Why Homeschool?

Just a list of thoughts on why I would rather home school than public school. Midnight ramblings...

Testing: all kinds of studies that testing is superficial...yet they keep adding more.

Reality Based: most of the work done in a classroom setting is not connected to what you will use in life or at least the connection isn't readily apparent.

Age: kids are grouped by age...not skill level or comfort in a subject.

Development: schools under challenge...there is no push to do something interesting or important. You have to try things and make mistakes.

Choice: there is no chance for a student to choose what they want to learn. All the choices are meaningless and choosing is a motivation to learn.

8 hours!: sitting in a classroom environment for most a day is hard...for anyone!

Memorization: lots of the lessons in school are memorization. Some of that is needed, but otherwise you can Google it. I would rather there be discussion and understanding.

Busywork: who wants meaningless homework designed to keep you busy and frustrate parents who deal with cranky kids.

Focus: schools are required to hit all subject in a given day. At home you can focus on a subject without feeling obligated to move on to the next task.

Outdoors: spend more time doing in a home setting...not cooped up.

Social: instead of being with just one age group you can spend time with all groups and learn what the different views they offer.

Family: we can spend time with family and friends who care and love the kids.

Subjects: any subject can be explored...not just the basics.

Alright...off to bed. :)

Homeschooling Prep

The question Elias seems to be asked frequently of late is "will you be starting kindergarten this year?" To which he has developed a couple of replies: "I'm not ever going to school...(long pause, sometimes a prompt) I'm homeschooled." Or "My mom is going to homeschool me." I love when he uses the first one, you can see the question in peoples eyes as they try and figure out if he is serious and then the dawn of understanding when he finishes.

He is very happy with the fact he will be staying home and not going to a public school. I don't think he really understands the difference, except that we have told him he is very lucky to have parents who are able to provide the home schooling opportunity. The question of when are we starting is always hard to answer or at least its a vague answer. We have started - years ago, and will just continue in the same vein without a real start date.

Being a mostly unschooled structure we are just providing materials and opportunities for Elias to take. We recently added a couple new resources to our already accumulated stash. Hands On Equations, The Adventures of Penrose - The Mathematical Cat, more origami books...we have lots of other books for math (Singapore, Miquon...), many good reading books, he loves to write and is picking that up by practice and we also have some history and science books. Mostly we just go with an interest and incorporate all we can into it. All in all the hardest part is finding time (Eva free time)to sit and work with him. He has a ton of interest in so many things and we have lots of resources, we just have Eva who isn't able to sit with us and work on something similar because she always wants what he has.

So this years *kindergarten* is really just finding time to sit and help him through what he is already working on. He is just fine, I am the one who needs to learn how to handle our time. :)

Where Are We?

With all the traveling we have done this summer Elias is always asking "Am I on the east side of the car? Which way is north? Are we in the state of San Jose or California?" It is definitely time for some maps!

We found some foam core to protect the wall and placed a US map up. As we travel around we try to pick up a hat pin for National Parks, aquariums or cities we visit. Elias spent some time discussing where we picked up the pin, what we were doing there and how we got there. He then placed the pin in its location.

I think he made all kinds of connections doing this. He pointed out that we visited lots of places in San Diego (as such we had to put some pins to the side) and that he hadn't visited very far east of the US. He really wants to go to Canada and get a map for there and it would be nice to go to New York where Uncle Caleb is.

Because there are no roads on this map we copied some individual state road maps and taped them on his door. Highlighters were used to show the route we took to Colorado in June and our previous road trips to San Diego. We highlighted the San Jose area to show that we flew there. Elias traced out the route we would take to Albuquerque in September and we talked about different places we could go on that route. All in all a good fun way to learn geography!

Change on the Horizon

A few minutes of reading.

As most of you know Craig has decided to leave his current job and take a position working from home. This was a tough decision as Craig was not looking to change jobs; he likes his boss, his coworkers and has worked there for 7 years. He had lots of vacation time, a flexible schedule, coworkers to go to the gym with and all that comes with a good job. The move to a work at home position is exciting! It goes along with our desire to home school and eventually move out of town on a larger piece of land. It explores new areas of programming and he is looking forward to working on the new projects. He will be traveling once a month for a couple of days, but otherwise will be home.

It should be fascinating to discover how the kids, Craig and I deal with the challenges of this new situation. Craig does a remarkable job working from home on an occasional basis. Elias is thrilled to know he is here and will come out for a quick break once in a while. I hope that Elias' willingness to let him work will be maintained on a long term basis. Craig says he gets more done at home because no one comes in to take him away to another project. He also feels guilty not concentrating on work since we are around and the sooner he gets done the sooner he can be with us. This might wear off with time, but we can hope not!

We do spend a couple mornings in town which will allow Craig several hours of uninterrupted work. If things are too hectic or noisy around here he can also go get a cup of coffee at a cafe with wireless access. In preparation for this new job we have placed a wireless router in the house. This will hopefully allow him to get the quiet needed or be involved as he desires. He can work with Elias at the table, go watch us play outside on the porch or get away to the back bedroom.

There are some many benefits to working at home. Craig's bike rides will be more than commutes and a couple longer rides. He can now stay out of the middle of town and ride the more scenic, hilly routes. If it is cold, he can leave in the afternoon and on a hot day he can ride in the morning. He can play more of a role in homeschooling, reading or watching here and there. Starting work earlier in the morning and having more time in the afternoons for family time. He won't be commuting an hour and a half a day.

The few drawbacks are merely things we will have to work towards: Going to the gym will take planning since it is a drive into town. Socializing in general will have to be something we are proactive about. Craig will try and meet his old coworkers at the gym, continue to ride with those he rides with and we will have to try and have company over more often. The lower vacation amount will be balanced by not having to take time off for me being sick or appointments.

So here we go onward with this new endeavor!

An Excercise in Coordination

Elias in his studiousness.

Elias has shown a new interest in writing lately. He will sit at the table with a page of traceable A's with such intensity he notices nothing around him. He has always had times where he concentrates on something to the exclusion of all else and it is amazing to watch in a four year old. Elias has written a few letters here and there in the last year and a half (his name, Eva's), but never with much desire to improve or go further. He does love dot-to-dots and with a new book of dot-to-dots his coordination and desire to count have increased. The coordination has led him to want to trace; pictures, stencils and as a progression his letters. Most of the books I have seen for preschool children are about writing the ABC's as you learn them. We have picked up several of these books to have around, but have never really given them to Elias.

I have always believed that you shouldn't link writing and reading. They are two different skills and where many young children show an interest in both; it seems that for some (my brothers included) the desire to read is there until the pressure of writing comes in. With the stress of learning both they lose the momentum for either. Writing should be a task you learn years after reading and when you have the desire to "write" something; a letter, lists, etc. The more you have read and seen writing the easier it will be to reproduce. I am a bit surprised that Elias is showing an interest in writing and wonder how much I should encourage it. It can be a frustrating endeavor and as he gets older and becomes more coordinated it will be easier to learn. As such I print the traceable letters and let him write his name on papers, drawings and other works of art, but as is my normal way let him lead the way and start the projects. The resources are there and it is his choice to pursue them.

As a side note, typing is yet another skill set and rests somewhere in the middle of reading and writing. Elias has been typing words since gaining the coordination to hunt and peck. He loves to reproduce words he knows, but rarely ventures to create new ones. His word count goes up all the time and he reinforces it by typing it on a word program his dad created for him. Favorite words are the names of family and friends, activities that we as a family enjoy, such as camp, bike, swing etc. and like most kids; animals.