Posted in Teachers Corner

I've always said that I like the phase where you can begin to reason with children. I used to think that was about kindergarten age; but I'm thinking I'm liking age 8 even better.

We're pretty much just doing basics at this point -- math, spelling, vocabulary. I'd say she's about on par with her public school peers in the latter two, and far beyond them in the first. In math and vocab, we're using leftover texts from the local school district; dh's aunt is a TA and brings us all sorts of goodies at the end of the year. In spelling, we're using a used text from another local homeschooler, and I'm enjoying the scripture verses tied to each word list. We also tackle italics handwriting with Getty-Dubay books on an infrequent basis, but hopefully we pick that up a bit more regularly from now on.

On Fridays, we try to do an art day. She wants to be an artist, so I'm trying to teach her all I know. We have several texts -- How Great Thou Art, Busy Teacher's Guide to Art Lessons (one of my favorites -- check it out), Children's Art Journal, stuff off the internet, several random "try to draw this" kids' books, Draw-Write-Now's, and my own art background. Our major stumbling block in this subject -- which causes much frustration on both sides -- is her lack of discrimination. Improvement requires a critical eye, and she doesn't have one yet. We'll get there, but right now she's too impatient and prideful to get that she needs to work harder if she wants to get better.

On Saturdays that Dad works (and there aren't social activities that we need to get to, like birthday parties), we do history. She loves this subject and can't get enough of it, but we can't seem to do all the basics and still have enough time to do any in-depth learning in the history department. We're using about five main texts, but we've only used two so far -- Streams of Civilization and The Story of the World. I like the format and detail of the first, and I've seen Susan Wise Bauer in person and appreciated her tactics in the latter. The other two books are The Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History, and Ancient Civilizations and the Bible -- from another one of my favorite speakers, Diana Waring. The fifth text is, of course, the Bible. After diving into history at the Renaissance because of an art lesson we did, dd decided she wanted to go back to the beginning -- literally. (She has a touch of the melancholy personality like her mother.) Another reason we haven't made much progress is because of that very personality trait; one project involved burying some objects for her to dig up and learn about archaeology. The weather got in the way before that could happen, and I haven't wanted to give it up for now and move on. I guess we'll just review that part in the spring when this nasty winter is over. (Yes, I just heard last night that our governor has declared a state of emergency for our side of the state. I hate winter.)

Other stuff just happens as it happens. She has a lot of educational games, and a whole list of mother-approved websites she can access -- and does almost daily. She reads incessantly, and classics as well as fluff (she just got hooked on Babysitters Club, though Geronimo Stilton and Pony Pals are still high on the list). We try writing assignments now and then, but they take so much effort on my part to keep her on task; maybe when her handwriting gets better we'll both enjoy it more, but I know I'm going to have to do more training in the story-writing arena. Then again, maybe it's just the writer in me that's a little impatient with her.

Science is another haphazard subject. We have an extensive collection of texts in this area, and she's often found devouring them. We also end up with many kits, like volcanoes, soda pop, glow-in-the-dark geodes, and growing crystals (that's a disturbing one, BTW -- it uses the same little "absorbers" as disposable diapers, and somehow I can't get past the way I came to be familiar with them in the first place!). We watch quite a bit of Discovery Channel, How It's Made, etc, but I realize I will soon need to do a bit more organized study. And plenty more hands-on, which is where I need dh's help. He's just better with some of that stuff. (See, Love? I can admit that I have a fault. Just one, though .... Well, maybe two ....)

So, as I said earlier, I like this phase. She's asking questions, processing it all through, and then spitting out something akin to a reasoned response. Like the other day, when she told me that I must not have had s-- for eight years or I would have had another child. Oh, how I love her! This morning, though, she asked why I didn't have to do as much practice on fractions, and I told her that I had learned them well enough 25 years ago. She actually sat down and figured out how old I would have been then! Wow! Progress! That just made my morning!

So, that's where we are. Highly unorganized, but success is being accomplished. That's all we ask, right?