So I am calmer now than I was earlier, but I think I am even more frustrated with the school.
I really, really, really have tried to not bash the school that KM was attending, but this whole writing thing has driven me crazy today.
I have spent the last three hours trying to find a writing program to help as the curriculum that we I thought would work is just not going fit right now.
I have discovered something interesting.
I was adopted as an infant, but am in close contact with both my biomom’s and biodad's families. (see abbreviation entry for more info on this) I have a brother and sister both of which are two years younger than KM and a brother who is two years older than her. I bring this up because for the last few years I have heard how my three youngest siblings have been doing book reports all the time. KM has never done one…EVER. Not one.
So this evening in my search for the answer to my writing curriculum issues, I discovered that the majority of teachers, parents and homeschool educators all feel that kids learn how to develop their writing skills by doing BOOK REPORTS!!! Ok so now on top of everything else I am stumped at the fact that her school never did book reports. I have been mentioning this for months to both DD & LP and now it has come back to me.
SOOOOOO…we will be spending a good chunk of this week learning how to write a book report!
The trials and errors of a home educating family finding our own way and getting saner by the day!
Feb 13, 2008
Are You Kidding ME?!?!? - 2-3-2008 Part One
Ok so I am just going to vent for a moment!
I am totally frustrated by a writing assignment right now! I don’t exactly know even how to begin with this. KM and I were working on this assignment on Friday, we decided to put it aside until Sat because it just wasn’t clicking. So Saturday came and we were still having some trouble getting her to express what it was that she was trying to say and we decided we would step away again. This afternoon was the last straw for me. We spent two hours working on it and had barely gotten through the first paragraph.
Now I really thought this was something that was going to go very quickly even though this is KM’s worst subject area. She just does not like writing! The assignment was to write a persuasive essay. We chose the topic rather quickly, but every time it came to her answering simple questions she became sheepish and shy. (If you have met my child you know that is not her norm, by any means!!) I asked why and you could tell by the tears welling up in her eyes she honestly had no idea what to answer.
I am at my wits end. The reason I am soooo frustrated is that for the last three years my daughter has been having problems responding to writing prompts at school. She is very intelligent (I know that a lot of parents say that but she has always been at the top of her classes, reading at the highest levels and comprehending what is going on.) but for some reason when it comes to her expressing what she is thinking it is just not making a connection. I brought this up several times to her teachers and they just said “oh she is lazy“, “she writes so large that it takes her a long time and she gets tired“, (That one drove me crazy!) “she can do it she is just not applying herself“.
Last year they had MCAS for long composition and her teacher kept making this huge deal about the size of her writing and how they were concerned that she would not have enough time to finish the test because her large writing takes such a long time to actually write. So we spent weeks trying to get her to write smaller and the teacher kept hounding her about it. Finally after receiving a progress report stating that they were getting “seriously concerned” about the size of her writing and that they wanted to consult an OT/PT specialist about it I went to the assistant principle and asked what happened if she didn’t finish it in time and the assistant principle said “The long composition section isn’t timed, if it takes her three weeks to finish it then that is how long she is given!” WHAT!?!?!? She also informed me, as the head of the SPED department that the size of the writing has no correlation to the amount of time that she is taking to complete the writing. WHY IS THE TEACHER HARRASSING ME AND MY DAUGHTER ABOUT THEN? She of course could not answer this question. As it got closer to the time for the test they started having after school groups for the children that needed more help getting ready for the MCAS. KM was not asked to participate in these sessions so I assumed that the problem had been resolved. She took the MCAS and said she thought she did great. She finished it in a good amount of time and that was that.
UNTIL the first progress reports came home this year. This was my point of breakdown with the school system. The MCAS results are sent home with the progress reports you see and my daughter was in the bottom of Needs Improvement Category for ELA. I asked a teacher to explain the scoring and let me know where the biggest problem area was so that we could work on it. She said that KM was having her biggest issues in the Long Composition where she scored a 1 out 4 possible points in every category. She got a perfect score on all the other areas. ****Now meanwhile she also scored in the high Advanced Level for Math.*****
Not long after scoring was sent home the school sent home a notice saying they were going to start a Homework club that was by invitation only and would focus on specific problem areas for the MCAS. I thought oh this is a great idea, take the kids that really need to focus on one area and put them together to try to work out and understand the problem. So KM got her invitation to attend and I signed it right away so that she could start the group the next week. Monday afternoon I picked her up and she said how great a time she had. I said oh what did you guys go over. Her response was oh we played a few multiplication games and went over some fractions. HUH? why are you doing math games in the ELA group?
You guessed it she was placed in the Math group. Her teacher got her mixed up with another child whose name starts with a K and assigned her to the wrong group. So we easily fixed that situation, she was going to be attending the Tuesday group which was for ELA.
The next day I pick her up from the group and she says again how great a time she had and how she got to sit with “this one” and “that one.” Well “this one” is a fourth grader and “that one” is a sixth grader. Why do they have all of these kids at different levels in the same group, because they all need help on the ELA MCAS! It doesn’t seem to matter to the coordinators that these kids tests are all completely different. They are going to do the same games and learning strategies with all of them and it WILL work! Don’t think so.
KM’s teacher and the coordinator for the group both expressed how they thought she was making great progress and they had seen a huge improvement! When her report card came we were expecting to see low As - high Bs after hearing how great everything had been going. What we saw instead were Cs. Now for a child who had never even gotten a B+ this was a bit of a shock. The teacher said oh well she is having problems with her writing assignments. My head nearly BLEW OFF!
So anyway…this whole situation was the NUMBER ONE reason why I took my daughter out of school. The system is screwed up! I have a child who got straight As on all her 4th grade report cards for all ELA subjects, yet she can not complete the 5th grade writing assignments and got Warning/Needs improvement on her MCAS. She can not write a complete paragraph! She can write a “$3 dollar” sentence without batting an eye, but she can’t make it fit into a report with any kind of flow or cohesiveness. I now have to go back and figure out where to start teaching her from. Thank goodness for the ability to stop and change things around to fit my child.
This is the first really big bump in the road and I apologize for having rambled so crazily through most of this entry. Which really was a long one. I thank any of you who are actually still reading at this point, because I probably would have stopped reading after the third or fourth paragraph.
I am totally frustrated by a writing assignment right now! I don’t exactly know even how to begin with this. KM and I were working on this assignment on Friday, we decided to put it aside until Sat because it just wasn’t clicking. So Saturday came and we were still having some trouble getting her to express what it was that she was trying to say and we decided we would step away again. This afternoon was the last straw for me. We spent two hours working on it and had barely gotten through the first paragraph.
Now I really thought this was something that was going to go very quickly even though this is KM’s worst subject area. She just does not like writing! The assignment was to write a persuasive essay. We chose the topic rather quickly, but every time it came to her answering simple questions she became sheepish and shy. (If you have met my child you know that is not her norm, by any means!!) I asked why and you could tell by the tears welling up in her eyes she honestly had no idea what to answer.
I am at my wits end. The reason I am soooo frustrated is that for the last three years my daughter has been having problems responding to writing prompts at school. She is very intelligent (I know that a lot of parents say that but she has always been at the top of her classes, reading at the highest levels and comprehending what is going on.) but for some reason when it comes to her expressing what she is thinking it is just not making a connection. I brought this up several times to her teachers and they just said “oh she is lazy“, “she writes so large that it takes her a long time and she gets tired“, (That one drove me crazy!) “she can do it she is just not applying herself“.
Last year they had MCAS for long composition and her teacher kept making this huge deal about the size of her writing and how they were concerned that she would not have enough time to finish the test because her large writing takes such a long time to actually write. So we spent weeks trying to get her to write smaller and the teacher kept hounding her about it. Finally after receiving a progress report stating that they were getting “seriously concerned” about the size of her writing and that they wanted to consult an OT/PT specialist about it I went to the assistant principle and asked what happened if she didn’t finish it in time and the assistant principle said “The long composition section isn’t timed, if it takes her three weeks to finish it then that is how long she is given!” WHAT!?!?!? She also informed me, as the head of the SPED department that the size of the writing has no correlation to the amount of time that she is taking to complete the writing. WHY IS THE TEACHER HARRASSING ME AND MY DAUGHTER ABOUT THEN? She of course could not answer this question. As it got closer to the time for the test they started having after school groups for the children that needed more help getting ready for the MCAS. KM was not asked to participate in these sessions so I assumed that the problem had been resolved. She took the MCAS and said she thought she did great. She finished it in a good amount of time and that was that.
UNTIL the first progress reports came home this year. This was my point of breakdown with the school system. The MCAS results are sent home with the progress reports you see and my daughter was in the bottom of Needs Improvement Category for ELA. I asked a teacher to explain the scoring and let me know where the biggest problem area was so that we could work on it. She said that KM was having her biggest issues in the Long Composition where she scored a 1 out 4 possible points in every category. She got a perfect score on all the other areas. ****Now meanwhile she also scored in the high Advanced Level for Math.*****
Not long after scoring was sent home the school sent home a notice saying they were going to start a Homework club that was by invitation only and would focus on specific problem areas for the MCAS. I thought oh this is a great idea, take the kids that really need to focus on one area and put them together to try to work out and understand the problem. So KM got her invitation to attend and I signed it right away so that she could start the group the next week. Monday afternoon I picked her up and she said how great a time she had. I said oh what did you guys go over. Her response was oh we played a few multiplication games and went over some fractions. HUH? why are you doing math games in the ELA group?
You guessed it she was placed in the Math group. Her teacher got her mixed up with another child whose name starts with a K and assigned her to the wrong group. So we easily fixed that situation, she was going to be attending the Tuesday group which was for ELA.
The next day I pick her up from the group and she says again how great a time she had and how she got to sit with “this one” and “that one.” Well “this one” is a fourth grader and “that one” is a sixth grader. Why do they have all of these kids at different levels in the same group, because they all need help on the ELA MCAS! It doesn’t seem to matter to the coordinators that these kids tests are all completely different. They are going to do the same games and learning strategies with all of them and it WILL work! Don’t think so.
KM’s teacher and the coordinator for the group both expressed how they thought she was making great progress and they had seen a huge improvement! When her report card came we were expecting to see low As - high Bs after hearing how great everything had been going. What we saw instead were Cs. Now for a child who had never even gotten a B+ this was a bit of a shock. The teacher said oh well she is having problems with her writing assignments. My head nearly BLEW OFF!
So anyway…this whole situation was the NUMBER ONE reason why I took my daughter out of school. The system is screwed up! I have a child who got straight As on all her 4th grade report cards for all ELA subjects, yet she can not complete the 5th grade writing assignments and got Warning/Needs improvement on her MCAS. She can not write a complete paragraph! She can write a “$3 dollar” sentence without batting an eye, but she can’t make it fit into a report with any kind of flow or cohesiveness. I now have to go back and figure out where to start teaching her from. Thank goodness for the ability to stop and change things around to fit my child.
This is the first really big bump in the road and I apologize for having rambled so crazily through most of this entry. Which really was a long one. I thank any of you who are actually still reading at this point, because I probably would have stopped reading after the third or fourth paragraph.
Duhhh! 1-26-2008
So APPARENTLY we were not suppose to have an airtight lid on the jar with the crystal in it….who knew! It said to cover it but as soon as we took that cover off the crystals started growing. KM was started to get nervous that the whole thing was going to be a total waste, so glad that is not the case. We are not letting the solution evaporate and the crystals are growing like crazy!!!! New problem: HOW DO WE GET THEM OUT OF THE JAR???
Will post pics and let you know how that turns out once solution has dissolved.
Will post pics and let you know how that turns out once solution has dissolved.
One Month In! 1-30-2008
So we have almost made it through our first month of homeschooling and I really think we have accomplished a lot. I am a bit surprised actually, looking at all that we have done because there were days that I was thinking “have we done anything today?”
We have been in decompression mode and trying to figure out “how“ this was going to work for us. We are very scheduled as I am a bit neurotic, however I am flexible with the schedule. I have had to rework the schedule several times and rethink the way we are approaching some of the curriculum areas, but we are starting to get in a good routine and flow.
I am also starting to understand a bit more about how unschooling and other less structured learning actually works. KM has been so interested in certain areas on her own that she wouldn’t have gotten to explore if they came up in school. They would have had the set amount of time and when the time is up it is up, whereas we were up one night until well past her bedtime looking up information on the Olmec Civilization BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO! Not because we were rushing to get the project or paper done, but because she was so interested in it. She just kept coming up with more and more questions and she couldn’t fall asleep until all of them were answered. So we are following curriculum but if it is something that she is just NOT interested in then we move through it a bit quicker. I want KM to be able to figure out what she WANTS to learn about in Art, Music, Science and Social Studies, but in Math and Language there are things she HAS to know and has to be lead more strongly through. I know no matter what I am doing the right thing for my child! She is getting more attention and opportunity than she ever could have in any other school.
Mind you not everything has been sunshine, roses and smiles. We have had our moments of aggravation and bumps in the road, but compared to what our house was like, it has been a day at the beach!
Every student can learn, just not on the same day, or the same way.-- George Evans
P.S. I still have not figured out how to get the crystals out of the jar!!!
We have been in decompression mode and trying to figure out “how“ this was going to work for us. We are very scheduled as I am a bit neurotic, however I am flexible with the schedule. I have had to rework the schedule several times and rethink the way we are approaching some of the curriculum areas, but we are starting to get in a good routine and flow.
I am also starting to understand a bit more about how unschooling and other less structured learning actually works. KM has been so interested in certain areas on her own that she wouldn’t have gotten to explore if they came up in school. They would have had the set amount of time and when the time is up it is up, whereas we were up one night until well past her bedtime looking up information on the Olmec Civilization BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO! Not because we were rushing to get the project or paper done, but because she was so interested in it. She just kept coming up with more and more questions and she couldn’t fall asleep until all of them were answered. So we are following curriculum but if it is something that she is just NOT interested in then we move through it a bit quicker. I want KM to be able to figure out what she WANTS to learn about in Art, Music, Science and Social Studies, but in Math and Language there are things she HAS to know and has to be lead more strongly through. I know no matter what I am doing the right thing for my child! She is getting more attention and opportunity than she ever could have in any other school.
Mind you not everything has been sunshine, roses and smiles. We have had our moments of aggravation and bumps in the road, but compared to what our house was like, it has been a day at the beach!
Every student can learn, just not on the same day, or the same way.-- George Evans
P.S. I still have not figured out how to get the crystals out of the jar!!!
Keeping Our Fingers Crossed!
Ok so it has been a few days and I think that the solution is solidifying on the bottom of the jar. There are a few crystals growing on the sides of the jar, however I can’t see anything growing on the actual rock where they are suppose to be! I don’t know what to do.
We are suppose to take the cover off the jar tomorrow so maybe we will see something more substantial happening. They also said in the instructions that things may develop more as the liquid evaporates. I have no idea what I am doing on this one. I am glad that we tried something for fun first and not something actually part of the curriculum cause I am just not good at these projects. I really think CJ is gonna have to step up on this end cause if this is any indication we are in for some trouble.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!!! We have fingers, toes and tails crossed over here!
We are suppose to take the cover off the jar tomorrow so maybe we will see something more substantial happening. They also said in the instructions that things may develop more as the liquid evaporates. I have no idea what I am doing on this one. I am glad that we tried something for fun first and not something actually part of the curriculum cause I am just not good at these projects. I really think CJ is gonna have to step up on this end cause if this is any indication we are in for some trouble.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!!! We have fingers, toes and tails crossed over here!
Will the Crystal Grow? 1-20-2008
We started our first science project yesterday. This is NOT my area, so we bought a kit that had some cool things in it to get us started.
One of the first units in her science curriculum is atoms and forms of matter. I thought growing crystals would be a great demonstration of how atoms form and grow. KM already knew a few things about crystals from last year’s science so she was excited about growing the crystals.
We got everything we needed together and followed the directions to the exact letter. She has been checking it and she seems to think that they look like they are growing. I am not too sure…if they are growing I can’t see anything…but it has only been 24 hours so we will have to wait and see if the crystals will grow.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
One of the first units in her science curriculum is atoms and forms of matter. I thought growing crystals would be a great demonstration of how atoms form and grow. KM already knew a few things about crystals from last year’s science so she was excited about growing the crystals.
We got everything we needed together and followed the directions to the exact letter. She has been checking it and she seems to think that they look like they are growing. I am not too sure…if they are growing I can’t see anything…but it has only been 24 hours so we will have to wait and see if the crystals will grow.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
A Good Question 1-18
So I got a message from one of the homeschooling groups that I am part of that asked whether people thought that if a homeschooling parent was asked for more documentation than required by law if they should give it to the officials or not. It got me thinking and here was my response:
We have district guidelines here and no actual Laws at all but rather case laws that we have to follow which can make it very confusing.
In our town we are asked to report to the principle of the school in which our child would attend and then the principle presents our request to the school committee. I just took my daughter out of school and was shocked at how simple it was. I know that this is not the case for a lot of people in other districts, but I can remember sitting at school committee meetings before for different reasons and hearing the homeschooling requests and just assumed that the school committee members had already seen the proposals by the parents, but that is not the case. I sent my letter of intent to the superintendent and principle by registered mail as I was advised by many people on my state-wide list and I got a call two days later that the principle had approved the curriculum and they would be presenting it in two days at the school committee meeting. Less than a week later I had my letter from the superintendent’s office saying that the request was approved and I was all set. I have a friend from the PTO who is also a school committee member who I was speaking to after I had received my letter. I have known and been friendly with her a few years now. She was shocked that I was now homeschooling! She was one of the ones who voted and she didn't even realize it was my child that she was voting on. (Now I will say that my daughter and I have different last names, but my name was on the letter of intent and curriculum overview for her and I know that she was aware of my daughter‘s name as it is not common at all.)
The school committee members who make the decision whether or not we are "allowed" to homeschool don't even look at the letter of intent or curriculum at all. We also have three elementary schools in our town and each principle makes their own requirements of the parents. HOW DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE!!!!! Is it just me or do others see flaws in this system?
Now mind you I am not complaining as I have been hearing horror stories from other parents and their fights with the school committees, superintendents and principles of schools, however I find it amazing that the one thing (law or case law) that I know is certain is that the burden of proof is always on the school committee if there is a problem. (Like the one who didn’t even know who she was voting on!)
So I say give them the minimum requirements, why do more work or set standards for others that shouldn’t be there. Especially if you don’t even know for certain who is looking at them.
Sorry I got sooooo long winded, apparently I was holding a lot more shock about it than I realized up until I started typing this out.
We have district guidelines here and no actual Laws at all but rather case laws that we have to follow which can make it very confusing.
In our town we are asked to report to the principle of the school in which our child would attend and then the principle presents our request to the school committee. I just took my daughter out of school and was shocked at how simple it was. I know that this is not the case for a lot of people in other districts, but I can remember sitting at school committee meetings before for different reasons and hearing the homeschooling requests and just assumed that the school committee members had already seen the proposals by the parents, but that is not the case. I sent my letter of intent to the superintendent and principle by registered mail as I was advised by many people on my state-wide list and I got a call two days later that the principle had approved the curriculum and they would be presenting it in two days at the school committee meeting. Less than a week later I had my letter from the superintendent’s office saying that the request was approved and I was all set. I have a friend from the PTO who is also a school committee member who I was speaking to after I had received my letter. I have known and been friendly with her a few years now. She was shocked that I was now homeschooling! She was one of the ones who voted and she didn't even realize it was my child that she was voting on. (Now I will say that my daughter and I have different last names, but my name was on the letter of intent and curriculum overview for her and I know that she was aware of my daughter‘s name as it is not common at all.)
The school committee members who make the decision whether or not we are "allowed" to homeschool don't even look at the letter of intent or curriculum at all. We also have three elementary schools in our town and each principle makes their own requirements of the parents. HOW DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE!!!!! Is it just me or do others see flaws in this system?
Now mind you I am not complaining as I have been hearing horror stories from other parents and their fights with the school committees, superintendents and principles of schools, however I find it amazing that the one thing (law or case law) that I know is certain is that the burden of proof is always on the school committee if there is a problem. (Like the one who didn’t even know who she was voting on!)
So I say give them the minimum requirements, why do more work or set standards for others that shouldn’t be there. Especially if you don’t even know for certain who is looking at them.
Sorry I got sooooo long winded, apparently I was holding a lot more shock about it than I realized up until I started typing this out.
First Snow Day! 1-15-2008
We had a great day yesterday! It was our first "snow day" at home and it went a lot smoother than I thought it would, especially due to the fact that the schools took their first snow day in nearly three years (just KM's luck really!).
We were going a little bit slower in the morning as CJ left early to go plow,but other than that we were right on track. She finished her work, we had lunch, and then she went outside to do her artwork using the most readily supply we had SNOW!
She had a great time sculpting, forming and creating with the snow! I have never seen anything like it. She was going, going, going! All on her own and without any prompting.
It amazes me how many opportunities she had been missing to really be able to DO things.
KM has asthma and has always spent the majority of the winter not being able to play outside because of bronchial or sinus issues. In fact the two weeks before the Winter Break (when she was still in school) we had her at the doctors' office 3 times for coughing, wheezing, and chest pains. She also had this wretched cough that didn't go away until just after Christmas.
However she has been fine since then. I had always thought that it had a lot to do with the temperature changes that we have here in New England (20 one day, 55 the next, -10 the next), but last week we had four days of weather in the 50s during the day and 30s at night. KM was outside everyday ~ before, during, and after the warm spell~ and she has not had one sign of any asthma, breathing or nasal problems.
HMMMMM.....
Well KM & CJ will be going out later today to work on physics, construction, and cooperative learning by building a sledding hill!!
Hope you can take some time out of your day to enjoy the snow...if you have any that is!
We were going a little bit slower in the morning as CJ left early to go plow,but other than that we were right on track. She finished her work, we had lunch, and then she went outside to do her artwork using the most readily supply we had SNOW!
She had a great time sculpting, forming and creating with the snow! I have never seen anything like it. She was going, going, going! All on her own and without any prompting.
It amazes me how many opportunities she had been missing to really be able to DO things.
KM has asthma and has always spent the majority of the winter not being able to play outside because of bronchial or sinus issues. In fact the two weeks before the Winter Break (when she was still in school) we had her at the doctors' office 3 times for coughing, wheezing, and chest pains. She also had this wretched cough that didn't go away until just after Christmas.
However she has been fine since then. I had always thought that it had a lot to do with the temperature changes that we have here in New England (20 one day, 55 the next, -10 the next), but last week we had four days of weather in the 50s during the day and 30s at night. KM was outside everyday ~ before, during, and after the warm spell~ and she has not had one sign of any asthma, breathing or nasal problems.
HMMMMM.....
Well KM & CJ will be going out later today to work on physics, construction, and cooperative learning by building a sledding hill!!
Hope you can take some time out of your day to enjoy the snow...if you have any that is!
My abbreviations - 1-12-08
So I was sitting here thinking how much quicker my entries could be if I had a standard list of abbreviations I could use for my blog. I think I will add to it as I go that way I can come up with them as needed....it may also give some insight to me if I have to try to define situations in my life in terms others understand.
KM - my wonderful 10 yr. old daughter
CJ - the other half of me, for whom my life would not be quite so pleasant. (yes that was kinda sickening.)
DD- my biomom (i am an adult adoptee very happily reconnected since 1997)
JP- my biodad
LP- my biodad's wife (one of the most amazing, caring, generous, understanding women that i know)
HS- homeschool
Noni - my earth angel gone back to heaven (my adoptive mom who passed away in 2006)
SC - my wonderful new light (my niece from my adoptive sister)
SR - my sister from DD's side (loves to tell everyone that she is 2 yrs. younger than KM)
PR - my brother from DD's side (only 2 yrs. older than KM)
DP - my youngest brother on JP's side (also 2 yrs. younger than KM doesn't think it is as cool to have a niece older than him as SR does)
KM - my wonderful 10 yr. old daughter
CJ - the other half of me, for whom my life would not be quite so pleasant. (yes that was kinda sickening.)
DD- my biomom (i am an adult adoptee very happily reconnected since 1997)
JP- my biodad
LP- my biodad's wife (one of the most amazing, caring, generous, understanding women that i know)
HS- homeschool
Noni - my earth angel gone back to heaven (my adoptive mom who passed away in 2006)
SC - my wonderful new light (my niece from my adoptive sister)
SR - my sister from DD's side (loves to tell everyone that she is 2 yrs. younger than KM)
PR - my brother from DD's side (only 2 yrs. older than KM)
DP - my youngest brother on JP's side (also 2 yrs. younger than KM doesn't think it is as cool to have a niece older than him as SR does)
A sense of calm! 1-11-08
So it is a rather dreary morning here, as it is raining and twenty degrees colder than it was yesterday (that's New England for ya!!!) Normally I would already have had two fights with my daughter over what she wears based on the temperature change, one on her taking her medicine and one on the fact that we were running FIVE WHOLE MINUTES LATE!
~~~~However the scene right now at my house is this...I am sitting in my pajamas with a cup of coffee at the computer (obviously) and sitting across from me is my wonderful daughter, in her big fluffy polka dot bathrobe, eating her cereal and working on a puzzle magazine. ~~~~
I really think that the biggest changes I am seeing in our family is that we are running on our own clocks (for the most part) and with our bodies own rythmes. My daughter's whole attitude has changed over the last few weeks. Normally if I were to say that it would be in a negative way, but not this time. There hasn't been very much pouting, no whining, way less argumentativeness (if that is a word?), way more willingness to do chores around the house (sometimes on her own accord even!) and a general sense of happiness and calmness.
Now I am seriously hoping that I have not jinxed myself by actually sending out into the universe our new found sense of calmness, but I just wanted to share because I am really suprised at how quickly things have changed.
Hope everyone has at least a little sense of calm today in their own lives as well!
~~~~However the scene right now at my house is this...I am sitting in my pajamas with a cup of coffee at the computer (obviously) and sitting across from me is my wonderful daughter, in her big fluffy polka dot bathrobe, eating her cereal and working on a puzzle magazine. ~~~~
I really think that the biggest changes I am seeing in our family is that we are running on our own clocks (for the most part) and with our bodies own rythmes. My daughter's whole attitude has changed over the last few weeks. Normally if I were to say that it would be in a negative way, but not this time. There hasn't been very much pouting, no whining, way less argumentativeness (if that is a word?), way more willingness to do chores around the house (sometimes on her own accord even!) and a general sense of happiness and calmness.
Now I am seriously hoping that I have not jinxed myself by actually sending out into the universe our new found sense of calmness, but I just wanted to share because I am really suprised at how quickly things have changed.
Hope everyone has at least a little sense of calm today in their own lives as well!
WHY ARE YOU HOMESCHOOLING? 1/9/08
So I am new to homeschooling as my husband and I recently decided to take our 10 year old daughter out of public school at winter break and begin teaching her at home. This was not something that I decided overnight and yet people are stunned when I tell them the news. The biggest question that I get asked is "WHY ARE YOU HOMESCHOOLING?" Over the last few years I have looked at every sort of schooling out there...public, private, charter, Montesorri, Waldorf, Core Knowledge, you name it I investigated it...and none of them seemed to make sense for our family. Here are just a few of the questions that have floated through our household and helped us make the decision to homeschool our little faerie...What is the point of being able to do 100 multiplication problems in 2 minutes? REALLY what is the point. Statistically speaking if you get the first 20 right you will get the last 80 right. While I am not saying that it is not important to learn multiplication, decimals, fractions and so on, but really in this day and age who does not use a calculator or have a program to figure out the numbers for them.Why is it okay to withhold children's basic rights in order to educate them? Is it really okay for my daughter to be told she can't go to the bathroom until snack time? You must be hungry and thirsty only when it is scheduled in as well, gee how is that healthy. I can see the lawsuits that would be filed if a company tried to tell it's employees they could only go to the bathroom from 10 to 10:15 or 1 to 1:15.If a child gets up and is rushed out the door to be at on the bus for 1 hr., at school for 6 hrs, on the bus again for 1 hr., and doing homework for 3 hrs, and are suppose to sleep for at least 8 - 10 hrs., when exactly do they get to be a kid? If they have to do 3 or more hours of homework afterschool, what are they doing all day. My child IS NOT broken...simple as that. Not all children learn the same way, in fact most people learn different subjects in different ways, as different parts of your brain control information and actions related to different subjects. Until the system that is set up to teach the masses figures out a way to handle and teach the individuals it will continue to be a system that is lacking.When I am asked WHY? it is difficult for me to answer without sounding cocky, rude or totally against the public school system. I assure you I am aware that public school has worked for many children and I want to make sure that people understand that I am not against it. It just is not the right fit for MY daughter.
Welcome to the New Site!
So I am going to transfer some of my posts from my Yahoo 360 blog here as the 360 is quickly come to a close.
I want to make sure that the first of my craziness gets saved before the site is gone. So you may see alot of postings dated at the same time, but they will have the original date of the post in the title!
I want to make sure that the first of my craziness gets saved before the site is gone. So you may see alot of postings dated at the same time, but they will have the original date of the post in the title!
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