Another year is about over, and I see that I haven’t been here in quite some time.  Part of the problem that I’ve had in posting here is not knowing how personal this should be; part of the problem is not knowing exactly what to talk about.  The two problems are similar, but not quite the same.   I’m still not exactly sure, but I’m back for another try.

This last school semester has been good for my homeschooling ego.  My son started UL this semester, and ended up with a 4.0 GPA.  I was very happy, both for him and for myself.  Another child that I hadn’t ruined by homeschooling.  He’s making friends and making good grades–two things not necessarily linked for college students.

I am trying to reconcile the lessons that I’ve learned over the past (almost) 20 years of homeschooling with the image that I’d like to project.  I’d like to be seen as the uber-organized, tightly scheduled homeschooling mother who is never bothered by interruptions.  The mom who always gets everything done in the house and with schooling and never lets outside events compromise what needs to get done.  Instead, we are often interrupted.  There are some days when I look around and wonder what we did that wasted so many hours.

But both of my college student children have 4.0 GPAs (for the time being), and so what we actually do–as opposed to what I wish happened–seems more than suficient.  We cover the material that the schools cover (and sometimes more) and add in extra-curricular activities (this year dance, acting and voice classes, a full scale musical theatre production and a ballet, along with Girl Scouts).  We’re getting it done, even if it seems always to be a little breathless.

The question I have is whether or not any of the breathlessness is necessary.  Can “one” homeschool and be relaxed?  Is it a part of homeschooling (at least for me) to have some part of my brain standing apart and worrying whether  we’re doing it right?   Will I ever be convinced in the moment that the education that my children are getting is enough?

Or is homeschooling just like the rest of life, where you never see the answers to the test until after the test is done? 

Posted: December 29th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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Tomorrow is the second and (so far) final NBTSB.  This time we’re going to a park for a “bring your own breakfast” picnic.  This is probably going to be the bigger event, since I think that parents with younger children might be moe comfortable at a park rather than in a restaurant.

Here on the home front, I’ve chosen to add 2 new math programs:  Life with Fred (geometry) for Martha and Singapore Math for Annette.   I’ve never been really unsatisfied with Saxon (except for the K-3 program), but it was time for a change for me and, therefore, for the kids.  I’m looking forward to seeing the programs, because I’ve heard a lot of great things about both of these.

One of the things that I want to work on this year is diversity for my kids–but more on that later.

Posted: August 14th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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Tomorrow is the first of our Not Back to School Breakfasts.  We are really looking forward to getting together with our friends and celebrating the fact that our schooling is part of our family lives and isn’t compartmentalized.  We’ll meet this week at a local restaurant and then next week, when more people can come, we’ll meet at a park for a BYOB(reakfast) picnic.

Our children feel a little sad for the kids in school who don’t get to do this.

Posted: August 7th, 2008 under Uncategorized, celebration.
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I can’t believe how long it’s been since I last updated.  The summer has been really busy (why do I still think that summer=vacation for me), and time has gotten away from me.

My two older girls spent a week in New York while Martha attended a dance intensive at the Alvin Ailey Studio.  Beverly Spell’s Lafayette Ballet Studio went and Martha in particular loved being in New York again and getting to see a couple of shows and feel the energy of the big city.

Then we went on a family trip to Washington, DC.  None of our family (including my husband or myself) had ever been to the capital, and it was a surreal experience.  All our our lives we had seen pictures of the buildings in which the political power of the United States is concentrated, and actually seeing them was amazing. 

Now we’re home again, and the time has come to start gearing up for the beginning of the school term.  I’ll have 2 in college this year, and there are things that need to be done for that.  Then I need to finalize the curriculum for the 2 still at home.  I’ve pretty much got everything I need for Annette (the younger of the two), but I’m still tweaking Martha’s books. 

It’s also time for letters/forms to the state DOE to comply with the registration laws, but that won’t take any time at all. 

The Magnolia group is also gearing up for the year.  Plans are already in the works for monthly meetings at the public library and get togethers are being planned.  It going to be a busy month or so until we’re all finished with the beginning of the year.

Off to get some actual work done–I’ll be back with more specific posts about curriculum and all soon.

Posted: August 4th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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Okay, so we’re sitting around talking, and two of my daughters are complaining about the way that their contemporaries use (or more properly, don’t use) the rules of grammar.  They complained about dangling participles and ending sentences with prepositions…it was enough to make a homeschooling mother cry with joy on Mothers’ Day.

I also had a chance to talk to one of my children about reading this weekend.  She is a voracious reader, and just can’t understand why a lot of the people that she knows aren’t.  I had to confess that I was at a loss to explain that as well, since I am one of those people who will read old cereal boxes if I’ve run out of other material at hand.

Reading has been such a great help with homeschooling for me.  It reinforces both grammar and spelling rules (painlessly) and opens up worlds that might otherwise be completely closed to us.  I’ve been very lucky that (so far) all my children love to read, because without reading, all of schooling is so very much harder.

Posted: May 12th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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This is our crew at the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. 

Posted: April 25th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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For some reason today I’m feeling particularly energized.  I’ve been thinking about creativity and how my children express their own individuality.  The three oldest either are or have been interested in theatre (and we can now add film, now that Joseph’s through with his shooting on the movie he’s been involved with), and the littlest one is trying to figure out where she fits in and how to be her own person among all these much bigger and louder people.

I could say that homeschooling allows my kids more time to pursue the things that they are interested in (and, in fact, I’ve probably said that a million times or more).  But since I’ve been involved in writing again, I am trying to look past the surface to what drives creativity in the kids.

When Martha or Joseph is involved in a theatrical production and trying to create a character (especially when that character is small and not necessarily filled out by the writer), I love hearing how they decide who “they” are in terms of the show.   I think that in those moments where they don’t feel a pressure to be “creative”, they find so many ways to create that we often overlook.   Movement (even hand gestures or facial tics) goes a long way to fleshing out a character.  Posture and stride can say a lot.  When the kids create a person, they have to learn to observe and mimic–but also to categorize the things that people do.

It’s like science applied to art–biology creating theatre.  If you can’t see, you can’t know.  A scientist who doesn’t observe won’t ever be able to draw conclusions.  An actor who doesn’t see will never be able to draw a believable character.

I wonder what they would think if I told them that they were being just like biologists when they “sold” that song that they were singing?

Posted: April 24th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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Well, I’ve finally gotten tired of the tortured sentence structure that comes from trying not to post the names and ages of my children.  From now on, they will appear as themselves.

Posted: April 15th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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In the process of reading some of the political/feminist blogs out there, I came across one post which confronted a problem that still puzzles me.  What is a blog–is it only stream of consciousness writing; is it a series of essays that confront “problems” or “issues” that face a community; is it a diary of day to day experiences that may or may not have any relevance to the reader?

 I am never sure what I am doing here.  It becomes more difficult because blogging is often something done “in the dark”, so to speak. There is little feedback, so I can never tell if what I am saying ever connects with any one else. 

That never stopped me before.  But it would be nice to hear from people.

Posted: April 15th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 1

Oh my gosh. I just found myself (and a friend) on the internet.

Posted: April 9th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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