This is our crew at the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. 

Posted: April 25th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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And just for the record, I’m still obsessing about finding the right geometry program.

Posted: April 24th, 2008 under Resources.
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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.
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Here’s an article I missed from the Daily Advertiser on April 9th about homeschoolers and access to public school sports.

Posted: April 9th, 2008 under legal, opportunities.
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Oh my gosh. I just found myself (and a friend) on the internet.

Posted: April 9th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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The end of the school year always makes me review the things that I think are important enough to teach to my children.  Having a child who is about to complete Saxon’s Algebra 1 is what initially brought geometry to my mind.   With my oldest, I got a seperate geometry book, and she slogged through it–even though, for me, geometry was my favorite high school math.   I didn’t do it with my next child; we stayed the Saxon course, hoping that they were right and that there was enough geometry in their books to make up for the lack of a dedicated course.   Now I have another one at that point.   I have tried both of the options, and now need to make my mind up about which way to go this time.

The reason that I originally included geometry as a seperate field of study, other than the fact that I really did enjoy the subject in school, was because I find geometry a lovely exercise in logic.   Proofs, to my way of thinking, can teach a child HOW to think clearly.   A child can certainly think logically naturally, or can learn it in a different subject.   I just think that geometry provides a very direct course in logical thinking.

At this point, I am almost certain that I will teach another child geometry.   I let myself be convinced that a small and general overview would be enough.   I no longer think that.  I am still trying to decide what textbook to use, and I will try to start reviews before the summer starts.

This is another lesson for me:  follow my own thinking and reasoning, and not that of people who are trying to sell me textbooks.

Posted: April 7th, 2008 under learning.
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These last few weeks have been more about getting the work done and finding time for all the extra lessons that we have, plus the show for #2, than they were about doing much philosophical pondering about schooling.  I have gotten some leads about geometry texts and will hopefully be able to say something about them within a week or two.

The kids have been pretty good about trying to get all the work done within a reasonable time.  School work starts pretty much as quickly as possible after we all get up, and even with assignments and discussions ends within the time we have.  The problem is finding time for music practice and vocalizing and extra writing and drawing–not to mention the back and forth time to lessons and rehearsals.  We manage it pretty well, and I know that it is something that all mothers and fathers have to deal with, but it still takes up a lot of our time.

Posted: April 1st, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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