Archive for September 2009
Comments are Open!
It’s official–I still haven’t learned everything there is to know about being a blogger!
- Tell me your favorite thing about being a homeschool family,
- If you’re not homeschooling, ask a question about homeschooling that you’re dying to know the answer to. If I don’t have the answer, I’m pretty sure one of my readers will…or…
- Post a link to your favorite blog for Christian families, and let me know why you think I should be reading it!
- Asher wants a puppy. Should I get him one? If so, what kind?
Whispering Orchards
A trip to the apple orchard feels less like a “field trip” and more like real life. We’ve been frequenting Whispering Orchards long before we officially started homeschooling. I love being able to have experiences like this with my whole family. Typical “school” field trips are generally short and heavily scheduled. The children all have to stay together as a group, very few parents are present, and everyone is herded back onto a bus so as to make it back to school before lunchtime. With these little family field trips, we can stay all day (or not), write our own schedule (and change it if we need to), and we can simply enjoy the time together as a family.
Behind the orchard there is a corn field with a corn maze cut into it. Here are some pictures of our little ones–looking littler than ever–as they navigate their way through corn stalks that are taller than they are!
Then, we took some time to feed and pet the sheep and the goats. Whispering Orchards keeps these animals, as well as llamas, rabbits, turkeys, chickens, peacocks, and a cow.
We also had a chance to meet some smaller, cuddlier creatures.
Even Micah joined in the fun!!
This puppy just ate up all the attention he received from my little animal lovers!
Whispering Orchards
A trip to the apple orchard feels less like a “field trip” and more like real life. We’ve been frequenting Whispering Orchards long before we officially started homeschooling. I love being able to have experiences like this with my whole family. Typical “school” field trips are generally short and heavily scheduled. The children all have to stay together as a group, very few parents are present, and everyone is herded back onto a bus so as to make it back to school before lunchtime. With these little family field trips, we can stay all day (or not), write our own schedule (and change it if we need to), and we can simply enjoy the time together as a family.
Behind the orchard there is a corn field with a corn maze cut into it. Here are some pictures of our little ones–looking littler than ever–as they navigate their way through corn stalks that are taller than they are!
Then, we took some time to feed and pet the sheep and the goats. Whispering Orchards keeps these animals, as well as llamas, rabbits, turkeys, chickens, peacocks, and a cow.
We also had a chance to meet some smaller, cuddlier creatures.
Even Micah joined in the fun!!
This puppy just ate up all the attention he received from my little animal lovers!
A Little Bit of Spontaneity
Sometimes, the best projects aren’t planned.
Yesterday, we had a less-than-perfect school day. We had an early appointment that ate up most of the morning. Then, since we were in town, we decided to have lunch with Grandma and Grandpa. By the time we got home, the kids were exhausted…and so was I!
Dinnertime snuck up on me quickly, so I rewarmed a pot of soup from earlier in the week, just to be done with it. As my husband headed out the door for a gathering of homeschooling dads at church, I started to feel guilty. What exactly had I done for school today? I determined that, before bed, we would do reading and math, and maybe some copywork.
Yeah, right.
We did manage to complete our reading lessons, but I knew that I didn’t have enough mental energy left to teach math. I was so tired!
So, when Asher said, “Mom, could we do some art?”
I said, absentmindedly, “Yeah, sure…go ahead”.
“I’m going to need some scissors and tape, too.”
“Sure, fine…just get them from the drawer.”
With the older children situated at the table with their paper, crayons, and other various art materials, I plunked myself down in my office chair and carelessly read emails while nursing the baby to sleep. I felt like a lousy mom at that moment, and worse, I was too tired to care.
An undetermined amount of time passed, and then, into my office waltzed Asher.
He was beaming from ear to ear, as he presented me with his creation:
“It’s a boat, mom!!”, he exclaimed excitedly. It certainly is.
“Wow, Asher! It’s a wonderful boat!!”
“I started out trying to make an airplane, but it didn’t work, so I turned it into a boat..”
“You did a fantastic job! This is really cool!”
At that moment, a cloud lifted from my spirit. I suddenly felt a lot better about my world. I’ve always known it intellectually, but here was tangible evidence that I don’t have to orchestrate every activity for learning to occur. My son had taken to opportunity for some self-directed creativity, and turned it into a masterpiece.
Why do we beat ourselves up so much? Why do so many homeschooling families quit after just a year or two? I’ve wondered a lot about this, and I think I know at least one answer:
We’ve bought the lie, taught to us by the conventional educational establishment, that sitting in a classroom, listening to a teacher talk, is the only legitimate way to learn anything.
Obviously, we don’t really believe this–at least not completely–or we wouldn’t be homeschooling to begin with. Nevertheless, I find the thought patterns drilled into me over 12 years of public education begin to creep over me when I’m having an “off” day.
I need to actively silence the little voice that says things like:
“It’s not a complete school day unless you’ve done some work in every subject.”
“If it didn’t come from a book published by someone other than yourself, it’s not really curriculum.”
“If it’s too fun, it can’t possibly be educational.”
“Teaching life skills, such as cooking, laundry, and scrubbing the toilet, isn’t really school at all.”
“If you read it as a bedtime story, it doesn’t count.”
“If you didn’t plan it, it doesn’t count.”
“Free time is wasted time.”
No wonder we’re so hard on ourselves! Who wouldn’t feel inferior with this tape playing in the background?
So, how do you stop the tape and get your head back in the game?
I think, the next time I start to allow my thoughts to turn negative, I will remember the day Asher turned a plane into a boat…
…and I will go and do likewise.
A Little Bit of Spontaneity
Sometimes, the best projects aren’t planned.
Yesterday, we had a less-than-perfect school day. We had an early appointment that ate up most of the morning. Then, since we were in town, we decided to have lunch with Grandma and Grandpa. By the time we got home, the kids were exhausted…and so was I!
Dinnertime snuck up on me quickly, so I rewarmed a pot of soup from earlier in the week, just to be done with it. As my husband headed out the door for a gathering of homeschooling dads at church, I started to feel guilty. What exactly had I done for school today? I determined that, before bed, we would do reading and math, and maybe some copywork.
Yeah, right.
We did manage to complete our reading lessons, but I knew that I didn’t have enough mental energy left to teach math. I was so tired!
So, when Asher said, “Mom, could we do some art?”
I said, absentmindedly, “Yeah, sure…go ahead”.
“I’m going to need some scissors and tape, too.”
“Sure, fine…just get them from the drawer.”
With the older children situated at the table with their paper, crayons, and other various art materials, I plunked myself down in my office chair and carelessly read emails while nursing the baby to sleep. I felt like a lousy mom at that moment, and worse, I was too tired to care.
An undetermined amount of time passed, and then, into my office waltzed Asher.
He was beaming from ear to ear, as he presented me with his creation:
“It’s a boat, mom!!”, he exclaimed excitedly. It certainly is.
“Wow, Asher! It’s a wonderful boat!!”
“I started out trying to make an airplane, but it didn’t work, so I turned it into a boat..”
“You did a fantastic job! This is really cool!”
At that moment, a cloud lifted from my spirit. I suddenly felt a lot better about my world. I’ve always known it intellectually, but here was tangible evidence that I don’t have to orchestrate every activity for learning to occur. My son had taken to opportunity for some self-directed creativity, and turned it into a masterpiece.
Why do we beat ourselves up so much? Why do so many homeschooling families quit after just a year or two? I’ve wondered a lot about this, and I think I know at least one answer:
We’ve bought the lie, taught to us by the conventional educational establishment, that sitting in a classroom, listening to a teacher talk, is the only legitimate way to learn anything.
Obviously, we don’t really believe this–at least not completely–or we wouldn’t be homeschooling to begin with. Nevertheless, I find the thought patterns drilled into me over 12 years of public education begin to creep over me when I’m having an “off” day.
I need to actively silence the little voice that says things like:
“It’s not a complete school day unless you’ve done some work in every subject.”
“If it didn’t come from a book published by someone other than yourself, it’s not really curriculum.”
“If it’s too fun, it can’t possibly be educational.”
“Teaching life skills, such as cooking, laundry, and scrubbing the toilet, isn’t really school at all.”
“If you read it as a bedtime story, it doesn’t count.”
“If you didn’t plan it, it doesn’t count.”
“Free time is wasted time.”
No wonder we’re so hard on ourselves! Who wouldn’t feel inferior with this tape playing in the background?
So, how do you stop the tape and get your head back in the game?
I think, the next time I start to allow my thoughts to turn negative, I will remember the day Asher turned a plane into a boat…
…and I will go and do likewise.
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