28th March, 2007
Belief Statement about Education
Remember when you were in college and you did research for a paper in one class and wrote another paper for another class based on the same research? I’m not saying I’ve ever done that (No way, not me!). But if I had? That’s how I would explain the feeling of posting my homework and calling it a post. Although, I do find your feedback and comments interesting and appreciate those of you who are nice to me. 
So, that being said, I am not fond of this paper. I feel like it doesn’t quite express the passion I feel for the subject. I also tried to stick with the subject of public schooling and how it could be improved. While I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to free my child from public school, there are many more just as deserving kids who must attend for one reason or another. Nor do I even believe that homeschooling is right for everyone. I homeschool for purely selfish reasons: I want to be in charge of what my child learns and give him the chance to pursue what interests him. History and culture and foreign languages and art and a million other things are so important to our family and they are sadly lackng in our local schools. Maybe I should write my beliefs about homeschooling next? Nobody around here ever does that. 
Posted at 11:53 pm | Comment (1)
24th March, 2007
Day at the Museum
Friday was our big field trip to the Clay Center for Arts and Sciences in the big ol’ capitol city of Charleston. It’s just an hour drive from us, but as my father found out, an hour is a looooong time when you are in the car with an inquisitive 9yo. What started as a conversation about the word “Kanawha”, as in the county, river, road, etc., turned into a discussion of Axis and Allied forces during WWII, to a comparison of the Holocaust and Native American displacement, to the war in Iraq and why can’t we just leave? Yeah. I am not sure how Papaw felt about encouraging critical thinking after that.
The main attraction was the planetarium show on Mars and the Night Sky. We haven’t done much on the planets themselves because Joe was really into the constellations and stars. Learning about all the different satellites and probes we have sent was fascinating. They even gave us a websiteto see the images that the current rovers are taking right now! Coool! The constellation part was mainly review for Joe, but it was awesome to see what it would look like without all the streetlights. If anybody wants to study the stars and solar system I highly recommend A Kid’s Guide to the Night Sky . It has great projects and the explanations are fun to read. It is well-organized and crammed with great (but thankfully easy)projects and stories.
After the show we hit the Earth City exhibit where we learned how dams, sandstorms, geysers, and formations work. It showed how WV developed as a land formation from pre-historic times. They also had a kids health exhibit where you could test your reaction time and look at weird X-rays and guess what you were looking at ( i.e. broken leg). The best was an arrow that a hunter had accidentally shot into his own patella. EEEWWW!
After lunch we went upstairs to the art exhibit. They had a cool huge screen TV show called Art at your Fingertips. You could play with and learn about the portraits and paintings interactively. There aren’t many places you can play bouncy ball with the Portrait of Henry Gibbs. They were featuring an artist who created these wonderfully colorful sculptures using the Fibonacci sequence. Then we went to the Gizmo Factory which was a huge room full of physical science exhibits. It was like one big playroom. They covered sound, waves, light, gravity computers, magnetism, weather, etc.,etc. After That we watched a movie in the planetarium called Africa: The Serengetti. It was awesome to watch but let me warn you: it is not pleasant to watch lions mate on the big panoramic screen. I’m just sayin…
All in all we had a great day. Joe, who is such a serious boy, felt like a kid in a candy store for a day. He smiled and laughed and forgot to be brooding and introspective. Not that those are bad qualities. It’s just nice to have a little levity with your learnin’.
Posted at 2:37 pm | Comment (1)
21st March, 2007
Wednesday Words
Today was fun. Not sure why. We didn’t get much schooley stuff done. After I too Elijah to kindergarten I went the Y and worked out with my husband. I hate that place but it makes it more fun if he’s with me. He’s trying very hard to work his way back from surgery in August. Hip replacement. This is hard for someone who is a personal trainer and dancer.
Joe got away with just doing spelling today. Then we went to the library. He got Pure Dead Batty and I’m reading the first book in His Dark Materials and the second in the Bartimaeus Trilolgy. I love kiddie lit. I also found some books about the the Byzantine’s (what we are dong now) and the Gupta Empire of ancient India (probably next week). We will write a Code of Justinian and try our hand at a mosaic. Then I took a nap and Joe slipped out to enjoy the nice weather. Afterwards, I worked on my Belief Statement. Then oh my gosh it was time for church. When we came home hubby took Joe outside to look at the sky with his telescope. They had a big time out there. Joe told me that was a cool thing about homeschooling– you get to stay up late and look at the stars. I totally agree.
Posted at 11:53 pm | Comments (2)
20th March, 2007
John Holt Dis(s)cussed
Here is my essay on the issue of student decision-making. Just to set the record straight: I did not side with John Holt on this one. In my Educational Philosophies class we are required to read two sides of an issue and pick one side to argue for. We were not allowed to straddle the fence or I certainly would have been in pain! I have however always been of two minds about John Holt. I think his work was revolutionary in founding and legalizing the homeschooling movement. I respect him tremendously. However, anytime I have tried to implement his unschoolish strategies, we have floundered miserably. Unschooling in the purest sense does not work for our family. But I do believe in allowing kids much more say than they currently allow in public schools. Unfortunately, the system is set up to disregard learners’ personalities. So I just wanted to make the disclaimer that my arguements were more polarized than I would have personally liked. I encourage you to discuss or respectfully disagree with me. Next up for this page will be my Educational Belief Statement. I’m sure they totally love me and my loud mouth in my education department. 
I can’t get my link to work so do it old school and click the link on the sidebar. Thanks!
Posted at 3:24 pm | Comments (2)
26th February, 2007
Confessions of a Twenty-something Burnout
Oi. I am tired. I know this is like preaching to the choir, but man, when February rolls around (and into March) I am ready to pack it in. This is a good time to have unschooling experimentation as I call it. I can’t unschool too much with Joe because he. won’t. do. anything. He lacks mental stamina according to Dr. Levine. Meee too. I think it was those three years he spent in public school. Won’t do anything unless he’s told to. His little brother happily works through an entire section in the math book for fun. I swear school ruined him. He had great teachers, good friends, best school in the county. And it ruined him. I am trying to bring him back. But right now? I am tired. This is getting depressing so I will right more later. I get to write about a John Holt article for Educational Philosophy that I will have to post for you all. Hope everyone had a great Monday.
Posted at 10:35 pm | Comment (0)
2nd February, 2007
Time Warp Trio
How funny are these books? I mean seriously. My son read these vociferously in second grade and I thought that is so cute, books that can develop an interest in learning more about history. Well now there is a TV show and my kindergartener is MAD about it. The show is really funny and covers all kinds of historical periods. From the Greek Olympics to Mary Shelley to Lewis and Clark. Then I told them the show was based on a series of books and omg we had to go to the library immediately! So he was in heaven but I thought, I bet these books are about as much fun to read as the Magic Tree House. I am sure there are a lot of Jack and Annie fans out there, but I want to drive a screwdriver through my eyeball whenever I am requested to read one. But I do it. For the love of children and literature.
So last night we snuggle down to read Knights of the Kitchen Table the first int he Time Warp series. It was funny. It was sooo funny. It had the same dry witty humor of the Bunnicula series that I loved during my own childhood (can I get a holla for vampire bunnies?). It was fun to read, well written (what a concept), and packed–packed– with historical information. I am a bibliophile so it is not hard for me to fall in love with books, but I do have high standards. Now, they are not taking the place of Harry Potter in my heart, but wow, color me impressed. So what’s your favorite series…now or when you were a kiddo?
Posted at 10:54 am | Comments (3)
28th January, 2007
New Routines and Old Guilt
We’ve started a new routine at One Room of being more independent in the mornings. It was either that or the straight (strait?) jacket. Joe was getting his work done. But the amount of effort I was putting in was killing me. I just decided that from now on every evening he gets his assignment list of must- dos. Grammar, Math, etc. Then he is responsible for getting himself up, dressed and ready and completing his list by the time I get home from class (Dad has the 10-1 shift). Then we can go over stuff, make corrections, do projects whatever. He also has some acceptable things to be working on while I am gone. So far so good. No additional hair loss on my part, no feet dragging on his. Thank the holy heavens. 
What I didn’t realize is how hard it would be to pursue a degree in education while homeschooling. Not that anyone is judgemental, mainly just misinformed (surprise). The hard part is I keep having this reoccurring waking nightmare that he is missing out on something. Every great new classroom activity or idea brings with it a wave of guilt. Now I may or may not teach with my degree. I am interested in education and the improvement of it in this country. Like it or not, a lot of our future leaders are in public school today (hopefully they are not all in private institutions). I guess I am a little socialist at heart and want the common good for every child. Not everyone has the privilege of homeschooling. It is also heartbreaking to learn of the real consequences of poverty in the public schools. It tears me apart to see children go to school in buildings that are operating under building code waivers while 50 miles away another group of kids enjoy exciting state of the art equipment.
But I digress. I have to purposefully recite every day the reasons I home-school. To teach him to think. To teach him responsibility. To teach him diversity. To teach him history. To escape the stringent schedules and rules. To keep our family close, a place of refuge. To show him that he is a citizen of the world, not just such and such school. I have to remind myself that those things are more important than any cool new teaching method coming down the pike.
Posted at 5:27 pm | Comment (1)
21st January, 2007
Randomness and the flu
Hey remember when I blogged two days in a row? Wasn’t that awesome? And also a month ago!?! Do you think that takes away from the single minded determination of those two well-crafted posts? Surely not.
Everyone here at One Room has had the flu, so not much of anything schooley has taken place here. We were doing some fun things before the flu hit the fan though. Joe finished Geometry and now we are on decimals. It is so nice to be able to take time on sections when he really needs it and then to fly past the others. Ditto for Grammar. I gave him one of those “chapter review tests” just see how well info was being retained. Let’s just say we are not going back to public school anytime soon! Yeah for Joe! We started a unit on Islam, looking at the history and similarities of Christianity and Islam. Very interesting because it is a subject I don’t know much about either. The first mosque ever in our city was just built and I might see if someone there will give us a tour. Just got some very cool books on astronomy from Rainbow Resource (thanks to Room of My Own for turning me on to them. Now I have no money). I’m also going to try a literature guide to Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil…..you remember the one. Never tried a guide before , so we’ll see. Has anyone tried Shurley Grammar? I’m thinking of trying it out with my kindergartener. We are currently deciding whether or not to homeschool him next year. I want to, but with myself in school and him being so young, it would be very difficult. We may need to wait to go full- blown (cause you’re never totally not homeschooling) hs with him for another year. We’ll see. Anyway, hope everyone has had better health than us this new year. Cheers!
Posted at 5:52 pm | Comment (0)
25th December, 2006
Rockin around the Christmas tree…
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }
.flickr-yourcomment { }
.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }
.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }
Here’s hoping that your homeschool is rockin the holiday today! Merry Christmas, Stephanie
Posted at 3:58 pm | Comment (1)
20th December, 2006
It’s a record! I blogged 2 days in a row!
Today was a good day. I love starting posts that way. I wish I could write a daily post as well as Faith. Her entries are so delightful and mine feel like chewed up cardboard. Or maybe that’s what it feels like to write them. Enough with the self deprecating humor and stalking: here’s what we did today!
I have decided to give up science until after New Year’s. It’s stressing me out. So that’s that. We are booking it to finish the first half of England because we want to dip into Islam and the Crusades. Anyone know some good resources/books? That are cheap!?! I would like for us to finish verbs also, but it seems like a review of exactly the same things we did last year in his A Beka book. I need a new grammar book too (Hint hint Santa). This amish one we have is. so. boring. Even I hate it. And I am a grammar nerd. Not that you can tell by reading my posts. We should finish Geometry by the holidays, so yeah, one checkmark in the win column! I finally found a math book I like and it was free! One of our homeschool vets gave it to me ( free and brand new from the publisher!) and lo and behold it is the same text our county uses. Who woulda thunk it, they actually got something right. It’s the McGraw Hill text for 5th grade. The manipulatives are fun too. I don’t know how you can get it, but I got mine, so yeah. ;) We covered triangles and corrected history summaries and read Robin Hood. And baked a million chocolate hazelnut cookies. Ok more like 60, but wow. I am tired. You chickens have a good one.
Posted at 12:01 am | Comment (1)
