Sometimes Doing It Wrong Turns Out Right

I can't believe more than two months have gone by and I haven't posted a thing.  Things have been crazy and busy and hectic and exhausting.  So pretty typical.  We have been reorganizing the house and doing some minor repairs, moving furniture around, trying to make the house easier and less cluttered.  Because of this I haven't been doing much in the way of actual planning or overt teaching.  This goes against my teacher training, and makes me feel like I am not doing everything I can to be a great teacher or great mom.  However it hit me today, that really the kids are still learning so much.  They are breaking words into syllables, and are both writing their names. 

A wise person once told me that when asked how to know if you are "doing it right", meaning parenting marriage etc., the answer is always, YOU AREN"T!  You are never doing it "right" no matter how hard you try.  But doing your best and always showing your child that you love and respect them is more important than getting it all right.  I have tried to live by this, and remember that anything I try to do is better than nothing, and that no matter what I show my kids and husband love and respect.

Now to explain how the kids learned to break words down into syllables, picture us at family dinner.  CJ, Eliza, me, Rich and my parents.  The kids are singing "Shave and a Haircut, two bits."  They were replacing two bits with other numbers and words.  When they got up to seven they wanted to know why it didn't sounds right.  I explained that there were too many syllables, and I explained what a syllable is, a chunk of a word that has a vowel sound.  We then started finding out the syllables in everybody's names, and now they count syllables in all sorts of words.  And all because I listened to their question.  I respected them enough to pay attention and recognize a teachable moment.  Granted most dinners are not full of this insight on my part, but I am so glad that I was on the ball that night. 

Both of the kids are coloring every day, holding their writing utensils correctly and enjoying practicing letters.  Eliza writes her name everywhere and it is actually recognizable most times.  She wants to learn to do everything at once though.  She wants to learn to tie shoes, but isn't able to yet, and this frustrates her to no end.  Of course her over-dramatic whining about it frustrates me to no end.  CJ gets frustrated because his letters don't look perfect, or look all the same size.  I feel terrible how he gets upset about not being perfect.  I have never encouraged perfectionism, and don't expect it.  I make a point to say that all I want is best trying.  I want a good attitude and good listening, and to always try your best.  How else can I convince him that his efforts are wonderful, even if they don't look exactly perfect?  I praise both of them whenever they try and tell them how proud I am of their improvements.  I guess there are far worse things to complain about with a 4 year old than perfectionism. 

We count everyday, and both kids can count to 100, though Eliza needs help to stay with it.  They both add up to 10 easily, far more easily than I could ever hope.  CJ is even pretty good at simple subtraction.  They are both so interested in learning anything they can.  They love going to the library, however I feel that they get very little out of the classes there.  The teachers don't encourage question asking or prediction making about the stories.  I have always encouraged that because it is a sign of good readers to comment on the story, predict what will happen next, and ask questions that the story might answer.  I don't want them to just sit and listen without interaction.  I don't feel it is good for a group of young children to sit idle and quiet that long.  And I don't like my kids getting in trouble because the librarian won't let me come into the room to keep them quiet.  So I think we will not be attending the bulk of the library classes.  I just don't know what other types of classes or activities would be good to get them interacting with other children of their age level.  Any suggestions would be appreciated! 

I know I promised pictures of the new and improved school room, and I haven't forgotten.  We actually just finished adding more cabinets this week, so I will try and post some pics tomorrow after I clean up the aftermath of putting everything together, and reorganizing.  Tomorrow I am going to plan some autumnal and Thanksgiving themed crafts for the next couple of weeks.  Again, suggestions welcomed!  I promise to try and update more frequently.  Hope you are all well.

Prepare for a long rambling post!

I have been spending some time over the past week, amid hurricane preparation, cleaning the school room, reorganizing and utilizing our new cabinets and drawers.  Pictures soon, still charging camera batteries.  It has gotten me thinking about how I teach, and what I believe about teaching and learning.  I subscribe to many theories, though none fully.  I love the idea of Montessori teaching, letting students drive part of curriculum with their interests.  Though I believe the teacher has to have an important agenda as well as adapting to a child's needs and interests.  Otherwise they would simply avoid all the subjects they show no natural inclination for.  I think what I truly believe is in immersion learning.  When learning a new language the easiest way to learn is to go to that country and learn from them by being fully immersed in the culture, language, food and customs of that country.  This is also the best way to hold on to what you have learned.  I apply this idea to our lives.  We are living a homeschooling immersion.  There are constant opportunities to learn, and we have created an environment where learning is a priority, and wherever we are we are constantly asking and answering questions.  In addition my friends and family work with the kids too.  While staying with my cousin and my friend, his new wife,CJ asked my cousin what light is made of.  He explained to him about photons and electrons.  How awesome is that?  CJ keeps explaining to me that light is made of photons.  He knows that things are made of cells and atoms.  He asked if there are photons in our cells, and I said I don't think so because we don't create light.  So he made a hypothesis that glow worms and fireflies must have photons in their cells.  Now I have some research to do.  But this is a common occurrence.  No one dumbs down answers or tells the kids to stop asking questions.  Everyone in their lives tries to answer their questions and shows them how to find answers.  Immersion in learning.  I think CJ is reading so well because we have words, letters and books everywhere.  We read around our world.  We were in the car on the way to the library and passes a billboard.  It says "If you see something, say something."  It has the word something sitting on a bus seat.  As we passed CJ told me that the sign says something three times!  Indeed it did.  We then figured out the rest of the words while driving the rest of the way to the library.  We talk about sounds letters make in the car, as well as counting things we see outside.  We always ask the kids, how many toys is that altogether, or how many eggs do we have left if we use two for this recipe?  They are cranky if we don't keep their minds busy.  We take every opportunity to teach and learn.  Any new parents who have asked me about homeschooling, I have told the same thing, make your home a school, a lab, a library.  Make every place a place to learn.  Make it easy on yourself by setting up an environment conducive to learning and teaching.  Mostly this happens in how you interact with your kids.  It is a mindset and way of life, not just a place to go to do lessons.  We will stop what we are doing outside if we find some new insect or plant, and make observations, and I will tell them what I know about it, or go inside and get a book that can help us gain more information.  Sometimes I even bring out the laptop and google what they want to know.  The important thing is to make sure that their thirst for knowledge is quenched, but also that they learn that sometimes other things must take priority.  If I am in the middle of cleaning the bathroom, or making our dinner, they must hold on to their questions, and they will be answered when my task is complete.  When I am not doing anything important we stop and do it right them.  You need to find a balance between adult driven and child driven.  It should be child centered, not child driven.  Also set up routines and procedures that help learning and teaching go more smoothly.  Figure out what you want to accomplish, then make a plan on how to accomplish it.  Then break it down into small repeatable steps.  Let them learn a step completely before adding another.  I think this is where many people falter.  Children need structure, and support, but they also need independence, so you need to make sure activities are age appropriate and not too frustrating.  Give them a challenge sure, but give them the tools to meet it, and the constant support and encouragement they crave.  In addition, worry less about boosting their self esteem falsely.  Their esteem will grow with accomplishment and that is the way it is meant to be.  They shouldn't feel good about accomplishing nothing.  Nor should we as adults.  Not everyone should make the team.  Children should be encouraged to find out their strengths and relish them.  They should also be encouraged to find their weaknesses and to understand that they may not be great at everything, but the important thing is to try their best at whatever they do.  It is ok if they stink at kickball, maybe they will excel at tennis.  It is ok if they have trouble with multiplication, maybe they excel at writing poetry.  Find their strengths and exploit them, find their weaknesses and make them aware of them.  Give them a reason to work harder and to feel real accomplishment when they improve through hard work.  This long ramble to be continued, since the kiddos are awake and ready to start their day!  Thanks for listening. . .

We have been spending a lot of time deep cleaning the house, and putting new cabinets in the school room.  We have been organizing and getting rid of things in hopes of making the house less cluttered and easier to maintain.  Things are already starting to be easier on me and the kids.  I have piles of lessons and activities ready to grab and go.  Yesterday we started on identifying coins.  The kids easily identify pennies and quarters, still working on nickels and dimes.  We are using actual coins, pictures of coins and play coins.  We are also working on reading an analog clock.  They have totally mastered the digital clock.  Every day we spend time reading aloud, reading alone, dancing together, counting by ones, twos, fives and tens.  We talk about the date and day of the week every day.  We are going to the library once or twice a week, and watching less tv, reading more books.  We have reread every High Five magazine the kids ever got, and working together in the kitchen.  I am making the kids be more responsible for keeping themselves and their rooms clean, as well as loading their dishes in the dishwasher.  Spending a lot of time just working on daily routine, and making sure we all remember to brush our hair, brush our teeth and make our beds.  Each day we are getting more efficient and more able to spend time playing together, reading together and enjoying each other's company.  It makes life much more enjoyable.  Pictures of the garden and new schoolroom to come. 

Summer Review

The weather has been in the ninety degree range for awhile now, and I finally had to break down and have Rich put in the air conditioners, because we couldn't even focus long enough to do any sort of learning in a room that was 93 degrees hot.  Since the a/c's went in and the garden has started to flounder, thanks to an obnoxious and persistent woodchuck who loves leafy and cruciferous veggies, we have finally had some time to just sit together and do some real lessons.  CJ is reading all the time, though I am not pushing him when he has trouble, or when he really doesn't want to do it.  We want him to love to read of course.  We have been reviewing all the letter sounds, and the colors, and the shapes.  We have officially moved to identifying 3D shapes.  We have been spending time at the library and practicing counting.  Both kids can count to 100, by ones, twos, fives and tens.  They can consistently read a digital clock, since we practice that every day.  They have memorized the days of the week and months of the year.  They now know their birthdays, address, phone number and CJ knows Memere and Pepere's phone number.  One of the other things I have been focusing on is reading stories with all different cultures represented, looking at pictures of different ethnicities, and emphasizing that all people are the same in some ways even if they don't look the same.  I think this is something that they know instinctually, but I really feel it is important to reinforce it.  I have been spending their library class time looking through some homeschooling and lesson books at the library, finding some great preschool/kindergarten plans having to do with familiar nursery rhymes, and some great science combined with art projects that are age appropriate.  When I actually implement them I will post and add pictures.  I have simply been too tired and hot and cranky to want to post anything of substance, and I have been mostly disorganized and inconsistent this summer.  I am on the upswing though, getting back to normal, even though Rich now has a new work schedule.  He is home Tuesday, Wednesday Saturday, and works 10 hour days the rest of the week.  Hard to get used to, and the kids have been sleeping on a strange schedule.  My goal for August is to regulate the schedule and sleep patterns, as well as get back on my organizational track.  Also time to update learning centers and spend some time just playing word games and math games with the kiddos.  We all need it.  Their behavior is starting to show my lack of time and energy to spend with them.  So next month the goal is to make a new schedule that works for us and stick to it.  And read more together and play more together.  It will be a great month!

Two Parents, Two Kids, a Cat and a Chinchilla!

We are now the proud owners of an absolutely adorable chinchilla.  You have got to love Craig's List!  Free for the taking a few miles from our house was an animal that would cost us hundreds of dollars to buy, plus he came with all of his gear, cage, food and the like.  So we took a book about chinchillas out at the library the day we found out we would be getting him, and we learned all about these cool animals.  He is four years old, and the previous owners never named him.  We are thinking it is a him anyway, they didn't know the gender!  The kids named him Auryn Shelby Hansen, ASH for short.

And here he is!  He is so so soft!  We are learning so much about responsibility for pets with him.  He is far more maintenance than Logan, our cat.

And here she is, checking out Ash.  She hasn't gone after him a bit, and when Ash was rolling around in his ball while we cleaned the cage, they ended up napping together with Logan wrapped around Ash and his ball.

He is quite the interesting addition to our family, and the kids adore him.  Logan seems to like having another animal in the house.  We just can't believe our luck.  Even after this animal suffered through neglect he seems very happy and well adjusted.  We take him out and groom his fur nightly (since he is nocturnal) and let him exercise in his ball through the house.  Each night he gets a raisin for a treat, and he seems to love being around the kids.  He lets them pet his head and he even tries petting himself on their hands.  He isn't skittish, but is quite energetic.  We cleaned his cage really well, which I am sure hadn't been done in months at least.  We got him a wheel large enough for him, and a few other little things.  Dust for his dust bath, and a pumice stone for him to chew on and stand on.  He is so much fun to watch and we are all enjoying this new learning experience.

 Don't those faces just say it all?

Month of Crazy

So between gardening, heat, thunderstorms, school finishing for Mason's mom, and all the other million things, this month sort of got away from me.  We have been doing so much learning, but without much rhyme reason or organization.  Today we spent some time on patterns.  First with breakfast, we ate our fruit salad in a pattern, first melon, then cherry then apple.  We made patterns with sidewalk chalk outside.  We did a few worksheets identifying patterns, which CJ told me how to do it and all the correct answers before I even got the crayons out!  They did some more practice with the tweezers, and some scissor practice.  Tomorrow they told me that they want to do more school in the school room.  So I have some stuff planned.  We never did finish all the stuff for N and 14, so that will be on the agenda for tomorrow, and of course lots of reading.  CJ is coming along so quickly with the reading that it boggles my mind.  We can't even spell things to each other because he is able to figure almost any word out.  We are going to have to learn a new language to keep secrets from them!  I would really like to finish the alphabet by fall and to start on letter blends and more in depth decoding and phonics.  Their interest in learning amazes me, and I hope to get in some really great science activities soon.  Rich is going to start a new schedule, where he works 4 10 hour shifts and has Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday off.  He is going to be helping me with science, since it is his biggest interest.  I can't wait!

100th Post Today!!!

Today is my hundredth post.  Thank you all for reading all 100 long-winded and oft times convoluted ramblings.  I love chronicling what we do and how the kids are growing and learning.  This week we are back to "official" lessons, the letter N, number 14, Newt, Narwhal, and feelings.  We are also focusing on fine motor skills, using child friendly tweezers, lacing bead onto shoelaces, and other activities that encourage fine motor coordination, patience, and appropriate pencil holding.  Tomorrow we will spend a fair bit of time making feelings puppets and using them with our puppet theater.  In between cooling off outside in the sprinkler and baby pool, of course.  I am sure the kids will also be sneaking some of the bountiful berries growing in the garden!  Pictures to come.  Again thanks for helping me write 100 entries!