Weekly Report... Celebrating!

Another year "completed", more or less... So we headed out for an afternoon of fun and relaxation with my mom and sister, along with a fantastic picnic, plenty of sunshine, and a quiet riverside beach.

They collected many rocks, some of which The Boy sent skipping merrily across the water; watched ducklings with fascination; and discovered that swimming downstream with the current is much easier (and faster) than swimming against the current!

Other than that, we are enjoying reading Children of Green Knowe, The Ordinary Princess, Treasure Island, and Swallows & Amazons. We have watched From Time to Time, another episode of America: The Story of US, Microcosmos, and now The Tale of Despereaux, among other things.

The Boy has been busy with building models and designing cars (birthday gifts), as well as finishing The Basilisk's Lair (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist), and starting The Son of Neptune.

The Girl is still my personal assistant in the kitchen. she's also spending a lot of time lately creating with clay. She may not draw as well as her brother, but her sculptures are really good! She's enjoying her short break from reading practice... we'll start back up with that next week.

I am for the most part satisfied with what we/they have learned over the last year, and am excited about the next one! Don't forget to drop by Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers for more weekly reports!

Wrapping up summer...

It has been a lovely week. I am so glad I took this week off from work to focus on relaxing before the hectic pace of fall.

Sunday...
We attended an airshow, all of us. It is so nice when M gets to go along on our adventures with us! We came back a bit pink from the sun, with tired feet from hours of walking, and sore necks, from so much time spent looking up at the sky. It was a fantastic afternoon! Then we watched Star Wars... you know, the original one, with Luke, and Han Solo, etc. One of our all-time favorite family movies!

Monday...
We went to the beach and met up with a bunch of friends. I walked along, barefoot in the sand, collecting an odd seashell here and there, while Cyrus constructed sand forts against the tide, and Cassia splashed in the water. I got in some great chatty mama time, the kids had a blast with friends, and we returned home full of sand, and a bit worn out!

Tuesday...
A nice day at home. We were invited to a park day, but decided we needed an us day. We lazed around. We read stories, played card games, and we all played in the pool.

Wednesday...
Play date with friends we hadn't seen in quite a while. The kids were beyond thrilled to see their friends again, especially Cyrus. R is his best friend ever - they have been true friends since the first day they met, and I was so happy to see that bond renewed. R's mom and I have promised ourselves, and the kids, that we will make way more effort to get them together more often. I got to hang out with R's mom, which is always nice. We chatted, she gave me fresh kale and chard from the garden, the girls played dress-up, and all had a good time!

After that, I went to my first class. I think it will be an interesting semester. It is a class that teaches us about literary criticism, and how to apply various forms of analysis/criticism to differing works of literature... prep work for the Master's program if I choose to follow that path.

Thursday...
We headed out to Morton's Warm Springs for a hot afternoon of fun, meeting up with a few families from our Friday Park Days. We spent hours in the pool, splashing, swimming, and just having loads of fun! Cyrus learned to do in-the-water handstands and somersaults, and he can dive down to the bottom of the pool now. Cassia, who insisted on a floatie thing when we went just two months ago spent a lot of time swimming. Dog paddle and underwater! With no flotation device! I am so proud of the kids and their newfound swimming skills, and am now much more comfortable with them in water. We returned home happy, worn out, and feeling fantastic.

Friday...
Park Day! I spent the morning doing chores and errands, then we headed out to the park. I got more mom chat time, and the kids saw their friends from every other activity this week. It was a relaxing, casual afternoon... just what we needed to wrap up a fantastic summer week.

Today...
My last day of vacation as I return to work tomorrow. We're hanging out at home today, nothing special on the agenda, except a family friend coming over for dinner. I want to read a bit in the sunshine, weed and deadhead the front garden for a while in the evening, and just relax.

How are you spending the last days of summer?

Various bits and pieces...

I asked the kids this week what THEY want in homeschooling. What subjects do they want more of? I asked this because we saw the list of classes offered at our old charter school , and Cyrus said maybe he'd like to go back. I have mixed emotions about this... I can understand why my art-and-science guy would want hands-on science and art classes. And that my daughter would enjoy the garden club and ceramics classes offered to her. But at the same time, it makes me feel like... well, that we're lacking in our private school (one of the legal routes here in California.) And it made me wonder if I can address those gaps without going back to the charter school? Since we likely won't be doing 4H this year, I wonder too about the fact that they'll be spending more time with me, and less time with other kids. Of course, part of me says that's not a problem!

And then there is Cassia's reading issue. If we went back to the charter school, I am about 99% sure that they would want her tested and put into special ed for reading. I don't think either she or I want that. I think at the heart of her reading issue is what she so baldly stated a month or two ago, that she doesn't want to read. She has no real interest in it. And no testing or special classes would change that. I did give her a reading test a couple of days ago, and truthfully, she did better than I expected, scoring at a mid first grade level. This means we're making progress! I hope to get her up to a solid second grade level by the end of summer. The Nora Gaydos leveled readers appeal to her, and I've dropped all gimmicky computer instruction in favor of an old standby. Oh, but I do let her play on Starfall, for letter reinforcement.

So with all that, I went back over my plans for fall, and you know what? For once, I didn't change a thing. Not one thing! I think I have all the bases covered for their interests, which are by the way as follows...
Cyrus: Art, science with hands-on stuff, history (because it is pretty cool), and strangely enough, math. Yes, math.
Cassia: nature, stories, and art, and hands-on projects

At Park Day last week, some of the other moms were talking about approaches to homeschooling. They unschool. Every one of them, as far as I know, unless I am missing something. One mom, new to our group, asked if anyone uses curriculum, and yes, I raised my hand. And I explained that my kids both said, independently of one another, that in unschooling for the main part this last year, they felt that they didn't learn enough. They want lessons, books, projects, and more. What followed this proclamation? Dead silence. For at least 20 seconds, and when it is suddenly that quiet, it seems forever!

I have no problem with the theories of unschooling. In fact, I think overall, Cyrus would be a pretty good unschooler. Cassia on the other hand would sit on the couch and watch TV all day if I let her. However, I chose homeschooling as that. Home schooling. And I think my kids are proud of themselves when they get to a new level in math, or happy when they get to create a project that reflects our history education. I'm not saying that unschoolers don't do any of that - I know they do. But unschooling just doesn't work for us. And now I am a freak, but then, I've always been one anyway!

I showed (and read aloud) my proposed units of study for fall. I told the kids what I had to fill in the gaps they felt. And they both said they love the plans! They have missed unit studies (which is how I am dividing up the history and science in the Core Knowledge sequence), and both loved the looks of the Phonics of Drawing (especially Cyrus) so I think it will be a very good year indeed. Except I have to figure out ceramics at home ;)

My essay on Homeschooling & Socialization...

I would just put a link, but the web site has my name on it, so I'm just cutting and pasting...


I have noticed, since posting about our site, a fair amount of interest in the socialization process for kids that attend school at home, so as a parent that does school my two at home, I thought I might address some of these issues. Please keep in mind as you read this, that this article is intended only to show some of the socialization opportunities available - I am not saying that homeschooling is a better option than public schooling, as each family needs to make their own choices for their own children.

First of all, yes, there are a lot of socialization opportunities out there for homeschooled children. I belong to a local homeschool group that has park days, field trips, and more. With them we have toured pumpkin patches, a sticker factory, an ecology center, and more, just as public school children go on field trips. Children on these ventures range from tots to near-adults, giving all the children a wide range of people with which to socialize. 4-H is another option, with a homeschool group of its own. Many regions of the U.S. have numerous groups to which a family can belong, all with unique offerings. There are also charter school programs tailored to meet the needs of the homeschooled child, offering academic assistance and a variety of elective classes, so that even a devoted at-home-scholar can enjoy a classroom environment once or twice a week, or even more if desired. In addition, there are sports teams and classes, dance classes, art classes, Scouts, music lessons, and much more. According to Time Magazine (Seceding from School, August 2001), “98% of homeschooled children are involved in activities outside their homes, with persons other than family members”. For many homeschooling families, the issue is too many outside activities!

Then there are the more mundane aspects of socialization, those that come about through daily life. Grocery shopping, going to the library, running other errands, all provide social opportunities, chances for children to meet with and mingle with people of all ages, in real-world settings. Older children, in their teens, often seek out part-time employment (just as public school teens do), or internships, that provide them with more socialization, while instilling the sense of responsibility we all hope to see our children develop.

Of course, part of the role of being a parent who homeschools is to seek out and fully utilize these opportunities, just as much as it is that parent’s responsibility to act as teacher for their children. A parent interested in homeschooling is often a parent willing to do all types of research to find the best teaching tools and experiences for their child(ren).

And yes, there are always homeschooled kids that are not well socialized, but then there are kids like that in public schools too. My brother, for example, went through second grade, in a public school, without saying a word to anyone. No socialization "system", at home or at a school, is perfect.

I would like to finish by saying that, in my personal experience, I have noticed a striking difference in homeschooled kids versus their public school counterparts, and that is the willingness of older kids to play games with younger ones. Often in schools, children are very much age-segregated, and the older child that plays with a younger one can become a target for ridicule. I have not yet witnessed this at a park day, 4-H, or any other homeschool gathering. To me, that says a lot about homeschooled socialization.