tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78423327275599845392024-03-05T10:00:39.312-08:00Montessori Elementary at HomeMarshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-21677474445886352282019-08-18T22:33:00.001-07:002019-08-18T22:33:29.731-07:00From homeschool to college at 16<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I knew this day would come, but truthfully, I spent zero time thinking about it because every single moment of every day was filled with so much to do.<br />
I haven't had a minute to sit and think of what this day would look like--the day that I pack up all of the homeschool materials, and say goodbye to my job.<br />
<br />
My little boy has grown into a young man, and at 16, he has tested into a program that allows high school students to earn an Associate degree at the community college in their final two years of high school.<br />
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I feel validated. He feels validated. This has been the goal for a couple of years, and now it feels as if we've made it. Of course now the hard work begins. College is not fun and games all the time, but I sure hope he meets some cool people who want to learn as much as he does. I have so many hopes for him, but mostly I hope he finds his path, and that he never lets anyone tell him he can't do something that he really wants to do.<br />
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Despite second guessing myself, worrying that I wasn't doing enough, pushing my child enough, or backing off enough, or allowing him to learn on his own enough, or insisting that he learn certain information enough, despite me, he learned just fine.<br />
<br />
In fact, last year he confessed that he just didn't want to do it anymore. He didn't want to follow any sort of curriculum, and instead wanted to learn completely on his own. So, mostly, that is what he did. I waited for him to come to me for resources, and I checked in with him daily to ask what he had worked on the day before.<br />
<br />
Every day we spent hours talking. We do a lot of driving, so there's a lot of car time to talk.<br />
If I had to boil down what I believe has been the best teaching/learning tools for him, I'd say other people, and his own research.<br />
<br />
Really.<br />
<br />
I mean, me, of course, to a certain extent, because I am open to talking about anything, for as long as he wants to talk about it. I do think that parents who talk to their kids are giving their children an opportunity to learn in ways that other children don't.<br />
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That was a huge part of what we did for school. A lot of current event discussions, because that was his interest. Justice. Race. The Constitution. Government.<br />
All of that was important, and I believe it has helped shape him into a person who has critical thinking skills.<br />
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Also, getting out in groups of kids at the YMCA PE program, and going to piano lessons for a couple of years, and art class at the library, and spending time with the wonderful young man from Guatemala who worked with him on Spanish.<br />
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Interacting with adults, and kids of all ages in the art and PE programs gave him a different perspective on all sorts of things.<br />
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Another major learning tool- and I know this is controversial for some (because I hated it for years) is online gaming. Through gaming he has met so many kids from all over the world. They talk politics, social issues, world issues, and goof off. I think through talking to them he was given a spark to research some subjects, intrigued enough by what they were doing in math to find out how to do it, and talking to them about what they were learning in history, etc. backed up his desire to learn at home, because they weren't learning nearly enough at school, in his opinion.<br />
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His own research has been the best curriculum. I used Montessori philosophy and materials in the beginning, and I'm so glad that I did, because it was structured, yet he was free to go at his own pace. It trained me to trust him, and it worked. Later on, when I was trying to cobble together a curriculum, and materials, because we were past the Montessori stuff, I began to doubt myself. I knew he was capable, and I had read and heard people talk about unschooling, but I still wondered if it was all really going to work out.<br />
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Having unfettered access to the Internet has given him a depth of knowledge that I never had at his age. Having podcasts, videos, and youtube has been unbelievable. I confess that at first I was worried. So much of what is online isn't true, or real, or vetted. So, I can see how this type of learning could be just a jumbled up mess of confusion for some kids.<br />
<br />
Sean is good at filtering the information. He can spot something that isn't sourced, something that sounds like propaganda, or biased information. He listens to all sides of an issue, and forms his own opinion. He has always been confident in his own views, yet willing to admit when he gains new insights that change his mind. He also feels comfortable confronting friends if he feels they are basing their views on bad information.<br />
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We used the library quite a bit, too. He just recently had an in-depth conversation with his father about how engines work. Later he told me he remembered all of that from a book he read from the library.<br />
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To say I am proud would be an understatement. I am so proud of all three of my children, but Sean is the only one who has learned at home, and he has definitely shown me that self-directed education works.<br />
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So, to anyone reading this who is unsure of self-directed education, or homeschooling in general, I hope this helps you relax.<br />
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I feel good about the projects we did, the field trips we went on, and the people he met through the years of homeschooling. I have some great memories of it all, and I don't regret any of it. It has been some of the most fulfilling work I've ever had the pleasure to do.<br />
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And now, once he gets his legs under him in college, I'll change jobs. I've already got some ideas of what I'll do next.<br />
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If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment with a way to respond to you. I'm happy to share any information about Montessori homeschooling, unschooling, self-directed education, or to just be that person who listens. Not all days are good days in homeschooling, but there are more of them when you feel confident in what you and your child are doing.<br />
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Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-28361775863421187952018-01-30T00:53:00.003-08:002018-01-30T00:53:56.536-08:00Update on Vitamin D3In a previous post I talked about vitamin deficiency, and that it is a real problem, and could be affecting more teens than we realize.<br />
It's difficult for me to know for certain that the Vitamin D3 is the reason for some of the changes I'm seeing because we are talking about a teenager, but I think it is the D3 that is helping.<br />
I'm seeing him laugh more, and engage in conversation more, and actively participate in activities. His tone is more animated, where he was monotone before. He's up for a little more adventure than he used to be, and he's not so dismissive when I suggest activities.<br />
It's made a difference in his learning, and he works more, with more enthusiasm and energy.<br />
I really think he was barely able to get through a day, and I'm so thankful that I got him to the doctor when I did so we could get this addressed.<br />
He was on mega doses for a few weeks, and is now on a reduced dose, but it's still high.<br />
Soon we will go back for another blood test to see if his levels are up to normal.<br />
If you have a child or teen who seems more tired than you believe is normal, is uninterested in things, can't get going, is showing signs of depression, or has anxiety, please insist on a test for vitamin deficiencies.<br />
I waited too long. I thought I was dealing with a normal teenage moodiness. My son's D3 levels were dangerously low.Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-3200637780594332262018-01-11T22:07:00.002-08:002018-01-11T22:07:27.087-08:00Vitamin deficiencies are a real thingI don't know how the time flew by so quickly, but it sure did. We are halfway through 9th grade already! Holy smokes.<br />
With high school, the stakes are a little higher. We're talking about high school requirements and credits, and colleges, and majors, and careers, and goals.<br />
The year started out kind of flat. We've been moving along, but slowly, and his interest wasn't there. He was uninterested in everything, and I couldn't seem to get him to engage with anything. He slept late, stayed up late, and talked to friends on his XBox, but even that didn't seem to do much for him.<br />
He's always been respectful, and can hold a conversation on most any topic, at an adult level. He's a kid who understands so much more than a lot of adults I know.<br />
So, I decided we should go to the doctor.<br />
The doctor did a full blood panel, and we found out he was beyond low in Vitamin D3. He was almost at zero, and the lowest our doctor considers normal is 800.<br />
I don't know how he did it, but he was in PE class at the YMCA twice a week, and was a trooper. He helped out around the house, and stocked fire wood, etc. when we asked him to, and he did it without complaint, but he wasn't usually very quick.<br />
I feel so guilty for being frustrated some of the time, mostly when he wasn't willing to go on a hike, or some other activity, or when he stayed in bed so long. Gosh, how I wish I had taken him to the doctor as soon as the symptoms appeared, but I thought he was just being a typical teen.<br />
Six weeks of mega doses of Vitamin D3, and some B12, and I've got a completely different kid!<br />
So, if you've got a teen who seems disengaged, flat, moody, tired, and doesn't want to do much, you might want to get their blood work done to see if they have a vitamin deficiency. It's real, and the difference is astounding once they get the correct amount of vitamin levels in their blood stream.<br />
<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-85664088821688317732017-08-01T18:17:00.003-07:002017-08-01T18:17:51.066-07:00Planning for the first year of high school<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Where have the years gone?<br />
I already regret the amount of time I spent second guessing decisions, worrying if homeschool was going to work for my son, or if I was really capable.<br />
We started this journey nearly 5 years ago, and I've used Montessori materials and philosophy for a lot of it.<br />
Now that we are embarking on the high school years, our homeschool will look different. Not so many materials.<br />
Mostly, I plan to unschool. It's something we've been doing more of each year, it seems. Fifth and sixth grade were almost entirely Montessori, but seventh and eighth were much more relaxed.<br />
We will formally "begin" school on Sept. 11, though he and I are fully aware that we all learn every day, and that doing school just means doing it with a bit more intention.<br />
This year, Sean will take the reigns completely for his education. I plan to only be there to guide. He said he wants to learn languages, so we've already signed up for a Russian online program that is self-paced. It's through Rocket Languages, and I don't have an opinion yet, because he hasn't started yet.<br />
I'm also looking at Homeschool Spanish Academy. Again, I have no opinion, except to say I'm seriously looking at it because it provides a high school credit. That's appealing to me, because I do want him to have something to show for his work.<br />
As we've begun to talk about the coming school year, Sean has given his insight and opinion on school, spending time in traditional school classrooms, and learning.<br />
He said he believes that school should involve travel, even if it's just in your community. You should get to know people, learn what they do, and learn about life in that way. He believes that basic math and algebra are essential. But he believes the rest of what you learn should be what interests you. For him, spending hours in a chair in a classroom is torture.<br />
He just spent two days at a day camp, and compared it to his time in a Montessori school. He said the time in the camp was difficult because he had to focus on the teacher for so long, whereas in a Montessori classroom there is so much freedom to move around, talk to others, do work, and collaborate. He has never spent time in a traditional classroom, so this experience has been enlightening for him.<br />
To practice his Spanish, he will volunteer one day a week at an outdoor, Spanish immersion school as an assistant.<br />
For his interest in science and medicine, we are scheduling at least one day for him to shadow a veterinarian. I'm going to do some more leg work to find other opportunities in medicine. If anyone reading this has any ideas, please leave a comment.<br />
This year he wants to focus on skills for retaining large amounts of information, something he knows he will need if he continues his education past high school, specifically if he goes to medical school.<br />
As we move through this freshman (EEK!) year, I'm sure he will come up with other interests and plans.<br />
I'm excited to partner with him this year to help him find ways to engage with his learning, and to feel successful.<br />
<br /></div>
Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-67505904196859354762017-04-19T00:20:00.001-07:002017-04-19T00:20:36.032-07:00Serious talk about serious subjects<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><i>Warning: This post includes talk about rape, bullying, slut shaming, and the show "13 Reasons Why." If any or all of these subjects are uncomfortable for you, please feel free to stop reading now.</i></b><br />
<b><i>If you haven't seen the series, "13 Reasons Why," and you plan to, this post will have some spoilers. You might want to come back to this after you've watched the show.</i></b><br />
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A couple of weeks ago, Sean wanted to show me something on Netflix. We watched the first episode of the series, "13 Reasons Why," together. He proceeded to watch the rest of it on his own, and I spent several days trying to find the time to finish it.<br />
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For those of you who aren't familiar with the series, it focuses on a high school, and specifically a group of students and their interactions and choices. Ultimately, the main character, Hannah, commits suicide, and we know that right away. She records herself on cassette tapes explaining the reasons why she felt that it was her only option.<br />
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At first I was concerned that the show was going to glorify suicide, and that the girl would be seen as a sort of martyr for her cause. It didn't do that, in my opinion. Though, since I've began the series, I've seen social media posts from others who believe that it sends the wrong message, I thought the show did a good job of portraying her imperfect humanness, and the people who could have been there for her if she had done more to reach out. It is fiction, but in my opinion it showed that there were adults who made mistakes, too, and that it portrayed pretty accurately the complexities, and stresses of high school culture.<br />
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I say high school culture because, so far, I haven't seen that same type of social order in the homeschool community. In high schools the athletes are revered, and seen as the most valuable students. Everyone else falls in line below them, down to the outcast and different.<br />
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This is nothing new. It's what we parents have all, who have attended school, experienced and witnessed. <br />
But the way this series differs from our experiences includes cell phones, social media, and the Internet. Thanks to all of these, as well as some kids who make bad choices, Hannah gets labeled easy, and is called a slut.<br />
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There are two scenes that deal with rape. A girl who had been Hannah's friend is raped. And later, Hannah is also raped.<br />
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As soon as I finished the final episode, "Beyond the Reasons" came up next, and I watched it. It helped me to understand more about how they put the show together, and that they took everything they did seriously.<br />
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I couldn't wait to talk to Sean about it all. He hadn't watched "Beyond the Reasons", so we watched that together today, and then discussed the show at length.<br />
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I was anxious to talk with him about all of these subjects--Parties, drinking, judging, spreading rumors, rape, entitlement, consent, friendships, and the complex people that we all are. These are all tough subjects, but I think the show gave us a point of reference to have the discussion. I've tried talking to him before about some of these things, but having the show as a reference point gave our talk some added dimension. It also helped to watch the actors talk about filming, and how difficult it was, and the guy actors talk about consent, and rape, etc.<br />
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It gave me a chance to talk to Sean about victims, about how victims blame themselves, and to have others dismantle them, question their every move leading up to the victimization, as if it is their fault somehow, is so wrong. The focus should be on every move of the perpetrator/rapist, and why his/her actions are to blame. What one person can choose to do in response to being victimized is not the same for everyone. There are reasons why people react, or not, in high stress and traumatic situations.<br />
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We talked about what other characters could have done differently. Another child tries to commit suicide later in the show, and we talked about what that child could have chosen to do instead. Even if they felt there was no alternative, there are always people who care, and there are ways to get help. Suicide is not the answer.<br />
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If you are reading this and you are having suicidal thoughts, or plans, please text: CONNECT to 741741<br />
Or call Suicide Prevention Services at 800-273-8255.<br />
There is also a 24-hour crisis line 866-427-4747.<br />
Even if you don't think anyone cares, people do care. I care. You are valuable. You are needed. You are wanted. You are here for a reason, and there are people who want you to know that you matter.<br />
If you have been raped, or think you might have been raped, here is a link to a list of resources: <a href="http://www.rapeis.org/support.html">http://www.rapeis.org/support.html</a></div>
Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-40504800025990226802017-02-27T00:32:00.003-08:002017-02-27T00:32:48.058-08:00Still here, still learning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been a long time since I posted on this blog, so I thought I should at least do a quick, and very brief, update about this school year so far.<br />
Off the top of my head, it seems he's been learning a lot about history. We use a variety of resources for history, and have been studying it chronologically. I've used a series of books called, "Passage of Time," that have been good for introducing the history of the world. It isn't in-depth, and allows for just enough information to peak his interest. If he wants to he can do more research on a certain event or figure. We started using these in 5th grade, and I've switched back and forth between those and other sources of history. Now that we've reached the time of Columbus and beyond, I've begun using A Young People's History of the United States by the Zinn Education Project. I also have the adult version by Howard Zinn, called A People's History of the United States. We will dive into that one next year. He has enjoyed A Young People's History. It seems to be something he chooses first most days.<br />
Math has been a mix of the Montessori Adolescent Algebra album, with some Khan Academy (which I'm not as fond of, but he likes it) and some hands-on real life problems. He calculated how long it would take a bullet to reach a bullseye on a target by using the distance and the size of the bullet. He found how to calculate this online, and worked it on his own.<br />
He discusses politics, social issues, and current events on a daily basis. He can discuss these in great depth, and shows critical thinking, and analysis skills.<br />
We took a trip in December to see family in Tennessee, and had a great time. We got home just before Christmas, and had a wonderful Christmas celebration at home.<br />
So far this year he has read the book, "13 Hours," and has started on two more. One is called, "X, a Novel," by Malcolm X's daughter. The other is "Echo," by Pam Munoz Ryan. My goal is for him to read those, and maybe one more before summer.<br />
For Science, we've covered quite a lot in the Basic Foundations for Scientific Understanding books. We got these late, and I started with the elementary book, even thought he was already in Middle School. We recently covered the chapter on Elements and Compounds thoroughly, and discussed at length radioactive material, nuclear plants, and the disposal of that material. Then I jumped to the Middle School volume to cover the chapter on Atoms. We've studied molecular motion with heat and pressure, and just finished up on refrigeration.<br />
Of course there is much more, because he's constantly watching videos related to science, physics, and technology.<br />
He doesn't have formal art class anymore, and that is one thing I want to be sure to add as soon as possible.<br />
Although he quit piano at the end of last school year, he continues to play.<br />
PE class is still something he enjoys, and it provides some social time.<br />
Some of the Field Trips/Hands-on learning we've done this year:<br />
In January he spent some time with a local retired welder, and learned just a very basic amount of tack welding. Welding is much more complicated than we ever knew.<br />
In February we attended a presentation on Black Lives Matter, but it really centered on LGBTQ information.<br />
We also went to the Pacific Science Center for an engineering weekend exhibit, but it was chaotic and crowded, so not much learning happened with regard to that. We still enjoyed the other exhibits.<br />
For Black History Month, in addition to what he's read in the Young People's book, we've read about slavery and the fight for freedom from a booklet called, "A Place at the Table," that I got from Teaching for Change.<br />
We watched half of the documentary "13th" on Netflix.<br />
He completed an activity sheet with a word search and word scramble, and a timeline of events for black history. And we aren't done yet. Although it's almost March, I plan to take him to the Buffalo Soldier Museum, and we are going to hear someone speak about the civil rights movement in March.<br />
Part of school for us includes learning to do real life things, and he has been doing his laundry and cooking for a few years now. He is responsible for helping with chores. I had him read the voter's pamphlet in October, so he could see that in order to cast an informed vote you must be informed about each candidate, and each issue on the ballot. He learned about car batteries, and how to jump a dead one when my car died one day, and Chuck had to come with jumper cables to help us.<br />
He got braces this month, and has been working to keep them clean.<br />
He is a peacekeeper. If his friends are having a disagreement, he works as a mediator and helps each to see the other's point of view.<br />
He hangs out with a friend on weekends twice a month, usually. He goes to birthday parties, and stays in touch with friends from his old school, and kids he has met through homeschool. He also has friends that he hasn't met in real life yet who play Xbox Live.<br />
I don't worry nearly as much as I used to about whether we are doing enough for school. I've relaxed, and can see that he learns whether I'm worrying or not. His handwriting was not ever very good, and I used to think maybe I should push him to write, or practice writing, so he could get better. In the past I've tried to have him practice cursive, but he hated it. So, I've just focused on having him summarize what he reads, and write his thoughts and impressions on what he is learning in each of his composition books. He has one for each subject. Most of the time there were at least a couple of words that I couldn't read. But, just this week he began to write very legibly, and neatly in his composition books. He made a comment about it, and said he had been writing more, and maybe that was why his writing looked neater.<br />
So, although I will continue to plan for field trips, and learning opportunities, and I'll keep bringing in books and other learning materials, I can see that maybe we all come to these things on our own when given the freedom to do so. Especially this child. LOL. It has always been so, since he was a baby.<br />
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</div>
Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-17331120205071563612017-01-16T00:36:00.002-08:002017-01-16T00:36:54.772-08:00Relaxing the expectations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><b>I wrote this the first of June, 2016. We were almost finished with 7th grade. The information here is still relevant now, and it was helpful when I planned for this year--8th grade. I'm not sure why I didn't post it, but here it is.</b></i><br />
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I read so much that some days my head feels like it's spinning. I don't know what to believe anymore.<br />
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So, I decided to read with a little more skepticism. I am naturally skeptical, but when it comes to education, I tend to swallow what I'm fed without asking a lot of questions. Especially when it sounds good.<br />
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But all of that stuff is worthless when you start to apply it in real life. Especially when you have a child that is a natural skeptic, who doesn't swallow anything, and frankly, he doesn't fit into anyone's definition of teenager, or middle schooler, or anything else.<br />
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He's his own person. He learns the way he learns. He is engaged by what he finds engaging, not by some trickery, or whatever the latest research shows.<br />
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For this reason, I've become much more relaxed in my homeschooling. I used to use Montessori materials, and I followed an outline of subjects and topics to introduce. That worked for the first year we homeschooled. The following year, it wasn't working as well, but we still did OK. This year, it hasn't worked at all.<br />
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And so I let it go. And guess what? He's still learning.<br />
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I didn't formally let it go. I didn't announce that I was letting it go. I just sort of stopped doing what wasn't working, and I let him do things on his own. And if I was out for part of the day for an appointment, I would leave him a list of topics to choose from, and some things to do for real, and that worked pretty well.<br />
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But he was burning out. And I've realized that I wasn't structured enough with the calendar. I was so caught up in following the child that I forgot to provide him with dates to look forward to, events to anticipate, etc.<br />
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We've stopped our formal schooling for the year. He's still finishing up on a few things, like PE class at the YMCA, and art class through our local arts alliance.<br />
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This summer we will be doing a lot of life skills, like how to paint the porch, and some things he's been doing for years, like chop wood, garden, etc. I'll try to entice him into going to the beach, and taking a road trip or two.<br />
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And in a few months, we will finalize our plan for 8th grade, and make it count.<br />
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<br /></div>
Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-52179561524590194612016-04-09T23:28:00.003-07:002016-04-09T23:28:51.747-07:00The Alchemist finds a friendI've spent hundreds of dollars on books for my son. He has a bookshelf in his room, and has been surrounded by books all his life. I started reading to him when he was born.<br />
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And he used to love books. We would visit the library, and he would borrow more books than he could carry, so I would also have an armload.<br />
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Then he went to public school, Montessori, but still public. And when he was required to read in fourth grade, he lost his love for reading. Gone were his desires to borrow books from the library, or to read anything at all.<br />
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Once I brought him home for schooling in fifth grade, he regained some of his desire for non-fiction, but it has never recovered fully. His interest in fiction extended only as far as "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," and a few of the old "Goosebumps" books.<br />
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And so, I've brought home so many books, trying to get him interested in reading again. He's 13, and had never read a novel until last month, when he finally finished "The Alchemist."<br />
I bought that book at Costco as a Christmas gift for him, on a whim. I read a couple of pages, and it seemed interesting to me. As I checked out, a guy who was loading my items into the cart commented on how great the book was. I didn't have a lot of hope, but I gave it to Sean early, in November, anyway. I expected him to read the first chapter and put it down, never to read another page. That has been the fate of so many of his books.<br />
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But I encouraged him to finish it. Each evening I would tell him to read, and the next day I would ask him, with a mix of subdued excitement and quiet hope, "What's happening in the book, now?" Whatever he said, I expressed genuine interest. Whether he had read one page, or ten, I let him know that I was interested in what was going to happen next.<br />
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And finally, once I was certain he was enjoying the book, I decided we needed to come up with a deadline. I've avoided forcing him to read, because I felt that was what killed his love for reading in the first place. But now that he's getting older, and we're in the middle of Middle School, I told him he has to get used to having assignments and deadlines for completing them.<br />
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He took the book with him when he went to visit a friend, and although he didn't read it that weekend, he shared it with the friend and his mom. He has also talked about it to a friend he has on Xbox Live, who lives in Canada. And GLORY Halleluiah! that kid is a reader, and has recommended a book called, "The Hatchet." He talked about how he has 79 books on his book shelf, and it seems to have reignited Sean's interest in books.<br />
<br />
I was so pleased with the way he understood the nuances of the book, and made connections with the metaphors for life. I knew nothing about the book when I bought it, and I realize now that it's probably not something a typical 13 year old would be expected to read. But I'm glad I didn't know, because Sean totally got it. And I didn't use any pre-fab lesson plan, nor did I require him to make notes and answer a bunch of questions about it. That's the quickest way to ruin a book for me. I think he liked the book so much because I asked him to retell it to me every day, and he understood it so well because he had to explain so much to me because I've never read it.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Here's what I did do in order to engage him a little more: I suggested that he pretend he is a book publisher, and Paulo Coelho, the author, has submitted the book to him, asking for it to be published. He liked the book, so I said, "Now, you need to write a summary of the book that you believe will entice people to want to buy it, because if they buy it, it means money for you, and for Paulo."<br />
<br />
In addition to this, I asked him to pretend he is a movie producer, and has decided to make the book into a movie.<br />
He carefully wrote down each character, a description of them, and then the actor or actress he would choose to play each role. He found photos of them online, printed them and cut them to size, and created this movie poster.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGoRQHH1IeAU6PONso3Z-BxI93ejcJQt49HQOhCxWeAaN7_uFtKmyOx-owVc5r_daRE9GMCKu4jm7vYdsqKPRyEbzN5wFfj-oaKoJMuZUAuSm_RWDOw5IUafqg6gPwp0gbMHWgwdO1hLG/s1600/IMG_0817.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGoRQHH1IeAU6PONso3Z-BxI93ejcJQt49HQOhCxWeAaN7_uFtKmyOx-owVc5r_daRE9GMCKu4jm7vYdsqKPRyEbzN5wFfj-oaKoJMuZUAuSm_RWDOw5IUafqg6gPwp0gbMHWgwdO1hLG/s400/IMG_0817.JPG" /></a><br />
<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-52918532166074268522016-02-16T00:32:00.002-08:002016-02-16T00:34:27.506-08:00Black History Month and a ProfessorMy husband sent me a text today letting me know that a professor would be speaking at a forum in our community tonight. The description I received said the talk would be about police and minority relations in the wake of Ferguson, Missouri unrest.<br />
<br />
So, today I asked Sean to do some research on what happened in Ferguson, Missouri. He read about Michael Brown, and the protests, and the decision not to indict the police officer, online, and he took some notes. Grudgingly. And then I asked him to look for information about Tamir Rice. The information he gathered on Tamir Rice included surveillance video of that shooting. It was so heartbreaking that it took my breath away to watch it. No sound, just footage.<br />
<br />
After watching that video, we discussed the tragedy. A boy, alone at a park, goofing off with a pellet gun, or an Airsoft gun, or something that was not a real gun. (Sean and I both wonder if the term 'pellet' is correct. There is a difference.) And this is something that boys do. Almost every one of Sean's friends has a similar gun. Though they aren't what I would call toys, they are also not real guns. Sean surmised that Tamir Rice could have been holding a Coke can, and the results would be the same. A dead 12 year old. One year younger than Sean is right now.<br />
<br />
(I remember when it happened, and how sickened, worried, and sorrowful I was. I cannot imagine that mother's grief and pain.)<br />
<br />
He clicked on an editorial by a former police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, which revealed a deep problem of racial discrimination, and violation of civil rights by police officers there. That former police officer called for not only reforms in police training, but accountability. He said the problem is that police officers know they won't be held accountable. At worst, they get put on paid leave, something he said they call a free vacation. So, until we start to demand that they be held to a higher standard of conduct, with clear consequences, nothing will change.<br />
Here's a link to that article:<br />
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/06/i-was-a-st-louis-cop-my-peers-were-racist-and-violent-and-theres-only-one-fix/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/06/i-was-a-st-louis-cop-my-peers-were-racist-and-violent-and-theres-only-one-fix/</a><br />
<br />
Tonight we listened as Dr. Dexter Gordon, professor and Director of African American Studies Program at the University of Puget Sound, talked about these and other issues surrounding race, education, and poverty.<br />
Though there were no clear quick fixes to the problems, the answer seems to be to continue the fight to change people's perceptions. Provide equal access to education and opportunities, and find ways to combat poverty.<br />
<br />
And for me, the answer is to keep on doing what I'm doing. Keep exposing Sean to new experiences, provide him with as many examples of people of color in positions of authority and success as possible. Sacrifice, and do whatever it takes to give him opportunities, like piano lessons, and summer camps. And all of this will help him gain access to his goals.<br />
<br />
But somehow, some way, I have to steel myself for the inevitable reality. My son will most likely have negative police interactions, and it won't matter if he has NOT broken the law. Unless you are black, or the parent of a black or brown child, you can't understand this.<br />
<br />
I know some of my friends don't believe this. It is real. It is the reality of black and brown people. You can try to explain it away all you want, but if this started happening to white people, if we were pulled over for making eye contact with an officer, or assumed to be breaking into our own homes, and arrested or pepper sprayed for it, this crap would stop. White people would take to the streets, they'd be mad, demand that the Mayor, or the Police Chief, or SOMEBODY, do something to change it.<br />
And yet when black people get angry and take to the streets demanding change, we call them names. White people start throwing out labels like "thug," and say things like, "the best way to not get killed by cops is to obey the law." But the laws, last time I checked, were put in place to ensure that we are all presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. I am no expert on the law, but I've never heard about cops having the right to gun down unarmed people on suspicion of guilt. Their job is to make arrests, and only if there is cause, and then WE, the PEOPLE, get to decide if they are guilty.<br />
<br />
Unless you are a person of color, I guess.<br />
<br />
Here are a few examples of what I mean:<br />
Harvard Professor Jailed; Officer Is Accused of Bias<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21gates.html?_r=0">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21gates.html?_r=0</a><br />
<br />
N.C. Police pepper spray black teen in his own home<br />
<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nc-police-pepper-spray-black-teen-thinking-foster-son-is-burglar/">http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nc-police-pepper-spray-black-teen-thinking-foster-son-is-burglar/</a><br />
<br />
Ohio Cop Pulls Over Black Man Who 'Made Direct Eye Contact' With Him<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cop-pulls-over-black-man-making-eye-contact_us_55e0ad60e4b0b7a96338e614">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cop-pulls-over-black-man-making-eye-contact_us_55e0ad60e4b0b7a96338e614</a><br />
<br />
But we have to keep moving forward, and one by one, step by step, work to make the world a better place for all of us.<br />
And in the coming days, we will look closer at the message of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and see how much we think has changed since his I Have A Dream speech.Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-82589265821719192302016-02-03T20:05:00.001-08:002016-02-16T00:34:39.573-08:00Black History Month and PoetryEach year during Black History Month we highlight someone in history. Of course Martin Luther King, Jr. is a go-to, because he was such an amazing leader. We've also studied Rosa Parks, and a few others.<br />
<br />
This year I brought home one book on Martin Luther King, Jr. from the library during his birthday week, and I also found a book of poetry by Langston Hughes, "Poetry for Young People."<br />
<br />
Sean read most of the poems today, aloud, while I drove him to PE at the Y. I could tell he was enjoying them. He has always appreciated poetry. One of the poems, "My People" includes an editor's note explaining how Hughes clashed with his father, who had a negative attitude about Negroes. Sean and I discussed why his father might have felt that way. We didn't have a good answer.<br />
<br />
When we were finally home, he sort of wandered around the house. I let him, and didn't ask him to do school work, or anything at all. I recognize his pacing. It means he is thinking, and trying to decide what to work on. I believe this is an important process, and should not be interrupted. I also know how important that time can be, because I used to do it every day as a newspaper reporter. To the outsider it looks like you are procrastinating, wasting time, goofing off. For the creative person, it's invaluable time. I was formulating a lead paragraph, recalling all of the standout quotes, and thinking, thinking, thinking. When I was ready, I could sit down at the computer and put together my story. Of course, at a newspaper this whole process has to happen within a very small window of time.<br />
<br />
Luckily, we don't have to do it so quickly. After about 30 minutes, he asked for the book of poems. And within about 30 more minutes, he came out of his room. He had chosen a favorite poem from the book, and written about it, and Langston Hughes, in his history composition book.<br />
<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-75456533413754609912016-01-28T20:10:00.001-08:002016-01-28T20:23:01.681-08:00A mid-year review<i>This is really just for my benefit, but feel free to read if you are interested.</i><br />
<br />
This school year has, so far, been an exercise in experimenting with unschooling.<br />
We packed up all of our school supplies and Montessori materials in June, prior to taking a road trip through the Southwest. We thought we would have our house on the market in June, and hoped it would be sold by the time we should be starting school in the fall.<br />
<br />
But we didn't get the house listed until August, and the house still hasn't sold, and it's January.<br />
<br />
We had to do all of our learning without our Montessori materials. We just recently got them out of storage, and set up in a spare room.<br />
<br />
What he has done:<br />
Lots of practical life. Planning, making lists, budgets. He comes up with schedules for himself. He has set goals for specific amounts of money to earn, then set about working to earn that money. It hasn't been perfect, but he's practicing, and that is what I like to see. He did make his goal of $100 by Christmas to help pay for his Xbox One. And he has a plan to open a new savings account that will feed into an investment account that he has.<br />
<br />
Any new information has come from him seeking it, and he does that mostly through online research. His focus is on science, and specifically biology, and medical science.<br />
Here's one of my observations from work he did in September -<i>The fact that he naturally started making detailed notes of the subject matter, in an organized fashion, and carefully spelled each word, makes me wonder if we all come to these ways of understanding information on our own. Instead of being taught how to take notes, how to organize information, we are naturally able to do it. Or maybe it is easier for this generation because of the access to Internet, and informational videos which provide it in an organized way.</i><br />
Because he loves science, and I want to give him as many opportunities to pursue his passion as possible, I took him to the Pacific Science Center for the Visiting Scientist day in November. He was able to hold a human brain, and the scientist spent a long time with him, explaining the regions of the brain and their functions. We explored some other cool stuff there, including 3-D printed prosthetics, a robot, and he used a pipet to fill a test tray, like they use in a lab.<br />
He knows how to find information. He makes connections with new information and old, and routinely pulls out his Elements book.<br />
<br />
We added PE to our weekly away-from-home school routine. He has enjoyed PE at the YMCA twice a week. He continues to take piano lessons weekly as well.<br />
<br />
Vocabulary words seem to excite him, the idea of learning new words, and what they mean. So he has done some of that work, especially in September and October.<br />
<br />
This year he got really focused on small, detailed work, specifically with painting small figures. He doesn't use kits, and instead comes up with his own ideas. He painted some Lego figures.<br />
<br />
One project has been completed, one that he has done before, but he expanded upon it this year: Deadly Spiders. Instead of a list of deadliest spiders as he has done in the past, after making a draft of what he knows about spiders, he decided to focus on one spider-the Australian Funnel Web Spider.<br />
<br />
He has continued to work on multiplication and division, and tried a new system of his own making to try to get the answers quicker.<br />
<br />
We've maintained our friendships with our homeschool group, and tried to continue seeing them on Thursdays for a little while, but mostly have seen them at PE.<br />
<br />
He has learned some history, the crusaders are interesting to him, and he read quite a bit about them early in the fall. Another history lesson came when I took him to see the movie, "Suffragette," at the Grand Theater in Tacoma in November. He wasn't very interested in going, but I told him I wanted to see it, and I wanted him to go. When we arrived, he asked if he could just wait in the car for me. I explained that I have accompanied him countless times on outings and activities that I would not do on my own, but I did with him because I knew it was something he enjoyed. And that is what we do when we care about someone. We share in their joys and interests. So I made him go.<br />
<br />
From an early age I encouraged him to take care of his own business, with my guidance, and in an age-appropriate way. He orders his own food, and in some cases orders for both of us if we go out to an Asian restaurant. He also makes his own phone calls to request information about items he has ordered on the Internet, or if he needs to get his money back for an item that was never shipped. (It probably helps that he has always had a deep voice and doesn't sound like a kid.) Recently I was frustrated with the YMCA website, and couldn't get him signed up for the next session of PE. He took over, and even called the YMCA to let them know the website was difficult to navigate, and that he needed help to sign up for the class.<br />
<br />
He continues to draw and create on his own, and I'm so thankful that I have been able to provide him with continued art instruction through our local arts alliance. He has taken several classes again this fall, though he is aging out, it seems.<br />
<br />
Reading continues to be a struggle, as far as novels and fiction. He prefers factual information. I did get him started on a book called "The Alchemist." He's reading it, slowly, but reading it. Most of his reading is done online, through his own research, and the history he reads on his own.<br />
<br />
His interest in social issues continues to increase. He believes all people should have equal rights, and everyone should be allowed to love who they want to love, and pursue their own interests, education, and have access to equal pay, and the jobs they want.<br />
<br />
This sums up most of what we've been doing for the first half of 7th grade. Now that we have our materials, the second half will be more guided.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-86200572867588418142016-01-28T18:35:00.003-08:002016-01-28T20:23:33.840-08:00Signed NumbersI finally did it. I plunged into the Montessori Algebra for the Adolescent album today.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhewmiq7jJJ9JiAZZJ2VJf9FJnan0Wy4PMjws5acvyxwVzQYJYeDMWm_RQ6V4YbDPWcu0KVgA0qsS0cJVH2e6wU905OcZ9QrqhA8yRDYEfFuuDjQoudirVwqerDgIrhgJqgN3IfEeXbg30n/s1600/IMG_0655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhewmiq7jJJ9JiAZZJ2VJf9FJnan0Wy4PMjws5acvyxwVzQYJYeDMWm_RQ6V4YbDPWcu0KVgA0qsS0cJVH2e6wU905OcZ9QrqhA8yRDYEfFuuDjQoudirVwqerDgIrhgJqgN3IfEeXbg30n/s400/IMG_0655.JPG" /></a><br />
I woke up today feeling awful, and napped for some of the mid morning. But this afternoon I decided it was time to at least start on the chapter for signed numbers.<br />
<br />
My fear when I purchase, especially, or when I make materials, is that he will use it once and won't touch it again, or won't use it at all. I spent a good amount of time making the positive and negative counters, so I was determined that they would be used. (I made them out of foam sheets. One gray, one green. One with adhesive backing. Suggested by Jessica Welsh. Great idea. The positive and negative square counters are 1 cm by 1 cm. I cut the out the skittles by hand, and they aren't so great, but they'll do.)<br />
<br />
I demonstrated the problems with the counters, and had him write the problems down in his math notebook.<br />
<br />
It went so well! He already understood the concept of negative numbers, which helped. We worked quite a few problems. I started with units, like the example in the album, and he was feeling confident and asked to do multiplication. But instead, I decided he needed to continue with the addition and subtraction, so we worked up to using tens.<br />
<br />
Math is the one subject I do not feel confident to teach, but I am determined. I have gone back and forth in my mind about putting him in school part time just for math, or hiring a tutor again, but I really believe in this method, and I want to at least give it my best shot before giving up on it.<br />
<br />
I like this album, so far. It is thorough, and has a list of materials at the back, which I find very helpful. The only thing I wish is that albums came with an option to buy materials that match the album. It's time consuming to piece this all together.<br />
<br />
This album goes through 12th grade, and includes a lot of math I've never used. I do like a challenge, so... here we go!<br />
<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-42177122731221853832015-12-31T23:45:00.002-08:002015-12-31T23:45:58.836-08:00A Birthday Milestone <i>This was written in September, 2015</i><br />
<br />
As I write this, Sean is engaged in a major social milestone.<br />
<br />
It's his birthday party, although his birthday was a couple of weeks ago. He wanted an Airsoft party, and we've been planning it for quite a while. We decided to make it an optional campout. Being 13 is a big deal, and to me it should come with some big kid stuff. The start time was 4 p.m., because he wanted part of the Airsoft party to be a night game. We took a break for dinner, steaks and hot dogs on the grill, a pizza, veggie tray, and potato salad. Then cake. And as soon as the food settled, they were back out for more Airsoft game.<br />
<br />
Five of the six boys stayed to camp in tents. All of the boys who stayed, as well as Sean, have been to camp at Camp Seymour for various lengths of time. But camping in our back yard, in tents, with as much hands-off adult supervision as we feel is safe is different than being at camp with a whole bunch of kids with planned activities. This has been mostly a free for all. Chuck did some herding to get them going on their games, and at the end of the games gave a time limit, and then we confiscated the weapons.<br />
<br />
We were liberal with the time limit. At 10 p.m. the games ended and all weapons were brought into the house.<br />
<br />
They are laughing, talking loudly, being boys. It's late, and I'd like to go to sleep sometime tonight, but I like that he is experiencing something of a milestone.<br />
<br />
My brother and I grew up this way. It wasn't anything planned by our parents. We lived in a neighborhood where most of the homes sat on 1/4 to 1/2 acre, and all of the kids played together. We reached milestones together without realizing it, and it was natural for us to camp out, stay up all hours of the night in the summertime, walk together to the store for a pop and a candy bar, and have disagreements and learn how to negotiate and work it out. We had strict boundaries for behavior and responsibilities, but we were free to be kids.<br />
<br />
Parents are different now. A lot of parents won't allow their boys to play with Airsoft guns, or spend the night outside. I get it. I understand their worries.<br />
But these kids are having fun. And I want my son to know what it feels like to sleep out there surrounded by friends, talking nonsense boy stuff, building memories that he will treasure for a lifetime.<br />
<br />
<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-43103855786806781992015-11-14T00:48:00.000-08:002015-11-14T00:48:27.881-08:00Brain ScienceSean loves science, and has had an interest in the brain for a couple of years.<br />
<br />
This month's Visiting Scientist day at the Pacific Science Center was focused on brain science. I knew he would love it, so I put it on our calendar.<br />
<br />
It takes us a while to get there, and if traffic is bad it takes longer. Traffic wasn't great, and it was a blustery day. Parking is always a little tricky, even though there is a parking garage. It was nearly full, and I finally found a spot at the very bottom of the garage.<br />
<br />
The room was packed with tables, scientists, and budding scientists. It was the most crowded scientist day we've been to so far. The tables spilled out into other sections, and I think there were 20 tables manned by doctors and researchers from the University of Washington Medical Center, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, along with some university students and volunteers. There seemed to be a mix of brain-related information, and some other science activities. I saw some carnations soaking up various colored dye. There was a guy from Fish and Wildlife talking about fish population, and a table where kids could assemble their own cells with plastic zip lock bag, confetti, and pom poms.<br />
<br />
Every table was crowded, except for one in the corner.<br />
<br />
When we first arrive at such a scene, he needs to get his bearings and take a moment to scan the room and process it all. It's a little overwhelming.<br />
<br />
I decided our best bet was to find a station that was empty and start there. I scanned the room quickly, and spotted a table in the corner with no kids. I steered him there. It looked boring to the untrained eye, but I knew there were exciting things under the cloths.<br />
<br />
Eureka! Real human brains!<br />
<br />
The neuroscientist explained the regions of the brain and their functions as Sean held the brain in his hand. His first comment upon holding it was, "It's not as heavy as I thought it would be."<br />
<br />
This was the perfect place to start. He got one-on-one instruction, asked questions, and really soaked it all in.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufHMlJqk1H9LgbrTlj7Ttr3l8ODJfVQckczL02XG0-EcLuGufJwoUHIW9sTqv9i8FyyiHBIm27UhMe05B1A6CAqUbxmmQ7YbLj47SpkR4aYbXQFHqnFvF6B-G7CKLI-fQ7syQA3RnaOs6/s1600/IMG_0246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufHMlJqk1H9LgbrTlj7Ttr3l8ODJfVQckczL02XG0-EcLuGufJwoUHIW9sTqv9i8FyyiHBIm27UhMe05B1A6CAqUbxmmQ7YbLj47SpkR4aYbXQFHqnFvF6B-G7CKLI-fQ7syQA3RnaOs6/s320/IMG_0246.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sean listens as a neuroscientist talks about the brain before placing it in his hand.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
From there we moved around the room to look at a robot, and some 3-D printed stuff that included a prosthetic hand. This table was intriguing, because Sean took a 2-hour class this month at one of our library branches on 3-D printing, and designed and printed a letter S. He had fun talking to the guys at this table. He learned that some of them had designed a 3-D printer nozzle to print with clay, but the nozzle doesn't work. However, they learned a lot by trying to make that nozzle, they said. Lesson there, don't be afraid to fail!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-VP4YmvwWNsu_mBFGjNKcRg1FI-GnY0tfkEIEsb2m1xSLPCabTm9UFjOQ6FNV36EyksSMz6H-XPxeod1jOz4SS9dU0trF8CtZhNTH3b1T3ybUNQ4FYAky5be38tjDJl_MuMwMFZ76-pN/s1600/IMG_0261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-VP4YmvwWNsu_mBFGjNKcRg1FI-GnY0tfkEIEsb2m1xSLPCabTm9UFjOQ6FNV36EyksSMz6H-XPxeod1jOz4SS9dU0trF8CtZhNTH3b1T3ybUNQ4FYAky5be38tjDJl_MuMwMFZ76-pN/s320/IMG_0261.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prosthetic hand made from 3-D printer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
From there he went on to a table with a matching game. Photos of brains on one page, and photos of animals on another, and he had to figure out which brain came from each animal.We stopped at a table about blood, and information about blood donation and compatible blood types. Sean got to use an instrument that drops samples into trays, and it was one of his favorite things there.<br />
<br />
We absolutely love the Pacific Science Center. Our membership has paid for itself already, and with our membership this year, we get a subscription of Popular Science magazine. Win, win!<br />
<br />
Though we've been going since Sean was about 3 years old, it was our first time going into the Butterfly Garden. It was so enchanting and beautiful. I could sit in there all day if they had chairs. That's probably why they don't. ;-)<br />
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<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-9159946280990378382015-11-04T14:56:00.001-08:002015-11-04T14:56:39.385-08:00Learning without SchoolI'm on a lot of Facebook pages for homeschooling. Most of them are Montessori related, but one of them is our local community homeschooling page.<br />
Recently someone was offering a stack of homeschooling magazines geared toward unschooling through that page. They were free. The mom posting the offer held a drawing and I was chosen to receive them.<br />
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Included in the stack of magazines is a book called, Growing Without Schooling Volume One. It's a compilation of newsletters from August 1977- December 1979. I'm in awe of what the homeschooling pioneers went through, and how dedicated they were to ensuring that their children were getting the education they wanted them to have.<br />
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Most of the newsletters I've read so far deal with a lot of laws on school attendance during that time in various states, and some personal accounts of school districts threatening the parents with jail for refusing to send their children to school.<br />
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The information about learning sounds a lot like Montessori's methods. Maybe these people who wrote in knew intuitively how best to give their children the information, or maybe they were natural Montessorians who observed their children to see what they were naturally drawn to and then provided those things for them. Maybe they themselves had been Montessori students. I don't know. I just know that so far, and I'm only on Issue No. 4, that the parents who have written about how their children are learning were certain they were doing the right thing by keeping their children home. And they were willing to risk a lot to do it.<br />
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Most everything I have read I have agreed with entirely:<br />
-how schools elicit bad behavior, the way schools are run more like a penalizing institution rather than a place to learn, and that children learn more and with ease when they are in a home environment.<br />
-The way the schools violate civil liberties by keeping records on children without their or their parents' knowledge, writing sometimes derogatory and slang remarks in those files that are kept and passed on each year to the next teacher.<br />
-How the schools feel like an authority over parents, and bully children. I've seen this first-hand.<br />
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The unschooling parents gave evidence that the children were learning just as much, and in a lot of cases more, than their peers who were in school. I absolutely believe they were better off in so many ways. I saw first-hand the negative impacts that school had on my youngest child. I saw it, too, with my older children, but I had not other options.<br />
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I see the negative in schools, but I also recognize positive gains in my son that I know are the result of his time spent in Montessori school. They are things, like patience, kindness, manners, perseverance, and curiosity. As I've said before, his experience in fourth grade was not good, and he was losing what he had gained. But when we came home he was delighted, and fully regained all of it.<br />
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My fears of unschooling have been slowly fading. We still do Montessori, but I'm much more relaxed when we have a day without instruction. Part of that comes with homeschool experience, knowing that he is still learning. And I find that the more I read, the more I believe in the unschooling idea.<br />
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I'm beginning to wonder why we need to believe in benchmarks, standards, grade-level achievements, etc. Who gets to say that a 7 year old should know how to read? Why have we given someone else the authority to decide that instead of the parents? And what does a child gain by being forced to learn? There are so many other examples of standards that I think are ridiculous.<br />
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What I've observed is that we all learn in our own time, on our own when given a rich environment filled with opportunities to learn. All children need is that environment, and others around them who they can go to with questions, who understand what they are trying to learn and how to help them to do it.<br />
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I would really like to hear from people who grew up in the unschooling movement, or who were homeschooled without a traditional curriculum. My one concern is rigor and the ability to assimilate into college life.Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-86217521830778135912015-10-17T15:42:00.003-07:002015-10-17T15:42:49.883-07:00A Sensitive Period for Tiny, Detailed WorkIf you've got a brother, grew up around boys, or are married to a man, you will likely recognize this sensitive period.<br />
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Suddenly, somewhere around the age of 13, there is a strong desire to work with tiny things. A true urge to create something that requires delicate handling, and precise eye-hand coordination.<br />
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I'm talking about what I call the small model and model car paint period. For my brother, this need to work with small things started earlier, and he worked on tiny Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars to change their wheels when he was quite young. He also loved tinkering with watches, taking them apart and trying to get them back together as he reached adolescence.<br />
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This week Sean requested that we take a trip to Michael's to get paint. He knew exactly the type of paint he needed to re-design some Lego pieces. We had to ask for help to locate it, and there, along with the paint, were the model cars, planes and helicopters.<br />
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Though he wanted to dive into those, I wasn't ready to spend that much money. I didn't realize they were so expensive. But I have some good ideas for Christmas now;-). I encouraged him to stay on task, and look for the paint colors he originally came there to buy.<br />
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He found two colors that he felt were exactly what he wanted, but the green he had hoped for wasn't the green they had. This led us to discuss mixing colors to achieve the desired color. He loves art, but has been exclusively focused on drawing for a few years. He has been resistant to painting, and so this was the first time we'd discussed mixing paint colors. And so he also chose a bottle of white paint for this reason. He found three paint brushes of various brush sizes for detailed work. I regret not getting a palette, but he has made do with a paper plate.<br />
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Patiently, methodically, he has been painting the arms of a tiny Lego figure. He carefully mixed colors, adding a little bit of white, then more, then another, darker color, to finally have the color he wanted.<br />
This project has been his focus for a few evenings this week.<br />
<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-24803853990439267952015-09-16T18:20:00.002-07:002015-09-16T18:20:53.767-07:00What do you do at bedtime?Last Thursday, we hosted our homeschool play day that has carried on since last year's Wolf Camp that we hosted on our property. Only Kyle could make it last week, and after I returned from taking Kyle home, Sean was on the computer. It was nearly 4 p.m. and I told him we needed to do some school. I asked him to turn off the screen.<br />
He told me he had done science the night before, but I was skeptical. I hadn't seen him doing science the night before.<br />
He showed me a video he watched about opioids. I decided it was indeed science, and pretty advanced stuff, so I asked him to get his science composition book and carefully, in his best 7th grade handwriting, outline what he had learned from the video.<br />
He first was surprised that he is in 7th grade. I guess he forgot. I have never made a big deal about grade levels, but I like him to know what level he is now, because we are getting ever closer to high school.<br />
He pulled out his sketch pad, held it up and asked, "You mean like this? Can you read this?"<br />
He was seriously curious if he had done work at a 7th grade level. He had outlined what he learned. And he had obviously paused the video to take careful notes and to be sure he had spelled the words correctly before moving on. It was well organized, neatly written, some information was circled with a mark that denoted a this and then that type of scenario of how pain is communicated in the brain. It was so impressive that I was left speechless.<br />
Mostly because we haven't even talked much about my expectations for this year, or about how to take notes, and how to be thorough. But also because the subject matter was very advanced and complex, and he had done it late the night before, when he could have chosen anything at all to do. Legos, a movie, any number of things.<br />
I didn't want to skip doing school, so I encouraged him to think of some reasons why a Dr. would prescribe an opiate. He had some of the medicines listed, and said maybe morphine for a broken bone.<br />
He searched broken bones, and the various ways a bone breaks. I asked him to sketch those and label them, and he did it with skill.<br />
His work led me to wonder if he knew some of the clearly advanced biological terms, and if he knew what the person meant when talking about enzymes. He hasn't chosen to do that work yet, but I am sure he will soon.<br />
And I wonder if we all, after at least some exposure to watching others categorize information, come to understand how to take notes and outline information?<br />
I also wonder if he would do better to start school at 4 p.m., because he clearly does some of his best work after I'm in bed.<br />
<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-78292693426730248972015-09-08T23:10:00.002-07:002015-09-08T23:10:26.443-07:00Homeschooling and selling the houseIt's the first time I haven't been the least bit excited to say goodbye to summer and jump into the school year. It's our first official year of Middle School, 7th grade. I'm getting there, but I'm overwhelmed with life right now.<br />
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Our schools start in September around here, and I decided to follow the schedule of our old district, which means we officially begin tomorrow. Just to get him into a routine I did a soft start last week.<br />
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I haven't planned anything for curriculum, except a basic concept of what I'd like to see him do this year. I've had ideas floating around in my brain, read a few of the many items I have on Middle School years for Montessori, and that's about it.<br />
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We are selling our house, so almost everything has been packed into bins and put into the POD while we show our home on a regular basis to potential buyers. I thought we would have it sold by now, but there was a delay in listing. It's only been on the market for a month. I packed all of those things away in early June, thinking the house would be listed by the end of June, and we would be ready to pack up and move by now.<br />
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Keeping the house looking like no one lives here is a big job. I try to keep everything clean and put away, so that we could do a quick sweep and wipe down and be ready to get out of the house within an hour. It has happened more than once.<br />
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I kept only a few things for math and language in our storage ottoman, and figured we could limp along with library and field trips until we are settled into a new place. I miss the homeschool materials. It feels so bare and strange without them. Maybe that's why I haven't been very excited. I'd like to have our old shelves and materials in our living room again, so I could update the materials on the shelves, and we could just go to the shelf and choose something to work on.<br />
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But we have to improvise for a while, so I decided to start with goals for the school year. He has some goals, and I have some for him, and we will work together to accomplish those. A lot of them are practical life kinds of skills.<br />
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He wants to get solid on Algebra, and asked to do Trigonometry, but I cautioned him that the manual is rather thick for our Montessori Adolescent Algebra. I don't think we can get to Trigonometry in one year.<br />
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I want him to learn how to do a budget, and a business plan. He wants to learn how to parallel park, and to fly an airplane.<br />
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Some of our goals will likely get changed or altered in some way, but we are both looking at this year much differently than the past two we've spent at home.<br />
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He asked me tonight if I had some stuff out for him to work on for tomorrow. I don't, but I will certainly pull out some things. Language will have to be first, because I have to do more prep for math.<br />
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This month I see us focused on math and writing. And we might have to keep it going for a couple of months. It can be an in-depth study of those subjects until we can mix in the other things.<br />
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We will definitely do some manual labor kind of work around here. He has embraced hard work, and looks for a chance to work outside. Today he cut the raspberry bushes and hauled the clippings out to the compost pile.<br />
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After reading one of the papers on adolescents, I recognize that he is fully in that plane of development. His bed covers are always crumpled, and clothes strewn on the floor. He cleans up each morning and makes the bed, but he prefers to sleep without the top sheet anymore, making his comforter a pile of soft material.<br />
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His focus is on friends, finding any opportunity to socialize. And I will make sure he has a lot of opportunities for that.<br />
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He has become what the paper describes, a cave child. He wants to be in the house, specifically in his room if he isn't in front of the video game. He hangs out in his room, with his crumpled bedding, and his music. He no longer goes outside on his own much. I have to encourage, or ask him to come help me with something in the garden. Then he lingers, walking around the property, playing with the dogs, talking to the chickens, observing the birds in the trees and yard.<br />
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This property has been exactly what we needed. It has provided so much joy and opportunity for a healthy homeschool environment. We are looking for another, similar to this one, but one that meets more of what we need.<br />
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In case you're looking to relocate to the beautiful Pacific Northwest, to a farm that would be perfect for your homeschooling family, with a Christmas tree farm started with 200 trees growing, 7 acres of land, beautiful flower beds, a chicken coop, small shop, hookup for an RV, and a natural amphitheater with a gazebo for entertainment, and more, here's a link to the MLS:<br />
<a href="http://www.matrix.nwmls.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?k=2447435XQX4N&p=DE-50776616-98#1">http://www.matrix.nwmls.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?k=2447435XQX4N&p=DE-50776616-98#1</a><br />
<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-91706696234818997722015-07-24T13:01:00.000-07:002015-07-24T13:01:22.919-07:00Thinking about Getting Ready for our First year of Middle School It seems big. Kind of intimidating. We are launching into a completely different plane of development, and teaching a teenager isn't something I've ever done.<br />
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Sean will be 13 just before we begin our year of 7th grade homeschool. I expect to use some of the curriculum from last year, since we sure didn't get to all of the history and language I wanted to cover.<br />
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I haven't started on our curriculum for this year yet. We are getting ready to sell our house and move, and we don't know if the house will sell, so we haven't begun to look for a new place yet. We hoped all of this would happen in June, but delays on septic paperwork that was not on file at the county, etc. has set us back a bit. And that has me on hold as far as purchasing any supplies or books for homeschool, and getting really serious and organized. Everything is going into boxes for storage while we sell.<br />
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One thing I know I want to do is a PE class at our local YMCA. Our homeschool group that meets each week has been talking about doing this together. I think it's a great idea. We have plenty of opportunities to run, jump, climb, and play here, but now that Sean is getting older I think he needs a more structured PE plan.<br />
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I am also looking for other group opportunities for him, because I know that adolescents needs a lot of social activities. I'm still thinking on it, and researching what is available. If I can't come up with anything, I'll create something here like I did last year with the Wolf Camp survival training.<br />
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Intern or shadowing someone in the work force, hopefully doing something he wants to learn more about, is another idea I have.<br />
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And I was listening to a radio program about children's philosophy classes, and I thought about trying to do something like that with a small group at the private school Sean used to attend.<br />
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<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-84624842470874120242015-07-16T22:49:00.001-07:002015-07-16T22:49:37.588-07:00Road Trip Provides Best Geography, Cultural lessonsThe more I relax and observe, instead of worrying and leading, the more I embrace unschooling.<br />
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Here's just one example of why:<br />
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My oldest son joined the Air Force, and his graduation from Basic Military Training in San Antonio, Texas was at the end of June.<br />
My husband couldn't get time off from work, but I wanted to be there, and make sure Sean was there for it as well. So after a couple of months of trying to decide if we should fly or drive, I settled on a road trip.<br />
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It's been years since I've driven that far as the only driver. I admit I was a little nervous about being overly tired, but I have driven all the way across the country before.<br />
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Sean was apprehensive. He didn't like the idea of being gone so long.<br />
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I convinced him I needed company, and a navigator. The trip was pretty big. It took us six days to get to San Antonio, and longer to get home because I wanted to stop and see as much as possible. We were gone for 22 days. We enjoyed seeing David graduate, and spending time with him while we could due to the restrictions they have for trainees. We saw a lot of San Antonio, visited the Alamo, did the River Walk cruise. We also had fun at our hotel swimming pool, but without Dave. He wasn't allowed to swim.<br />
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And here's the unschooling part.<br />
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Sean learned so much just by being my co-pilot. Along our way, after I determined our next stop, I would tell him where we were going, I would plug it into my phone navigator, and then I would have him keep track of where we were and how much farther to our next stop.<br />
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Although this was completely different from the old days when I used a huge Atlas to help me, it worked great. We stayed on two-lane highways most of the trip, and even traveled on Route 66 for a while. The scenery was breathtaking, and the traffic was minimal for the most part.<br />
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We drove through Oregon, Idaho, Colorado and New Mexico on our way to San Antonio, Texas. We experienced extreme heat, and then extreme heat and humidity. Some of the places we drove through had our car thermometer reading 101 F or more.<br />
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We took a different route to get home. We drove through a different part of Texas, then into New Mexico, visiting the Carlsbad Caverns area, White Sands, and we saw the continental divide, and Four Corners. We cut over into Utah, visiting a town called Bluff, learning a little bit about the Mormon history in Utah, and climbing Wilson's Arch near Moab. Then we took a highway in Idaho, and avoided Eastern Washington because of wildfires there, and instead headed back to Portland, Oregon, and then home.<br />
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He learned a lot about geography, and the variety of landscapes, and he shared some of his knowledge with a friend as I was driving through part of New Mexico on our way to Utah. His friend didn't seem to know where New Mexico was, or Utah or Idaho for that matter. The friend will be starting high school, and is in public school. Sean tried to describe where New Mexico was on the map, and sharing and teaching is the best way to solidify knowledge.<br />
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Could Sean have learned all of this in school? Maybe. But after listening to his friend on the phone I have my doubts. Could he have learned this from me through a homeschool geography curriculum? Yes. But would he have really learned it? Would he have internalized it, and been excited about these new places? I doubt it.<br />
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We were blessed to have the opportunity to visit these places and experience the different climates, the landscapes, and the people. I handed him my camera while I drove, and he got some beautiful pictures of the monuments in Utah, and the adobe homes in New Mexico.<br />
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He asked me why the Native Americans seemed to be so poor, and it sparked a great conversation about disenfranchised people, and the effects of what has been happening for many years. And we stopped at some interesting places, like the Living Desert Zoo in New Mexico, and he took pictures of animals, bugs and spiders, lol.<br />
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By interacting with a variety of people, including Navajo, I can now introduce him to information about Navajo and it will mean something completely different to him.<br />
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I can only hope that he will remember this trip as fondly as I will. It was so much fun to experience all of the things we did, plus we had some wonderful conversations. We spend pretty much every day together, but the time in the car was very focused with no opportunity for distractions.<br />
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This is the kind of guiding/teaching and learning that I like best.Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-23771647194333502292015-05-27T23:48:00.003-07:002015-05-27T23:48:30.116-07:00SleepingI wish sleep could be part of a work plan. It really is work, because a growing body transforming through puberty requires a lot of sleep. And that is most of what Sean has been doing for the past month.<br />
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It has slowed us down quite a bit. He can function great later in the evening after sleeping 12-14 hours, but for me, it's the time of day that I'm fading away. My ability to think and respond are not so great at 10 p.m. and that seems to be a great time for him to begin asking me math questions.<br />
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Frustrating as this can be, I've decided there is nothing to gain by fighting his need to sleep. Even if I drag him out of bed and make him come to the land of the living, he's comatose, and can't do school work.<br />
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So I'm waiting it out, reminding him that the material still has to be covered, so we will have to continue to work into the summer to be sure we cover it all.<br />
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We were almost finished with ancient civilizations. I was trying to spark his interest in Native American history as an ancient civilization. He wasn't that interested. I decided to hold it for later, maybe next year, and just ask him what he'd like to learn about instead. I've been trying to present history in order, and I've had him filling out a timeline on a large roll of paper. But if he's not interested, I'd rather skip it and come back to it later.<br />
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He wanted to study Medieval history. And so we've been doing that for more than a month.<br />
We plan is to visit a Medieval village in Carnation, Washington very soon.<br />
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If he can wake up.<br />
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<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-7922852768746918272015-03-18T00:21:00.001-07:002015-03-18T00:21:32.412-07:00The Native American Geometry Workbook SeriesI found these by accident. A link, or something, that led me to the Teachers Pay Teachers site, which BTW, has some good stuff. Not all of it is great, but some of it has been helpful to me.<br />
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The premise behind the workbook series is that if you get kids creating art, math happens naturally. And it does.<br />
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There are two workbooks that aren't really necessary, in my opinion. One is called Native American Geometry Workbook, and in the corner it says "Student Files." Although it is interesting to read through and see the work students have produced, it isn't essential.<br />
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The other is called Native American Geometry Workbook Series "Howdy," w/ printables.<br />
This one is 33 pages, and though it has great information in it, it is pretty much a retelling of what is in the student files workbook.<br />
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When I got these they were both free.<br />
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I paid for Volume I, which is 159 pages, Volume 2.1, which is 70 pages, and Vol. II: 2, which is 116 pages. These seem like a great way to introduce Geometry while making it apply to everyday life.<br />
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I like the Montessori materials, and the way the information is presented, but especially at the adolescent plane I think it is important to show how it is meaningful to our lives. We are using Keys of the Universe Geometry Album alongside this series.<br />
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These workbooks start with having the student produce beautiful artwork, and progress to Pythagorean demonstrations through gardening.<br />
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As I presented the first lesson Sean was eager to begin. I can't wait to see how this progresses!<br />
Here's a <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/NATIVE-AMERICAN-GEOMETRY-WORKBOOK-VOLUME-1-872322">link to Vol. I.</a><br />
If you've already used these, I'd love to have your feedback in the comments!<br />
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<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-34399380950423861102015-03-12T00:27:00.000-07:002015-03-12T00:28:54.752-07:00Night SchoolToday we were doing life as school. A trip to Les Schwab to get the tires on my car checked resulted in most of an afternoon away from home.<br />
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While we were out, I stopped at the library and we checked out books on Rome and Ancient Native American history, as well as a book about building rockets. We are hoping to participate in Rocket Day with some local homeschoolers this weekend.<br />
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We've been working on cleaning Sean's room for a few days, and he had it ready for a deep vacuuming. As I helped put some things away, I noticed a dime and asked where he kept his piggy bank. Found it, and then he wanted to count all of the change. He doesn't use it much, but he has had it for more than 7 years. Once we had that job completed we headed out for a Mom and Son dinner at a local Teriyaki place.<br />
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As I drove along the sand spit I suggested that as soon as the rain clears we should start doing some of our lessons outside, and do some of our school at the beach. I said something like, "We should do more school out of the house," and he responded saying he wanted to do school in the house, and I don't remember how it started, but we kept responding to each other rhyming with the word House for a very long time.<br />
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When the waitress came to our table to take the order, Sean ordered our meal. It's become kind of a tradition for us, that if we are at an Asian restaurant he orders and is in charge. It started when he was quite young--7 or 8, I believe. For some reason he seems very comfortable ordering Asian food, and knows what each item is, and what he likes. After the meal, he asks for the check, and asks for boxes to take leftovers. Soon I will have him pay, and figure out the tip.<br />
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After dinner we went shopping for a comforter to deliver to my husband at the fire station, and I was trying to hurry to get it there before he would be ready for bed. He usually goes to bed early while he's at the station, hoping to get as much sleep as possible before an emergency call.<br />
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By the time we arrived at the station it was 9 p.m. What I thought would be a quick hand-off of the item to my husband turned into a full hands-on lesson in fire and rescue/medical aid gear. Sean was full of questions, and explored all of the things he was allowed to explore, including the night vision tool that helps locate people in danger. He went from fire engine to fire truck, command rig, and Medic One rig asking questions.<br />
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He has done that before, but it was basic, and it's been a while. It was also during the day, and there were other people around. This was a private tour.<br />
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We didn't do one formal school activity today, but look at all of the learning that happened!<br />
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<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-78422292372826301522015-02-25T17:11:00.003-08:002015-02-25T17:12:15.771-08:00Update on Geometry SticksWe have started the Keys of the Universe Geometry album, and so far, so good.<br />
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A lot of it was just review in the beginning, but it led to some great work.<br />
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Going over the concepts of Congruent, Equivalent and Similar led to looking at our fraction circles. We don't have any metal insets, or metal anything here, so I have to improvise with some of the ways I present these concepts. Luckily he's had access to these things in a classroom before, so my information is just one more way of looking at it.<br />
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The fraction circles were a way for him to explore equivalency, and he used two 1/2 circles.<br />
While he had those out, he started fitting other fractions into those halves. He's done this work before, but it was fun to explore it again. He made notes in his math composition book to indicate how many 1/10s can fit into 1/2. He traced the 1/2 and then traced 1/10s inside of it and labeled it. Then he did the same with 1/8s. I asked if it would work with 1/7, and he said no, and then we tried 1/5s, but that didn't work either. When he had the 1/2s finished, I asked, "So, if four 1/8s will fit into 1/2, how many will fit into one whole. Of course this was easy work for him, but I was happy to review it and see where he is with fractions. (Who needs tests?)<br />
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Then he asked if there was division with fractions, because he's been working on long division for a while now. He likes it, and still seems to want to keep going with it. I can see that he is still working through the steps for long division and needs my assistance sometimes. He sees all of the numbers and starts to get confused. I'm trying to find a better way to explain it, but haven't found anything yet that will isolate just the numbers he needs to focus on at that moment. I encourage him to cover up whatever he isn't using, but it is difficult. He has worked with the tubes, but I can't justify spending the money on them. I don't think we would use them for very long anyway.<br />
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We've worked with word problems, so he understands the concept of division, it's just setting it up on the paper and working through it a step at a time with all of those numbers on the page that are getting him tripped up sometimes. I want him to get used to doing this, because when he gets deeper into algebra I don't want the string of numbers and setting up those problems to be overwhelming.<br />
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But I digress.<br />
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Once he was finished working with the fractions, we moved on to Geometry Sticks. At first he was resistant, and claimed we had done that work before. We had never done it before, but he remembered it from school.<br />
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I started at the beginning anyway, and followed the album. By the time I had constructed a few polygons, he was starting to become more receptive to the idea. He clearly understood what a polygon is, and I asked him to construct one. He wanted to use as many sticks as possible.<br />
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I kept saying, "Oh, I don't know. Do you think this will work?" He insisted that it would. When he got to the last piece, and he probably used about a dozen sticks in various sizes, he had to zig and zag them to get a closed end.<br />
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We ended with the quadrilateral.<br />
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Next we will explore the Triangle, and talk about how it is the shape that constructs.<br />
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<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842332727559984539.post-92078488273998018272015-02-16T21:08:00.000-08:002015-02-16T21:08:12.762-08:00More materials--Geometry SticksMy view of materials has changed a bit over the years.<br />
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I seem to waver back and forth-- get as many materials as I can afford, or just forget it and improvise with something around the house. Some of the materials we have don't get used much, and that disappoints me. I have spent a lot of money on some of them, and others I've found a a great discount. Either way, it's not free.<br />
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I tend to hang onto them, because I never know when it will suddenly interest him.<br />
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I'm also feeling a little nostalgic, because I know we are going further away from materials now, and next school year we will officially be Middle Schooling it.<br />
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So, I'm always excited for the materials to arrive, and hope that Sean will choose to work with them. That is definitely the case with the Geometry Stick material.<br />
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I've had my eye on it for more than a year, but there were always other things that we needed more. I finally placed my order, and I'm so glad that I did.<br />
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I recently purchased the Keys of the Universe Geometry album, and as I read through it I saw that the stick material is used throughout the album.<br />
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We haven't started the album yet, but plan to do so this week.<br />
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Sean is very agreeable and open to working with some of the materials I'm presenting, so I'm crossing my fingers that he will love the Geometry Sticks and the lessons in the album.<br />
<br />Marshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719465217183178794noreply@blogger.com1