I can't remember what happened between December and April, don't ask. I think the husband went tdy for about a month and a half of that, but the specifics escape me.
Right now:
D wears his helmet and a glove everywhere
L is getting to be ridiculously observant and kind.
Right now we're up for another year in the Honor Guard. J isn't sure what exactly he'll be doing during that year: training, drill team, some other stuff. We'll see soon.
What I'm up to:
* Patiently waiting for a tropical vacation
* Teaching L to read, write and add
* Taking over for the vice director position for the homeschool group where we are. My responsibilities as such are supporting the director and performing her duties in her absence, reserving spots for our group activities, overseeing care of the house that the homeschool group has, and running the group's facebook page.
* Playing with my sons as much as possible.
Mainly, I'm writing about my paradigm shift with homeschooling. It started out as a way to avoid sending my kids to the school off base (which I hear has improved lately). Mostly, I've decided to throw out my idea of recreating school at home. I could write the why of this, but it would be a really long read. If you want to know why read: The Underground History of American Education. In any case, I like to start with the end in mind in all things to guide my choices.
Goals:
Raise human beings that are independent (of me and the government), critical thinkers, self-motivated with good spirits and the skills to support themselves (cook, clean, and raise their own food). I want the kids to find and pursue their passions and appreciate what is really good, true and beautiful. I also want them to be capable of communicating and debating well. I want them to be comfortable speaking publicly.
Our "Curriculum"right now is focused on building a foundation for these goals. We do not have a rigid, daily plan. It is more of a weekly thing, and if we don't cover everything or there needs to be extra time spent, it moves to the next week.
Weekly:
Memorize 1 new poem (building sophisticated language skills) with daily recitation of learned poems. Poetry curriculum = Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization.
1-2 Lessons from Primary Arts of Language Reading & Writing. This program practices reading, writing, listening and speaking. The details of how it does this would take a long time for me to write up. There are videos on youtube that do a great job. I really love this program, and while it is kind of costly, it is usable for all children with nothing needing to be replaced
1-2 Math lessons from Ray's Primary Arithmetic - this program was popular in the 1800-early 1900's. We'll be starting with Singapore Math in the fall and using both programs together.
Listening to CD's: Story of the World (history), VeggieTales Sunday School CD's, Chinese Children's Classics (just to get an idea of the sound of the Chinese language, I'm still looking for a good Spanish equivalent - I've also abandoned the idea of actually academically teaching either of these languages - at least for a little while).
Daily reading of The Jesus Storybook Bible
Right now we're taking nature walks and every day I ask what the kids observe through seeing/hearing. Learning about different kinds of insects, birds, trees, etc with nature guides.
Near daily reading from The Book of Virtues. Reading as many books as possible from good book lists. There's a great age-appropriate one on IEW's website.
I'd like to end this with the 14 principles of an excellent education from one of Mr. John Taylor Gatto's talks on youtube.
1. Give children an idea of basic human nature - history, philosophy, theology, literature & law
2. Strong background in language arts (public speaking & debate)
3. Insight into major institutions
- court, corporations, military & details that drive them and why
4. Respect exercises in forms of good manners. Based on the truth that politeness is the foundation of
all future relationships.
5. Independent Work
6. Energetic physical sports are a way to confer grace on the human presence and practice in handling pain/dealing with emergencies
7. Access to any workplace or person - give growing children the challenge of getting access to political leaders, people of importance
8. Responsibility as utterly essential (chores, leadership of clubs, grab for responsibility and always deliver more than is asked for)
9. Arrival at a personal code of standards
10. Familiarity with the masters in art, music, literature, drama, etc.
11. Development of powers of accurate observation and recording
12. Ability to deal with challenges of all sorts (overcoming shyness or give-it-up attitude)
13. Habit of caution in reasoning to conclusion - resisting propaganda
14. Constant development & testing of judgement.
My choices for L & D's education will always be geared toward developing these things.
So now, I'm off to bed and tomorrow is a new day :)
