Did you know there are sharks in them there waters?
I actually wondered quietly to myself….will this fabulous experience of getting to touch, hold, feel this dogfish shark create fears of the water, but so far so good.
Just Another Day At The Beach.
Life’s a Beach!
During the summer we often take the day off from school and hit the beach with family or friends.
(Dude, we must be those homeschooler types you hear about that are grooming the next Jeff Spicoli…what could you possibly learn in that vast nothingness?!?)
Well it’s not all boogie boarding and sunbathing…
We dig…
We search…
We find…
We research…
We often stop by the local sea center and ask questions after a productive day at the beach, as well as pet their fishy friends.
They let us use their equipment and microscopes to look at our teensy tiny microscopic finds.
You decide if a day at the beach is worth cutting class.
I think so!
P.S. Did I mention I’m typically lounging in a chair, enjoying the sunshine, the warm sand in my toes and hanging out with good company or a good book. And I also learn a few interesting things along the way!
I mention this because so many parents THINK they don’t have what it takes to homeschool, but the hardest part of homeschooling is making the decision to do it!
Go Climb A Tree!
Climbing a tree….one of the passages into childhood….
No longer allowed at schools…..sad!
I really want to rant and rave about the need for tree climbing in our children’s lives. How the element of danger is necessary in the developmental process and how we as a society have removed nearly all degrees of danger (& nature) from our children’s natural play.
No climbing, you’ll get hurt
No jumping, you’ll get hurt
No running, you’ll get hurt
When my son was a toddler and we were heavily involved with a moms group. The other mothers would see him toddle off and start climbing. They would inform me, as if I’m not watching my own child. “He’s going to fall!!!” they would announce it in a panicked voice.
Not only was I watching my son, I had already assessed the situation and realize that if he did fall he might get a little scared, but he wouldn’t be injured. And it was a good opportunity for him to learn his abilities. My replies were generally on the lines of “if he does fall he will only do it once” or “if he does fall, he will learn from it”
One of the other mothers said to me during group, I can’t believe your busy son has never been to the emergency room when my sweet docile daughter has been three times already.
I just had to laugh at the descriptive personalities. Busy, sweet, docile…ha ha! Parents can be so bias at times towards their own sweet innocent darling perfect children. Especially when they hang out with busy dirty dangerous children whose parents clearly don’t know that germs and danger exist. Ha ha! (Oops my sarcastic side just slipped out)
The truth is her sweet docile daughter never had the chance to experience danger. She never had any “safe danger” to play with. She had no idea that life could be dangerous. It must be a safe situation, no one was hollering “stop you’ll get hurt!” So when opportunities came up and no one was looking (aka hovering) she would go about her normal developmental path and voila danger would arise, but she had no clue danger was there.
We as a society are so preoccupied with making the world a safer place for our children (which sounds nice) we are not realizing the consequences.
1) We are raising children that never get to experiment with “safe danger” Children today are not learning and making brain connections on their danger boundaries. (Which can also go into personal space boundaries and many other body awareness/social issues, but we can save that for another post down the road)
2) We are not outside in nature enough climbing, jumping, running, etc…Our children are becoming oblivious to outside sounds as well as sounds of danger and their intuition skills.
3) We are creating “overly worried” children. Worried about irrational fears, because they are told constantly don’t do this, don’t do that, this is dangerous, that is dangerous, don’t touch that, it’s dirty, it has germs, but they aren’t fully sure what they are supposed to do, or what real danger is, they only know its out there lurking in every corner, waiting to get them and it must be something bad….really really bad!
Now that I am involved in a homeschooling group, instead of the hover mama club, I see lots of tree climbing, free happy kids developing not only physical abilities but loads of brain power.
So I plead with you, get out into nature and let your kids climb trees!
The Benefits of Relaxed Homeschooling Year Round
First off I should let you know we are considered “relaxed schoolers” And we relax-learn year-round for many reasons, some of the main reasons are:
1) I noticed my children (back when we attended school) defined learning as something you can only do at a desk with dictation by a teacher. You simply could not learn in any other situation. In fact they protested anything they deemed as school-ish outside of school hours. The class room situation quickly killed their lovely spirit and curiosity to learn, which broke my heart and frustrated our whole family. The children were stressed and their behavior reflected their stress.
By relax schooling my children have reconnected with the freedom to choose WHAT they want to learn, WHEN they want to learn it, WHERE they want to learn it and HOW they want to learn it. Which has translated into a constant stream of learning. They no longer protest the process of learning. Life is once again a peaceful learning experience, year round.
The process of “de-schooling” took my children a few months, but we didn’t see complete fruits of our labors until we as a family found trust in ourselves, our abilities and overall our family groove.
2) Before school I was a “strewing” type mama. Which is an unschooling term. And I stopped that when the kids were in school. I assumed they were getting their education at school. I assumed very wrong. Once we pulled out, I started strewing again. And once again our entire lives became educational; therefore, we homeschool year round, whether we want to or not. ha ha!
Everything we do has a degree of learning to it.
Example:
An average morning could look like this…sleepy heads surfacing, wanting to snuggle and listen to an audio book.
The audio story may lead my son to research the status of Pluto as a planet or not. He will talk non-stop about it, research it, make crafts of it, etc for a few days afterwards. Or become a detective like the main character in the story and start a sleuthing club.
My daughter might want to watch a cartoon DVD. I agree to let her watch, as long as the language of the DVD was switched to french. She will build a fort on the sofa and start talking to her stuffed animals in french.
It is still early in the morning, they are still in their PJs and nibbling on their breakfast….their minds are engaged in something interesting to them. The wheels are turning and I haven’t opened one text-book yet.
3) year round schooling allows you to take time off as needed.
I follow a few curriculums, because it makes record keeping for the state that much easier. I only follow curriculums my children enjoy.
I will give a giant shout out to the math program “LIFE OF FRED” my son will literally BEG me to do more and more chapters. My daughter is not a fan of math, but she is a fan of snuggling up with mom on the sofa to hear a story about math and the life of the crazy little character Fred.
http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/11catofbooks.html
If we sit down to do some text-book type schooling, and it isn’t going smoothly, If it is causing frustration for me or the kids, we can simply take that day off and come back to it at a later time.
Our state requires 175-180 days of school, depending on the year. By homeschooling year round, I don’t have to really worry about taking a day off or even a week off now and then. There is no way we will have 185 bad days each year and if we do, then something drastically needs to change! In fact we normally hit our 100th day of school at least a month before the public school hits theirs.
Other reasons we might take a day off are less stressful reasons…maybe friends or family come to visit. A spontaneous trip to Legoland. It is simply a beautiful day out and the beach or a hike sounds more appealing. It snows on our mountains and we want to make a snowman or go sledding. There are plenty of fabulous reasons to ditch the text books and head outside for a great learning experience.
Some families enjoy having a hard start and stop to their school year, but that does not work for our family. We see learning as something fun and a natural part of life that doesn’t stop in the summer or on the weekends.
My children do have some friends that attend school and can’t understand why my children love schooling year round. It does not compute with the kids that attend school, because they live for the summer break….to make that less confusing we simply call July our summer if people ask.
As I typed out this blog, my son was explaining this balancing experiment to his sister. (He learned all about this experiment from the tv show Beakman’s world. I am not anti-TV, but I am a firm believer that TV options for kids NEED to have an educational element. TV needs to spark curiosity that extends into their real life.)
And now that I’m about to hit publish on my post my son comes up to me and says “excuse me mom, but do you think you could give me some homework?” I ask “like what kind of homework?” He says “oh I don’t know maybe like go research our solar system or something?” I send him off with a post-it note that says “research and write down five facts about our solar system” he runs off with a giant smile….a moment later he asks if I can take him to the library today…so there you have it, we will be going to the library today. 🙂
That is what homeschooling in our house looks like! That is what learning should look like IMHO and that is why we have a relaxed homeschooling style and why we do it year round.
Reality Check for New Moms – Scrapbooking
I keep getting “Creative Memories” sale notifications. This has brought to my attention the massive amounts of scrapbooking materials I purchased right before I had my first child. I was ready to make amazing perfect creative memories. Or open a scrapbooking store, lol.
I took my first child to have his photos taken professionally every month on the day of his birth, so my scrap-book would be perfect, he’s 1 month old, 2 months old, 3 months old, and so on…I did this for at least the first two years of his life…when baby number two arrive I continue each month, but quickly dropped the professional aspect and only really had time to pluck out cute shots from my obsessive ‘camera in baby’s face constantly’ collection.
This obsessive photo documentation must give you some insight to my determination towards making these creative memories. I am the youngest of five and the only documentation I have of myself as a baby is the card from the hospital nursery identifying me.
Truth be known alllll of those amazing scrapbooking tools went untouched.
All I had time for was sticking each months photos into an old fashion paper scrapbook and jotting some notes down on the sides of each photo stating what he or she was doing developmentally or some comical tid bit that happened. Spelling wasnt perfect, handwriting was messy, even have some scratched out words, etc but the intention was to pluck from this book and make a beautiful perfect creative memory out of it when I had time. Ahhh good intentions….haha!
I was flipping thru this book the other day and realizing this is THE BEST CREATIVE MEMORY EVER!!! I love this book. I love to flip thru the pages, read the notes, see the photos, look back on those fun, crazy, TIRED days and know from the scratched out and quickly jotted notes just how it really was, perfect in our own special way. I love having this hard copy because I recently lost digital photos that were not backed up in time.
I highly recommend new moms to toss aside the notion of perfect.
Your definition of perfect will quickly be changing. You will endure spit up, poop explosions, inconvenient lactation issues, exhaustion, bad hair days, bad mood days, messy house, the biggest laundry piles you’ve ever seen, etc… Simply try to enjoy your child(ren) during that chaotic time, document it the best you can without causing yourself additional insanity. When things get less crazy and you look back, you will be so glad you have this silly scratched out not perfect memory book of the kids.
The Unsocialized Homeschooler
The socialization of homeschooled children is a common topic that many homeschoolers are asked about by non-homeschoolers.
When people are considering homeschooling, often they fear their child will miss out on the socialization a classroom brings.
When people are unaware of what exactly goes on in a homeschooling home, they assume the children are unsocialized or rarely get to play with children their own age.
People assume homeschooled children only socialize with their siblings as playmates.
Socialization seems to be one of the biggest concern of the non- homeschooling community.
As a homeschooler, socialization is my least concern, and I’d like to share with you why.
Each week on average we have 3 play dates with a variety of friends.
Each week we meet up with a homeschooling group and have a park or beach day.
The homeschooling group arranges monthly field trips.
We have sleep overs, camp outs, BBQs, parties, community activities, etc.
We sign up for clubs, sports, dance, horse riding, music, etc.
I was recently told by a friend whose children attend the local public school, that my children have more of a social life than hers do. She confessed, she had worried about homeschooling kids, thinking they sat at home all day with nothing to do, while the other kids were at school playing with friends.
The truth is, school kids spend majority of their day sitting in the classroom, not outside playing with friends. Where as homeschooled children are generally finished with their studies hours before school kids are let out for the day; therefore, homeschool kids get to spend the rest of their day truly SOCIALIZING with friends.
If you are concerned or would like more information on the topic of socializing homeschooled children, here are two really good books on the topic.
Mama Lou’s Easy Bread Recipe!
Here ya go, my easy peasy bread recipe….it is simple, easy to make, and wholesome.
The many so-called wholesome bread loaves found on the store shelves have funky ingredients many people can’t even come close to pronouncing. We all want to know what our children are eating. Which not always an easy task these days.
(side note: When you see “NATURAL FLAVORS” listed as an ingredient, you might want to know “Castoreum” is very commonly used as a “NATURAL FLAVOR”…go ahead and see what Castoreum really is! HINT: We call it “Beaver Butt” in our house)
Back to the bread: Making bread doesn’t get any more simple then this recipe!
You’re only an hour and half away from a warm yummy loaf!
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt (you can add more salt if it’s too plain for your taste)
1 1/4 teaspoons yeast (you can add a little less yeast, not critical)
2 cups warm water (sometimes I need a splash more than that)
STIR until all the flour is wet and mixed
Cover & let rise for an hour (or longer, but at least one hour)
Pour into a greased loaf pan (I like cast iron, because then I don’t have to grease it)
Bake at 450F for 30-35 minutes.
ENJOY!
Kreative Kids!
I love that my kids think “outside of the box”!!!
Yes there are times (like when my son’s creativity blew out our internet!) that can be frustrating, but over all I wouldn’t trade my outside of the box thinkers for anything!
Teaching themselves how to skateboard. After a few scary attempts down our driveway, they decided they might try to hone their skills on the trampoline. According to the kids, the falls are less bloody.
I love that they are working on problem solving skills and physics on their own…gives me a reference for later science lessons, a reference they can relate to. 🙂
It’s no surprise “Speed and Velocity” by “They Might Be Giants” happens to be a favored song in this house, as is any science experiment that involves speed and velocity!
Thomas Edison Jr.
I am forced to remind myself it could be worse….Thomas Edison’s mother homeschooled him and he burnt down their barn with his experimental adventures.
Today I wrote a horrendous post, long and dull…I hit publish instead of save draft and then my Internet service crashed. I couldn’t delete it! Ugh! I had to go about my day with that post out there for all to see and I couldn’t fix it, rewrite it, delete it, nothing!
After a LONG conversation with the phone company I have an appointment for next Monday to have a tech come to the house and fix the situation…nearly a week of no Internet and that horrendous post is out there.
Tonight, my husband calls me into our son’s room with a tone like I’m two and in trouble for something. But then when I get into the room I see what he’s wanting to share.
Our son has rigged up his own “cell phone” (think I mentioned he’s been wanting to do this) he purchased an old school phone at the thrift shop for fifty cents. Used his handy dandy wiring skills and a spare phone jack in his room to create his “cell phone” He actually had a working phone in his room, but in the process disrupted our Internet service.
I’m lucky I have a handy dandy smart hubby who can fix nearly anything. We are back online again and my horrendous post has been removed with only ONE view! (Best slow visitor day ever!)
I’m tempted to keep the phone company appointment as it is their fault my son has this new sparked interest. Maybe they can come out and teach him how to make his dreams come true without electrocuting himself or blowing out our Internet!
Where Did I Come From Mommie?
Kids are curious. Lets start with that. They have questions. Lots and lots of questions. Sometimes those questions catch you off guard. Well before that time came (learning from friends that had gone before me) I prepared!
I bought a pop up children’s book that explains where children come from. I was going to be ready. No catching this mama off guard! I’m ready bring it on!
Dr. Ruth was at my side. Who could explain it better right? I flipped thru the pop up book and it seemed pretty darn good.
As my children toddled on, there were a few times I thought the book was ready come out. But turned out they wanted to know more about where baby chickens came from…Dr. Ruth didn’t cover that.
Finally the day came. Sex Ed was about to take place. I get out the book and cuddle up on the sofa to read this amazing story of love and life and as I’m reading aloud I hear my words as if from a bubble. The words came out of my mouth so fast, too fast for me to stop them, but at the same moment the words came out in such slow motion I felt like I was in a time warp.
“The penis goes into the vagina”
Oh my holy moly mama me…..did that seriously just come out of my mouth, did my curious child pick up on it? What questions will come now? Do i need to make it clear that my daughter and son are NOT to give this a try? Do i mention some RULE like you need to be married first? oh my mind is racing with allllll the what ifs you can imagine and them some! As I stumble thru the rest of the book trying to pre-read before another one of those graphic details flies out of my mouth. I realize the worst is over, what more can Dr. Ruth have me say now. THE PENIS GOES INTO THE VAGINA….there is no more to tell. That was my brave motherhood moment and if I could do it over I’m not sure how I would have handled that one minor detail of just HOW DOES the sperm get to the egg mommie?
So I thank Dr. Ruth for leading me in this tricky path, but I have words of wisdom for those of you that haven’t approached this place in parenthood yet.
ALWAYS read the book you plan to teach with IN FULL, so there are no surprises.
Think of all the crazy questions your child might come up with once they are fueled with this new found info and be prepared to inform them that under no circumstances are they to attempt this with a sibling, friend, etc.
OH that brings me to parenting manual RULE #2
Make it very clear to your child their privates are PRIVATE! They should not be exploring them with siblings, friends and for sure never ever ever an adult! And make it clear, if anyone is interested in exploring their privates they MUST tell you! Keep your children safe. They can’t go running around this world in the dark, but once they have this info, they need to know the boundaries and they need to be VERY CLEAR boundaries!
So in the long run, I am very glad Dr. Ruth was there for me and in such a clear matter of fact way, but I wish I would have been prepared for that one sentence before I heard it coming out of my mouth in such graphic detail! I do recommend the book if you are at the this place with your children.
And I will say now that my children know it ALL, they don’t seem remotely interested in it. So it might be an easy way to just get it over with and no longer wonder when that awkward moment might come. Just read the story book and move on to their next question…in my house it was: “Mom, can I wire this old phone to these jumper cables and then wire them to this circuit board bit and put it in the plug jack and make my own cell phone?”
Is there a book on that? Dr. Ruth’s guide to child engineers that want to electrocute themselves at each turn?
Hectic Peace 