Monopoly math and fire station tours

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!

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?

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