We’ve had a busy day today! Until now we’ve been so busy with work on the patio that we haven’t really done any trips or outings for Camp Wernerific. But today we did. We started off by going to the free movies – every summer theaters around the nation offer free showings a couple of days a week of two movies, one rated G and one rated PG.  The showings are in the mornings and filled with young children – none of the typical movie going atmosphere.  I’m not into movie watching – except for this, our kids have never gone to the theaters and I don’t plan to change that.  We don’t even watch videos at home very often – it’s hard for me to find videos that fit my criteria for our monthly video night, which is why it turns into having a family video night every two months or so instead.  Anyway, today we  saw Horton Hears a Who. We got there about ten minutes after it started, so we had to find seats in the dark, but everyone managed. It’s rated G but I didn’t really care for it; it’s like a lot of cartoony movies, overdone and kind of pointless.  I didn’t end up seeing the last 40 minutes of it, though, because ds22 months didn’t want to stay in, so I took him from ds16 and went out with him and the baby. We went into the empty theater right next door, which was very relaxing. I fed the baby while ds explored.  Then he wanted to go out, so we went into a couple of other empty theaters until everyone came out of the movie they were watching.  We’ll probably go to one other movie this summer – there’s one on the schedule that I’m particularly interested in because I think would be valuable – but we’ve never attended more than two in a summer.

Then we went to the a lovely park which is just a few minutes away from the theater. It’s perfect because there’s a very nice playground for the younger kids and also a large field where ds16 and ds10 could bat to each other. The weather was perfect for an outdoor day – sunny with a pleasant breeze, in the 80s. We had a snack-like picnic lunch there (apples, carrots, Wasa crackers, and granola bars) and after a couple of hours decided it was time to go.  

Since we were so close by, I wanted to go look at the heritage breed chickens I remembered seeing three years ago at the nearby nature center in the outdoor coop.  (I’ve been reading up on chickens in the last couple of days.)  We drove to the center (just two minutes away), and as we started walking up the path to the center, we saw a deer just off to the side. It continued eating as we watched it, and it was interesting to be able to observe it so clearly.  Then we looked for the chickens, but at first only saw two turkeys. It seems that a fox got into the coop at some point and had a nice chicken lunch, so there are now only two chickens there.  The kids learned how to identify males and females while we were there. 

After we looked at the turkeys and chickens, we noticed someone watering a garden nearby, so I went over to ask her about it. It’s a new exhibit called A Walk Through History that isn’t quite finished, with several different gardens each planted with native plants representing a different time period in this state. She gave us a tour and told us about the plants, a lot of which were medicinal.  I wasn’t familiar with a lot of them but was pleasantly surprised that I recognized some of them, as well as knowing how to use them. I have to learn more about native plants for my garden and she made a good suggestion for a website to explore.  So much to learn, so little time….. 🙂 

While I was speaking to her, some of the kids were picking berries off the path we had walked down on (they were wineberries, which they learned to identify during last summer’s Junior Rangers program), and then they found a teeny tiny frog in the pond right next to the garden. It was so small that it was about half the size of the tip of your pinky. She also pointed out a 3 Sisters garden (corn, beans, squash), but I didn’t feel like going over to observe it since they got it started late and I’m already familiar with the concept.  

Then ds4 needed the bathroom so ds16 took him into the nature center, and I figured once the two of them were there we might as well all join them.   On our way up the path, we found two dead shrews – I’ve never seen a shrew before. It’s about the size of a mouse but has a shorter tail and a longish snout. Very interesting.  The kids are in the middle of reading the Redwall series which is about mice and other small woodland creatures, and based on that immediately were able to identify the shrew.

While we were in the nature center, the kids observed all the animals there, live and stuffed.  The volunteers are very good about telling you about the animals you see without waiting to be asked.  From one we learned about terrapins and another was holding a snake and told us about it (though none of the kids took her up on her offer to stroke it).  Ds3 is the perfect age to introduce all of this to, since he understands so much but is wide eyed and excited about all of it.  Ds22 months is happy just to be able to run around.  I haven’t been to this nature center for several years, and want to plan a trip for local homeschoolers there this fall.  I organized a couple of group trips there three years ago that were fantastic.  What I especially appreciate about trips like this is how seamlessly learning is integrated into a fun family outing.  No one thinks about doing ‘school’, but they’re all learning naturally and easily.  And that’s when learning is most effective, because it’s the most fun! 

It was a really nice relaxed day, and everyone was so tired that they fell asleep in the car on the drive home.  I got my nap when I got home.  Tomorrow I hope I’ll be able to order several tons of sand and then we can go on to the next step in the patio – but I will have to spend some time in the morning calling around to places to find out who can deliver. We’ve hauled 14,000 pounds of bricks and 10,000 pounds of gravel ourselves in the last week and a half, and I’m quite happy to have a truck bring us the sand.  🙂

Avivah

Someone asked me to write about how I handled homeschooling with a newborn in the immediate postpartum period.  At this stage in our lives, homeschooling postpartum is pretty much the same as any other time. 

When the kids were younger, I’d designate time after birth as ‘vacation’.  That was more to reduce everyone’s expectations than for anything else.  Now I don’t take a break; my kids continued pretty much with their regular schedule right away.  The baby was born Thursday night, and our official homeschooling days are Mon – Thurs, between breakfast and lunch.  By Monday morning I was back to being downstairs where I could supervise them.  Before you start mistakenly crediting me with being supermom, I’ll explain how I structure our academic time.  (This is basically the gist of the talk I gave at the conference on teaching the multi-age family.)

>>In terms of how you teach- how do you do it? Do you have text books and the kids teach themselves if they’re old enough and come to you for help? Do you teach a lesson a day? Do you have a set aside time for schoolwork?  Do you make assignments for your kids to do? Reports? Essays? Tests?<<

I don’t see my role as a teacher of academics, but rather as a facilitator for the learning in our home, to guide each of our children according to their needs and abilities.  I believe that independent learning skills are very important, and for the last three years have consciously taught the kids how to learn independently, each at their own level.  I’ve thought about what I feel the basics I want them to have are, and have summed them up as reading and writing in English and Hebrew, and math.  Reading is obviously done independently, except for my dd8 and ds7, who both sometimes read Hebrew out loud to me from their readers.  Ds7 sometimes reads his English books to me, too.  That was more in the beginning of the year than now; as their skills get stronger, they naturally need me less and less.  For writing, until age ten they do copywork; I’ve explained what that is already.  The older three use different writing programs (ds likes Writing Strands, but the girls really dislike it), and sometimes ask to do independent writing instead. 

For math, I use Singapore for the elementary age kids, which uses what is called a concrete pictorial approach that is very user friendly.  It’s meant to be taught to a child, but I’ve found the kids are able to use it for the most part without my help.  Right now dd8 and ds10 are using this, and come to me once in a while for help when they don’t understand something.  For the older three, they are all now using Videotext Algebra.  It covers pre-algebra, algebra 1, and algebra 2, so it’s like a 2 – 3 year math program.  It’s a very solid program – I started off a couple of years ago with ds using Teaching Textbooks, but I initially liked but then felt it wasn’t vigorous enough and switched to this.  It’s a video based math program; the lesson is on screen, and they can rewind parts where they have questions and watch it again and again until it makes sense to them. They can also ask a sibling who is further along for help, all except for dd14, since she’s the furthest.  (Ds15 really would be the furthest along, but the detour in school last year caused him to lose time and I asked him to start at the beginning of algebra 1 again this year so that he could systematically learn algebra without gaps using this program instead of the other two he used.)  This is wonderful because it’s very empowering for them to know they can learn higher level math without their mother’s help; it builds their confidence in their own learning skills. 

Everyone does their work at the same time, though the older kids obviously take much longer because they have more work.  Ds7 doesn’t yet have much official work, just some writing and reading with me, so he finished fast.  While they are all working, I start the day by sitting with my ds3 and ds22 months and read something with them, or sometimes play something with them.  I find it much better to right away give them my time and attention than keep them waiting for it for hours. 

As soon as ds7 finishes, I read out loud to him (now we’re half way through Dr. Dolittle).  This is honestly a bit distracting to the older kids because they find it so interesting that they end up listening while I read, too, but they don’t mind.  (They do their ‘seat work’ in the dining room, but we have an open layout on our main floor, so the couch in the living room where we read is just a few steps from the dining room where they’re working.)  Usually I wait for dd8 to finish before I read with him, or tell her to take a break from her work and to finish up after our reading time.  I take advantage of when things are quiet with the youngers, and that’s the main factor that determines what point in the morning we do our reading together.  Then I read dd8’s read aloud with her.  When there’s a break in between, I sit either at the table with the kids, doing my planning or writing type work, or do what basic computer stuff, like quick emails or online bill paying.  I don’t like to do things like writing here at that time, researching, or anything that takes a solid amount of time and mental focus, because my time until lunch is for the kids, and if the kids were to ask me something in the middle of being very focused on my computer work, I might get annoyed or brush them off.  That wouldn’t be fair to them.  But if they need any help, they need to ask me before lunch; I’m not responsive to any requests for academic help after that time. 

I don’t use tests; that seems to me pointless since I can assess what they’re doing and what they know pretty easily by virtue of being there while they work every morning and talking with them about what they’re learning.  Their writing assignments sometimes include essays; I’ve never assigned a report.  A report would naturally be done if someone had valuable information to share with others; to have them prepare something for no purpose but me to mark it is to undermine what a report is about. 

Of course, there is a lot of learning that goes on outside of the above.  My ds15 and ds10 learn mishnayos together every morning.  Ds15 spends another three hours every afternoon learning at a local shul.  Dd12 and dd14 both have Torah topics that they independently have chosen to pursue and do that in the evenings after dinner.  Then there are the many, many things that are integrated into our daily lives, and these things are probably the most meaningful kind of learning that there is.

So now that you understand how I structure our academic time, you can also understand how I can continue our same routine right after birth. 🙂

Avivah

Wow, what a full day!  As I was getting all my kids up and dressed much earlier than usual this morning, I was thinking it felt like getting ready for a bris. Of course that wasn’t the reason we were all up – I needed to get my youngest 4 (except the baby) to my inlaws and get to the place the conference was being held by 8 am with everyone else so we’d be there before anyone checking in.

We started the morning with a general session by Molly B. Koch, a parent educator with over fifty years experience who’s still going strong at 81!  I bought her parenting book and am looking forward to reading it. She has a wealth of experience. 

I wish I could have been in two places at once and heard each of the workshops being given in each time slot because I know I would have gained from every one of them.  Every speaker did a great job and I’m looking forward to listening to the recordings of those I couldn’t be at.  (Making the cds will be the next project.  :))

After the first general session, we had a workshop on different approaches to homeschooling and simultaneously another on the benefits to the family of homeschooling.   After that was a session on socialization and another on teaching Hebrew reading and writing creatively.  After these workshops, Rabbi Menachem Goldberger of Tiferes Yisroel of Baltimore spoke.  Because of his communal position, he has to walk a fine line when participating in our home education conference because of his support of parents who choose to educate their own children – while not being perceived as being anti the school system.  It’s a precarious balance but I believe he succeeded.  He spoke about the importance of recognizing the needs of every child and educating him accordingly, and shared his experience of 20 years of dealing with homeschooled families in his shul.  

After that there was a lunch break for an hour, and though I reserved a lovely ‘eating together’ room for participants to spend time together during the break, since I spoke with Rabbi Goldberger right after his talk and then to a couple of attendees, I didn’t remember to announce the room was available until most of the participants had already left the conference room.  But I think everyone managed to connect during their lunch anyway. 🙂

After lunch we reconvened for three workshop sessions.  I participated in one of the first – the Veterans Panel – along with three other moms.  I think we could have easily gone for two hours instead of one if we had been able to accept all the questions people had.  Right after that I gave a talk on Teaching the Multi-Age Family.  I have to admit that I was very, very tired before the day even started, and before I gave my talk I told my dh that I was concerned about being able to be coherent in my talk because of my exhaustion.  I hope I succeeded; I haven’t listened to the recording of me yet and am not in any rush to do so!  (Do you think it’s fun to listen to yourself?  Instructive maybe, but not fun!)

My two teenage daughters attended my talk though I told them not to waste their time since they know how we homeschool and it would be boring for them.  Interestingly, though, they really enjoyed it.  One told me she never knew there were reasons for why we do what we do, that there was a thought out purpose in various ways I structure our academics; she just accepted that’s the way things are in our house.  So it’s nice that they now appreciate how we homeschool more than they did before attending. 

Then there was a final session before we closed, one on dealing with burnout and the other by my dh on teaching your kids limudei kodesh.   I got a lot of very positive feedback from those who attended the conference and I hope that everyone attending enjoyed themselves as much as I did.  A nice plus was getting to meet three of my until now faceless blog readers (waving hi to Sharon, Yael, and Julie), and realizing that one of them was a Shabbos guest of ours ten years ago when I lived in Israel!  

Someone emailed me tonight the following: “It was a lovely day! Thank you so much for all your efforts and organization which allowed this to happen. I definitely got the feeling that this was something that people NEEDED! A place to go and have questions answered in a relaxed atmosphere.”  And from someone else: “I was able to walk away with some new insights and chizuk. Thank you again for arranging today’s event. It must have taken up a lot of your time. It was a beautiful turnout. I just wish I had more time to speak to all the new faces. They seemed like such a warm, educated, well rounded and intellectually honest group of people.”

My biggest regret, if you want to call it that, is that I couldn’t speak to all the people I wanted to speak to for the time I’d like to have spoken to them for!   I enjoyed every minute with every person; it was really the people who participated as both speakers and attendees who made the day what it was.  My older three kids also really enjoyed it; as a plus, I think it’s valuable for children get involved in helping their community and am glad they had a chance to participate in organizing this with me.

With Hashem’s help I’ll soon decide on a date for next year’s conference so I can reserve the location!

Avivah

I wanted to pop my head in and let you know I didn’t disappear!  I’ve been busy yesterday and tonight with details for the conference, so I haven’t been able to post for these couple of days.  It’s not for lack of things to post about as much as lack of time!  Tomorrow night I’ll hopefully be back to posting, once the conference is over. 

For those of you in the area, please come – it’s going to be great!  (9 am – 5 pm at the Baltimore JCC, second floor, $20 for the day.) 

Avivah

I like when people realize their financial limitations and look for ways to cut their spending and live within their means.  And now the governor of CA is being forced to look for solutions of his own to his state’s disastrous financial situation (they’re expected to run out of money in about 2 months), and he’s looking for ways to cut back government spending.  (I often have wondered if govermental spending has any limitations, so it’s nice to see that there is a point when even government officials recognize they can’t keep on spending – too bad things have to be extremely desperate before cuts are considered.)  One of the things he’s planning is to cut out conventional textbooks.  What does he plan to use instead?  Online textbooks. 

I commend the government officials for trying to find solutions out of their dilemma.  This would be a big savings, and it was also pointed out that it will be better physically for the students since they don’t have to shlep around all those heavy books. 

As far as the value of the texts themselves, in my opinion, getting rid of most textbooks isn’t much of a loss.  I’d be hard pressed to think of less effective ways to learn than from standardized textbooks, unless it’s to listen to a teacher droning on and telling the students the exact information they could read for themselves in their textbooks.  But replacing them with online versions of the same dreary works isn’t going to improve student learning or retention.  Though I love to read, I see online reading as a necessary evil (I’m sure my kids would be surprised by this, since I do so much of it); it takes more time and I don’t think it’s healthy to spend a lot of time in front of the computer.  And while the kids wouldn’t have the physical strain on their shoulders from lugging around a heavy knapsack, they’d have eye strain to consider.

In our homeschooling, I try to avoid textbooks as much as possible.  Textbooks are designed to be politically correct above all else (and as such are a venue to promote values that I don’t share), and just as bad, their accuracy of the facts is often questionable (this isn’t a matter of opinion – do some research if you want to learn more).  

Some companies have tried to eliminate the political aspect by choosing selections that are more neutral.  When my ds was in ninth grade last year, I had the opportunity to review his English textbook – it was a kosher version of regular literature texts (Mesorah publishes them under another company name).  They use selections of classic works and stories that don’t have the less desirable elements of typical literature selections.  I thought it was a nice idea, and then I read through a good part of the textbook.  Gosh, it was dull – and I have a high comprehension level and love to read!  It didn’t suprise me when my son fell asleep repeatedly when reading the stories that were assigned.  In their efforts to take out anything objectionable, they weren’t left with much of interest.  I commented on this to the English teacher at parent conferences, and it was clear that though she didn’t want to say so outright, she agreed with me. 

In place of textbooks, I prefer what Charlotte Mason termed living books – books that are engaging, written by people who care about their subject matter – not committees.  And of course, hands on learning opportunities can’t be beat for integration and assimilation of material. 

As far as CA and the choice they’ve made, while they won’t improve students’ learning, at least they’ll be saving money! 

Avivah