Lazy for Homeschooling, Yet Somehow Still Productive

You know what we did for homeschooling today?  That's right, nothing.  We didn't work on writing.  We didn't work on reading.  We didn't talk about math.  Link didn't even read the e-mail from his grandma about the cool stuff she's got to say on the subject of germs.  We did absolutely nothing, yet I think it was perhaps our most productive homeschooling day ever.

Why do I think that?  For starters, my daughter actually read.  She didn't really read much, but she was sitting next to the baby I take care of after just having fed her (because she loves being helpful) and my youngest brought her one of those boxed sets of books.  He wanted to "read" them.  However, I guess he decided they were boring when they were no longer in their box, so he just walked away.  That's when my daughter decided to do something incredibly out of character for her.  She picked up the first book and started reading the first chapter quietly to herself, asking questions when she came across something she just didn't get.

What was this book that had her so captivated?  The book was Flat Stanley: His Original Adventure! from The Flat Stanley Collection Box Set.  We'd parts of the books before, though most of the time we'd never finished them because she just wasn't interested in finishing stories back then.  She liked to read half a book and then start something new.  However, this time she was plowing through it like a champ.  Who knew she'd just pick it up and read it for no reason at all?  I'm so proud of my Bunny!  She's actually reading!

Link didn't do anything overly educational, but he did a lot of "creative writing" type practice.  He was sitting by himself just making up stories.  I'm not entirely sure who he was telling or if he was telling anyone at all, but it was amusing to see him sitting there, quietly telling stories without any toys or physical action going on.  I wouldn't be surprised if I had peeked in to see him holding a book, but I didn't bother to check on him.  I didn't want to interrupt him.

My littlest one decided today would be a good day to color.  He finally started using his Easel and his Crayon Rocks that he got for his birthday.  I can't tell you how much he loves them.  It took him a while to actually start using them.  Crayons weren't so much his thing, but he's discovered that these are just perfect for him to hold.  He had to ask the other kids what colors each crayon was before he could draw with it and was incredibly proud of what he'd done.  He's finally starting to sink in to something a bit artistic.  We knew it wouldn't be long!

It was a very relaxing day, aside from the points with a cranky baby, but it was nice.  It's good to feel like we've really accomplished something, even if we haven't really done much at all.  Even I got to do something since the book I'd ordered came in today.  I'd ordered Theatre Games for Young Performers to help me with my theater class at the co-op.  Since I just got it, I couldn't resist paging through it and came up with some great new ideas for my theater class, and a few things I'd forgotten from my own theater games from when I was in school.  Even I couldn't avoid learning without even really meaning to!  It's wonderful.

I kind of wish every day could be like today, casual and relaxed, yet everyone is filling their day with incredibly educational things.  It would be perfect.  I keep hoping that some day my kids will really take control of their own education, but that's still a while off, I think.  However, it's days like these that really make me think that letting the kids work towards their own educational goals, even if it's just half the time, could be a realistic goal for our family.  It's amazing how productive time that's not scheduled for work can be when you just let it happen.

The Books She Chose to Read

When I think of reading books as a child, I think of all the things I liked to read.  I wanted books with stories in them.  If it was too obvious I was learning something, they were no fun.  I always thought my daughter would likely be the same way.  She would choose books that are full of story and fun to read.  I guess I'm a bit surprised that she didn't do at all what I'd expected.

For the past few days Bunny Boo has been reading by choice.  She grabs books and magazines and actually reads them.  She's been trying to teach Link how to read too, though that's not going over so well.  He's not so keen on the idea of learning, mostly because his sister keeps him up all night and then gets him up at the crack of dawn every morning.  I'm just happy she's reading at all.

However, I have to admit, I'm surprised at what she's reading when it comes to things that aren't magazines!  She's been gravitating towards the same two books for the past couple days.  What are these incredible books that she loves so much?  She's been reading To Root to Toot to Parachute: What Is a Verb and Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective.

Looking at the books, I guess I can't really blame her.  They may be educational, but they're fun little books.  They have crazy writing, cute pictures, and look like a great read.  I can understand why she might be drawn to them.  They're simple, educational, and kind of silly.

I've got to admit, I'm glad she's chosen these books.  Not only is she getting reading skills out of them but she's also getting a good education.  She's actually learning a lot more than she thinks she is, not that I'm going to tell her that.  I'm smart enough to realize that she'll stop reading them if I tell her they're educational too!  She seems to hate anything that makes her any more intelligent!

That's one thing I can give kids who are homeschooled.  They seem to naturally gravitate towards things that help them learn.  It's almost as though they've got the natural inclination to find out about the world around them and the way it works, imagine that!  And it seems like my kids are already proving that they'll eventually span the range of every subject matter if you give them half a chance to do it in their own time.

It's Project Time, Automotive Style!

For those of you who know us well, you know that we've been in the market for a new car.  We've been looking for something we can pick up for a very inexpensive price, knowing full well that we'd have to put some work into it.  If you've planned to spend $1,000 or less on a car, you're going to have to plan on doing some serious work to it if you want it to last out the test of time.  Otherwise it ends up being just a beater car that you plan on running into the ground.

We ended up with this car, something others might consider a hunk of junk, given how torn up it is.  She needs a paint job.  She needs some serious loving.  We're going to need to replace a lot of parts in it over time, but it's something we can do a little at a time.  Chances are we're going to put some serious money into it in March and April, possibly even May in order to make it really what we need it to be right now, but it's definitely worth it.  Chesh gets to have a project car and though it's not the greatest thing in the world, we managed a car that fits within both our timeline and our budget requirements.

This poor car has been abused.  It's been sitting in a back yard collecting dirt and dog scratches.  She needs some serious love.  She went from being well loved, babied even, to being cast off and neglected.  Now she's getting a new chance at life.  She's going to be loved and put back together.

Now, I know a lot of people would consider buying a car like this to be a waste of money.  Cars are bad for the environment and aren't all that sustainable.  However, in Texas, even if you never take the kids anywhere in the car, a car is necessary.  You need a car to do the simplest of things, from grocery shopping to working.  True, we probably don't need to put the kind of work into it that Chesh wants to put into it, but what's the point in having a car if it's not going to be something you love, right?

All in all, Chesh is looking to put at least $15,000 into this car, including the purchase price.  I know you could buy a new or nicer used car for that price, but that's not even thinking about all the other benefits you can get from an older car.  This isn't just going to be a car, but also a learning experience for the kids.  With all the money he's looking to put into the car, we're looking at effectively gutting the whole thing over the next ten years or so and replacing it all.  He's been looking at body kits, performance parts, and even what it will take to rebuild the engine entirely.  He's even planning out the perfect paint job for the car when it's complete.  By the time he's through, this won't just be a nice car, this is going to be a performance car.

You might be wondering what this has to do with homeschooling, or anything else on this blog.  At first we didn't put much thought into this car as a project car for anyone but Chesh.  With the amount of time Chesh plans to spend on this car alone, just in simple care and maintenance, this is a cheap source of entertainment that's also very practical.  However, it's evolved into something so much greater.  He and I have talked about what we're going to do with the car when it's finished.  It's going to have a lot of hard work and love in it.  Now, a lot of people will turn their project car into their son's first car, but when all is said and done, "first car" is definitely what this will be for anyone.  Performance cars are a dangerous first car to put on the road, especially if the driver doesn't know how to respect the power behind it.  Performance cars are fast and handle well, but they can also be deadly for an inexperienced driver that wants to push the car to it's furthest limits.  Driving a street-legal performance vehicle requires a sense of discipline, self control, and a great respect for the vehicle you're driving.

After a long discussion, Chesh and I have toyed with the idea of offering the car to Bunny Boo as a graduation gift from college.  If she doesn't go to college, then perhaps for landing her first job in a career field she's interested in.  We've also talked about other great accomplishments where the car might make an excellent gift, however we haven't set anything in stone.  Bunny Boo is still much too young to think about having a car any time soon.  She's not even nine yet!  However, this offer comes with a very big catch!  If she wants to have the car when she's older, she needs to earn it!  As for the cost, since Oz is going to be driving it as his car as his daily driver until it's time to hand it over, we're not going to ask her to earn a cent for parts and everything else.  We may have to reassess that when it comes down to time to get project cars for each of the boys.

Part of the whole discussion of a project car in general included the kids.  We've been talking about a project car for Chesh since he and I got together three years ago.  One of the benefits he's always listed with a project car was the potential to teach the kids about vehicle maintenance by working on the car.  Knowing how to work on cars is a valuable life skill, even if you're not going to be a mechanic.  It's nice to know how to do minor repairs when something goes wrong, and when it's something bigger, it's nice to have some idea of what the mechanic is talking about, especially as a woman.  Most mechanics will try and get as much over on a woman as they can, just because most women don't know what their mechanic is talking about.  Instead of telling them exactly where the problem is, they go through the laundry list of repairs that can be made, not all of them even necessary at that point, and try and convince the woman to do them all, not just the ones she really needs at the time.  Knowing about cars and car care is a vital life skill for anyone.

When we picked up this car, we knew that's exactly what we were getting, Chesh's project car.  One of the first things he suggested was to have Bunny Boo help him out because she's old enough.  Car care is a vital life skill, like I've already stated, and she's been begging to spend more time with Chesh.  Since she's decided official or not, he's her step-dad, she's wanted to do more stuff with him.  They have their Pokemon league, but that's not enough for her.  He thought this would be the perfect thing to give them something else to do together, even if it's just washing the car every weekend to keep it in as pristine condition as they can.  The boys will likely get involved and help where they can too, but they're a bit on the younger side and won't be able to do near as much as she will.

Bunny Boo is already hitting the point where she's really loving her time working on the car.  She's decided she likes Mazdas, so she's happy to know that it's a Mazda Mx6.  She's even named the car.  Her name is Tasha.  She's more excited about this car than she has been about many of the other projects we've started, games we've played, and things we've done.  It's a chance to learn.  It's a chance to get dirty and fix things.  It's also a chance for her to do things that boys usually do and girls are usually left out of, though she may not know that.  We haven't talked much about gender roles in our family.  Most of all, it's a chance to share something with someone she cares about a lot, but isn't quite sure how to connect with.  She's been looking for things they can have in common, things they can share, and she's very excited having just found one more.  This car could mean so much more for her than something she can drive when she's older.  This car could mean standing up in the face of gender stereotypes, learning vital life skills, and special time to share with someone very important in her life.

There are so many other lessons this car could create that it's more than just a car.  It's more than just a project that they can work on together.  This car is a life lesson, on friendship, teamwork, planning ahead, financial planning, design, mechanics, and so much more.  While we picked it up as just a cheap car to get us to the things we absolutely need to do, she's proving to be so much more!

Theme for the Year, Useful Gifts

It's that Christmas time of year again.  Everyone is out shopping.  In our family we don't really do much of a gift exchange with the adults.  I usually exchange gifts with my partner, but that's about it.  However, kids are a very different story.

This year we've decided to go for a break from traditional.  I was originally going to hand-make all of my gifts this year, but that ambitious goal turned out to be too ambitious for me.  I figured that would cut down on consumerism, but the truth is I'll still end up buying things to make the present.  It's not like I have a sheep to sheer, then wash the fleece, card it, spin it, knit with the yarn, and some time in the process, dye it with home-made dyes that I grow at my own home.  The consumer process does happen in there, and while home-made gifts are typically the best, I honestly think there should be a some value placed on time.  Right now, it's something I just don't have enough of.

That being said, I wanted our Christmas present theme to be useful items.  Now, I know I'm going to be expecting some toys for family.  No matter what you say, nor how much you beg people not to, there are always going to be people who insist on giving toys to kids.  I've decided I'm not going to fight it.  More importantly, it's good for kids to receive toys for holidays and birthdays.  How else will they end up with new toys as they outgrow the old?

Every year my aunt has always been fantastic with flooding our house with useful things.  She sends us crayons, markers, and pencils.  There's been drawing paper, workbooks, and coloring books.  There's been crafts to decorate with and lots of other stuff to inspire creativity.  She sends books, which are always good to have.  There's so much variety, but I noticed that most of it has been useful, at least for the older two, even with a good number of toys sprinkled throughout.

Because of my aunt's inspiration and looking at my children's insane number of toys, I decided this year it's time for something different.  Last year Santa was a huge hit for bringing games to the whole family.  This year he's planning the same.  They encourage family time, togetherness, and fun.  However, this year our family is focusing on things that can inspire outside interests, and we're going to carry that through birthdays and everything.  It means knowing a lot more about my kids than what a kid of their gender and age would like.  However, it's totally worth it.  This is what makes gifts that wow.

Taking my daughter as an example, we can see what appeals to her quite easily.  Archery would be a good direction to choose.  She loves it.  She's been begging me for her own bow and arrows ever since she shot her first arrow.  She's all about art, always wanting to draw, paint, color, or otherwise create masterpieces.  I want to pick something that will appeal to those interests of hers.

My older son is really into art and music.  He likes to sing and make music on anything he can make noise on.  He loves to draw and paint too.  I want to encourage him in those fields because he needs to have interest in something other than toys.  He's got to start developing his own tastes.  He also loves science, but finding science stuff for his age isn't something I'm particularly good at.

The littlest one is really only into making messes right now, so it's hard to pick things he'd like.  He's good with coloring and seems to like the idea of painting.  Anything he can squish in his fingers is also good, so soft clays may not be a bad choice either.

I'm starting to realize that my kids have very limited interests.  They haven't experienced life as much as I might wish.  They don't really have much of an idea of what they might like to be when they grow up because they haven't experienced enough to know.  My daughter wants to be an artist and my older son wants to be a rock star, but how do they know for sure?  They haven't really had a chance to dabble in other areas of life.  Maybe my older son will always want to be a rock star, or a musician of some kind.  Maybe my daughter will always want to be an artist, but at least I hope I can open up some other options for them so they know for sure.  More importantly, if they do decide to keep those career choices, at the least maybe they'll know what direction within those careers.  Maybe my daughter will decide she wants to be a painter, an illustrator, or a potter.  Perhaps my son will want to grow up to be a classical guitarist or a musician with the orchestra.  We won't know until they get there.  All I can do is take this time to give them as many opportunities to explore as possible, and Christmas is just as good of a chance as anything else.

I feel pretty good about this Christmas.  I feel like I'm finally doing something better than just getting toys and leaving it at that.  I'm hoping that they find it as wonderful of a Christmas as I'm planning it to be.  After all, if I can't get away from consumerism, I might as well use the holiday season as a time to help my kids advance their own goals or find new areas of exploration in life.  There are plenty of people to make sure they have toys.  I know them better than anyone else, so it really should be my job to pick out the things that will inspire them this year.

A Bit of Reflection

Due to the recent visit from a good friend of mine, I've kind of started to reflect on my life and my situation.  In many ways, I'm pretty lucky to find a place where my kids and I kind of fit in.  The value of having a place I feel like I belong has seemed far too underplayed in my life.

As much as I've got a lot going on in my life that isn't great, I think I've got a lot going for me in my life.  Yeah, I'm getting divorced.  We're having a hard time getting all of our bills paid, so money is incredibly tight.  We live in a neighborhood that, well, isn't exactly one of those neighborhoods people want to actively get into.  In general, our situation isn't all that great.  In comparison to the other homeschool families I know that all seem to have money (aside from the friend who visited, because she understands where we're coming from), I've got to admit that I'm a bit embarrassed to have people over.  Of course, I'm not going to be like my mother was and refuse to let my kids have friends over.  I just need to communicate to these families that we're doing the best we can with what we've got.  No one can really expect more than that.  I know some people will judge us for it, but that's more their problem than it is mine.  If my kids can't be friends with theirs because we're all too happy to get second-hand clothing and we live in a poor neighborhood, maybe they're not the kind of people I want involved in my children's lives, you know?  Situation isn't everything and we're doing the best we can with what we've got.  The fact that we are willing to homeschool even with our limited resources should, at the very least, show how incredibly dedicated we are.

There really are a lot of families out there who would judge me on my situation.  I have to admit to the twinge of nervousness I have when I invite someone over that's clearly in a better situation than I am financially.  When I see their house is big, beautiful, in a quiet neighborhood (and quite likely, very expensive), it worries me to invite them back to our small upstairs three bedroom in a fourplex right down the street from the club with the worst reputation in town.  It makes them wonder how they're going to judge me, or if they just won't want to come over because of our situation.  It's not easy for me.

Thankfully, the co-op is filled with a lot of families that just don't seem to ask too many questions.  They don't pry into my life.  They don't ask what my husband does.  They've asked how I ended up here in Texas, so the divorce came up, but no one seemed to really have anything to say about it, beyond giving the impression that they felt it is what it is and our experiences make us stronger.  I seem like a happy person in spite of it all, and my kids are great, so why should it matter that I'm getting divorced?  It's a wonderful thing.  Everyone is so kind and supportive.  It just seems like a group of people that really gets me, even if they don't understand everything about me.  I'm not treated differently for having a face full of metal, two gauge earrings, and dreads in my hair.  I'm not treated differently because I show up in thigh-high striped socks and sneakers under my shorts and just don't look like what most people would expect when they think of "mother", never mind "homeschooling mother".  Then you throw in "unschooling mother" and I've gotten some really odd looks!  It's amazing what people can expect of you when you throw those labels around!

When my friend visited, I realized just how lucky I was to have her.  It's not often I find people who are as wonderful as she's been.  She's been there with me through the divorce.  We were pregnant together when I was pregnant with my littlest.  We've had countless conversations, and even a couple falling-outs, but in the end we're always friends.  On the last visit I got a laugh out of her forgetting the cloth diapers I pulled out for her when she left.  I know she can be flighty (and I don't feel bad judging because I think I'm worse than she is by far!) and it makes me smile with little things like that.  It's not just because I know she's forgetful, but also because it's almost like she planned it that way, so I'd have to see her again sooner rather than later!  She's the one that first told me about this magical thing called "unschooling", which really fit exactly the direction I was trying to go with my children.  I just wish I'd known about it sooner!  I would have felt a lot more confident in the way I was raising my children!  She thought I was so well-read on the subject, but I've got to admit, I wasn't well read on much to do with homeschooling and unschooling until I'd met her.  She made a huge impact on my life, more than I really thought she would.  Because of her, I've felt a lot more confident in my decisions as a parent, and a lot of the choices I've made in my life, especially recently.  I can't tell you how lucky I am to have her as a friend!

As she said, a lot of people have been having this great epiphany moment in their lives lately.  I couldn't place my finger on just how I was feeling, but that's exactly how I feel.  I've found a place where I belong.  There are options right in front of my nose, just screaming to be taken.  It feels like I've got work to do and I just need to figure out what direction I need to go.  I just want to immerse myself into this whole homeschooling/unschooling thing.  Suddenly I just want to give up a lot of the things that really get in the way of being the mother I want to be.  It's shocking how fast my children are growing up and in many ways I feel like I've lost touch.  I just don't know them anymore.  I don't know their hopes, their dreams, all because life has gotten in the way.  I haven't had the time to dedicate to them the way I always thought I would, and it's time to reconnect.  I've had that epiphany.  If I start living the life I feel I'm meant to lead everything else will just somehow magically fall into place.  Yes, it's going to require a lot of hard work, but that's part of the direction I need to go.  The work is all part of the journey.

Already in the past few weeks I've started making major changes in my life.  I've started to do the work and already the benefits are paying off.  My kids are all much happier.  I feel like I have a place I belong at the co-op.  I'm making connections with old friends that I really need in my life right now (whether I was willing to admit it in the past or not!)  Things are already starting to magically fall in place.  (Okay, so I guess it doesn't count as "magically" if it's really my hard work paying off...)  I've got a long way to go, but I'm definitely not going to let myself lose touch with my kids like that again.  With every step forward I'm getting that much closer to the vision of what I want in my life.  Isn't that a beautiful thing?

My Little Artist (and Maybe Writer)

Just this week at the playground after the co-op, the girls were hanging out and working on art projects.  I had no idea what they were doing, and didn't want to bother them, so I just let them be.  My youngest was a handful enough given he didn't want to eat, drink, or do anything.  He was just miserable.  I just hoped my daughter wasn't imposing herself on the older girls too terribly much.  No one seemed to be complaining, so I didn't even think to ask her about it.

When we were leaving, my daughter said, "We were making ATC cards.  Can I finish mine when I get home?" I had no idea what these ATC cards were.  She was holding out a little piece of card stock that she was drawing on.  I had no problem with her finishing that when she got home.  It was just another drawing, right?

The past few days she's been doing nothing but drawing.  I'm a little afraid she's going to run us out of art supplies in the house!  While I've got two boxes of crayons, some colored pencils (though the pencil sharpener is MIA), and a bunch of markers, we've been going through paper incredibly fast.  I don't know if I can keep up with it!

Not only is she drawing pictures, but she's coming up with stories to go with them.  She told me the other day that she wanted to be a writer some day.  I told her she couldn't just illustrate her books.  She'd have to tell the story too.  Maybe that will inspire her to work on her other skills too.  She's starting to become a really creative story teller!  Unfortunately, that means she's going through paper even quicker to keep up with her stories.  I wish I had an infinite budget for art supplies!  I'd keep her going as long as she's got interest!

My daughter isn't the best artist.  She's constantly complaining that she's not as good of an artist as the other kids in her class.  It's understandable.  They've probably been working on art projects a lot longer than she has.  We haven't spent much as much time on art as maybe I'd like, mostly because of how fast they go through paper!  She's also younger than a lot of the girls in her class, and I don't give her any solid direction.  I want her to draw what's in her mind, not what I tell her to draw.  If she wants to draw a bunny, I want her to show me what it looks like to her.  If she's going to draw a sunset, I want to see how she sees a sunset.  I don't want to tell her how to do it or how to improve her skills because I want her to come to it naturally.  If she asks me for help, I'm not going to tell her to figure it out on her own, but until she asks me for help, I'm not going to step in.  I always hated when my mom criticized my art, and while it did make me a better artist in the long run (not that I ever got all that great), I don't want my daughter to go through those feelings of rejection.  Instead, I'll try and give her as loose instruction as I can, giving her the general idea and then letting her figure out how she thinks it will work.  She doesn't need me cramping her style!

So the other day when they were all out there, they were working on something they called ATC.  I had no idea what they were talking about, but when I got an e-mail about the homeschool play group on Friday, it was mentioned again.  The house we're going to has a pool, plenty of space for kids to run, and there would be craft supplies because they want to do ATC again.

Having no idea what ATC was, I had to check it out.  For all I knew it could be like all the kids in one class busting out in the songs from choir that they all knew.  It could be some religious thing that my daughter was sure to miss out on, simply because she isn't raised that way.  I wasn't sure how I felt about her getting involved with anything I didn't know about, religious or otherwise, mostly because I want to be aware of what she's doing and what she's getting into.  Being something the co-op kids do, I couldn't imagine it would be all that bad, but it's got to be better than the trends towards those teen pop stars like Taylor Swift or that Justin Bieber kid.

As it turns out, ATC stands for Artist Trading Cards.  There's another version called ATEO, which is Artist Trading Editions and Originals.  Basically they're little trading cards that the artist decorates with the media of their choosing.  They can hand these cards out for trade or sell them for a profit.  The general idea seemed to be that these are small samples of your artwork to be shared among friends and other artists.  The cards can be purchased in packs, or they can be cut by hand.  Generally they're made of some sort of card stock, but it looks like there's all kinds of materials available on the market.

I'm thinking when I save up a bit of money I may need to get my daughter some cards to work on.  They're small, quick projects and the girls from the homeschool group all seem to do them.  This would be something she could share with them while working on her art skills.  She could hand them out to friends or send them to family.  They're just the perfect size for sharing.  They may be a little bit on the expensive side when compared to the cost of drawing paper, but I think it'll be worth it in the end.

My little artist has come so far, from not wanting to do anything with art for so long to living for it day by day.  We're going to have a lot to work on, and she'll have plenty of new opportunities to work on her skills in the future.  I've already got tons of ideas on what new art projects we can do.  Now I just need to find the infinite budget so we can do them all!

Today's History Lesson

My daughter has finally found a love of history!  It's inspired her to read!  Yesterday I mentioned that my daughter had come home to read Sam the Minuteman.  Today she asked if there were any more stories about Sam.  Unfortunately, there are none that I know of.  We decided to take a step further and branch off into other books about the time period.

Today we searched my daughter's book shelf and found a couple of books that she might find interest in.  She decided she wanted to learn more about what life was like for someone like Sam.  Right now she's reading about what girls did in colonial times.  We found that in If You Lived in Colonial Times.  She's found a couple things in that book that she wants to know about in that book.  I have a feeling this is going to inspire a whole lot of learning about history, which is extra exciting for me.  This is a subject I care a lot about.  On top of that, If You Lived in Colonial Times has plenty of information broken down into nice, easy segments.  My daughter can pick and choose what she's interested in finding out about at any given time and only read the parts she feels like learning about.  It's an excellent way for her to find something that's interesting to her.

I have to say, I really like this series.  The kids only have three books from it that I know of, but I'm thinking we may have to try and find more.  I know they have a whole number of books, some of them overlapping in time periods a good deal.  It seems like a good way to give just enough information on a period of history to encourage curiosity without going into too much detail.  The focus on daily life and normal things also makes these books a great supplement to other books about similar periods of history.  It's a great help for our history lessons, and I love it.

I'm thinking since we're working with colonial history and the American Revolution, it might be time to start looking into other books that would inspire my daughter to keep reading.  The American Girls have Felicity, which is about colonial times and the American Revolution.  I'm sure we could find those books at the library.  I though we had them, but apparently we don't.  I'm sure the library would have at least a few more books that may be of interest, though from everything I hear the Killeen Library doesn't have the greatest selection when it comes to American history, at least beyond Texas.  Still, it's one more adventure that can come out of all of this history love.  Perhaps we're going to have to make weekly or bi-weekly trips to the library.

How I Miss Nice Weather and How Fast They Grow

This week we had some pretty nice weather.  It got down to the 80's, which meant we were able to open the windows and let in some fresh air.  It was nice not to need the air conditioning running all day.  Hopefully that will save us some money.  It's not easy living in a state where air conditioning is required in order to live or you'll get sick from the heat.  This week it's going to be back up to the 90's, which is better than it was through most of the summer.  Yes, the weather is finally turning towards something nicer.

As the weather changed we decided it was time to sort through old clothes.  The boys will probably both need a new winter wardrobe.  My older boy has pretty much outgrown all of his clothes.  It's not that he's too wide in the middle.  Actually, clothes that fit him around the middle are too short on him.  It's that everything is too short.  My younger one will probably be set for another few months, but he's starting to not fit his pants around the middle and his shirts don't want to go over his head.  Since he's been born that's been a sign that he's about to shoot up like a weed, and if he does that he probably isn't going to fit anything in length much longer either.  Thankfully we can still manage on shorts and t-shirts for a while longer.  I guess that's the good thing about Texas!  The warm weather means summer clothes really last.

The whole thing has me thinking about the weather.  I love the weather back home.  This time of year we would soon have lessons on why the fall leaves change and all of that.  Things would be getting cooler and we would have to start planning to bundle everyone up for the cold.  This time of year is filled with shopping for winter jackets and snow boots and knitting mittens, scarves, and hats.  We might even be in the weather for long pants, sweaters, and light jackets.  My daughter would probably want tights with some of her skirts.  My littlest and I would be starting the fight over whether or not he has to wear a hat.  He doesn't seem to think there's a need.  I, on the other hand, would realize that his ultra-fine baby hair isn't going to do much to keep his head warm and he needs something to make up for that.

It was a little sad going through the boy's things.  I'd forgotten how much of the clothes I had in a 2T I'd already given away to a friend of mine whose son grew into them sooner than mine did.  We're going to have to start carving out a little bit of money every month to start getting him some new clothes a little at a time.  Thankfully there are plenty of places with low cost clothing for a toddler his size.  I hate thinking about the new size he'll be in.  2T typically fits a toddler at age two.  That means he's no longer my baby and is now considered a toddler.  He's almost two, which seems nearly impossible!  It doesn't seem like it's been so long since he was born.  How incredibly fast time has flown this year.

My older son is going to be jumping into boys clothes this year.  Things sized at x-small are just the right length.  I know I could still shop for him in the toddler section and look for things that are 5T, but the only reason to truly hold on to that is to attempt to hold on to his youth.  I keep wanting to think that he's still a toddler, but he's a preschooler.  He's taking an interest in reading.  He loves super heroes and dinosaurs.  Pokemon and Transformers are favorites of his.  He's even starting to get interested in sports.  He's no longer happy with the simple things that used to please him.  He's growing up before I know it!  He's growing to match in size too!  He's jumped from a 3T being perfect in size to a 4T being a little too short in all of a year!  It's good to see him growing.  Maybe he won't be the shortest boy in his classes at the co-op this year after all!

Then there's my daughter.  I can't call her my little girl anymore.  She's much too big for that.  Thankfully, she's got enough in hand-me-downs and in clothing from Marrok's mom to last her through the year.  My only problem is going to be in keeping her in shorts and pants for the homeschool co-op.  She's got PE first thing when we get there, so she'll need to be wearing something suitable.  You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get her to dress warm when it's cold out!  She'd prefer to wear skirts and dresses all the time, even better if they're sleeveless.  She's really starting to develop her own sense of style, and it's a lot more feminine and girly than I could ever imagine any child of mine being!  Every day it seems like she's just more and more adult, and she's only eight!  I can't help but think she'll be all grown up before I know it.

In all of this, I don't think I would have taken the time to reflect if the weather hadn't started to turn already, even though it's turning back before we know it.  I'm really homesick already.  I wish I could be looking forward fall leaves and snow this year, but I know that's not going to happen.  I don't have very many options for that in Texas.  Even so, as the weather turns cool, I know I'll at least be able to enjoy taking my children to the park.  The kids and I can enjoy going for walks.  It will be nice to get outside.  I can't wait until we can throw open the windows and let the cool air in instead of spending a fortune in electricity to keep the house a bearable temperature.  I can't wait until things start feeling a little bit nicer.  Now if only that could speed up and my kids could slow down on growing for a little while!

Learn Nothing Day, 2011

Yes, today is learn nothing day.  Want to know what that means?  Well...I'd love to explain it for you, but, you see, then you would be learning something, and doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?  But it may already be too late?  What if you didn't know it was Learn Nothing Day?  Then you just learned that it was Learn Nothing Day...  Oh dear...  Well...I guess I kind of failed on that one too because I gave you the opportunity to learn.  I'm not so good at this whole thing.  You see, we're an unschooling family.  We're used to learning something new, or more accurately, a lot of new things, each and every day.

There it is.  I've finally said it.  I've come out of the education closet as an unschooler.  I've been denying it for a while.  I've been trying to play off as a traditional homeschooler, but we're not.  We don't use some elements of unschooling, not anymore.  We've gone off and have decided to use nothing but unschooling.  And you know what?  I've never had so much fun!

But...that brings us to today.  We started off the day in a rocky way.  We tried to forget about things we just might be learning.  We've tried as hard as we can to clear our minds of all the things that might inspire us to learn.  We've given up anything that might inspire learning in any way, shape or form.  Do you have any idea how hard that is?

So far the first one to fail was the baby.  Our little dude learned that his sippy cup can balance on it's top, and will rock back and forth.  I'm trying to make excuses for him, like maybe he learned this earlier and is just demonstrating it, but the truth is, I think he must have learned from that.  I think my older two are okay, so far...  They've been asking questions though...  They've been asking question after question and I have to keep reminding them to stop thinking so hard!  They might just learn something!

It's been rocky...and I think sadly...my older two have learned something today in spite of it all...  NOT learning is really hard!  It's impossible to go a day without learning something.  It's something that's so much a part of our nature as humans that it's impossible to think of any other choice.  We learn something in just about everything we do, from childhood straight on to adulthood.  Isn't that the natural way to learn?

Kids and Arts: Teaching Kids What They Want to Learn

We've been having this reading battle with my daughter for...well...longer than this blog has been in existence.  I've decided that, since the summer's still upon us, maybe I won't do the conventional push for reading.  Maybe we'll do something that interests her, see if we can foster some creativity.

I've been trying to encourage my daughter's love of art.  She's always said she wanted to be an artist, though she doesn't really know anything about art.  We used to have some art books around the house to help her with drawing, but somewhere along the lines they disappeared right along with my sock knitting book and some other things.  She really didn't have much opportunity to study art, nor a lot of artists.  The best I could do was set her to drawing and let her go.

Just the other day Marrok decided he was going to sit down with her.  He was going to work on sculpting, so he wanted to give her a chance to do it with him.  He talked to her about clay, about art, and everything else.  They both worked at making their own sculptures.  Corde made up two different pieces, one with some help, the other without nearly as much.

When they were done they baked the clay in the oven.  She was so excited about her own piece of art turning into something beautiful.  It wasn't enough that she thought it was good, she was just so proud of herself!  I feel bad that she's not going to get a chance to display them in her room until we can get a shelf high enough that her brothers can't access.  She's so proud of her work.

After that she's decided the only thing in the world she's interested in is art.  It's going to be quite the challenge to help her find other interests, but she's interested in something!  I hope this is just going to be the first start to many more interests of all varieties.  My child with no real imagination or drive to be interested in something has found something she loves so much that she's actually asking to read about it!  It's exciting to see that impact and that change happening!

Lessons from Life: Cooking Fried Potatoes

Given my push to get away from anything I'm allergic to, it's been a challenge to get up in the morning and cook for myself, especially if I'm feeling run down and low on sugar.  I asked Chesh to cook me some breakfast this morning, the fried potatoes he always makes, without the meat and eggs.  We had to switch from vegetable oil to olive oil so I can escape the soy too, but we're still adding a soy-based butter.  It's been an adventure to try and figure out what I can eat, and sometimes waiting to eat has left me so exhausted that the last thing I want to do is cook.  I'm blessed to have someone that actually cooks for me.

Today my daughter decided she wanted to learn about the process of cooking.  She's always been interested in cooking.  It's been a favorite subject of hers.  I wasn't surprised that she wanted to be his little assistant, even though there wasn't much for her to do.

From the kitchen I heard all kinds of questions.  Why do we use a butter substitute?  Why are the potatoes red?  She thought all potatoes were white on the inside.  Why weren't these?  In return she got answers.  I'm allergic to dairy so we can't put regular butter into it.  Potatoes come in yellow, brown, and red on the outside, occasionally even white.  They're just different kinds of potatoes.  As you cook a potato it sometimes changes color.

Isn't this what learning should be about?  Shouldn't kids learn about everything in their world?  Won't it drive them to be interested in other things?  Won't they expand their own knowledge on their own?  Or is better not to expose them to these things in place of a standard education?  Personally, I think my kids are learning just fine the way they are!

When Do Kids Learn Multiplication?

I have to say, I'm really tired of my kids being compared to other kids their age.  They're being held to the standard of public schools.  They're expected to keep on track with what other kids their age are doing.  The funny thing is the people who question me on it, who question my kids, then turn around and ask me what kids are doing in their grade level anyway, like I somehow know that?

When it comes to my kids, I have no idea what "grade level" they're on.  When they truly apply themselves and enjoy it, they're definitely advanced, but when it comes to a subject that bores them, they're probably behind.  Then there's the problem with schools and grade level.  I'm constantly questioned on what kids do in any grade level, and my first thought is, "In what school?"

This is something a lot of people don't stop to consider.  Just because one school teaches multiplication in second grade doesn't mean all of them do.  I've heard (though I wouldn't know personally) that around here they teach multiplication in fourth grade.  My oldest daughter, the age of a second grader, already knows some basic multiplication.  She also understands the concept of money better than most children her age.  Why?  Because we actually use it.  It's a daily life thing and she's learning from the world around her.  Isn't that the best way to learn anyway?  She's come upon it naturally.  In schools, you don't get that.  I've known many a school child to be bored in class or totally left behind because they switched schools and their old school doesn't teach at the same pace as their new school, so obviously school isn't this infallible standard that all kids should be measured up to.

It's funny that our society should get stuck on some kind of standard like grade level.  It allows parents to be competitive over their children, whose kid stayed back and whose is in some advanced program.  It's all decided by their age level, not their interests.  Isn't that some kind of false means of measuring intelligence, talent, and skill?  Some of the brightest people I know are high school drop-outs or did very poorly in school because they were bored, disinterested, and just didn't apply themselves.  Does that mean they're really dumb, or should that be a sign that school just doesn't work?

What about this whole idea that you only can learn certain things based on your age?  How does that model a real-world environment?  Once children reach adulthood the game changes on them.  They don't have to learn anything if they don't want to.  Many of the people I know don't read books, don't research information, and in general don't do anything one might consider educational.  Adulthood hits and they quit learning.  Why?  They're not in school anymore.

Maybe it's me, but I just can't get in the minds of people who don't believe in life-long learning.  Many of these people consider themselves highly intelligent because they were in advanced classes in school or they got a high GPA in college, but they don't make an effort to educate themselves.  Learning is left behind in the classroom, except for the necessary and challenging lessons that life brings.

Somehow I don't think that standard of learning is creating productive and innovative society.  Instead of people who are driven to be intelligent and learn something new every day of their life, there are too many people who slack off and do nothing with their time.  They watch television, play video games, and aren't terribly involved in their family life.

So, when you look at the difference, your average school child learns a whole bunch of determined facts, while your unschooled child learns from life and is set up for a long life of learning.  Which is better?  Does it make more sense for my kids to focus on fitting in with some grade level that's not even going to matter when they hit adulthood?  Does it make more sense to let my children learn from life itself so they will continue to educate themselves and grow straight through their adult life?  Personally, I'd rather see the life-long learning direction than see my kids turn out like so many of the adults I know today.

The Reason We Do It

I have a very small child next to me right now.  He's humming, eating a cracker, and tossing his head from shoulder to shoulder.  His average day is spent toddling around the house, learning everything he can about everything.  He looks at us like he's thinking, "What?  I'm doing science!"

That's the way a small child views the world.  Everything is an opportunity for something new to learn and explore.  There's no such thing as sitting around and playing too much or not doing something educational enough.  Everything is a chance to learn and grow.

Thinking about it, adults do the same thing.  If I want to know about something, I ask questions, read a book about it, or hop online and do some research.  I can make my own choices on what I want to learn and what's important to me.  I'd like to think most adults are the same way.

In school, however, kids don't get that freedom.  Everything they learn comes prepackaged in this box and they aren't allowed to deviate, aside from on their free time.  Even their free time is taken up by school with homework.  It's not even close to the model of learning your standard adult or preschooler uses.  It's so incredibly foreign and different that it almost doesn't even make sense.

Unfortunately, there are articles like this one by ABC talking about unschooling families and any family that doesn't use a "school at home" approach to learning.  True, this family may not be the perfect example of unschooling, especially as their children don't have any interest in going to college, but they're trying to make a point.  Unschooling is unhealthy and damages a child, giving them too much ego and not allowing them the structure a child needs.  They even go so far as to say one of the children doesn't like sports, not that he'd know because he's not exposed to sports through a PE class.

That last statement gets under my skin.  Not everyone finds out they like sports through PE class.  Actually, in my experience PE class usually gets met with kids who mock the gym teacher and do everything they can to avoid going.  They hate the games that they play and most kids lose their love of sports, at least that's my experience.  PE class doesn't teach kids to like sports.  That's not even what it's there for.  PE class is to make sure kids get a healthy amount of exercise each day.

Further, homeschooled and unschooled kids love sports!  Well, maybe not all of them do, but they do take the opportunities to try them out if they're so inclined.  For example, I'm planning on starting both my older kids on soccer in the winter.  Unfortunately, youth soccer is about the only sport that's available and well known about in this area.  Even so, they've both expressed an interest in soccer as well as martial arts.  How can that be bad for them?  It's definitely an opportunity to learn, grow, exercise, make new friends, and have fun.  Isn't that what being a kid is about?

All too often I've seen it portrayed that unschooling families, whether radical or not, are giving their children too much power and in return their kids don't learn anything.  Given the opportunity their kids will do nothing but eat junk food and play video games all day.  Well, that's something to consider, yes, but as a parent, I can do something about that.  If the kids are hungry and want a snack, I can make sure healthy snacks are available and keep the junk food at a distance.  If they want to watch television all day, I can suggest something really interesting to watch, like a documentary on my child's favorite subject, or give them some other option that's so fun and irresistible that they're not likely to want to watch television at all.  If they don't want to do it, well, what harm is there in watching a little television?  More often than not, when the suggestion of something more fun and interesting comes up, the television goes off without a problem.

Somehow it strikes me as odd, and a little bit fishy, that big media corporations paint such a dark light on those who choose to raise their children in an alternative way.  Even shows like Mom Swap, or whatever it's called, are prone to showing alternative families in a very bad light when they pair them up with some very normal seeming family.  It's striking that somehow these corporations seem to think that non-standard families are somehow a threat to society.  After all, if they were showing them in the positive, healthy light that they're seen by the families that choose it, perhaps more people would choose to do it too.

When it comes down to it, I'm noticing more and more each day that we prefer to unschool around here rather than teach formal lessons.  We tend to learn things on the fly and focus on what the kids are interested in.  It's almost freeing not to have to worry about what I'm going to teach the next day and how I'm going to get my kids involved in lessons they have no interest in.  Instead of all that, I'm finding myself more and more capable of introducing my own interests to my kids.  It's a more natural way of learning.