Two Kid Schoolhouse
Discipline in homeschooling Aug. 14, 2007
Yesterday I posted about our new routine that I hope to start soonish. We had started a little; we'd slacked off on our daily Bible reading but got that going again, then added the catechism back in, and today added in math. Practice worksheets from previous lessons; one reason I love MathUSee - the online worksheet generator! Anyway, tomorrow we'll add in something else; Latin, I think. And so we'll go.
Anyway, back to the point. I was lamenting the stricter laws in PA, which are new to me, coming from easy Oregon. I said (among other things), that I am "looking forward to developing the discipline of doing more tangible work."
It didn't occur to me then that that was a rather silly statement. Who is responsible for my homeschooling discipline? The state of Oregon's laws didn't prevent me from being more disciplined. I could have done that all by myself. I even know some Oregon homeschoolers who could prepare wonderful and complete portfolios for their children, even though the law does not require them to.
So, I will be forced to be more disciplined and produce some work that someone can see our work - a school district evaluator, or a friend or relative, or a grown-up homeschool graduate who can look back on the work he did as a kid . And if we go back to Oregon, as we hope, plan and pray to do, I hope I will find my new discipline to be easy to carry on, whether the law requires me to or not.
What are you not doing in your homeschool that you would like to do, or think you should be doing? |
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New routine... starting real soon now Aug. 13, 2007
So we've been in our new home for about 3 weeks and it's time to get into our new routine. It's hard when some rooms are still cluttered with boxes that have no place to go! But the kids are getting restless and we have to do more than read fun books soon.
I know where all our materials are and we have a place to work. Not the place I want to work! But a place nonetheless.
I've typed up a new routine and it looks like this:
September 2007
Bible
Catechism
Prayer
Christian Almanac
After-breakfast Cleanup
Math
Latin
English Grammar
Health/Safety (a PA requirement so I thought I should put it in)
Copywork/cursive
History (not daily)
Science (not daily)
Prairie Primer (not daily)
History, science, and Prairie Primer will include some writing.
Writing workshop - this is something we plan to do with our homeschool group.
Arts/crafts - on the day not working on the writing workshop stuff
This year we actually have to produce some work that someone can look at and touch - PA law requires a portfolio of work to be reviewed by the school district. This is going to be new to us and will be challenging, especially to J, who does not like to write. I don't love the PA laws (draconian compared to Oregon; I didn't realize I had it so good!) but am looking forward to developing the discipline of doing more tangible work.
Oh, another requirement is PE. Well, we walk and/or bike almost every day; the kids play on the play structure or play tetherball in the back yard. Tonight we met the dog next door, who we learned likes to run along the fence on his side while children run along the fence on our side. So lots of running happened tonight, and will again. The homeschool group also has a PE/swim class; if that doesn't work out we'll take the parks and rec swim classes. PE, yeah, got it covered. |
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For Suzie - Homeschooling in Glenside PA Aug. 1, 2007
Suzie left a comment asking for information on homeschooling in Glenside, PA.
First, Suzie, if you want homeschooling encouragement, keep looking around the homeschool blogs. You will find plenty there. You can also get a lot of information and encouragement at the Homeschool Fellowship message board, which you can access via a link on my sidebar, right under the photo.
Locally, I found 2 Yahoo homeschool groups:
EasternMontgomeryCountyPA Homeschoolers
East MontCo PA Inclusive Homeschoolers
I joined both groups before moving out here, and corresponded with ladies from both groups via email a bit. I actually met some of the moms from one group while on a fact-finding trip here before moving! And I've attended one of their park days. I plan to get in touch with the other group again soon, once we are a little more settled.
You can also contact me via email by clicking the "email me" button on my profile. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.
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Hand cultivating Jun. 20, 2007
A few weeks ago when I was at the hardware store for some mundane item, I picked up a lovely new cultivator. It was a cheap luxury - not more than $3 - but the wood handle fit so nicely and the sharp tines seemed so ... sharp.
Today I was working in a badly-neglected flower bed, trying to dig out weeds without disturbing the few remaining plants in the bed. Working with my little cultivator is slow work, but very satisfying. So is pulling out roots and stems of "field grass" (my term for the thick weed grass so prevalent in my yard) and clover. I know it would go much quicker with the tiller - I could just fire it up and plow through all those weeds! (Well, if I knew how to fire it up, that is).
But then I wouldn't be able to rescue a little patch of thyme, or a struggling little rose bush, or an earthworm. I wouldn't see the bees working on the clover - sorry about that, guys; there'll be something better soon. I wouldn't be able to talk to my daughter about the bees, and the worms, and the flowers we are going to plant for the people who will be living in our house for the next few years. The tiller's pretty loud.
As I worked I realized that working with hand tools is a little like homeschooling. I'd probably save a lot of time if I sent my kids to school. I bet my yard would look a lot better if I had 8 hours alone all day. But then I'd miss so many things, wouldn't I? Things more important than a nice-looking yard. |
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A timely quote Jun. 6, 2007
A snippet of a famous speech given on this day in 1775, so very apt for these days:
“Gentlemen may cry peace, peace – but there is no peace. The war is actually begun.
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains or slavery?
Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take but as for me; give me
liberty or give me death!”
Patrick Henry, of course.
This is my kids' copywork for the day. |
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Bumper Sticker! May. 11, 2007
Another thing on the (alleged) jacket-stealing teacher May. 5, 2007
But maybe not the last. I have a feeling there are going to be some funny letters to the editor coming up soon on this topic.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to the 2 previous posts to learn about the public-school teacher arrested for stealing a student's jacket and trying to sell it.
Anyway, I missed this little tidbit in one of the articles: 20 parents signed a petition in support of the teacher, saying: "We agree that the action taken by Mrs. Logan was questionable, however we do not support any decision to relieve her of her teaching duties."
OK, folks, she was arrested. The police had evidence that she committed a crime. Even if it seems like a petty crime, or even just "questionable" behavior, why do parents want her in the classroom? I believe in innocent till proven guilty and all that, and certainly police make mistakes. Even if she didn't commit a crime, she admitted taking the jacket out of the lost-and-found, and it showed up on Ebay the day after it was lost. So, yeah, that's questionable behavior, one might even say monumentally stupid behavior, and why would anyone want their 6- or 7-year old taught by someone who engages in such?
I suppose it's more important not to rock Junior's world by taking his teacher away than have him taught by a petty thief or someone with fuzzy ideas on ethics.
"Hey, Teacher, help, Butch stole my lunch!"
"Well, Timmy, had you put it in the lunch cubby?"
"Yes, that's where we always put our lunches."
"Well, you left it there, so he must have thought it was available for anyone to take!"
She is on paid leave, by the way. |
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A new twist on "The dog ate my homework" May. 3, 2007
Saw this in the local paper this morning; glad to see Joanne Jacobs picked it up: A teacher in a town a few miles from here was arrested for stealing, and trying to sell on Ebay, a jacket lost by a student at the school. The story is hilarious, really. The jacket was put up on auction on Ebay the day after the child lost it. After the child's mother reported seeing the jacket on Ebay, it turned up at school, torn to shreds. The teacher claimed that she had found the jacket in the lost and found, put it up for auction, but removed it after her dog tore it up. Gotta love it.
It might almost be plausible if she'd left the jacket in the school's lost-and-found for a while. Almost. Maybe. |
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Homeschool production Apr. 24, 2007
Last night at my homeschool group's "mom's meeting" we were talking about production. Not plays or manufacturing - what we produce in our homeschools. As in - stuff someone could look at and say "oh, they're learning something here!"
One family has an energetic and patient mom who does almost all the projects in The Story of the World activity book. They have also spent quite some time studying volcanoes and will have a homemade model, among other things, for our annual "student showcase." We use The Story of the World too, but we stopped buying the activity book after I realized I just used it for the book lists. We can use the library's copy for that.
What my homeschool produces is, well, book lists and talk. We read a lot. The kids log the books they read, mostly (sometimes logging is tedious) and I keep track too. I keep track of the books I read to them as well. I don't keep track of the books J read snippets of - lots of interesting books on flight, fighter planes, building, etc. Or the craft books E brings home from the library and explores. Our student showcase displays are in process now. J is working on something to do with fighter planes, and E is somehow going to come up with something about colonial girls and crafts. I've got packing to do so I'm a little hands-off this year. So we'll see what happens.
So mostly we talk. We read and then we talk about what we read. We don't do many book reports or study guides, though we have completed a few. J talks to Dad about airplanes and other things he's interested in. Lots of topics come up in our house, just like in yours, I'm sure.
Oh, we produce math worksheets and tests, and the kids write a little every day - so we can pull out a copywork book and some cursive practice sheets too.
The other day when going through a box I found an old art project of mine. It wasn't dated, or graded. It was awful. I didn't even show it to the kids - just threw it out. I also threw out a bunch of old school papers I'd found that my mother had kept. Manuscript and cursive worksheets, colored-in diagrams of the parts of plants. I kept a few choice pieces for posterity but most of it got pitched. I don't know why my mom kept everything, but it was interesting to see how much I'd produced.
Now that we are moving to Pennsylvania, a state that requires examples of work in a portfolio, I am trying to amp up the production a little bit. I won't be packing up a working model of a volcano, but I probably should start requiring a few more book reports... since it's unlikely we're going to change our habit of reading and talking. |
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I'm a Thinking Blogger? Apr. 22, 2007
Just when I have been thinking that I don't really have anything to say anymore... Susan comes by and drops off this:
Wow, now the pressure is on! I do like to write thoughtful posts, but sometimes it's not so easy to do. it's easier to read other thoughtful blogs! So I get to pass this on to some of those bloggers who make me think. Here are the rules:
If you get tagged with a Thinking Blogger Award, you are then supposed to do the following:
1. Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to get the cute little award image in my post; probably everyone but me already knows how to do it. I have no idea how to link it to a post, though.
There are many, many blogs that make me think. I don't always get to visit as much as I'd like, or leave a comment as often as I should, but...
Falling Like Rain always has interesting things to say; such as this post in which she muses on blogging during and after a tragedy.
Honeybee at Honey From The Hive is also good for some pondering after stopping by her blog.
Becca at Mission of Motherhood really made me think with this post from a few weeks ago. Oh, and she's expecting so stop by and congratulate her.
JoAnn at Our Homeschooling Expedition posts a lot of great homeschooling helps and study ideas. Who isn't always thinking about that???
Back before her bloggin hiatus, Norwezter was very much a thinking blogger. Now she's back with a new blog, so I'll encourage her to start me thinking again. No pressure, though, since she did just get back and has a newish little one to care for.
Now I know that Susan just got a thinking blogger award herself, but I'd say I have to hand it back to her because she does make me think, a lot. She has a lot of homeschooling and parenting wisdom to share. |
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Musings of a slacker homeschool Mom
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