the beginning is the end is the beginning

And here we are, almost exactly one year since we started homeschooling. My how things change in that amount of time! I just re-read the first few posts I wrote and had a good laugh. What felt so new and unknown, now feels old hat. Where I was hesitant and unprepared, I am now filled with confidence and certainty.

WE MADE THE RIGHT DECISION. I love homeschooling.

I know I've been terrible about updating this site... but frankly, I've been really busy and didn't feel like I needed to reflect upon what I was doing as much as I needed to focus on the moment. That said, I would like to share some of what I learned during my first year as teacher and student.

• It takes a few weeks (months even) to get into the flow, but once you do, your day is efficient and streamlined. Everyone knows what they need to do and they get it done. 
• Homeschooling feels very organic and natural. Maybe at first you might feel a little phony (like you're "playing teacher") but after awhile, the role assumes you. In a funny way, I feel like I was born to teach.
• I have never planned more than I have for this coming year...
• I am learning to manage my time very wisely. I'm a busy woman! I teach in the mornings, take the kids to their activities in the afternoons, run a house, cook every meal, work as a photographer, all while traveling at least twice a month. I'm not going to lie, it gets a little crazy - thankfully, I'm one of those people that operates well under pressure. 
• In complete contradiction to that last statement: Stay Flexible. Even though we are busy, there has been an unusual amount of flexibility in our schedule. Part of this is due to our line of work (photography). We've traveled to 15 places this year and have many more to come! It did make for year-round schooling, but for the most part that has been fine. So enjoy the perk of following your own calendar year and not the school districts! 
• Always trust your instincts. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don't. Let go of what isn't working and move on.  
• Keep researching other methods. There are a lot of valuable resources out there. You just have to find them!
• Take extra time when necessary. Everyone learns at different speeds. Don't feel pressured by a learning schedule. Some things will be picked up quickly and others need more time. That is okay.
• Be prepared. Plan out a few weeks in advance. You can always change things on the fly, but it is nice to be able to look ahead and even move forward if things are progressing faster.
• Enjoy going back to school yourself. I have learned SO much -- I cannot even stress how this blows my mind. 
• Plan on answering a lot of questions. Your childrens'. Your friends. Your parents. It seems that homeschooling is rather foreign to most people. Many look at it as though it hasn't changed in the past 30 years, which is a sad misconception. I would say that 9/10 of my friends have straight up told me they could never do it. You will hear a lot of things like, "I don't have the patience." or "My children would never listen to me." or "I need a break from my kids." I've found the opposite to be true. In many ways, teaching your children at home is no different than parenting. It has created an even greater bond and awareness between all of us. I've learned so much about my children and myself and I truly feel blessed to have this opportunity. I can't wait to see where this next year will take us.

Up next... what worked and what didn't.

mobile classroom: the nursery

One of the greatest perks of homeschooling is the flexibility it provides. Learning feels much more intuitive when it's not so scheduled! Whether we do a full school week or take a week off matters very little because we are learning all the time, regardless if we are in the classroom or not.

In the first semester, I was far more concerned with constantly having to catch up any time we'd taken off -- but now I am not so fussed. For instance, the past 6 weeks we went on three vacations plus had family visit us and in that time we did no formal educating. However, we went to zoos and parks, museums and galleries, hikes in the canyons, walks on the beach, we socialized, we tried new foods, we explored the world around us. I can't think of any better way to learn that this.

Life and all we need to know is before us, not just in books.

Today, we spent the first two hours in our backyard. We've been planting veggies and preparing a new garden for the children. At 11am, we drove to the Molto Vegas Farmers Market. This market was started by Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich to provide fresh, seasonal and local (NV and CA) produce and artisanal goods for their three restaurants here in Las Vegas. Thankfully, they also sell to the public!) Unfortunately, their regular location (a warehouse in the industrial district) was closed, but some of the farmers were set up down on The Strip. Such an unlikely place to be buying fresh produce, eh?

The children and I picked out a nice assortment of fruits, vegetables, honey and eggs. When we got home, we decided to make a frittata out of some our bounty:  the fresh eggs, purple and white potatoes, Tuscan garlic and some Cavolo Nero from our garden! They took turns washing the veggies, cracking the eggs, cutting up potatoes, grating parmigiano-reggiano, stirring, cooking, learning. We ate our lunch and had fresh yellow raspberries and miniature apples for dessert. It was perfect!

What better way is there to explain to your children about where food comes from than by showing them in the garden, at the market, in your kitchen and on your table? They were involved and interested in the process -- and they don't even like eggs or potatoes!

Now they are back in the garden helping to level the space and place the bricks for the new beds. Soon they will plant peas and beans and other seeds there. They will watch them grow and we will talk about sun and water, oxygen and photosynthesis. Their fingers will be dirty and active. They might experience loss but hopefully their efforts will prove fruitful and before we know it, they will be picking and munching on produce that they created all by themselves.

There will be no worksheets or tests. Just the simple act of tending and caring for something so very basic and yet so completely fundamental.

a five, six, seven, eight...

Oh my!  I don't have a clue what week we're on.  And what possessed me to start ANOTHER blog is beyond me.  I can't keep up with the other two!  Alas, here I am trying to find the words to explain what we've been up to from an educational standpoint.

Hmmm.... 

Last month, I discovered the writer, educator and homeschooling/unschooling pioneer, John Holt.  I promptly bought several of his books:

Teach Your Own:  The John Holt Book of Homeschooling

How Children Learn (Classics in Child Development)

Learning All the Time

I'm in the process of reading these and already know that I connect with his philosophy.  He has made me think a lot about my own education:  where it succeeded, where it lacked, what I would've changed if I could, how I learned, how I failed, etc.

And although I've been happy with our homeschool curriculum these past few months, I can't help but feel like I want to take this a little further.  I don't want our homeschool to simply be a different version of regular school.  I'd like it to be even more out of the box.  But at the same time, I feel like I need to understand more (ie. finish reading these books) before I formulate a plan of action.

Until I can articulate myself a little better, I urge you to take a moment to read and consider this list of amazing John Holt quotes.

I'll be back after the holiday break to share what I come up with!  Happy New Year and cheers to finding new perspectives.

hope

I saw this video on Pittsy's blog and it blew my mind.  I put in on FB and thought I should share it here as well.



Sir Ken Robinson hits the nail on the head when he says that the current educational system must be changed.

It's interesting to consider how the original model was founded and how much the world has evolved since then. I know that I've had one too many conversations lamenting the public and private school sector. Believe me, it's rarely positive. Homeschooling rates are on the rise for a reason!

But I am hopeful. I feel like the pot is beginning to boil and people are starting to understand and take initiatives to modernize this antiquated system. And nothing excites me more than hearing about (charter) schools that are thinking outside of the box -- incorporating ideas like mixed-age classrooms, nature-based education, using non-traditional methods of teaching, even designing spaces that are better suited for a learning environment. (The majority of public schools here in Las Vegas look like little prisons!)

I can't help but feel that we're on the cusp of something big.

(If you were like me and wanted to hear more from Sir Ken Robinson, then listen to this: CLICK HERE)

three + four.

Chronicling this journey in terms of weeks is beginning to make me feel like I'm having a baby. Perhaps in 40 weeks a teacher will be born! Well... that's the hope anyway. :)

Week 3: Things are still progressing nicely. I won't lie, there have been a few days where I wasn't entirely in the mood to teach - but like any job, that would be considered normal.  Our days seem to be swept into a nice ebb and flow.  We all know what is expected of us and the schedule is falling comfortably into place.  Unfortunately, this will soon change as we try to take this show on the road...

One minor problem we encountered was a poor curriculum choice on my part. I'd purchased a reading program for Max (that a friend had recommended) and it became completely evident that it wasn't working for either of us! There are elements of it that I like, but the way it is presented is just plain confusing for a 4 year old and 35 year old alike!  So we're abandoning that and just working on sight words for now.

In all I've read about homeschooling, one of the key things is to be aware of what does or does not work and then take the appropriate measures to make it work for your child.  There is no one set way to teach or learn a subject! The important thing is to make it fun and interesting.  I could sense that this particular reading curriculum was not creating an interest as much as it was a putting up a roadblock.  Lesson learned: pay attention, put the brakes on when necessary and adjust to suit your child's needs.

Week 4: On the road. Ummm... teaching while traveling is not easy. In fact, we've done NO school work at all. I'm going to have to figure this out, as we'll be away for another two weeks. Eek! Thankfully, I believe that travel is one of the greatest learning experiences out there. We saw so many new things this past week while in Canada and with all the walking we did, I'd say we've taken care of at least a years worth of PE!  (My calves are still aching...)

Our next journey will be to the American Southwest. My plan is to work our adventures into learning; taking the time to research each place beforehand and presenting science, geology, history, culture, and economy, as we explore it personally and physically, far away from books and worksheets.

I'm currently reading the book Last Child in the Woods, which I'd highly recommend to all parents.  The premise (in a nutshell) is that children must reconnect with nature for proper physical and mental development.  Frankly, I think this applies to adults, too!

Interestingly, there is a charter school in my hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska that has based their school's philosophy on this book, as well as "Place-Based Education." They combine education and nature with locally relevant curriculum that relates to the land, culture, and environment of Fairbanks, embracing it's unique qualities.

As we travel, I'd like to use this very concept as a teaching tool.  I'll be sure to stop along the way and let you know how it's going...

As William Wordsworth said, "Let Nature be your teacher." And I intend to do just that.

two.

3:04pm: The children have just finished their studies for the day. I'm cleaning up the classroom and attempting to actually prepare something for tomorrow. I feel like a real teacher!
__

Drum roll please.....

Our first week of school was a big success!

Ironically, by the second day we were already off-schedule due to grey skies and rain. It hadn't rained in months, so we spent an extra hour working in the garden. (So much for my scheduling prowess, eh?) But we harvested shallots and planted more carrots and radishes. The late start was worth it and we managed to get back on track by eliminating P.E. and recess that day. No worries! As the week progressed, I found that it was easiest to loosely follow the schedule but to also follow the children's lead. Sometimes they wanted to spend more time on a subject and less on another. Ironically, it all worked out in the end.

I also realized pretty quickly that I needed to break up the academics differently, so that there was a nice mix of listening to stories, doing worksheets, and conducting experiments all included in each hour. As we go along, my goal is to introduce more hands-on learning and nature based education.

I will say that teaching two grades at the same time is a little challenging, but I'm mostly focusing on my 1st grader since Pre-K isn't required. Some subjects are a little too advanced for Max anyway, so I figure he can listen and absorb. When it gets to be too much, he can go to his room to build a train track, do a puzzle or play with Legos.

On Friday (our fun day) the children chose to have a cooking lesson. They made banana-blueberry muffins all on their own. I taught them about measurement and chemical processes, how to use appliances and clean up after themselves. They had so much fun, it didn't even dawn on them that it was still "school." What a good reminder that everything we do with our children is a great opportunity to teach!

Yesterday, I spent about an hour organizing the next three weeks worth of schoolwork and worksheets into binders. Today ran infinitely smoother and I imagine the more organized and planned I can get -- the easier this will be. I'm feeling very positive all around!

__

Finally, I just wanted to say that I truly appreciated your supportive comments! Homeschooling has come a long way since the 1970's and 80's when most of us were growing up. There has been a sizable increase in the past few years (40% more than in 2003) in the amount of children being homeschooled in the United States. There are tons of curriculum options available now and I think it goes without saying that are a lot of good reasons to do it! It's efficient, significantly less expensive than private school and there's a level of control (knowing what your children are being taught and who is influencing them) that you just can't have in a regular school setting.

One of the things I noticed most about this past week was that I felt very connected to my children. I can't tell you how many times in the past where I've felt bad about being so preoccupied with everything I needed to do (whether it be laundry, photography work, cleaning, catching up on emails, messing around on the computer, etc.) This week they weren't pining for my attention at the end of the day because they had it all day long. That felt really good!

I'm still trying to figure out how I will get everything else done though. This has forced me to manage my time wisely. It is no doubt a sacrifice on my part, but one that feels completely worthwhile and surprisingly natural.

How long will it last? I'll let you know! But for now, all is good...

PS. I promise to add photos to these posts as soon as I get my act together. It's painful to look at the screen without visuals! :)

one.

And so it begins...

Our first day has mostly been a success. It was slow going at first and my time management got a little off-track but we've started!

Although I'd read that most homeschool teachers start off very scheduled only to completely abandon said schedule, I just had to follow a timeline of how our day should progress.

My daily task list is broken down to the hours and minutes and my curriculum came with a vague schedule to follow. I'm not a naturally structured person, so it felt imperative to keep some sort of an agenda. I might even be forced to buy a watch!

We start our days off like any other, but I've incorporated mandatory chores (bed making, tidying of rooms, etc.) and a half-hour in the garden before we begin class. I thought starting our morning with some fresh air and greenery might do us all some good! My children helped plant a few fall vegetables this morning and tomorrow they will plant seeds and learn how to weed. The rest of the day is broken down into academic blocks with P.E., computer, lunch, and quiet-time interspersed.

In case you were wondering, we're following a 4 day schedule, but will use our 5th day for field trips, foreign language and art. As for activities, we have yoga, soccer, piano and swimming to keep us socially and physically active. I'm not the least bit concerned with not being social enough. If anything, I'll need to make sure we have enough down time! And lastly, one of the best parts about homeschooling is that we can do it on the road. We have several trips on the horizon and I'm excited to be able to have the freedom to plan our schedule and factor travel into their education.

If there is one thing I know for certain, experiencing the world is probably the best education you can get!

prologue.

When I was growing up, my mother was sure that I'd become a school teacher one day.

Although I liked children and education, I fought that future tooth and nail. We had enough teachers in our family!

I dreamt of being an actress or an artist, living a bohemian life that involved travel and music -- but more importantly, an unstructured work environment. Sure, one day I'd have children of my own to share my life's philosophy, but that was about as far as it would go!

--

Well... those dreams came true to a certain extent -- but here I am now, faced with the inevitability of my mother's hopes and dreams coming to fruition.

Tomorrow, I take on this title of teacher. I am scared and excited, apprehensive but determined. My friends all say, "If anyone can do it, you can!" (I hope they are right.)

--

It's not like I came to this conclusion overnight. It has been vexing my mind for four years and I've spent the last three months settling the reality of it into my soul.

We gave private school a chance. But truthfully, I couldn't stomach another year of spending 24 grand on an education that just wasn't as perfect as it should be -- at least not for that kind of money! And sadly, public school (in our neighborhood) is simply not an option. (Believe me! I wanted it to be.) Outside of moving to a better school district in another city, homeschooling seems to be the most viable alternative for now.

--

So here we are. After months of picking friends and strangers brains alike, I think I've finally found a nice mixture of curriculum. My office has been transformed into a schoolroom. We bought vintage desks! {oh yes.} I'm looking forward to no uniforms, no wasted hours of driving, no unhealthy snacks, but mostly no one to blame but myself if the educational system is lacking! Plus, I'm going to ride on the fact that not one homeschooling parent I spoke with said anything negative about their experience. They all seem to love it!

That said, I'm not going to lie -- the past few weeks have been anxiety ridden. Why didn't I take even ONE education class in college? What if I'm not good enough? What if my children end up hating me? Worse, what if I hate it?

Well... I'm going to stand up to the "what ifs" and hold my head up high tomorrow as I start my new job. Worry about the future is as futile as reliving the past. I've a good feeling that once I stop thinking about it and just do it, things will naturally fall into place.

Besides, first day of school jitters are totally normal, right?

preface.

This is the story of one mama's journey into the world of homeschooling.

homeschool resources.

BLOGS

Pittsy's Place
The Pioneer Woman: Homeschooling
Oh My Stinkin Heck


BOOKS

Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling

How Children Learn (Classics in Child Development)

Learning All The Time

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder

Homeschooling for Excellence

Radical Homemakers; Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture


CURRICULUM

Sonlight

Sequential Spelling

Handwriting Without Tears

Horizons Math 


COMPUTER

Spelling City

Starfall

Funbrain
BBC Dance Mat Typing
Rosetta Stone Homeschool

contact.

Email: info@180360.com