Dogwood Homeschool

Galloping through fall

Okay, I give up. Life is just not slowing down for me right now! I hope I am not the only one who feels like they just can't keep up. Laundry, homeschool, volunteer obligations, etc. I always fantasize about long walks with fall leaves crunching underneath, curling up to read books, baking, yummy smells, anticipation... well, guess what, that's what I've been up to, but with a 7 year old and a 5 year old, it really is sort of exhausting!

I feel like things are just a blur. We had a vacation, not one, but two. The beach and the mountains. And another possible one coming up, if vacation time works out for my husband. My house has been clean, my house has been trashed. We've been fairly dilligent with some aspects of homeschool, while others have fallen by the wayside. In a downside, my 5.5 year old has discovered playing on the computer, and let's just say my work is cut out for me because getting on the computer seems to be her primary goal in life. (I have been a bit lenient, allowing her to play more than is really good for her, in the hopes that I would be productive in other areas, but that has not worked out as I hoped!)

I'm trying to use Pinterest to come up with and keep track of good ideas for the girls to do while we are reading. They really both focus better when they have a quiet activity to do. Last week they both enjoyed creating sculptures out of marshmallows and toothpics (done beautifully here) though it was a bit more challenging than we thought it would be!

Both girls also loved experimenting with shaving cream (I let them add tempura paint and swirl it around). Also, we have created some Owl Dolls (by tracing an owl coloring page, coloring it in, and then I sewed pattern fabric to the back) and done a bit of hand embroidery. I always want to do more, but need to be thankful for what I manage to do!

And of course we've enjoyed our park days so much. Or at least I have, sadly it seems to be hit or miss with my oldest- she doesn't like parks that are too crowded, because then it cramps her style of play (big imaginary games) and she has suddenly decided that she doesn't like to make new friends at the park, and instead will talk about other times we've been with friends and wish that the friends were there with us. My 5 year old has entered a very friendly stage, and tells me that everyone she talks to is her friend, once she knows her name. And she tells them all about how she is on Jumpstart on the computer, and that she got Twinkle Toes, like she ALWAYS wanted. :) Isn't she cute! I wish I could balance like this. She's fairly high off the ground, on the edge of a waist-high sandbox.

I hope that by blogging some of this, I will actually remember this once it's all over! This is all going so fast!

Two months in... and homeschool organization/curriclum overview

Fall is always the busiest time of year for us! We've had quite the exciting past couple of months, including some travel... which is always enjoyable but does make it challenging to get a good rhythm or routine going. We keep trying, and I know that after Christmas we'll have months with not much going on. I plan to write a couple of posts about our vacation(s), some challenges we've had and what has been working for us to overcome them, thoughts on scaffolding a child with learning challenges, and hopefully a bigger post about organization and some pictures of our "learning" spaces.

Today I just wanted to share the latest in my ever-changing (and improving!) homeschool/art closet organization. I had started the year with two crates, one for each girl. I quickly realized that one of the downsides of that approach was that things lay flat, instead of upright as I had intended. So I kept losing things. One thing I have learned is that if it is not accessible, it (book, activity, game, whatever) will NOT get used. So enter Plan B. I bought 2 packs of cheap Magazine files from Ikea this past weekend, and then sorted/labeled our materials in them. I have them on the shelf in our closet that is next to the table where we do our schoolwork. I put the most regularly used in the middle, and the least used or referenced only by me to the sides. Behind the files (deep shelf!) I have tucked things I need accessible but not on hand always, like an art smock, extra notebooks, etc.

Here's the big view of the two main shelves... on the bottom we keep shoes, then the bottom shelf has our "messy" art supplies of tempera and watercolor paints, markers, glue, paintbrushes and a good old "junk drawer" where we keep miscellaneous items that the girls like to use to create.

The art shelf definitely gets messy and needs a lot of attention. But that means that we use everything, so that's good, right? :)

Here is the left side of our curriculum/books shelf... mostly what I use with Charlotte. In the middle we have the most important of ALL, our beloved Ambleside Readings and the checklist binder that I use. Then math, All About Spelling, and some random items that I grouped together that I don't use quite as often. Oh, the pink box is for All About Spelling (holds cards) and you can't really see it, but two jars are hiding in the wings- our Narration Jars, which I must confess we haven't used since we made them, but I hope to start using soon!

Charlotte's math box includes Singapore Math and Life of Fred: Apples. I recently caught on that handing her the workbook itself to do overwhelms her, but if I copy a page from the workbook and give it to her, that works better. So I need to add a file to store copies of math pages that I can pull out, and maybe some lesson plans. I feel like I'm moving toward using Singapore as a resource and bringing in more living math and games to supplement.

And here is Gwendolyn's side, though some of the handwriting stuff is for Charlotte as well.

We use (and love!) the All About Reading Level 1 program with Gwendolyn... she is still a "pre-reader" at 5.5, working on letter recognition for lower case letters now, and letter sounds. Her progress in reading really shows me every child is different- her sister was reading some by the same age, but I don't even plan to start an official reading curriculum for Gwen until she's 6. She LOVES the puppet, which is called "Ziggy" in the curriculum, but she renamed her "Skylight" and it is a GIRL Zebra, obviously. I have quite a lot of "math" resources for Gwendolyn, most of which I just pull out when she's needing something to occupy her while I'm working with her sister. She loves mazes, so we have a big book of mazes. Also a friend gave me Year 1 of MEP, which has been a good resource. Finally, we have our collection of handwriting and drawing resources. I have several volumes of Draw Write Now, which we all enjoy (even me!), Gwen's Handwriting without Tears workbooks, and a cursive book for Charlotte... I do not require that for her, but it is available if she becomes interested. And last but not least, my Five in a Row manuals. I also stash trays with "in progress" projects on top of the file holders, since I don't have a good place to keep them otherwise.

My challenge with this closet is always, always, always just maintaining it so it stays in good shape. I've accepted that once or twice a month I have to spend 20 or 30 minutes tidying it up, because it is heavily used. I wish it was a better, more beautiful space, but at least I can close the door!

I'm considering adding an over-the-door hanger for shoes to have the pockets to put things in, like scissors, glue sticks, stickers, extra supplies, etc. Just need to remember to shop for that!

First day of school reflections

So, yesterday was the first day back to homeschool!

Was I completely ready and organized? No.

But as I sat and looked at my calendar, I realized that I wanted to get started and get that forward momentum before our busy fall. I really hope to get five "official" weeks completed before our trip to the beach in late September, which meant that this is the week that we needed to get started!

I don't have any fancy systems, no perfect checklists... more of a working philosophy and the self-knowledge that me and fancy checklists don't work well together. Some weeks I might "plan" a lot, other weeks I will just stack my books and off we go. (I have a post about that on my old blog!)

If I had waited until I was completely organized before starting, then, well, it might have been a while before we got going! And I can assure you that my children's education would not be that much better for it. The organization is truly not the end goal, it's the doing that matters- opening the book, engaging with the stories, stopping to examine the cicada exoskeletons discovered clinging to the house and learning about their lifecycle, climbing to the top of the tree, finding Italy on the map and the older helping the younger color the flag correctly... all things that happened yesterday without great planing or preparation on my part, other than chosing our reading selections and a short prayer before starting. (Probably should have prayed more? That's where I'd critique my preparation!)

Having a system of organization IS important though, for sanity and not wasting time and energy. But my dilemma has been all summer, WHAT SYSTEM? I am glad that I plunged ahead this week though, because I now have a plan. This is what our kitchen table looked like at the end of the afternoon:

(Note: I took a picture of the mess for posterity, but not pictures of my children, because they were looking a little scraggly yesterday... aiming for first "week" of school pictures!)

Now, I realize that might not be too bad by some peoples standards, but it's a bit chaotic for me, and took me a good half hour to clean up, not what I want to do at the end of the day. I want the girls to help me clean up after schoolwork is done, too, but if there is no system then they can't help! It needs to be made plain and simple for them.

I'm giving myself the week to mentally tweak this system, but right now I think I will do the following:

-Buy a "milk crate" for each girl that will corral all their bulky items (books, math, spelling, handwriting books, reading program, binders, etc.) Will keep this accessible to the kitchen table, and pull materials from there. Sometimes we need to move around, so the portability will be good. Plus I get tired of stacking and restacking books and binders that don't sit neatly on shelves! The workbox system is too "busy" for us, and would be too complex a system for us to maintain, and it doesn't fit our learning style.

-Set up a resource file that I organize by broad topics, such as "Miss G: Math" or "Miss C: Science". Will also have space for files that I need to keep at hand, such as Girl Scouts, Co-op, Field-trip resources, Holiday ideas/plans, etc. But I find that I do better with "bigger" rather than "smaller" categories. Also will have a "warm fuzzy" file where I can keep things that encourage me- cards from girls, friends, etc. (I got this idea from a friend who is a co-leader of mine in a group- keep things that encourage you related to a volunteer position so that you can visit it from time to time to remember why you are doing it! She gave me a file that actually had a "fuzzy" on the tab, very sweet.)

-This one I'm still thinking about- re-fashion our big (but ugly! sigh...) "Apprentice Organizer" to be an action hub of sorts... I'm thinking a place to stash all the "we need it now" supplies of extra white paper, pencils, etc along with any in-progress work... and I can keep *my* planner binder (if I set one up!) in the middle, along with "active" files for the week that I've pulled from my teacher resource box. I am wondering if it would work to modge-podge some scrapbook paper on it to make it a little prettier and more personalized.

My plan is to tackle things this weekend, and hopefully post next week with how it turns out!

"I am, I can, I ought, I will" (Part 1)

I've just finished re-reading "For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School" by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. This is one of the best and most influential books on Charlotte Mason philosophy, I feel.

I appreciated her thoughts on the Parents National Education Union (PNEU- organization founded by Charlotte Mason to share educational ideals and encourage parents) motto,  "I am, I can, I ought, I will." It's a catchy motto that's easy for me to gloss over (though I love mottoes, really!) so I wanted to note some of Macaulay's thoughts on each part of the motto. And maybe I can find some additional info in other writings as well, to help me better understand.

But, for now, I thought this was powerful, and somewhat timely in light of information about high-stakes testing leading to a cheating scandal and our countries' financial system and the wealth and livliehood of many in jeopardy... just a few selections from Chapter 6:

"I AM"

The person should know about his worth, his unique place as a creature made to have a relationship with God.  He understands who he is, his ability to chose, that he matters, that he is accepted and valued...

We hinder the child's assurance of his worth-- "just as I am" -- when we set up artificial development schedules into which we try to cram the child grade by grade.  the program then matters more than the child. We push the "slow" and bore the "Quick."  We ignore the living mind.  We allow peer pressure in this materialistic and godless culture to become like a row of vultures, judging the child with beady eyes.  The teacher and the school report can join this guantlet of judgment through which the quivering child has to march.

We really do have to try to get away from our success-oriented society where people bolster their selfish egos by comparing their achievements as being better than someone else's.  "My job/salary/education/status is better than yours" is an ugly and wrong thought. It is so easy to make slaves of children for these same selfish and misguided reasons. "My Johnny learned to read at four, plays the violin, writes ocmputer programs and is on the Little League team." But is it good for Johnny? Is it right?...

 

Late Summer/Early Fall Daily Routine

I am not a "strict schedule" person, but I have found over time that we fall into natural routines. Sometimes they "work" really well, other times they needs some tweaking. But for us, they vary greatly upon the time of year! During the spring/summer/early fall when we have warmer (hot!) days I am more open to heading outside in the morning hours when it's more pleasant. But some days we prefer to head out in the afternoon! So, a strict "daily schedule" simply doesn't work for us.

Given the ages of my children, it takes about 1.5 to 3 hours to do our schoolwork each day. We can fill the day up with other activities, but in terms of getting readings done, activities, covering all the "subjects" and working with both girls, that is about how long it takes. Oh, and the cooperation of my children.

Within my routine, I also have to have priorities of where my focus needs to be first. If I stick with my priorities, then I should be able to accomplish our goals for the day.

Daily Priorities at home during "school hours": These priorities are clustered together and I just need to keep them at the forefront, above other things that distract me. So, I have to prioritize them all together! I believe that these priorities are important for cultivating an atmosphere for learning in our home. As Charlotte Mason writes, "Education is an atmosphere." As a homeschool mom, I have to be intentional about creating this atmosphere and guarding against things that interfere with it!

   -Physical needs: What are we wearing (laundry!), eating (fix meals, plan for later meals), movement (do we need to take a walk or head outside?) and affection (have I hugged my children and connected with them? sometimes a quick morning snuggle does wonders for a cranky little one.)

  -Learning: Decide when we will do school work, and prioritize that over competing goals (anything computer-related for me personally, major housecleaning tasks and volunteer work).

  -Home routines: Work in daily and weekly chores

  -Relationships: How are we getting along? Are emotional needs being met? Does someone need a hug or snuggle with mommy, or a quiet break to regroup? Are we treating each other with love and kindness? Are there discipline issues that are popping up repeatedly, and if so, why?

True confession here... there are stumbling blocks that I have to guard against that really distract me from my priorities during the time I need to be focusing on my children's education. The major one is the COMPUTER. It will distract me and get me off track quicker than anything else! (Sound familiar to anyone else?) What kind of educational atmosphere can I be creating if I'm sitting on my tushie staring at the screen? I can always "justify" getting on the computer with some important reason (haha) but I simply cannot continue to allow the computer to nibble away at the day as I have over time. I think that for me the only way to overcome this issue is to simply say no computer time until I have, in good conscience, attended to the priorities I listed above. Because I have things that I do via computer that are important to me and fun (email, participating in message board, blogs, pinterest) I am quite sure that I will "make" time to hop on here and there so I don't see any need to "schedule" it. But my children need to take priority! Some people may be able to homeschool and be active on the computer at the same time, but it has become clear to me that I am not one of those people. I need to be fully present for my children, and the computer does interfere with that. (Just keeping it real!)

August/September Daily Routine at Home

 This is a “template” for a routine for end of summer/early fall days! I have different decision points (will we be home all day or just part of the day?) that will help me focus on what we need to be doing when we are at home. 

7:00-9:00  Early Morning                                         

Elizabeth:

Wake-up (shower, dress, make beds)

Breakfast

Chores: Unload dishwasher, Laundry check

Check calendar (are there away from home plans?)

Lunch & Dinner- preparations needed?

Personal time: Bible study, check email(then get off computer!)

 Girls:

Quiet wake-up activities

Dress

Eat breakfast

Help mommy as needed with morning tidy

 

9:00-12:00       Morning                                  

If staying home in the morning:

Morning walk/outside time

Homeschool

Free play

Quick clean up

 If going out in the morning:

Pack for morning (lunch, clothes, other needs)

Jot down afternoon plans

 

12:00-1:00    Lunchtime                                        

Elizabeth daily chores

Girls free time after helping with chores

Kitchen clean-up

 

1:00-5:00      Afternoon                               

If we were gone in the morning:

Warm-up activity to school work (story, craft, etc)

School work

Outside play

Elizabeth- daily or weekly chores

Girls- help clean up their messes

 If we were home in the morning:

 Finish up schoolwork or activities

 Dinner check- what are we eating?

 Laundry check

Chose outside activity: Park, pool, YMCA, nature walk, visit friends

 

5:00-8:00    Family Time (dad is home at 6:30)                          

Girls: Help clean up messes if necessary

Elizabeth: Dinner prep, light cleaning, laundry check

Family Pick-up (everyone pitches in, even Dad!):

        -Family room

        -Kitchen

        -Trash/recycling      

        -Items on stairs

Family free time- play game, girls free play, walk, go to a park?

 

8:00-9:00        Bedtime Routine                              

Girls bathe/teeth/jammies

Bathroom/room pick-up (dirty clothes put away, obvious messes picked up)

Storytime

So, that's my plan for our daily routines during the remaining "warm weather" months! I've never been so explicit about our daily routines before, but I hope that this will help our days run smoothly and help us build good habits. I know that we will have to ease into our actual school work since we've really been enjoying our free-wheeling summer days. But if I focus on our priorities, I know it will leave plenty of time for all the "other stuff" that is also good that can crowd out my priorities!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plans for this blog

This is the time of year that all homeschool moms know too well- planning season! I know that some of us are more on top of things, and have long since laid out plans. Some of us might have been a bit worn out from finishing up the last year, and decided to take a well-deserved summer break. And others... well, the planning gets done some how! I have been able to put myself in all three groups over time.

This will be my third "official" year of homeschooling, as my oldest daughter Miss C is now a rising second grader, and Miss G is now officially kindergarten-aged! I have spent much of the summer thinking, reading, researching and praying about our new school year. Last year brought some significant challenges that I hope to write about on this blog, as well as many moments of joy. My hope is that this blog will be both encouraging and realistic, as I share some "highlights" of our homeschool experience, and also some of the challenges we face (in a way that is respectful to my children) and how we are working through them.

My homeschool philosophy is developing over time, through life experience, reading and knowing my children and their learning styles. I am most influenced by Charlotte Mason, a pioneering and inspirational educator who advocated a deep and broad education for all children, anchored by "living books" and much time outdoors and engaged in real and relevant activities. The "core curriculum" for my older daughter is Ambleside Online, which is a free online Charlotte Mason curriculum. For my younger daughter I will be drawing on the wonderful Five in a Row Curriculum, which is not explicitly "Charlotte Mason" but I find it compatible. I plan to write another post about some of our curriculum choices, so I won't elaborate too much right now!

I do have some other topics that I'd love to blog about, related to learning at home and beyond. Here is some of what I hope to write about here:

Arts and Crafts: Child-led art and handicrafts (learning to do real things) are an important part of our daily life. The girls love our well-stocked art cabinet and never stop surprising me with the projects they come up with and what they want to learn to do! I hope to share some of our favorite projects and activities... I can't promise true originality, but I can promise you that they had fun and it was messy.

Nature Walks/Exploring: Charlotte Mason encouraged parents and teachers to facilitate hours and hours of outdoor time for children. This is an ongoing challenge for me, as we cope with weather extremes and my motivation to get them outside. My goal is to have a weekly "outdoor hour" of nature study as well as regular walks and time outside- not just at playgrounds, but also in more natural environments for my children to explore. I would really like to feature different local parks and nature areas that we explore.

Life at home: One of the challenges of homeschooling is that your children are with you, at home, for many hours each week. This can be both a blessing and a challenge. I know I'm not the only homeschool mom trying to figure out how to keep the house running while also facilitating learning! Sometimes it's messy, sometimes it's crazy... but we are always working toward a cleaner, more pleasant home, and the girls are a big part of that.

Out & About: We are on the go quite a bit (too much my husband says!) and sometimes I'm not quite sure why. Maybe if I blog about some of our on-the-go adventures and field trips it will help me remember what we did last week... and also help me make sure we're making good choices about what we spend our time away from home doing!

Curriculum: I don't think you can have a homeschool blog without writing about curriculum, can you? I am sure I will write about our curriculum choices and what's working and what's not.

Planning and organization: Nuts and bolts... What are we going to do, how are we going to do it, and how will we keep track of it all? I have hopes to develop a portfolio for each of my girls this year.

That's not an exhaustive listing... but that's what's on my mind in terms of what I'd love to blog about. It will be interesting (to me, at least!) to see if I really end up writing about!

And just a little trip down memory lane for me... Miss G painting when she was a bit younger!

 

Getting started! :)

Welcome! Things are a bit dusty around here, since this blog is still under construction. Thanks for stopping by!