it worked well. But moving to the high school level makes the whole integrated things so a tad scary and maybe not quite "normal" (why, oh why, do I even continue to try to be normal. It's never going to happen!). After spending some time with both the integrated math and science, I see it's not so bad. I think the key is finding the right text. We're almost there. 

Finding Balance in your Planning

I've been discussing balance with a friend this morning. I tend to think very symmetrically, so much on this, the same amount on the other side. It appeals to my aesthetics. But that isn't always balance. There are two sides to our brain and I've been doing some simple studying on left-brained versus right-brained thinking. Z is more right-brained than left, I land somewhere just to the right of center, and this has created some challenges in how he learns and how I teach. Notice I said challenges, not problems.

One challenge is that we tweak any pre-planned curriculum. Add his varied interests into that and we do better when I custom plan each subject. Now that sounds all snazzy, but it's not. It's not a huge amount of work most of the time, but it does that time, hence the need for balance. In many pre-packed plans, the entire curriculum is centered around history.

 When we started on our classical journey several years ago (after homeschooling for four years) we opted to use The Latin-Centered Curriculum as our focus. It revolutionized our homeschool. It freed up our schedule to not center around history, but Latin. I like history, but we tend to meander through it, get lost in a different direction, skip something, linger here. If our entire schooling were centered around history we'd be behind all the time. With a Latin center you focus on multum non multa and history falls from the focus. Well...we're not doing Latin anymore. We aren't studying the language that was part of the foundation of Western Civilization. So  what do we do????

Z, as I've said in previous posts, is developing his own unique interests. He's slid over to the Eastern Hemisphere and wants to study Japanese and Russian. Not what I had planned. Not the lingering and bathing in Ancient Western culture that I had planned for high school. In essence, we have lost our center and it is up to me to find a new one.

Not simply out of respect for what The Latin-Centered Curriculum (LCC) did for our school, but because of the multum non multa approach, we will keep LCC as our guide. We'll simply change the language, add some world focus in our history and literature, and find balance instead of symmetry.

Today I'm working on history plans, trying to figure how to balance our Great Books study with the rest of the learning that must take place. First, I need to make more coffee.

Veni, Vidi, Vici

We wrapped school today. Our final lesson with Literary Lessons from The Lord of the Rings, our last chapter reading Aristotle for Everybody, and organizing some papers. Z is now officially a high school student - insert long pause. This year has been good, productive and insightful. I am looking forward to fall. We start back August 6th. Z has grown about an inch in the last month, I wonder where he'll be by August?

As he transforms, we will be working on the classroom as well. So many things have changed this year and heading into fall. New subjects, letting go of others, and I can see how each step is bringing out the man that Z will become - insert another long pause - slight faint feeling as I type that.

Our classroom is going to transform, we already started with a rearrangement. We're painting and adding an inspirational print that will set the tone. We're also getting a new desk and chair for Z and, if budget allows, a matching desk for me.

I have a lot to do in this room this summer aside from the redecorating. My planning for fall is behind, I'm starting a ancient history/literature study, I'll be working online part-time, and I'm supposed to working on my novel writing. The above picture is probably what I'll see a lot of this summer, an empty chair. But only for a little while, we have some fun journeys outside of the room planned, wandering around and all that.

Et tu, Brute? Part Two, Another language dilemma

Well as soon as I post our plans they change. Maybe. Maybe this is my way of solidifying my choices, post them on my blog and wait a week, lol.

As some of you read a while ago we, Z and I, reached a Latin compromise. I thought it would be The Great Latin Compromise of 2012. Instead it is becoming The Great Latin Debacle of 2012. Z is stubborn, which is not surprising, it's genetic. He gets it from, well, everyone, every side of the family is known for their ability to hold their ground. I consider this a good thing most of the time. He is not easily swayed by others and has no problem speaking his mind when appropriate.

I've always known that homeschooling high school will be something different. As Z would say, it's unique, like everyone else. I want him to have special experiences that help define who he is. I remember years ago, eons ago, picking classes for high school. I took every history, creative writing, and art class I could, because I wanted to bask in those subjects. I'm still interested in them. I also took four years of Spanish, partially it was the most exotic language (French didn't hold the same appeal for me), partially because the teacher made the class fun. She brought a passion to the teaching of a language that was part of her culture.

Which brings me to my next point, passion, Now Z isn't passionate about math at this current stage, but he knows he'll have to study it for four more years. He's also not passionate about Latin anymore and has brought it up recently. Yesterday, prompted by a question by another homeschooling mother, I brought it up again. There is only so much time in the day. I'm also in a believer of guarding creative free time. Z is currently exploring computer programming in his spare time. He's watching tutorials, reading books, and practicing.

With only so much free time and this fresh conversation, I am considering dropping Latin. Well I'm not, I'm enjoying my study, but Z wants to drop it as a part of our high school study. That would push the priority language to Japanese, which will thrill him to no end. Last fall he expressed an interest in the future to explore Russian and German. Our Japanese study is a three year study minimum, easily stretching to four by adding some literature and cultural studies. Knowing that three languages is probably too much for us, he put Russian on the list first. I was planning on starting in 11th grade and doing a two year study. After our conversation yesterday I'm considering adding a half credit study next year, calling it Introductory Russian.

I stumbled upon a few great websites that would provide grammar, vocabulary, and audio training enough for at least a semester (probably more). That would give us enough exposure to see if he wants to do a full study or try German.

I leaning towards allowing this, even though it means letting go of something I deem important. But we've discussed his desire to learn multiple languages, I understood we were headed this direction anyway. It's just happening sooner. My compromise is that we do a root study as part of the English credit. We haven't done Greek roots yet and we'll just add some more Latin to those.

Once again I line up his classes for next year and I see the cusp of the adult he will become, very art and language centered with technology thrown into the mix. It fits. When I initially discussed dropping Latin yesterday I told him he'd have to choose another half to full credit class. I listed some items I had planned for following years and he hesitated or said no immediately. When I landed on the Introductory Russian, he immediately said yes.

I'm already envisioning our Japanese hiragana & katakana on a posterboard on the wall. (Kanji is later years in our curriculum). I know see the Russian alphabet alongside that. Maybe we'll add some Elvish script underneath that, or perhaps some Klingon, or maybe we'll add our own alphabet we're working on. Even I'm getting a little excited about learning Russian. We'll invite my mom up to watch Dr. Zhivago one day, we'll add in some Russian Fairy Tales. Yeah, this fits.

Ninth Grade Finalized

I've posted some of this in the pages up top, but yesterday final decisions were made for our 2012-2013 school year. Here's the line-up:


2012-2013 school year will mark out ninth year of homeschooling. For those of you keeping track, that's ninth grade, freshman year, high school. Here's a preview of the line up for fall. 

Latin - Wheelock's Latin

English - finish Writing with Skill I, start WWS II, Literature analysis and annotation, Painless Grammar

Japanese - Irasshai Japanese

Philosophy - Theory of Knowledge (Cambridge) with The Story of Philosophy, readings from Aristotle and Plato

Math - Geometry, book undecided

History - Focus on Early Civilizations and Ancient Greece. Spielvogel's Western Civ as spine with Great Books. Planned titles are The Iliad, The Odyssey, Herodotus, Greek Tragedies & a Greek Comedy

Science* -Physics with College Physics Volume 1 (Knight, Jones, Field)

Drawing - a 12 week course on all aspects of pencil drawing. Custom course using several resources. 

*science, science, science - I had hoped and planned to do an 3 year integrated science program, doing 12 weeks each of physics, chemistry, and biology each year. Due to financial considerations I am scaling back my plan. We will do 24 weeks of Physics this year. This will allow us to use materials which I already own. The following year (2013-2014) I will finish finish physics with volume 2 of College Physics, and add Chemistry. If finances allow we'll do 12 weeks of biology after 12 weeks of chemistry, then finish chemistry and biology in year three. 

I have a vision for where each subject will be heading in the following years as well. It's taken a great deal of time to find an overall vision for high school and treat it as a four year package without definite plans for later years. 

Latin is a compromise of sorts, which I addressed in a previous post. Z would stop it now if I let him. I'm not quite ready to give it up. We haven't progressed as much as I would like this year, our focus has been elsewhere. I still hold hope we can kick it into gear next year. 

Japanese has been low priority, but high interest. I see this as a long term enterprise, so the fact we'll spread it out it not an issue. I hope this summer we can do a few lessons for fun, solidify what we know, and create a better foundation to start with next fall. 

English - that subject that could swallow your whole day if not careful. Latin serves as our vocabulary, spelling is done in context, grammar will be completed via Painless Grammar and the many grammar reference books I own. Literature will be mostly tied to history, although the literature analysis may start with short stories not from the Ancients. Writing is one subject we will continue with specific instruction. Writing with Skill is working well. We will finish level One, which we didn't start until December this year. We will continue with level Two once is it published. 

Philosophy is a subject I'm excited about teaching. Z's favorite question is Why? and I look forward to discussions we will have as examine these questions. Theory of Knowledge is an IB course companion basically about how we learn. We'll add some readings from Plato and Aristotle later in the year. I also plan to require a .5 credit of Ethics in the future. I believe that is a vital class for this generation. 

Math is still my nemesis. We will be doing Geometry, I think I know which text. Making that choice means giving up something good that I would get with another text. However,  this is where I need to make the decision about what is right for Z. I want to challenge but not frustrate him. I still need to spend time pondering the worth of each text. I've been too distracted to do that yet, 

History is outlined and planned. I still need to pick assignments, tests, etc, and do a lot of pre-reading. I'm using many resources to put together this course. I'm also pinpointing the skills I want Z to learn, not just the content. That will help me slow down and make sure those are covered well instead of rushing through this rich time period. 

Science is also a compromise this year. Because of the way we'll be structuring our science program we won't start physics until November. This will give me more time to prepare and study, this will also give us time to find our groove before adding a higher intensity subject. Our physics study will conclude in 10th grade. 

Drawing is the subject Z finalized yesterday. It will be a 12 week course to be completed before we start science. I'm excited about this as Z has some potential as an artist. He's thinks he's not talented. As someone who took every art class possible in high school, I see him as untrained and inexperienced. He received art supplies for Christmas from both grandparents, so he is set with quality materials. I have a few options for online instruction, which I will finalize in the next few weeks. I'll post about those when done because there are some exciting options out there, many of which are free. 

Free, that's another issue that has been the overriding factor in decisions this year, cost. Our budget is tight and I'm okay with that. The years I've spent collecting books is paying off. Much of what we'll be using is what I found at thrift stores, bought used online, or made the decision to invest into as I found a deal. I don't just buy willy-nilly. I've put in hours of research from message boards and countless reviews on what would be acceptable to use for Z's education. It is part of my job as a home educator to be resourceful. 

We've never had the budget to just blindly buy and decide later. Thankfully I do enjoy the research and planning, it's become a hobby of sorts. I knew when we started this journey that I'd always have more time than money. I'm not afraid to invest when it is the best option, but I do try to make sure it's the most cost effective best option. For instance we will be reading Herodotus next year. I could get a copy online for free, but Herodotus is not like reading Hunger Games. After my research I found the Landmark version of Herodotus. I've been reading it myself and the maps, footnotes, and helps make all the difference. New a copy of the Landmark versions costs $20, which in our budget is a lot for one book considering I buy a copy for ds and one for me. I found my copy online used for $13, in excellent condition no writing. I will invest into a new one for ds as I hope he will keep this as part of his library collection. That's another part I see as investment. Many of the books we will be reading I buy two copies. I try to buy new for ds so that he'll have his own to keep. Now I realize they may sit in his room long after he moves out. I'm okay with that. 

So that is our line up for fall. I'm excited about finishing this year and taking a break, we all need it. But I can't wait for fall either, it's going to be spectacular year. 

Making Do & Choices

Homeschooling is a choice, an educational choice that can turn into a lifestyle choice. We're wrapping up our eighth year of homeschooling this spring. That seems odd to say because it doesn't feel like we're doing anything really different or unusual. 

I woke up early enough today to watch the public schooled children get on the bus. I also said a little thank you that I don't have to get Z up this early. We did that for pre-school and Kindergarten, out the door at 7:25 am to get in the car and go to school. It was a struggle almost every day. Is that why we homeschool? So two non-morning people can sleep in and wake up before interacting? No, but it's a nice perk. 

This is Speedy joining us for math, see the student? No, he left. See Speedy's enthusiasm for algebra, only slightly less than Z's. Notice the blue thing in the corner of the picture, that's a glass. We allow drinks in the classroom, improves the mood of all, especially Z who has become a habitual grazer for food. Do we homeschool so he can eat and drink and have a cat in the classroom? No, but it's a nice perk.  

This is Daytona Grace, aka Gracie. She is attempting to do Z's vocabulary, although I think she is saying something about the lack of being able to hold a pencil. Notice the different glass, and yes, that is Middle Earth behind the dog. Do we homeschool so we can have the dog in class? No, but it's a nice perk. 

I have an only, that's the only chance I'll have to homeschool. The dog and cat recreate the sibling experience on a small level. The dog is a toddler, you should see her when Tigger comes home! The cat changes between being an infant and grouchy old man, except he eats paper, which is why he's not allowed in classroom by himself. 

So why do we do this homeschool thing? 

I addressed that in  a previous post, sort of. But why homeschooling? Why not stick him on a bus at 7:00 am? Because in this state, in this country, I have the educational choice not to. Am I the best teacher/facilitator in all subjects? No, but you won't find someone more dedicated to making sure his education is everything it should be. Yes, what should it be? There are skills to master, content to learn, and experiences to have, no matter which choice you seek. I don't have anything against public or private schools, yet I have a choice. Homeschooling wins, even as we approach high school in the fall, homeschooling wins.

In fact thinking about high school can make you a little anxiety-ridden, thinking of the four years as a package deal and how to balance each year. High school is full of details, thankfully I love details, even when they make me appear rattled. In high school the place to spread your wings or chase AP and SAT IIs? How many years of each subject do you need? How many years can you safely teach and how many will you outsource? The joy of homeschooling is that it will look different for each student, each family. I like the choices that homeschooling gives us, academically.

Z is studying Latin (not his favorite subject) and Japanese (close to his favorite subject). They don't teach those at the local school. We've spent all year in Middle Earth (we're up to the Siege of Gondor). I love that we can experience Tolkien together and spend twenty minutes, as we did yesterday, discussing the literary qualities of the phrase, "The very air seemed brown...". Earlier this year we spent more time discussing the difference between "You cannot pass" and "You shall not pass".

Is homeschooling all roses and butterflies? No. It's not all joyous Amazon boxes arriving and joyful children anticipating the wisdom you'll share today. Homeschooling is hard work. It's a job without outside accolade, because frankly most people who don't homeschool don't know what you do all day. After this many years I've found that homeschooling is just an extension of our family, part of who we are, but not all of who we are, if that makes sense. Homeschooling is a lot like parenting, it looks different in each family.

At the end of it all, which is creeping closer, Z will have a transcript, an ACT score, a grade point average, and four years of quality academics that reflect who he is. Our homeschooling journey will end, and I already have plans to turn the classroom into a writing retreat for me. I'm in no hurry to do that however, we have a lot of the journey left.

Who is the Homeschooling for?

Homeschooling is about this guy up there, Z. He's grown since that picture was taken, yet he's still climbing the hill that is homeschooling.

In the last few weeks I've been planning our first year of high school, (gulp, so soon!) We're in the last term of eighth grade and tensions and distractions have been running high. I'm frustrated about some things and Z is too. We're pressing forward because that date in August when high school begins is looming.

I enjoy homeschooling, the conversations with Z, the planning, the research, the planning even more, and my planning always takes me back to the why. Why? Z, that's why. I have goals for him, potential I see that I've spent years pulling to the surface. But this job is over in four years, gone, I will no longer be homeschooling. I'll be the parent of a college student (so not going there emotionally right now). My classroom will become my getaway. The stacks of curricula won't be as important. The Einstein poster will probably go to college and his half of the room will be empty, and quiet.

So in all this experience I've wandered a bit in the last few weeks. I can read Z, he's steady and somewhat stoic. But I've neglected to ask him about the experience. So last night while lying in bed thinking about this via a comment he made yesterday during math (why is it always during math). I wrote out a seven page survey, don't worry I was writing in marker so the font was big. I wanted his honest opinion on these matters. Here's part of the survey. Some of the questions that were specific to his situation I left off.

Boxes beside statements, I feel I am good at, I feel I am not good at:

Understanding what I read
Understanding what is read to me
Making a guess about what will or may happen in a story
Working through a mental block
Figuring things out on my own
Figuring out how to solve something by reading/learning more about it

Yes or No questions:
I prefer to feel challenged when I work
I feel like I've improved in my ability to do hard things
I prefer to learn by doing
I prefer to read about something before doing it
I feel agitated when I don't understand something
If I don't understand the importance of a task, I am less motivated to complete it
I feel I may never really learn some subjects

My perfect school day would involve learning these five subjects (does not have to be subjects currently studying):

One time period I would like to learn more about is:

One science thing (it was late, thing was the appropriate word) I would like to learn more about is:

Name two areas of study or skills I wish I was better in:

On most days I feel like I'm a good/bad student. (circle one)

One thing I'd like to learn, but you'd never let me is:

Name two areas of study where I think I am good:

These issues distract me from my schoolwork circle all that apply. My list included: dog, cat, hunger, my desk, my chair, not having pencils, Mom's silly songs, feeling unprepared, lack of organization, thinking about video games, things not feeling perfect, being hot, not feeling good about my work, being cold, being tired.

My favorite book so far this year is:

Write down three things outside of school that you feel you're good at:

One place in the United States I would love to visit:

One movie (new or old) that I'd like to see:

If I could invent something it would be:

One thing I like about myself:

One thing about myself I'd like to change:

At the end I wrote Thanks, Love you, Mom.

His answers were interesting. A few surprised me, a few made me realize that he's been maturing, a few made     me understand his point of view better. We discussed them this morning during our Gi Suilon time (Elvish for I greet thee). I didn't berate him for his answers, I encouraged him to be open with me in the future. None of them were dramatic answers, not the I hate everything about school vibe I've gotten before.  Today felt different at school, less harried. He worked through math and writing back-to-back without complaint. I felt like we connected more, which is weird because were have a close relationship. The kid finishes my sentences sometimes, He's great to have around during the pre-menopausal brain fog.

I would encourage you to do your own student survey. Ask questions pertinent to your situations, ask questions you might think you already know the answer. Z climbed another step of this hill today, it's a great journey to be on together.

Gi Suilon

Gi Suilon is Elvish for I greet thee (informal). Last week, as a result of my two day conference, we started each school day with what I call Gi Suilon time.

But what about the conference you say? It was not as productive as I had hoped. I made some progress in organizing next year, wrapping up details of previous weeks, looking ahead to the finishing of this year, but it all felt scattered. As it turns out I was getting sick. Friday afternoon I laid down for a nap, and woke up coughing. I felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. It turned into a bronchial thing that only Benadryl, Ibuprofen, and sleep could cure. Sadly, I was unable to travel a real Rivendell, where Elrond would have had me better in a day. I was down for a week. The elephant is gone, and I'm still working on my stamina. If the Gi Suilon time is the only thing to come out of my little parent-teacher conference, however, it's all good.

Historically Z and I have started school with read-aloud time. We're not morning people and it gives us time to acclimate to each other. We've had brief conversation before starting, but nothing scheduled or organized. Gi Suilon time is open-ended. Last week, due to my illness, it was mostly about me giving Z his assignments for the day. This week we've had good discussions. One day we just went through some of the goofy things that have been posted on facebook recently. We've talked about a current event, today we are reading an article in an educational magazine. I hope to keep using the "winging it" approach and find something new each day to discuss. How long do we discuss? Generally about fifteen to twenty minutes.

I know many of these things we talk to our children about already. Why bring these casual commentaries to the classroom? For one, I can keep the focus on school, I can pull something educational out of the topic at hand. Plus it is a great to peer inside the inner workings of Z's mind, always an interesting place.  

We're into our third term of school for the year. I can see the end of eighth grade in sight, but we have a lot yet to discover, a lot yet to learn, and hopefully some fun along the way.

2012 Spring Conference: Riding forth from Edoras

February. A month of winter snows or not, as is the case this year. But February still holds some shadow for homeschoolers. It's a short month, heading towards spring, momentum being built after December holidays. As a parent I have my eyes toward next year already, my mind on where we need to finish this year. So for the last three years we take a break in February. Our current schedule has us doing six weeks on, one week off. This is our week off.

For two of these days I'm having a conference. In years past it has felt very scholarly and intellectual to have my own conference. This year I feel like a Rider of the Mark defending my territory against hostile Orcs. I am armed and ready. I feel these days hold more importance. Don't know if that is true, but it feels that way. My planning is taking us into high school this fall. I am excited about high school, Z is excited about a few subjects. We also have a few long weeks ahead of us before we can call this year done. I feel I am preparing for a long journey, one I want to go on, but one I know will hold pitfalls and perils.

This week I have a few books to preview, a few lecture series to preview, some self-education to get out of the way, and I must organize the classroom. Our setup does not allow me to have all my books out, so I'm banishing some to the living room, some to the basement, and organizing the rest. I'm hoping the streamlining will get us to the end of the year.

So I ride forth in my quest to keep the intruders of mayhem, chaos, discord, and confusion out of my lands. I am armed, and I am ready.

A House, A Home, A Hole not in the Ground

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. 

Possibly the best starting line in any book. Some days I want to find a hole and burrow myself down into it. Some days I am in wonder that there isn't a hole in my pantry. I knew teen boys were supposed to be hungry, but, Whoa!, I think Z is gearing up for a big one. At age ten he had trouble finishing a Happy Meal. He certainly eats like a hobbit now. I recently looked at the local high school's schedule. They have four lunch periods. I think Z would love school if he thought he'd get four full lunch periods. Sadly no four lunch periods here, just grazing allowed. 

We're spending a lot of time with hobbits this year as we work through Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings. I adore the depth of this curriculum. Reading the books is joy enough, and the author has added just enough to not burn out the student on Tolkien lore. We tweak portions (using the first edition), and are currently in book three of LotR. We've seen the movies, Z only remembers portions, but I have them playing in my mind while we read. It's making a full experience for my brain. Today we read through the battle at Helm's Deep. In the movie I can't help but choke up when Gandalf crests the hill astride Shadowfax. I choked up reading it today as well. 

In the meantime we must return to our own reality, very removed from Middle Earth. *sigh* It's February, that month again, but that lament is for another post. 

Et tu, Brute? Solutions to our Latin dilemma

Compromise can be a good thing, right? Tomorrow we start one one when we start Wheelock's Latin. Four and a half years ago when we started our Latin journey, I checked Wheelock's our of our public library. I was overwhelmed and it went back. It wasn't just the Latin, it was the level of English grammar discussed in chapter one.

Last week Wheelock's text (two of them) and workbook were delivered to my house. I've worked through chapter one and I get it. I am no longer intimidated. It was a bittersweet moment, however, because it means we are switching Latin programs once again.

We've been through books A and B of the Latin for Children series and loved it. We started Latin Alive last year, and didn't finish for a plethora of reasons. I really like Latin Alive. I love the DVDs, I like the layout, I like the richness of the program. It didn't click as well for my son. Earlier this year we started on Cambridge, mainly for the readings. I had hoped to use Latin Alive for the grammar and Cambridge for the readings, but combining didn't work for us. My goal for this semester was to focus solely on Latin Alive and finish books one this year.

Best laid plans and all...well it's good to be flexible, right? Z and I have been having conversations about high school, about preferences, about the beginnings of college planning, and about Latin. Z likes Latin, not like I like Latin, but he does it. However, he's already expressed interests in learning more languages (we are doing Japanese this year as well, he adores that!) and wouldn't be crushed if we dropped Latin. He wouldn't be crushed if we dropped math either, but that's not going to happen. IMO, Latin is only slightly less important.

After some consideration and conversation with other homeschooling parents teaching Latin, I defined my parameters for learning Latin. They include completing a course in Latin grammar and at least a semester of  readings in Latin. If we continue with Latin Alive at our current pace that would required two and a half to three more years. Wheelock's forty chapters will allow us complete a grammar program in the next four semesters (counting the current one). Add another semester of readings and that's only ninth and tenth grade. That would leave two years for Z to pursue a third language; he currently is leaning towards Russian or German. Can you say outsourcing?

Another consideration was cost. I was able to get used copies of the texts and a new workbook for twenty-five dollars. I will add a few supplemental items, probably spend another thirty or fifty dollars in total. Two more levels of Latin Alive with DVDs would be well more than that, close to three hundred dollars.

I'm sad to be leaving Latin Alive, but I credit it for me being able to even consider Wheelock's. Latin Alive is good, deep program that has been beyond helpful in MY Latin study. Since I don't like to waste materials, we may go back and do some Cambridge readings as well as the readings from Latin Alive.

With my eyes toward the future, I made a compromise. It feels right though. I stated my parameters, Z expressed his preference, and we reached a solution. Life is about learning to work together, right?

Four Weeks Down and Our Time with Tolkien

We've finished four weeks of school. It feels wonderful to say that. We've had a good year, our subjects are flowing smoothly, and we made it four weeks with only one minor delay for lingering illness.

We are spending time with Tolkien this year. We're working through Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings, which is a literature study. You can see the details at homescholar.org. So far we've finished five chapter of Lord of the Rings and finished the Tolkien biography by Humphrey Carpenter. We were both intrigued by the biography. As a yet unpublished writer, I found some great gems to hold onto, some details of a writer's life to work into my habits.

We're fans of Lord of the Rings, more in the movie sense at this point. We've watched the extended versions of all three movies. We have brought the Ring culture into our house with all the silly little asides from Ring lore. Z thinks someone should stand on the corner in a Gandalf costume holding a sign that bears YOU SHALL NOT PASS! I can't convince him that he'd have fun doing just that. In a way I'm glad we have the movies to refer back to, which isn't always the case when I read a book. I'm a visual person, we both are picturing the movie characters as I read. Yes, we are doing them as read-alouds, although he is joining in with the readings. We enjoy the sharing of moments, reading being one of them.

Although we are only five chapters into the books we've already referred back to the movies. Z and I are great movie critics (grin). Our observation so far is that Peter Jackson has condensed the movies, not changed them. I am excited to see where else our wanderings take us this year.

We've already touched on two very individual men, Tolkien and Leonardo daVinci. We studied daVinci's art and read a short biography on him as well. Z then wrote a report on da Vinci. Writing is one of the skills we are focusing on this year, so we walked through the report phases together. He did a wonderful job. He's also learning how to cite sources, which has me learning the new ways as well.

In math we spent the week working with prime factors. This required a lot of thought on his part, he did excellent. I stretched my brain this week as well. Yesterday he asked if you could actually hurt your brain by thinking too hard. This was in math class, of course, all of the the weird random comments come during math class.

Aside from that did I mention he is now taller than me? Just by a smidge, but he is. He turns fourteen next week. Next week is also our first week off break, planned to coincide with his birthday. Overall I am very impressed with how our year is proceeding. Our schedule is working wonderfully. We're only behind in one subject, logic, but that is because we're taking longer in each lesson and we skipped a few days when neither of us were feeling well.

I believe we are going to enjoy our journey this year, and for that I am most glad.

Week One: All Said and Done!

We made it through week one, and we started on time everyday. That in itself is an accomplishment. We had a huge storm last night; big enough water was leaking around some windows. There were high winds, branches down, almost hurricane force winds. All of it started about eleven p.m., right after we had all tried to go to bed.

I also have a really sore throat, and spent part of the school day in bed. Thankfully Z has elevated himself to be able to work independently. In fact he's pretty awesome so far this year. We had grand plans for academics over the summer (insert vile, evil laughter here). None of it got done. We had a family illness that took most of our focus and time. The only academic thing Z was required to do was read every day for thirty minutes. Since he is engulfed in the Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix, getting him to read is not an issue. His reading level has increased over the summer. His reading aloud has greatly improved. We accomplished a lot of reading this week, much of it aloud. He did so well.

Our schedule has been a hit. Doing less subjects per day has been wonderful. We have time to chat, discover, not worry about the clock, and still finish well. The real test will be next week with math.

Our biggest joy this week has been delving into the Tolkien biography. We're only on chapter five, but I can already see Z's appreciation for the author increasing. We start into Lord of the Rings on Monday. I myself have never read the books (insert audible gasp!) and I can't wait to start our journey together.

We've also implemented rising interests into our ways to build skills. The other night we watched a show called Legend Quest. The episode was about the quest for the location of the Holy Grail. We stayed up long after the show discussing our knowledge of the grail (minimal), our own speculations (wildly so), and how he wanted to research this issue further. The next day at school we used this as a opportunity to learn how to research online. I could not have planned the task better. The chapter we read in Rulebook for Arguments that same day discussed how to find and use sources. We did not find too much on the grail, but we stoked our imaginations and built skills at the same time.

I'm thrilled with my student this year. His growth through a trying summer has been remarkable. I can't wait for next week when we start back into algebra; math always garners a few interesting conversations, mostly nothing to do with math.

Stop the Press!! A Last Minute Change in the Lineup!!

Nothing like changing your mind in the last few weeks before school starts. On top of the schedule change I'm implementing some other changes. I've been reading about right-brained learning in the above book, Right Brained Children in a Left Brained World. We've always known Z is more of a creative, right-brained learner, but the above book gave some specific tips on how to teach a child of this sort. So it has left me re evaluating the curricula we use. After much angst I have decided to give Cambridge Latin a try. It's a whole-to-parts course instead of a parts-to-whole course like we have been using.

 We have used the Latin for Children series from Classical Academic Press. We used half of Latin Alive I also from CAP last year. I love CAP's Latin products. Latin for Children was fun, made Z interested in Latin, and allowed us to really put the Latin-Centered in a Latin-Centered Curriculum. Latin Alive took the knowledge to a new level with a program that is full and rich. Latin Alive touches on grammar, vocabulary, and readings. With the state mottos being discussed at the beginning of each chapter, you can see how America has a Latin heritage as well. Z started to get bogged down in Latin Alive after a few chapters. We had a chaotic year and that didn't help. 

However, after reading more about right-brained individuals I've come to believe it's not just the chaos bogging him down. Last night Z and I watched Sorcerer's Apprentice. 

There is a scene in the movie where they drive through a mirror and everything is backward. It was easy to tell where you where but the navigation and reading anything was hard, because it was backward. Imagine trying to learn that way. So I'm Nic Cage, I have the curly hair and would love a black sorcerer's jacket and the car...,anyway. Z is my apprentice and in trying to teach him I may need to look at a few things backward. I think Latin is one of them. I have some right-brained, creative tendencies myself and it's easier to tweak a subject I know well. Well, I'm learning Latin just a smidge ahead of Z. I learn well in a linear fashion. It's the way I was indocrin taught in school. But to learn in, ingest it, and twist in a short time frame is too much for this aging wizard's brain.

So we're switching gears. This was a hard decision. I ordered part of the Cambridge components today. Once I have a chance to preview them, then I'll know better if we'll being combining it with Latin Alive in some manner, or using Cambridge exclusively. No matter the decision my plan is to finish Latin Alive I and continue with Latin Alive II and III as part of my self-education. I love the DVD component and how Karen Moore presents the information.

Maybe it's a good thing we don't homeschool year round. I need the summers to plan, obsess, research, and change my mind. All of those at least twice.

Planning 102: The Art of War aka Lesson Planning

If I get creative later today, I'll post some photos of my organization, my planning, THE plan. But the gist of it is, I'm almost there. 


I finished course descriptions and lesson planning yesterday. Before you get too excited, realize I WILL change those plans during the year. I tweak, I'm flexible. We get behind in one subject and ahead in others. 


I was just looking for a pithy quote to add, about knowing yourself, knowing your limitations, but this one seems more fitting. 

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” -Sun Tzu (The Art of War)


Yes, I'm laughing, that's a better quote for lesson planning. Winning first, then the war. 


Because I know I'll tweak, planning and printing out the entire year of schedule has never worked for me. By week three we'd be off schedule and my somewhat anal mind would be bent out of shape because the schedule was off. We'd be grumpy at school, I'd be thinking about those pieces of paper more than my student. 


So this is how I plan: 

• Decide which subjects to do (this usually takes about six months of waffling, I'm already working on plans for the 2012-2013 year) Our scheduled subjects for 2011-2012 are:
• Latin I
• English
• Literature
• Math
• Introduction to formal logic and philosophy
• History, Science, & Humanities
• Computer Science
• Japanese I
• Decide which books, curriculum to use for each subject (see above comment, also applies here)
• Plan school schedule. Next year we are doing about six weeks on, one week off. We'll have six sessions of school for a total of thirty-six weeks. 
• Schedule out lessons for the year. I use a semester planner from Donnayoung.org for some subjects, others I use a table designed word document. 
• For subjects that are open and go, like Latin, I write what chapter/section/lesson to do for each week. This helps me be accountable to our planned timetable
• For subjects that require merging several books together, such as history, I spend time reading and sorting books before I write up loose lesson plans (I'll make this the subject of another post, to show how to merge several books)
• Start to assemble teacher's planner. (I'll post pictures later) I've included the following sections:
• Calendars - yearly and monthly. I also include a height chart to gauge his physical growth over the year.
• Weekly - I print off weekly lessons one to two weeks at a time. 
• Syllabi - Yes, I write these for every class. I consider it practice for high school, and a time to think about what we are really trying to do with these classes.
• Schedules - this is the weekly schedule. We generally tweak three to five times during the year.
• Reading/Media List - a place to keep track of what we read, what we watch.
• Grading, Evaluations, Hours - we are required by the state to keep track of hours. We're also returning to formal grading this year. I have an evaluation form that I plan to use after each session. 
• Extra curricular Notes, Misc - I've put in some encouraging notes from some of the moms that amaze me. Plus notes on any extra things we do. 
• Assemble student's planner - Z's planner has most of the same things mine does, except the grading, evaluation, and hours. I'll give him a summary at the end of each session. 
• Plan my learning ahead (I've been working on this for a while) This year I have a lot of learning and reading ahead to do. I've broken down each class into what we will cover each session. I'm trying to get my studying done in a few subjects before we start school. I've been working on algebra this week. Having it written down, broken into six week segments, is most helpful. I don't feel so rushed
• Make sure all books for the current year are shelved. Make sure all readers and reference books are shelved. 
• Set up binders/folders for each subject for student and teacher. (I'll explain this in another post as well - that's where I'll talk about my pro-click binder :grin:)
• Make sure Z's desk is cleaned off and ready to go (So not there yet)

I enjoy planning, I'm a planner by nature. Some of this year's has challenged me. We still have some things in transition phase. I'm looking forward to getting back to school, there's so much to learn, so much to do. 

This is the End, my Friend

Hah! You thought it was the end of the world!Not close, thankfully. It is almost the end of the school year. It's time for reflecting back and planning ahead. Z and I watched the original Godzilla move, Gojira, last night. That might well sum up our year, a large unexpected monster attempted to scare us. Instead, like the Godzilla movies, we will persevere. I grew up watching badly dubbed Godzilla movies. I had no clue there were 28 Japanese Godzilla movies. Here's the list from that ever trusted and reliable source, Wikipedia. (tongue-in-cheek) Z has now stated he wants to watch all of them, in chronological order. We added a few to the Netflix queue already. A monster summer awaits.

What hit me about that is that even though it's been an "interesting" academic year, Z is excited about more. We made it though literally four of our Japanese lessons before our "monster" came. Even so, I was able to pick up a few Japanese phrases in our movie last night. Our version was sub-titled, not dubbed.

I stayed up late last night planning history and science for next year. Since I'm piecing together my own program, it will take some time. But it's exciting. Oh, by the way, I've changed my mind on a few things since I posted my "final" list. Murphy's Law I guess. Just as soon as you say you're done..Anyway, some of the changes are good, some are related to budget cuts. Budget cuts at Wakefield Academy that is. It will all work out in the end, and I'll post those changes soon. Not right now though, because it's 3 a.m., gotta love insomnia it's so persistent.

For the last week of school, we're covering some last minute skills. We're also trying to shove some more content into the schedule with moderate success. Hopefully our monster season is over. I do NOT want a sequel of last year, thank you very much, but Godzilla awaits on the Netflix queue. It's sure to be a monster (in a good way) summer.