Mozart

My husband and I attended a homeschool conference in July. My favorite workshop was by Andrew Pudewa (creator of the Institute for Excellence in Writing). Mr. Pudewa used to be a Suzuki violin teacher, and gave a fabulous presentation on the profound impact of music on life. He inspired me to listen more to classical music (although listening is not as beneficial as playing). Interestingly, I have discovered that listening to Mozart makes me really energetic and happy! A very nice discovery--I now like to turn on my favorite Mozart CD first thing in the morning; it's a really nice way to start the day.

Workboxes

After hearing everyone rave about how implementing a workbox system had revolutionized their homeschool, I decided to try it out. I bought Sue Patrick's book, got my bins and shelves, numbered the bins, and dove in. I have to say that so far I like it. We get a lot done, and without a lot of grumbling. Not everything I put in the bins is academic. For example, todays bins for Honeybee (dd almost 6) went something like this:

1--Brush Teeth (we tend to forget about morning brushing)
2--Play "Perpetual Motion" on violin.
3--Tapestry of Grace--we're working on Year 1 Week 1 (about Egypt) and today we made a salt dough map.
4--Do 25 Jumping Jacks
5--Botany (using Apologia's exploring creation book) We read an notebooked a little, then set up our rootview garden and planted some seeds.
6--Practice "I Am a Child of God" on Piano (we're working on the second measure of the right hand)
7--Math; we used Popsicle sticks to demonstrate place value--we counted out a set of stick, bundling every set of 10 with a rubber band. At the end we placed the bundles of ten on a paper divided by a line, left half labled 10's, right half 1's. We had 2 groups of ten and 4 ones--24.
8--We made mini books to go along with history (Tapestry of Grace) showing the flora and fauna of Egypt.
9--Astronomy--we read about using stars to mark seasons and for navigation. I had Honeybee dictate a short narration which I wrote in our Astronomy notebook.
10--Craft time. Honeybee sewed a small felt heart from a kit (prepunched holes and a plastic ball-tipped needle).
11--Memory Work--we started a poem called "Kind at Home". I wrote it in Honeybee's memory work notebook.
12--Game time--we played Mancala, which is a new game for the kids.

12 Looks like a lot of boxes, but in general each item only took a few minutes. Grasshopper (ds4) had bins as well, but many of them mirrored Honeybee's and we did them together. He did do his own violin practice (very brief) and we read a little book I am making for him.

Play

I grew up in a home without a television. My children are growing up in a home without a television. Very occasionally, we watch a DVD on the computer; otherwise, my kids exposure to electronic visual media is extremely limited. The consequence? My children love books, and my children know how to play!
Don't all children know how to play? I do believe that all children are born with an aptitude for play. But real, creative play takes practice! Kids have to know how to think, how to invent, how to problem solve and interract. I have seen children who can recite entire episodes of their favorite TV shows or videos, but don't know how to join in a make-believe game. How will children grow up to be adults with the ability to conceive of and implement new ideas and projects if they have not practiced these skills in childhood play? Do we want our children to go through life as consumers of entertainment or as thinkers, creators and builders? Doubtless their experiences in childhood will determine which direction their lives take.

Real People

I'm feeling philosophical today--contemplating the way we experience our interaction with others and how our views shape our behavior. Specifically, what are the implications of seeing other people, including children, as fully human, beings whose emotions and experience of life stand on equal footing with our own in their relevance and importance?

When my five year old daughter, I will call her Honeybee, is nagging and whining because she wants me to help her make pancakes, it is easy to dismiss her wants and concerns--they seem childish, unimportant, her intrusion interrupts my activities. If I view them this way, I am placing her personhood on a level below my own--my wants and needs, my experience of life, are more real and more important to me than hers. This does not of course mean that our needs, feelings, and desires should be ignored in favor of the needs of others. It does mean that in my interractions with others, including my children, I need to weigh their experience of life in equal measure with my own.

Climbing!

I was watching my children today on the playground, as they climbed, slid, hung upside-down. I remember, dimly, the energy and drive of childhood--the compelling urge to grow, to move, to climb higher, to run faster, to live life fully.
This blog is dedicated to childhood, that it may be lived abundantly.