Skipping Through Spring

Fun to make, though Sailor ended up with a 2nd degree burn in the process :(

Indoor cheer

These are from an animal tracking event at the library

Yay!  First signs of spring in our yard

Building a force field

As a person always a little homesick, having split my life between countries, I love to think of this poem by Robert Browning about spring in England...while I'm wrestling mud season in New England...

Home Thoughts, from Abroad

O, to be in England
Now that April 's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England—now! And after April, when May follows,
And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!
Hark, where my blossom'd pear-tree in the hedge
Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
Blossoms and dewdrops—at the bent spray's edge—
That 's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!
And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
The buttercups, the little children's dower
—Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Hot tubbing it in a snowstorm

But, it's with mixed emotion that I greet spring this year.  The kids, having finally reached an age where we feel there's a possibility of fun when snowboarding (as opposed to much complaining of cold and wasted lift tickets), enjoyed a major treat in the form of a vacation to a ski resort.  There I found that despite the "elitism" of snow sports I've referred to before, I am smitten.  And so it is with a certain amount of sadness we say goodbye to winter, and somehow I'm not embracing spring with my usual enthusiasm...it's very weird.

Kitten going Norwegian :)

Resort experiences ;)

Being a camping sort of family, staying at a resort (complete with a kitchen in our suite), was blissfully easy and I can fully understand friends with kids who go on all-inclusive holidays!  The icing on the cake is that this was a "Staycation".  In other words it took us 1.5 hours to drive to the resort, so barely any travel to wipe us out.  Dodger really picked up snowboarding and Sailor is close behind...Kitten and I will be bringing up the rear ;)  My husband, in another chapter in his life, got his credentials while working as a "liftie" at a resort in Lake Tahoe and he is our patient teacher.

Learning to stand up!

Back at home, while we were buried under a March snowstorm bringing 16" of fresh powder to the ski resort, our duck eggs were quietly turning in the incubator.

Duck eggs

Our spring projects are under way.  The duck eggs began as a homeschool project but have quickly evolved into Dodger's 4H regional entry.  He has kept a journal about the incubation, created a poster based on his research, and is planning an illustrated talk.  The problem is...no ducks.  We lost quite a few early on, we checked again yesterday and we're down to two eggs with movement.  Today is day 29, they are supposed to start hatching on day 28.  I'm very sad.  I haven't given up yet...but I'm losing hope.  Why did we fail so miserably?  Right now our guess is humidity or possibly a bad batch of eggs.  My husband pointed out that we can try again but I'm feeling apprehensive.  There's something so incredibly sad about these little guys not making it.  Man, life is precarious.

Starting seeds

On a happier note Dodger finished setting up my grow lights for our seedlings.  We've planted the usual tomatos and peppers but we also added eggplants, white coneflowers, none-so-pretty, and perenial lupine to the batch to get a head start on flowers too.  This year the kids are designing their own gardens.  Sailor has made a garden to hide in and Kitten is all about flowers.  Dodger will be planting a garden but is also part of the 4H gardening program so his will be more veggies.  If they grow well he'll show them at the county fair in August.  I have confidence he'll have a good haul...I'm not a novice in this area-unlike ducks :(

Sailor's garden plan

Dodgers Sunday chore completed

Chickens prepping the garden for us

Along with spring comes the inevitability of summer which represents swimming, sunshine, late nights, ice cream, and composing a HOME-SCHOOL PORTFOLIO-gasp!  Our lovely state employees will peruse our work and decide whether we've met the curriculum goals we set for ourselves..I made my bed now I have to take a nap in it!

I wouldn't say I'm "stressed" about it, but the end of year growing closer is causing me to look carefully at what's been covered and unconsciously I find myself ticking off tasks and thinking, "Oh, that will work well in the portfolio".  Below I have added a link to my 2012/2013 curriculum (as promised months ago).  It's almost word for word what was submitted and approved by the state for Dodger's 5th grade.  Sailor's looks very similar.  And, as I've said before, the resources for the curriculum were another home schooling mom, the Common Core Standards, and my own imagination!  Shockingly, mainly to myself, we've hit on just about every goal save for a few that should be relatively easy to add in like boat safety and learning about a local artist...here it is...


https://docs.google.com/document/d/11RXvVj7tCekDPZX2rGQYxI4cyyqicsR5XrMdH1iMWYE/pub

Dodger art

Learning about our backyard birds-painted by Dodger

Painted by Kitten

Sailor art completed

To finish up I'll add the announcement that we have let our local school know that Kitten will be attending kindergarten in the fall and the boys will also return to school for 2013/14.  To the kids credit this information was met by much enthusiasm from the staff.  It's a small town and I feel as if we've barely severed any ties if you consider running after-school LEGO club, painting the backdrop for the K-4 play, being on the library board (our library and school are in a combined space), basketball, and now Dodger is in the 5-8 play and at practice a few days a week.  We spend a lot of time at the public school.  It's glue that holds our small community (of young families) together and it'll be nice to be back in the swing of things, though this time as a family is/has been so special.  It's been a great year so far, and I'll go into our choice in more detail later, but for now I am going to go and stand watch over our duck eggs and mutter prayers...I think I saw a wobble.

By a Whisker... or "Finally! A February Post with One Hour to Spare".. or "Ice, Ice, Babies...too cold!"

Kitten's potato-stamp valentines

I'm afraid this post is going to be somewhat like listening to a talk through a photo album, so grab a cup of tea and find a cozy spot.  The last weeks have been a blur of adjusting to work, juggling homeschooling and life in general. So, although I've tried to come up with witticisms, the best I can do is a running commentary on a few of the projects, events, and chores that have filled our winter this far.  

Localmotion!  The Bike path being restored to it's former glory

February has been full of stuffed noses, icy front steps that threaten long convalesces, and the very occasional 30 degree day with sunshine to bask in.  It’s the time of year when winter-haters are fed up to the eyes but there’s the word “spring” floating around and suddenly, on the eve of March, I’m not preparing dinner in the dark.  Chocolate Easter bunnies are sprouting and seed catalogs arriving.  It’s happening fast.

My grown-up world of back-to-work has been an adjustment.  The first week I thought I would die.  I was so tired, so rusty, and so overwhelmed that I felt the return to work was sheer misery.  Now I’m six weeks in and (maybe it’s the longer light-filled days) I feel like I’ve hit my stride again.  My job as a community nurse means a lot of driving and flux all day, one of my bosses describes it as a “dynamic work place” with a wry smile on her face.  I just never know what’s going to happen from day to day, or visit to visit.  I’ve been a nurse almost eight years and I feel pretty well prepared for whatever comes my way, I actually enjoy the variety.  One of the best parts is hanging out with other clinicians; I forgot how much I liked the feeling of shared misery (just kidding), it feels good to be identified as someone other than “mom” and occasionally “napkin”.

Enough said about my work life.  Back to home…

Dodger made some adjustments when the icing wasn't quite right

"Happy Half-Birthday to You!"

We've continued to follow the school year based on public school so the kids are off this week for winter break, which means a break for all but my husband who is mired deep in taxes-yuk.  Up 'til vacation I've been writing assignments on the chalkboard every evening and the kids have been dutifully completing them.  The text books are still a go-to for starting the day but (as predicted) my husband adds his own teaching style like "Decimal" a dominoes game he picked up in Panama, though the kids play it without the coconuts filled with liquor.  I came home the other day from work to find they had baked a cake for their half-birthdays (all summer babes).  Dodger had taken the kids heights, worked out the ratios, and then decorated the cake in a pie chart.  Yes, the kitchen was a mess.  A fun mess.

A break from rink-making

Ahhh, here we are enjoying ice.  Ice, ice, ice...not enough ice for my husband who once crossed the lake on foot.  But ice nonetheless.  As exercise, Dodger and Kitten and I headed down to the lake to make a skating rink.  Four hours later we had cleared a nice rectangle while loving the feeling of being out on the quiet ice, it's how I imagine walking on the moon must feel.  Every now and then a crack of the ice moving and the sun setting over all the white...I can go on.  Finally it was time to skate, but guess what?  The skates didn't fit, the kids outgrew them!  I promised a trip to town to get replacements planned for the next day, but I was saved from this fate since the wind whipped around the lake at 40 miles an hour while we slept and by morning our rink was no more. 

In the summer she'll be swimming here!

More rink-making

Other news...finally the local kids group trip to the mountain to snowboard went ahead, it had been postponed multiple times due to bad weather, not good bad like snow, just bad bad.  I consider the kids enthusiasm for the mountain sports with mixed emotion.  An elitist sport, an expensive sport, how many folks do I meet who have been born and breed in our snowy area and never strapped on skis?  A lot.  And yet it's so fun, and they make the tickets and deals so sweet for kids-hoping to hook them young I guess.  A few more days are planned and so in this respect I hope spring waits a little longer.

Our friend Lion on a foot of ice over 15 feet of water

A rare shot of me on ice, note the auger to check depth for safety

Adding to the general insanity of heading back to work I also realized I'd volunteered to paint the backdrop for the local school play a while back.  The deadline approached and I regretted with every fiber in my body this task.  When I opened the canvas on the first day and it stretched from here to the Great Lakes and kept on unrolling I swore under my breath and saw the hours piling up like pancakes that I would be slaving over it.  Well...it's over now.  So I can feel a sense of pride that we accomplished it.  I add this thought to our blog forever etched in cyberspace, it's something I never want to forget.  And that is, "Dodger has my back".  For every hour I spent slopping on paint Dodger was right there with me, never complaining, always helpful.  What a kid.

I'm going to end here though there's lots more to tell.  It's late.  I've added my February blog post by a hair, and now I can head to bed...lovely bed.

A Popasquash project...fixin' chairs

Tension ;)

Sailor art...priceless

Dodger's bird feeder

Kitten wearing the latest style...a hand made cardy from Grandma!!!  So impressive, and yet so warm and versatile!

Mud and ice formation aka Art in the North County

A Dodger dessert..another masterpiece.

Handing on the Home School Torch

Mesopotamian dinner

If  I am honest, when it comes to change it takes me a while to find the comforting space of mental calm.  Messy Change.  Ruin my routine Change.  What’s going to happen next? Change!

As I head back to work Popasquash will be taking over the kids, the home school, the house, and I am trying not to let it become a case of prying them from my cold, dead, hands!  I am going to let Change happen gracefully, beginning with a ceremonial handing over of the torch.  And that took the form of a Mesopotamian dinner.

Sailor's date pickers in Sumeria

We have come to the end of our first round of learning about the Ancients and celebrated with a Mesopotamian dinner with friends whose menu included; lemon-mint-coriander chicken, flatbreads, couscous (not factual I’m afraid but a hit with the kids), salad, dates, baklava and cheesecake (‘cause let’s face it without the Ancient civilizations we never would have made it all the way to the American classic!).  A delicious meal, and so good to spend time with friends, especially at this time of year in the North Country when it becomes harder and harder to identify people as the warm layers get piled on!

Ice forming on the Lake

The cheesecake was Dodger’s creation and he has been baking away with his stand mixer, whirring out a Yule log, pizza dough, and other treats.  Dodger spent some of his Christmas money on a spring-form pan!  Sailor, on the other hand has been debating buying a wand with his money, one of the light-up jobbies that they sell at Barnes & Noble.  However, my husband is staunchly opposed to anymore toys that combine plastic and the need for batteries, so one of their home school tasks last week was designing a wand to make.  Sailor’s will be made of ash wood with a Black Kitty hair at the core ;)

The Yule log

Apple pie

The new routine (dreaded Change) includes my continuing to write assignments on the chalkboard the night before and the next day my husband helps the kids with them.  So far, so good.  And now that Grandma is settled out in CA for the winter working she has begun Skyping lessons with the boys.  Brilliant, and such a great addition to their learning.  It’s really something to look forward to seeing Grandma in person and having science lessons via webcam.  As a child of the 80’s I’m still awed by the technology.  In keeping with the Classical approach Grandma has been working on “classification” with the kids, Dodger is learning about the kingdoms starting with fungi, protista, and monera.  Sailor is working on worms.

Skyping with Grandma

Worms!

On advice from Grandma (and partly due to the current popularity) the boys are reading The Hobbit for their next Classical book.  Today they hit the movie theater to see the first Hobbit movie in 3D.  Other additional home school assignments, apart from the daily spelling, reading, math and grammar, have been watching a documentary on MLK Jr., sewing their own ski goggle cases, and helping Dad fix up the van for winter.  

Really it has been a smooth transition so far and I don’t gamble, but I’m going to make a few guesses about what will be different about home school with Dad vs. home school with Mom just based on our personalities…

My husband is patient.  He’s a details man.  I come up with ideas and move on them right away.  He’s a gather-all-the-information first, get it right, logical man.  I learn as I go and tend to make mistakes.  He can debunk arguments with a genuine smile on his face.  I get emotional.  He won’t yell, he won’t rush, he talks a lot.  I talk a lot too ;)  My husband will spend four hours teaching the kids how to play dominoes Panama-style or tie knots or spend days teaching them the techniques for splitting wood.  Once the kids master the splitting wood thing they will be given their own axe…and they’ll love it and think it’s the best thing ever.  I worry about germs, walking on ice, not having car seats installed correctly and axes, I blame my job as a nurse for my worries! He loves the kids in their entirety.  Me too.  If he puts the kids to bed it can take two hours...they just talk.  I run on a tighter schedule.  My husband is going to do an amazing job learning, teaching, and being with the kids.  A job he's been doing all along, but now he's getting the time he's been missing with our three little souls.

What he won’t do?  Remember to make the bed.  I know, not a major flaw to most.  I’ll just a deep breath and accept that things are Changing.

Happy New Year!

Christmas tree keeping us cheerful as it drops it's needles on the deck (rather than the living room)!  Yes, I'm aware that it's wonky...3 hours and five opinions later I decided we'll never go to a "Cut Your Own" Christmas Tree farm again!  Especially since we ended up with the wonkiest tree on the farm...I think by hour number 3 we were just desperate!

Oh yeah, we lost water and the well guys came through deep snow to save us!  Fascinating!  Yet, expensive :(

Classical Learning and Classical Mistakes

Industrious little hands at work

It's hectic 'round here.  A flurry of glittery homemade ornaments and text books on Classical Education are building up in breeding piles (and library late fees) everywhere.  Whether it's due to the end of the year arriving or the fact that I'll be returning to work (Popasquash will be taking over the home school reins for a bit), I've been focused on streamlining school as much as possible.  The trouble is... I'm recently inspired and as a result altering the plan to add a classical approach to home schooling.

Dodger's Christmas bird

Now...we haven't had to change too much because it turns out that the way we live our lives actually falls in step with the classical approach (another reason to learn more about it).

My Christmas bird

The book that crops up most on this subject related to homeschooling is, The Well-Trained Mind, A Guide to Classical Education at Home, written by mother and daughter Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer.  It’s quite a read.  I have found that my assumptions are correct and that a classical education is language based, Susan Wise Bauer writes;

Kitten's Christmas bird

“Language learning and image learning require very different habits of thought.  Language requires the mind to work harder; in reading, the brain is forced to translate a symbol (words on the page) into a concept.  Images, such as those on videos and television, allow the mind to be passive.  In front of a video screen, the brain can “sit back” and relax; faced with the written page, the mind is required to roll it’s sleeves up and get to work”

Sailor's Christmas bird

I find that the classical approach makes sense to me, I can buy into the idea.  Classical Education is based on the Trivium, the three stages of learning; grammar, logic and rhetoric.  Sailor and Kitten are in the grammar stage, soaking up the world around.  Their job is to work on the fundamentals; reading, writing, math, and beginning spelling.  Dodger is at the beginning of the logic stage, he is learning how to hone the tools of language acquired during the grammar stage to make logical inferences and arguments. 

What we’ve been doing so far that fits in with the classical approach:

Including books daily and constantly

Listening to audio books from a young age including E.B. White, C.S. Lewis, Charles Dickens

Talking and explaining the world; including the children in cooking, chores, budgeting

Visiting the library

Filling our lives with a variety of experiences and ideas

Memorizing poetry

Learning about the natural world with Grandma

Sailor making bread

Math daily

What we have added to our days:

Daily grammar rules during breakfast for example; definitions and examples of nouns, pronouns, prepositions, verbs, adjectives, rules of capitalization, contractions, silent “e”, r-controlled words, vowels, consonants and  compound words. 

Spelling Workout books daily

Expecting more in terms of grammar and spelling
Dodger does logic puzzles daily

The fruits of Sailor's labor (and patience)

What we haven’t been doing but plan to:

Study history starting with the Ancients-specifically Mesopotamia (we had been looking at American history but Wise-Bauer makes the argument that history is a "story" and therefore you should begin at the beginning, at the "cradle of civilization")

Lay down the foundation of grammar-and not shy away from rote memorization

Consider learning as “hard work” and reap the benefit of putting in time and effort

Dodger will start Latin (despite my earlier fears I think this is a good move, he really loves the little tidbits of Latin he gets in his spelling book)

Diagramming sentences
Music lessons (has been on the back burner but now we have actually scheduled a piano tuning and so hope to get rolling with this!!)

Here's a nice description of what the heck I'm banging on about!

“The classical Trivium - grammar, logic, and rhetoric - describes the way in which all human beings learn. First, we begin by memorizing the fundamentals, the grammar of the subject. Next, we learn how the fundamentals fit together, the logic of the system. Finally, we grasp the true meaning and beauty of the system and begin to contribute our own ideas. This is the rhetoric, or poetic level.  Students who have been classically educated will have the skills required to excel in college or in the workplace. They will have learned how to learn.” http://www.pcastl.org/benefits-of-classical-education.html

Why study The Ancients?  Susan Wise Bauer makes the argument that, "History…is not a subject.  History is the subject.  It is the record of human experience, both personal and communal.  It is the story of the unfolding of human achievement in every area-science, literature, art, music, and politics.  A grasp of historical facts is essential to the rest of the classical curriculum."

Fantastic book...caused a few nightmares though!

I feel as if Wise & Wise Bauer have formulated arguments in The Well-Trained Mind that support my “gut” feelings about education.  Initially I argued that I wanted the kids to “write more often”, I felt they were lacking the ability to write with ease.  By understanding language from the foundation I feel that the kids will be well-equipped to move into the “logic” stage of the Trivium.  

Having said all the above, I am still motivated to follow the children’s interests as well as continue to spend time on art projects, handwork, and learning through our day to day chores and life.  I don’t want it to be all blood, sweat and tears!  Actually there haven’t been any leaky body fluids …the funny part is that the kids quite happily fall into step with the required work.  

Each evening I write out their assignments on the chalk board and in the morning the kids work their way through them.  Sometimes even without prodding…what can I say?  We are creatures of habit and tasks with a clear beginning and end are appealing.  Who doesn’t love ticking things off on the list?  This set of tasks to accomplish doesn't mean that we don't follow tangents and have conversations and enjoy learning new skills.  It feels as if I've gone in a bit of a home school circle...a bit 'Pooh Bear'.  I started with a strict schedule...tossed that out...tried chilling out...and now I'm back to a strict schedule (with chill-out time scheduled in).  Madness.

There are lots of moments of grumpiness, bickering, and general sloth around here.  But on afternoons when we sit around the table sharing a pot of tea and yummy food and our conversation leads us from Scrooge to Pandora's box, I feel so lucky and it's just so cool when it flows...

Re: "Classical Mistake": The mistake I've made so far is assuming that because a book is classical that I should automatically introduce it to the kids.  Now that Dodger and I have finished Animal Farm (and Dodger has written his first compare and contrast paper, there was some blood shed over that one !) I was looking for a book to begin (to clarify; this is a book we will read and discuss together), I decided on an "age-appropriate" retelling of Homer's Odyssey.  That plan back-fired.  It turns out my hard-to-scare son was actually a little traumatized by the Cyclops squishing humans on rocks and eating them alive!  It made for a late night...History was brutal and very often disgusting!

Happy Holidays!