Spaghetti and the F Word

Our 5 year old, “Theodore”, hasn’t started kindergarten yet. He wants so badly to prove himself and be more like his big brothers.

Yesterday, he took it upon himself to start up the computer and run the Study Dog reading program that we downloaded last year (when it was still free). I was so happy that he was initiating learning to read on his own. He’s done that several times with writing and letting his older brothers help him read words. It’s great to see that he’s on the way to reading.

So tonight at the dinner table we were just finishing up our spaghetti so we could hurry to the swimming pool to cool off after this unbelievably hot day. Out of the blue, Theodore says, “Mom, is this how you spell the bad F word — F-U-C-K?” Alvin let out a cartoon scream, and I could see Ward Cleaver over by the stove trying really hard not to laugh.

Grandma Will Be So Proud!

July 18, 2006 | Filed Under Learning | 9 Comments 

Discovering Math

Math seems to come naturally to my kids. They love it. They play math games in the car. They quiz each other on math facts. It’s pretty interesting to watch and listen to them while they “do math.”

Occasionally, my 7 year old will just blurt out something he has discovered about math. Unfortunately, all too often it happens before 7am. He wakes up at the crack of dawn EVERY DAY (even when he goes to bed late *sigh*). He knows he’s supposed to be quiet and not wake his brothers. He’s not supposed to wake me either, but he does — every morning. His discoveries are always so urgent, he can’t wait to share. Sometimes he will read quietly or work on a math workbook (he adores math worksheets!). Other days, he’ll rummage through his Lego bin, waking everyone in the house and not understanding how it happened (”I was just playing quietly with my Legos!”).

Early this morning, he walked up to my side of the bed and started touching my arm lightly. “Mommy?” I grumbled back, “What?” He said, “16 times 8 equals 128, right?” Ummmmm, not sure without a calculator and hoping he would go away, I replied, “Sure, I think so.” “You know how I figured it out? In my sticker book, I counted all the stickers on the page and there were 128. Then I counted one row across the top and there were 8. Then I counted one row down the side and there were 16. So 16 times 8 equals 128!” I smiled, more awake by then, and proud of him rather than irritated at him. I said, “Multiplying is a lot faster than counting, isn’t it?” He said yes and ran back to his room to do more math.

July 16, 2006 | Filed Under Learning | 5 Comments 

Now What Are The Odds I’ll Homeschool?

I’ve been saying all summer that I’m about 85% sure I’ll take the plunge into homeschooling. I’m not sure how I came up with that number, but it seemed like a good number to use.

Today, I put in my order for curriculum materials at Rainbow Resource.

Now I’m financially committed, right? I mean, I spent actual MONEY on stuff. Does that mean I’m now 100% sure? 90% sure? Still 85% sure because I’m prone to wasting money on stuff anyway?

Whatever the new odds are, I’m feeling pretty confident that they are higher now…and it feels good!

While I’m quite interested in unschooling, as a newbie, I’m just a little too scared to try that right off the bat. I decided to focus on math and language arts stuff and let everything else just fall into place (or not, since I’m typically lazy). Focusing on those areas seems like an appropriate blend of my ideals.

So, we’ll be doing Miquon math for Alvin and Theodore, Saxon math for Simon, Explode the Code for all three, and Writing Skills Book A for Simon and Alvin. I also ordered AVKO Sequential Spelling 1 to try out for all three, even though Theodore isn’t reading much yet. What the hell. Maybe it will be phonics instruction through the back door of spelling. Supposedly it is a good program for dyslexics, so perhaps it will help Simon. Probably not (his visual memory is poor), but it’s worth a try.

Congratulations to me, whatever the new odds are! :)

July 12, 2006 | Filed Under Homeschool Issues | 5 Comments 

Bedside Manner and the Homeschool Friendly Pediatrician

Have you ever had a doctor who just made you feel good? I’ve had so many bad doctors with no personalities and perhaps not bad, but certainly not good, bedside manner. I was beginning to believe that a good rapport with a doctor didn’t exist.

We chose our first pediatrician while standing in the hospital maternity ward preparing to deliver our first son, Simon, 5 weeks early. We had not yet chosen a doctor, but I had made a list of nearby doctors to call. The hospital pretty much forced me to write a pediatrician’s name on the form when they admitted me, so I just wrote down the name of the peds group closest to our house. We ended up with the doctor on rotation at that group when Simon was born. He was nice enough, and we continued to see him. A few years later, we discovered that nobody, not even he, could read his handwriting and we had virtually no record of Simon’s health. We had seen another doctor in the group a few times, so we decided to start making our appointments with him instead. He was young and seemed nice. We continued to see him, but I often felt that he just didn’t listen. He seemed a little condescending too, but not as much as the older doctor in the practice with whom he had been “training.” I decided all doctors are just in it for the money and resigned myself to putting up with this guy’s poor hearing.

THEN we stumbled upon our current pediatrician. He was the doctor on rotation from the practice when our third son, Theodore, was born. He had just started in the practice the week before. We didn’t even know he was there. My initial impression was WOW! He walked into the hospital room, shook my hand, smiled and told me who he was. Because we had never met, he explained that he had just joined the practice from such and so, yada yada yada. I liked him immediately. He’s been our pediatrician ever since (about 5.5 years now). Every visit with him is such a pleasant experience. He is so unassuming and down-to-earth. He listens and doesn’t hurry. He jokes with us and gets along great with the kids.

Today, Alvin had his 7 year old well visit. Alvin, by the way, grew almost FOUR INCHES in the last year and is now at the 30% for height. There may be hope afterall that he will take after his 6 foot tall daddy and not his 5′1″ tall mommy. :smile:

Dr. K. was asking Alvin all kinds of questions about his favorite things to do and how he is getting along with this brothers. Then he started asking about school. He asked what grade he’s going into and how he likes it and if he’s looking forward to it, etc. Finally, I just blurted out, “He’s doing great — loves school, but I’m about 85% sure we are going to keep them home next year. All three of them. We’re going to homeschool.” I watched his face carefully for a reaction.

HE SMILED! He gave a nod and said, “You know, there’s a lot of support for homeschooling around here.” I sighed a great sigh of relief and told him how we had been wanting to do it for years, and that now with Simon’s issues and the things I know about school, I’m ready to do it. We finished up the visit and as he was leaving the office he said, “Good luck with the school stuff next year.” I said, “Thanks, I’m actually really excited about it.” He said, “Yeah, it’s pretty neat.”

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So now I am 100% committed to this doctor. He’s obviously the best doctor ever!

July 11, 2006 | Filed Under Homeschool Issues, Parenting | 1 Comment 

What do I have against school?

I don’t actually have anything against schools. Not really. I went to public schools in one of the country’s largest school systems. This is the same system my kids are currently attending. I also spent my junior year of high school in a prestigious girls’ boarding school (the intent was to go to a great school and graduate from it, but I HATED IT). That experience gives me a small basis for comparison. Schools purport to educate children, and for the most part, I believe they accomplish that. The real question is, what does it mean to be educated? Will I be satisfied with public education for my children, given that private education is not economically feasible?

So much of what I read as I educate myself about education is negative. People like Alfie Kohn and John Taylor Gatto just rip public education to shreds. Do I agree with them? Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. However, tonight as I was reviewing what I’ve read and compiling a bibliography of books and articles that have contributed to our decision to homeschool, I came across this gem in an article by John Taylor Gatto called Against School: How Public Education Cripples Our Kids, and Why:

“Once you understand the logic behind modern schooling, its tricks and traps are fairly easy to avoid. School trains children to be employees and consumers; teach your own to be leaders and adventurers. School trains children to obey reflexively; teach your own to think critically and independently. Well-schooled kids have a low threshold for boredom; help your own to develop an inner life so that they’ll never be bored. Urge them to take on the serious material, the grown-up material, in history, literature, philosophy, music, art, economics, theology - all the stuff schoolteachers know well enough to avoid. Challenge your kids with plenty of solitude so that they can learn to enjoy their own company, to conduct inner dialogues. Well-schooled people are conditioned to dread being alone, and they seek constant companionship through the TV, the computer, the cell phone, and through shallow friendships quickly acquired and quickly abandoned. Your children should have a more meaningful life, and they can.”

That seems so black and white to me. Is it really all or nothing? When I read stuff like that, my first reaction (given that I’m partial to homeschooling) is “Amen!” But then I look at it with a critical eye and wonder if parents cannot accomplish those same goals without homeschooling.

I’m constantly floundering between sending them to school and keeping them home. (I’m also floundering between unschooling and some sort of eclectic mix, but that’s a blog post for another day!) I worry so much that they will somehow miss out on something by not going to school anymore. My rose colored glasses keep telling me everything will be fine though. Steph at Throwing Marshmallows says I need to JUST DO IT!

Will I ever be at peace with this decision?

July 6, 2006 | Filed Under Homeschool Issues | 5 Comments 

Beyond Pass the Bean Dip

For years, homeschoolers have been passing around versions of a way to divert unwanted conversations about their decision to homeschool by changing the subject (aka “Pass the Bean Dip”). However, I’m finding that approach won’t always work as we embark on this journey. Many friends and relatives really want to know, and perhaps even deserve at least a cursory explanation of why we have decided to pull our kids from public school.
I really need a canned response to give when people ask why I have decided to homeschool. I know all the many reasons why, and I have been researching homeschooling and getting involved in homeschool groups for about four years now. This is NOT a decision we have taken lightly.

The problem is that most of my reasons either directly or indirectly cast a negative view on public schools. How do I give an intelligent response without offending those who choose to send their children to public schools or are ardent supporters of public schooling? No matter how much I try to focus my response on ourselves, somehow those negative comments about school make their way out of my mouth.

Just the other day, a neighbor (who is also a friend and has children the same age as mine (as well as a shared back fence that we built a gate through for easy access to each other’s homes)) and I were at the pool with the kids. I finally spilled the beans to her about my renewed interest in homeschooling and the fact that I’m finally going to take the plunge. Her first reaction was shock, and then she very seriously asked, “What is motivating you to do THAT?”

Her kids go to the school I’m taking my kids out of. They will continue to go there. I fumbled with some sort of nonsense about maintaining their love of learning and hummed and hawed over most of the REAL reasons behind our choice. She is aware of Simon’s reading issues and the runaround we have had over special education (or lack thereof), so I threw a little of that into the conversation. But overall I felt VERY uncomfortable discussing it with her. It wasn’t that I needed to pass the bean dip. Not at all. She was genuinely interested in why we chose that path. It made me realize that I need to formulate my canned response so I don’t sound so wishy washy in the future. Any ideas are welcome!

July 2, 2006 | Filed Under Homeschool Issues | 9 Comments 

Hershey Park!

When the rain finally stopped, we realized that we actually could go on a mini vacation. The only problem was that we hadn’t planned anything because they were calling for rain the entire week. Late Wednesday night, I searched frantically online for weekend getaways. I had narrowed it down to Williamsburg, Ocean City, Hershey Park, and Richmond (to visit relatives, which was the absolute LAST choice). Unfortunately, everything seemed to be booked or outrageously expensive. I was bummed and went to bed at 1am discouraged and sad.

Thursday morning, I got up at 8am and started searching again. A neighbor had told me about Hotwire.com a couple of days earlier and I decided to try it. Mostly, everything was still either booked or too expensive, but I finally decided to go ahead and book “a 2 1/2 star hotel in the Hershey area.” The “Hershey area” on hotwire is pretty darned huge, so I figured we might be close to Hershey or far. I really didn’t want to vacation in our back yard, which is where we were headed at that point, so I booked it.

I had no idea what type of hotel I might get. Two and a half stars didn’t seem so great. This was non-refundable and they wouldn’t let me put in 3 kids without booking two rooms. I booked one room for 2 adults and 2 kids and figured we’d just let one sleep in the car! NOT! I was desperate and I knew we could work something out. We’ve had the three kid problem before, and none of the hotels really care when the kids are so little. We planned to stay two nights and wait until Saturday to decide where to go for our last night. We were thinking Gettysburg or perhaps another night in Hershey. By now, you’ve probably figured out that we thrive on spontaneity. Well, not really, we’re just super disorganized. emoticon

Around noon on Thursday, we headed out for Hershey. We’d never been there and we had no idea what to expect. We didn’t tell the kids where we were going, only that they were gonna be happy. It took only a little over 2 hours to get there. I cannot believe that we did not know how many cool things there are to do in Pennsylvania and how close it really is to us.

The hotel turned out to be fantastic. It was a Comfort Inn just 2 miles from the entrance to Hershey Park. They had a great breakfast included, and a nice (but small) indoor pool that the kids loved. Theodore didn’t have to sleep in the car afterall! We set up a little sleeping space for him on the floor by the dressers. They never asked how many kids when I checked in, so my guilt meter stayed down.

That afternoon, we wandered around Hershey a bit, bought hats at K-mart, and ate dinner at the Soda Jerk Diner (I recommend this for families). The next morning we went to Hershey Park. I messed up on the park opening time, and we got there just after 9am. The park didn’t open until 10am. Early arrival ensured that we got a great parking space and quick admission. The kids loved the rides and after we finished at the park, we toured Chocolate World (the pretend version of the chocolate factory).

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped to have dinner at Taco Bell. Nobody was really hungry, so we didn’t want to waste money on a nicer place. We met an older couple as we were leaving who suggested that we go to Lancaster/Strasburg and check out the Amish country and ride the steam train. Ward Cleaver adores trains, so we checked it out online. Hooray for high speed wireless connections in hotels! We decided to forego visiting the Hershey Gardens on Saturday and head to Strasburg instead. That turned out to be a fantastic decision.

We got to Strasburg around 12:30 and stayed till a little after 4. We went to the Toy Train Museum, the Railroad Museum, and we rode the Strasburg train. It’s a refurbished steam train from the early 1900s and it was awesome!!

This trip ranks way up there with BEST TRIPS EVER. Maybe it was THE BEST TRIP EVER. We had so much fun in so little time. Since Strasburg is only 3 hours away, we decided to just drive home instead of spending money on another hotel. We were home by 7pm on Saturday.

Here are some pics of the fun:

Fun 1Fun 2Fun 3

July 2, 2006 | Filed Under Trips and Travel | 2 Comments