I'm glad we unschool, and I'm glad we've taken a little vacation...especially at this time of year. As with almost every family, we are full to the hilt with cookie baking, shopping (online, of course), and family get-togethers.
The little ladies had their singing recital last Saturday. I could not go (I was sooooo sad) because of my Aunt's funeral. My lovely husband escorted Sami and Megan to their recital. He met Grandma and Grandpa Newlin there.
Dave said that Sami volunteered to go first. Where did that come from??? I was so pleased to hear that! I didn't know she had it in her! She sand, "Do You Hear What I Hear" and was a lovely singer, of course. She is so gifted in that area. Megan went next and sang, "Silent Night." For the grand finale, they sang, "The Chipmunk Song" with dance moves. Grandma cried, of course.
If I can get my laptop hooked up to the internet, I'll post the pictures he took. ***NOTE: I didn't get the pictures uploaded fast enough. Sami got ahold of the camera and accidentally deleted them all. :(
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Drive-By Media
The drive-by media got theirs...again. How long before they quit trying to smear people just for ratings? How long before they quit trying to indoctrinate us and push their agenda on us?
Friday, November 7, 2008
Ramblings
Here is a little bit of everything...
We have two deer in the freezer! Yay! We gave the third one away. Part of the joy of deer hunting is sharing what you get with friends and family so that they can enjoy it, too. It's a blessing.
We had a couple of calm weeks with not much running, but that all changed (again) and we've been running around again. All those ankle-biter appointments, errands (some self imposed, some imposed by DH), family get-togethers...it all adds up. Everything we did had importance attached to it, but it is still a major burn out instigator.
The girls' learning is coming along beautifully. I love being their teacher! Everything we do in learning brings me joy. If they aren't joyful about it, then I adjust my approach until they get excited about it, too. I don't like force feeding them anything that they aren't happy with it...but it's amazing how sugar coating something and making it taste like candy suddenly makes it a big treat. I never learned psychological warfare when I was in the army, but I sure learned it as a commander! :) Some of my soldiers were just big kids, after all. :)
Another two weeks of running and all should be calm again, but then that gets us right into the Christmas season. No one is ever busy at Christmas, right?
We have two deer in the freezer! Yay! We gave the third one away. Part of the joy of deer hunting is sharing what you get with friends and family so that they can enjoy it, too. It's a blessing.
We had a couple of calm weeks with not much running, but that all changed (again) and we've been running around again. All those ankle-biter appointments, errands (some self imposed, some imposed by DH), family get-togethers...it all adds up. Everything we did had importance attached to it, but it is still a major burn out instigator.
The girls' learning is coming along beautifully. I love being their teacher! Everything we do in learning brings me joy. If they aren't joyful about it, then I adjust my approach until they get excited about it, too. I don't like force feeding them anything that they aren't happy with it...but it's amazing how sugar coating something and making it taste like candy suddenly makes it a big treat. I never learned psychological warfare when I was in the army, but I sure learned it as a commander! :) Some of my soldiers were just big kids, after all. :)
Another two weeks of running and all should be calm again, but then that gets us right into the Christmas season. No one is ever busy at Christmas, right?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Finally slowing things down...phew! But we're still busy?
Cutting out all the extra running has been WONDERFUL! It's been so much more relaxing and pleasant around the house. We still do the things that we love, and we still do extras, just not crazy extra.
We went on a field trip to Brown County State Park last Friday. We got to explore the Discovery Trail (which was very fun) and we got to see the Nature Center and see birds up close. We then had a picnic lunch and played at a playground.
While at the park, a nice older couple sat next to us with their children and grandchildren. They started up a conversation with me, and turns out they were retired school teachers. I don't know what they thought about our rowdy group of homeschoolers, but I think offended them and scared them away because their granddaughter started bawling when one of our parents accidentally scared her. They left right after that without so much as a good-bye. Oh well.
We went to Apple Works today, and got to tour the facilities, pick our own apples, go on a hayride, pet animals at the petting zoo, and pick our own pumpkins. How fun was that??? Even the yellow jackets enjoyed it.
We went on a field trip to Brown County State Park last Friday. We got to explore the Discovery Trail (which was very fun) and we got to see the Nature Center and see birds up close. We then had a picnic lunch and played at a playground.
While at the park, a nice older couple sat next to us with their children and grandchildren. They started up a conversation with me, and turns out they were retired school teachers. I don't know what they thought about our rowdy group of homeschoolers, but I think offended them and scared them away because their granddaughter started bawling when one of our parents accidentally scared her. They left right after that without so much as a good-bye. Oh well.
We went to Apple Works today, and got to tour the facilities, pick our own apples, go on a hayride, pet animals at the petting zoo, and pick our own pumpkins. How fun was that??? Even the yellow jackets enjoyed it.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Busy, Busy, Busy!
I finally did it. I got too many activities scheduled and I am officially tired of running around and keeping the tires on my car hot. There are so many things that we like to do, and there are so many things that are necessary, and then there are all sorts of commitments made that can't be avoided.
Groceries, Food pick-ups, museums, HS group, music, gymnastics, library, story time, hair cuts, dentist, orthodontist, playdates, concerts, park visits...the list goes on and on. It might not be so bad except that we live out in the middle of nowhere, which means we spend countless hours in the car just to go somewhere. The nearest activity we go to is 15 minutes away, and the furthest is 45 minutes.
I'm going to sit back and take a hard look at everything going on in our lives and see where we can cut back on "extra" activities and see what is truly important to us and what is merely nice to do. Even though we "primarily" unschool (see previous post), I think that running ourselves ragged is contrary to an enriching learning environment.
Even when we listen to books on CD in the car, and even if they learn something at every location we go (that's the nature of unschooling), we end up exhausted and don't want to put forth any more effort than is absolutely necessary. We end up too tired to do the things in life that we really love, like walking through the yard, painting, crafting, snuggling, reading, hunting, etc.
Where do I draw the line?
.
Groceries, Food pick-ups, museums, HS group, music, gymnastics, library, story time, hair cuts, dentist, orthodontist, playdates, concerts, park visits...the list goes on and on. It might not be so bad except that we live out in the middle of nowhere, which means we spend countless hours in the car just to go somewhere. The nearest activity we go to is 15 minutes away, and the furthest is 45 minutes.
I'm going to sit back and take a hard look at everything going on in our lives and see where we can cut back on "extra" activities and see what is truly important to us and what is merely nice to do. Even though we "primarily" unschool (see previous post), I think that running ourselves ragged is contrary to an enriching learning environment.
Even when we listen to books on CD in the car, and even if they learn something at every location we go (that's the nature of unschooling), we end up exhausted and don't want to put forth any more effort than is absolutely necessary. We end up too tired to do the things in life that we really love, like walking through the yard, painting, crafting, snuggling, reading, hunting, etc.
Where do I draw the line?
.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Learning While Sick
Sami has a cold this week, and with the cold comes cold medicine. With cold medicine comes side effects. With side effects come less efficient learning. So what do we do? What ever we feel like! :)
One nice thing about homeschooling is that we don't have to keep to a rigid schedule and "keep up" with what other kids are doing. We can do just what we feel up to that day due to illness, and keep it very light and fun and interesting.
Unschooling happens all the time anyway, sick or not. It makes it a lot easier to adjust to the environment and life events and "go with the flow."
Added 3 OCT 08: Megan got it too!
One nice thing about homeschooling is that we don't have to keep to a rigid schedule and "keep up" with what other kids are doing. We can do just what we feel up to that day due to illness, and keep it very light and fun and interesting.
Unschooling happens all the time anyway, sick or not. It makes it a lot easier to adjust to the environment and life events and "go with the flow."
Added 3 OCT 08: Megan got it too!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Busy Week!
We've all had those kinds of weeks, and this was definitely one of them. Despite being so busy, I think we all learned a lot. Between appointments, parties, lessons, music, gymnastics, play dates, errands...there was something going all the time.
The high light was seeing Joshua Bell play his Stradivarius. Bell is a Bloomington, Indiana native who attended Indiana University and is now a lecturer there. The music was FANTASTIC. He played part of the Red Violin score (written by Corigliano) among other pieces. I am not an expert on music, but I sure loved every minute of it.
Sami slept through part of it, but Megan sat in my lap with her eyes closed and patted me through it and peeked at me occasionally. They were not complaining that they were bored one bit...I think the music relaxed them so much that they had a hard time keeping their eyes open. They've been up that late before, but at parties. This was their first time being up late hearing classical music.
The girls have been learning about China for a couple of weeks now. At our HS Fun Club, they got to make Chinese stamps, play Chinese jump rope, and eat ramen noodles with chop sticks. They had a lot of fun with that!
The high light was seeing Joshua Bell play his Stradivarius. Bell is a Bloomington, Indiana native who attended Indiana University and is now a lecturer there. The music was FANTASTIC. He played part of the Red Violin score (written by Corigliano) among other pieces. I am not an expert on music, but I sure loved every minute of it.
Sami slept through part of it, but Megan sat in my lap with her eyes closed and patted me through it and peeked at me occasionally. They were not complaining that they were bored one bit...I think the music relaxed them so much that they had a hard time keeping their eyes open. They've been up that late before, but at parties. This was their first time being up late hearing classical music.
The girls have been learning about China for a couple of weeks now. At our HS Fun Club, they got to make Chinese stamps, play Chinese jump rope, and eat ramen noodles with chop sticks. They had a lot of fun with that!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Tomato Worms
Looks like the Newlin household is getting an impromptu lesson on Horned Tomato Worms.
When I went to check our tomato garden, I noticed all sorts of "frasse" (that's caterpillar talk for "poop"). Through diligent detective work, I deduced that there must be a worm...then I noticed the stripped stalks. Boy am I brilliant! :) kidding!!! I ended up finding 17 of the buggers, so I guess I wasn't so brilliant after all...
15 of them had wasp larvae on them. Several web sites state that it's good to leave those worms in your garden, as the wasp larvae will hatch, creating more wasps, which will attack more tomato worms. I went ahead and picked them off and set them on the ground. I couldn't stand to look at them on my plants.
The two that didn't have worms are now in my house, living in luxury in a butterfly habitat and getting regular meals of tomato stalks. They are free of wasp terror, but they will probably suffer at the hands of my family, as we will get them out all the time to learn about them as they will form cocoons and turn into hummingbird moths. ***Please note, ASPCA members: WE WILL NOT HARM THESE CATERPILLARS! CALM DOWN! I WAS KIDDING ABOUT THEM SUFFERING!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Joshua Bell
Thanks to my sister-in-law alerting me, I was able to score four free tickets to see Joshua Bell perform in Bloomington next week. Tickets went on sale at 10 AM, I got four at ticketmaster.com right at 10AM, and I guess that they sold out immediately. These tickets are normally very expensive, but because he is now an Indiana University faculty member, he was performing for free this time.
I was rather embarrassed when she called, because I wasn't really sure who Joshua Bell was. After she told me about Bell, I also did a little research on the Internet. Then my 2 DD's and I listened to him perform on Youtube, and he was darned good!
He played the violin so beautifully, so we are really looking forward to hearing him perform next Wednesday. We love music of all kinds, but I guess I'm just not worldly when it comes to specific performers. Time to expand our horizons! The girls are taking piano and voice lessons already, so now maybe they'll pick up the violin...
I was rather embarrassed when she called, because I wasn't really sure who Joshua Bell was. After she told me about Bell, I also did a little research on the Internet. Then my 2 DD's and I listened to him perform on Youtube, and he was darned good!
He played the violin so beautifully, so we are really looking forward to hearing him perform next Wednesday. We love music of all kinds, but I guess I'm just not worldly when it comes to specific performers. Time to expand our horizons! The girls are taking piano and voice lessons already, so now maybe they'll pick up the violin...
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Primarily Unschooling
My family primarily Unschools. I say primarily, because sometimes I lead the learning. Most of the time we learn about what is interesting at that time.
For example, I'll print off some math worksheets and we'll sit and learn/practice math skills for a few minutes. Sometimes I'll print off some print practice worksheets to practice printing skills (so I can actually READ what they intended to write). I'll sit with Sami and practice her reading skills. I try to keep the worksheets to a minimum, because I don't want it to turn into twaddle time. They wiggle WAY too much to sit still for worksheets anyway! I'm sure teachers would want to medicate them in a PS to keep them still.
Just about everything else is life learning. I love doing "Stealth Learning" with them, where I'll bring up a subject that they just happen ask questions about. The questions lead to interest, and then we dive right in and learn all we can about that subject. There might be a lapbook involved, but that is FUN, so it's not really work, is it? :) There might be books read, but that is FUN, not boring when it's something we want to read about. We might watch a video on that subject, but that's FUN, isn't it?
I guess the reason we unschool is because we want the kids' educational experience to be fun. I am not implying that doing workbooks or sitting still ISN'T fun, but doing that makes my children miserable, which in turn makes me miserable.
We don't let the kids run wild. We don't watch TV all day. I track what they've learned every day, and we manage to hit all the goals I've set, even without a written schedule.
Unschooling works for us! Home's cool!
For example, I'll print off some math worksheets and we'll sit and learn/practice math skills for a few minutes. Sometimes I'll print off some print practice worksheets to practice printing skills (so I can actually READ what they intended to write). I'll sit with Sami and practice her reading skills. I try to keep the worksheets to a minimum, because I don't want it to turn into twaddle time. They wiggle WAY too much to sit still for worksheets anyway! I'm sure teachers would want to medicate them in a PS to keep them still.
Just about everything else is life learning. I love doing "Stealth Learning" with them, where I'll bring up a subject that they just happen ask questions about. The questions lead to interest, and then we dive right in and learn all we can about that subject. There might be a lapbook involved, but that is FUN, so it's not really work, is it? :) There might be books read, but that is FUN, not boring when it's something we want to read about. We might watch a video on that subject, but that's FUN, isn't it?
I guess the reason we unschool is because we want the kids' educational experience to be fun. I am not implying that doing workbooks or sitting still ISN'T fun, but doing that makes my children miserable, which in turn makes me miserable.
We don't let the kids run wild. We don't watch TV all day. I track what they've learned every day, and we manage to hit all the goals I've set, even without a written schedule.
Unschooling works for us! Home's cool!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Out of the Mouths of Babes
I was helping Megan with a little painting project (painting a volcano). I got out my acrylic paints and good brushes to do the job and we got to work.
When I saw all my nice painting supplies out, I commented, "I really miss painting. I really enjoyed it."
She looked at me seriously, and told me in a lecturing tone, "Then why don't you do it? If it's your hobby, you should do it. If you're not doing it, then it's just something you do. You need to do your hobby."
She's right. I always find reasons why I can't paint. Too busy. Too much school work. Too many errands. Too many dishes. Too tired. etc... (insert excuse here)...
I left out my brushes. I'll see if I can take my own 6 year old's advice and actually start painting again. I do love it.
When I saw all my nice painting supplies out, I commented, "I really miss painting. I really enjoyed it."
She looked at me seriously, and told me in a lecturing tone, "Then why don't you do it? If it's your hobby, you should do it. If you're not doing it, then it's just something you do. You need to do your hobby."
She's right. I always find reasons why I can't paint. Too busy. Too much school work. Too many errands. Too many dishes. Too tired. etc... (insert excuse here)...
I left out my brushes. I'll see if I can take my own 6 year old's advice and actually start painting again. I do love it.
Friday, August 22, 2008
SCIENCE FAIR
Sami and Megan had their Home School Science Fair last night. They had a blast!
Megan presented her Volcanoes poster and her baking soda/vinegar volcano. Sami showed her Liquids poster and showed the different liquids in bottles. I was so proud of them! I was afraid that they wouldn't want to talk in front of everyone, but they didn't hesitate. I don't think I could have held them back if I wanted to. :) They have so much more confidence than I ever did at that age (6 and 8).
All the kids did very well, and the other kids were very interested in each others' projects. Instead of complaining about being bored, all the kids crowded around the demonstrations and WANTED to hear and see what each was about. Some of the kids knew some of each others' demonstrations and wanted to jump in and help with other kids' presentations.
Here are some of their pictures, courtesy of Jennifer...Thanks!
Monday, August 18, 2008
McCormick's Creek and the Science Fair
We just got back from spending a wonderful week at McCormick's Creek State Park (near Bloomington, Indiana). We got to ride Horses (weeeee!) and swim in the pool (brrrrrrrrr!) and sleep in a cabin with mice (eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!). The second night at the cabin, we put out some mouse traps and managed to lessen the mouse population by three. I got out of bed and did a little dance when they snapped (I was mad because they ate my oyster crackers). Bad Head Nut. :P
We got Hannah and Sarah the last night there. Sami, Hannah and I went through Wolf Cave (all the way to the end), and managed to not get lost. Dave was sweet enough to stay with Sarah and Megan, partly because the girls didn't want to go in very far, and partly because we had one Winnie-the-Pooh flashlight to share amongst six people in a narrow, cramped cave. Even the lead person couldn't see but two feet in front!
We also played in a waterfall, played in the creek, caught minnows, crawdads, and various bottom sucker fish, and collect fossils of crinoids and brachiopods. All in all it was a blast. It was so quiet at the park since most of the public school children were back in class.
Today we did 90% of the girls' science projects for their homeschool science fair, so they can present it this Thursday. I made them read all the material and hand write or print on the computer all the information themselves. I did help with spelling and organization, as well as what information was pertinent to put on their poster boards.
Sami is doing liquids, and will have a demonstration of various liquids and their densities. Megan is doing volcanoes, with a home-made plaster-of-paris volcano so that she can do the baking soda/vinegar thing. I was anxious about impressing other people (meaning other homeschool parents), but my husband reminded me that this isn't about me. It's about the girls learning and having fun doing it. I hate it when he's right! :P
We got Hannah and Sarah the last night there. Sami, Hannah and I went through Wolf Cave (all the way to the end), and managed to not get lost. Dave was sweet enough to stay with Sarah and Megan, partly because the girls didn't want to go in very far, and partly because we had one Winnie-the-Pooh flashlight to share amongst six people in a narrow, cramped cave. Even the lead person couldn't see but two feet in front!
We also played in a waterfall, played in the creek, caught minnows, crawdads, and various bottom sucker fish, and collect fossils of crinoids and brachiopods. All in all it was a blast. It was so quiet at the park since most of the public school children were back in class.
Today we did 90% of the girls' science projects for their homeschool science fair, so they can present it this Thursday. I made them read all the material and hand write or print on the computer all the information themselves. I did help with spelling and organization, as well as what information was pertinent to put on their poster boards.
Sami is doing liquids, and will have a demonstration of various liquids and their densities. Megan is doing volcanoes, with a home-made plaster-of-paris volcano so that she can do the baking soda/vinegar thing. I was anxious about impressing other people (meaning other homeschool parents), but my husband reminded me that this isn't about me. It's about the girls learning and having fun doing it. I hate it when he's right! :P
Sunday, August 10, 2008
North to Alaska
Today my family is having a party for my brother, Jeff. He is going to teach in the Chatham School District in Angoon, Alaska this year (on Admiralty Island, 60 miles SW of Juno). He will specialize in special education. We're all saying our farewells (for now), since he'll probably be gone the entire school year. I offered to give him some articles out of my hunting magazines about bear attacks. He declined, but he said I could give him articles on preventing bear attacks!
Jeff is like me in some aspects. He is very conservative, but he teaches at public schools. What a quandary? Nope! I think he likes to use the opportunity to drive the liberal NEA people nuts!
His wife and kids are staying here in Indiana, so we're going to help her out with anything she needs.
I was really hoping to fly up there sometime this year to visit, but after I found out the prices of airline tickets, I think I'll write emails instead.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Confidence in Homeschooling
What a difference a year makes. Last year I was so worried that I would screw up homeschooling. I was afraid that I would miss teaching them something that all the PS school kids were learning.
This year I just don't care how my kids compare. My kids are going at the level that is comfortable for them and for me, and everything feels so right! There are subjects that my kids are way above grade level in, but not everything is perfect. We are always learning, improving, adjusting, and going with what works.
I am no longer keeping up with the Jones' in homeschooling. We are blazing our own path, and it feels great. I am so grateful for the others who blazed trails in HS prior to me. I am able to pick and choose what I like and customize it for my family.
This year I just don't care how my kids compare. My kids are going at the level that is comfortable for them and for me, and everything feels so right! There are subjects that my kids are way above grade level in, but not everything is perfect. We are always learning, improving, adjusting, and going with what works.
I am no longer keeping up with the Jones' in homeschooling. We are blazing our own path, and it feels great. I am so grateful for the others who blazed trails in HS prior to me. I am able to pick and choose what I like and customize it for my family.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Sami's 8th Birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMI!
Today is Sami's 8th Birthday. We're having a small celebration today, and are having her birthday party on Sunday so that all of her family can be there.
Today is also the day that Sami and Meg start singing lessons, and they are very excited about that. Megan also wants to take piano lessons. Sami doesn't want to take piano, but I think that it would help her understand music a little better if she did, so we'll get her at least started on the basics. This will be an exciting path that they can take as far as they want. Sam has such a powerful and beautiful voice already, and I hope that these lessons help her channel it. Megan is very interested in the piano, so I think she will enjoy the piano.
We have gymnasitcs tonight at Jody's Gymnastic Zone, and Sam is looking forward to being "thrown" into the foam pit, as they do with all the birthday girls.
Later!
Today is Sami's 8th Birthday. We're having a small celebration today, and are having her birthday party on Sunday so that all of her family can be there.
Today is also the day that Sami and Meg start singing lessons, and they are very excited about that. Megan also wants to take piano lessons. Sami doesn't want to take piano, but I think that it would help her understand music a little better if she did, so we'll get her at least started on the basics. This will be an exciting path that they can take as far as they want. Sam has such a powerful and beautiful voice already, and I hope that these lessons help her channel it. Megan is very interested in the piano, so I think she will enjoy the piano.
We have gymnasitcs tonight at Jody's Gymnastic Zone, and Sam is looking forward to being "thrown" into the foam pit, as they do with all the birthday girls.
Later!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Bat Lap Book and Mermaid Lap Book
Well, we've got two more lap books under our belt. I'll try and get some pictures posted of them. The little beggers have some much fun making these books that they don't even realize they are learning!
For example, I have trouble getting them to do print work, but they will do it to put info in their lap book. They are retaining the information they are putting in, and they can't wait to show it to their grandparents (and "teach" the grandparents about everything in it).
I'm going to do one that incorporates math, next. I'm going to have to figure out how to be sneaky about it, because if I tell them it is a math lap book, it may backfire. I've seen some examples that show a book that was read, and then counting them items in the book, graphing, etc.
For example, I have trouble getting them to do print work, but they will do it to put info in their lap book. They are retaining the information they are putting in, and they can't wait to show it to their grandparents (and "teach" the grandparents about everything in it).
I'm going to do one that incorporates math, next. I'm going to have to figure out how to be sneaky about it, because if I tell them it is a math lap book, it may backfire. I've seen some examples that show a book that was read, and then counting them items in the book, graphing, etc.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Lap Booking
We finally tried lap booking yesterday, and it was a big hit. I've heard of them and even found some websites on them, but I still just didn't get what they were until a friend showed me one that she created. That's when the lightbulb went off!
We created a lap book on frogs, complete with flaps and dials and photos and drawings. Now Sami wants to create one on (guess...) MERMAIDS! She still loves them. We downloaded info from the internet, plus we are going to use info we read in "To Catch a Mermaid" and also from the "Emily Windsnap" series.
I don't know if Meg will like doing a mermaid lap book or not, so I'll see if I can either interest her in it or find her a topic of her own.
We created a lap book on frogs, complete with flaps and dials and photos and drawings. Now Sami wants to create one on (guess...) MERMAIDS! She still loves them. We downloaded info from the internet, plus we are going to use info we read in "To Catch a Mermaid" and also from the "Emily Windsnap" series.
I don't know if Meg will like doing a mermaid lap book or not, so I'll see if I can either interest her in it or find her a topic of her own.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Hard to Let Go
I am one of those "anal" people that you hear about. Not on everything, but on somethings. Somethings have to be absolutely perfect, dress-right-dress, lined up, stacked right, color-coordinated, sorted...you get the idea. I'm not Obsessive-Compulsive, but certain things I get twitchy if I don't get to do them the way I want. Often times I would rather do it myself that have someone else do it "different."
This is a homeschool lesson that I've been teaching MYSELF. It is so hard for me to not jump in there and do projects FOR the girls. I have to keep smacking my own hands down and zipping my mouth shut, so that I can sit back and just WATCH the girls work on a project. It doesn't matter what it is (cooking, crafting, puzzles, worksheets, reading, figuring the meaning of life), I want to jump in there sooooo badly and "fix it." Only I have to "gently" (SMACK! ZIP!) remind myself that this is how they learn, by doing it themselves. And they are so proud of themselves for doing it themselves, and I am so proud of them for doing it themselves, and I am so proud of myself for not smacking myself as much as I did during their last project.
For example, I really relaxed my standards on the Christmas Tree this year. I didn't go back behind them (SMACK! ZIP!) and rearrange the tree when they weren't looking! I did get the top half of the tree to myself (they are only 4 feet tall, after all), so maybe I was satisfied with having the top tree to myself. And I let them build the gingerbread house by themselves (SMACK! ZIP!), and I didn't tell them how to arrange the colors of gumdrops!
Homeschool truly teaches the whole family. Now if I could just train the dog to quit pooping in the closet. He gets the poop lined up just right, dress-right-dress, in the exact same spot each time...
This is a homeschool lesson that I've been teaching MYSELF. It is so hard for me to not jump in there and do projects FOR the girls. I have to keep smacking my own hands down and zipping my mouth shut, so that I can sit back and just WATCH the girls work on a project. It doesn't matter what it is (cooking, crafting, puzzles, worksheets, reading, figuring the meaning of life), I want to jump in there sooooo badly and "fix it." Only I have to "gently" (SMACK! ZIP!) remind myself that this is how they learn, by doing it themselves. And they are so proud of themselves for doing it themselves, and I am so proud of them for doing it themselves, and I am so proud of myself for not smacking myself as much as I did during their last project.
For example, I really relaxed my standards on the Christmas Tree this year. I didn't go back behind them (SMACK! ZIP!) and rearrange the tree when they weren't looking! I did get the top half of the tree to myself (they are only 4 feet tall, after all), so maybe I was satisfied with having the top tree to myself. And I let them build the gingerbread house by themselves (SMACK! ZIP!), and I didn't tell them how to arrange the colors of gumdrops!
Homeschool truly teaches the whole family. Now if I could just train the dog to quit pooping in the closet. He gets the poop lined up just right, dress-right-dress, in the exact same spot each time...
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