Getting Ahead

Last week my daughter finished her math book--one of those big, fat 3 inch thick ones. She did every single problem in the book. At the beginning of the year I tried to convince her to do, say, every other problem, but no, she insisted on doing every single problem of every single chapter because "that's what Bill made us do." Every single problem got checked and corrected. Every review and test was taken.

This happens to be the same textbook the kids in her class are using, and it will take them the entire school year to get through it. Aurora loves math, and I am glad she can move right along. But it brings me face to face with one of the reasons she brought up last April as to why she might not want to be homeschooled. As we began to explore the possibility of homeschooling, Aurora said, "But what if I get so far ahead and then I have to go back to school and do it over again? That will be boring." That was one of the few concerns she had that I didn't address, saying that "We'll deal with that when it happens." We don't have long-term plans as to whether we will homeschool or head back to the brick and mortar school, so I guess I still can't answer that question. It certainly is a valid concern. Many conscientious homeschoolers find that they are far ahead of their in-school counterparts. And after experiencing the freedom of learning independently and at their own pace, it can be difficult to "slow down" to the pace and level of the classroom.

I struggle with this question. I don't have answers, but I also trust that we are building a good foundation for our kids to learn, not just in school but in life. If school proves unsatisfying educationally, we now have the tools and initiative to seek other sources of challenge.

Extracurricular Activities in the Schools

One of the advantages of being in a 'school' is being able to participate in sports and other activities. One nice thing about having the school district running the homeschooling program is that there is an agreement that homeschooled kids can play in sports and participate in clubs, as well as take up to 2 classes in the school. Up until now my kids have not taken advantage of any offerings, but Denver expressed an interest in being part of the forensics club at McNeil Canyon School, so we checked with the organizing teachers and they gave it the thumbs up.

There was no big rigmarole. Denver just had to show up. It was quite a relief. Practice on Monday was the first time Denver has been in the school with other kids around since we began homeschooling. I was curious how that went for him. As he said, "It was horrible! Everyone wanted to say hi to me!" Personally, I think that is great: they were happy to see him and just wanted to talk to him. Denver, on the other hand, had some self-consciousness and even plotted coming in a back door for future practices so people wouldn't see him. I nixed that idea and told him to just be comfortable, or at least pretend to be comfortable. The practice itself was no problem and Denver was perfectly happy. He did have to make one tough decision: to work with Bill (the 5th grade teacher) or to work with Melon (his 3rd grade teacher last year). He waffled quite a bit until Melon helped him decide that he could go with his first gut reaction, which was Bill.

So now I get to head up the hill to McNeil twice a week, and Aurora and I will get ski time while Denver perfects his speaking skills. And for those of you that know him, working on his volume will NOT be an issue!!

Disappointing Results

Every so often my kids will turn in something that is just....pathetic. Today was one of those days. They've been working together on a webquest for their ancient India unit. For a webquest to last a couple of days is pretty long. One of the challenge assignments was to create a book telling about ancient Buddhist symbols and what they mean. They were to draw pictures and have text. Their finished products were slapped together, though it still took them 20-30 minutes to put together (Amazing how much time these things take!). When they turned them in my heart sank. They were pretty bad. I asked them what grade they would give themselves. Denver gave himself a "C" and Aurora gave herself a "B". Hm.

In the ideal teaching world, I would be previewing everything the kids do and going over it with them ahead of time, clarifying expectations and answering questions. In the rough and tumble of homeschooling with the management of 7+ classes for 2 kids, that just doesn't happen. If I had guided them through this project, I could have given them an example of what I had in mind for a book, or even just done a pretalk "What makes a good book?" Instead, this turned into a learning experience for me and we did it as a post-talk. "How could this be nicer? What do you think about doing this? You could have done this."

The kids were embarrassed with their work too. When I said, "What if I turned this in with your report cards as a sample of your work?" Aurora replied, "It would be better." So one of the downfalls of homeschooling can be that only a few people see their work so they get lazy and sloppy. My vigilance could help correct this in part. So should I have made them do them over--to their ability level this time??

Bad Habits I Blame on Homeschooling

Really, only one bad habit really jumps out at me that the kids have developed since we've homeschooled them: going to bed late. It could have been that before they were homeschooled they had their bedtime and then they would read for an hour or so in bed before they turned off their light, but we didn't necessarily know that, so we figured they were going to bed at 9:00. Now, though, despite our trying to be more vigilant about it, the whole family ends up going to bed at the same time...or at least going to our bedrooms since the kids still read before they sleep. I recall asking one homeschooled kid, "What is your bedtime?" When he loudly replied, "I don't have one!" I was a little bit shocked. For a 8 or 9 year old kid not to have a bedtime seemed like a breach of some parenting protocol. Yet now, only a year later, I'm afraid I understand all too well, though I would admit I would be embarrassed if my own kids said the same thing. But my kids get plenty of sleep going to bed 10-11ish and getting up at 8, so as much as the parenting protocol of the world might say they should have a certain bedtime, my kids' lives bear out that it is not a trauma not to be asleep by a certain time. However, what I will say, though, is that regularity is a good thing when it comes to sleep, and they have that simply because we as parents have that.

The other bad habit that comes to mind relates to Denver's headstrong ways: "I'm going to do this by myself and I don't need any help." But as we talked about last week, he was that way before we ever homeschooled so that is not necessarily a new thing, it's just that I notice it now since I butt up against it regularly!

I wish Aurora would brush her hair first thing in the morning instead of just before we go out for the day, but in that way she's like me. It's just that people usually can't tell when I've brushed my hair since I have a curly headful--it always looks nice or messy (depending on your perspective), whereas Aurora's always looks better brushed.

Besides that, the other "bad habits" my kids have picked up aren't any worse than some of the bad habits they might be picking up at a brick and mortar school, such as social meanness, educational loafing, school-as-a-social-playground, etc. So I think we're coming out even or ahead in the bad habits area!

Being in Public Embarrassment

One of the hardest parts for all of us about homeschooling is the looks people give us when we're out in public during the schoolday. The kids have gotten maybe slightly more comfortable with it since they started last fall, but it was not pleasant when I took them to morning mass one day and a well-meaning lady came up and said, "I'm the school police. Why aren't you in school?" At that time she didn't know they were homeschooled, but it still made an impression. Walking around the mall in Anchorage last week and bopping around town with the kids, I could see the same question on people's faces. Never mind that they are with both their parents, and my husband was wearing a tie even. There is always this niggling about it. I'll admit, that it's not very often, and it is generally just a few "toe the line" souls who want to make sure that every kid is being educated, and by golly, you'd better not be one of those deadbeat parents who don't send their kids to school.

Now I know I did the same thing when I would see kids out and about during the day. I wasn't obvious about it, but I did wonder. Of course, that was before I knew how many kids were homeschooled. In Homer there are like 400 kids homeschooled. That's enough to open up an entire school, and if they all were in the brick and mortar building, there would be a huge overcrowding issue.

I am confident that my kids are learning so I have learned to ignore those looks to a degree. I just wish my kids weren't so self-conscious about appearing in public during the day.

Homeschooling from a Hotel Room

One of the reasons I appreciate homeschooling is the flexibility. Combined with my job of teaching online classes, we can pick up and go any time. So far this year whenever we've traveled I haven't made the kids do their schoolwork. It has been a day here, a day there, and generally they work so hard the rest of the time and are further ahead than their in-classroom counterparts, that I don't worry too much about it.

For this trip to Soldotna and then Anchorage as we tag along with Doug on a couple of conferences I wanted the kids to work. Yesterday was like pulling teeth getting Denver to read 2 short books on India which he would have skimmed through like nothing at home. And as he said to me, "Truth be known, mom, I was hoping you would forget my math." Now, on day 2, the kids are eagerly reading their "for fun" books, but are avoiding their schoolwork.

To lighten their load (and because they don't have the computer with their Russian and typing programs) I'm not making them do everything they normally do on their daily checklist, and since we have good internet access, I will give them a couple webquests to do together (more India!), which will be a good activity. We'll get the work done, but I think that my kids work best with the routine of home rather than on the road. Of course, if we were on the road all the time they would get a routine down there!

Time to Volunteer

I have wanted to volunteer more with the kids in the past, but when they were in school all day they would be wiped out by time they got home, and then they had sports and other activities on evenings and weekends. Homeschooling provided me the perfect opportunity to volunteer with the kids during the day.

It took us awhile to figure out where we wanted to volunteer. I wanted something we could all do, and my preference was to work with people as opposed to objects. Aurora loves animals so we considered the animal shelter, but Denver's not into animals and nor am I. The local food pantry seemed to have plenty of volunteers already, as did Pic 'n' Pay. Aurora is a great teacher so I wanted to hook her up with a tutoring situation, but nothing came up. I liked the thought of working with seniors at Friendship Terrace, but wasn't sure how we could all do that together. I ran into the administrative assistant of Haven House, a shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence, last spring at a Cub Scout event, and asked her about possibilities. She liked the idea, though wasn't exactly sure how we might fit in.

When we started homeschooling one of the things on the kids' weekly checklist was service/volunteering. They were supposed to put in 2 hours a week. I was so busy I didn't have time to find a place, but finally Denver was getting quite cranky about not being able to check this off his list so I got motivated. I turned in the volunteer application at Haven House and they suggested that we play with whatever kids might be there in the play room. Aurora and Denver were not sure about it, but were willing to give it a try.

Four months later, we are now regulars, playing with whatever kids might be at Haven House each week. We bring in games and activities from home, depending on the level of kids that are there. It has been good for all of us, and I know that each week when I leave I have a smile on my face. The kids that are there look forward to our coming and appreciate being able to play with kids in their "home." A shelter is not normally a place to invite kids over for playdates, so this can mean a lot to these kids to play with other kids on their own turf. And I think Aurora and Denver gain an appreciation of the normalcy of their lives. I have seen Aurora become a leader in this situation, organizing the games and teaching the kids the rules. And we all see each other in a different setting, which allows us to get to know each other better. Overall it is a great experience and one that I am glad we ended up in.

First Year Teacher

My husband and I were discussing homeschooling last night and he made a comment that stuck with me: "Basically, you are a first year elementary school teacher." Yeah, I guess I am! Wow. Every day there is something I get down on myself because I didn't get it done, or didn't do it as well as I wished I had with the kids. There are many days when homeschooling feels messy and I am uncertain about if this is the best option for my kids. Like Douglas said, "Teachers are usually not effective the first five years they are teaching." I have been teaching in various capacities for many years, from coaching cross-country skiing while in college, to teaching college now. Yet for some reason I expected to just be able to jump right in and be a super teacher homeschooling. Well, time definitely plays a role here. I do work, teaching 2-3 college classes, so I am balancing that on top of teaching the kids and other commitments.

I guess what that comment did was put this in perspective for me. I'm not an experienced elementary school teacher. I don't always know the answers to questions my kids ask (thank goodness for Google!). Even if I'd had 4+ years of college teaching me to be a teacher, I would still have plenty of questions, uncertainties and rough spots in my teaching if this were my first year in the classroom. Bottom line: I think I'll give myself a break, chill out a little and give myself a pat on the back for doing what I do.

Time Alone is Precious!!

I've always enjoyed my hobbies and never have enough time for everything I want to do, and spending time by myself isn't a burden. I have to admit, though, that now that I am homeschooling I am very rarely home alone. Sometimes my husband and I will work it out for him to take the kids away--just for a few hours--please!! He would be willing to take them away for the weekend if I really needed or wanted it (or lets me go away for the weekend!), but most of the time, I don't begrudge my time commitment to my kids that has been presented by homeschooling. I like my kids, I respect them, and I enjoy their company. We co-exisit peacefully most of the time, so it is not a big deal to hang out with them all day every day, oftentimes with me doing my work and they doing theirs, with our paths intersecting regularly just as one would in the workplace.

I do find myself considering Time Alone to be a precious gift now, though. Precious enough, even, to capitalize it! I hold time with friends as more special too, since I don't run over to a friend's house as much now. So in a subtle way, homeschooling has changed my attitude about time, and time with my kids. Mainly, I'm more aware of it.

The Challenge of Putting Together Units

This year both the kids are studying ancient civilizations. Our units are 4-6 weeks long and I let the kids have lots of input in how we study them and what sort of activities they do to learn the material. As I begin preparing for our next unit, ancient India, I am faced with the usual problem: too much information! Google is wonderful; put in "ancient India lesson plans" and I get oodles of links! I begin to get a sense, though, that the information is just a hodgepodge. I appreciate textbooks more now because I think they can give focus to information, directing the learning and reducing the amount of work in putting together all the information.

Speaking of work: it is staggering how much effort it can be to sift through dozens or hundreds of links and decide, yes, let's do that one or no, the kids probably wouldn't be interested in that. We have ILP's that tell us what we "should" be learning about: geography, religions, art, government, architecture, etc. Yet it all has to be woven together in a way that is logical, builds on previous information and is interesting and engaging.

Obviously what I've been doing has some merit: both the kids had no interest in history before we started homeschooling and we even had quite a discussion about it this past summer, with Denver trying to convince me that we not study history. Now they both find history fascinating, or at least worthy of their attention. So even though my lessons are not totally polished and at times are downright messy, something's working. They say motivation is a key factor in learning; what has happened here? I wish I knew. If I did, I could package it and sell it for lots of money!

Bottom line, though, is that in a way this time seems wasted planning elaborate lesson plans because they will only be used once, particularly since both my kids are studying the same thing. A classroom teacher knows that even if they put a lot of work into a plan they will be able to use the material over and over again, benefiting many students over the years. The thing is, there are lesson plans out there, already done, but I have to find and revise them. Homeschooling is very time intensive!

A New Semester Begins....

Yesterday was our first day back after 2 weeks off for Christmas break (and my break from blogging about it!). I was curious how the kids would do: would they get up and get to work? would they complain? would their attitudes be bad? I need not have worried. At 9:00 on the button they were in the cabin working away, same as always. One could never have told that they'd taken two weeks off. They knew their routine and there was no whining, cajoling or bad attitudes. In fact, they seemed happy to be back.

The first day back in school (the brick and mortar type) was always exciting but also stressful for me. I would hear what other kids got for Christmas and vacations they went on. I felt like the underdog. I think homeschooled kids spend a lot less time thinking about and comparing themselves to others, and as a result I think they are more at peace. I suspect for many people there is a nostalgia in school traditions that they are loath to give up; they can't imagine their kids not going through the same things they did, good or bad. But I have to admit, I am happily surprised at how comfortable my kids are with the homeschooling setup, and I am one lucky mom that they are so self-motivated!