tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60841116784238548272024-03-14T00:58:10.591-07:00Home for GoodHomeschooling and/or unschooling in rural, southwest MichiganJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-22377845267644900302013-12-09T10:52:00.002-08:002013-12-09T10:52:58.579-08:00Reverting forwardWinds scatter snow like static pulls dust, and I am waiting for the kids to come home from school.<br />
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They went back. </div>
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I feel obliged to return and tell lingering subscribers what has kept me away so long and why our Home For Good became Home for a While.</div>
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My mom died. Well, first she was seriously ill -- on top of her myriad health problems that bloomed and grew over the past ten years. She would falter, recover somewhat, find relief in one infection or ailment only to have the cure bring other problems. </div>
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This time she did not recover. She was in-hospital about six weeks. What was bad cascaded into worse, which turned dire. Her body was shutting down. We were left with removing life support or keeping her in limbo a la machine. We chose what she had made clear in kitchen table conversations: "Don't let me live like that." </div>
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Amid the pull of working and homeschooling and a constant drag of "what's happening to Mom?" I left the kids more and more on their honor to do assignments. They didn't do as much or *all* as I instructed. I wept and railed at them for being untrustworthy. My son suggested he try middle school. He presented this idea as a way to be helpful. "Then you won't have so much to do," he offered. It was obvious I was out of my depth.</div>
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He went through testing to see if he would place. I cautioned him, "They may put you back a grade." The school said he would be fine in his current grade. He began mid February and never faltered. He has made nothing but A's ever since. He has been placed in advanced math. He loves the camaraderie of other kids "like me." He thrives on the recognition of other adults, whether on the cross country team, at library workshops, or in class.</div>
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My daughter was intrigued at the idea of middle school. A different teacher every hour? Art class every day? You get to eat salad at lunch? </div>
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She returned to elementary school in the new school year, to prepare for middle school-to-come. She has a teacher she adores, a gifted young woman who is a natural with the chaos and drama of 5th grade. Her classroom feels more like a club you'd want to join than a chore. She brings props and dresses up; she counsels without belittling. Bonus: the teacher was home-schooled. I worried about getting scolded for taking my kids out. No chance there.</div>
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Social studies has become the new favorite subject, and the structure is precisely what my daughter needs. It was what I had so much trouble providing with my other obligations. </div>
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Our bond didn't break. We still read together at night; I was the parent assistant on my son's cross country team; I went to the capitol with my daughter's class. We don't spend all day together, but the space --in my mind, in my house-- has let me expand my own profession without feeling guilt for taking time from them. </div>
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My kids are not one bit "behind" from having left school. The hassles of home discipline have been traded with counseling on friend drama or sympathy for how loud and distracting a classroom can be. We have yet found the ideal situation. It's something most people--kids and adults--are driven to find. </div>
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We know ourselves better for the experience, though. It was all part of our education.</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-9757105285216662362012-12-21T04:51:00.000-08:002012-12-21T07:00:21.585-08:00Tribe of four<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;"><img alt="kids dancing at part" height="266" src="http://www.creative-kids-birthday-parties.com/images/kids-dancing-illustration.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none;" title="kids dancing at part" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://www.creative-kids-birthday-parties.com/Indoor-party-games-Dance-like-a-zombie.html</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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My daughter, M, has just a few good friends. One girl is a full <i>three years</i> younger, but they play as equals. They giggle like mad when they're together. They are in the same dance class and always opt for each other as partner when a dance move requires two bodies.<br />
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This friend is not homeschooling, but she is part of a community that sets her apart, a culture that's in the minority. She, her family and her tight community strive to preserve this identity. They don't just pay homage to it like the eyedropper-full Irish who go green on St. Pat's Day or my husband's increasingly watered-down Italian family who love garlic and all, but are otherwise integrated.<br />
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This group has a language, a traditional dress, customary music, etc. They hold education classes to continue teaching the young ones. <b>It has been my only glimpse into what an Old World neighborhood would have been like when America was less homogenized.</b><br />
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The friend's name has a pronunciation that everyone "out here" turns into something else. Imagine the name "Mar-TI-nez" (Martinez) pronounced (oh, shudder) Martin-EZ. This girl rolls with it, though. She's not expecting everyone to get it.<br />
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My M. uses the proper pronunciation. I learned from the mother how to say the name. That's how M. learned it.<br />
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"My dance class makes fun of me for saying (friend's) name that way," M. says. "Even the teacher does."<br />
(She repeats their phrasing, which exaggerates the vowel change).<br />
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There's a lesson in this. Give me a second...<br />
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"Do you want to say it like everyone else, or do you want to say it the way you know is right?"<br />
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"The right way."<br />
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"Okay. This is a good thing, you know." (Quizzical eyebrows from M.)<b> "This is a chance for you to do what you know is right even though <i>everyone else</i>, including the person in charge, is doing it another way</b>." <br />
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I let her think on that and comb my mind for possible complications...Ah!<br />
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"Did (your friend) ask you to say her name like everyone else?"<br />
"No."<br />
"So what would you rather do?"<br />
"Say her name the right way."<br />
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I can't claim a single heritage. This is a household of European mutts. However, in homeschooling, there's a definite clan, a way-we-do-things that is not diluted by spending most of our days apart. It's a small thing, but I am pleased M. would rather stand out and get a little ribbing than relent and go along with the class. She'll get support from her tribe (us) and experience facing off against a crowd that wants--in a gentle, teasing way-- conformity.<br />
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I hope this builds resistance for future times when the teasing is less gentle and the crowd more imposing than a gaggle of girls in tights.<br />
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-8161279013293815922012-12-13T02:00:00.001-08:002012-12-13T02:03:32.272-08:00My bi-polar homeschool<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;"><img height="256" id="il_fi" src="http://coto2.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/teeter-totter.jpg?w=300&h=241" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://coto2.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/the-great-teeter-totter/</td></tr>
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Some days...some weeks...the larger share of some months, I have such doubts about continuing to homeschool. I want to stop feeling the oscillations of delight and failure, like this teeter-toter on which I am tied by choosing this life.<br />
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It's tiring, this ride. <br />
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On the high side, there's spontaneous learning. We drove home from my mom's in a merest suggestion of snow. The remaining week called for above freezing temps. The Dad and I recall Novembers full of snow and Decembers were definitely snowier than we've seen recently. My son goes from content to irate when I comment on "global warming." He gets irrational.<br />
"We are never sledding AGAIN!" he bleats. Winter is ruined. It will never recover.<br />
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The next day --<i>the very next day-</i>- I am leafing through National Geographic for photographs to use in our Roman mosaics. There's an article about one family and their attempt to make a difference in energy use. I read most of this aloud as the kids snip and sort papers.<br />
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We learn the greatest use of energy is heating one's home. We learn that running a push mower for an hour spews out as much exhaust as running eleven cars; running a riding mower for an hour is equal to running thirty-four (34!) cars.<br />
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"Imagine them all lined up on that road," I say, pointing out the window. "Thirty four cars running an hour just for the neighbor to mow his and our lawn."<br />
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There's no snow tantrum today. We talk about a concern with facts and guidance. I didn't decide to preach about energy use; it came up as part of life. These are my favorite moments. These kids are going to be fine in life. I just know it.<br />
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Then there's the low side, when I become entrenched in "learning" with a capital "L" -- for the sake of keeping up, seeming well-rounded, meeting Core Standards and all that rot. Our schedule gets skewed because we're staying up too late. We don't check off all the items on my list-o-subjects. It's evening, dark already, and I am back home and available to round them up and direct Learning again.<br />
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They're not having it.<br />
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I call to them. No one answers.<br />
I walk down the hall and confront them. "Let's do history."<br />
Groans and grimaces.<br />
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It comes down to either forcing them to pay homage to me for the sake of pleasing my schedule/staying on track/being educated enough, or letting it go for another day. I am more inclined to let it go, and I hate myself for it.<br />
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I watch The Great Courses Lectures on my own, taking notes. The girl curls up next to me with Calvin and Hobbes. The boy is clicking through his YouTube subscriptions. I am failing them; I just know it.<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-2088015963713212072012-12-12T05:10:00.001-08:002012-12-12T05:11:48.771-08:00Autumn wrap up pics<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/AVvXsEjbv7gP0YiCdNwRchQuT5K_ZTXVc6BgOQfDdjrgD27xG2hMLf8bHFD4C5XVzL8HuBNOMkpWGvtg7XKfH9AsqLaAJJCYnYfx5IjMWjVdPS4cU1XBIDbp6V74etuDMscO_eAoA-4g_6Fs1dY/s1600/2012+Sept+-+Dec+027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbv7gP0YiCdNwRchQuT5K_ZTXVc6BgOQfDdjrgD27xG2hMLf8bHFD4C5XVzL8HuBNOMkpWGvtg7XKfH9AsqLaAJJCYnYfx5IjMWjVdPS4cU1XBIDbp6V74etuDMscO_eAoA-4g_6Fs1dY/s400/2012+Sept+-+Dec+027.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You mean the year's almost gone? </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Really: it was a Starbucks Cake-Pop thing, gone in two bites)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rCMsWjQOHJ0Olfn0MmEAMUlN4nwwj3rQCyjDmr4mWb9kVGi2L1yKh8PrTjk6X9NYsI3qTx3sN8K0ybmKFJcbPAjPlpUQVfoaOb1D2TAiblg6n3-iEAlGvBYCh9uxnNkTZhm-OjYFUB4/s1600/2012+Sept+-+Dec+034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rCMsWjQOHJ0Olfn0MmEAMUlN4nwwj3rQCyjDmr4mWb9kVGi2L1yKh8PrTjk6X9NYsI3qTx3sN8K0ybmKFJcbPAjPlpUQVfoaOb1D2TAiblg6n3-iEAlGvBYCh9uxnNkTZhm-OjYFUB4/s400/2012+Sept+-+Dec+034.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kit was purchased, but the decorating was all by hand.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNB7mMM1HBgCtPYy7jbWcrEgVuWxNIpjq62Pp-jaz_mlPKuLjim4NmdwmxNB5wy2GpOwRf_sEvDfVKBVfkMcNMwd7vC-GME_VF93l61wMdeWfF1kOXgdFotrM-DQfcvAiv9rGgWfwlEE/s1600/2012+Sept+-+Dec+035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNB7mMM1HBgCtPYy7jbWcrEgVuWxNIpjq62Pp-jaz_mlPKuLjim4NmdwmxNB5wy2GpOwRf_sEvDfVKBVfkMcNMwd7vC-GME_VF93l61wMdeWfF1kOXgdFotrM-DQfcvAiv9rGgWfwlEE/s400/2012+Sept+-+Dec+035.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So pleased!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzS6ePrbOllC9XPxGPDwjEiUO869oUafpAmHRMKS0iJgKC7ui-YENkIQYaKMwydBW_BgQApQpPJGBmjl5NiR7e6F6WfzvI_NVkEPhuvrSlMlvAo5uJkbP5kaFFz9vvI1JXaKJvcsO230/s1600/2012+Sept+-+Dec+033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzS6ePrbOllC9XPxGPDwjEiUO869oUafpAmHRMKS0iJgKC7ui-YENkIQYaKMwydBW_BgQApQpPJGBmjl5NiR7e6F6WfzvI_NVkEPhuvrSlMlvAo5uJkbP5kaFFz9vvI1JXaKJvcsO230/s320/2012+Sept+-+Dec+033.jpg" width="213" /><span id="goog_1960092431"></span><span id="goog_1960092432"></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early morning creation:<br />
our outdoor cat, May<br />
(pencil and marker)<u></u></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early November excursion to the old campus for pizza and football. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3rxIEX79FF0yn3DYzRKXHG570JcoUhcZslNJXkYn26UqQBxz8E8JZkcF4eeGsYXvFXHT4DsJuCLOJiNtlrIPsZubjj4Qh4lcLMmL6xNfW57pyC6FWC30OE40ig82USoue0VsXnbWv4X4/s1600/2012+Sept+-+Dec+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3rxIEX79FF0yn3DYzRKXHG570JcoUhcZslNJXkYn26UqQBxz8E8JZkcF4eeGsYXvFXHT4DsJuCLOJiNtlrIPsZubjj4Qh4lcLMmL6xNfW57pyC6FWC30OE40ig82USoue0VsXnbWv4X4/s400/2012+Sept+-+Dec+010.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every Friday night: Chinese painting class.</td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-85373945563975731402012-11-02T04:30:00.000-07:002012-11-05T06:36:14.700-08:00Halloween '12<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Halloween "science" was making cat and spider deviled eggs. <br />
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All design work done by the girl; mom did the utilitarian boiling/peeling/mashing.<br />
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If you know who this is, you're a Pokemon aficionado. It's "Red" holding a hand-painted Pokeball. The hat and shirt came from the resale store, doctored up with white and red acrylic paint. <br />
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She didn't want to be a "cutsie" bat. She wanted to look like a REAL bat. Minus the pastel sneakers, it's as close as we could get.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtNlfYbTibEwHFfiQpmdFEhvRVc5BZWB2WQv7Atq-q3KTkCzreXxa2rEIglcBHCc0WZ7eMAqkbsERUmIH6febdlPQn7UB8tRo0H0cjMNDLqbxENaO5ENeVW8gviti6hGk98Ckrqdpu90/s1600/2012+Sept+-+Dec+019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtNlfYbTibEwHFfiQpmdFEhvRVc5BZWB2WQv7Atq-q3KTkCzreXxa2rEIglcBHCc0WZ7eMAqkbsERUmIH6febdlPQn7UB8tRo0H0cjMNDLqbxENaO5ENeVW8gviti6hGk98Ckrqdpu90/s400/2012+Sept+-+Dec+019.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fangs were not comfortable for trick or treating, but they make for a good photo.</td></tr>
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<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/AVvXsEhGH4KQnFwMi9hG73fRFi1-J7pH71l7pH15yXY1px7UE_nD9VSmgdpqfFvY0cC4jUMDTBnN3PSRFrFEXB7sPx_dFnRUolWtsrdA70V_el6t9kSyx5klLars3yrC0LW3ZoGDHfhhT_gVaD0/s1600/2012+Sept+-+Dec+017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGH4KQnFwMi9hG73fRFi1-J7pH71l7pH15yXY1px7UE_nD9VSmgdpqfFvY0cC4jUMDTBnN3PSRFrFEXB7sPx_dFnRUolWtsrdA70V_el6t9kSyx5klLars3yrC0LW3ZoGDHfhhT_gVaD0/s400/2012+Sept+-+Dec+017.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girl's stuffed bats dining on shot glasses of "blood." (Ketchup in water)</td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-19440117778728865582012-10-21T07:06:00.001-07:002012-10-23T03:16:42.742-07:00If you're not failing, there's something wrong<br />
I read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Minds-Cognitive-Science-Schools/dp/0807752665/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350826445&sr=1-1&keywords=teaching+minds">Teaching Minds </a>a few weeks ago. Here's how it altered my thinking:<br />
<br />
<i>Forcing</i> learning is impossible.We can go through the motions, but if you are teaching something separate from a genuine goal, it's a mimicry of learning.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"It is not possible to teach/train students to do things that are not in line with who they are as people...<b>much of what we try to teach in school and train for in companies is an attempt to alter behavior.</b>"</blockquote>
<br />
Further, we learn processes, not subjects. We learn how to evaluate, describe, plan, negotiate. Separating history from science from psychology misrepresents the layers within a situation or problem.<br />
<br />
Teachers--those bastions of society-- are flawed fact delivery services. We need to rebuild with Mentors: those who encourage and ask questions that are not easily answered (like True/False). Mentors "get students to understand the world better and enhance their capabilities. <b><i>Neither happens through a teacher telling a student anything."</i></b><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"If a child grows up in a world where questions are expected and long-held beliefs can be abandoned because of new evidence, he will seek [challenging, new] interactions. But growing up with adults as knowing everything and no one's beliefs are questioned will = mindless, dull behavior" (p. 103).</blockquote>
<br />
Rather than tell someone what to do, ask,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"What do you think happened?" <br />
"What could you do differently?"</blockquote>
My favorite slam against bureaucracy is when the author, Roger Schank, distills a page full of chewy, abstract education goals into bubbly swallow: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
An effective education means learning: 1. How to be a critic 2. How to respect some and copy others 3. How to know where you fit 4. How to take action 5. How to think (develop questions, seek answers, don't assume the answers come from where you expect).</blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Finally -- failure. There must be lots of failure</b>. Failure is anathema in schools, which is pitiful. The way to change behavior--to learn-- is to find what is not working. "Intelligent people respond, when they are confused or when a long-held belief is challenged, with a request for evidence...allowing for the possibility that they are wrong and wanting to know more."</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://cobbersonthebrain.areavoices.com/files/2011/12/Brain-made-of-hands.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://cobbersonthebrain.areavoices.com/files/2011/12/Brain-made-of-hands.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://cobbersonthebrain.areavoices.com/files/2011/12/Brain-made-of-hands.jpg</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-31737555525170732242012-09-27T05:17:00.000-07:002012-10-01T05:37:25.929-07:00Rainbow Cake Unschooling<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/AVvXsEg0-X6TFj6iajXqQmYmuyRJzNQnm9LBwigYKRu54dh9KweVY8oS-yFgt56OTvsL2N8fp-yQAXD_PSPCn4yOWWfVIN0iBJIsHd96nmBoV3rQHF946tuCl6tGNR3dbgGpMgz8b2qStxbU2-w/s1600/2012+Sept+-+Dec+009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-X6TFj6iajXqQmYmuyRJzNQnm9LBwigYKRu54dh9KweVY8oS-yFgt56OTvsL2N8fp-yQAXD_PSPCn4yOWWfVIN0iBJIsHd96nmBoV3rQHF946tuCl6tGNR3dbgGpMgz8b2qStxbU2-w/s400/2012+Sept+-+Dec+009.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monday's lesson : layered cake</td></tr>
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What lessons come with making cake?<br />
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<ul>
<li>Crack and separate eggs.</li>
<li>Divvy cake batter between three pans. You can't eyeball it; you must use a measuring cup and --like siblings require--keep it even.</li>
<li>Decide to make our own food coloring or go with the artificial (issues of food safety vs appearance and taste).</li>
<li>Level a cake layer after it comes out all puffed on top.</li>
<li>Mix butter-cream frosting from a recipe.</li>
<li>Experiment with frosting tips and find that butter-cream goes soft quickly. It needs to be chilled to make textured designs.</li>
<li>Improvise frosting flavoring when the vanilla is used up for the first batch. (Almond flavored the 2nd batch) </li>
<li>Experience that cake, delicious as it is, leaves one with a sugar hangover.</li>
</ul>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-679190035820053522012-09-17T08:35:00.001-07:002012-09-18T10:12:20.644-07:00This American Life & testingListening to "This American Life" on the radio last Saturday. Coincidentally it's about back to school and, specifically, TESTING. <br />
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<a href="http://podcast.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/474.mp3">http://podcast.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/474.mp3</a><br />
<br />
The point that made me sit in my car long after I needed to <b>was how what predicts success later in life is not high school.</b> It <i>was</i> found that kids who drop out and take the <strike>GRE</strike> GED perform poorly at other tasks later in life. The key is not the content of high school, though.<br />
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It is learning to stick with something. The kids who stayed in school did not gain advantage from the classroom content. They were kids more likely to stay through until the end of something.<br />
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What gave kids an advantage through life was having support from a trusted adult and a demonstration of "values" or "character traits."<br />
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It's being the mother duck to the ducklings: here's how we do this, how we do that.<br />
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Teachers don't get that latitude. Parents have the edge at raising successful people--as long as they know their power.<br />
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Please give a listen. <br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-25637043085575624872012-09-10T01:43:00.000-07:002012-09-18T05:14:09.464-07:00Testy about testingI didn't collect data, but <i>if I had to guess</i> at the second most asked question about home schooling?<br />
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<b>Testing.</b><br />
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<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="194" data-width="259" height="194" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSwX2azLwLwo2SGCzUiR3ifX6Ba6eVhIoJ9t7tXGaV0ywW3tQuDRw" style="height: 194px; width: 259px;" width="259" /><b> </b></div>
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Do you test them?<br />
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Does the state require you to test them?<br />
(Followed by: Do you have to do a state curriculum? Testing implied there.)<br />
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How do you know they're learning [if you don't test]?<br />
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They're going to have to test sooner or later.<br />
How are you going to prepare them?<br />
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In my memory is a catalog of snippets from classes and topics on which I tested. <b>The only stuff that "stuck" were skills I practiced (typing) or subjects that fascinated me anyway.</b> Even so, I would probably fail a test of the minutiae: the year of this, the marriage of those, the definition of that.<br />
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I went through college algebra and trigonometry, <b>studying way more than the average student</b> (hours in the help labs every week) and earning high B's / low A's. Ten years later, considering graduate school, I opened a GRE test guide and drew blanks on even the basics of those subjects.<br />
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Once... I knew them or thought I knew them. <b>I will be relearning those</b> <b>subjects</b> or steering my own children toward critical thinking, economics and basic statistics. Higher math is awe inspiring, but so are most subjects in their advanced levels. <a href="http://home4goodmichigan.blogspot.com/2012/04/math-well-need-math-well-love.html">That does not make them necessary for all. </a><br />
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Testing only proved my short term memory was adequate.<br />
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<b>We test because it's the only way to get a person/child to temporarily memorize what is considered essential</b>. Threaten them with a test. This will dictate whether a student gets to move on to <i>more tests</i> of other subjects or is forced to keep reviewing and "testing out" of a subject. </div>
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Tests don't measure whether he/she can use the information in different situations or whether it is understood well enough to be taught to another. Just memorize, get through this, and move on to the next test.<br />
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Coincidentally, a couple articles in my weekend reading volley responses at this testing mania:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/08/how-to-turn-your-classroom-into-an-idea-factory/">How to Turn Your Classroom Into An Idea Factory</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(i.e. creativity and innovation trump memorization) </div>
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&</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.teachthought.com/learning/a-10th-grader-explains-testing-is-not-learning/">A Tenth Grader Explains: Testing is not Learning </a><br />
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&<br />
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<a href="http://www.newtrail.ualberta.ca/en/Archive/Winter2011/Features/Features%20Current/LearningCurve.aspx#.UEaHOyBAUZY.facebook">Learning Curve</a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
I added this link two days after the original post. Here's why: </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"In 1885, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus coined the term
“learning curve.” He conducted research on memory and memorization and
described his findings regarding both the learning curve, or rate at
which knowledge is gained, and the forgetting curve, a related graph
that measures how quickly memorized information is lost.... </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The forgetting curve, however, has been largely ignored, yet the
ways in which we forget are highly instructive... <b>much of our forgetting occurs immediately after acquiring
knowledge</b>... </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"In <i>Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense,</i>
best-selling author David Guterson recounts a classroom experiment he
often practiced when he was a teacher. He’d prepare his students for a
test on Friday, and then he’d spring the exact same test on them the
following Monday. <b>None of his students ever matched their initial test
score." </b>(emphasis added)<b> </b></blockquote>
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<img height="393" id="il_fi" src="http://www.rethinkingschools.org/img/archive/17_02/high172b.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="500" /></div>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-39780694814837493262012-09-05T02:24:00.000-07:002012-09-18T05:13:44.624-07:00"It is my favorite and my best"<br />
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<img alt="Anime Girl Friends" height="313" src="http://s.myniceprofile.com/myspacepic/975/97540.jpg" width="350" /></div>
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<i> "It is my favorite and my best" </i><br />
<i>~ Lola, </i><br />
<i>of "Charlie and Lola." British cartoon.</i></div>
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At the store, we encountered one of my daughter's best school friends. She rushed up to us, looking three inches taller than when we saw her last year and wearing shorter hair and glasses. She beamed at M.</div>
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"Are you coming back to school?" she asked.</div>
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"Nah."</div>
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"Will you <i>ever</i> come back?"</div>
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"I wouldn't count on it," M. said, smiling tenderly. <b>She likes her friend, and she did not want to let her down--<i>but there you go.</i></b></div>
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Later that day, I asked if she missed school when she saw her old friends. Did it make her want to return?</div>
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"In a way," she said. "But then I would be going back just for my friends, and I don't think that's a good reason to go back, considering all the other things I don't like there. The food is bad, we don't get much recess..."</div>
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In other words--friends are nice, but what I want/prefer matters more. </div>
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N. has given up on soccer this year. The boy needs structure or he'll fall into sloth, so we've started cross country. So far, he concedes to go along with his team, to practice on "off days" with me, and even to endure some Thai massage on his legs. I'm not sure if he likes it, but he ackowledged he needs something to get him "out and moving."</div>
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<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="259" data-width="194" height="259" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQJ3yOLy-be_rKUQhVbmGzET6nxavqKFHRt6bBwt4VewNIyinSh" style="height: 259px; width: 194px;" width="194" /></div>
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Last evening there were two moments when my kids' interests shone through. My son was online and gaming at the same time, but it was near our reading time. </div>
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"I am DOING something and can't stop right now!" he insisted. </div>
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He's a touchy one. As a show of respect for his work--I don't want someone jerking me from my work onto their agenda-- I deferred to his task. I did not need him to drop everything, I just wanted to wrap it up. So I let him go. </div>
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Meanwhile, PBS was on: a cooking show. M. sat there enthralled as Jacques Pepin piped pastry dough into rings, pulled out the baked insides, filled it with chocolate, and then piped whipped cream on the top layer of crust. She muttered, eyes wide, "I like drawing <i>and</i> I like cooking." As though all she needed in life were these two things.</div>
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I foresee having do to more running if this pastry thing is in our future.</div>
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N. wrapped up his project . </div>
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"What were you working on?" I asked.</div>
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<br /></div>
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He needed a Pokemon that is hidden in the game, so he looked up a video on how to get it. He then had to do something with a code, train it, and transfer the character to another device.<br />
<br />
I'm probably relating it wrong, but it was complicated.<br />
<br />
I was impressed. He wanted something, found a source to show him how to get it, committed half an hour or more to following the procedure, and secured something rare.<br />
<br />
I'm not into gaming, but this kind of allure and sacrifice must be akin to the glow on M.'s face watching the French chef. (That? I get it. Pastry. Chocolate. Cream. I shall destroy my kitchen and a full two hours to achieve this 30 seconds of blissful eating). </div>
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If life is about finding your thing, I think we're on the right track.</div>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-67742751542255399452012-08-24T05:25:00.000-07:002012-08-24T05:25:09.518-07:00Hammer time<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/AVvXsEjq9Pu4gv2uURcsGkNiSdnm1QpofOusaiwiQRariNDbqtGNo1-yWxug4nHlhLtcjy3RJN_jlVr8w8Uy4XPyT7KxthatUt_EY87-ro7OCPPbn7tTrDG_-NwdqExzl9ZcmqWU4Fcm4Yfj54g/s1600/2012+June-Aug+042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9Pu4gv2uURcsGkNiSdnm1QpofOusaiwiQRariNDbqtGNo1-yWxug4nHlhLtcjy3RJN_jlVr8w8Uy4XPyT7KxthatUt_EY87-ro7OCPPbn7tTrDG_-NwdqExzl9ZcmqWU4Fcm4Yfj54g/s640/2012+June-Aug+042.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smashing rocks--a trick she learned from her best friend. Note: safety glasses worn behind that hair.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpKGq9vIG3hzw6HUkxaZB83CPJPMEiHb8gwqBn5c38t3ixZLHUhK9OTF7xYNe98CB3gngbJtToWqhOAUiiI6o2hOHVzkZK67OMb-OB_HcCDIcLY9VkLVrsOd9qHY5V7CtsgwAlALzdNI/s1600/2012+June-Aug+043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpKGq9vIG3hzw6HUkxaZB83CPJPMEiHb8gwqBn5c38t3ixZLHUhK9OTF7xYNe98CB3gngbJtToWqhOAUiiI6o2hOHVzkZK67OMb-OB_HcCDIcLY9VkLVrsOd9qHY5V7CtsgwAlALzdNI/s640/2012+June-Aug+043.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recruited for removing carpet/tack strips from the last bedroom. He *loved* it, working three hours that day to finish the room. I should have recruited him at the beginning of this project!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-16026617706051173352012-08-04T03:44:00.003-07:002012-08-04T03:48:15.123-07:00"Yes" to summer--finallyI say "yes" quite often. Will you cover this shift? Yes. Would you do this for me? Yes. Would you create this class? Yes. Would you join us for this? Yes.<br />
<br />
Hence -- I have had a summer-packed when <i>the plan was for a summer-unpacked.</i> Yesterday--Friday--was A Day When Nothing Else Had to Happen. No work; no class; no meeting; no play date.We went to the beach.<br />
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<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/AVvXsEgJ2bHxEBOZjV7KTKQU1rWN_GBDIjdTItirY9eSjHDiu9j2KZJmSYhlkJqhZwLu6IklMCxe4cGlWQt3BY1lj8WkpimLjepI9pOy3OrgoQkNLrJp9eCxpoT-FV33lYYtPMxdnHzekKK8gx0/s1600/2012+June-Aug+035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2bHxEBOZjV7KTKQU1rWN_GBDIjdTItirY9eSjHDiu9j2KZJmSYhlkJqhZwLu6IklMCxe4cGlWQt3BY1lj8WkpimLjepI9pOy3OrgoQkNLrJp9eCxpoT-FV33lYYtPMxdnHzekKK8gx0/s400/2012+June-Aug+035.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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At first, Nate didn't want to go (shocking).<br />
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"<b>This is the <i>one day</i> I can do this. It's today, or it's not happening.</b> If you want to stay home, the dog won't be here. He's going to board. I'm not breaking that reservation."<br />
<br />
Grumble and mutter from Nate. We start out. All goes well. We're talking about deeper thoughts than usual--a favorite benefit to driving somewhere with Nate. As miles roll on, he opens up.<br />
<br />
Then we got lost around Niles. We are on a highway but it turns into Main St. We were supposed to get off the highway then take another ramp back onto the same highway. I was so engaged talking, I missed it. Two gas station stops later, we're back on track.<br />
<br />
We take a wrong turn and find New Buffalo. It's nice there: upscale compared to the farming villages to which I'm accustomed.<br />
<br />
At the beach, we set up close to the water. A few kids run by and the girl's stance, her way of walking, her ponytail look like...someone from last year's homeschool group. It is that family. Their mom walks by, recognizes me, and the kids are set for the afternoon with friends.<br />
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<br />
We drove home without incident, got the dog without accident, and resisted the urge to make "one more stop" at the store. They were droopy from sun, and I was bracing myself for an evening pulling up carpet. <br />
<br />
Since my over-yes nature applies to my kids (and to work they really could do on their own), <a href="http://homeschooling.penelopetrunk.com/2012/08/03/kids-who-feel-useful-are-happier-as-adults/">this post from Penelope</a> inspired a non-negotiable command that they empty the car of all beach-going-stuff and wash/walk the dog. Mild resistance (don't cave!), and they did it.<br />
<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-60304429610428506612012-07-24T06:04:00.000-07:002012-08-04T03:47:17.244-07:00The Greeks persist<br />
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<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="253" data-width="199" height="253" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQvxX6F0AxiRsWFii3hTR9sM4Ob_Fr_xdBQu4PHiOkP7KPjf91HhA" style="height: 253px; width: 199px;" width="199" /> </div>
<br />
<br />
It's a struggle for me to let my kids learn in a freewheeling fashion; how many hours of watching Pokemon on YouTube can one permit?<br />
<br />
It's a struggle for them to learn some of the things I deem appropriate; how many handwriting practice sheets must one do before the handwriting is good enough?<br />
<br />
When our subject interests merge? It's glorious family fun.<br />
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Nate and I began reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Thief-Percy-Jackson-Olympians/dp/0786838655">Percy Jackson, Book One</a> (The Lightning Thief)*, about a month ago. We took turns reading it to one another. Despite his reluctance to read aloud, he'll do it to progress in the story. I got to hear how well he reads and navigates new words. To my relief, he does *fine*. He ran into a tricky word once or twice a chapter--about the amount I hope to encounter in my own reading. (<b>If I never pick up a dictionary while reading a book, it feels I've read something too easy--like popcorn for the mind.</b>)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*We began Book Two this week, so the reading continues.</span><br />
<br />
The Lightning Thief initiated talks about which Greek God we like the most and to which one we would want to be related. (If you were a demi-god, who would you be?) I pulled down <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Know-Much-About-Mythology/dp/0739317474/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343133693&sr=1-2&keywords=don%27t+know+much+about+mythology">Don't Know Much About Mythology</a> many times to remind us who-does-what. (Athena and Artemis are two I still get confused.)<br />
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<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="174" data-width="289" height="240" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSPV_aNg-NgfjQCGG-VHNAf-yLpItPgIUUrVpahjVCSugjDyAbU" style="height: 174px; width: 289px;" width="400" /> <br />
<br />
To celebrate our return to the virtual world after having our TV/Internet disconnected for a week, I rented "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1646987/">The Wrath of the Titans."</a> Characters come onscreen, and <b>Nate and I know who they are, who the father or mother is of this demi-god, and who inhabits the labyrinth</b> (no suspense there, duh--Minotaur!). We discuss how the Underworld doesn't look the way we pictured it in The Lightning Thief, and how dialogue references to Hell are a misplaced:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="253" data-width="199" height="253" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQvxX6F0AxiRsWFii3hTR9sM4Ob_Fr_xdBQu4PHiOkP7KPjf91HhA" style="height: 253px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 199px;" width="199" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elysian Fields -- in the underworld</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"The Underworld, is not entirely unlike Heaven/Hell, but it's not the
same, either. The Underworld has the glorious area known as the <a href="http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_elysium.htm">Elysian Fields</a>,
which is similar to Heaven. Some Romans tried to make the area around
the burial site of prominent wealthy citizens resemble the Elysian
Fields ["Burial Customs of the Romans," by John L. Heller; The Classical
Weekly (1932), pp.193-197]." </blockquote>
<br />
Saying something is "going to be Hell" doesn't play. It's "going to be <i>Tartarus</i>." However, that sounds like "Tartar Sauce," which sounds rather nice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="191" data-width="264" height="191" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTpcHc25irWUD3foktZD2eAJIBw0LisqgQb0vMFN_5cxIH8cqAY" style="height: 191px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 264px;" width="264" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tartarus -- for the worst of the worst, and for the Father of Zeus</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />
After the movie, I asked Nate if he liked it. There was action from start to finish. Of course he liked it.<br />
<br />
Me: "I did, too, especially the side effects."<br />
<br />
Wait. Side effects?<br />
<br />
I meant special effects. The mix up had us howling-laughing in the kitchen late in the night: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"If you're experiencing bleeding eyeballs and a twitching butt, please discontinue viewing The Wrath of the Titans."</blockquote>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-29245271227007991872012-07-12T03:46:00.002-07:002012-08-04T03:47:30.584-07:00Attention-deficit curriculum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnh2BScnl3BMmCJdAHuuWJrXLrjEzQLT5eWymXssWVv52xgLkIoQvv33bsH_50W6-os-T83XxKplWtcsyh3RRgXsrQw3WbCtLtXLQ-PJ-cxn4LKyG4mxQXvBYwB535fCinNMte6YScF7s/s1600/google.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnh2BScnl3BMmCJdAHuuWJrXLrjEzQLT5eWymXssWVv52xgLkIoQvv33bsH_50W6-os-T83XxKplWtcsyh3RRgXsrQw3WbCtLtXLQ-PJ-cxn4LKyG4mxQXvBYwB535fCinNMte6YScF7s/s400/google.jpg" width="348" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
I woke up early this morning, worrying.<br />
<br />
It had been an unusually full day. I was in and out of my car <i>eight</i> times. It would have been ten, but my husband ran one errand for me, literally getting out of my car and into his.<br />
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So much running leaves me revved up.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Another part of my insomnia recipe came from falling into a conversation after yoga class with a long-time high school teacher (who <i>did not</i> home school) and a former teacher/long-time home schooling parent<b>. They shared a concern about how kids need to know how to write and understand science and math and how it will all be accomplished with no oversight or discipline.</b> Michigan is liberal about home schooling. We don't test; we don't report; we don't track. <i>Nothing</i>.<br />
<br />
It's great--until you encounter education-based people who question it. Then I wind up questioning it...and myself...and everything I'm doing (or have not done).<br />
<br />
Hence the waking at 2 AM. Great. I'm up for the day after 3 hours of sleep. At least the web is available to pacify my panic. While reading <a href="http://winging-it.me/2009/04/02/homeschool-quotes/">homeschooling quotes</a>, I scroll past a link to <a href="http://www.coreknowledge.org/mimik/mimik_uploads/documents/480/CKFSequence_Rev.pdf">Core Knowledge Requirements.</a> This is a free downloadable "booklet" that details what every child should know from K - 8th grade.<br />
<br />
<b>I am simultaneously relieved and reluctant to know -- how far off are we?</b> Have we been swimming casually in a fast-flowing stream destined to pull us over a precipice?<br />
<br />
Scrolling and skimming through the grades, a thought occurs: <i>these subjects are disjointed.</i><br />
<br />
In Grade 4, students are to jump from the Middle Ages to the American Revolution.<br />
No Renaissance?<br />
No Enlightenment?<br />
How can you get to America without the Enlightenment?<br />
<br />
The student is to simultaneously remember the events predating our country's history while learning about the country's history. It's not impossible. It just seems rushed.Why not get there logically? Is there a middle school deadline that says not knowing the Revolution by age twelve leaves one impaired?<br />
<br />
Grade 4 students also learn the elements of music, the circulatory system, basic chemistry, electricity, and geology. <b>The musicians cited in the music section are from the period of history that is skipped</b>. Then students learn the Songs of the Armed Forces. <i>Whaaaat?</i><br />
<br />
This is a buckshot approach -- here, throw this and that and this-other-thing at them. See what sticks.<br />
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Does this catch-all approach, this jumping around, have any influence on the ADHD epidemic? The curriculum can't focus; how do they expect the kids to focus?<br />
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<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="217" data-width="232" height="217" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ2so4gYIvhWRfR9NIOpKbq0b_Mol4hJtVRCRTTkny7D8dkmdO0" style="height: 217px; width: 232px;" width="232" /> <br />
<br />
Perhaps I'm not doing so badly after all.<br />
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Now I have a standard to check whether they are sufficiently educated, even if I'm not teaching every subject separately. They can write about science (there's a chance for research, grammar & organization). They can learn music and art along with the history -- Here's Ancient China, and here are examples of Chinese music and Chinese art.<br />
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For those times I worry they are not learning enough, I can pull out that Core Knowledge List and look up something random. "As we wrap up the Roman Empire, here's a folksong from the 1930s..."<br />
<br />
<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-83916368083335044162012-07-10T05:18:00.005-07:002012-08-04T03:47:56.661-07:00Science + Art = Fun<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;"><img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="166" data-width="304" height="218" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS0iM2XuJqKx9r7EyNPRKDy2GMV12Ywk1dBYpOP3U0-3lv3tmhNbA" style="height: 166px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 304px;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just because it's pretty...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
We have not done physics or chemistry formally, but we have discussed the origins of life. We have picture books about the Big Bang, and coincidentally, M. asked "<b>What came before the Big Bang?</b>" just a few weeks ago.<b> </b><br />
<br />
Now the diligent people at CERN have an explanation. Sort of. They explain and it goes over my head (mostly). Here's my favorite kind of lecture format--the "drawn as it is explained" style: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/07/03/_higgs_boson_particle_discovery_explained_by_scientists_and_journalists_.html">Higgs Boson explained</a><br />
<br />
Scroll to the 2nd video screen. The first minute+ is an introduction with people in a cafeteria and some random talking. Then it gets to the drawings and graspable analogies for what the Higgs Boson experiment means.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-61488610988407394732012-06-23T05:01:00.001-07:002012-06-23T05:03:25.042-07:00Summer novelties<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/AVvXsEgMslYnd1DoCi7qVjD4UWtS989IU4sL6pSUxyhnysidKzP4VS-wIGyMd8EmU72Pek2Me_wbzBqUgsRboPmdgM4s6FkHtSlZX8LWRmnZylDq-vSR3Up5pTZ16G28NuMhu-H1mYDS_UjTebY/s1600/2012+June-Aug+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMslYnd1DoCi7qVjD4UWtS989IU4sL6pSUxyhnysidKzP4VS-wIGyMd8EmU72Pek2Me_wbzBqUgsRboPmdgM4s6FkHtSlZX8LWRmnZylDq-vSR3Up5pTZ16G28NuMhu-H1mYDS_UjTebY/s400/2012+June-Aug+010.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Playing" an Atari controller candy box while displaying stuffed sea </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">life</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After a year of the same ole routines, June has been full of novelties.<br />
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First: a trip to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium and a donation to the gift store within (see above photo).<br />
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Now it's the advent of summer classes: art and computers. I'm on hiatus from teaching yoga. While brother is in computer class, sister and I wander the downtown. Favorite finds so far are the cupcake shop...<br />
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<br />
...and the art museum:<br />
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<br />
Nate considered going back to school a few weeks back. It was a bit unsettling since I thought he liked being home. However--the point of having him home was for choices. I made a call to set him up for placement testing.<br />
<br />
After a few days, he began to waffle. He missed his friends, but he didn't miss "school." Once the computer class started -- two hours a day in the company of middle school boys and a college-age teacher -- he reverted back to wanting to home school--no question.<br />
<br />
It wasn't school he missed, it was finding some people with his interests. The class he's in has no grades, no bullies, no immobile curriculum. They talk about what the class deems interesting (a lot about gaming, <i>surprise!</i>), with some guidance and advice from the teacher.<br />
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Everyone there *wants* to be there. <br />
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<b>He didn't want school; he wanted a club.</b><br />
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Madelyn's artistic inclinations resulted in a cardboard house:<br />
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Here's the renter with his dog:<br />
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The doilies that decorated our cupcake plates (see picture above) are the exact size for a tablecloth. So many junkie little things can be reused--and she's just the girl to do it. Her room can attest to that (Oy!).<br />
<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-13509105289802350302012-05-31T04:27:00.000-07:002012-06-23T05:02:57.166-07:00A reader asks: how did I get here from there?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Why was I a reader?<br />
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Did the books we were made to read in school inspire me?<br />
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I don't recall any "reading circle" stories from elementary school. I remember visiting the tiny Nottawa library with Mom and bringing home books. I remember reading to myself during "silent reading time" in class (lots of horse stories and Little House books), and I remember the teacher reading to us (<u>Superfudge</u>, most vividly). <br />
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However, <b>the forced, generic reading-for-comprehension didn't stick in my long term memory.</b> That doesn't mean it was useless, I suppose. It certainly didn't make an impression, though.<br />
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I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' homes due to necessity (after school and summers) and by choice (Gramma who lived farther away, in my favorite house).<br />
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At the first grandparents' home, there were not many books. There were not many kids, either. We couldn't leave her massive yard as it would put us completely out of sight. No kids came down the dirt road. There was my little sister, me, a few, old toys, and lots of soap operas on TV.<br />
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So I read for sanity:<br />
Reader's Digest.<br />
The Bible.<br />
Our Daily Bread (bible lesson booklet) <br />
Sears and JCPenney's and Mongomery Ward catalogs.<br />
Library books I brought along.<br />
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I started the Chronicles of Narnia (my uncle's books left behind) out of desperation, despite the cryptic covers. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://reading.kingrat.biz/reviews/lion-witch-wardrobe-c-s-lewis</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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I recall those summers at my grandparents' house the way one might recall a long, dusty walk without enough water, but the monotony made me a reader.<br />
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At the other Gramma's, there were always books. She rarely watched TV unless it was Tigers Baseball, Michigan State basketball, or PBS. I could walk into her house once a week and <b>there would be a two or three different<i>, thick</i> novels.</b> It was my habit to look them over: the cover art, the dust jacket synopsis.<br />
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The difference at her place was how she talked to me. My visits were a rarity, not a ritual. When I came over, she closed her book and we talked. We talked about what her life had been like, what my dad was like as a kid, what was happening in my social life.<br />
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I admired her and raised my standards to match her own. I read what she suggested. We visited the "big" library together. If you look at my living room "book spot" it is always crowded with something from the library--much like Gramma's little table.<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-37059935111765054282012-05-24T03:56:00.000-07:002012-07-02T04:25:20.902-07:00I'll scramble; they're over-easy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Since we start summer in early May, the kids have floated along while I have been scrambling.<br />
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The Thai bodywork business has tripled (considering I had one regular and now have three). There are projects "begun" in the house (painting) and outside (garden -- some planted, some still fallow, waiting to be turned and planted). These items have been added to seven yoga classes per week, four cleaning jobs, keeping myself and the dog walked, my own housework/cooking/shopping. Also, Rob started a new job/shift (an adjustment). My sister graduated college. My car needed work.We did a stint delivering flowers. Nate has soccer. Madelyn tried out for a play. Run, run, run.<br />
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My brain feels FULL.<br />
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Hence-- it's been a while since I wrote. All the happenings have been mine rather than the kids'.<br />
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Homeschooling has gone semi-dormant. The kids continue with math and they read (most days) before bed. They are responsible for a housework job per day--usually spraying down the bathroom or putting away dishes or taking out the dog.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"We thought you was a toad" -- <i>O' Brother Where Art Thou</i></td></tr>
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They are in meandering mode most of the day.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, they found a
toad in the tomato patch and spent some time holding her. Madelyn took
the pictures.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We play the <strike>Wii</strike>, oui? Edit: "It's a PS2, Mom"</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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They get along *far* better than I did with my sister. So even though there's usually a spat sometime each day, they cooperate, as when they play Star Wars Battlefront<br />
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<br />
One afternoon, I found M. making homemade Pokemon cards for her brother.<br />
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"I'm making his favorite team," she said.<br />
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Using Google images, Word, the printer, recycled cardboard, glue, and packing tape ("to laminate"), she made his surprise. Then she told him about it later that day and gave it to him.<br />
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She has a big heart, but no stomach for secrets.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-37497395075181542212012-05-11T14:20:00.000-07:002012-06-23T05:03:56.111-07:00The practical, the whimsical<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/AVvXsEgxb2n3TP4ZEKmDmxcrvqxaW3rmUYbR8gHsyfmdbvlYLvA7AAwR-t58YWBBlvz_92khDnEpImXvWkzwyI5x8ud3IO3_lDEHA50RsiRzB8lEmbaiOBQXPhHEJPNsGMMq2Js5MTF_smyfB0c/s1600/Homeschooling+Pics+088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxb2n3TP4ZEKmDmxcrvqxaW3rmUYbR8gHsyfmdbvlYLvA7AAwR-t58YWBBlvz_92khDnEpImXvWkzwyI5x8ud3IO3_lDEHA50RsiRzB8lEmbaiOBQXPhHEJPNsGMMq2Js5MTF_smyfB0c/s640/Homeschooling+Pics+088.jpg" width="427" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Rainbow" soup</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The week began rather gray and cool, so it called for a practical lesson in soup making. Also, I have been in a scramble: pulling up carpet, preparing to paint the kitchen (deciding what color!?), putting in a garden, doing more Thai bodywork sessions than usual--we needed something healthful and easy to heat in the fridge for the week. This calls for Rainbow Soup. I coerced Nate into helping with it. (Madelyn needs only be asked to cook and she's ready.)<br />
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Giving Nate the responsibility to stir the pot and monitor the timer for adding the frozen vegetables gave him more interest in what we eat. He asked (!) to write down the recipe:<br />
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For fun, we figured out how much it cost to make this massive pot of soup. It came in under 16.00. "If we each ate a bowl for lunch --a big bowl-- it would cost 1.04 to feed the three of us for five days."<br />
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Really, it would be less. I have set some back in the freezer because it's already day 5 and there's plenty of soup left.<br />
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Meanwhile, my crafty girl has been swept into the My Little Pony craze. She made her own:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her Little Pony invention -- "Sprinkles" </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-73892451581335864642012-05-04T05:00:00.000-07:002012-05-11T14:21:49.945-07:00First Lesson of Summer<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/AVvXsEh-MAmyjCBVYPxgeinjzjpwxvBg6__rWGhJI3aUfZvOvQ7WzEqNrDA1mcDzR7GpT4BQkDxA1TLnMoy-IBlNwtXOj8Fmto2ipdeyKnZfSf-3lu5o6zbQUGjgexHIcBVHrlT6PnQm1SJn3r4/s1600/Homeschooling+Pics+086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MAmyjCBVYPxgeinjzjpwxvBg6__rWGhJI3aUfZvOvQ7WzEqNrDA1mcDzR7GpT4BQkDxA1TLnMoy-IBlNwtXOj8Fmto2ipdeyKnZfSf-3lu5o6zbQUGjgexHIcBVHrlT6PnQm1SJn3r4/s400/Homeschooling+Pics+086.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pulling pesky carpet staples</td></tr>
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Our summer term begins in May. Our first lesson is the Real World chore of pulling up carpet: prying up nail-embedded strips, pulling up pokey staples, picking at crusty chunks of foam, and vacuuming a sandbox worth of sand. I used three vacuum bags--the dirt is <i>that dense.</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpCMVH7Hv0228AZHazAc77sOyw_vsE9IAUPvvMEYaBV_xi7yMM547Jq7fS6ge4nRlmD9pvTNGWfH-p7rlUObZ4rGX0lPPR4dUMPRUv4K_UxxljX9ZsjIvDkEOknpv24d1q633Dn3g5rA/s1600/Homeschooling+Pics+085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpCMVH7Hv0228AZHazAc77sOyw_vsE9IAUPvvMEYaBV_xi7yMM547Jq7fS6ge4nRlmD9pvTNGWfH-p7rlUObZ4rGX0lPPR4dUMPRUv4K_UxxljX9ZsjIvDkEOknpv24d1q633Dn3g5rA/s400/Homeschooling+Pics+085.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This under the floor of a compulsive vacuum runner.. Ew.</td></tr>
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Taking down wallpaper cured me of ever wanting to put it up; pulling carpet has cured me of the temptation to permanently cover my floors in anything not able to be mopped. Madelyn worked with me for three days. She even *asked* to do more after I was ready to quit on Day 2.<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-55186816314645386702012-04-30T05:01:00.001-07:002012-05-11T14:22:06.336-07:00The math we'll need; the math we'll love<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
The assumption that we all need to take higher math is wrong. For those who love math, go ahead and wallow in the numbers! For most of
us, though, arithmetic, thinking logically and reasoning is what we need most.</div>
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Based on math teachers' lectures on TED talks, taking Calculus and Trigonometry is practical for professions who put it to use--like engineers and technicians. The rest of us will remember just enough to pass the class or get through the SAT. </div>
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To keep math relevant and interesting, Nate and I are working through this book:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1izNOLNQ6iuCvZ4CszzDjNZQvwUgrU_jrrQxsK71enW4zvn4SeN-TXCR74DBXO9RnGcbCb1ThGgTdQKfJeOXLvLmtcIiMxcCY7G7mShyphenhyphenL39bDmOWjuP44tcQ-giAeWf97Q-h9P4psi4/s1600/51QStEcr90L._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1izNOLNQ6iuCvZ4CszzDjNZQvwUgrU_jrrQxsK71enW4zvn4SeN-TXCR74DBXO9RnGcbCb1ThGgTdQKfJeOXLvLmtcIiMxcCY7G7mShyphenhyphenL39bDmOWjuP44tcQ-giAeWf97Q-h9P4psi4/s1600/51QStEcr90L._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Book-Perfectly-Perilous-Math-Mathematicians/dp/0761163743"><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="btAsinTitle">The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math: 24 Death-Defying Challenges for Young Mathematicians</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="btAsinTitle"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span id="btAsinTitle">After most of these problems, he pronounced them "fun" and "cool." <b>It doesn't take long to work through each dilemma, and the stories have a sense of exaggerated danger that boys love. </b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span id="btAsinTitle"> </span><span id="btAsinTitle">We are not spoon-fed the method, but are given "Euclid's hints." (If you are stuck, there is a flow chart that shows you how to work it out, but so far he has needed that for just one problem). </span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span id="btAsinTitle"> </span><span id="btAsinTitle">After each problem, there's a simple lab demonstrating how to use the method. The favorite required a half-gallon of ice cream. We had to figure out how many cone-sized scoops are in one carton. Eating the demo was motivation enough for Nate!</span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span id="btAsinTitle">Here's</span><span id="btAsinTitle"> a site of reasoning/logic games: </span><a href="http://www.mathplayground.com/logicgames.html"><span id="btAsinTitle">http://www.mathplayground.com/logicgames.html </span></a><span id="btAsinTitle"> </span></span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span id="btAsinTitle"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">We'll be using this for some of our math. I want them to know how to deal with numbers, but not to terrify and traumatize them. </span></span></span></h1>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-42126456945250902772012-04-30T04:36:00.000-07:002012-05-11T14:22:39.699-07:00No assignments required<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/AVvXsEjMbj5IGNwI2yrVzk8rptweEB4xiXVe9etAltOFv_vt4OSwL2Rg7h2RSKPhyNAXfIIzoeN5YVnDWlQSqfvzTWDPuL7i80nwyqzeMv0CBlETBQi_pSo9l178dw1vq-EGXfc7KnbQFPxLSD0/s1600/2012+April+012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbj5IGNwI2yrVzk8rptweEB4xiXVe9etAltOFv_vt4OSwL2Rg7h2RSKPhyNAXfIIzoeN5YVnDWlQSqfvzTWDPuL7i80nwyqzeMv0CBlETBQi_pSo9l178dw1vq-EGXfc7KnbQFPxLSD0/s400/2012+April+012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barbie's homemade bed</td></tr>
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We do a blend of home-school (math, history, typing) and "unschool"--wherein the kids have time to freely play and create.<br />
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The boy is all about Minecraft, Pokemon, and the history of video game systems. He talked constantly for a two mile walk about the various gaming systems, what they looked like, when they were invented, and how well they fared in the market. That's history, technology, & business--none of it assigned. I did not think he had the capacity to recall so much.<br />
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He asked me if I "think it's a good idea" for him to "invent his own RPG (Role Playing Game)." <b>He's <i>asking</i></b> <b>if it's okay to excel in something.</b> He knows what he loves and wants; he needs to know if that's acceptable. <i>Acceptable?</i> It's what we're all looking for--turning our passions/interests into a way of life!<br />
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The girl is a crafter, writer, and sketcher. Along with the Barbie bed she invented with chopsticks, cardboard, and a glue gun, she made a playground:<br />
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I came home one day, and this was on the floor: design, persistence, and resourcefulness required--not one bit of it "assigned."<br />
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There was a Penelope Trunk post about the value of <a href="http://homeschooling.penelopetrunk.com/2012/04/27/top-universities-want-you-to-homeschool/">finding one's passions as a means to getting into college</a>.<b> The more I let them delve into their own projects, the better for their futures.</b> This is the opposite of more testing and curriculum-pushing that schools require.<br />
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Schooling says, "Here's what you need to know to make it in the world.<br />
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Unschooling says: "Here is what I want to know about; how can I fit this into the world?"Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-32496213911320616942012-04-16T03:26:00.000-07:002012-04-16T03:26:16.066-07:00Critical thinkers...who obey.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMFqS2uOqrWcal9WlsIIJcRAHFypUYACO83Z1Up6OyBmCob_2KvdBu5e5kh0sG_fHhp175uj-GKXLhhJBP69EcAhut3pBWmo_BYIy2ebYxPJgCJ6GePkF-FHT2hsPVBDJcVMsYgiX5f8/s1600/Critical+thinkers...who+obey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMFqS2uOqrWcal9WlsIIJcRAHFypUYACO83Z1Up6OyBmCob_2KvdBu5e5kh0sG_fHhp175uj-GKXLhhJBP69EcAhut3pBWmo_BYIy2ebYxPJgCJ6GePkF-FHT2hsPVBDJcVMsYgiX5f8/s400/Critical+thinkers...who+obey.jpg" width="373" /></a></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-30297916304859072242012-04-09T17:14:00.000-07:002012-04-09T17:14:27.148-07:00Easter Sugar RushWe did our eggs and chocolate bunnies a few weeks ago, on the first day of spring. (<a href="http://home4goodmichigan.blogspot.com/2012/03/creation-potpourri.html">Creation Potpourri</a>). <br />
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However, an article in Family Fun magazine was too easy to resist, and it gave us something novel to do on the weekend when so many are hosting dinner, dressing up, and attending church. We dress down and eat cheap, disgusting sugary snacks. Behold...Rice Krispie Treats a la Easter<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7pTNRFeaHY8OL4o6liGHMjzwqCwFk8g-ezVgPSViE1GGBotZFm0mxygaEXmHjGP48Y4vo1HqR_vMZ0b8MclFtwi-lp1wUndow-lRbFYogFvWW4q07XkRPmEvtT5aF38S0A-Av2GhukQ/s1600/2012+April+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7pTNRFeaHY8OL4o6liGHMjzwqCwFk8g-ezVgPSViE1GGBotZFm0mxygaEXmHjGP48Y4vo1HqR_vMZ0b8MclFtwi-lp1wUndow-lRbFYogFvWW4q07XkRPmEvtT5aF38S0A-Av2GhukQ/s400/2012+April+001.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ingredients (the butternut squash is just observing, not participating).</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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The intent--and the recipe--called for molding the cereal goo into plastic eggs, leaving a hollow on the inside, cooling them, and putting a few M&M's in the center before sticking the halves together.<br />
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One shot at pushing the resilient cereal/mallow cement into a flimsy plastic shell made us reconsider. Our fingers were oiled to the tips, but they kept getting stuck as we tried to make the mixture stay in the mold.<br />
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"We can just spread this into a cake pan, cut it up, and decorate," I hinted.<br />
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"Okay," said kid baker, eager to break into the unnaturally blue hued, air-driven frosting.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtE9zexu4ogkrJB_N-xAAFfXR1rv5VhYQO4OBse8n-v1svanAhYP7CwNMiqCRParVxNUeyHIItt7KZa9n-zaeQSyb7QNK-3BNk9GEoOXCbWr9t6h-KwBZh4vFV7OzYaLmMOGKi4xR6pvU/s1600/2012+April+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtE9zexu4ogkrJB_N-xAAFfXR1rv5VhYQO4OBse8n-v1svanAhYP7CwNMiqCRParVxNUeyHIItt7KZa9n-zaeQSyb7QNK-3BNk9GEoOXCbWr9t6h-KwBZh4vFV7OzYaLmMOGKi4xR6pvU/s400/2012+April+004.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6084111678423854827.post-66937635897026090562012-03-29T04:59:00.003-07:002012-04-09T17:20:01.318-07:00Two Readers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I spent Wednesday morning perusing a recently-found and favorite blog: Wonderfarm. The author says, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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“If we want our kids to love reading and writing in the future, we have to help them love reading and writing today.”<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://patriciazaballos.com/2011/10/14/love-reading-today-love-writing-today/">http://patriciazaballos.com/2011/10/14/love-reading-today-love-writing-today/</a></span><br />
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Last night at the library, there was a boy (about eight years old) reading with an older girl. He was stumbling through the words, squirming, and scowling. The older girl kept coaching him; he looked ready to launch himself off the cushion--clearly not enjoying the experience. She said something about bringing his proper books--maybe he didn't bring the right one--and by the tone of her voice, she was not enjoying the tutoring either. <br />
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Was he being forced to get tutoring or forced to read something that was not interesting? <b>What better way to turn a kid off from reading than to make it boring and painful?</b><br />
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Compare this to my son's find the same evening. He went to the graphic novel section and chose two <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yu-Gi-Oh-Manga-Books-Chapters-1-343/lm/R1FW6P58LNCOO7">Yu Gi Oh books.</a> On the ride home, he remarked how much the Japanese have enriched his life.<br />
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"They invented Pokemon <i>and </i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga">manga</a>."<br />
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He spent the rest of the evening reading--voluntarily. There was no fighting and no forcing. He couldn't get enough. He was still reading when I turned out my bedside light.<br />
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Each day we are reading one play from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greek-Myth-Plays-Favorite-Practices/dp/0439640148">Greek Myth Plays</a>. The kids' stuffed animal collection has been invaluable for casting. Here, Madelyn holds Hades and Persephone, while Baxter (front, center) helps play Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guards the Underworld.<br />
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(The reputation home-schoolers have of doing school in their pajamas, sprawled on the floor? True. All true).Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11288672545999106867noreply@blogger.com0