Live & Learn

DF visits-Day 10, Thursday, August 4

2011-08-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

Bagels, village, library, writing and chess!

Our late outing last night helped us sleep in until 10 am today. The kids were playing Monopoly when I came downstairs. I have been carting these two "poor" kids around so much that I've hardly had time to stock our kitchen so we had breakfast at the bagel Chateau in downtown Maplewood. They then decided to stay at the toy store while I visited the post office and grocery store nearby.
After breakfast and toy shop we headed to the Main library where I took out a few books for them to do their report about hot air balloons and the materials used to make them. They will be giving an oral presentation to their fellow homeschooling friends tomorrow, when we will meet at a county fair nearby to enjoy a tether balloon ride. They are working on the presentation together, taking turns to write their information and using books and internet resources for research.
So we had a quiet day filled mostly of reading and writing with breaks for monopoly, lunch, dinner, and one hour of TV. This was much to the kids' regret, as they tried to convince me to take them to a lake, beach or pool instead of staying at home (specially after I reminded them about their report). They charged on, worked on it and are now eager to finish and present their findings.

Hubby returned from Boston today and after supper we all attended our first chess club meeting which was a lot of fun. DD just found out about it and really wanted us to check it out.
Then hubby treated us to late-night ice cream at the village, where we got to walk the quiet streets in the warmth of the night and window shop a bit.
The day is now coming to an end and the kids are determined to get up early to finish their presentation.

So good night to all! tomorrow will be another busy (and fun) day!

DF visits-Day 9, Wednesday August 3

2011-08-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

Ringing rocks, stalagmites, cave corals and roller coasters!

WE got going a little late in the day so everything happened a bit later than planned. Still, we enjoyed a good day full of activities.
After a good night's rest and breakfast we headed back to Pennsylvania as there were a few places that I wanted to make sure DF got to visit. We visited Ringing Rocks park and had our packed lunch there. DD took a moment to show us how to do the acorn whistle on our way to the rocks. DF had a lot of fun climbing the rocky landscape. I tried to do my best to find steady footing and hammer away on the rocks. It was unusual, educational, free and fun, so it was well worth the effort of getting there!

Then we headed for Indian Echo caverns. Being a bit on the claustrophobic side, I was apprehensive about this outing, although I never mentioned anything to the kids about it; my dislike of dark and tight places was in the back of my mind. Top it off with the thought of being a few hundred feet under solid ground and I had a secret mini-anxiety attack to keep under wraps.
Luckily I kept my cool before our excursion and was pleasantly surprised when we reached the bottom. The caverns were immense, with beautiful color rock ceilings and walls sometimes over a hundred feet tall. There was also a crystal clear water pool that had a magical quality to it.
We were entertained by the creative story of a ghost, giant and dragon that the guide told us in order to explain some of the rock formations. The place was a pleasant relieve from the humidity and heat of the outside. DF just kept saying how much he wanted to live there. I agreed emphatically. It is beautiful country right outside the caverns. We learned about William Amos, the Pennsylvania Hermit and how he managed to live in the caverns for 19 years.

By the end of our caverns visit it was 6pm. Now we were ready to close the day with a bang: A surprise visit to Hershey Park, just a few minutes from the caverns. We purchased the twilight price tickets (half off) and the kids had a blast.
DF warned us that he would not go on any roller coaster, so of course, I was not surprised when he kept running up to ride the most fun roller coasters time after time (he had said the same about the diving board, the ocean and the lake). They also rode on The Falcon, The Howler, the Music Express and other fun rides.
We had a late night, leaving the park at closing time (10:00 pm) and arriving home at 1am! Luckily for the kids, they slept while I drove.
I think it is funny, how after such a day, I found DF's head planted on a book that he foolishly thought he could read for bedtime! Such is the force of a -good- habit, I guess.

DF visits-Day 8, Tuesday August 2nd

2011-08-02T21:18:00.000-07:00

And fun was had by all!....
After breakfast, showers and two attempts to get to the train on time we finally managed to catch the 11 am train to the city and made it to the American Museum of Natural History. We paid a small donation to enter so we only had access to the permanent collections, no special events. Still, we managed to be busy during our whole visit. We visited the American mammals wing, bio-diversity hall, ocean life hall and climate of NY state hall, where DF became completely captured by a giant model of a malaria mosquito. "I don't understand why young girls don't get how cool insects are" he said to DD. I shared his wonderment over the model, not necessarily because of the "awesomeness" of the subject but rather because of the high level of its craftsmanship. I must admit that even though I'm not a young girl anymore, I still don't "get" how cool insects are either -but he doesn't need to know that.
After a light lunch we visited the human origins hall, meteorite and minerals exhibits. By then the kids had reached information overload mode so we took a walk in Central Park. We walked past the Swedish cottage marionette theater and Shakespeare's garden up to Belvedere's castle to enjoy the view.

We then took the bus to the second "required" stop of the day: (as requested by the children) Dillan's candy bar. These two friends were so happy that they were literary dancing in the hallways. After ogling at every candy and running around for what seemed like hours they finally decided how to spend their $6 limit for the visit. We were all pretty done with sugar by the time we got out of Dillan's so we headed to a health bar and had a nice tossed salad supper.

Then I got my pick of activity and special treat: attending the free 4x4 concert at St. Peter's church just minutes after supper. The timing couldn't have worked out better if I tried. I had heard of the concert series a week before on the radio and made a note of it. I'm so glad I did. The music was absolutely beautiful. We got a chance to hear music composed by Bach for the organ and could feel the vibrations of the enormous instrument at our feet as the music played. We also got to see a lute played for the first time, inspect a harpsichord, study the complex music sheet used and look at the pipe organ closely. After the concert I compared the music to going into a lake and having all stress released from your body as you submerge yourself in the water, one inch at a time. DF agreed in his own way. "It cleansed my ears, brain and soul but my body was getting stiff", he said after the 1.5 hour long concert. A few people complemented me on my "very well behaved children" (they were the ONLY children there). I told them thanks, they behaved as expected.

So here we are, heading home in the subway after a busy day and I take out a surprise bag of Extreme sourhead candy that I had bought at Dillan's. The kids tried it together, then I tried it alone, then DF with me and DD tried it with me. Lastly, the kids tried them while controlling their faces. We had so much fun with them! I highly recommend them for entertainment anytime, anywhere!

Now all is quiet. They are both asleep in their in beds, waiting for another day of fun. And who can blame them? Sweet little trouble makers!

Look for photos of today's outing added to the DF album on the right.

Tomorrows' plan: a visit to ringing rocks, Indian caverns and a surprise outing, all in Pennsylvania.

DF visits-Day 7, Monday August 1st

2011-08-01T17:02:00.000-07:00

Well, apparently DD has convinced DF about the greatness of baseball enough for him to want to give it a try. I woke up this morning at 8:30am to see them playing in the yard, with DF determined to rope daddy into practicing with them after work.
After breakfast, we picked up our dog from our friend's house and headed to the South Mountain Reservation, only a few minutes away from us. We took a short walk in the woods and enjoyed the morning sunlight filtering thru the trees. The kids raced each other in the dog park's obstacle course (no pups were present except our own).
After lunch we headed for DD's first group archery class with the New Jersey school of Archery. She is very excited to start and wanted very much to share it with DF. He had an introductory lesson while she practiced and got to be a guest in the group class.
After two hours of archery, we had lunch and headed to the mall to buy new earrings for DD. And that's how a girl knows she's got a good friend: he's willing to help her pick earrings!
You'd think that would be enough action for some but our young heroes decided to head to the pool and cool off with a splash in the diving tank.

Now it is dinner time (sure enough after practicing baseball with daddy) and the closing of another fun day; which I'm sure will end up with a bit of quiet reading and a good night's sleep. Until tomorrow comes!

I think one of the best parts of the day for me was hearing DD repeat a few words from Lincoln's Gettysburg address as she stepped up to a statue's pedestal to take a photo at the dogie park. I guess you never know how much they really retain after all...

Look for today's photos in the DF album to the right.

DF visits-Day 6, Sunday July 31st

2011-08-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

We slept like babies in the dark, air conditioned room until our eyes opened. Or better said, until DD opened the black-out curtains and created a rockus of screeching complains and moans from it. We all agreed that it was the best sleep we had gotten in a long time! We all wanted to move into the hotel permanently. But alas, reality hits and we must go on with our day.
After a short TV show we headed down for brunch at the cafe. The food was great! DF had a delicious crab omelet that he could not finish because it was too big!
When we got the Gettysburg national park we chose to do the movie, cyclorama, museum and auto tour. What an absolutely amazing place it was!
Hubby is a history buff and was thoroughly surprised to see the sheer size of the battlefield grounds. I was most impressed with the cyclorama exhibit and the museum. It is not everyday that one gets to see a slave sale program with dozens of humans for sale, ranging from an 11 year old boy for $900 to a 27 year old woman for $1800. It broke my heart to see such items and brought me to tears to see the pain and sacrifice that took place during that time, by everyone. My visit was deeply personal an emotional, even though I was accompanied by my family and our friend, I think that each of us walked away with a very personal impression of the place.

The children found the cyclorama, cannons and battlefield to be the most unforgettable.
We got home late at night, loaded with information and unforgettable images recreated in our minds by seeing the place first hand and having stood where heroes of our nation's history have once walked.

Look for photos of the day added to the DF album on the right.

DF visits-Day 5, Saturday, July 30

2011-08-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the most important event of the week: the much anticipated world premiere of the kid's movie from Apple camp. Yes, we all dragged ourselves out of bed one last time for the big event taking place at 9am. The proud producers shined with happiness as their work was shown in front of their peers. They composed the music using the i pad, choose the footage and edited the piece on their own. They were very excited. Apple send them home with a certificate of completion and a disk of their work. Very cool.
We finally got to sign happy birthday to hubby and share a cake for the occasion! After some group DS playing with friends, the family packed up and took off to Gettysburg, PA, (only 3 hours away by car) to learn all about the place.
That evening the kids enjoyed the hotel pool and then we took part of a ghost walk. Although the stories were not gory or violent, they made enough impression on me! I did not want to go by myself to the basement restrooms afterward! DD was kind enough to hold my hand and come with me while hubby and DF busted laughing.

I'm sure glad I choose the "mild" tour!

Look for photos of the day added to the DF album on the right.

DF visits-Day 4, Friday July 29

2011-08-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

Friday was a rest and leave-it-up-to-the-kids-day. So the sequence of events definitely follow a child approved pattern.
I thought the kids would sleep until mid-day but low and behold, the first thing I saw in the morning when I woke up at 8:30am was the two of them dressed and completely engrossed in reading their library books. Hey, I'm not complaining! They had a hearty breakfast, played Pokemon, rested and after lunch decided they wanted to go for a swim in a lake. Our family had discovered Sunrise Lake in one of our outings (only 30 minutes away) and DD wanted to share it with DF. So, we asked a few more friends to come along, packed the van and headed for the fun. Sunrise Lake is known for its "Wibbit", an inflatable water toy that kids love to play in. They all had a ton of fun and then some. They went on a row boat and after about 3 hours of lake play they were forced to come out because the life guards heard thunder. The lake was closed for 30 minutes so we just decided to leave. The rain was done by the time we got to the car and we got to drive thru some beautiful little roads in Morris Lewis park (the boys were playing with the Flashmaster and the girls were making plastic lanyards in the background). Our DF is absolutely amazed of how green it is here and how much it is like Vienna (his mom's native land) and Hawaii (his dad's home state). I'm glad he thinks that, being that not everyone gets to see the beauty of NJ right away. I'm glad we have gotten a chance to show him a few good natural settings. I think he is having a good time.
After the lake, I discovered a small Colombian restaurant in Morristown that I could not pass, so we had a chicken soup, arepa, beef, beans and rice before heading to the movies. We watched the much awaited "Harry Potter 7" in 3D. Again, it was a late night but it was a fun one, so that's OK. That's just what vacation should be like right?

DF visits-Day 3

2011-07-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

I must admit it was hard getting out of bed this morning. We were all tired from the beach but the kids got up and enthusiastically got dressed to go to Apple camp. They went over their corrected math assignment and completed a new one together on the ride to camp. They are making a movie and I am eagerly awaiting its unveiling on Saturday.
We headed to Round Valley lake after, where we met some homeschooling friends. It was very relaxing not to have the ocean waves pounding on us.
Afterwards we headed home, had an early supper and the kids went to the village. DF bought a Pokemon Card game deck and the kids headed to the library. After a while we came home, played , had a snack and went to bed!
Tired after another busy day and looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

Look for photos of the day added to the DF album on the right.

A Dear Friend visits!- Day 2

2011-07-27T21:11:00.001-07:00

Today's Highlights: Hubby's birthday, Apple camp day 1, Sandy Hook National beach.

Today the kids woke up bright, early and ready for their first day at the Apple computer camp. While they were given instructions on the project at hand and made story boards for it, the parents got a computer safety presentation. I enjoyed it a great deal, not only because I loved being able to handle Apple products but also because I learned that both PC and Mac have very similar parental supervision features. I liked knowing that.

They worked on their math assignment in the car. By the time we got home and after a quick outdoor lunch, they were ready to start working on their assignment from camp. Honestly, they did not have much time.
We picked up a friend, waited for more, packed up the van and headed to Sandy Hook Beach to play in the surf, meet homeschooling friends and enjoy their free summer concert series. We took the bikes with the intention of bicycling to the light house at some point but the the reality of it was very different once the kids hit the waves. They did not want to get out of the water!
Oh well, hopefully we'll get to it before DF goes back west. If not, I'm sure the lighthouse is not going anywhere anytime soon. They kids had a blast and ended their day by eating a large order of steak and shrimp each. DF made new friends and we all enjoyed each other a great deal.
Best of all, they were in bed within 10 minutes of getting home; showered, teeth brushed and sound asleep! - no struggles!

I have placed the DF photo album to the right of this post. Enjoy!

Thursday, July 28
Planned: Apple computer camp day 2 and homeschoolers lake outing

A Dear Friend visits!- Day 1

2011-07-26T21:59:00.001-07:00

After their longest time apart (5 months) since our daughter was six months old, she is reunited with her best buddy! We love having him over to share all the wonderful new things we are discovering here. I will attempt to make a daily highlights summary for his family to keep up with our outings and experiences here. This two week period will reflect some of our "summer schooling". I will try to incorporate some Math practice or games on a daily basis.
I love to see how these two kids choose to spend their time together. It is so nice to see them interact. They know each other so well!
Today's highlights:
Cherry seeds spitting contest in our yard , Pokemon card game,writer's cafe (creative writing class), pool: swim & diving, DF catches fireflies in backyard while DD plays her guitar and writes.

It has been a hard day in a hard week of a hard month and a hard year.

2011-07-11T21:51:00.000-07:00

That's basically what I tell myself after a day like today.
With all my hopes and ideals pushed aside, I look at myself in the mirror and ask sincerely:
"Why on earth would you want to keep this kid at home? Are you crazy?"

There go my grand ideals of family unity and understanding crushed by a screaming, impetuous 9 year old. Fears of years to come fill my heart like a dark and heavy mass of crude oil which drowns life from anything it touches in a devastating ocean spill. Never mind the doubt of not knowing if this crazy idealistic notion of mine will work out. Sometimes if feels like I am alone between a rock and a hard place. School has made it so hard for me to homeschool my daughter, in so many ways. I hate living in a society where a young person's worth is judged by the grades they get, the school they attend, the possessions they have, the clothes they wear. It is all around us from coast to coast and it is inescapable.

I have heard horror stories from my non-homeschooling friends about homeschool children who end up hating their parents and barely talking to them as grown ups. I have heard stories of brilliant 45 year old homeschoolers who never left home and still work endlessly on elaborate projects in the basement because they cannot hold a job. I have heard stories of the neighbor's kids who were in and out of school, and only the ones who went to school the most turned out somewhat "normal". The rest are druggies and failures.
The problem for me is that I like the people who tell me these stories. Should I still call them my friends after they share their valuable anecdotes with me? Should I share my stories of school kids slashing their wrists because they don't get an A in a test? or the one about the girl who killed herself by running into the highway after school because her boyfriend dumped her? Should I share the stories of kids who are bullied and are made to feel worthless by their peers on a daily basis? or the one of the girl who was beaten by other girls near to death with a bat as a sport for being the "different"one? Or the story about the bored school boys who beat a hard working immigrant to death while sitting at a park bench? Should I tell them that these children thought their actions were amusing enough to tape and post on "YouTube"?
Would they still like me and have me over to their house as I do if I point straight at the failures of the system they have chosen to be a part of? Do I need to be part of that system to be recognized as a thoughtful and feeling individual in their eyes? I am sure they would excuse those incidents as freak occurrences that their children would never experience. Why then do they tell me their homeschooling stories with foreboding warning tones in their voices?
One of my non-homeschooling friends already warned me (when my daughter was seven years old), of her strong character, independent mindset and desire to experiment with the unknown. Apparently our daughter is doomed by her own nature. Thanks friend, but I don't happen to see those things as downfalls.

I know that the survival instinct in humans is augmented by fear. So I can't help to ask myself: what am I most afraid of?
The product of a regimented, institutionalized "people factory" system or the product of my own mistakes? What drives me to want to homeschool my child tomorrow, after a day like today? Is this a mistake?
It seems like life would be so much easier if she just went to school. She could play to be busy all day, blend in with the sassy crowd and come home to talk about other girls who are not like her. She would be accepted at camp as a regular girl by her peers, not a weird "homeschooler". She would "fit in" to everyone else's standards, would go to tutoring services when she has a problem in school and to camp whenever she is off from school. I would have a clean house, other adults to talk to in a somewhat interesting job, time to myself, money for a maid service, or a dance class... Then reality sets in.

It has been a hard day in a hard week of a hard month and a hard year. We've had more than enough of those to spare around here lately.
Sometimes this lonely path is not easy to follow. Sometimes it seems like every step hurts more than the previous one and I just want to stay put and not walk anymore.

Sometimes I just need someone that I like to give me a hug, pat me on the back and say "It will be OK. She's wonderful, you're doing great. She'll be OK."

I miss you more than you can imagine my dear friend.

We made it and all is well!

2011-06-24T23:02:00.001-07:00

As always, it seems like it has been a decade since I updated our blogg. A lot has happened since then. We have left our dear friends and home of 13 years behind in sunny Burbank, California and are now residents of the garden state: New Jersey. We even have the license plates to proove it! I guess it's official now.

Hubby is enjoying his new job a great deal and Laura and I are enjoying meeting new people and finding new adventures. Although we also miss our friends a lot!
In the past few months our homeschooling style has changed from "classic, school at home" to "crazy, survive relocation" mode. Honestly, academics have not been a priority in the past few months. DD has been reading nonstop (from classics to comics) during this whole process so I don't feel so bad about it.

We have been here for almost 4 months and just now I feel like we can really start to stretch our weary traveling legs and be comfortable with our new surroundings. The warm weather helps.
Now that our necessities are all unpacked and I have a clue of where I am, our priority (besides school work) is to meet as many people as we can. I feel like I have to jump on it; at least while the weather is warm and before we have to go into (a somewhat feared) hibernation mode for our family's first and long, north eastern winter.

Our time of arrival was perfect. Well, minus the rainy move-in day. We got to see enough snow on the ground to see it melt and welcome spring. DD has enjoyed wet spring days walking around and seeing nature awake almost overnight. The changes happen so fast and are so large that it is a wonder, specially for us, coming from a place where flowers are always in bloom. Spring term homeschooling events were just beginning so she was able to have some group classes. She participated in the town's softball spring league and a few fun events with her new Girl Scout troop.

I am as happy as a clam because I got to go back to one of my favorite places on earth: The Art Students League of NY. Memories of old come back not only to my heart but also to my hands.I am very excited because now I can take an occasional drawing or painting class in the weekend, while hubby is home. I can sign up month to month or just drop in. Flexibility is the key here. It feels great to draw like that again! I am slowly getting myself where I used to be. Here are a few one minute (L) and five minute (R) sketches from my first class. There's hope! Life is good.

Not everything has been peachy roses though. Our DD is acting like a perfect nine year old who was yanked from all she knew suddenly: sad and angry at times, excited and eager to find a new adventure in the next moment. It has been like riding on a roller coaster at times. We don't blame her for it and we are trying our best to help her deal with it all. After all, it was late January when we figured out that we needed to leave by March 3rd if we wanted to move as a family.

She truly becomes her beautiful self again whenever she has a puppy or animal in her arms. So...we have been petting a lot of small creatures lately. Here she is at the dog park, borrowing a little joy. Two of her visiting requests have already been fulfilled: she has visited the biggest candy store and the biggest toy store. Yes, we are trying.
Regardless of how hard it has been, I am glad that we did it in such a way and that we came here together. We had already spent too long and too many important days apart!

We live in a pretty city/town considered a suburb of Newark and I think myself lucky to be here right now. We are only 30 minutes by train to NYC (perfect for hubby's commute and day trips) and minutes by car to beautiful woodlands, lakes and playgrounds. We are really enjoying house hunting in the area.

The people we have met have been very nice and welcoming. Although there are not many homeschooling families in town, the ones we have meet have been wonderful, caring and warm towards us. In our short time here we have already been part of many unique and fun events. Also, our daughter's new Girl Scout troop and leader have welcomed us as true Girl Scout sisters: with open arms.
Still, the sad reality hits almost daily: we will not have our closest friends be so close to us anymore. We miss you guys! We wish we could have brought all of you here. At once. With us. In other words... come visit anytime!

We are looking forward to a fun and busy summer. We are vacationing in our own hometown! Everything is new for us around here so we are staying close to home to learn the ropes. DD is doing swim lessons, guitar and travel softball league. We are also excited about starting a new JOAD class for homeschoolers that we hope to continue in the fall.

But enough said... as a picture can say a thousand words (and as the clock ticks), I have about a hundred of them to share. Click on the albums to the right to see more of what has been going on around here!

The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List

2010-09-06T16:44:00.000-07:00

By Deborah Markus from Secular Homeschooling Issue #1Fall 2007

1. Please stop asking us if it's legal. If it is — and it is — it's insulting to imply that we're criminals. And if we were criminals would we admit it?

2. Learn what the words "socialize" and "socialization" mean and use the one you really mean instead of mixing them up the way you do now. Socializing means hanging out with other people for fun. Socialization means having acquired the skills necessary to do so successfully and
pleasantly. If you're talking to me and my kids that means that we do in fact go outside now and then to visit the other human beings on the planet and you can safely assume that we've got a decent grasp of both concepts.

3. Quit interrupting my kid at her dance lesson, scout meeting, choir practice, baseball game, art class, field trip, park day, music class, 4H club, or soccer lesson to ask her if as a home schooler she ever gets to socialize.

4. Don't assume that every homeschooler you meet is homeschooling for the same reasons and in the same way as that one homeschooler you know.

5. If that homeschooler you know is actually someone you saw on TV either on the news or on a "reality" show the above goes double.

6. Please stop telling us horror stories about the homeschoolers you know or think you might know who ruined their lives by homeschooling. You're probably the same little bluebird of happiness whose hobby is running up to pregnant women and inducing premature labor by telling them every ghastly birth story you've ever heard. We all hate you so please go away.

7. We don't look horrified and start quizzing your kids when we hear they're in public school. Please stop drilling our children like potential oil fields to see if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of homeschooling.

8. Stop assuming all homeschoolers are religious.

9. Stop assuming that if we're religious we must be homeschooling for religious reasons.

10. We didn't go through all the reading, learning, thinking, weighing, of options, experimenting, and worrying that goes into homeschooling just to annoy you. Really. This was a deeply personal decision tailored to the specifics of our family. Stop taking the bare fact of our being homeschoolers as either an affront or a judgment about your own educational decisions.

11. Please stop questioning my competency and demanding to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my family I don't need a degree in teaching to educate my children. If spending at least twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-spit-it-out educational facility we call public school left me with so little information in my memory banks that I can't teach the basics of an elementary education to my nearest and dearest maybe there's a reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school.

12. If my kid is only six and you ask me with a straight face how I can possibly teach him what he'd learn in school please understand that you're calling me an idiot. Don't act shocked if I decide to respond in kind.

13. Stop assuming that because the word "home" is right there in "homeschool" we never leave the house. We're the ones who go to the amusement parks museums and zoos in the middle of the week and in the off-season and laugh at you because you have to go on weekends and
holidays when it's crowded and icky.

14. Stop assuming that because the word "school" is right there in homeschool we must sit around at a desk for six or eight hours everydayjust like your kid does. Even if we're into the "school" side of education — and many of us prefer a more organic approach — we can burn
through a lot of material a lot more efficiently because we don't have to gear our lessons to the lowest common denominator.

15. Stop asking"But what about the Prom?" Even if the idea that my kid might not be able to indulge in a night of over-hyped, over-priced revelry was enough to break my heart plenty of kids who do go to school don't get to go to the Prom. For all you know I'm one of them. I might
still be bitter about it. So go be shallow somewhere else.

16. Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and then.

17. Stop saying"Oh I could never homeschool!" Even if you think it's some kind of compliment it sounds more like you're horrified. One of these days I won't bother disagreeing with you any more.

18. If you can remember anything from chemistry or calculus classyou're allowed to ask how we'll teach these subjects to our kids. If you can't thank you for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a worse job than your teachers did and might even do a better one.

19. Stop asking about how hard it must be to be my child's teacher as well as her parent. I don't see much difference between bossing my kid around academically and bossing him around the way I do about everything else.

20. Stop saying that my kid is shy, outgoing, aggressive, anxious, quiet, boisterous, argumentative, pouty, fidgety, chatty, whiny, or loud because he's homeschooled. It's not fair that all the kids who go to school can be as annoying as they want to without being branded as
representative of anything but childhood.

21. Quit assuming that my kid must be some kind of prodigy because she's homeschooled.

22. Quit assuming that I must be some kind of prodigy because I homeschool my kids.

23. Quit assuming that I must be some kind of saint because I homeschool my kids.

24. Stop talking about all the great childhood memories my kids won't get because they don't go to school unless you want me to start asking about all the not-so-great childhood memories you have because you went to school.

25. Here's a thought: If you can't say something nice about homeschooling shut up!

Hip hip hurray for Deborah!

What is hapening now?

2010-04-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

Our daughter on her first day of "school" in over 2 years. Heading for 2nd grade, in January 2010

We have not been up to much. Scary but true.

As our daughter took up my offer to see what our local school was like this semester, we are "taking it easy".
Don't get me wrong, we are all learning a lot about each other, our goals and the people around us. She is experiencing the cons and pros of compulsory school. She still wants to learn and is eager to do well. So she wants out. She just told me she wants to homeschool third grade. Unfortunately the school could not accommodate our request to place her in the 2/3 combo class and now she just wants to get the heck out of there. We asked them to do this as she entered so that she could be challenged and engaged as we wanted this to be a positive experience for her. Instead we got placed in the most challenging 2nd grade class with a (wonderful) teacher who is absolutely stretched to the max and cannot spare much time to help the high performers in the class work at their full potential; even less, make the learning experience out of the ordinary. She has to bring the rest of the class up to standard. My daughter shares her attention with 25 others; some of them much younger by their behavior. We have just been told of a $10 million budget cut in our school district and increase of class size for next year. In the meantime my daughter clocks in everyday and completes endless worksheets that repeat facts known to her for over a year and believe me, she is not a "gifted" child. She is just were she needs to be right now. She wanted to test out of her grade but was not allowed to do so and so she's "stuck" there. At least for now. No wonder she wants out.

Above all I must say that I am very grateful for the opportunity to check out the school and verify our methods even more. Yes, the people are wonderful. The parents, the principal, the teachers. But I can't help to notice how they are all trying to do their best while having to settle for whatever the system dishes out. The parents voice their concerns and rally in demonstrations in front of city hall; the teachers do their best, the principal listens patiently and provides as many opportunities as she is allowed to make the school above average. Yet they are not getting anything but average resources at best and now with these additional cuts everyone's standard will have to be lowered even more.
Today I explained to my daughter that her teacher might have not feeling well because she just got fired from her job. That is why she's having a substitute so often. I explained the budget cuts, the rallies and how the student/teacher ratio will be increasing systematically in the next few years in order to work with the state budget and our governor's decisions. The governor who can afford to send his children to private school. Her first reaction was to consider herself lucky for having been a part of her teacher's class and having met her. Then she moved on to reiterate the fact that she did not want to be there next year, with even more unruly children around her hindering her learning experience. This is a decision made while thinking of her current reality. But what really caught me by surprise was her analogy of them, the children and teachers, to slaves stuck in an overcrowded, sweltering belly of a slave ship while "others" make decisions for them. She felt powerless, violated, angry and sad from the news I was giving her. Although it sounds like a far fetch idea, I see her point.

The people in our schools are admirable individuals, I know. Unselfish, living in a democratic society and exercising their citizenship in an exemplary way.
Be it for better or worse (although I am benefiting from their company), I am not one of them. I am not settling for the average offered to me at this time and I (like my daughter) am ready to jump ship. We've been there, done that, don't need to hang around anymore... we are moving on.
When I talk to the school moms about our choices they say "oh, no, not me, I can never be that brave" or "not me, I have things I want to do". Then I think... Well, I do too but I'm just not settling for the status quota. Why should I? Brave? me? not half as much as you, giving up your child's life to be the product of a faulty system that chews up and spits out everybody who tries to help. Well, at least that is what it seems like to me.
I know if anything goes "wrong" I'll have no one else to blame but myself. Then again... how bad can things turn out for a child who is allowed to grow at her own speed, work at her full potential and be inspired by the real world around her to make the changes it needs? How bad can it be for a child to be around loving adults who respect her, don't steal her erasers, don't call her a lair, scream at her (or others in front of 20+ people) out of frustration and take the time to have a meaningful conversation with her? We'll take our chances and find out.
Back in January we consented to her attending school because I was truly stressed. I kept wondering if I was doing things right, if she was getting "enough" of one thing or another. I over scheduled our days and could not sleep at night wallowing in my own fears. By the second day of school I knew that my fears were completely unfounded and that compulsory school for a regular eight year old is nothing more than a safe form of childcare provided by the state so both parents can work relatively worry free. I guess I'll have to learn to work with her around.

So here we go again, trying to make it all work. Optimistic about our future and knowing that we don't have to be anyone's pawns to get what we want.
Our daughter is committed to finishing the semester where she is. "It's only 6 weeks, how bad can it be?", she says. They are doing the standardized testing this week. I guess we'll take it one day at a time and enjoy it for what it is. I wonder if she would be asking to homeschool next year if she had been given the chance to be inspired, challenged and engaged by her peers and her environment in whatever she does with them for 6 hours per day. We might try it again down the road, when we have more options available and the scales are not so tipped out of balance.

When I mention that she will have to go back to having less children around (she's an only child) and missing her friends she accepts her reality calmly. I'm surprised to see her admitting at such an early age the fact that she much rather have a stimulating learning experience over friends. According to her, these are friends that she can hardly enjoy because of the short time they have to play at school. As I said, we are all learning a lot.
I can't help but think of what my scout leader's training book recommends: "Always leave smiling!".

What have we been up to?

2009-12-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

Work work Work FUN! or Fun fun fun WORK!
We have been busy this semester with great opportunities for learning. Laura is now 7 years old and is still enrolled in Sky Mountain Charter school, currently doing second grade. We meet with her teacher once a month and let him know our progress. She took her state mandated language arts and math assessment pre-tests and demonstrated to be a grade above average. We are very proud of her.
This summer we started reading the Harry Potter series and she took off with it! She is now in the seventh book and has become a complete fanatic of it.

This Year's Curriculum
PE: She started western riding classes (partially funded by the school), has taken a basketball class and participated in the local AYSO league this fall.
MUSIC & Arts: She has continued with her piano lessons and is becoming more proficient at reading musical notation. She loves to compose her own music and enjoys her weekly choir practice. She just performed during the thanksgiving service and has another performance scheduled for December, as well as her first piano recital.
This semester she's had the opportunity to attend a ballet based on her Wizard of Oz reading and a musical of Mary Poppins. What fun way to bring literature to life!
Her art classes were taught by myself while attending a local homeschooling co-op school. I used the Art adventures at home curriculum. I have volunteered there for the last year and have had a great time teaching art and Spanish.
SCIENCE:Besides from regular hikes and readings we have done our science curriculum at home thus far this year. We get messy, experiment and record all our findings. We are using the Real Science curriculum and has proved to work very well for us. Flexible and fun. She has also taken advantage of Burbank's science classes for homeschoolers which use the Stough Canyon Nature center and hikes around it as a classroom.

SOCIAL STUDIES: In social studies we have concentrated in early and classical Greek culture, begun reading the Odessy, have learned about Alexander the great and are now moving into Ancient China. We are following Level I of History Odessy. I like this program a lot because it still uses Story of the world and also utilizes other resources and point of view that I find very valuable.
LANGUAGE ARTS: Besides from allowing her to read voraciously, we do the following:
Spelling: Sequential spelling. I find this to be a nice strong program. We do it 4 times p/week and occasionally do "Spelling workout"
Grammar: "First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind", year 2. After considering changing for a while, I decided to continue with it. I like the poetry memorization and its gentle and fun approach to grammar. Yes, the lessons are repetitive but I find that to be an advantage and makes sense to me. Laura does very well with it too.
Writing: "Writing with ease". We incorporate our writing work with our social studies and science.
She also attends our Homeschool group's reading club monthly and participates in the book readings, discussions and activities.
Literature: Besides from her "personal" reading selection (basically whichever Harry Potter she's working on) we try to cover one classic p/ month (excluding "The Odessy" of course). We sometimes download classics from Librivox.org and listen to them as we craft or do a more tranquil activity. This is personally, one of my favorite times.

Math: Still love "Right Start Math"! she's doing level C. We love the games, approach and everything about this program.

We supplement her "standards" education with occasional workbook sheets, computer based instruction,games and her girl scout activities.

Over all this has been a very busy and engaging semester. I am currently looking for employment and desperately trying to hold on to our homeschooling ideas.
And since a picture (or two or more) are worth a thousand words, feel free to look at our "Homeschooling in Action" albums on the side bar to see what we've been up to this semester.
Thanks for visiting today!

Year recap- just the tip of the iceberg, really

2009-06-06T00:52:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family,
I have been really silent and busy lately, so I just wanted to give you a quick recap of our going ons.

This summer we are planning on taking a road trip to see daddy in Seattle while he is there. We will be driving up thru Whisky Town National Recreation area and Lake Shasta (and see the caverns)in California. Then we will go up to Crater Lake in Oregon and end visiting Mt. St. Helens in Washington. On the way back down we will be also make a cannot-miss-for-anything-in-the-world stop in San Francisco and visit the King Tut show. DD studied Egypt's old, middle and new kingdoms along with other ancient cultures this year so we are really looking forward to it. We are following Susan Wise Bauer's "Story of the World" curriculum for social studies.

We will try and see daddy at least twice some time again before November, when he comes back from his tour. He has been performing Technical Director duties for Disney's promotional tour of their Christmas Carol beginning with the planning stages, back about 8 months or so. Believe me, this is not an easy job!

Here is what DD has been up to lately (well in May).
She performed really well in her end of year test, administered by her school teacher.I present her school teacher (who is a super nice guy) with an academic report every month along with work samples so he knows what we are up to. I like to also point out our state standards met p/subject, since it is a public school. I will try to figure out how to post this document in this blog so you get an idea of what we do.
DD is now seven and will officially start second grade in late August, but we are continuing to work all the same at our own pace during the summer so it's not so horribly hard when we "come back" in the fall. I am trying to keep summer and fall classes to a minimum so we can have the flexibility to travel around to see daddy and go camping! She might just do swimming.

We just finished reading "Harry Potter and the Sorcere's Stone" which she absolutely loved. She loves to listen to "Storynory" podcasts while in the car, which feature a great selection of unique stories. She also enjoys listening to classical, jazz and blue grass music. She currently reads "Magic tree house" books by the handfull and enjoys playing all sorts of games.
Her two favorite books that we read aloud this year were Edward Tulane and "The Adventures of Pinochio".

She just decided to sell a number of her outgrown toys on ebay and purchased her own Nintendo DS, which she is very proud to say, completely belongs to her.
She enjoys playing with and collecting My littlest Pet Shop toys and just finished putting together her first Bionicle, which she loved doing. Her screen time (computer/TV/DS)is still highly controlled by her fanatic mother (who is way too strict about it in her opinion) and does not exceed 3 hours p/ week on average.

DD started taking formal piano lessons last September. She joined The National Fraternity of Student Musicians in January and has been studying under one of their teachers locally since then. Her basic level piano audition will take place at the end of July. She will be judged by a guild teacher on her performance of basic piano skills including sight reading, basic scales and 4 memorized pieces. She will have her recital in late September.

She is ending her second year of Girl Scouts as a Brownie and absolutely loves it. I am her troop leader and I absolutely love it too. She is the only homeschool girl in our troop of 12. All of the girls are wonderfull. She did her first nuts and cookie sales, first encampment, rededication and awards ceremony this year. She also started sewing her own badges on her vest. We had a great year!

She dressed as a headless bride for Hallowwen and looked specially creepy, along with her groom, Timmy. I made their costumes.

This year DD also played the piano at her co-op's talent show, perfomed with her choir and drama class on stage and experienced drumming and percussion clases.

We have enjoyed this, our first full year of homeschooling a great deal. We have been sailing on a ship looking for whales, saw a fish disection and learned about the ocean. We visited san Juan Capistrano Mission and talked about its history. We have been learning track and field sports, gymnastics, learning to play tennis, hiking tall mountains and playing soccer with the AYSO. We learned about transportation at Knott's Berry farm, built a solar powered playcar at Legoland and slep with the manatees at SeaWorld San Diego as part of our school's field trips.
I can tell you that as a very busy mom and almost non-working artist it was amazing to wake up at 5 am to see my daughter's silluette sketching the manatees silently while everyone else slept. She was entranced.
I do count waiting in line at Disneyland as waiting in the cafeteria line ; ) There's no fear there, she's got that one down!

We have been to a number of concerts and school presentations including sounds of Korea, Earthquake county and the Sioux people at CalTech. We have also gotten a chance to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Norton Simon, The Getty Villa and the Natural History museums.

Also, after reading "The Chritsmas Carol" we went to the Dickens fair, which was fantastic fun! We danced, played parlor games, saw characters from Dicken's novels, enjoyed the sounds, sights, smells and people around us and had a ball.
DD has also taken regular hands-on science classes, explored a sheep's heart, learned about the microscope and found many new treasures in it.
Overall, we have been extremely busy!

There have been hard days and great days (I especially enjoy our short winter season homeschooling days), for which we are very gratefull, as they have helped us grow a great deal. I am now more comfortable choosing our curriculum and have a better idea of what works for us; as well as what doesn't. It has been a learning experience alright. So what is the most important thing I learned this year? Don't over schedulle! we can't do it all!

As far as I am concerned, well... you have just read what I have been up to. Just view it from a "planner's" point of view. That's me. I am currently trying to make a dog cart out of a discarted baby jogger (they collapse nicely, are strong and light) for our dog to use in our road trip. We'll be camping most of the way and hey... someone's got to carry the fire wood. Might as well have the big girl earn her kibble right?

As many others, we are struggling thru difficult financial times, but we are well, healthy and trying to take it one day at a time. Hopefully we can continue growing the same way next year as well.

First grade has been great fun! I highly recommend homeschooling in southern California if you can do it!

A "New Citizen"

2008-10-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

My oath ceremony was quite extraordinary for me. I was sworn to citizenship along with six thousand other individuals at the Staples center that day. After getting over the shock of paying $20 for parking I remembered that as anything else in life, it is what you make of it. At times I felt as if we were cattle, being herded from one room to another, one line to another and basically being kept busy for 5 hours so we could be grateful when it was all done. Honestly, I was hoping for something much more personal than that.
Then I realized the magnitude of the event I was part of and of coming together with all these people who I will never see again. Although a bit restless at times, Laura stood by me the whole time. She saw all these eager individuals waiting just like me, saw their faces and heard their native languages. She saw her mom cry with mixed emotions of sadness and relieve when she was told to give up her mother country of Colombia, heard six thousand voices pledge allegiance to the flag of her country and joined in the happiness when it was all done.
So now that I am an "American" I see that I could have never gotten to be one with out being Colombian first. Without my parent's values, my grandparent's love or the principles instilled in me since childhood. That is the road that brought me to this point of my life and the road that I hope my daughter never forgets, no matter where on earth she ends up when she is my age.

What? My voice counts too?

2008-10-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Never had I been so involved or interested in the presidential election as today. Here I am in bed recuperating from a back injury, devouring information on all things having to do with the upcoming presidential election. This maybe an everyday ritual for some, or a nuisance for others. To me it is an incredible new world: voting and having my voice heard.
You see, I have just been appointed to take my citizenship oath on October 9th. Suddenly a new conscience has emerged. MY rights, MY voice, MY choice. They never counted before at this time. What I thought about one candidate or the other, the media or the laws being passed never made a difference to anyone but me up to now.
I have lived in this country for 24 years, paid taxes, gone to college and paid my loans, married, give birth and have turn 40 years old since that faithful night of July 1st, 1984, when I first set foot in American soil. Here I am about to vote for the first time in my life. I don't take this privilege lightly and take great pride in it.
I share this pride with my daughter and explain to her what makes this event so special in my life. We have talked about Washington, Lincoln, the revolutionary war,the flag of our country, the suffrage movement, Martin Luther King, September 11 and Iraq. After our conversations I have often asked myself: Is this appropriate school curriculum for a first grader? Does it meet "academic state standards in social studies? Is it too much information for a 6.5 year old? Then I remind myself that we are not homeschooling to meet state standards mandated by people who can afford to send their children to Princeton or Harvard. We are in it to create a conscientious citizen who stands for her believes with dignity and passion. I conclude that these conversations certainly meet OUR standards.

Considering the choices that the media makes most readily available to the public, I find myself in quiet desperation for everyone who holds the precious right to vote. I firmly believe that no one has the right to tell me what to believe, what to think or who I should vote for. I find the lack of responsible media coverage of ALL the candidates for presidency a crime against all Americans.
I urge you to become informed of all your options. Don't settle for the "lesser" of two evils.
Please register, get out there and VOTE!
Citizenship starts and ends at home.

Sanity prevails!

2008-08-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

From CHN’s website:

August 8: This morning the Cailfornia Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Three issued its ruling in the In re Rachel L. case. In Feburary 2008 this same court issued an opinion that held that California parents can homeschool their children only if they hold a valid teaching credential. The court vacated its February 2008 decision by agreeing to rehear the case. In addition to hearing from the parties on rehearing, the court also invited numerous friends-of-the-court, known as “amicus curiae” to provide legal argument. The court heard argument from the parties and the amicus curiae on June 2, 2008 for more than 2 hours. Today’s court ruling held that (1) California statutes permit home schooling as a species of private school education; and (2) the statutory permission to home school may constitutionally be overridden in order to protect the safety of a child who has been declared a dependent. Homeschooling, therefore, remains a legal educational option in California.

Comments for our Y friends

2008-07-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

Feel free to leave your comments here for our friends! It would really help them to hear from us!
Smiles,
Stella

May is gone! oh me! oh my!

2008-06-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

Again, time has sneaked up on me, but no worries, I have managed to publish some of our pictures from each month in the albums. I hope you get a chance to look at them.
Our Daisy Girl Scout season is coming to an end and Laura is ready to "Bridge"(graduate) to the next level (Brownies), which is keeping me very busy. Watch out everyone... Cookie time is near!

April is for Outdoors

How beautiful spring is around here! This year we really got a chance to experience it first hand. We had fun park days, attended two outdoor nature classes, learned about bees & had honey from a honeycomb, camped at the beach and hiked a lot.
Laura continued making gadgets in her "Engineering with Legos" class, learning Chinese, music on the keyboard and playing math games. We went to see "Henry and Mudge" and "Winnie the Pooh" on stage, learned about gases with Mad Science, and shared improv classes with our group. We also made a fabulous new home for cookie, Laura's new hamster. Laura made her little house.

COSTA RICA in MAY

We looked forward to this trip ever since my sister announced to us her wedding location more than a year ago. Being a native Spanish speaker I was eager to utilize my mother language and share my culture with our daughter in a more natural environment once again. Laura and I had been to

Colombia

(my country) two years ago visiting family.

After my visit I can say that Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful places I have been to. It is just like Colombia. It made me long for my own country and its beauty with bitter sweet memories of its landscapes and people.

The varied topography, biodiversity and people are amazing. Although you can’t escape from a tourist trap or two, an occasional pushy street vendor and must be watchful of your belongings (as one should anyhow) it was none the less a fantastic trip.
This was especially true for Laura, who got to experience things that she had never gotten a chance do here. We went to a butterfly farm, saw dozens of new species of insects, rode horseback for hours into a primary rain forest and swam in fresh river pools. We sailed and snorkeled, visited the mangrove ecosystem, zip lined thousands of feet above ground, visited the gold museum, hiked and walked on hanging bridges, experienced unique flora and fauna up close everyday and kayaked and swam to our heart's content.
We also met people from all over the world, including an American family that was taking their time to travel around the country by car.

We stayed in San Jose for two nights and south of Quepos for the rest of our 10 day stay. At Quepos we stayed at Tulemar, a beautiful resort overlooking the ocean nestled among the rain forest, adjacent to Manuel Antonio Natural Reserve. Most everyday we went out on a guided excursion. Most excursions offered breakfast, lunch or both depending on the time it took place.

On our return, I had to complete Laura’s attendance record for her charter school. I wondered which activities to count as “academic” enough to list each day. Admittedly, we did not worry about fulfilling any lessons at the time. However, the cultural and language immersion, ecological education, environmental awareness, physical challenges and overall experience my daughter was exposed to during our visit are worth their weight in gold to us.

BACK TO LA- End of year, development assessment

It has been a mellow "academic" return to reality for us. We have been doing a lot of field trips instead. In the last two weeks of May we managed to try out a new fencing class for the fall (which laura loved), go camping to the beach, visit the renaissance faire, go to Disneyland, visit the museum of Natural History and an Alpaca farm. Also, Laura and her friend collected donations to benefit the Chinese earthquake victims by giving out lemos, oranges and grapefruits from their gardens (our dog, Avery helped too).

Sometimes I wonder if it is just too much action. After all, there are no written rules, transportation issues, or public funds (or lack there of) to rule how many times we go out on field trips. Then I talk to veteran home school parents among our support group to take in their wisdom. Everyone tells me the same: Homeschooling is about having fun discovering, creating unconventional learning experiences and listening to your child's interests. All right then, we are doing very well.

Laura's reading is coming along great. Her math and writing skills are well were they should be. Her reasoning, logical mind is sharp and alert. Her compassion, concern, respect and love for others is one of the things that make me most proud of her. Her creativity flourishes daily, either by way of making up a new board game, gathering materials for a self directed project,solving problems found along the way or any other surprising way. She beams self esteem and is not trapped in trendy merchandising fads.

We will continue doing a little work in the summer, trying out new curriculum here and there, having fun and enjoying life.

I am glad we left the school when we did. We still love the people there and think of the fun parts of it, but I am grateful for having this opportunity in front of me. I see it as an extremely beneficial experience for Laura. I can comfortably say this for both James and I, even though we've had to make financial sacrifices and are still trying to settle into living without my income, however small it was. I will try to freelance some this summer, trying make it work better for us. Again, I consider myself lucky in that aspect because my trade and location allows me to do this. I love it and wouldn't change myself or our decision to home school Laura in kindergarten for anything in the world.

Has it been a month? or more?

2008-04-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how time goes by around here. I honestly thought I would be better at keeping you abreast of our events. Really... it has been a busy month (March) and we are still moving forward!
We had great times in March, with friends who were out of school on spring break and were able to join in a few adventures.
We are still working with Right start math, taking it slow and making sure that she knows all her numbers and addition facts up to 20 inside out with games and fun lessons. We are learning about Egypt and the pyramids as well as about nature all around with hikes and lectures at the nature center. Reading is of course, the (yummy) bread of everyday.
Laura continued with her gymnastics and keyboard classes; which she enjoys enormously. She also started to take Chinese, which she can practice with daddy on a daily basis and "Engineering with Legos" for the next eight weeks.

We seem to be a lot more "in the groove" with one another. Laura is eager to learn and when she is (intellectually or physically) tired she finds an alternate activity that soothes her.

I started to convert our patio room into our "classroom" although I prefer to call it our "studio", where things happen.

The days go by so fast... even Laura notices it. She is equally amazed when she goes to sleep and realizes that another wonderful day has gone by so fast!

Sometimes I think about all the things that school kinder gardeners are learning... all the reading, all the writing, all the waiting in line, all the competition. I wonder how my daughter's life would differ is she was following the same path.
Then I realize that she IS doing the same on her own terms; without pressure of any sort and with an incredible mixture of excitement, curiosity and wonder. She challenges herself, is well rested, eats nutritious meals, runs and enjoys the outdoors to her heart's content and is kind to those around her everyday. She is proud of herself and enjoys being her age.

Then I remind myself of how lucky we are to be able to home school right now and how different our lives are thanks to it.

Are we legal?

2008-03-07T09:43:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the irresponsible parents who think that homeschooling a child is keeping them at home abusing them... the home school community is up in arms about a recent court ruling which says that home schooling can only be done by a California state credentialed teacher. Here is what Terri Adams, Director of Golden Valley Charter School had to say to our Educational Specialists (a.k.a designated teachers) on the subject:

"A recent court ruling was made public essentially indicating that home schooling is illegal in California. Please assure your concerned families that this ruling does not apply to GVCS. GVCS students are enrolled in a state-approved public school, students whose education is regularly and consistently overseen by a California credentialed teacher. GVCS has a required standard of education, an attendance requirement based on work completion and evidence of adequate and appropriate progress, and specific subject requirements. GVCS complies with the independent study law in this state, a legal and viable method of delivery of education. There is no cause for concern."

So... although this does not "seem" to affect us I feel terrible and very much in unison with the outraged parents of our home school community who work independently.

I know that this ruling was propelled by a case that looked to protect children from their abusive parents in a home school setting. Yet I cannot help to feel angry and invaded when I think of all the loving and law abiding families that are providing their children with a highly efficient, loving, individualized and superior educational experience on a daily basis. This is something that many schools cannot come close to doing, specially for a group of twenty (or thirty) children clustered in a classroom all day.

This is how I feel about this issue.

It seems to me that what is really needed is one on one counseling, guidance, support and encouragement to developing human beings who are always growing, from birth to death. I wonder if the parents involved in this case ever got any of it. I wonder if THEY ever found it in their (probably traditional compulsory) educational experience?

ed·u·ca·tion [ej-oo-key-shuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun

1.the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.

Looking back at our first month of homeschooling

2008-03-02T20:48:00.001-08:00

I realize how many wonderful opportunities Laura has had this month. It has been a month of much learning and exploration.

We are still trying to find a good curriculum for language arts, since the materials that the school provided does not come with all of the books that are mentioned in the teacher's edition. We do the suggested lessons in the first grade curriculum (as Laura feels she can handle the material fine) and find that many a time I wish there was more to it. Still, we are doing it at our own pace and having a good time at it. Laura still does the phonics worksheet packets just as she would at school.
I am concentrating in reading to her, having her read to us and working in her phonics as much as possible. I make sure that she gets to work with her hands in drawing and sculpture throughout the week, as I think these are very strong factors in developing her eye-hand coordination, muscles and overall writing ability at this time.

Our math curriculum is coming along as I become more acquainted with the material from "the Right start math". Laura is fine with it as she has been playing math games from this program with her friend for a while now. She wants to jump right up ahead to the chapter where he is (#38 or so) but I believe that we must make sure that we understand all the concepts covered before then, as it is a new approach for us. So we are in chapter 9, moving along pretty well.
Beside this, Laura loves to practice her numbers (and defeat her parents) with monopoly.

For social studies we have started to read "Story of the world" and after learning about archeology have paused at the first chapter (about nomads and prehistoric people) in order to read "The boy of the painted cave" by Justen Denzel. Laura really enjoyed the story and is now eager to visit the LaBrea tar pits looking for glimpses of Tao's world. This, coupled with a number of other selected library books about prehistoric people and early civilizations have covered our needs.

In science, we are taking a more relaxed approach. Besides from being the most popular kid at the park, making baking soda volcanoes, Laura has had an awesome time enjoying the outdoors. She has gone on hikes, observed her surroundings, talked about the life cycle, biodiversity, pollution and the weather. Laura has also attended classes offered through our local nature center about the geology and edible plants around the area. She has collected specimens, learned about their composition, characteristics and uses. These classes are packed with so much information!

I consider the music and "PE" curriculum to be our added bonus for home schooling. Laura loves her weekly gymnastics and soccer practice meetings (soon to be a field games meetings) and time at the park running with her friends.
After a couple of lessons, she is learning about rhythm, as well as to read and write a few notes. She is very pleased with her progress and is proud to show you what she knows.

It has been a month of adjustments for all of us. Although it has been an overall enjoyable process, it has also had moments of frustration and reflection on our parenting techniques. It seems that whatever issues there are to be dealt with are much more concrete as we are with her so much more. This a good thing for us, to be able to recognize things more readily and tackle it in unison as a family at any time.

Most of all, it has been a month of discovery for all of us.
I very good month indeed!

Monopoly math and fire station tours

2008-02-18T15:22:00.000-08:00

These are the ways we are learning about math and social studies lately. Laura has managed to defeat us for a second time in a row at monopoly. Although this is a terrible blow to our pride we take it as an excellent lesson in counting by tens, hundreds and thousands for our six year old. She loves the excitement of the game (honestly, she is fierce) and happens to have amazing good luck. Such as landing in the free parking space any time there's money on it!

Laura and Timmy made lemonade for our garage sale this weekend and sold it at .50 p/cup. After reaching a whooping amount of $4.50 Laura has decided that she needs a cut of the garage sale income as her payment for having so many things that used to be hers in the sale. I thing this monopoly thing is really sinking in!

What about social studies?
Besides from reading "Story of the world" and following their activities, we try to include our community in our lives. Laura recently made a thank you card for the fire department during one of her Daisy Girl scouts meetings. She went with James for a tour of the fire station and hand delivered the card to the firemen. This visit was specially important for our family because JB's dad (Ronnie Brown) used to be a Firehouse Captain in Texas. We then assembled our Playmobile fire house at home. It was interesting to hear Laura play with her firemen toys, knowing how the station works and what everyone's job is about. She is now very exited about adding the fire engine to her fire station set.

What about "Stella"? My friend questioned me this weekend. What about the individual, the person I am without any others, the ME, myself and I? where is she in this homeschooling enterprise?

Stella is very fine and happy right now. Stella is at ease knowing that she can be with her daughter, facilitate answers to her questions, enjoy her time seeing her grow and knowing that there is nothing else in the world that she would rather do at this moment in her life. Stella is balanced, at ease, eager to learn, calm, attentive, supportive and happy. Stella is for once in a very long time, living without regrets and guilt of not being there enough for the most important people in her life: her husband and daughter. In other words Stella couldn't be happier right now! well...except for a few extra pounds, which is a pretty minor complaint when one looks at the the whole picture.
Up to now and without difficulty I can tell you that this is the most gratifying "job" I have applied myself to do in the last few years. Ever since Laura was born it has been my worry to try and balance being a mother and a professional, no matter at what. I changed my entire career path from animation to early childhood education in order to supposedly spend more time with my daughter. I have earned a new degree and worked in a number of exceptional educational facilities (while my daughter was cared for by others) all to realize that I still wanted to give my family more of me.

My daughter's development and upbringing has been my utmost priority since the moment I knew I was pregnant. It seems that for once, now that she is six and we are homeschooling, I don't have to worry about trying to find a job that would be rewarding and still allow me to spend time with my family. It feels great.
People are worried that once she "leaves the nest" I will have nothing left. I know for a fact that can never be because no matter how far she is, I will always have my everyday with her in my heart and the assurance of doing the best I could at the most challenging "job" in my life. Yes, I may end up being a little rusty in my drawing and painting. So what? I'll have plenty of time in the future to pick it up where I left it. It is in me. Not borrowed or lost. My art can never be gone from me, as my daughter can never take a second place in my life. No matter how unbalanced that may look to others, I accept it as my truth and enjoy living it everyday. Best of all, one feeds the other constantly.

Thanks for asking!

Ready, set... Read!

2008-02-06T22:17:00.001-08:00

I would say that this is the number one activity around our house lately. We read in bed in the morning, during the day at some point, and at night again. I would say that our average for the day is between 1.5 to 2 hrs. Laura has started to read to us too. It is very exciting to see her tackle a story never seen before. Today she insisted in doing "worksheets" after she read. She is very comfortable with the work format used at school. I prepared some reading comprehension questions, rhyming words and blended consonant exercises based on the reading. She was as happy as pie.

Today the Educational Specialist (ES) dropped by with an enormous amount of reading, social studies and science materials for us to consider using. They are mostly the same materials used in the school that Laura attended so she was very excited to see the familiar faces of the books and workbooks for K and 1st grade (She was in a K/1 combo class).

We just found out about an intro to Biology/Anatomy class where the students will be dissecting a squid, a grasshopper, a sheep's eye and putting together and owl pellet. She wants to do it very badly (funny, for a self admitted science hater, because of "all those long names of things"). I think it will be tons of fun!

I would say that my biggest challenge thus far has been getting Laura used to the idea that she won't be paid "home school dollars" for doing her work, as they did at the public school where she attended. I assure her that her prize is doing a job well done and being able to go to any museum she wants any day that she wants to.

"But you have to be the teacher! We are homeschooling!"
Laura wants me to grade her work, which to me (of course), is near perfection for a child her age. I have explained to her that I am not her teacher but rather a facilitator, an aide to help her in her learning process. I ask if she would like to know the correct spelling of words (many times she says no or checks against a book or the dictionary herself), or if she would like to check her numbers in math. I make sure she has any materials she might need for whatever project she has at hand. I read to her, I explain the meaning of words and concepts. I help her look for the answers to her questions and I drive her to the places where she wants to be.
I know that she is learning every moment from the environment and people around her, including me. Still, I do not see myself as being her "teacher" as it is in the traditional school setting. Nor do I want to be. Some teachers are fantastic, some leave much to be desired. I don't want to be either one. JB and I are her #1 fans, supporters and facilitators. That's the way I see it. We are leaving the "teaching" to her intrinsic thirst for exploration, discovery and understanding. We know that she is a superb student of life based on our criteria.
So... who is the teacher here?

So we are homeschooling...Now what?

2008-02-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

I feel compelled to create this blog so we can share this new and exciting adventure with all of you. Some of you may wonder how we are going about it, what do we do all day? how is our daughter learning?

Educational Approach
Before anything else is said I must let you know that my own educational background is a classical one (cant' get much more than catholic nuns in Colombia) . College and post graduate classwork have shown me that there are many ways to learn, which can be very exiting, effective and self empowering. James attended public school in Texas and continued on to Texas Tech University. We both come from very traditional educational backgrounds.

I have now been exposed to the developmental theories of Jean Piaget, Howard Gardner and Lev Vygotsky. I admire the educational approaches of John Holt, Charlotte Mason and Reggio Emilia. Having said that, my husband and I feel that it will be best to form our daughter with an eclectic educational approach. We will be using hands on activities, field trips, living books (secular), individualized home instruction, private tutoring, traditional classes and any other educational tool available to us in order to help her reach her potential. This blog will follow our adventures, discoveries, frustrations, challenges and victories as home scholars and parents in this path that we have chosen. We welcome you with open arms and appreciate any comment that you think may help us at one point or another.

Since then...
Laura has been officially out of the traditional public school setting (she was in kindergarten) for 3 weeks now. We play a lot, read for hours on end and allow her to explore her interest at whatever speed and intensity fulfills her at the time. She often chooses to sit for a long time to practice her hand writing or addition, or simply make up her own "googlie" language.
We spend our days playing with blocks, play dough, phonics, math, Spanish or Art games as much as she wants to. Last week we opened her piggie banks, counted the money and deposited it in the bank. It took the better part of the week and quite a bit of coin counting and rolling ($342)!.
We have also been going to the park, digging to China, playing kite relays, enjoying long hikes and continuing with her ice skating classes. She attends Daisy scouts meeting bi-weekly.

She just had her six birthday so now it is little pony central around here.

Curriculum
As first time home schoolers looking for the right amount of guidance and independence, we have enrolled in a local home school charter school. It is a state public school and observes the traditional school calendar as well as administers state mandated tests and school records. We now have a bit of a budget to play around with and to purchase curriculum and classes that will support her educational interests. We will be meeting with the Educational Specialist teacher assigned to us every 20 school days and supporting our needs with her expert advise. She will also be collecting samples of Laura's work for her official cumulative file.

We have looked at a number of curriculum choices and have decided to follow a variety of them as guidance based on approach. At this time we will be using "The right start " for math, exploring history and social studies with "the story of the world", science with activities at our local nature center, language arts with library books, phonics games and "handwriting without tears".

Laura will be participating in weekly semi-private music and art classes at home as well as group soccer practice and gymnastics. As you can tell, we are anything but bored around here!

As I proof read this post I see how much we have on our plate. Still, we are having lots of fun! Best of all, I know that we can modify things anytime.

Laura is adapting well to our new lifestyle and loves the different activities that make each of her days.
Above all she is as happy, sweet, friendly, outspoken, creative, inquisitive, daring and on task as always.
So far we love the home schooling experience! come back to check on us soon!
Smiles,
Stella