When Kids Play, Stay Out of the Way

This post might seem pretty obvious to most people out there but to me this concept has been revolutionary. I've been reading blog posts by psychologist Peter Gray who, despite his somewhat radical and controversial ideas about traditional school, has great points about the importance of play in a child's educational and emotional development.

One thing that I'm learning about homeschooling is that it doesn't take very much time compared to traditional school and we are often left with large chunks of the day that have no real plan. Again, I'm learning how to not care about "the plan" so much and try to go with the flow. At first, I felt the need to fill those large chunks of free time with something to keep them engaged and entertained. The result was often frustrating because they didn't want to do what I asked of them. The latest strategy is to tell them that it's "recess" time and let them go do as they wish. I've been amazed by the games and pretending they come up with all on their own. Sometimes, they play on their own and other times they come up with games together. I've never really felt like my kids have been very good independent players but I'm starting to realize that it might be because I haven't let them.

Inadvertently, I think I've "interfered" with the play by offering my input on things they "should" do or ways they should "be careful." (Sometimes I have to remind myself: "Who asked YOU?") I think I might have given them the impression that they "need" me to be able to play. Now I simply stay out of the way. If they're being loud, I let them be loud. If they're making a mess, I let them make a mess. Neither of those things are sinful and, as long as they're getting along, I let it go. I've even let a lot of the arguing go and they're learning how to resolve those fights or even to just leave each other alone for awhile. I don't want them to think they "need" me to deal with conflict and they've surprised me in how they've handled it on their own.

This also means that I can feel free to say "no" when they ask me to play with them. As my friend says, "You are not their cruise director on the ship of life." Don't get me wrong, I play with my kids plenty, but my job as their mother is not to keep them entertained. They need to know how to do that on their own.

I can't express the joy I experience when I hear my kids happily playing together. As I type this, they are in the kitchen decorating containers we're going to use to make shaking instruments. I hear them sharing the stickers and talking with each other. Homeschooling means my kids spend a LOT of time together and I love sensing that this will bring them closer together.

We've had a strange week because of illness so we've spent a lot of low-key days at home. Colin had a sick day from school yesterday but chose to do some of his planned lessons anyway. Today his fever has gone down enough to perk him up a bit so we did his lessons as planned. I'm really hoping his fever goes away by this afternoon so he'll be well enough to go to CC tomorrow. On Friday we're scheduled to go to the local fire station to learn about fire safety and see all the cool fire trucks. I'm praying for good health for all of us so we don't have to miss out on anything.

Here's a few pics from the last several days:

Colin and Anna at the entrance to Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. I love the "Explore, Dream, Learn" above the doors.

Creating pictures using shapes on the light table. Colin made a rocket ship.

Colin at the water table learning about how the force of water can make this contraption spin.

For CC, Colin is learning how to skip count. This week he's learning 7s and 8s up to the "times 12." We happen to have 12 steps down to the basement so this is Colin practicing his 8s while climbing up the stairs. Each time he finishes, he turns over two cards and does it again until he can do it all without looking. This is a GREAT activity for a squirmy little boy.

Anna getting some "fine motor" practice in by making a beaded necklace.

A True Mid-West Experience

Homeschooling continues to go well, for the most part. I'm still learning how to relax and not be too intense and try to have fun. The kids are learning how to take turns with mommy as well as counting, math, alphabet, handwriting, reading and all that other good stuff.

This week's special event was going to visit a farm in very small town, Ohio. I stuck with my commitment to be agenda-less and we just took it all in. Among the highlights were picking raspberries (I think Anna ate more than she actually saved); climbing on large piles of straw in a barn; picking corn; eating lunch in a restored log cabin and learning about how people used to live before electricity and indoor plumbing; and sitting on tractors. We also saw cows, a bull, a snake, several cats, and two very cute kittens. The kids got filthy but had a good time.

Here are some pics from our farm trip:

Anna on a porch swing in front of a late 1800s house.

Colin in the corn.

Anna on a tractor.

Colin on a tractor.

In other news, Colin is doing really well at Classical Conversations. The purpose of the Foundations program is mostly to teach kids various facts from all different subjects. At this point, he's learning the "grammar" of each subject which is the first step in the classical model for education. It's not critical that he understands all he memorizes, it's just important that the terms and facts get into his head. The idea is that kids at this age are great memorizers so take advantage and fill that brain with good stuff. Using songs, hand motions, and lots of repetition, Colin has memorized a ton of stuff. He can skip count all the way to the 6s, he knows the five kingdoms of living things, he knows the classifications of living things, he can state all 10 commandments, several Greek and Roman gods, the seven wonders of the ancient world, major events on a timeline, and the definition of a preposition as well as several of the propositions. It's truly amazing. I'M learning a ton in this process and even Anna has picked up on a lot. I'm so excited for him to be gaining so much information that he will be able to apply later.

Tomorrow we're finishing out the week and I'm hoping for a good morning so we can go back to Boonshoft in the afternoon. The weather has been rainy and depressing and I've been grouchy so we could all use a little fun.

The Art of Being Agenda-less

It was a week of ups and downs. There were days of "What on earth do I think I'm doing trying to teach my kids???" and days of "THIS MOMENT is why I'm doing this!"

This week we shook up the schedule a bit and had a field trip day on Wednesday. We headed to Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton -- a great hands-on science center/children's museum. We had been there once before but couldn't stay very long and I remember constantly thinking about what time I had to leave. This time was much different and, consequently, much better. We have been talking about science for the last few weeks but I had no specific goals or plans for what we would do or see at Boonshoft. I decided to follow their lead. We went with my friend Sarah and her girls and had almost all day to explore. We had a ball. Kids really do know how to have more fun than adults. We slowly moved from section to section and stayed for as long as they wanted. We didn't see it all but what we saw was totally enjoyed. I can't wait to go back and maybe stay even longer.

The rest of the week brought the usual math, reading, handwriting, and other activites. Anna's poster theme of the week was Kittens and we covered the letter C, the number 3, and the shape of a diamond. CC went well on Thursday and I tried to stay in the shadows while I was in his class as not to "cramp his style." He's doing great with the memory work that's covered at CC and he likes listening to the CD of what was covered in his class. Anna even gets in on the fun. He's becoming good friends with the other boys in his class and Anna is doing great in the child care there.

Friday I had a little surprise up my sleeve but I wanted to make sure all our regular school work got done first. They dragged their feet a bit and seemed easily distracted but all the work was finished and done well so I decided to surprise them with a trip to the zoo. We've gone to the zoo several times this year, sometimes with friends, sometimes just us. We always have a pretty good time but, like our first trip to Boonshoft, many times I feel rushed, wanting to see as much as possible. Today, I dropped the agenda, let them lead the way, and didn't care if we saw tons of stuff or just a few things. The result: our best zoo trip ever. I'm always amazed at how much we all enjoy being together, learning together, and having fun when I can lighten up a bit.

Here are some pics from the week:Anna is picking up on computer skills at the best pre-reading website ever: www.starfall.com. She's doing great!

Colin doing handwriting on the back patio

Anna's diamond necklace

Colin decided, all by himself, that he wanted to make a list of every animal we saw at the zoo. Sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get him to do any writing. This time, he cared enough about the subject to do it himself.

Colin's zoo list. He proclaimed on our way home that when he grows up he wants to be a scientist who designs roller coasters and studies animals. Hey, why not?

"Colin, we can't talk about roller coasters right now. It's time to do science!!!"

OK, so I've always said that this year is a practice year. Kindergarten is supposed to be more about learning how to do school than it is about actual subject matter. There's still a lot of learning through play. We should be having fun and getting used to having school at home.

Turns out that I'm the one who needs the practice.

I should start by saying that I love to plan. And, once I've made the plan, I love it. Yes, I'm a fan of the plan. The plan is safe. It's ordered. I'm prepared to carry out the plan. However, homeschooling isn't, and should never be, about "the plan" no matter how wonderful I think the plan is.

Today we got off to a rocky start. The terrible twos have been replaced by the treacherous threes with my daughter and we have our share of battles every day. She wasn't in the mood to do a thing I asked of her and always seemed to be screaming at me while I needed to focus on Colin, who wasn't really into it either. After a not-very-fun hour, we took a break to go to the Y where we all had a chance to work our frustration off. We came home, I showered, we ate lunch, and then headed back out to the library. I had a few more "fun" activities planned for the day as well as our daily quiet time ritual (not to mention that I was trying to do laundry and needed to grocery shop at some point) and I felt the time was slipping away from me. We got home and all of us were in a state of tiredness and frustration. I decided to get quiet time out of the way a bit earlier (NOT a popular decision) and pick up with our school work afterward.

Well, Anna was difficult during her quiet time (obviously not understanding the point of that time) and I was trying to switch to "go mode" where we get everything finished quickly and as painlessly as possible. Colin and I did a brief art study and he did a beautiful watercolor painting. Then, I had a great science experiment planned about water density and that's when we hit the wall.

Colin's watercolor painting.

Colin, after an experience on a kiddie roller coaster at a festival recently, has become obsessed with roller coasters. It's a welcome departure from his usual Star Wars obsession. I reserved several roller coaster books for him at the library as well as a Popular Mechanics for Kids show about roller coasters. He didn't want to learn about water density, he wanted to look at his roller coaster books and watch his show. That's when I uttered (OK, maybe shouted) the title of this post: "Colin, we can't talk about roller coasters right now. It's time to do science!!!"

I heard my words and stopped cold. What? I'm going to stop Colin from learning more about something he's really interested in to make him do something he could care less about? I realized that I was missing the point. I was teaching according to the plan, not according to my son. He's the priority and what he's passionate about he should be free to explore. That's one of the reasons we chose to homeschool in the first place.

Colin's recent roller coaster ride.

I apologized to Colin for my outburst and we proceeded to watch a great show about the science behind roller coasters. Then we snuggled on the couch and looked through his roller coaster books and had great discussions about why some coasters make you feel weightless, how wooden and steel roller coasters are different, potential energy (when a coaster is at the top of the climb), kenetic energy (when it starts to speed down), and centrifugal force. He then wanted to read to me a book about a boy and his grandpa riding a roller coaster together. Then we found a "design your own roller coaster" website where Colin could choose hills, loops, tunnels, etc to assemble his own personal coaster. Great stuff, all educational, and completely enjoyable to him and me.

I thanked God in those moments for making me the student and reminding me that my plan is not his. I hope the learning continues.

Colin building his own virtual coaster.

Week Two Completed!

We had another good week of school and I'm happy everything is still going smoothly. We seem to be falling into a pretty good routine that the kids are getting used to.

Monday night we did go to the local orchestra performance in the park and the kids really seemed to enjoy it. They sat and listened quietly for the most part and I didn't expect them to be quite so engaged. On the other hand, they might have been pretty tired... Hmm, we'll go with "engaged."

Tuesday we continued with our science theme and did an experiment cleaning pennies with different substances: hand soap and water; vinegar; and dish soap and water. Vinegar worked best. We went over the scientific method to do the experiment. It went over well.

Wednesday was a special day because I hosted a new homeschooling moms brunch and we had a speaker from my friend Sarah's church. It was a great time of adult conversation and good encouragement from a veteran. The kids all played in the basement together while we met. That afternoon we spent just reading library books and relaxing. It was sort of our day off instead of Friday this week.

Thursday we went back to Classical Conversations (CC) in the morning and Colin's class time went really well. There are 4 boys in his class and he seems to like them a lot. They are pretty wiggly, as boys can be, but his teacher does a great job of keeping them active as part of the lessons. He commented to me that he remembers when I used to "just drop him off" at preschool and I think he's not sure how he feels about me being in class with him. I gather it's because I try to "remind" him to pay attention and not goof off. I think I might need to give him a bit more space so he can feel that sense of independence and maybe it'll help for him to be corrected by his teacher instead of me. After class we stuck around for lunch and CC even has a recess time that he was thrilled to be a part of. We ended up doing our homeschool time late in the afternoon which I thought would not go over well but it actually went fine. I'm sure I was more tired from the morning than they were.

On Friday we did school in the morning and then went to a park to meet up with other homeschoolers from our church. The science experiment of the day was about evaporation. We painted in water on the driveway and then observed what happened over time. We tried "painting" on a shady spot and then a sunny spot to see what dried up first. Of course, they just liked playing with water but I think the "evaporation" concept sunk in with Colin.

We're continuing with our science theme for a few more days until we go to Boonshoft Discovery Museum on Wednesday. There's a planetarium there that I can't wait for Colin to experience. The following week we're visiting a farm so we'll change to a farm theme next Thursday and visit a farmers market on Saturday morning as part of our "study."

Here are some pictures from our week:

Anna's color of the week was green so we decided to make green milk using yellow and blue food coloring. Colin said "GROSS!!" and Anna said "MMMM, it's GOOD, Mama!"The evaporation experiment.

The penny cleaning experiment.

School on Labor Day??? Why Not?

Today we had the privilege having school as a complete family -- Daddy included. Yes, I know it's a holiday and perhaps it's unjust to have school on Labor Day but right now everyone is pretty into school so I didn't want to break the momentum. It was great to have Anthony involved and it was so helpful since both kids got so much one-on-one time.

Anna was introduced to her theme of the week: jungle, and her vocab word of the week: vines. She colored a jungle picture and then glued strips of green construction paper over it to represent vines. I had a file folder game put together from this site that she did with Anthony. We also read a book about a sloth and then did a Disney princess puzzle just for fun.

Colin did two pages of his handwriting workbook and then we reviewed some of the material from Classical Conversations. He enjoys doing the time line cards because of all the fun hand motions involved. We also practiced counting by 2s and worked on memorizing the first five commandments. He's working on drawing a basic map of the continents of the world (using circles for the continents) and I had a good world puzzle for him to do to reinforce the idea. Also, while playing outside this afternoon, we practiced stating the five kingdoms of living things, the question of the week at Classical Conversations. We're still reading through A Knight at Dawn and the hope is to hit the Renaissance Festival shortly after we finish the book.

Anthony worked with Colin on math. The Math U See Primer starts off very basic with counting and it was boring to Colin and I felt like I was just giving him busy work (something I hated in school growing up). Anthony moved him ahead in the book to an area that might be more challenging. Anthony and I both did well in math in school and would like Colin to enjoy it as well.

Now on to the fun stuff. Next week we're going to a hands-on science center in Dayton so we're building up to the field trip with a science week. Today we talked about the scientific method and did an experiment mixing cornstarch and water. Great fun! If you've never tried it, it makes a really cool suspension that has properties of both a solid and a liquid.

I plan to cover different branches of science and do daily experiments. Tomorrow we're going to talk about chemistry and try to clean pennies using different substances. I'm thinking this will be a great week.

Tonight if the rain holds off we're going to have a picnic dinner at a local park where there will be an outdoor concert by the local orchestra. I'm hoping to get there early so Colin can see all the instruments being set up and practiced.

Backyard Picasos, First Day of "School" (sort of), and Mom is Ready for the Weekend

The last two days have gone well with homeschool.* The work boxes are still pretty helpful and keep us all on task. I like the system a lot so far. On Wednesday, we started at 8 and we were done with almost everything by 9:30. We hit the Y so they could play with friends and I could run, and then came home for our "surprise activity" -- painting in the backyard. Below are some of their masterpieces. Colin likes to paint Star Wars characters he's created and Anna is more of my "abstract" artist.


Today we built up for both of them as the first day of "school" -- that is Classical Conversations, Colin's once a week program with other homeschoolers. He was pretty pumped up about it and it went very well. Anna was in the nursery with some of her friends so it was a big deal for her as well. The program is run and taught by homeschooling parents and all the moms are on site for the whole program to teach or assist in their child's class or elsewhere. Colin's favorite part was the nature walk where he found a big dead bug. We brought it back to the class and actually found it in one of the nature guides and found out it was a Cicada Killer. Very cool. He's also learning some basic geography and enjoyed drawing a map of the world. He asked to do it again this afternoon just for fun.


Class was over at noon and we went out to a sub shop for lunch and then home where, for the next hour, we did the few activities I had planned for the day. Anna learned about the number 1 and we all recited the scripture verse of the week: "A soft answer turns away wrath." -- a very good one for Mom to learn. Colin did his math lesson and we read another chapter of the second Magic Tree House Book. He also did some handwriting and he's supposed to do a little wood model racecar kit this evening with Anthony.

Today marks the end of the week as far as the more structured learning. Tomorrow we're heading to Highfield Discovery Garden with friends to play and attend their class about butterflies and then we're going to have a picnic and ride bikes. I'm glad to have tomorrow as a fun day because I'm wiped out. The weekend calls.

* I've decided to go with homeschool as one word instead of two. Microsoft Word doesn't care for it but I'm going to ignore that red squiggly underline and go with my gut -- take that, Bill Gates!

"School is so AWESOME, Mom!"

... like music to my ears!

We've finished two good days of homeschooling. Everyone is very happy and motivated which makes this pretty easy. I'm sure it won't always be that way so I'm trying to live it up now.

We were up, dressed, and ready to start at 8:00am, a bit earlier than I had planned. I really was craving a second cup of coffee so I told the kids they could have "free play" until 8:30. Colin said, "You mean, like recess?" I answered, "Yeah, I guess you can call it that." He replied, "Wow! We get to have recess first???" I answered, with equal enthusiasm, "Yeah! Isn't that great???" He then trotted off happily to play outside. Who knew it would be that easy to start our day off right?

For our first activity, I decided to start with a bang and have a "starting school treasure hunt." Anna had picture clues to direct her where to go to find her next prize (backpack, notebook, stickers, pencils, etc.). Colin had more complicated word clues to follow for his things. Just for fun, Colin wore his pirate hat and Anna wore her pirate bandanna. Colin proclaimed it to be his favorite part of the day. I'm thinking I might have to work in more treasure hunts in the future. It was a big hit.

Next we used Foamie stickers to decorate their newly found pencil boxes. Colin spelled out his name and used a couple of outer space stickers to finish it off. Anna just grabbed random letters, numbers, and pictures to put hers together. Following that, Anna and I talked about the theme for the week, cows, and she colored a cow picture and then did a cow puzzle. We also talked about the week's new word, calf, and read a book called Little Calf. Colin did his first Math U See lesson, the first page in his Handwriting Without Tears book, and we read the first chapter of The Knight at Dawn, the second Magic Tree House book. For their last activity I put a "Surprise Activity" sheet in their workboxes. The surprise was that we made cookies because, really, homemade cookies can always make a day special. Colin decided he had to measure his cookie with his new ruler.

I was pleased with our first day but also surprised at how tired it left the kids. We really got everything done in about an hour and a half (not including making cookies) but Colin had the "my brain hurts" look on his face. I was glad we had the rest of the day to play and enjoy the amazing weather. I think we'll probably break up some days into two chunks, doing an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.

Today was more of the same. Anna learned about the shape of the week, square, and then we went on a square hunt to find squares around the house. She wasn't really into it. I worked in a game of Monopoly, Jr. with Colin but Anna was having a difficult moment so, as much as I wanted to include her, she ended up watching a Blue's Clues while we finished up. My kids are really into games and they are a great way to sneak in some learning so I'm all for it. The surprise activity today was making our own play doh. It was even an educational experience for me. That's when I got the "School is so AWESOME, mom!" comment from Colin, which made my day.

After school was over, we hit the library and Colin got his first library card. The children's librarian was adorable and congratulated him and gave him a "I got my FIRST library card." sticker. We bumped into some people from our YMCA and found out they homeschooled as well. They even have a boy Colin's age. I exchanged phone numbers with the mom and we hope to hook up for field trips and other activities. After a stop at Chic Fil'A for lunch (sure beats cafeteria food) we went to the playground for an hour to enjoy the perfect weather we've been having.

Tonight we had some friends over and stayed up a little later than normal. I got the workboxes filled for tomorrow in about 5 minutes flat. I have 11 weeks of workbox planning done thanks to a visit from my in-laws so it's just a matter of putting the necessary supplies in boxes. Putting the planning in up front makes things go so much smoother.

I hope to update this blog regularly. I want to keep a log of what we're doing so that family and friends can be in the loop and so I can look back and remember what we've done and how it all went. I'd love your comments if you have any!

Getting Started...

This week is our official first week of home school. After years of research (I'm not exaggerating) about curriculum, education theories, home school organization, and a good week of visiting family who kept my kids happy as clams while I nailed out 11 weeks worth of planning, I felt pretty ready to start.

I put the finishing touches on our home school space in the basement and I'm happy with how it came out. Special thanks to the previous owners of our house who, unintentionally, set up a perfect home schooling space with wonderful storage. I got a great adjustable table from Ikea, four classroom chairs from garage sales and craigslist, and two adorable school desks from craigslist.

Colin began Kindergarten and Anna has started preschool. Neither K or preschool are required in Ohio and K is only half a day so this is a good year to get in the groove and not have too much pressure. Next year we will have to officially report to the state.

For those of you interested, here's our plan:
Colin is doing Math U See Primer and getting through about 3 pages a day. It's really below his level at this point but I want him to feel like math is easy for him so he has the confidence to deal with the harder concepts that will come up later. He's already a good reader so we're just doing lots of library books and I'm having him read aloud to me regularly to reinforce the concepts. We'll start grammar next year. We're doing several unit studies this fall including introducing science, a week on community helpers, space, and US Presidents. I'm also reading aloud to him chapter books like the Magic Tree House series as well as other classic kids books to be determined. Colin will also be attending Classical Conversations, a supplemental home school program, once a week.

With Anna I'm following the Letter of the Week Preparatory Curriculum from this site. I started this with Colin years ago but never finished it. It's a great little program that gives Anna "her own thing." I especially like the learning poster aspect of this program. Every day we'll add something new to the poster. In place of the nursery rhyme, we'll be learning Bible Verses that go with the letter of the week.

For both of them, we're going to do simple science experiments, occasional Five in a Row unit studies, nature walks, crafts, cooking projects, tons of library books, board games, etc. We'll do school at home mostly on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, half a day on Thursday (Classical Conversations day), and Friday is a special day for field trips and other outings. We'll hit the library every Tuesday.

For organization, we're jumping on the Workbox System bandwagon. At this point, I have 6 boxes for each of them. I fill them the night before with their activities for the day and they use a sticker chart to mark their progress.

So, there you have it. I have a plan and now I just have to stick to it. Prayerfully hoping for a great year!