Grandma Jane and Inspiration

21 February 2012

Computer day. Ah... the day I get to sleep in and recover from staying up until 1:00 a.m. every night and waking up at 7:30 a.m. every morning.  I set up the computers for the kids and went back to bed until about 9:00 a.m. when Em woke up and I laid down on the floor while she played on and around me and I dozed. I made breakfast for myself around 9:45 a.m.

I didn't even look at my planner today because as I was finishing breakfast Grandma Jane called and asked if we could come over for a visit today. It was a nice break as she let me leave the kids with her for an hour or so while I ran some errands. Bliss. The kids helped Grandma Jane bake cupcakes and painted pictures, played Candyland and a Fishing (a board game). They played with wooden blocks and had all sorts of fun.

At home the kids went right back onto the computers and I replaced the tail light blinker in the car (the things us women have to do when the hubby works out of town!) and looked for some of my art supplies because I was asked if I would be interested in illustrating a cover for a client of a friend of mine. Of course by the time I actually found my art supplies it was time to get ready for bed.

We read four chapters in Genesis of the KJV Bible and three chapters in The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Just three more chapters and we are done with this book. I am going to set up a Skype conversation with Grandma Lori who lives five hours away so Raven can discuss the book with her! It will be fun.

After the kids were in bed I did my usual research on homeschooling. I am still trying to figure this all out and find out what works and what I could be doing better etc. In my research I found a few things I am going to try.

First, when Ra gets up in the morning I am going to ask her "What do you want to learn today?" and "How long would you like your lessons to be? One hour? Two hours? or Three hours?) instead of trying to fit in what I want to teach that day. I will give myself an hour or so to prepare (if needed) to teach what she is interested in. I realize that this is practically throwing out the planning I spent so much time on preparing for this week, but if this works better I definitely wont complain about loosing the time this week to gain it from here on out!

If Ra does not want to have her lessons be an hour or more than I know that I have not sufficiently "inspired" her yet. Which I am bracing myself for because it is entirely possible since "inspiring" isn't something that comes naturally for me. This thought led me to more research of course.

I came up with a basic starting point for "inspiring". The guidelines where not meant for homeschooling application, but I figure if I can apply these principles to each subject to be taught then I will be set. I found that I have already started doing this with learning German.

-Stick with what you love about the subject. (if you don't love it, work on that first!)
-Think Big and Noble. (aim to be the best and know the most)
-Be Expressive with your students/children. (share with them your findings and excitements)
-Practice What You Preach. (don't ask them to do anything you aren't willing to do yourself)
-Keep an Open Door. (be willing to stop what you are doing to assist them with questions and concerns)
-Offer a Guiding Hand. (when they show interest offer to help them progress and give guidance)
-Be Consistent. (if it isn't important to you why should it be for them?)
-Stay Positive. (don't criticize your kids for shortcomings or inhibitions they have in achieving goals)

I know these things have been explained in the TJEd books and websites, but it is nice to step back and get a different wording and view of the same concept to make the puzzle fit together a little bit better. All in all, I need to focus on educating myself and by putting myself in that mindset I will better see the opportunities I have to share that knowledge with my children.

As for learning to reading, writing and arithmetic for the boys, I need to pay more attention to the things they do on their own and look for learning opportunities there instead of requiring them to sit down and do math with me or writing etc. If I implement more activities where these things are present as well, like writing letters to people, they will learn to do them in a natural setting. 

P.S. I also did some more German lessons of LiveMocha. I am getting better than my husband, granted he only took two years of German in high school and doesn't remember a whole lot because he hasn't used it.