Beauty School Dropouts

We quit Classical Conversations today. I feel such relief that the decision is made and that we are not going tomorrow. This has been a very difficult decision, but it is the right one for our family.

I learned about Unit Studies and Charlotte Mason very early on in our "researching homeschooling methods" phase. (Yes, we are still in that phase! Will we always be?) I immediately felt drawn to both.

Unit studies are very intuitive to me. I love the idea of taking a central theme, idea, or book and building all subjects around that idea. It makes sense, it builds connections, and if the child is interested in the topic it feeds into what is hopefully lots and lots of eager curiosity.

Charlotte Mason is such a gentle approach, but thorough, meaningful, and high level. The idea of spending ten or fifteen minutes per subject is brilliant, allowing for a young child to have vast exposure to quality learning. Building nature into study, play as a strong component of learning, hardy, but relaxed...are all areas I struggle in, but make sense to me. They are what I want for our homeschool.

I felt like we would use a combination of both methods (and felt sad Charlotte Mason opposed unit studies), I was confident in this approach. Then I heard about Classical Conversations, the classical approach, the trivium...building pegs....it made sense too! The best part? Or one of the best parts was, one day a week I was guaranteed legit and defined schooling. If I messed up the other four days, I still had one day I knew Luke would be educated. It felt like an insurance policy against me totally messing this homeschool thing up. I signed us up as soon as possible...I paid the significant amount of money gladly...I bought supplies happily (shopping for more school stuff...who wouldn't love it!?!).

We attended orientation two weeks into our academic year. Luke and I went to the meeting, Ian and Mark went to the playground with all the other kids and many dads. Orientation was great, except Luke was obviously about to be in full blown sick mode. It came out of nowhere, but it was apparent to me he would be sick the next day and likely for ten to fourteen days afterwards.

We missed the first week...we didn't do anything for CC that week. We went the second week and Luke thrived. I was so impressed with his behavior. I had to re-focus him a few times, but he participated, he sat (mostly) still, he had fun, he talked (a little) with his classmates. He did an excellent job with his first ever oral presentation (on his favorite book, Meet Cherry Jam). I was incredibly proud of him!

The science lesson was less than stellar...the teacher clearly did not understand what she was trying to teach or how to conduct the experiment correctly. An easy thing to forgive because I was confused too. Another mom tried to get us all on the right path and maybe she got her son situated...but Luke and I learned nothing, but he didn't know that. So...it was okay because I figured Mark could re-do it at home and teach us.

The art lesson was not what I had anticipated at all. Our director had told me she loved the art segment each week because she doesn't like to do messy work, CC allows her kids to do a fun messy art project. I am good with messy, but I looked forward to very directed art lessons with new mediums. I was excited about the kids lying underneath the desks painting upside down like Michelangelo, I was excited that we might try oil paints (my favorite, but one I have not explored with my kids yet).

The lesson was on symmetry...they copied half images to try to make symmetrical images using pencils. I completely see the validity and value of this task. But my five year old is not skilled enough to complete this task close to well. It is not fun, it is not colorful. Luke seemed okay with it, but it was not messy or exciting. He didn't have anything close to symmetrical on his worksheets (Worksheets in art! Bleh!) He was probably much more okay with art class than I was, but it was not what I wanted or hoped. I know the goal is to work towards drawing, I know it is a good idea, it is just not an idea I want for our K year.

Memory work was, well, it was memory work. Luke is bright, I think he is very bright, he is a very quick learner, but songs and finger plays are not his areas of strength. He has a very difficult time with finger manipulation, especially when it is fast. It takes him a very long time with lots of repetition to learn hand motions to songs. He could not keep up with the ASL or the words....it would require lots and lots of time on both of our parts to be successful at signing and singing. (The words were not so concerning, I knew those would come with practice, the signing could become a burden.)

He answered a question during the review time, but was wrong. It was a question from the previous week's science...he took a guess (although in his mind I am pretty confident it was not a guess, but the answer), and the teacher chuckled at him. She laughed...it was one of those..."Oh how cute, he tried," laughs, but it was a laugh. I can forgive it because it was not meant to be harmful or disrespectful...but it was and it worried me...isn't this a reason to homeschool, so my child learns to be brave, to try out answers, to be a risk-taker without being laughed at when he fails? I don't think I am over-reacting, especially since I didn't react at all (at least externally). Our teacher is clearly a kind and loving woman (who welcomed us with our food allergies and class imposing restrictions, who firmly defended my sweet boy when the annoyances were voiced), but this one mistake, was important to me.

I do believe the Classical approach can be effective, probably even lots of fun, and has value...but our brief experience taught me that it is not for us...not at this time or in this season. Our time was in fact very limited...we only attended one of three classes. Luke was sick the first and third week. I could easily use that as my "quit card." The truth is, I knew after the first week we attended (which was week 2), that we would not do CC the following year or likely in subsequent years. I love the Timeline and we do work on that daily (just the words, no signs and Luke has it memorized almost perfectly to the current week, as do I), but nothing else is what or how I want him learning right now. I don't want to focus on memorizing seemingly random (I know they aren't if you do the whole program) facts when we could be collecting leaves or building train track systems. I want art to be messy and simple. I want him to be free to answer incorrectly.

This is not meant to be a negative review of CC, even though it probably seems like it is. I realize I don't need a program to hold my hand...our year is not going perfectly...Luke and I fight some days, I am often overwhelmed, it is hard, but I am doing a good job. Luke is learning, a lot! More than I ever remember learning in school. (I am learning a lot! I am amazed daily at how much I do not (did not!) know.) Homeschool feels good, it feels right, despite all the challenges, it is perfect. It is not perfectly how I want it, I have hundreds of tweaks to make (and I don't know how to make many of them!), but it is perfect. All by ourselves.

My Dream Homeschool Becomes Reality

My sons made their own sensory bin! Last night I bought two spray bottles to make my own spray cleaners for the kitchen counters and bathtub. The empty bottles were discovered by my kids and instantly became the best thing they have ever laid their hands upon! Ian snuck upstairs and filled his with water, which then led Luke to the idea to dismantle the current sensory bin and create their own! (Proud Mama moment!)

On their own they built our day's lesson plan and learned exactly how I want them to learn. When we first started seriously talking about choosing homeschooling, one of our biggest reasons was to create a play based learning environment for Kindergarten. Through their own discovery, exploration, and PLAY they covered six subjects:

• Math: counting (number of containers of water they added)
• Science: to float or not float; buoyancy
• Motor Skills: carefully carrying water without spilling; 
• Fine Motor Skills: spraying the water bottle to strengthen grip
• ELA: oral narratives telling me how they built it, what they were doing
• PE: up and down the stairs MULTIPLE! times to fill bottles in the bathroom sink
• Geography: discussing Niagara Falls and local bodies of water

Homeschooling success....by them!! 

The rest of the day was equally as perfect. When Ian took his nap, Luke and I worked together on my actual lesson plans. He was cooperative, engaged, I was patient, adaptive, and exactly the homeschool teacher I want to be everyday. We accomplished every goal on our agenda and had fun! Perfection!

I don't know how to replicate this on a daily basis and it frustrates me. I was never good at Play Therapy when I worked with kids as an SLP. I need a plan, I want to follow a plan, I want to put a check mark next to each agenda item. I am not so good with letting the child lead, with creating an open plan that allows the lesson to travel up and down rabbit trails. I want to be that person, but I am not quite there. I am working on it. 

PlanetBoxes 2

Our second meal in our new favorite containers! I am in awe with the love the three of us have for them. 

Luke and Ian stay and watch me prepare the whole meal. It is so awesome. Even Ian is starting to differentiate between healthy and not so healthy foods.

Today we are low on food, but this is what I came up with for each box:
-1 turkey roll up, sliced
-1/2 cucumber, diced
-1/2 carrot, diced
-1 Clementine
-1 tbsp coconut with coconut milk and powdered sugar with one chocolate chip

Ian has sunbutter for dipping (he eats it straight with a spoon though) and Luke has Italian and French salad dressing mix for dipping. I don't like the salad dressing dip (healthwise), but he wanted hummus which I don't have made. So he happily took the dressing because he wanted to use the little bowl. I should have just given him extra carrots in it.

Welcome to PlanetBox Life!

On August 21st I re-vamped our entire lunch life. We went from sunbutter and jelly or sunbutter and honey sandwiches to full blown healthy (and delicious) monkey platters. Initially, I put no pressure on myself, but wanted to try it for a few days.

Well here we are over a month later and not a single sandwich has been consumed by the kids or me in all those days! I don't often congratulate myself on being a fabulous mom, in fact about 75% of the time I remind myself of my multitude of failures as a parent. However, seeing my kids eat fruits and vegetables (often with gusto!) makes me feel like I am awesome!

Our daily fruit and vegetable intake was abysmal prior to the beginning of Monkey Platters. My guilt over this was high, but not high enough to devise a solution. I detest washing, peeling, and chopping vegetables. I am not even too thrilled about selecting them at the store or market: testing for firmness, deciding if it is ripe enough for tonight, not ripe enough to last for three days, organic (for the dirty dozen), grown in the USA, local....the demands on a healthy eater are endless! (#firstworldproblems, I know!)

So often when I did bring home fresh produce, half or more would end up rotting before we ate it. Even peeling a banana felt like too much work most days. The really tragic part is, my kids love fruits and vegetables. Sure, they would choose potato chips over cucumbers, but if it is just the cucumber they will devour an entire one while I cook dinner.

So Monkey Platters saved us...is it the name? I literally don't mind prepping vegetables now. In fact, I look forward to figuring out how to add a new flavor or color to their muffin tins. I get excited when I come up with a new addition to change it from yesterday.

My dilemma with the Monkey Platters though came in the form of to-go lunches. Ziploc bags of smudged fruit, watery cucumbers, drying carrots often awaited us when we opened our lunch bags. And packing such prettiness in such a bland container, honestly took some of the fun away.

All that has changed now. Our brand new, quite shiny, totally excellent PlanetBoxes arrived yesterday! I had told Luke and Ian that we were getting new lunchboxes and tried to hype them up. Well when they arrived, imagine my surprise when we spent thirty minutes discovering the boxes! Practicing opening and closing them, putting the dippers in the boxes, putting the dippers in the bag pockets, reviewing the possibilities for each compartment, practicing carrying everything, applying and studying their own magnets, checking if their cups fit, loving on them!! What fun and what amazement I had!

Ian keeps calling his, "Laptop!" I think it reminds him of his Dada's laptop bag. Another bonus!

So today was our trial run in the wild. The kids sat at the counter talking to me and watching eagerly as I prepped all the food, helping me pick compartments. They were very excited to get their magnets off the fridge and place them on their boxes. (Love that Luke helped Ian! These things not only help us eat healthy, but increase harmony!) They each put their own lunchbox in their own bag. I overheard Luke say, "Ian good job putting your water in the pocket. I am proud of you." (Melt a Mama's heart!)

They loved eating from the boxes and I loved watching them! I am definitely ordering two more for Mark and me. They are expensive, but already worth every penny!

Art by Luke

I had an autumn art project planned for today and then Luke became the teacher, created a new craft before I could even explain my idea, and knocked the whole lesson right out of the ball park! Both kids had a great time and I now have two lovely autumn art projects brightening our dining room.

We made trees with hand prints and falling leaves with fingerprints! Could it be any more brilliant? (As I am typing this it just occurred to me we could do this exact same project again with paint!) Luke is very much enamored with cutting and gluing right now, so he was thrilled to have so many opportunities with this project. 

Happy First Day of Autumn 2013!

Pinwheels...Just Like Train Wheels, Only Cooler!

Who knew tortilla roll ups could add so much joy to life? I added a new component to lunch today and it was a complete success! Yay for cold cuts and grains! I have been challenged by protein and grains since disavowing sandwiches last month. (Ha, I am not really anti-sandwich.) Hummus and sunbutter are my stand-bys with occasional hard boiled eggs as a planned (because I can't just whip them up instantly!) back up. Cold cuts are so salt laden I try to avoid them most days and rarely have them in our fridge...but one slice of ham is not so significant to me.

I think the fact that these roll ups were sliced into fancy pinwheels gave them all the extra pizzazz my kids could tolerate. They were thrilled with this addition and will likely be looking forward to its return sooner rather than later!

Today's lunch

• Tortilla roll ups, sliced (corn soft shell tortilla, vegennaise, ham)
• Sliced cucumbers
• Crinkle cut organic carrots (my husband told me to try them this way...the kids devour them, I had been slicing them skinny and long with lackluster responses, the crinkle cut carrot is cute, clever, and cut-tastic!)
• Grape tomatoes
• Purple seedless organic grapes 
• Seedless watermelon

(Kids have it so easy today with all these seedless fruits! Luke can never be told...he would love seeds in everything because he wants to grow every fruit and vegetable he consumes!)

Daily Agenda

My oldest loves to know the agenda for the day (And week, month, year...life! He gets that from me.) I decided that each day I would provide him with a love note and a daily agenda. I bought him a composition notebook which I hope will last us for the entire school year.

I write in it before I go to bed each night with a little note telling him I love him, what we did that day, why I like homeschooling him, and/or some other little lovey fest words. Then I write our "Today's Agenda" list. Initially I thought the agenda would be the order of our day, but it has not turned out quite that way. However, it works wonderfully for both of us. I barely glance at my lesson plans (unless I need specific information) because our plan is right there for both of us to see. As we complete an item one of us checks it off which gives me a big sense of accomplishment at the end of the day when I see all the checkmarks and helps me keep us focused on what we need to finish as we move through the day. 

Our writtenagenda starts the same each day:
Affirmation
Calendar
Weather
Memory Verse
Virtue/Character of the Week

I always include:
Math U See
Read our FIAR book
FIAR activity/focus for the day
Speech Therapy (I am an SLP)

I really, really try to include:
Nature Walk and Sketchbooking
Read Supplemental Book
Read a book of your choice
Play in Sensory Bin (although he usually does this whether it is written or not)

Things I include on specific days are:
Artist of the Week (Thursdays so far)
Handwriting (2-4 days)
Craft/Art Projects

My goal was to have a literacy heavy play based kindergarten. I am not sure if I am remotely close to achieving that....but we are in the early days so I am thinking and figuring things out as we progress this month. We are doing lapbooking, which surprises me. I am even more surprised that my son loves it! I worry lapbooking is super not play based and I might regret it, but then I think...he loves it, he is learning, we are having fun together....relax.

I will continue to focus on our day and our learning methods as we go on and hope to get to a point where I am just as confident with how we are doing homeschool as I am about the fact that we are doing it!