Resting

High 70s, low 80s. My favorite summer weather has prevailed for several days now--coolish mornings and sunny, not-too-hot afternoons. The kids have been away for a few days with friends and El Professor and I have been enjoying a schedule-less, projecting frenzy. No specific mealtimes, no permission sought or given, just time, time, time to get some things done. We've been resting, really.

The past two years, specifically summers, have been filled with urgencies that pushed nest cleaning off the schedule, while the detritus of life took over the garage/cupboards/every drawer/desktop. Two summers ago, El Professor was suddenly given the assignment of adding an endorsement to his teaching license with this alarming statement--'or we will most likely have to lay you off half time'. He had about six weeks to learn linguistics and to cram for one of the scheduled tests administered at the University. Last summer he fell and broke a few ribs which put a quick end to most of the summer 'honey do' list. In the midst of this, other life things were going on...good things, hard things, things. Two years ago we joined the Classical Conversations group that was being founded here and experienced a sudden (but wonderful, challenging) homeschool course change. The first months were like this. It was a great experience, so last year I agreed teach the grammar and writing course for 4th-6th graders. (Prior to this, I had never studied grammar.) I spent much of that spring/summer/fall/winter studying/cramming/thinking/planning lessons. I loved every minute of it, it was challenging, and it was worth the effort. Having said that, though, this summer we are resting. Resting from studying and cramming. Resting from a sense of urgency.

Life is good, but hard. My dad survived the septic crash his body experienced this spring and has been growing stronger. He spent seven weeks in the hospital. My dearest, loveliest aunt is fighting colon cancer. My sister's sweet mother-in-law is dying of a sudden, acute leukemia. Life is fragile and precious. In the midst of all of this, we are resting from the urgent push we have experienced over the past two years. We are continuing our course with Classical Conversations, knowing that the pace will be ramped up this year with both kids in the rigorous middle and high school programs. I will be teaching the same grammar and writing course this year, so I've been picking away at planning/thinking/studying, but I'm not cramming. Instead, we've been painting bedrooms, scrubbing mold, priming, trolling Craig's List, organizing, organizing, organizing, oiling the furniture, breathing deeply, and cleaning our nest. We have been helping the kids finish their math books and El Professor and I plan to study/review the Institute For Excellence In Writing seminar, and to help the kids do some preparation for the upcoming school year. Still, we are enjoying the break from urgency, the opportunity to take care of ourselves and our home, and are relishing falling-into-bed-exhausted from hard work.

Busy....

We finally met with our accountant last week to see about filing our taxes. In April we filed for an extension. Life was busy and El Professor was distracted by some work issues, so we filed for an extension intending to get to the taxes over the summer months.....we never did....and you KNOW how convenient September is. Thankfully, they are now done. In the meantime, we are back in the saddle with homeschooling alongside our local Classical Conversations group, which translates to 'hitting the ground with your feet running'. I am teaching again, and I've added the afternoon grammar and writing class to my teaching responsibilities. I am challenged, busy, and just a little stressed. (OK, a lot stressed.) Still, this opportunity has landed in my lap and I intend to give it my best shot (even if I feel that for the 12 fall session weeks I will think about or do little else). Amidst all of the busyness, fall has come. I'm wearing a down vest and looking out at the gray and feeling thankful for challenges, fullness, provision, and community.

The garden has been churning out an abundance of peppers, beans, onions, and (FINALLY) tomatoes. (I have had several successive years of tomato killing prowess.)

'Sundried' tomatoes...SO good.

So far, I have only managed to snatch a few shots of our Classical Conversations class. I am usually so busy I forget to pull out my junky old camera and capture some good moments. Here, Annie is operating her 'shaduf' model she made for her presentation on ancient world irrigation methods.

We begin each Classical Conversations day with a large gathering in the gym of the church in which we meet.

Part of the busyness of teaching at Classical Conversations is transporting 'the stuff of the day' into rolling crates, shopping bags, and a portfolio carrier. The rest of the week, my CC stuff is usually strewn about our living room. (I'm working on carving out space in the garage.)

On Fridays I transport another homeschool boy to piano lessons with Daniel, while another homeschool friend helps transport Annie from a dance class. On Friday this translated to some extra play time on both ends. Annie stayed and played at this friend's, while the piano boys came to our house for a lunch/study session. I had to smile at the sweetness of these two teenage boys, goofy and yet serious, asking questions and helping each other with Latin declensions. That just sounds so academic, doesn't it? Just to add reality to the whole scene, though, here's basically how a conversation I had with Daniel went...

Me--'Who is your History of Science' report about this week?'

Daniel--'Some guy who lived a long time ago who I wish would never have been born so I wouldn't have to write a report on him!'

Feeling grateful for it all. (Most of the time).

The Heart of the Matter (or why we home educate)...

I was out on the patio the other day, checking vegetable starts and ‘outdoor tasking’ when Daniel launched into an explanation of a flawed proof for evolution, sighting a 1953 experiment conducted by a man named Stanley Miller.  The information he was spontaneously sharing came from the book, It Couldn’t Just Happen, that he read this year for his Classical Conversations Rhetoric class.  Although first published in 1987, this book remains an excellent resource for opening and maintaining a conversation about origins.  For Daniel, some of these conversations took place during his Classical Conversations Rhetoric class, and it is for honest conversations about fundamental topics, such as origins, that I have maintained a deep interest and desire to see our kids schooled outside of the public education system.

I was a public educator prior to ‘retiring’ in 1998 to manage our home, raise, and school our two kids.  I spent 11 years in the classroom teaching 1st and 2nd graders.  Those years were busy, demanding, and stressful, and while I was ready to hang up my stick of chalk when the opportunity came to do so, those years were also full of sweetness and I had the privilege of working alongside some very well intended, loving, serving colleagues, many of whom were also Christians.  Still, as our own two kids approached school age, the public school system wasn’t an option in my mind.  Large class sizes, my children’s maturity issues, etc. were all part of my concerns but, ultimately, the heart of the issue of educating our children has been an issue of world view.  

In September, Daniel had to write a science report on ‘amoebas’ for his Classical Conversations Biology class.  Each week, the students in the middle school class, Challenge A, research a topic, write about the topic, hand draw an illustration, write a bibliography, and present all of these to their cohort (classmates).  A quick check of our home library afforded very little information on ‘amoebas’, but we did have one book, John Holzmann’s (of Sonlight Curriculum) Biology.  Excellent.  Now, as the assignment required two or more references, we needed another book.  I stopped at St. Vincent de Paul, ‘O Excellent Supplier Of So Many Of Our Books’, and grabbed a middle school biology textbook.  $2.50 (which was less than my library fine).  There was a whole section in this book on amoebas, complete with illustrations.  As Daniel and I read over the section, however, we found that the information was so laced with evolutionary information that it seemed to be more like a tool of evolutionist indoctrination than an honest study of one-celled creatures.  Ultimately, I recycled the book (in the ‘blue bin’, choosing not to regift the book to St. Vinnie’s), and discussed with Daniel how one of my frustrations with the school system is that materials, such as this book, are used to teach core subjects, and that the information is dedicated to a theory of origins that is taught authoritatively rather than acknowledging the status of ‘theory’.  There are no disclaimers such as, ‘Some scientists believe.....’ 

Families have different reasons for choosing home education or home based education, and I have gleaned some great encouragement and wisdom on the subject from many sources, including an article written by Ron Julian of the McKenzie Study Center and Gutenberg College.  (Read it for yourself here.) Written in 1993, seven years prior to our own foray into the waters of home education, the issues of shepherding our children’s hearts through their education rings true today.  Home education was a growing movement in 1993, and the heart of the matter remains the same today.  

For our family, joining Classical Conversations has been an unexpected mercy in our home education journey.  It has been a financial sacrifice for us, but it has been well worth the cost. Granted, we could have combed through the book It Couldn’t Just Happen on our own, but the opportunity to discuss the information in a tutor-guided session with several other students has been valuable.  Weekly accountability to get the readings done has kept Daniel on track.  Daniel, who doesn’t *love* to read, loved this book and I am grateful that he had the opportunity to look at some of the arguments that evolutionists claim support their theory and to explore the huge, gaping holes in those very claims.  Several months after reading about Stanley Miller’s 1953 experiment, Daniel is still chewing on the information.  Home education has given us the opportunity to look at the holes in what our society, education system, and culture claim to be true in fundamental topics such as origins, and I am thankful. 

Hiatus....

I've been busy doing things other than blogging.  This school year has been one of tremendous activity and change.  Looking back over the school year I'm not sure where to begin, but at some point I'll pick away at what we've been up to.  In a nutshell, however, we joined a new home school program in our area called 'Classical Conversations', and it was a wonderful, rigorous, wild ride.  I taught a 5th/6th grade class which was time consuming, delightful, and challenging. The challenge for me involved changing from a relaxed, eclectic curriculum to one in which we were accountable each week to have assignments finished and ready to present.  This was true for the programs in which both kids were enrolled, and it was a big change. 

Home schooling has been rather time consuming, but I've been up to other things as well.  At the risk of sounding like an ungrateful user of free programs, I haven't blogged as much lately because I experience Blogger as being clunky, time consuming, and frustrating.  I've been sidling up to the Facebook free trough where you can upload photos in a flash, jot down a few thoughts, and be on your way. It would be great if Blogger could take a few tips from the Facebook 'photo album upload' option.  In the spirit of jotting down a few thoughts, however, here is a snapshot of what's been going on....  (Oh, and the kids hate having their ages as their 'blog names', and have teased me about how their names have to change each year.  OK, I give up.  I'll just call them by their names, Daniel and Anne....)  

Daniel's Classical Conversations 'Challenge A' middle school class.

The grammar school portion of Classical Conversations ended the year with a whole group symphony class for fine arts.  The kids had the opportunity to 'conduct' the 'orchestra'.  

The 'Foundations' grammar school (K-6) classes fill at eight kids.  Teacher heaven.  :-)

Creative pursuits for me......practical gardening.  I love to plant things we use, mostly in their fresh state.  I freeze some items, and can 'specialty' items like jam and jelly.  With our bumper crop of cilantro, I have much cilantro pesto in the works for the freezer.  

May is the birthday rush, with both kids having birthdays, and my dad as well.   We celebrated Anne's 11th birthday with lovely friends and an 'Ugly Doll' theme.  

My dad's birthday is sandwiched between the kids' birthdays, and I decided to stick to handmade gifts for him.  He loved, loved, loved the Christmas jelly, and there were more berries and jelly bag juices from last summer's crops waiting in the freezer.  I combined strawberry jelly bag juice with apple for a jelly batch, and cooked/sieved raspberries and blackberries for a thick, seedless jam.    

We celebrated Daniel's 14th birthday with dear friends and family and, at his request, a homemade 'Italian Cream Cake'.  

Now that the birthday rush is over, we are focusing on end of the year recitals, track club practices, more gardening, and much needed organizing.   In the mix of the busyness, though, I love to clip and dry flowers and dream of more handmade gifts.  

Empty desk top......

My iMac is in the shop!  It has been interesting to have the computer gone all week.  In preparing for the 5th/6th grade 'Masters' class I teach, I had to do things 'the old fashioned way' and use a copy machine.  I am so spoiled by the ability to print out whatever I need, whenever I need it. Hopefully, the computer will be back sometime this week.  In the meantime, the desk top looks so empty.....  The good news???  Apple is fixing it FOR FREE.  There was a bit of a hiccup between Apple and the Mac Store techie guys in getting that 'FOR FREE' repair cleared up, but the dots seem to have been connected.  Now, if those guys would just get on with it!!

 

Fall Wonderful

Yesterday I ran the sprinkler on our fall/winter garden.  What month is it?  October?  The 'deluge month' in western Oregon?  No complaints here, however.  It has been a rather glorious month and we've taken advantage of the fun of visiting the local farmstands and orchards for produce, fun, and October sun.  

It was a dark and starry night.....

Thirteen, Ten, El Professor and I 

donned jackets, located flashlights,

and headed for the famed 

Haunted Corn Maze.  With much 

screaming and suspense we followed the

clue cards through the maze with about 500

other people, huddling together as we 

walked through dry ice clouds and watched

for the frequent masked workers who would 

somehow startle/wag corn/or jump 

out at us.  Even with all of those people we 

managed to be rather alone at times...creepy.

The maze is HUGE.  Ultimately, we sojourned

through with a woman and her developmentally

delayed daughter, solving clues and having 

a ball!  Next year............ definately!!!

Red and gold trees, sunny afternoons, mild weather...with this mix I have piggy-backed our piano lesson outings into 'hit the farmstands before heading home' events.  This fall I have been transporting another home school family's 12 year old to piano lessons.  This has made for some fun friend time.  One day we met up with Bella and her crew for some apple picking and another day we spontaneously took the 'economy pumpkin patch ride'.   (The economy ride went something like this..."Guys, I'll buy wagon rides, but let's skip the pumpkins.  They're .25/pound."  To which our 12 year old friend replied, "We all already have a pumpkin, anyway."  The farm we all visited the week before had given each of the kids a free pumpkin.) 

I have a serious supply of apples around here and some tucked away smiles.  It's been a great October. 

Home School...What's Working (Middle School)

This is year eight around here in Home School Land.  Even after eight years, however, the spelling of this phenomenon eludes me.  It seems that it depends on how 'home school' is used. For instance, we 'home school' therefore, we are 'homeschooling' or are 'homeschoolers'.  Hmm. We should pick that apart in our Essentials of the English Language class.   

We are approaching week 8, given that our Classical Conversations classes meet on Thursdays, and it seems like we are finally getting into the swing of things.  This new program has been a huge change from our 'relaxed' homeschooling past.  Several weeks ago Thirteen commented that he felt like he was on a tennis court with one of those machines that fires out balls and it was shooting balls at him so quickly that he was having difficulty hitting them.  I thought that was very insightful, especially since we don't play tennis.  So, getting into the swing of things is a nice feeling.  

On one of our evening walks I commented to El Professor that I am the busiest I have been, I think, since becoming a parent.  Actually, I still worked part time as a classroom teacher in the public schools up until Thirteen was three, which was busy, but the kids' school and teaching the 5th/6th grade portion of Ten's Foundations class is keeping me at a clip.  That, with the varied tasks of homemaking on a budget.  As my Hilarious Twin says, though, everyone is busy.  Especially you homeschoolers out there.  

Focusing on the middle school portion of our home school life, and being thankful for getting 

into the swing of things, here is what's working.....

-The science portion of the 'Challenge' program is natural science and Thirteen has to research and write a report each week with a bibliography.  I printed a six page bibliography 'booklet' we are keeping in his binder.  He can now write a bibliography himself.  The class has covered topics such as single-celled creatures, wild flowers, trees, mollusks, and herbs.  For his herb report Thirteen dried some mint from our garden and made mint tea for the class.  He typed one report, but the program wants these reports hand copied with an illustration so that each student will end the term with a personal booklet of reports and illustrations.  Thirteen's handwriting is finally getting some attention/serious opportunity for improvement. 

-Using IEW (The Institute For Excellence in Writing) has been wonderful.  Ten's program is using the US History-Based Lessons while Thirteen's is the Bible-Based Lessons.  The two programs are interfacing enough that I can do some 'together' teaching on some of the stylistic techniques they are covering.  If, in the future, we end up back 'on our own' homeschooling, I will continue to use this program.   

-Scheduling a daily SSR for both kids keeps them reading.  SSR is 'Silent Sustained Reading'. When I was a classroom teacher for first and second grades, we called it DEAR time for 'Drop Everything And Read'.  It is simply an assigned recreational reading time.  Given that my kids don't gravitate toward reading recreationally, this ensures that they are reading something outside of their content work everyday.  

-Paperbackswap.com has been a great resource.  Thirteen is into the Warriors books and we've nabbed two of them through this site. 

-The chore of trying to organize chores can be a constant challenge.  Given that I am not a super organized person, the chores programs I have seen commercially make me want to toss the task cards and run for the hills.  A daily list for each kid has been pretty effective around here because the kids like to have a list to scribble out.  This week, however, I have stretched beyond the daily list to a weekly list.  Friday's chores are TBA.  I put the list in a sheet protector so they can still revel in scribbling out the list. 

-Teaching Textbooks ROCKS! Ten is still using Saxon Math but crossing over to Teaching Textbooks (TT) after Math 7/6 has been great, great, great.  Unfortunately, prior to Pre-Algebra, TT is not Mac compatible.  

-Using small white boards for math has cut WAY down on paper use around here.

-Did I mention that I'm not a super organized person?  Having a weekly assignment schedule has been a huge improvement around here.  Thirteen has a weekly assignment guide through CC, and I schedule out the assignments on a chart.  He loves to scribble out what he has finished.  Now that we are into the swing of things I am not having to write in detail on his chart.  At first, his assignments needed to include more details.

-Daily Grams continue to be a daily assignment and I highly recommend them.  Daily Grams and a grammar reference book such as The Nitty Gritty Grammar Book go a long way in infusing grammar, editing and sentence combining into your curriculum.  I have twice purchased and twice sold off my Easy Grammar program as it was too 'clunky' for me, but we have stuck with the Daily Grams.  

-Beseeching El Professor to work with Thirteen on his Latin assignments has been a salvation for me!  I have often envied other families  who share the homeschooling between both parents. For some families the bread winner has a flexible work schedule, but a classroom teacher is gone all day.  This year, however, I have organized (loosely, loosely--I'm not the organized one, remember?) Latin so that Thirteen does the book work during the day and then El Professor does flashcards and declensions/conjugations as evening homework.  Just having a bit to do in the evening is helping.  

-Mirriam-Webster Online is a great resource.

It's been a relief to feel like we are getting into the swing of things, but there is always a lot of room for improvement.  I feel like I am being tutored this year in how to run a core program.  A few years ago I began to think ahead to high school, hoping/intending that the actual arrival of home school high school wouldn't be a total panic ridden shock experience.  This is 8th grade and I am thankful for the opportunity to step into a program, even if it is only for this year, that gives me a sense of the 'how'.  Up to this point we have been a fairly relaxed home school, and that has worked for us.  With high school approaching, however, we have felt the need to step up the pace and expectations so that we can be ready for classes that we may want to plug into during the high school years.   I am also thankful for a year to come alongside a program where I am not generating the kids' 'core', but rather I am a tutor/supporter/facilitator.  

 

The Wagons are Rolling.....

Several home school years ago, we read all of the LITTLE HOUSE books up to LITTLE TOWN ON THE PRAIRIE.  Ten even had a LITTLE HOUSE birthday with a log cabin cake.  I loved the snapshots (although fictionalized) of hard work, diligence and purposefulness, especially in FARMER BOY and BY THE SHORES OF SILVER LAKE.  This spring we started, but never finished, THE STOUT-HEARTED SEVEN, a true account of seven children orphaned on the Oregon Trail in 1844.  I've thought quite a bit about these books these past few weeks as we've jumped headlong into the new school year with Classical Conversations.  After a rather distracting summer (see Crossing My Arms The Other Way post), the school year hit the ground with its feet running.  The books have come to mind as I've pondered how the 'immigrants' prepared for the journey ahead of them.  They collected/packed the items they thought they would need and off loaded the belongings/property that were to be left behind. I purchased the books we would be needing over the summer for our journey with Classical Conversations as our 'core'.  I purchased books and materials both for the kids and for myself as a 5th/6th grade 'Masters' tutor.   The problem is that I didn't thoroughly comb through the material prior to the school year.  I attended parent meetings, purchased binders and dividers and organized, somewhat, the seeming loads of appendices, resource guides, weekly guides, and assignment guides.  I worked on my tutor subjects and how to teach the components of 'Foundations'.  But then there's the fact that this is a home school program.  My proficiency in scheduling the kids' lessons for the week, knowing their material, developing a 'face time' schedule and 'independent work' schedule has been the learning curve.  Juggling that with my own tutor lesson plans, materials gathering, chart making, making sure I have the lessons buttoned up in my own mind has been a bit hectic.  Frankly, I have felt like I gathered the materials for my wagon, tossed them in the wagon, and then the wagon train started rolling without my having a handle on what is in the wagon, where to find it, and how to use it.  The learning curve has been huge.  It's 'Wagons Ho!' and I am wanting to pull over and take another week or so to go through the wagon and reorganize.  As a part of a community, however, I am having to organize as we bump down the trail.   

Here is some of the 'gear' for our journey....

Thirteen is in a program called Challenge A which is the middle school program.  El Professor and I were most excited about the opportunities this program would offer Thirteen to prepare him for high school.  I am enjoying a reprieve from generating his core subjects as I come alongside as his home teacher facilitator.  Thirteen's tutor is great with youth, enthusiastic and super organized.  (She seems to have a good handle on the contents of her wagon.)  I have been combing through the materials while bumping along, working out his weekly schedule and assignments.  Parents can sit in on the 'seminars', but I am teaching during all of his morning seminars.  Thankfully, El Professor will be working with him on his Latin lessons and assignments.  Phew.  (I'm currently mono-lingual.) 

I am teaching Foundations, which is the morning portion of Ten's Classical Conversations  meeting day.  Her class consists of 5th/6th graders and, while being a lot of work, this has been great fun.  My favorite portion of the program is 'presentations'.  The kids have to do a 3-5 minute presentation EACH week.  I am having my class present on something that was covered in the previous week related to history, science or geography.  Several kids have done state reports for the states and capitals study.  Did you know that many (or maybe all) states have a 'state muffin'????  We have giggled and pondered the different state 'things' (like the New Jersey state dinosaur), and last week one student brought New York State mini muffins (apple).   

  

After lunch I get to sit back and give the reins to our Essentials teacher.  This part of the day is an intensive grammar program and then writing with the Institute for Excellence in Writing.  The afternoon wraps up with fast moving and fun math games.  

Classical Convesations is a home school program.   We meet weekly, and then the parents determine at home how to teach/reinforce the lessons.  It is up to the parents to determine how much/how far to go with each subject.   While I appreciate the purpose of Classical Conversations and the classical model, I am not a purist classical education lover. For instance, I have loved the ideas put forth in books like FOR THE CHILDREN'S SAKE, and anything Ruth Beechick.  In Ten's Foundations program we are learning the states and capitals.  A neighbor who is also in the program turned me on to a fun project and we are running with it....

I joined a (mostly) home school site where kids/families from different states swap postcards with each other.  Ten and I are attempting to collect postcards from all fifty states.  So, last week we did a little of the rigorous grammar assignments and then spent time sorting email requests and addressing postcards.  We have mailed 18 cards so far, and have received the cards in the photo. Frankly, I'd rather let the participles hang a bit, if needed, to make time for fun and meaningful projects. 

Jiminy Cricket...it's time for school!

I wish I would have seen this.....

Instead of this......

on my bedroom wall, right above the headboard.  

Actually, I'm glad it wasn't a spider.  It all started with a hilarious report from Thirteen the other morning as I was getting ready for a tutor meeting to plan our first day of 'school' as a part of the new Classical Conversations group in our area.  I was getting out of the shower when there was a knock on the bathroom door.  (Even at ten and thirteen the kids' magic of suddenly needing mom when the bathroom door is shut or there is a phone call continues to baffle me. )

A report ensued.  It went something like this....

"Mom, I need to inform you that there are 29 crickets loose in the house."

I replied, through the bathroom door, something like, 

"Umm.  OK."

The report continued, through the bathrooom door.

"I bought 30 crickets at the pet store and I put them  in the bug house. There's a hole in the bug house."

I answered, logically, through the bathroom door,

"Well, put tape over the hole." 

What was I thinking?  

Something along the lines of, "Thank goodness it wasn't spiders."

Why the crickets?  This week Thirteen used his earnings from watering a neighbor's yard to buy one of these...

He has been piecing together the habitat all week.  A little cart before the horse, might I add.  "Autumn" is living in a Steralite tub with a board over the top.  She has the mandatory light, and a few necessary crickets.  

As for the crickets in the house?  I think there are about 21 now.  We've found several in our room and today I found one on the wall by Thirteen's room.  

The tutor meeting was immensely helpful and the first day of Classical Conversations (on Thursday) went great!  

Starting Up....

Oh my goodness!!  My head is swimming with books, schedules, details, lessons, and a lot of, HUH????"  This year we have enrolled in the new Classical Conversations group in our area and I am tutoring.  So the "HUH???" needs to get cleared up soon.  Really soon.  Like by Thursday.  :-)