For the researcher in me...
National Home Education Research Institute
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Friday, December 14, 2012
Workboxes
Workboxes are a great idea for individual organization. We've used this idea for about a year now, and I've since heard of a few other people doing it, but I just learned that it has a name! And a whole book written on it, too, if you're curious.
I found a website with links for many different adaptions of the workbox idea.
I found a website with links for many different adaptions of the workbox idea.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Homeschooling: Allow Me to Remove the Wool From Your Eyes
I would like to officially apologize to anyone I've tricked into thinking we're "that" homeschool family. You know, the family that is amazing at everything, including perfect parents, immaculate home, flawless children. I must be really good at making my family sound awesome. Or, some friends are really good at making me feel good. I'm almost sure it's the former.
I confess, I beam a bit hearing our 5-year old recite for others the (one--ahem) poem that he knows or watching him pull out his body model to teach our 3-year old about the organs, just for fun. When Trevor declares that every evening in our home should be for reading books. And when they beg to do "homework"--ahh! sweetness!
Well, so we are awesome. But I'm biased. I happen to adore my husband and kids. The neutral observer would probably find themselves saying, "What's so awesome about this family? They're nothing special, just weird."
What's this all about? Recently I've had too many people giving me compliments about our homeschooling efforts. While I graciously accept the compliments, I also wonder if I've somehow forgotten to leave out all the bad parts and give a truthful, realistic view of homeschooling in general, and what it is in our home.
Enough is enough. First of all, I am one of those people who really can't handle focusing on the negative too much, so I tend to only replay positive experiences from our home to others. So when I list a million fantastic field trips and experiences from our homeschool, you're not getting the whole picture.
I once read from a veteran homeschool mom, that in a typical homeschool, you have to count it a success if one out of ten days is one you consider a "good" day. I've tried to keep that in mind on the nine bad days. When we're not dressed until 10 AM. When Abigail has been awake all night and the next day comprises slobbing on the couch in my "comfies" reading picture books all morning until I tell the boys I'm too tired to do real lessons and they can just turn on the keyboard and dance for the next hour. Or when it just seems like we're not learning much of anything and I worry that they'll fall behind.
I have to reroute you to one of my favorite sites out there for homeschooling, The Well-Trained Mind. It was created by one of my favorite homeschool authors, Susan Wise Bauer, and the page I linked you to is all about typical homeschool days in different families. Very eye-opening! Especially the one about homeschooling with young children, a toddler, and a newborn.
Now, I must go on a tangent for any nay-sayers who choose not to homeschool because they don't think they have it in them, or who perhaps after reading the links, tilt their noses to the sky. Out of the many homeschool moms I've met, no two moms do homeschooling the same way. Look at it this way: put overly simply, public school is ONE way to educate children, and homeschooling has as many ways as there are families. As a homeschool mom, I've learned rather quickly not to judge how other families choose to educate their children, that what is truly important and underlies most homeschooling philosophies is the LOVE these parents have for their children. And I don't judge anyone for putting their kids in public school, either. Just FYI, though, for anyone curious, go to this site and read the stats on homeschooling vs. public schooling.
During the first day of public school in our area, I got together with a bunch of other moms (public school moms) for a playgroup, and of course, they ended up asking me about homeschooling. You get a lot of attention when you're doing something different than everyone else. I was feeling nervous, anticipating the questions that undoubtedly would come, and also a little defensive because I knew there were a few in the company who had privately and publicly criticized homeschooling. I ended up saying something I regret, after a few moms said something like, "How do you do it? It sounds so hard! I could never do that!" I said, "Well, I think it takes a certain type of person to homeschool." Not true! I wanted to elaborate and tell them what I meant was that any mom (or dad) can become that person through diligence and love, that it's an individual process, and that I admired all the moms who came before me who blazed a path for me to follow, but I immediately realized how arrogant my original words sounded and I choked. Sigh...Opportunity lost.
Let me just say, for the record: I am not extraordinary, my kids are average, it's not that hard to homeschool once you get used to it (the process of which is really mostly just getting over a lot of perceived barriers). You don't need a teaching degree, you just need to love your kids. And have a desire to nurture them all day long, whatever that means for your family.
So please! Enough with the compliments and making me blush! Well, okay, I really like the compliments, but I just want people to know I'm not special or any better than you. I don't love my kids more than you love yours. Our homeschool looks different from day-to-day, and I expect it to change continually, waxing and waning with the phases our family goes through.
Recently another homeschool mom was being complimented on all the amazing "extracurricular" things she was doing with her kids and was asked how she could possibly do it all. She humbly and truthfully answered that her youngest happened to be at a good age and that she happened to have the energy at the time, and that she reserved the right--as matriarch of the family--to stop any and all activities that became excessive to their family. Her words rang familiar to me, especially after reflecting on Abigail's newborn phase at the beginning of 2012. I realized then that there are times and seasons for everything, and certain activities would have to wait.
Another comfort that has helped is an essay that I like to go back to from time to time: The Baby Is the Lesson. That's for the people who wonder, as I did, how in the world to do homeschool when family life doesn't just stand still while little Johnny attentively receives his Latin lesson.
I confess, I beam a bit hearing our 5-year old recite for others the (one--ahem) poem that he knows or watching him pull out his body model to teach our 3-year old about the organs, just for fun. When Trevor declares that every evening in our home should be for reading books. And when they beg to do "homework"--ahh! sweetness!
Well, so we are awesome. But I'm biased. I happen to adore my husband and kids. The neutral observer would probably find themselves saying, "What's so awesome about this family? They're nothing special, just weird."
What's this all about? Recently I've had too many people giving me compliments about our homeschooling efforts. While I graciously accept the compliments, I also wonder if I've somehow forgotten to leave out all the bad parts and give a truthful, realistic view of homeschooling in general, and what it is in our home.
Enough is enough. First of all, I am one of those people who really can't handle focusing on the negative too much, so I tend to only replay positive experiences from our home to others. So when I list a million fantastic field trips and experiences from our homeschool, you're not getting the whole picture.
I once read from a veteran homeschool mom, that in a typical homeschool, you have to count it a success if one out of ten days is one you consider a "good" day. I've tried to keep that in mind on the nine bad days. When we're not dressed until 10 AM. When Abigail has been awake all night and the next day comprises slobbing on the couch in my "comfies" reading picture books all morning until I tell the boys I'm too tired to do real lessons and they can just turn on the keyboard and dance for the next hour. Or when it just seems like we're not learning much of anything and I worry that they'll fall behind.
I have to reroute you to one of my favorite sites out there for homeschooling, The Well-Trained Mind. It was created by one of my favorite homeschool authors, Susan Wise Bauer, and the page I linked you to is all about typical homeschool days in different families. Very eye-opening! Especially the one about homeschooling with young children, a toddler, and a newborn.
Now, I must go on a tangent for any nay-sayers who choose not to homeschool because they don't think they have it in them, or who perhaps after reading the links, tilt their noses to the sky. Out of the many homeschool moms I've met, no two moms do homeschooling the same way. Look at it this way: put overly simply, public school is ONE way to educate children, and homeschooling has as many ways as there are families. As a homeschool mom, I've learned rather quickly not to judge how other families choose to educate their children, that what is truly important and underlies most homeschooling philosophies is the LOVE these parents have for their children. And I don't judge anyone for putting their kids in public school, either. Just FYI, though, for anyone curious, go to this site and read the stats on homeschooling vs. public schooling.
During the first day of public school in our area, I got together with a bunch of other moms (public school moms) for a playgroup, and of course, they ended up asking me about homeschooling. You get a lot of attention when you're doing something different than everyone else. I was feeling nervous, anticipating the questions that undoubtedly would come, and also a little defensive because I knew there were a few in the company who had privately and publicly criticized homeschooling. I ended up saying something I regret, after a few moms said something like, "How do you do it? It sounds so hard! I could never do that!" I said, "Well, I think it takes a certain type of person to homeschool." Not true! I wanted to elaborate and tell them what I meant was that any mom (or dad) can become that person through diligence and love, that it's an individual process, and that I admired all the moms who came before me who blazed a path for me to follow, but I immediately realized how arrogant my original words sounded and I choked. Sigh...Opportunity lost.
Let me just say, for the record: I am not extraordinary, my kids are average, it's not that hard to homeschool once you get used to it (the process of which is really mostly just getting over a lot of perceived barriers). You don't need a teaching degree, you just need to love your kids. And have a desire to nurture them all day long, whatever that means for your family.
So please! Enough with the compliments and making me blush! Well, okay, I really like the compliments, but I just want people to know I'm not special or any better than you. I don't love my kids more than you love yours. Our homeschool looks different from day-to-day, and I expect it to change continually, waxing and waning with the phases our family goes through.
Recently another homeschool mom was being complimented on all the amazing "extracurricular" things she was doing with her kids and was asked how she could possibly do it all. She humbly and truthfully answered that her youngest happened to be at a good age and that she happened to have the energy at the time, and that she reserved the right--as matriarch of the family--to stop any and all activities that became excessive to their family. Her words rang familiar to me, especially after reflecting on Abigail's newborn phase at the beginning of 2012. I realized then that there are times and seasons for everything, and certain activities would have to wait.
Another comfort that has helped is an essay that I like to go back to from time to time: The Baby Is the Lesson. That's for the people who wonder, as I did, how in the world to do homeschool when family life doesn't just stand still while little Johnny attentively receives his Latin lesson.
Monday, December 3, 2012
-less
In conversation at breakfast, Trevor said the word tailless. I know, not a big deal, but I'm his mom, so it was a big deal for me. I was impressed (as I always am when I hear a new word come from his mouth), and asked him where he got that word from.
I loved his reply, because I was also impressed at his ability to communicate his train of thought. He said simply, "I heard someone say 'headless' and I just thought of all the things that could be -less." I love my little thinker.
I loved his reply, because I was also impressed at his ability to communicate his train of thought. He said simply, "I heard someone say 'headless' and I just thought of all the things that could be -less." I love my little thinker.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
I'm really having a hard time deciding where to post things, because I don't really separate homeschool from our family life. I just posted a bunch of recent homeschool/family activities on our family blog, so you'll have to check that out for the latest. We've been having a blast! I LOVE homeschooling!!! My kids are so happy and I love being a part of their lives every day.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
The Learning and Healing Powers of Time
When I took lessons from Patricia George for a short while in college (once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!), she amazed me with all she knew and had researched on how people learn. I--already a psychology major and fascinated with all things brain--was amazed. She had a practice schedule figured out that would forever imprint music and drill in your memory, or at least make the same amount of practice more productive. Most music majors practice anywhere from 3-6 hours a day (or more). But Patricia George told me it wasn't to be done all in one sitting. It is best done with time in between practice sessions, specifically 3 hours.
My first declared major, education, had taught me that it is the same in all areas of learning. Our brains just need time to incorporate all that new knowledge. It can just be too much when we try to cram too much in, creating a stimulation overload.
I've also found the same to be true in the school of life. You know the lingo: "suffering burnout", "too much on my plate", "bogged down". When we get this way, it takes time, soothing, meditative time, to mull over and understand all that has happened. It is taking me months to incorporate into my brain all the new experiences and life lessons our family has received since moving to Minnesota, and it has been difficult for the rest of my family, too.
Sadly, I've had to learn through my own experiences to be more compassionate to others in their times of trial. In Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl mentions this very thing. I may see a person acting strange and make a snap judgment that they are weird or a little off. Frankl says that in reality, their actions might just be a normal reaction to an abnormal human experience. (Frankl was of course referring to how so many of the people he met in the Jewish death camps shed much of their morality under the conditions they were forced into. How can any of us judge them harshly!)
"Understanding the true nature of instinctive decision making requires us to be forgiving of those people trapped in circumstances where good judgement is imperiled." Malcolm Gladwell, Blink. I think it goes beyond instinctive decision making, as so many instinctive decisions can pile up to make huge misjudgements.
So many times when I was in the midst of the worst of the storm last year, I thought to myself, "Why do I feel as though I'm fading? Do I lack faith?" It was some of the worst mental anguish I have ever dealt with, wondering if I was pulling away from my God.
I wondered if I could really homeschool my kids or if I was emotionally scarred so badly that I couldn't deal with the stress of what I once considered delightful: raising my kids and teaching them at home. I worried that our family's trials had made me selfish instead of refining my character. My happiness had lost some of its luster, the luster I had always been able to conjure up in difficult times, even if only to cheer my family.
As I'm slowly gaining back inner strength, I've been blessed to have time to reflect on my new knowledge.
William Faulkner said, "Most men are a little better than their circumstances give them a chance to be." All men (and women) have "circumstances"! We will all fall short of perfection. It's unfortunate that we have to be thumped over the head with trials in order to come to this realization, but I now understand it better than I could without those difficult experiences.
I have thought so much bout Job, and how faithfully he endured his trials. I feel that the Lord will do this for all of us: bring us as close as He possibly can to the edge of our endurance, in order to help us grow in faith. (President Eyring's talk in General Conference about "the Lord's pavilion" that relates to this as well. It was the first talk in the first Sunday Session.)
It is so important, even in the recovery phase of our trials (however long that may be), to rely on the Savior. It is sweet to feel the love of the Lord as we see our family smiling more and we're getting the sunshine back in our home. As I put Conrad down for his nap today, we giggled and gave a million kisses and just made each other happy. It brought back memories of times when these special times were passed over, and I silently thanked God for the healing occurring in our home. I also prayed that the Lord would use His timing to allow our family to fully meditate on our trial and incorporate the new knowledge into our stores of growing wisdom.
I know I can't do it on my own. I'm grateful to have a Heavenly Father who so strongly wants me to put my hand in His and let Him lead me, that He is willing to allow my trials to push me so far so I will humble myself and do it. It's fall down the cliff or into His arms. I know now firmer than I ever have, that He loves me and wants me near.
My first declared major, education, had taught me that it is the same in all areas of learning. Our brains just need time to incorporate all that new knowledge. It can just be too much when we try to cram too much in, creating a stimulation overload.
I've also found the same to be true in the school of life. You know the lingo: "suffering burnout", "too much on my plate", "bogged down". When we get this way, it takes time, soothing, meditative time, to mull over and understand all that has happened. It is taking me months to incorporate into my brain all the new experiences and life lessons our family has received since moving to Minnesota, and it has been difficult for the rest of my family, too.
Sadly, I've had to learn through my own experiences to be more compassionate to others in their times of trial. In Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl mentions this very thing. I may see a person acting strange and make a snap judgment that they are weird or a little off. Frankl says that in reality, their actions might just be a normal reaction to an abnormal human experience. (Frankl was of course referring to how so many of the people he met in the Jewish death camps shed much of their morality under the conditions they were forced into. How can any of us judge them harshly!)
"Understanding the true nature of instinctive decision making requires us to be forgiving of those people trapped in circumstances where good judgement is imperiled." Malcolm Gladwell, Blink. I think it goes beyond instinctive decision making, as so many instinctive decisions can pile up to make huge misjudgements.
So many times when I was in the midst of the worst of the storm last year, I thought to myself, "Why do I feel as though I'm fading? Do I lack faith?" It was some of the worst mental anguish I have ever dealt with, wondering if I was pulling away from my God.
I wondered if I could really homeschool my kids or if I was emotionally scarred so badly that I couldn't deal with the stress of what I once considered delightful: raising my kids and teaching them at home. I worried that our family's trials had made me selfish instead of refining my character. My happiness had lost some of its luster, the luster I had always been able to conjure up in difficult times, even if only to cheer my family.
As I'm slowly gaining back inner strength, I've been blessed to have time to reflect on my new knowledge.
William Faulkner said, "Most men are a little better than their circumstances give them a chance to be." All men (and women) have "circumstances"! We will all fall short of perfection. It's unfortunate that we have to be thumped over the head with trials in order to come to this realization, but I now understand it better than I could without those difficult experiences.
I have thought so much bout Job, and how faithfully he endured his trials. I feel that the Lord will do this for all of us: bring us as close as He possibly can to the edge of our endurance, in order to help us grow in faith. (President Eyring's talk in General Conference about "the Lord's pavilion" that relates to this as well. It was the first talk in the first Sunday Session.)
It is so important, even in the recovery phase of our trials (however long that may be), to rely on the Savior. It is sweet to feel the love of the Lord as we see our family smiling more and we're getting the sunshine back in our home. As I put Conrad down for his nap today, we giggled and gave a million kisses and just made each other happy. It brought back memories of times when these special times were passed over, and I silently thanked God for the healing occurring in our home. I also prayed that the Lord would use His timing to allow our family to fully meditate on our trial and incorporate the new knowledge into our stores of growing wisdom.
I know I can't do it on my own. I'm grateful to have a Heavenly Father who so strongly wants me to put my hand in His and let Him lead me, that He is willing to allow my trials to push me so far so I will humble myself and do it. It's fall down the cliff or into His arms. I know now firmer than I ever have, that He loves me and wants me near.
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