The Mindful Homeschool

• Went rock climbing with the kids for the first time.  Realized my fear of heights was going to prevent me from ever truly enjoying that sport but I had fun nonetheless.  My kids all love it and it is a great way to get out of the house when the weather is not so good or it is dark outside.  And it helps them burn off all that energy!
• Started a NaNoWriMo “novel”.  A very meager start but it is okay.
• Got back on the blog!
• My dd is reading the Little House on the Prairie series and is starting to read the Rose series.
• Went to a fabulous book sale at the library.  We bought lots of wonderful slightly used books for a quarter each.  We had to pay an entrance fee of $5 but it was so worth it.
• Ordered my daughter some new Hanna Andersson pajamas/long underwear.  I had already ordered some for my son earlier this fall.  Yes, this is big news.  I just love the soft material and it is something that helps make the cold months in my area so much warmer and cozier.  I probably won’t take mine off until late May!  I am always so much colder than my husband….
• The two older kids starting knitting.   Dd is in a knitting club and her younger brother is also “hooked”!
• Committed myself to a daily yoga practice.  I am trying to do at least one pose a day.  Ideally I would like to do at least 20 minutes every morning.
• Put out the lemon drop jar.  There is a book by the same name.  Each lemon drop is a little drop of sunshine in my house.
• Committed myself to better oral hygiene.  Dd has gotten a lot of cavities over the past 6 months; not sure why.  She had amalgam fillings put in and now I am wondering if that was unwise of me.  Dr. Weil has blogged that there are no known risks of amalgam fillings but I think I really need to work on prevention.  I don’t want my kids to have a ton of cavities in their teeth, esp their permanent teeth.
• Wrote up a list of goals for the year; had my daughter do the same.  Will need to get my sons’ input as well.
• Joined the local arboretum; taking lots of trips there this fall.  Whenever I go there with just the kids, we end up seeing all these funny wild turkeys.  It is so nice to live so close to such a beautiful place.
• W, my 9 yo son, is a reading maniac over here.  He is constantly reading.  Currently he is reading Hardy Boy books but he is starting to read my daughter’s Nancy Drew collection.  I think he has run out of Hardy Boys books to read.
• C, my 11 yo daughter, did a freewrite using the words cherry, espionage, and computer.  This ends a very long writing block!  Woo hoo!
• The kids and I spent a good amount of time writing thank yous this week.  They seemed to really enjoy it.  I think we might need to send out letters more regularly.  It is fun.  And it would be wonderful to see some replies in the mail box.
• Took a Mother Nature class at the arboretum where we listened to a Native American talk about spirit trees (cottonwoods) and his tribe’s connection to nature.  Very interesting.  We also went on a hike with him and tasted elderberries  and wild grapes.
• Am feeding the birds at the bird feeder regularly.  We have had a red bellied wood pecker, blue jays, cardinals, and chickadees regularly visiting us lately.  It is so fun to watch them.  My five year old claims to be a bird expert!
• Wrote out a list of tools that I will use this school year to help me get through the colder months.  I will post more later.

As a parent you are given about 2 decades to teach your kids what you want them to learn.  Not just things like math and spelling.  Things like the importance of family, the importance of taking care of your body/health, the importance of play, the importance of living out your values, and being a good person.

Childhood is something you will never get back.  (Getting weepy here.)  I have heard that many veteran HSers regret that they did not take this time to enjoy being with their kids and wished that they had played with them more.  Instead they spent their time trying to fulfill some other person’s schedule and expectations.  I want my children to be life long learners and not feel that learning starts and stops with a clock, a school building,  a schedule, or a textbook.

I hope I don’t sound too preachy.  I certainly have more questions than answers and I am FULL of self-doubt MOST OF THE TIME!  If  my kids are “behind” anyone then they are probably ”ahead” in some areas too.  Like knowing who their parents are and spending hours of quality time with them.  Like learning how to live with siblings.  Learning how to catch a garter snake and carry it without fear.  LOL.  You name it.  And they are probably ahead in academic areas that PS’d kids would not be tested on.  Did you know what a mortgage was when you were in 2nd grade?  Did they teach you that in grade school?  Did they teach you how to compost?  Or any of the other strange and wonderful things that our HS’d kids are exposed to on a regular basis?  And when was the last time you heard a PS kid say they aced the exam on how to keep their 4 yo brother happy and content while mom was busy working on a project? 

Finally, I think of a quote I once read.  All learning is self-taught learning.  Not sure if I agree with it completely but it does make me think.  I often try to remember how I learned the things I did learn and why.  Which teachers were good teachers and which teachers I did not like and why.  I think a lot of what I learned was because I loved the subject or the project.  And I was blessed with some very good teachers, people who were caring and dedicated and passionate about their subject. 

I am constantly thinking about how to get my children to learn more.  And I spend a lot of time wondering if I am doing a good enough job.  If nothing else, we HSers are courageous.  It takes guts and faith to do this work.  It is NOT for the faint hearted.  We won’t know how well we have done the job until years from now!!!  But I do see glimmers.  My kids enjoy books and reading.  They love nature and are gentle hearted (most of the time!)  They don’t think of the library as “that place with the computer games”!  And they don’t think that school is the only place where you can get an education.   

I have lots of weaknesses.  Who doesn’t?  I sometimes wonder if they (and I) would be better off if they were in a traditional school setting.  I did have a near meltdown earlier this week.  Better now, thank you.  We are all just doing the best we can.  And yes, maybe the planets are out of alignment this week.  That would explain a number of things for me!   

Charlotte Mason would say that as a parent you need to lay a feast before your children and if so, they will end up being well-rounded educated individuals.  The trick for me is getting the feast on the table.  !!!  I am working on that. 

I know what I want for my kids.  I am NOT positive how I am going to get there or IF I will get there.  But for me, HSing sure beats having my kids follow someone else’s ideas of what it means to be educated.

End of rant.  

Lucy

Well, it has been a month since I posted.  I was posting regularly then found myself unable to post anything.  Not because there is nothing going on over here.   On the contrary, there is lots to talk about it but it takes time for me to organize my thoughts.  And sometimes my thoughts are not things that many would want to hear! 

We toured a local florist/greenhouse yesterday and had a really good time.  I was happy that we were able to do this with a number of other homeschooling families.  It was so nice to be surrounded by flowers and cacti and other things that remind me that winter will eventually pass and spring is just a few weeks away.  We saw lovely fountains, huge topiaries, and even dined “outside” in their greenhouse.  The greenhouse has a lovely French cafe where one can purchase quiches, soups, baguettes, salads, pastries, etc.  I bought a chocolate pastry to take home to my dh.  It was covered in chocolate and had 18k gold decorating on it.  W, esp., really wanted to buy the cake and try it.  I think he thought he could somehow save the gold.  But it was nearly impossible because it was so thin.  Definitely worth the $5.oo just to be able to tell people that you have eaten gold!

My semi-local homeschool group is in the midst of some re-vamping.  There are some people, myself included, who are thinking of leaving the group to start a group that is less conservative and prayer-focused.  I am torn though.  I am just starting to get to know people and I like being part of a larger community, something I have missed for a while.  I want my kids to have opportunities to meet and play with other children.  I want to be able to organize field trips with other homeschool families.  I don’t want to be isolated from other HSers.  I want connections.  But … the group I am currently in does not fit me perfectly.  It sometimes contrasts with my own personal and political viewpoints.  It is a good 25 minute drive from my home and so it is hard for me to be active in it and set up playdates with other kids.  There is a part of me that wants to start a Charlotte Mason-inspired HS group in my town and I am still contemplating that.  I really need to figure out what it is that I want and need in order to thrive as a home educator. 

I am hoping I can come to some kind of conclusion about what to do this year in regard to the groups.  I really want to meet and connect with more HSers this year.