Boo-Hoo's and Ahh-Haa's

23 February 2012

I slept in this morning. I have totally ignored my "schedule" for the week. I realized yesterday that I am not inspiring my kids. I also realized that I don't know how to inspire them. A very daunting thought when I am trying to live up to the mantra "Inspire not Require". Last night I sat bolt upright in bed after dozing for a little while and began sobbing I was so overwhelmed by my task and I felt prompted to pray. I prayed earnestly that God might help guide me in my search for knowledge and help me understand and apply what I have already learned.

This morning when I woke up I realized that the kids had not yet come down to bother me about typing the the passwords for the computers (being computer day and all) which made me very curious. I went upstairs and found the kids enthusiastically playing with some ball hoop and target sets we received from Grandma B(She is an adopter grandma! She has no kids of her own and is good friends with Grandma Jane). I hadn't pulled them out until last night for the first time after the kids were in bed. I left them out and apparently the kids loved them so much they forgot it was computer day for a little while.

 I spent some time talking to my sister (which if you haven't noticed by now is what I do when I'm stressed out because she helps bring me back down to reality) and I got to thinking about the interest the kids had this morning. I decided that the computers need to take a further back seat than they have been. I cut down from everyday to two days, now I'm considering ONLY using their computer time for typing exercises and educational studies. I will probably find a way to make free computer time a reward of some sort, but I am still thinking it all out.

I want to make our basement family room into more of an educational playland. Right now it has a bookshelf, a small chest of craft activities, a children's desk and the computer desk. If we took the computer desk out of there and just put one computer in my room and put the other one away for now or in my small craft room, there would be more space for the kids to set up and play. We could get more open-ended toys and manipulatives to have down there and hopefully encourage them to do more than complain about wanting to be playing computer games.

I also know that when the weather warms up the computers aren't as bad of a problem because it is easier for the kids to be able to play outside. I decided though, that cold weather is no excuse to be cooped up inside all day. I love being outside and Charlotte Mason is a big proponent of spending time out of doors as much as possible. So we bundled up while Em was taking her nap and I raked up leaves and twigs while the kids rode bikes, and dug in the dirt and tried to help me with the raking as well.

When Em woke up I put her in her stroller and Ra, El, and Ca rode their bikes and we walked to the park where there was another little boy El's age playing with his dad and their two schnauzers. I let the kids play until Em started getting red cheeked from cold then we went home, had dinner and the kids had a bit more time on the computers before storytime.

We finished reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and read a chapter in Genesis of the KJV Bible. Tomorrow I will ask Ra if she wants to listen to a book about George Washington next or the book she picked from the library (as I offered to read it to her because she wanted it so bad but it is not an easy read for her yet).

I looked up some fun activities to do with the kids in honor of President's Day and George Washington's birthday ( I know we are late) and I am sure they will have fun tomorrow helping me in the yard again and doing these crafts. I will take pictures of them when they are completed and post them tomorrow!

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.