Life before homeschooling...

Dana over at Principled Discovery is hosting Home Education Week, complete with writing prompts. Today's is this: Share your personal history…before you were a home educator. What was life like? Think about things you miss and things you and your family have gained.

Before homeschooling, which would for us be before children since the two go hand-in-hand, I think I had what one would call a social life. M and I had friends - we could stay out all night if we wanted. We could go out on the town completely spur of the moment. We had an occasional party at our home. Conversely, we could spend a quiet night in. I could read in the bathtub with no interruption. I could watch an entire movie from beginning to end, and could hear all of it. I drank hot coffee! It was okay that we moved regularly. It was okay that I changed jobs, as did M, several times. It was okay to skip grocery shopping and just grab a bite to eat here and there. I didn't have a definate plan, or a sense of real purpose. I was just here to live, in my own somewhat bohemian manner.

Would I trade what I have now for life then? Absolutely not. No way. What I have now is something completely different. I have two beautiful children that hug me many times everyday. I read more children's books than books of my own. Having and homeschooling children has helped me to cement who I am and has helped me to define my goals, to find a sense of purpose. Yes, we still have friends, but even that has changed now, since we've all grown up to some extent. I can only read my own books in snatches late at night, I haven't had a bath all alone in some years.... but all in all, it's worth drinking lukewarm coffee!

Ahhh... Spring Break...

Though I can't say it's been exactly restful! Both the kids and I are off from classes this week, but I have spent some of that time catching up on homework. The kids are enjoying the free time! They spend a lot of it outside, enjoying spring. We keep getting forecasts for rain, but still dry thus far.

Yesterday, however, was quite a day. Elf had been scheduled to have anethesia and major dental work in May, but thanks to a cancellation, we were able to go in yesterday to have it all done. I think I was more scared of the whole process than he was! Anyhow, he was sedated (completely asleep), had 2 teeth removed, and 2 stainless steel crowns with attached spacers put in. They fixed all his original fillings also, and another loose tooth in front popped out while they were cleaning him up. Poor kid is still having trouble eating anything more solid than jello. Thankfully, this means everything in his mouth is fixed (for the moment). Hopefully the xylitol rinse and fluoride gel will help prevent future issues ( and no, Jenny, I did not take him out for a milkshake afterwards!).

Easter was good here. We had it a day early thanks to my work schedule. Several family members came over, we ate a great dinner, had an egg hunt for the kids... it was pretty relaxed.

And that's about it here!

2008-09 school year...

For the Elf, 2nd grade Three "R's"
Reading:
Phonics for Reading, Second Level
Oak Meadow 2 - reading list, readers, etc.

(W)riting:
Oak Meadow 2
Journaling

'Rithmetic:
Finishing up 2nd half of Saxon Math 2
Supplement with Houghton Mifflin Math Steps 2

For the Fairy, Kindergarten Three "R's"
Reading:
Explode the Code 1 & 2 (might use 1 1/2 instead of 2, depending on how she does)
Finish Oak Meadow K, and move into first half or so of Oak Meadow First Grade - reading list, nice intro to letters & sounds

(W)riting:
Handwriting Without Tears, Letters & Numbers for Me maybe
Oak Meadow K and Oak Meadow First Grade
Journaling

'Rithmetic:
Saxon Math 1 (1st half, saving 2nd half for 1st grade)

FOR BOTH
I plan to go with this for science and history

Art:
Hands-on art class (at the charter school)
Lots of free art time at home (both my kids are very artistic & will spend hours drawing)

Music & Music Appreciation:
Classical Kids (appreciation, in the car!)
Music & movement class (at the charter school)

Foreign Language:
Spanish (at the charter school)

2008-09 school year...

For the Elf, 2nd grade Three "R's"
Reading:
Phonics for Reading, Second Level
Oak Meadow 2 - reading list, readers, etc.

(W)riting:
Oak Meadow 2
Journaling

'Rithmetic:
Finishing up 2nd half of Saxon Math 2
Supplement with Houghton Mifflin Math Steps 2

For the Fairy, Kindergarten Three "R's"
Reading:
Explode the Code 1 & 2 (might use 1 1/2 instead of 2, depending on how she does)
Finish Oak Meadow K, and move into first half or so of Oak Meadow First Grade - reading list, nice intro to letters & sounds

(W)riting:
Handwriting Without Tears, Letters & Numbers for Me maybe
Oak Meadow K and Oak Meadow First Grade
Journaling

'Rithmetic:
Saxon Math 1 (1st half, saving 2nd half for 1st grade)

FOR BOTH
I plan to go with this for science and history

Art:
Hands-on art class (at the charter school)
Lots of free art time at home (both my kids are very artistic & will spend hours drawing)

Music & Music Appreciation:
Classical Kids (appreciation, in the car!)
Music & movement class (at the charter school)

Foreign Language:
Spanish (at the charter school)

Today is....

officially the first day of a new season, so...

HAPPY SPRING!

The kids are happily devouring lavender-lemon muffins as I type. Never tried this recipe before, but to me it sounded spring-like, and they're actually pretty tasty. Then tonight I plan on making a spring-veggie-chicken stir fry.

Yesterday I met with Elf and Fairy's IST, and she gave me her older version of Oak Meadow K and 1st grade. Lots of good ideas in those, specifically for language arts, that I plan to use, though I'll be sticking with the math, history, and science that we're doing now. I also like some of the ideas in the crafts book. I thought for the remainder of this school year, I would go through the K language arts with Fairy, about 2-3 letters a week. Then in the fall, I'll use the 1st grade language arts for her, bolstered with ETC. I'm also switching to unit studies for science & social studies in the fall. I think the unit study approach works best for my kids, and I want them to really enjoy the process of education.

The IST also said I am welcome to get in some volunteer hours/observation hours in her classroom for my teaching credential, which is very helpful. I am really excited about the program I am starting in the fall! The first semester of the degree completion program is called Identity and Society, which "explores the interplay of the internal and external forces that shape the self. We consider everything from Descartes and genetics to Taoism and ethnic literature."

Oh, and I took another homeschooling style quiz, but had trouble posting the results, so here they are cut-&-pasted:

You're a "Relaxed" Homeschooler

You kind of do it all....you teach through conversation, you may purchase an "all-in-one" curriculum for the child's entire school year, you may even design your OWN curriculum. Whatever floats your boat - you do what you think works!

Let's go to the museum today!

Wordless Wednesday...

So, what's your homeschooling style?

What's Your Homeschool Style Your Result: Unit Studies   You want to gear your lessons toward your child's interests. Weather it's cow boys,olympics or WWII you will make sure to cover all subjects while following their passion.
Unschool
Waldorf
Classical
Christian
School at home
What's Your Homeschool Style Make Your Own Quiz

Not surprising! I do wish this quiz had more options, like Charlotte Mason, etc. The only surprise was that I scored higher in Christian homeschooling than school at home...

I also retook this one... same answer as before!

What kind of Hundred Acre Wood Homeschooler Are You?

You are a Tigger Homeschooler. Tiggers jump into homeschooling with both feet, as a grand adventure. Everything is about learning, and their days (and houses) show it.
Take this quiz!








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And now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

All seems well, for the moment at least, on the legal homeschooling front. And anyhow, life is much as usual around here, though I did call up the superintendant of our county school district and asked him what the court ruling meant for charter schools, and yeah, they would have been more or less screwed.

Yesterday, we didn't do a lot of homeschooling, but we did cover math and phonics. Plus we found salamanders in our backyard (working on having the kids draw pictures of them). Elf worked some more on 2 digit addition, with carrying, which for some reason he thinks is funny(?). He also started lesson 3 in ETC 3, which is on silent "e" words. Fairy worked on writing capital letters, and a couple of lower case ones, plus writing numbers. Elf spent about an hour later in the day browsing through DK's Ultimate Visual Dictionary of Science, which E got to add to our homeschool library. We also watched one of our family favorite movies - Lemony Snickett's Series of Unfortunate Events - which I think I can count as a vocabulary lesson, since the narrator is always explaining what some of the bigger words mean. ;)

Speaking of Fairy, she's had a very upset tummy (involving nasty bodily functions) for a couple of days, but still went to her first class at the charter school on Monday. A really nice 2nd grade girl sat with her and helped her work on symbols of California. She says she really enjoyed it. My mom was the one that took her, and she said she stayed until Fairy seemed settled in. However, Fairy felt really bad again today, so she missed Spanish and music, which she found really disappointing. Of course, there's always next week.

Today we covered math, phonics, a little history (still on Ancient Egypt), and I'm going to start chapter 4 from RS4K with them this evening - "Plant Parts", just in time for prepping our garden! We'll also cover another chapter or 2 from Charlotte's Web, and I am going to have Elf read another couple of pages in Frog & Toad aloud.

I may not agree with everything he does...

but at least our Governer is taking a great stance on the homeschooling legality issue... Here are a few highlights, and I've included the link for the whole article:

SF Gate article, dated March 8, 2008

(03-07) 13:37 PST SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denounced a state appeals court ruling that severely restricts homeschooling and promised Friday to change the law if necessary to guarantee that parents are able to educate their children at home.
"Every California child deserves a quality education, and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children," Schwarzenegger said in response to the ruling, which said children educated at home must be taught by a credentialed teacher. "Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education," Schwarzenegger said. "This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts, and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will."

State Education Secretary David Long, a Schwarzenegger appointee, said that meant the governor supported allowing parents without teaching credentials to educate their children. "The governor sees this as a fundamental right of parental choice," he said.

An estimated 166,000 children are homeschooled in California. Some are enrolled in independent study programs through school districts, charter schools or private schools. Others are taught at home or in programs that have no oversight by a public education agency or private school. The ruling that prompted Schwarzenegger's anger was issued Feb. 28 by the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles, but went unpublicized until this week. The court said all children ages 6 to 18 must attend public or private school full time until they graduate from high school or must be tutored by a credentialed teacher.

Can someone clarify this for me?

With all the recent hoopla about homeschooling in California, I'll admit I am confused. According to the released court documents, it sounds like even going through a public charter school homestudy program may not be a legal option as my kids are not in school all day. Anyone have any clues as to what is actually being said and/or done?

In other news, I got my letter of acceptance this morning to the college program I really, really want and am very excited about! Yiiipppppeeeeeeeeee!!!!! Now I just need the financial aid part to come through....

I think I now qualify...

for Worst Mother Ever. Is there such an award (if it could be called that)? Today, we had another dentist appointment for Elf, this time with a fantastic dentist that I've been trying and trying to get insurance to approve. Long story fairly short, the dental clinic I've been taking them to (thank you DentiCal and then Healthy Families) has not been doing good work, at all. He has inherited weak teeth, mostly from his dad's side of the family, though a couple of people on my side always had dental issues too, so I've been diligent about brushing, flossing, check-ups, etc., but he has still always had cavities. Well, all his fillings are falling out, there's decay under them, and he has to have at least one tooth completely removed. Major dental work, for a SIX year old, including sedation. Crap. I felt so guilty sitting in that dental office today, hearing about (and seeing) how many problems there really are. M says I should not feel guilty, which I guess I really shouldn't, but I still do. After all, I am the one that took them to the dental clinic. And he's now on antibiotics for problems related to the decay. AAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!

In other, and better news, my baby is now FIVE. Yesterday was her big birthday, and it was a good day. Started out opening a few gifts, including one she has been wanting for quite a while, a Woodkins dress-up doll - these are great dolls, and thanks to my mom, I have tons of fabric scraps available, followed by berry-topped pancakes at Fairy's request. After a couple of hours of playing with her new toys, we went to a 4H project, where we made homemade fingerpaint and paintbrushes, and got to see a few people we hadn't seen in a while, which was nice. Then, in the evening at home we had the family party, where she got approximately a million gifts (Elf also got a few), much of it art and/or fairy related. One of Elf's was a fantastic pop-up book by Maurice Sendak, one of my favorite artists ever. Fairy got a few lovely books about fairies, illustrated by Michael Hague, whose beautiful artwork is a recent discovery for us. It was a really fun and mostly relaxed day, and Fairy said she loved it all. I'm still trying to take in that she's already five, kind of a bittersweet emotional state!

Oh, and we're very bad about school lately. I guess this week we're unschoolers of a sort.

Almost forgot.... this week's Green Hour...

A pretty little wildflower

This week we explored our backyard a little more. It was, when we moved in last September, completely dried out, and nearly all dead, with the exception of the apple tree and the tiny pear tree. Slowly, it is coming back to life, and we are gradually making the changes we want.

Yesterday we spent some time exploring our new compost pile, and we did a lot of digging. The kids also spent quite a while just exploring the yard. We saw worms, dicussed composting, planted a limequat tree, and just enjoyed the windy weather.

The new compost pile

Composting in action

We looked up worms in our encyclopedia and online, because the kids wanted to know why they're good for the garden. I found this page, all about worm castings, bacteria, etc. We then looked at the bottom layer of the compost pile, so that the kids could see how yard waste turns into good rich dirt.