A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

Last week, the teens and I sat down with pencil and paper and journals galore to add up their school hours to see what credits they earned and address any gaps.  It was eye-opening for everyone. :) Rose Red My girl is struggling. She has infinite potential. Really, she just shines when she's on!! But she's been off the whole semester. She looked at me ruefully and said, "I've wasted the semester." And she's right. She did finish a full year of working at Freddies and then applied for and was hired at Old Navy. And she earned 1 high school credit.  She earned that credit mostly in literature--participating in our classics book club, reading on her own, listening to our family read alouds, and journaling about what she read.  At the very least, I am glad she's reading really good books--mind-expanding, heart-filling, thought-provoking books. Only 2 credits left to graduate. We've mapped out a plan. I'll help her the best...

Easy Homeschooling Techniques: General Edition by Lorraine Curry This is another book I picked up on a whim at the library, and after skimming it, I'm returning it immediately.  There is nothing easy about what this author recommends.  It's surely full of good ideas--great ideas even--but implementing them for my big family is more labor intensive than almost any alternative I can think of. Because I am somewhat dramatic, I felt physically ill as I turned the pages, looking for anything that didn't make me want to run screaming: 1.  Read aloud--yes, good, that is easy, and we do that. 2.  Pages 129-131 had a classics booklist that I liked. 3.  Page 17 had a reprinted list from 1907 of what children should be taught. 4.  She encouraged teaching children to be independent. Yup, I can handle all of that. But the rest of the book is a manual for creating your own curriculum for every subject for every child. Nope, I'm not going to do that! ...

A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Van DeMille I long ago decided that TJEd in its purity was not for me nor my children.  I felt at loose ends too much, and with various seasons coming and going, I felt punished for opening workbooks and simply saying, "This is what we're going to do today." Quite simply, I don't always have it in me to inspire instead of require. :) But rereading this book now made me realize that truly our household is an educationally inspiring household.  We read lots of classics.  We talk a lot.  I check in with my kids, and I provide lots of inspiration through my own example and through the supplies we keep in our home. It was a joyful reread, and it inspired me to keep up with our family reading . . . because lately I've felt in something of a slump. Core and Love of Learning--Oliver and Rachel DeMille When I finish assessing my kids, I'm going to write myself a separate post, assessing how I'm doing with the v...

Monday morning we (mostly--I can never count Rose Red in these things) started our school-year morning routine.  We're starting half an hour later than we will be starting in a couple more weeks, and I still have a few habits to get better at, but I'm still enjoying morning running, and I am just not ready to give it up. Besides, it's still too hot for afternoon exercise. (It's starting to be too dark to be out at 6 am--I'll be shifting to afternoon running once the temperature drops.) Lola loves combing long, smooth hair.  And Belle is so patient with her. I still get up between 5 and 5:30 am and start my day with scripture study, journaling, and prayer.  Then I get on my running gear and hit the pavement with one or two teen daughters while another teen daughter gets the privilege of mindless internet time in return for babysitting the babies.  If I get home fast enough I can get a shower before throwing on my clothes. Everyone else is to be up by ...

Monday was full of all of the busy-ness of getting back into the swing of things.  Our morning meetings are such a blessing!  To the homeschool moms who brought up the idea and to the Father in Heaven who whispered that we needed these meetings now, I am so very thankful. We changed our opening song and main scripture memorization to those listed for February in the Primary sharing time outline.  The kids and I were delighted to find that the scripture of the month was one we were already learning!  We also added a new seminary scripture mastery to our list to memorize (Isaiah 1:18).  We're getting quite good at paragraph 2 of The Family Proclamation , so I'm already thinking about moving on to #3, but perhaps we'll just stick with this one for a bit longer, as we like it so much. We're getting back in the saddle, again! As it was the first of the month, we calendared any special events and made sure that Sir Walter Scott and I have a temple visit schedu...

I've been waiting a long time to read this book-- The Student Whisperer .  I've finally got it to myself for two weeks via interlibrary loan.  And I'm furious! I'm so disappointed. That's why I'm writing.  I feel as if there is wisdom to be found, but I feel so blasted by arrogance and superiority that I'm reeling and have to find my center again.  I need to purge my mind of my frustrations to make way for lessons that might be beneficial. So Round 1 is my horror of how the authors believe they know what's best for all . . . maybe they don't believe that . . . but that is the message that I feel when I read it. There is a section of Tiffany Earl's narration in which she recreates a conversation with her mentor Oliver DeMille about a student who leaves her school.  She's devastated that the student is "lost;" she feels like a failure.  Over the course of the conversation it is revealed that the student was withdrawn from th...

Just as I was feeling good about the activities the girls have chosen (E13--gymnastics, M11--violin, S11--choir, J0--horseback riding) and about our schedule and plans in general, a good friend threw a wrench in the works.  She is the director of a children's performance group--singing, clogging, dancing--that just lost several members due to a surprise change of address for one of the principal families.  She emailed me with a specific invitation to join this group, along with the plea, "It would be a favor to us, too." This group is terrific.  All 6 of my girls could participate, and at the same time.  It is practically free.  The kids are encouraged to develop their own choreography, costumes, sense of showmanship, and leadership.  The kids will be taught a lot of excellent performance skills.  The group is pro-America, pro-family, pro-good values.  I have not one criticism or concern. Except one. Is it the best use of our time? Should ...

S11 has been so desperate to find a "special thing."  This is not an object but a talent or hobby that can be uniquely hers in our family.  M11 seems to have one.  J9 seems to have one.  But S11 has been really struggling. She wanted it to be surfing . . . but we live well over 1,000 miles from any oceans. We thought it was going to be joining the homeschool band.  We had the open house marked on our calendar for 2 weeks.  At the very last minute I looked up the address, and found the rehearsal schedule at the same time--right in the middle of our science club. We are all committed to the science club; homeschool band suddenly was not an option. My heart broke for my poor, disappointed girl. I began scouring websites, local forums, and community education catalogues for something special for my girl. Success! I found a local children's choir that was open for auditions this week.  S11 loves to sing.  We've talked about voice lessons ...

Pride goeth before a fall. My last post was about how school and our routines were almost too easy. Then came Monday. A6 had a fever and was listless all weekend.  I'd promised to help in the church nursery, so my husband stayed home with all 3 littles (because where one fever is, others usually follow) while I took the 4 bigger girls to church.  It was good to sit quietly through an entire service.  Then I spent 2 hours in the nursery.  All was fine--even boring--but I came home quite tired. We wrote our letters; I remembered to scan them into the computer this time. I made dinner. I closed my eyes for an hour. But it wasn't enough. I was still so very tired. And then Monday morning came so quickly! My sweet M11 helped me through a few mistakes--like forgetting our memorization scripture and devotional moment during our morning meeting.  But E13 was having a hard day, and she made no bones about making it hard for the rest of us.  By ni...

Today is the day we head home from our 3 week super-vacation in the west.  We've celebrated a wedding, a baby blessing, and a birthday; we've attended family reunions; we've driven across country completely new to us; we've renewed friendships; we've gone surfing! It is time to face school again. I have such mixed feelings. Partly because our house hasn't sold yet, partly because I'm newly pregnant with baby #8, partly because we've been so out of the schooling loop I don't even know where to begin. I know these things: *I miss preschool with H3 and she misses it too.  We'll pick up where we left off of the plans I made for her last year. *I miss school with A6 and she misses it too.  She's a full-fledged reader now.  She doesn't need much more than encouragement from me, but we can do some school as an excuse to be together--a little reading, writing, and spelling with some math games thrown in for fun. *I want to start the litt...

My precious J9 has only one riding lesson left--the one she's paying for out of her Christmas/birthday money.  The ones that we've paid for are over. When I watch her with the horses, though, my spirit cries out that this must go on!  I cannot take this nourishment away from my small but growing girl. I cannot afford it. It cannot end. I took my worries to my Heavenly Father . . . tentatively . . . informally . . . just wishfully . . . "I wish (J9) could keep riding . . ." (That's not how I was taught to pray.) I decided that one lesson per month cost the same as a month's worth of music or dance lessons, and we'd be willing to pay for those, so if she wanted to, she could continue with one lesson per month.  It would have to do.  It would have to be enough. J9's beloved riding teacher is the owner of the barn  (What delicious understatement it is that she calls her breathtaking arena and stables and farm "the barn.").  Her daug...