Year recap- just the tip of the iceberg, really

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"

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?

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!

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

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Smiles,
Stella

May is gone! oh me! oh my!

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?

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.