It's Just for Now

 I talked to a friend today.  She was trying to find the right educational place for her crazy bright 7yo.  She and her partner each work full time at jobs they both want and need.  Oh ya, and there's a pandemic on, and wild fires, and smoke, and a heated election, and protests, and and and and....  On-line school, even at a progressive public charter school, is not working for this kid.  (the busy work alone would be enough to make the kid crazy, but sitting still in front of a computer for that long?!? nope.)  They've got an interview for an in person private school 20 minutes from their house, if their virus protocols seem safe, should they enroll their kid?

I don't know the right answer.  All I could do was ask questions.  

How does it feel right now?  If  you were to enroll at the private school how would that be?  The commute?  The cost?  If you leave the public charter school could you get back in later?  What is your child telling you about what they're experiencing and thinking about their school?  If you chose to homeschool how would that feel?  How would it work?  How could you work?  What would your child do while you're working?

In normal times I might talk about how much social interaction their child needed, but it's not normal times, and none of us are able to get "normal" social interaction.  Even if schools are in person the safety protocols mean that kids can't play together they way they use to, so any concerns about socialization will have to be set aside for now.

For now the question is - what do the parents need to be functional, sane and safe?  What does the child need to learn, be safe  and sane?  Where those things intersect, do that.

Whatever parents decide to do right now?  It's fine.  Short of beating the children, do what you need to do to get by.  Keep your kids as safe as is reasonably possible in the midst of this maddness, but do it while taking care of yourself.  You matter, your health, safety, sanity, they matter, just as much as your kids.

Whatever you do, remember - it's only for now.  It will change.  In a year things will be different, and we don't know what kind of different.  We're all going to have to be flexible and resilient, ready to try new things, and to switch and try something different when that doesn't work.

Do what works.  If it doesn't work, try something else.  Wash, rinse, repeat.

It's only for now.

learn anything, go anywhere - virtually

I am one of those awful people who leaves stuff out so I can see it and be reminded to deal with it.  It's a mess, but it mostly works for me.
I do the same thing with tabs on my browser, but when I opened my computer this morning and realized that I had 52 tabs open, I knew I needed to do something.  Even I have my limits.

Here it is, a list of some of the resources I've found in the last couple of days for keeping a kid busy at home.  I was going to sort it all out in, write several {absolutely brilliant} blog posts with specific topics and ages in mind.  But, fuck it.  I don't have time and I'm moving on.

So here's a brain dump, I hope you have some fun poking around.  Oh, and check out your local library's website.  They'll almost certainly have many resources there like Kanopy, Hoopla, Overdrive, Flipster and Mango

Remember that this is not all about your kids.  It's about you too.  You never know, you might find something of interest here for you too.


Open Culture lists free and education media on the web

PBS listed 19 museums you can visit from home
Paris Musees has thousands of images you can access for free
Broadway shows you can access from home
list of virtual field trips
Adventure Journal has a list of live feeds of animals
U.S. National Parks virtual tours via Googles Hidden Worlds of the National Parks
Geoguesser is a fun geography game G
List of other Google maps games

50 birds and the sounds they make
The NYPL is offering an app that lends e-books for free

There are many free courses on line
Crash Course has some really amazing/fun/wonderful educational classes/videos
Disney Imagineering in a Box
Ivy League Courses on line for free
Coursera also has many free on-line classes
the Khan acadamy has free on-line educational classes and videos
Doodle with Mo, lunch art for kids on the Kennedy Center's youtube channel

Giant list of ideas for being home with kids
Here's a website of Virtual School Activities, virtual tours of museums and zoos around the world.
Amazing Educational Resources is a website of crowd shared found resources
Engineering ideas for kids to try at home
another crowd sourced list of ideas

Netflix has tons of documentaries and educational videos (hint, anything w/ David Attenbough is excellent)  Also, I just learned that you can do a Netflix party!

And finally, if your school is going to make your kid to school at home, you might find this helplful -the  Parents guide to Google Classroom

Sudden Homeschooling

So, here are a few notes I made for myself when brainstorming for emergency homeschooling - no complete thoughts here, but perhaps it will spark something for you (or for me to flesh out!)

chill the f out

routine vs schedule
neighborhood community/support

chores
  you are useful you are appreciated you are notice you are an important member of the family

acting things out, making up stories
make videos?

whereto find how to pick educational videos - kanopy
david attanbough, crash course


read aloud
make stuff - art, write, comic books (both)
 exercise - dance party, hoolahoop!, juggling, poi,

audio books (librivox, library, hoopla,
hand work/ crafts - crochet, knit, art, weaving
scheduling
math (place values) real life - money, cooking,  books -beast acadamy, a o ps, math u see (videos)
legos
games
creativity
library - what do they have at your local one? free stuff, e stuff
virtual museums
google
nature watching
music - practice an instrument, chord charts, free songs
art - so many links!
google map games, geoguesser
languages duolingo, muffy,
science - how does soap work?  what is a virus?

Where to start when emergency homeschooling?

I've been postponing this post because I didn't know where to start, and then I thought, well, neither does anyone else.  This is a crazy situation, one that no one alive in this country has faced before.

So, for my friend who is stuck at home with a 6yo....
How do you get through these first few days of COVID19 social distancing/shelter in place/quarantine?

Again, ease in to this, and consider this first bit (and maybe all of this) as enrichment rather than "school".  School is boring, enrichment is fun and interesting.

Think about the difference between a routine and a schedule. 

A schedule has a specific time at with specific things need to be done.  It's great when you're trying to coordinate people who have busy lives and other things going on. It keeps you on track and helps you be accountable to other people.  It's not so great when you're in a flow, immersed in an activity and you don't have anywhere else you need to be.

A routine, on the other hand, is a series of actions that you do almost habitually.  Rise, let the dog out, eat, brush your teeth, wash your hands after the using the toilet, etc.  A routine is flexible and also easy to remember because you do what you've always done.

When homeschooling, a routine is much easier to manage than a schedule.  You need a schedule for things like lessons and appointments, stuff outside the home.  You're not going to have those right now, so think instead about how to create functional routines that will meet everyone's needs.

Exercise - build this into your routines, and do something more than once a day
When my boys were young they would often bicker, and when they made me crazy, I'd give them laps to do around the yard.  They always came back united in their resentment towards me, and a little less grumpy, so win/win!

If your child is like mine were at that age the first thing you need to do is to give their physical energy somewhere to go.  Seriously, children (and adults) are much nicer when well exercised.  Hey, and join in if you can

Some ideas:
jump rope
calisthenics
dance party!
trampoline if you have one
jumping on the bed if you don't (bail is way more than a new mattress will be when this is all over)
bike ride
hoola hoop
yoga
video workouts

Google for  indoor exercise for kids, yoga, dance, etc.. you name it, it's out there.
Get onto Facebook and look for  groups that fit your kids interest, during this crisis most gyms are shutting down and many are offering free videos and live stream workouts on their pages.
Pinterest is another place to find ideas.

Chill, it's going to be ok

Folks out there are going to be spending a lot more time with their kids than they expected in the next weeks.  Us homeschoolers (and former homeschoolers) might have a bit of an advantage.

Although, to be fair, it's not the advantage I expected to have back when I envisioned the apocalypse.  

So, I will try to share some of my thoughts and opinions.  They're worth exactly what you're paying for them.  If they don't work for you, that's fine.

There is an emotional content to learning that is more important than technique, theory, or materials

There are no educational emergencies.  No one will die if little Susie hasn't memorized her time tables or Timmy doesn't know how to read by the end of the season.

Humans learn, all the time, like it or not.  It's what we do. 

Everything is learning.

Homeschooling is really just parenting.  Sending your kid to school is just outsourcing some parts of parenting, which is fine.  (Seriously, I'd outsource pregnancy if I could. pregger => 4/10 do not recommend, but the baby is nice) 

School at home is not homeschooling, and school at home sucks for all involved, so maybe let up on that  

Try to think about this time as fun enrichment, not make or break, not high stakes.  

You're a coach, and a cheerleader, not a professor.

Follow your kids interest, strew, explore, ask your student what their goals are and what they're curious about.  Luckily, even if we can't leave our homes, with the internet and web, we have the world at our finger tips.

You matter too, so be sure to organize so that you get done what you need to and still stay sane.  More on this later, but a friend once told me "If you're not using the TV as a babysitter, you're doing it wrong.  That's what it's FOR"  There's a time and place for electronics and that time is most certainly when a parent needs a break.  Don't beat the children.

I'll try to post every couple of days to answer some questions for a friend w/ a precocious 6 1/2 year old, but until I get to all those, you could take a peak at some older stuff.
I've written a lot about homeschooling, so you can check that out.  My friend J asked about our eclectic unschooly ways several years ago and I answered her here.   You can check out the pages over there in the side bar.  They were up to date a decade ago, but if I get some motivation I might fix the broken links.

Tonight's whine....

I am learning that there is no easy answer to improving the high school experience.

Homeschooled teen (back in the day) I'm bored, I want more teens to hang with, but gets to sleep in, do own projects, immerse himself in most recent passion. ( and later has no problem integrating into school setting)

14yo at traditional HS, has band, x-country, track, theatre, etc. but a boat load of pointless homework, no sleep, and more stress than is healthy or appropriate.

17yo at early college high school - no extras (like band, art, drama), but has college schedule, can sleep in, will graduate HS with 60+ college credits.
So, no matter what educational setting your kid is in, I salute you.

Good on ya for not strangling the kid or bashing the school!

As my 9th grader learns to "do" school, my 12th grader works through the college application process (at the same time as carrying a full college load), my youngest continues to homeschool (and try on adolescent attitude) and I run the Mom Taxi service, I am trying to practice detachment. 
It's so hard! I just want everyone to chill the f* out. Especially me. (Except, chill after you do your homework, 'K?)

Wine. Perhaps that the answer. I'll let you know

Girls and STEM (or STEAM, depending ...)

STEM=Science Technology Engineering Math
STEAM= Science Technology Engineering Art Math

When Lego Kid was touring  local high school (more on that later!) we ran into an old acquaintance touring it with her daughter.  We've since been conversing about what middle school seems to do to smart girls, especially smart techy girls.  Her daughter, who had previously been good at math and excited about science and tech, has come to believe that it's not cool for a girl to be into those things.  This isn't the only mom I've heard this from, just the most recent.

So, putting the hive brain to use (best use of FB ever!) we've come up with some resources that might help encourage girls to embrace their power and brains, to stay engaged with math and science, and to kick those cultural expectations into the dust.  (and I could blather on about that too. GRRRR)

We found a list of girl empowering movies, a list of math fiction, and non-fiction books  by Danica McKellar, like Kiss My Math and Hot X.  PBS has a youtube series called Math Club, it works to be inclusive and break down stereotypes.   Vi Hart is always brilliant, combining math and performance art into amazing videos.
Then there are organizations that encourage girls in STEM and organizations that work to teach empowerment like Girls on Ice.  Locally CSU has Pretty Brainy which has a workshop coming up this Feb. (deadline soon, scholarships available).

I discovered Rejected Princesses a while back, and while it's not generally about math or tech, it is about women so powerful (and sometimes so grim) that Disney wouldn't touch them.
And really, isn't that what this is about?  Powerful women are threatening to the current power structure.  We're conditioned to suppress our own power so that no one else needs to bother.
Tell you what, if we're going to be suppressed, let's at least make the suppressors do the work, eh?

Damn.  I adore my boys, but sometimes I really want a daughter.  I've spent their lives teaching my sons to be thoughtful, gentle, and kind.
I want a girl to teach to kick some ass.

How it is today

It's been too long since I posted! 
Why? 
Because. 
Life.  Kids.  School.  Homeschool.  But mostly because FLL.

Seriously, why did I do this again?  Oh, yea, because Hot Dog begged me to find him a team, and then told me he really, really, REALLY wanted me to be his coach.   You know, like I did for his brothers.  Oh the guilt... so I did - find him a team, and agreed to  co-coach it.  Two weeks in he informed me he hated it and wanted to quit.  Lovely (not).  I had to explain the meaning of commitment, and team work, and sucking-it-up.

Now, today we are 3 days from our local tournament, piled high with extra practices, but we can see the end.  How bad is it that I'm hopeful this team won't go to state?  (not like that last team that I was convinced couldn't go to state, but did)

Homeschooling wise we're deeply enmeshed in FLL meetings, just barely eeking out time for our basic academics and lessons.   We've been so busy I honestly don't have any idea what next semester will look like.  Perhaps there will be a big gaping hole of time that Hot Dog and I will struggle to fill. (She says hopefully)  However, a friend has mentioned an underwater robotics program...

Both my older boys, Bit Boy and Lego Kid, are loving their respective schools.  Lego Kid is in the process of picking out his high school and planning for that next stage of his education, even while he's learning the basics of how to "do school" in his IB middle school.   Bit Boy has scheduled next semester, which will include repeating Calc I.  Not because he was failing but because he's set his sights on one of the most exclusive engineering schools in the USA and wants an solid A on his transcript for this core class.  (Welcome to the politics of college admissions.  Ugh)

One day last month I clocked 134 miles on my car's odometer.  134mi.  It was a Wed, which is our crazy day.  I didn't leave down, I was just being the taxi-mom getting 3 different kids to school, to lessons and home.  No wonder I'm tired and have no time. While Bit Boy bikes between his campuses, I still have some guilt around our fossil fuel use.

That guilt did not stop me from gratefully turning on our gas fireplace last week during our single digit highs, nor did it stop me from driving Bit Boy between his campuses one day (rather than him biking in the 9 degree frozen slush).  I accept that I am contradictory and am a work in progress.

How it used to be...

It's Saturday.  Such a lovely day, and today in particular shows me what I've been missing with two kids in school.

Bit Boy is constructing an art/computing project using computer bits purchased last month at our church's rummage sale. He hopes to have it done by the NoCo Maker Faire the first weekend in October.  Lego Kid and Hot Dog are down working on the new EV3 to build a chassis for an FLL robot for Hot Dog's team to test.  They're all happy, working together, making things, and learning without even realizing it.

It hasn't been like this for a while.  Bit Boy is carrying 12 college credits, including Calculus I.  He's being academically challenged for the first time since starting school.  "I might be a 'B' Mom" he told me with concern.  Lego Kid has been enjoying the social aspect of middle school, but has been overwhelmed with the volume of homework and writing.  "Mom, will it always be like this?  Will I have any time for myself before winter break?"  Hot Dog is missing his brothers, and feeling a combination of overwhelmed and bored with a schedule that includes lessons for violin and piano, 4 hrs of FLL practice/week, chess club, jujitsu and soccer.  He says he'd like to give up FLL, but since I'm the coach, and have no older kids around to take care of him if I'm not home, he'd have to come with me anyway.  He might as well participate.  I've been feeling super busy, not with my own stuff, which has taken a back seat this year, but just with my 'work' as a taxi driver for 3 kids all going in different directions.

It's nice to have this day at home, interrupted only by a much anticipated soccer game for Hot Dog.  We used to have days like this, one after the other.  I think my teens are happy to be in school, so I'm happy for them.  But, my oh my, homeschooling is sweet.

Maker Kids

On an homeschooling list a question came up today
"Can anyone recommend some ways for me to incorporate making/engineering into our at-home time? Engineering curriculum for young kids? Resources?"

Here was my response:

The NoCo Mini-Maker Faire in Loveland is Oct. 4-5, there'll be hands on activities there for the kids, plus lots of local folks with ideas and resources.

If you don't live in Colorado, look for a Maker Faire near you.

Make Magazine has lots of projects on line, some are great for kids.

If you can afford a subscription you'd probably get some use out of the paper magazine too.  There are many projects in each vol, and many of them accessible to the layman or kids.

DIY is designed for kids and has ideas and give them the opportunity to share what they've done.

Google ran an online summer Maker Camp

My kids liked project books (because we're ancient and homeschooled before the internet was such a big part of everything)

Some favorites were

the Usborne Science Activities books Vol 1-3

Making Things, by Ann Sayre Wiseman

Science Crafts for Kids by Gwen Diehn

and  book about making musical instruments by hand.. sorry can't find the name of ti.

Remember too that "engineers" are often also artists and musicians.  That need to create runs deep.  I found that my role was to show how to safely use/ access the materials and then to just get out of the way.

Have fun!

Bombus

Look who Hot Dog found in the basement.

Instead of doing our normal academics we've spent out morning trying to figure out exactly what kind of bumble bee this is. 

We found several websites and decided that it is Bombus Morrisoni. 

We found lots of good sites:
Western Bumble Bee Guide
Mr. E's Mysterious Bees
bumble bee dot org

And now we are learning how to get bumble bees to nest in our yard. 

We love spring!

Humph

I was writing some long blog post about the intersection of "giftedness" and school, and how a "gifted" designation doesn't matter until you're in an institutional situation.  I was somehow going to artfully point out how schools are not great even for "average" kids ( I haven't met one, but I've heard they exist).  I was going to show (not tell) how unschooling, child-led schooling, and radical tolerance are the best way to let every learner discover what works best for them.  Sigh....

But, Stephanie ever at The Deep End did it first, and better.

Humph.

Something's in the Air...

Something's in the air, and it's not just the sneezy pollen of springtime.

aside: Tree-sex is what Bit Boy calls pollen - I was going to correct him (his attitude, not his accuracy), but then I thought - he's right.  Pollen is tree-sex, and it's kind of funny that we breath it.  
Don't do that - agree with your teen - it just encourages them.  
Now he's calling our goose's eggs goose periods.   It kind of shines a different light on breakfast.

The last two days I've had long talks with 3 different people about education and homeschooling.  AND (drum roll) every single one of them was about how beneficial homeschooling is, despite the fact that all of the people I was talking to had kids in public schools, and 2 of the three are educational professionals.  I was sad they were not familiar with the works of John Holt, and happy that I could share his work as a resource for them.  I was pleased to find that they were familiar with the more recent writings of John Taylor Gatto.  These two touchstones could inform a lot more educators about where the future of education is going.

One thing all professional educators seem to know is that their profession is changing.  School has always been a mixed bag, a necessary evil, the attempt to make the best of a perceived necessity.  Standardized testing, class room management, and shifting parental and teacher roles have made public school a far different place than it once was - and even what it once was wasn't really all that stupendous.   Changing modes of communications - first books, and now the internet - have changed the roll of teachers.  Teachers are no longer the gate keepers to knowledge and skills.  Just about anything you want to learn to do has books, Youtube videos, several websites, and enthusiastic open source gurus waiting to help you.  Waiting to help you learn for free.  For. Free.

You don't have to pay for an education anymore.  You don't have to pass a test to get into the right class.  You don't have to be in the same country, much less the same room, as your teacher anymore.  The internet provides limitless access to the accumulated knowledge of the modern world.   Firelord taught himself to play Irish whistle using Youtube videos.  Bit Boy taught himself binary by reading an essay by Isaac Asimov.  Lego Kid is working through an online Python book.  I was looking for a welding teacher for Bit Boy last year and a friend who welds asked "Have you looked for some tutorials on Youtube?"  (Seriously.  I kinda didn't go there.  Something about the thought of my teen with a tube of flaming gas in his hand having only had a video tutorial for his training made me nervous.)

Today you can work at your own pace, whether that pace is quick or slow, focused or distracted.  You don't have to have anyone tell you whether you're ready or if what you want is appropriate for you.  You want to learn a new skill?  Do it.  Want to get better?  Practice.  There you go, now you know something new.  It's the ultimate education in a democratic meritocracy.

Is there a place for teachers in this new paradigm?  Is there a place for a brick and mortar school? 

Yes, but it's a very different role than before - or perhaps it's a very old role.   We admire those who do what we want to do, people who make things, who have useful skills.  We  still benefit from mentors.  We still like to hang out with people who have similar interests and abilities.  We are still social animals and so there is still a place for something we might call a "school."  But it's a very different place than what we think of school today.  It's not a place you are forced to go and told what to do once you're there.  It's a place you may choose to go (or not) and where there are people who have intellectual and physical resources you wish to access.   I see the future of school in Maker Spaces, Hacker Spaces, libraries and the Sudbury model.

Some would argue that you still need a college degree to get a good job, a real job.  For the moment that is still mostly true.  To be a physician, a lawyer, and most types of an engineer, yes, you still need a degree.  However, there are signs that the value of a degree is lower than it has been for generations.  And signs that the lack of a degree is not the hindrance it used to be.

Becoming a teacher in the future will mean first following your own passion, and if your own passion excites another enough for them to ask "how do you do that?!?"  then, and only then, will you have the opportunity to be a teacher.

That Awkward Stage

I'm at an awkward parenting stage.  (Well, I'm pretty much always awkward - parenting or otherwise)  This is one of those times when I'm constantly questioning myself and my decisions.

Bit Boy at almost 16 seems nearly independent - making his own schedule, making (pretty good) choices, and generally acting like he's nearly an adult.  Is it appropriate to let him be so independent?  I think so, I think it's good for him to make decisions and live with the consequences - especially since they're fairly non-lethal at this point.  But I feel guilty for it to be so easy to parent him right now.  (Dear Universe, please don't take this as a challenge)

Hot Dog is an impish 9 year old, thrilled with his soccer team (undefeated, thank you very much Coach Joe!), his various lessons and classes, and generally a happy kid.  I worry that I don't give my youngest all the attention that he deserves, but I comfort myself with Firleord.  He was the 5th and last kid in his family.  I think his parents were tired by the time he came and they basically let him alone.  He turned out pretty damn good.

Lego Kid ....  is a bundle of contradictions.  He wants to go to school next year, but not leave the house today - or ever. He wants me to make him do things, but he doesn't want to do anything.  We unschooled until he was 11, at which point he told me "You're too easy on me.  You should make me do things."  So I asked him what I should make him do, we made a list, and now I "make" him do it.  ( I'm confused.  Is it still unschooling if it's at his request?)  He gets mad at me if he doesn't get his academics done, but resents when I make him do them.  I suppose I need to remember that he's 13.  This isn't personal.  If it's this hard for me to deal with him, how much harder is it for him to deal with himself?

But... it does make it more challenging for me to know what the right thing to do is.  My parenting philosophy has always been radical - I treat my children as rational people who know themselves better than I know them and so should have a fair say in their lives.

I have to admit that sometimes it's a mistake to assume they are rational, and that this may be one of those times.

Windy memories

This morning as the wind howls, I found myself in the most unusual position of having a wee bit of time to myself.  After doing a couple of chores and surfing Facebook, I checked on the blogs of a couple of favorite friends - and realized how very long it had been since we'd all hung out together.  I have happy memories of times at the river and parks, splashing, talking, laughing.  It wasn't really so long ago.

Friendships, and life, seem to go in phases.  You don't always know that you're in a phase, and often don't realize when you're leaving it, but in retrospect it can be very clear.  That time in my life with little babies and toddlers - gone.  Most of those friends have long moved on.  That space of time early in our homeschooling career when we found our local homeschooling group, hung out at the library and local parks, and had actual free time - faded away.  That sturdy time of solid homeschooling, when all three boys were close enough together to do pretty  much the same thing, when our schedule was our own to plan, when we had 2 other homeschooling families with kids about the same age who became as close as cousins to us, that's gone now too.

We're in a new stage, but I'm too close to really see the whole of it yet.  My 3 boys are going in different directions, all at once.   Bit Boy is a straight "A" high school/college student.  In the fall he'll be taking 16 credit hours.  While he isn't unkind to his brothers, he rarely has time for them.  Although he is helpful when asked, participates in the family when requested, he is very much independent now. (Well, except for needing rides everywhere...sigh...)  Lego Kid's voice keeps creeping lower as he campaigns to go to the last year of middle school starting next fall.  He still plays with Hot Dog, but less often and with less patience than before.  I can see he's getting his wings ready for some test flights.  Hot Dog has finally found a couple of things all his own (soccer and violin, especially soccer) and is still happy to homeschool.  I'm grateful for that, but I wonder how long it can last when his brothers are away in school all day.  His best bud has decided to go to school next year too.  With me needing to transport his brothers we won't be able to slip down to Denver or up to the mountains for all those fun field trips that are one of the huge benefits of homeschooling.  I would love to keep homeschooling him as long as possible, so I guess I'll need to find a new rhythm there too.

I notice deaths and births in our social circles.  In my own family now we are in a phase of looming deaths as my grandparents generation approaches their 90's and our own children are as yet too young for the rounds marriages and births to start.  That makes me all the more grateful when I see the babies of young friends in life, or even on the social networks. 

Melancholy - that's this morning.

Soccer Mom?

Well.  He went and did it.  Hot Dog (9yo) has made me a soccer mom. 

First, last fall he and Lego Kid begged for soccer, well after the start of the recreational season (of course).  I found a local class for beginners and signed them up for that instead.  That was enough for Lego Kid, but not for Hot Dog.  I got a "get out of jail free" card with winter.  Really, who can play soccer in the winter?  (Shush you 3 on 3 indoor players.  Gawd.  Look at me talking all soccer-y now.)

But, with spring upon us, I had no more excuses.  It was soccer season, and he really, really, REALLY wanted to play soccer - on a team, with other kids, and against other kids.  Lord have mercy.  I let him.  I signed him up, surprised at how affordable soccer is.  $95 for 2 practices and 1 game a week for 8 weeks.  That works out to just over $1/hr of soccer.  Wait.  That's 3x/week of soccer, for 8 weeks.  That's a lot of soccer I'll be driving to.  A lot of late dinners and early morning games.  (Somebody needs to saint me here)

Oh, and it's not so cheap as I thought.  It turns out that kids don't play shirts and skins, you need to buy a league jersey.  And a size 4 ball (we have a size 5, not good enough), and cleats (really?  Yes.), and soccer socks, to go over the soccer shin guards (well, those really are a good idea), and then of course Hot Dog really wanted special soccer shorts to go with it all.

He had his first practice last night and he LOVED it.  Hot Dog is incredibly fit, thin, and active.  Good thing, because not only is he tiny (at 9yo, size 8 is loose on him) but he has asthma.  Staying fit and keeping his lung capacity large will help him physically and mentally.

sigh.... so now he has jujitsu once a week, soccer 3x/wk, instrument lessons 2x/wk, and will have pottery 1x/wk for 5 weeks this spring.  I'm tired just reading that.

Remember when I said I would never be one of those parents who let their kids and family get over scheduled?  ya, it's some weird sort of cosmic justice.

Enjoying a bit of warmth

I love Colorado.  Yes, there was a time when I was a teen that I dreamed of nothing better than leaving it, moving to Paris to play cello in an attic, or to California to lay and the beach and be "discovered". (Hey, little pudgy Latina's have dreams too ya know. )  And yes, Firelord and I used to talk about selling it all and sailing away, or at least moving to the coast.  We've put down roots now, while future grandchildren might lure us from here, we're in Colorado for the duration.

Still, there are other beautiful places in the world, and it's lovely to visit them.  This week we're in Texas. We spend a night with friends in Sherman, and I have to say, north Texas is lovely in March.  The pear trees are blooming and the air smells of sweet pine and flowers.  Now we're in College Station for Texas A & M's Physics festival.  The air is so warm!  Colorado is below freezing, but here, everytime I step outside I'm shocked by the caress of almost tropical breezes.  Ahh....

The physics festival is just getting started, but last night's speaker was fascinating.  Firelord commented that he finally understood why we couldn't tell how big the universe is, and Lego Kid discovered that it's ok to not understand about Dark Matter and Dark Energy, since the best physicists in the world are a bit stumped too.

The hobbit in me misses home, even before I've left it.  But this place is pretty nice too.  :-)

Searching

I'd like to say we're zipping along like a sprinter, but that would be a bald faced lie. We are still searching for our balance.  In reality we're not even on a casual hike.  We're more like a slosh-faced drunk trying to stagger out the barroom door.

This year we've taken on a more academic approach to our homeschool.  In the past we mostly unschooled, and last year was catch as catch can.  With Bit Boy in high school/college, and Lego Kid making noises about wanting to follow in his footsteps, Hot Dog has requested academics so he can do what his brothers do. 

As I write I have Lego Kid and Hot Dog at the public library "working" on their math while Bit Boy is in town getting some testing done.  I'm sure we're annoying every patron within earshot, since apparently they are incapable of doing their work silently.  Lego Kid is doing pre-algebra, using Art of Problem Solving.  Hot Dog is working on multiplication using Beast Academy 3B.  Lego Kid's goal is to be finished with algebra by next fall so that he can join Bit Boy at CEC.  Hot Dog wants to finish with 4th grade math by next fall so that he can be a "5th grader" a year early and do the Library Pals program earlier.  (Given that he has late fall birthday, skipping him a grade isn't too crazy, he'd be only a month younger than the youngest students of that grade - a month younger, and 2 heads shorter... sigh...)

Lego Kid has really been struggling.  He chose to do a rigorous online Latin class.  It moves fairly quickly, being designed for high-achieving high schoolers.  Lego kid is only 12, but he really, really, wants to learn Latin, and wanted to take this class because he has  enjoyed working with the instructor in an earlier class.  We both know he's capable of the work, but his work ethic, speed of processing, and organizational skills are not such that this is an easy task.  He wants to do the work, but spends literally hours avoiding it, then another hour sitting in front of it in despair.  Finally, with much gnashing of teeth it will get done, but only after we're both frazzled to the bone, having accomplished nothing else all day. 

I'm realizing more and more that while my kids learn so much more, and so much easier at home, it's not in a way that translates well into a traditionally organized class like this Latin class.  If they were in school they would have already learned to sit down and do what was expected of them without complaining (much, out loud, etc.).  Being home/un-schooled they've enjoyed learning as an organic process that flows naturally  out of their own curiosity and energy.  Doing "school" is just so different from what has worked for us. 

The difference is not a good thing or a bad thing, just something I noticed.

 I'm still baffled by Lego Kid's desire to become a classical scholar, especially given how challenging it is for him.  Given that he is determined, we'll keep plugging away at it, I'm just wondering if this is really the "best" way for him.

Adolecent angst

Lego Kid has always been a thoughtful introspective person.  At the age of 4 he was devastated by quantum mechanics.  At the age of 8 he said "Eight is the perfect age, you're still a kid, but you're big enough to do fun stuff.  I want to be eight forever".  Most recently he's been having swinging emotions and desires, wanting more peers, more time with Mom, more time alone, more structure, less structure.  Basically wanting whatever it is he doesn't have at that moment.

It's been hard on this homeschooling mom.  I can't help but question our choices, especially with regards to this bright, intense, child.

Every parent wonders at some point if they've done right by their child.  Have they made the correct educational and disciplinary choices?  Doing anything outside the norm just increases that.  If Johnny is struggling at the local neighborhood school, Mom and Dad may wonder how they can help, but they can comfort themselves that all the neighbors are at that school too, so how bad could it be?  A homeschooler has accepted total responsibility for the education and well being of their children, and is doing something completely pretty outside the mainstream, so not only do we question ourselves, we have to put up with other people questioning (and even accusing) us.

It helps me to remember that whether we homeschool or public school, the adolescent angst would happen.  Fluctuating hormones, cultural expectations, and changing roles aren't avoided by sending your kid off to school, or by homeschooling.  Luckily Lego Kid is my second child.  Bit Boy paved the way for him.  (I tell poor Bit Boy the he's my "experimental child" - I'm learning on him, and doing better with his brothers because of it.)   I've been through this before, the intense emotion, the conflicting desires, the search for something different, I can remember that all of this is to be expected.   It doesn't make it easier in the moment, but it does help with my perspective.

Wild Colorado in our backyard...

Look who came to visit Monday.   Lego Kid and Hot Dog came running up to me to tell me something had hit a window.  They thought that it was a bird that had been chased.  I rushed over to see a starling hiding under a chair on our deck.  When it recovered from it's collision it flew off.  It got only 20 feet feet before this beauty swooped in and got it.  We felt sorry for the starling, but happy for the ...pretty sure it's a merlin.

I wonder if it's the same one we saw haunting our bird feeders last Friday.   Bird feeders..... I guess of more kinds of birds than we expected.