Ants- Live and Learn

Ds: Wow! Look at this cool ant. I've never seen one like this before. (encourages ant to crawl over his hands)

[20 minutes later...]

Ds: Ow! Ow! Owwwww!

Wingless wasps. Live and learn.

04/27/08- 05/03/08- Used books, new comics and ants

As if we need more books…

We started out the week with our county library’s book sale. We went on the last day when everything was ½ price. The kids scarfed up insect/nature and craft books. I found some plant field guides and a couple of books on science experiments. We made it out of the crowded warehouse for $10.

We ended the week with our annual observance of Free Comic Book Day. There were a

good number of kid friendly comics this year.

While the kids were choosing their comics, ds’s ants arrived! He received an ant farm for his birthday and we’ve been waiting more than six weeks for the inhabitants to get here. (I should have gone with my first instinct, which was to just catch some outside.) After getting them settled into their new gel home, the kids pulled up some chairs and watched for longer than even I thought possible.

In between- Ds completed 5 math lessons and 3 language arts lessons. Dd completed the same number of exercises in her respective books. We spent a couple of hours at the library. We attended our weekly homeschool group park day and stayed just 2 hours. They both attended their art classes. Free reading time was plentiful.

Tacking

Our homeschooling sails occasionally luff. Sometimes it's obvious by the complaints and/or apathy of my kids. Sometimes I just sense that they're ready for more or different...something. The latter being the case, we're going to experiment, starting this week, with a bit more child-led scheduling.

The kids and I sat down with the family calendar. I pointed out their classes, fields trips to which we've already committed, my volunteer schedule and park days. I mandated a certain amount of math and language arts. Then, I told them they could fill up the weeks with one field trip/activity of their choice per kid per week.

Should be fun. They've chosen a variety of activities for May. Closer to home, they want to put on some plays, ride bikes, letterbox and bug hunt. Not so close to home, they want to cavort at some state parks, explore some caverns and patronize zoos.

What works for us is a moving target. It evolves with their intellects and interests. We'll see how much wind our sails catch in this direction.

04/20/08- 04/26/08- Art, Nature and Comics

The kids and I attended a friend’s birthday party Sunday. The invitation clearly stated that homemade gifts were welcome and the idea of making a gift was well received by all in my house. Dd made a fishing game with some logistical support from me. The sea life drawings were all hers and, wow, look at that swordfish.


Ds knew the birthday girl likes wolves and made one for her with papier mache over an aluminum foil base. He had virtually no help from me; I just cooked the paste. They received compliments on their work at the party and I think they were both proud of themselves, as they should be.


Dd continued with her art class at the county art museum. Ds started a digital art class at a local university. Dh gave them both some watercoloring lessons. I haven’t scanned the masterpieces yet.

We went to the SC Botanical Gardens for a short class on wildlife habitats. The class was just okay. Maybe the garden naturalist was having an off day. Maybe she prefers to teach adults. I don’t know. What I do know is that her manner, combined with a soft voice, did not captivate the bunch. We learned a little though, and we had a good time outside of the class.

Paris Mountain State Park held its annual “Friends Day” and we were there. We took some kayaks out on the lake, met some rescued wildlife and heard a surprisingly good musician/singer. I ran into one of the rangers in line for bbq and it looks as if summer nature classes are in the works.

The kids and I tried some air pressure experiments from a new source- Ms. Aurora Lipper of Supercharged Science. They worked (not always a given) and the kids enjoyed them. Pictured is a hovercraft. I think we’ll continue “testing” the free stuff. I’ll post more if we like her product enough to buy.

Rounding out the week- Ds completed a couple of math lessons in Teaching Textbooks. We spent 3 ½ hours at park day. We spent an afternoon at the library. I would casually mention lots of free reading once again, but the kids actually spent an entire day reading. They found several anthologies of old comics at the library. Dh had requested an interlibrary loan for some others, which came in this week. So, after dh okayed them all, the kids dug in…and didn’t stop. I had a few other things planned for that day, but I couldn’t bring myself to make them “Stop reading!”

Why I Homeschool- Part 4 of ?

No State License Required

I’ve heard and read quite a few arguments against homeschooling. Some are specific- to a family, to a subject, to a geographic region. Most I’ve seen around the blogosphere are generic. I haven’t yet encountered a single argument that gave me serious pause in my personal homeschooling path.

After the California decision, and interpretations of that decision, lots of bloggers, posters and commenters talked about credentials. State legalities aside, it’s obvious, argued many, that instruction from a credentialed teacher is superior to instruction from an uncredentialed parent.

Uh huh.

The assumption that does not hold in my family’s case is
that Mama is doing all of the teaching…around the kitchen table…from workbooks.

(Actually, there are several assumptions buried in that line of argumentation that don’t apply to us. However, we spent most of today outside hiking (part of that time with a botanist) and I’m just too exhausted for a mega post. So, one assumption at a time.)

For brevity’s sake, let’s focus on just one subject. How about science? Good science instruction requires a certain level of technical knowledge and truckloads of expensive equipment. How does my school compare with public and private? Meet my kids’ teachers for this year.

In person- the folks, animals, plants and facilities at
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia
SC State Parks
USC Upstate Watershed Ecology Program
SC State Museum (so much that is hands-on)
Roper Mountain Science Center
Split Creek Farm (and they make the BEST fudge ever)
Happy Cow Creamery (they make the best chocolate milk)
Skytop Orchard (be sure to visit the bamboo forest)
Western North Carolina Nature Center
Georgia Aquarium
Barefoot Farms
Bob Campbell Geology Museum at Clemson University
SC Botanical Gardens
Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve
- and wonderfully generous, engaging people in our community who are
Master Naturalists
Master Gardeners
Local beekeepers
Amateur astronomers
Medical doctors and dentists

Via video- scientists/naturalists such as
David Attenborough
The Kratt Brothers
The Crocodile Hunter
Jeff Corwin
Schlessinger Science series developers
Scientists featured in videos available through Etv Streamline
PBS Nature contributors
PBS Nova contributors
Bill Nye
Richard Dawkins


On their own- yes, on their own- my kids teach themselves through their own

Gardening
Composting
Catching of bugs
Hiking
Watching of lunar eclipses and meteor showers
Planetarium visits
Creek wading
Mud wallowing
Placing of everything under magnification
Ant farm watching
Experiment conception and execution
Reading…and reading…and reading some more

We do use some printed resources and dh and I do teach our kids. However, we're hardly alone.

I respect public school teachers for the difficult job they perform. What I can’t fathom is mentally fashioning a teacher into something he or she is not. Do credentials and a sincere desire to teach coalesce into an instructional superhero- able to impart the knowledge of an entire community’s experts; to 20 children equally and effectively at the same time; in preset 45- 50 minute chunks; not always, but generally, from inside a building?

I don’t have a teaching license and my kids’ science instruction is pretty freaking good… and fun too.
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04/13/08- 04/19/08- New Toys and Devil's Fork

We test products through a toy trade magazine’s program. Some of them are bona fide toys. Some are educational materials. They arrive on their own schedule which is consistent only in its sporadic nature. This week was a feast. We spent the better part of two days thoroughly inspecting a building toy, a nutrition workbook/CD combo and a multi-level logic CD-ROM. Of course, the kids enjoy getting new stuff…and in the mail no less. However, I like to think that they’re learning some consumer skills in the bargain.


We spent a day at Devil’s Fork State Park with some other homeschoolers and our favorite naturalist. The tadpoles were out in force, though the Oconee bells had already bloomed. We hiked a mile long trail (that felt more like 2), discovering native irises, native bamboo, violets galore and even more trees. Then we played in Lake Jocasee. It was very low and the kids found all sorts of rocks and different textures of soil and sand with which to sculpt.

Park day, free reading, free drawing, a trip to the library and dd’s art class at the county art museum rounded out the week.

An Attractive Yield

So much of the information we learn doesn’t come from workbooks, CD’s, videos or field trips. Thought I’d start posting some of the incidental-yet-material, unschooling-esque opportunities to discover something new.

Ds casually inspected a 1099-INT while I was preparing our tax return this year. He liked the dollar figure he saw and asked if he could move his savings account to this other bank. I said I’d check into his options and, satisfied, he went off down the hall to do something else.

I was still working on my tax return later that afternoon when he walked into the room.

Ds: Know what the best thing about interest is?
Me, intrigued: Tell me.
Ds: You can earn interest on interest.
Me, nodding: Yeah, you sure can. That’s called-
Ds: Compound interest. I know.

So, okay, technically speaking, he didn’t learn about compound interest that afternoon. I ordered some general finance comics from the Federal Reserve more than a year ago. Who knows when he read them.

That afternoon, we talked a bit about percentages and why a bank pays interest at all. I’m not an unschooler per se, but I adamantly agree that kids will learn a heck of a lot of their own accord if you just let their interests lead the way.

Furman University

Ds has enjoyed the art (drawing, cartooning) classes he has taken through Furman University’s Lifelong Learning program.

Whether or not you take a class, check out Furman Lake. You can’t wade/swim or feed the ducks. The water isn’t the cleanest either. However, there is a very bike friendly path around the entire lake. (I don’t recommend it for roller blades or scooters- too bumpy.) There is a bell tower at one end. You can climb half way up the winding metal staircase. The rose garden on the campus side of the lake is worth visiting in season. There are also plenty of shady places to have lunch or a snack.

We're thinking about trying some of the youth sports programs held there in the summer. Oh, and though I haven’t attended the July 4th celebration there yet, I hear the university does it up right.

04/06/08- 04/12/08- Holiday

We essentially took the week off...because we needed it and we could.

We did attend park day and dd started an art class at the county art museum. More on the art class once she's decided what she thinks of it.

Why I Homeschool- Part 3 of ?

Health and What I Won't Trade for Cash

I maintain that if all of my friends were somehow stranded in the same room that…well, someone would get hurt. Like everyone else, I hold a unique basket of views. My friends and I bond over different combinations of those views we have in common and I can respect differing perspectives…unless my children hang in the balance.

I disagree most passionately with Donald Tudor, South Carolina’s DOE School Transportation Director. I can think of quite a few reasons why school districts shouldn’t have the option of selling ad space inside school buses. Will I agree with the decisions of the “district appointed personnel” who will approve the ads before placement? Not likely. Kudos to the SC Senators who authored and sponsored S.1071 to ban the use of school buses to advertise anything to children. Yet, that bill has been stuck in committee since February and, meanwhile, the ads are being installed.

I disagree with the author and sponsors of SC Act 102- “Students Health and Fitness Act of 2005.” While their intent was good and the
Section 1 “Findings” are powerful motivators, their goals were not what I’d call lofty. Two and a half hours of physical activity a week- sixty of which must be in the form of P.E. class. Let’s see, that leaves 90 minutes for other physical activity, which comes out to 18 minutes of recess per day.

That’s just cruel, to ask a young child to be in the classroom all day with so little free time and so little outlet for the incredible energy he has. After homework, dinner, bathing, and whatever else a given family does as nighttime routine, what’s really left? What does this policy say about the SC DOE and legislature’s commitment to children’s fitness?

I disagree with the local school boards who have seen the statistics and have not yet pulled junk food from the school cafeterias. I commend the representatives and senators who sponsored H.4650 and S.1149 which would have banned the worst of the crap. What were the members of the panel who voted the house bill down today thinking?

Course, I know what they were thinking. Same thing the SC DOE employees were thinking of when they signed a contract to sell ad space on buses. Money. My sympathies go to the parents and other interested parties who’ve argued against such measures and had their voices drowned out by the almighty dollar…and by the silence of other parents.

If my kids were enrolled in public school, there wouldn’t be enough time in the day to mitigate the damage, mount effective opposition and still do our normal family stuff. As a homeschooler, I can feed them good food and make sure that they have free time and exercise; all this without permission, opposition, bureaucracy and advertising revenue. Wow! A say in the health and well-being of my own children.

And I haven’t even gotten around to education yet.

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