School break

It is officially Christmas break from school. Cheng is home, Austin is home and Connor is home. Oh boy. Luckily, Cheng has basketball games all week, Austin has indoor track, and Connor has Tae Kwon do. For Christmas Connor received $67.00 cash, and today he wants me to take him to the bookstore to spend it all. Yes, Connor wants to buy $67.00 worth of books!! That, to him, is pure joy. In the meantime, I have received two phone calls from Connor's friends' moms, wanting to know if Connor can play. If you read the previous post, you know that I like it when Connor has friends, but I also feel like we wasted school time when I let them come over to play. Since it's school break, I suppose I will have to arrange at least one play day for Connor. Today is not going to be the day though. I have to take Cheng to basketball and then pick up Austin in Rochester, then take Connor to Tae Kwon do, then pick up Cheng again. Too much running around today. I also want to return a few Christmas mistakes and go to the bookstore. So, to answer the question, does Connor follow the school calendar. Sort of. Right now he is practicing guitar and he'll read at least half the day. I just try to unschool during school breaks. That means that Connor is still learning, just not with my direction.

Being Flexible

I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again; I'm not quick to cede control. I am flexible and rather spontaneous when I decide to change plans last minute, but I don't like it when my plans go awry because someone else puts a kink in my day. Yesterday, I received a call from the mother of Connor's friend. She wanted to know if Ezra could come over to play. On the one hand, I like Ezra, he's a great kid, and I want Connor to have a social life. On the other hand, I had a list of tasks that I felt Connor needed to accomplish. I said ok to having Ezra come over at 11a. What that meant was that Connor had to try to finish all his schoolwork in a short amount of time. He didn't finish his Chinese and had to work on it for an hour while Ezra was here. That, of course, frustrated us all. I often wonder why I don't feel I can just shelve the work and put it off until tomorrow? Lord knows the school does that all the time. In fact, the public had two snow days last week, and I'm certain the work was just put-off until the next school day. Instead, I feel as if somehow Connor will "lose" a day if a friend comes over to play. Our goal is to complete (each week) a unit in Chinese, a unit in Math, a unit vocabulary, a unit in Social Studies etc. etc. I know that we complete at least twice as much work as public-school children, yet I still hate to "waste" a day by giving Connor a snow day. He deserves days off too, I'm sure. In the end, Connor did manage to finish his work, and he got to play outside with Ezra for several hours too. It guess it's all about keeping a balance and being flexible. Easier said than done!

Fruitful day

Today was another busy, but fruitful, day. Connor's new Biology and Math tutor came this morning at 9am. She will be coming Mon. Wed. and Fridays from 9-10am, now that Connor is finished with his computer programming class. His new tutor seems enthusiastic, and at least Connor will have someone working with him so that I can go to the gym without guilt. At 10:15, when I arrived home, Connor was studying his vocabulary flashcards by the fireplace. He was all cozy and focused. After vocabulary, it was time to work on his Chinese homework. His Chinese tutor (who came yesterday) gave him homework to complete before his next lesson,and he was able to do the work independently. At 11:30, I explained to Connor his English essay assignment for the day. For an hour, he diligently typed up an essay on the short story, "The Necklace." Unfortunately, he once again wrote a summary, not a thesis driven essay. He was totally bummed when I told him that he would have to rewrite the essay after Tae Kwon Do class. Off we went to Tae Kwon Do for an hour. After Tae Kwon Do, Connor decided to practice guitar for 30 minutes before attempting the rewrite. I was lucky today; it is Friday and Connor was invited to stay overnight at his friend's house. I used the invitation as a prize, or maybe just a threat. "If you want to stay overnight at Joe's tonight, you need to have a cohesive, thesis-driven essay before 5pm." What a difference it made. Actually, it also helped that I forced Connor to sit down and plan his essay in graphic organizer format. Connor wants to just write; he assumes that the words will just come and all will be great. That works for poetry and creative writing pieces, but an essay needs to have a thesis, structure and organization. Writing essays can be tough for a creative writer such as Connor. Anyway, he did complete a pretty good essay in the end. His thesis was that although some people might argue that Mathilde was a victim of fate, he believes that her free-will (and subsequent bad choices) were her ultimate undoing. Hmmm. Not bad. So that was our day today.

Learning and teaching

Yesterday, I asked the guitar teacher, via email, if Connor was showing any improvement lately. He sent me such an articulate reply that I decided to share it on this blog.

As a Matter of fact he has improved very much. He has retained the major and the minor pentatonic scales. His articulation is getting better too. His fingers stumble a bit but that is due to how fast his mind is traveling 10 to the 10th and beyond and his fingers and hands can't keep up. I have to make him slow down and play slowly and he really sounds good when he does that.

Yesterday we played Beck's Bolero ( that lick he probably plays a million times and drives you crazy) He not only played it to the chords in time but remembered where everything fit just right. We were having too much fun, like that can happen. I also showed him a simple solo to play over three chords and I plan to build on that concept until he gets the idea and can create his own solos from the ideas he has. He even took the Bolero piece and used the chords in a different progression to make up a new song. We jammed on that for a while until it sounded pretty good.

I can't tell you how much I look forward to his session each week. He is a wonderful person and though he is learning I think he is teaching me more.

Energy and Time invested

I was reading a posting on one of my home-schooling lists and it prompted me to blog about the energy it takes to home-school. One of the posters remarked that home-schooling has literally taken over her life and, although she knows it the best thing for her children, she is exhausted from the effort. I remember when we first began home-schooling. I spent hours and hours and hours creating curriculum, tests, essay questions and field trips. I drove Connor to one activity or another (usually in Rochester) practically every day. Yes, I pretty much devoted my entire day to teaching Connor. Now, I find, Connor does most of the work himself. We have a list of subjects that must be covered, and how exactly we meet those standards is flexible. For instance, take Science. We settled on Biology this year. Some days Connor decides to "play games" on Biology4kids website, other days he looks at cells in the microscope, and yesterday his new tutor came over to work with him. I do not have to dictate the when/where and the how of Science. If Science is on the daily list, then Connor figures out a way to fit in a Biology type activity. I expend much less effort now than I did the first year, and I think it helps Connor to be an independent learner. Only once in awhile do I have to sit down and do a mini-lesson on a particular subject. Most of the time, I'm doing my own thing, while Connor is doing his own thing. Yes, I still drive him around to various lessons (guitar, horse-back riding, Tae Kwon do, and Chess), but it just seems more manageable now.

Standardized tests

Since I have to administer standardized tests to Connor each year (per NYS dept. of Ed.) I decided to give him a practice SAT exam, just for yucks. Actually, I happened to be dropping off Xiao's letter of recommendation for college and saw the practice SAT packets there. I grabbed one on a whim, and since it was a snowy cold day decided to administer the practice test. I did administer it over two days because I have a hard time justifying 4 solid hours to one exam. The results were rather interesting. First of all, Connor was stunned to find out how many questions he got wrong. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; Connor needs to learn that there is a whole lot that he DOESN'T know. He often gets cocky and needs to be reminded that he's only ten. That said, however, when I actually went through all the steps to compute his grade (and it's a complicated formula, outlined like a 1040 tax form) we found out that he scored a 950 combined Math and Reading grade. That is as high as Austin scored last year (in 7th grade) and higher than what Katelyn scored as a senior. The writing section he scored a 470 (out of 800), but that section still isn't nationally normed yet and many colleges do not accept that score. Overall, it was a productive experiment. We are going to go through the booklet next week, and revisit all the questions that he got wrong. I feel that the test is pointless unless we actually use it to improve our teaching and learning. Onward we march. Next year, when I have to submit the end of the year test score, we might actually have him sit for the SAT exam, along with Austin. Austin is taking it for the second time this year, just for the practice. The grades are purged at the end of the year for younger students. Again, it's to get the kids comfortable with the exam.

Wow!

Wow! I can't believe that I haven't blogged in over a month! Time sure does fly when you're home-schooling. It's actually one of the biggest challenges, I find. We have so many things we want to do, and so much to learn, but the days are only 12 hours long. We "school" for triple the amount of time the state requires, yet we feel as if we barely scratch the surface sometimes. For example, after church today Connor wanted to create another web page, using the knowledge he gained from the Computer Programming class at John Hopkins. It wasn't on my "to do" list today, but when Connor is all excited about a learning activity I find that he does his best work. So this morning I let him program in HTML for 90 minutes. That is a long time for an "extra" activity, although not long for a computer programmer I'm guessing. I spent the rest of the day trying to recapture that 90 minutes. It's difficult for me to stay on schedule AND let Connor lead the learning. I wish I could totally let go of my idea of a curriculum and just "unschool." I'm certain Connor would learn just as much overall. It's not my personality though. I frequently look at the SAT test and gear my instruction towards what he is going to need to get a high SAT score. Sad, but true. On another note, we have started a new phase of our curriculum. Now that Connor finished his computer programming class and his typing program, we have time to devote to other things (theoretically). And with the semester finishing up, both of Connor's tutors have told me that they won't be available to tutor Connor after this week. So, I posted on State University of Geneseo's website for two new tutors. This time I am seeking a biology/math tutor and a Chinese tutor. I don't think I spend nearly enough time teaching Math and Science to Connor. Of course, I devote more time to English ( because of my English teacher background) and a whole lot of time to just reading. Abraham Lincoln was self-taught, as was Malcolm X, and all they did was read all day. Connor would love it if I let him just read all day! I do insist on other subjects too though. This time when I interview the candidates I'm going to request that they bring a lesson plan and teach Connor for thirty minutes. I want the tutor to be prepared to keep Connor on task and I also don't want him/her to just wing his lessons. If they take tutoring seriously, then Connor will take the tutor seriously. He often gets the unprepared teacher off-topic and off-task. Clever little guy--

He Got It--Now what

Ok-- It was like a light-bulb, and now Connor is programming madly in HTML. Darn. I was hoping to really challenge him and find something he COULDN'T do well, because, honestly, don't we all learn the most when we can't do something? Now, he's totally got this college level computer course mastered, and I have go find something else really hard for him to learn. Sometimes I hate it that my kids are so demanding. It would be so much easier to have average and normal kids who are not going to actually change the world someday. Ok--Who am I kidding? I'm STILL working to change the world myself. I just know in my heart that one of our foster children, or one of our exchange students, or one of the kids we adopt, will make the world a better place.I really expect nothing less. And they know it too. Yep, it's a pain in the butt sometimes, but they know they are supposed to do something FABULOUS and leave their mark on this world.We parents just have to support them in their endeavors and wait for them to find their purpose or calling. Although Connor will probably change his mind about becoming a Priest, he clearly knows that he needs to "Be the change you want to see in the world." (Ghandi)

Growing up

An interesting thing happened today. Connor blogged about his homeschooling, and remarked that he thinks he might be trying to grow up too fast. He came to this conclusion because he realized that maybe he bit off more than he can chew with the online college computer programming class. He's been struggling with the course material, and now he finds it burdensome. I am, of course, thrilled. Finally, he has realized that he can't possibly know all there is to know at age 10. In fact, being 10 and just going outside to play is sometimes enough. He doesn't need to excel at everything, and he can give himself permission to just be a child. I am not going to let him drop the class though. I also want him to see it through to the end, and if he doesn't pass the course then that is the natural consequence of his actions. I didn't want him to take the course to begin with (it was almost $1000) and now he won't insist that he can do college level work. Yes, Connor is advanced academically, but emotionally he's just not ready for that kind of pressure and commitment. The course ends at the beginning of December, and we will NOT sign up for another one. Lesson learned.

Questioning the need to know misc. facts.

When we were planning for this school year, Connor informed me that he needed to learn all the state capitols. Apparently, Austin learned them at about this age, and Connor decided that would suffice for Geography for this year. Looking at his list of capitols, all set out on flashcards that Connor created, I can't help but wonder... Why does he need to memorize all the capitols? Of course, everyone should know their own state's capitol, but if we need to know the rest of the capitols ever, we can look them up. Perhaps it's just me. I list the ability to memorize a bunch of facts low on the list of "thinking skills." The ability to find the information when needed, and then analyze the information, to me, seems more valuable. Asking questions, such as WHY is Albany the capitol of New York, rather than New York City? Hmmm. Let's see. It must have to do with when NY acquired Albany, vs. when NYC became part of our state...or maybe it had to do with where the governor lived at that time. Let's develop a hypothesis and then, after researching it, see if we were right. Who cares if Connor knows all the capitols by heart? Or maybe it is important. I could be dead wrong. I just believe if he's ever involved in a profession that requires that type of information off the top of his head,such as politics, he'll take the time to memorize it then.But onward we plod, in our attempts to make sure we meet NYS standards. Let's work through these flashcards, memorize this info, and move forward with something that requires more brain power.

Ceding Control

The most difficult thing for me to do as a mom and teacher (and probably as a person) is to cede control. Connor decided the other day that he wanted to write a book. Actually, I wanted to focus on expository writing, but he convinced me that he should write a book instead. I recently converted our Peters family trip blog into a gorgeous photo book, and Connor was impressed. Consequently, we decided Connor could write a blog, and then we could convert it into a book at the end of the year. So, my planned essay writing went completely out the window. After Connor blogged for a few days, I, of course had to try to regain control. Connor bounced downstairs yesterday eager to write his blog, when I suggested,since the blog was about "surviving" homeschooling, shouldn't he begin by brainstorming a list of the challenges to overcome.

"Never mind. I don't want to blog now."

Well, wasn't that a kick in my pants. Here he was all enthusiastic to write, and then I had to put in my two cents. It was obvious that Connor immediately lost the feeling of ownership over his writing. I backed off and let him go back upstairs to read. Thankfully, later that night, he was back to blogging. Last night Connor told me that he shared his blog with his Chinese tutor yesterday, and she asked him if I helped him with it. Happily, he could respond no. He said that sometimes I point out his punctuation/grammar errors, but,
"I told her that my mom thinks I have great ideas, so she lets me write what I want."
Whew! In all my zest for Connor's education I have to work hard to let it be HIS education. And you can see from his blog today that he recognizes the need to study subjects not of his choosing; he just needs to keep control of his own thoughts. Connor's blog is http://homeschooling-akidssurvivalguide.blogspot.com/

Beginning of School

Our school year officially began on Monday, Sept 10th. That was Austin's first official day of school, so we declared it Connor's first day too. However, if you read previous blogs you already know that all summer Connor had five hours of Math tutoring a week,three hours of Tae Kwon Do, guitar lessons and practice, swimming lessons, Chinese tutor etc. So although school didn't end for us, I now have to begin documenting our learning again. I guess it's ok though, it makes me more reflective. This past weekend we drove to Boston on Thursday night, the 10th. On Friday the 11th, we toured Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the battlefields of Lexington. Saturday, we went to Salem. There we learned about the witch trials and the battles fought there. Sunday we went on the most incredible whale watch. Yes, there on the boat I had Connor complete worksheets on the differences between baleen whales and toothed whales, and he studied various whale facts. The naturalist on board was a wealth of information, and Connor did not hesitate to ask her a hundred questions. I don't know if it is his age, the fact that he home-schools, or just his personality, but I noticed that none of the other kids on the boat seized the opportunity to speak with the marine biologist and ask questions the way that Connor did. Overall, it was an educational weekend, to say the least. Monday we knuckled down and began our official curriculum. Connor makes a list, and plows through the list each and every day. He began his John Hopkins University class on computer programming, and that took a few hours. We had some technical difficulties at first, and we realized Connor has to use my lap-top. The computer downstairs just won't cut it. Drats. Connor also began his Mavis Beacon typing program. By hunting and pecking Connor can type 16 words per minute, and using home-row he types 7 words per minute. I have to convince him that he will be a MUCH better typist if he just masters touch-typing. Connor also began his own personal blog. This spring I imported our travel blog (from our trip to Europe last year) onto a book creation software and I printed a cool book. I told Connor that he should consider making his own book, and now he is blogging furiously. Unfortunately, last night he inadvertently deleted his first blog entry, and he has to rewrite and recreate. He is NOT happy, but that too is part of the writing process. I think this book idea is going to be authentic learning, and I will try to self-publish his book at the end of the year.

Connor's blog about his last week of summer

The past week has been a series of spontaneous events. For instance, I knew I was going to chess camp this summer, but I didn't realize how soon it was. So when I woke up on Monday, Dad suddenly dropped me off at the Chess Center. When I first got to the chess center I played some chess games, and a game called Bug-house. Bug-house is a game where two people play against two more people in timed chess. I played a six year old and he beat me! I don't feel bad about it though because the young kids were beating everyone. Then we had a chess lesson. After that, we ate lunch and went outside to play soccer. I was one of the fastest kids, but I was not very good with the ball.
Another spontaneous event was on August 15th (before chess camp) we all of a sudden got Cheng, our new Chinese exchange student. Then on August 31st we got another exchange student from Thailand!! His name is Oat. He is a very quiet young boy. Once Mom heard about that Oat had no host family, she spent a week trying to find him one. With no luck, Mom decided we would take him in ourselves. So now there are four boys in this house!
On Friday, Aunt Linda and Uncle Victor came for dinner. Finally, it is Saturday, a day of rest. The only thing I am doing today is Tae Kwon Do class and going to a Red Wings game tonight. Speaking of Tae Kwon Do, I have to leave to go to a Tae Kwon Do class right now.

My party

This is Connor speaking:
Yesterday, I had a small party. I invited four of my friends.
"Hey Ryan, I did not think you would be the first one to arrive."
"Well your mom did pick me up."
"Yeah, well, let's go get some squirt guns while we wait for the others." Shortly after Ryan arrived, Ezra's car came into view,although we did not know it was his car at first.
"Hey Ezra. You know Ryan right?"
"Yeah, I know him. Hey Ryan, whats up?"
"Oh, nothing much"
"Hey, there is Joe!" I shouted. It seemed like Joe was tailgating Ezra he was so close. We all got some squirt guns and filled them up. We started having a water war and going down the slipping slide at the same time.
"Hey Logan! It's Connor!"
"Hey Connor, can I have a squirt gun too?"
"Take mine." Pretty soon the water slide broke, but we just took the hose out of it and sprayed each other when we went down.
"I don't know about you guys, but I am going to get something to eat." Every one followed me to the food. We had plums, peaches, hint of lime chips and salsa, plus cracker and cheese. We all pigged out till we were going to burst.
"Lets go to the pond," I said. Everyone agreed to go to the pond. We were half-way through the fields with grass 5ft tall when Joe said,
"Hey guys, I am going back because of my allergy."
"Okay Joe," I said. "See you back at the house." When we where at the pond we threw some sticks for Luke to fetch, but Luke was too chicken.
When we came back, we went downstairs to play a board game.
"Can we play Age of Mythology?" Ezra asked.
"Lets play Risk," I replied. In the end, we played Age of Mythology, but we only got half-way through the game before Ezra destroyed it. Then, we went upstairs and made pizza. After that, we played capture the flag. That is the end!

Funny what children learn

Yesterday was Connor's big summer party. In the spring I had promised him that if he finished his math book then he could have a party to celebrate. Then we got the four foster children and we put it off. Well, yesterday was the date. Connor woke up early and began scurrying all around the house. He emptied the dishwasher, swept and mopped the floor, rearranged the deck furniture, got out the squirt guns, set out crackers and chips, etc. etc. It was fascinating to me watching him mimic all the things I do before we have company. He was only having four boys over for a few hours, but he obviously picked up on the "proper" way to prepare for a party over the years. Makes you pause to reflect on what else they are learning when you're not teaching.

This is Connor:
Today Austin, mom and I are going to go to the mall. I need a new book, and lately I have been reading Calvin and Hobbes,which mom thinks is not educational. But, to tell you the truth, I think Calvin and Hobbes is very educational. First of all, the vocabulary that Calvin uses is vast. Some of the words I don't even know. For instance, in a comic strip Calvin's mom comes into Calvin's room and says "Rise and shine." Then Calvin grumbles and his mom says "The early bird gets the worm." Calvin replies by saying "Big incentive." I had to look up the word incentive.
Anyway, I have been reading Redwall,a series by Brian Jacques. Oh, and also, I'm reading The Ranger's Apprentice series, by John Flanagan. But, I just finished all the Redwall books that we have, and I can't get the next Rangers Apprentice book because the sixth one is only out in Australia, as are the seventh and eighth books. Australia is where the author lives. So, I can't wait until I can get a new book at the mall. I keep begging mom to let me take out my $100 from the bank and spend it all on books, but she says no, we can go to the library.

Foreign Exchange Students

Well, we've done it again! We've agreed to host another foreign exchange student from China. After reviewing our curriculum and educational goals, I realized that Xiao was absolutely integral to our learning. In previous blogs I said that I wasn't sure what I would do without Xiao and all his tutoring of the boys, and I meant it. Consequently, I said ok to hosting and our new son will arrive Aug. 15th!!

Life Science Center

I am soooo excited to find out that the University of Rochester offers classes to homeschoolers once a month at their Life Science Center!! Connor is going to do experiments in a college lab on DNA, infectious diseases etc. etc. etc. this fall. Wow!!! This opportunity is going to prepare him for high school Science in a way that I never anticipated. Who knew that homeschoolers had all these amazing resources at their disposal that public schoolers miss?? No wonder U of R hired two (twins) PHD candidates to teach courses at the University at age 19 last year. They were homeschooled!

NYC-- by Connor

I went to the Museum of Natural History yesterday. It was very crowded. First, we went to the dinosaur exhibit. I kept on asking if the bones were real, and always received the same answer, yes. I was amazed at how many there were. I also saw a jaw of a shark. Its diameter was probably about three of four feet long. The dinosaurs were separated into groups. The dinosaurs with four limbs, the dinosaurs with back bones (vertebrates), and the dinosaurs with orbital cavities. It was all very amazing.
The museum was HUGE!!! It took us a long time to get to the space part, so on the way we stopped at the North American Birds. We saw every type you can think of. Eagles, (Bald and Golden) Cranes, and many other types.
Finally we made our way to the space place. There was a whole row of signs with facts on them. They started at 10 to the power of 15, and went all the way to the power of -18. At each sign, say 10 to the power of 3 (1000). Then they would turn it to 1000 meters and find an object that is 1000 meters. Ten to the negative eighteen was a blood cell.
The next day we went to Ellis Island. It was interesting. I found out that my great-grandma and a few relatives from three generations ago were immigrants and checked in at Ellis Island. There were a lot of interesting facts about of Ellis Island. After we got bored of Ellis Island we took another ferry to Liberty Island were we observed the Statue of Liberty. It was huge! Then we returned to our hotel at about five o'clock. Well, that's all!

Connor's list

Yesterday I found a list that Connor must have created when he was figuring out his fall curriculum. He had two distinct columns: 1. Activities that I enjoy for homeschooling, and 2.Things I don't like to do, but have to do. On the second list, Connor only listed three things: swimming lessons (which will be over in two weeks), essays, and laundry. I'm laughing as I type this. Since when does laundry count toward his homeschooling? On the list of things he enjoys, Connor listed 12 activities: Reading, Dissecting, building, guitar, Math, Chinese, Tae Kwon do, etc. Pretty much everything that we do for school!! Lucky for me! Our son actually LIKES learning now. Mission accomplished.

Lesson Plans

So,this morning I told Connor that he needed to figure out what he wants to study on Tuesdays, when he goes to Grandma Sue's house. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I decided to go back to teaching at Genesee Community College two days a week. We realized that (as long as I don't have the extra four foster children) we can still homeschool Connor while I work part-time. Most of Connor's learning is independent study anyway; we just can't leave him alone all day without a "teacher" available. Grandma Sue has lots of skills and talents, and she agreed to homeschool Connor one day a week. The other day, Thursdays, is the day I'll have all Connor's tutors come to the house. He currently has a Math tutor, a Chinese tutor, a Chess teacher and a guitar teacher. If I can streamline all the teachers into one day then Connor will not be alone at all. I'll be paying the same for teachers that I currently pay, and I'll be able to keep my career. So--to this end, I had Connor plan his curriculum for Tuesdays. 9am Church, then guitar practice, then the online Computer Programming course, then Reading, Writing and an activity with Grandma, which will vary. She is an expert gardener, she sews, and she's great at word puzzles and Scrabble. Furthermore, she is the perfect person to teach Connor PATIENCE. He is quite impulsive, and we are working hard on developing patience and foresight. Grandma constantly reminds Connor to go a slower pace and think things through. It'll be a win-win situation for us this fall.

Not on the test

This is a wonderful little video about NCLB and the federally mandated tests.

http://www.notonthetest.com/index.html

Lazy Days of Summer---NOT

So, we're now settled into our summer routine. Swimming lessons, reading clinic, guitar, Chinese, horse-back riding, Tae Kwon Do etc. Connor's friend's mom called to see when the kids can get together, and I had to honestly tell her we are not free any day before 2:30p. Yikes! Of course, our schedule will settle down in Aug., but right now it's go, go, go. I'm very happy I postponed the start of Connor's Web Design class until the fall. On another note, Austin has been sending us emails from China (in Chinese). Very cool.

I feel very fortunate

I just wanted to mention, I am so very fortunate to be an Alumni of SUNY Geneseo. We've been spending an hour every morning in the library (while Connor works with his Chinese/Math tutor) and we're taking advantage of all the resources available to educators. I noticed a cool skeleton to build, lots of Science kits, a million puppets, math manipulatives etc. etc. Having top quality materials at my fingertips makes it much easier for me to homeschool Connor and summerschool the other children. The librarian knows all the children by name now, and she even took the initiative to procure special library bags for them to carry their books back and forth. It was amazing how excited they were to have their own library bags! Tomorrow we start swimming lessons, and next week we begin the summer reading clinic, all provided free of charge by SUNY Geneseo education majors. Yes, I'm very fortunate to live where I do and to have these resources!

Thoughts I shared with new homeschooler

Ohio sounds like a dream from this side of the fence. In NY, there is no such thing as state-funded gifted education. NONE. As for telling Connor about our final decision; I put it off until his very last week of school. That is only because I didn't want him to tell his teachers or friends and create problems for us. Homeschoolers are often resented or treated as enemies to education. We had been talking about the possibility of homeschooling for nearly a year before we took the plunge, so I just said one day, "Now that I'm not working, would you like to try homeschooling for a bit?" He jumped on it. I framed it as a temporary experiment, and said if we weren't happy with homeschooling then we'd just re-enroll him in his public school. At the end of this year, I found out my Reading program at Monroe Community College was re-funded, and I could have my job back. After talking to Connor, we decided that homeschooling was more important to us than my career right now. He is, after all, working 4 grade levels ahead of his peers, so we are going to continue for at least one more year.After that, he'll be old enough (though on the young side still) for McQuaid Jesuit.
To answer your other questions, in the beginning, we tried to be loose and casual with the curriculum for a month, as recommended by most homeschoolers (google "deschooling") and then created our curriculum as we went along. I did not want to duplicate school, afterall it wasn't meeting his needs, so I stayed away from all boxed curriculums. Last week, when I wrote his IHIP (Individualized Home Instruction Plan) for next year, I simply shouted down the hall, "Connor, what about Science? What do you want to study next year?" He shouted back, "I want to dissect animals." I wrote on the form, in the Science box: Life Science/Biology. Under the slot for textbooks, I wrote, Microscope and web resources. "Connor, what about Geography?" "I'm supposed to learn the capitols of the states. " Me, "OK." Geography: State capitols. Textbook: The Globe and Maps. What a difference from last year!! In the fall I spent hundreds of hours trying to decide on curriculum, writing up syllabi, and agonizing over materials. Now that I know he is learning, all on his own, we just follow Connor's lead. I'm not going to teach cursive writing at all, since he can read it already and will never need to write it other than his signature, and he hates handwriting. We type 99.9% of the time anyway, and I know that I can't even remember how to write in cursive anymore. I teach grammar in context concurrently with his writing. I edit his writing for grammar at the end of the writing process, using the book The 6+1 Traits of writing as a model. A typing course is on the list for next year. Connor types fast, I'd guess 35 WPM, but does not use "home row" and I think he should know the proper format. He disagrees with me on that one. Connor taught himself to type just because he enjoys writing stories and he hates handwriting. I postponed the John Hopkins course (in Web Design) until the fall, so he'll also begin that in Sep. I don't think Connor will be able to concentrate over the summer, with all the kids here, and summer is busy enough without a 2 hour a day commitment on the computer. Swimming lessons start next week, and Connor meets his Chinese and math tutor an hour every day in the summer. If it works out, I'll have his tutor teach him math and Chinese all year next year. I listed Algebra under the math slot of the IHIP, though he's learning geometry and trigonometry too, and for textbooks I wrote down the text we used last year, even though the tutor doesn't use a text very much. She is from Taiwan, and she teaches him math using logic problems and manipulatives (including the abacus). I think the important thing to remember is that you can't screw up a child's education, really. If you do nothing at all, and just let a child explore his world in his own way, he will learn more than he learned in school. Children like to learn--especially highly gifted children like Connor--we just need to get out of their way most of the time. Like Mark Twain said, "Do not let school get in the way of education."

Yes, it's vacation.. but...

So, I've been taking Connor to the college everyday at 9am to work with a tutor. She's been working with him on his Chinese and Math. What is really cool, is that even when she works with him on math, she makes him say all his numbers in Chinese!! She is young, probably 20, and she brings such enthusiasm to his lessons. Yesterday she brought all her paint brushes and ink, and they spent the lesson writing Chinese characters (which is damn near impossible to learn, just so you know). Anyway, I was compelled to write because I had to complete next year's IHIP. Looking at the form closely though, I was momentarily inspired; it is called Individualized Home Instruction Plan. How cool would it be if Every child had an individualized instruction plan?? Home or not.. I've often thought that the current model of an IEP (for special Ed. kids) would be a great idea for each and every child....

summer school

I haven't blogged lately because I've been so busy with all the kids. The four kids are staying with us this summer, apparently. For summer school, I coordinated a graduate student to tutor Connor an hour a day in Chinese and Math. That will eliminate the need to drive 45 each way on Tuesdays. I have been taking him to the college library (10 min. away)for his lesson. While we are there, I read to all the other kids and help them find books to take home. I'm an alumni, so we can use all the college facilities. After Chinese/Math, starting next week, all the kids will go to swimming lessons. All, that is, except for the little guy who is only two. Swimming lessons end at 11:15, and I signed up two of the kids for the Geneseo Reading Clinic. It runs from 1:30-3:30 four days a week. Connor has Tae Kwon Do 1-2p three days a week. So between Chinese, Math, guitar, swimming and Tae Kwon Do, I'm wondering when Connor will find time to take his online course in computer programming. He's supposed to begin that July 8th. I might have to call to see if we can postpone it.

Funny you tube vidoes

Two funny links to homeschool Spoofs
Will Survive- Homeschool Version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIOogqa-5GA&feature=email


Tim Hawkins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM6uqj0_jQc&feature=email

Wed. June 17 Civil War Reenactment

I dropped both boys off at the YMCA homeschooling Civil War Reenactment event this morning, and I'm sitting in the Subaru dealership waiting for my car to be maintained. When I left the Y, Austin did not look happy. Most of the kids at the event were girls,and they were all Connor's age. Oh well.

Tuesday June 16

Tuesday was NOT a good day. We left early for Chinese because we had some errands to do, and I ended up losing my temper with Austin. I won't elaborate, but I find that I am beginning to resent the fact that we pay $10K a year for his education (and drive almost two hours a day to transport him there and back) and he doesn't seem to appreciate the sacrifices. We ALL give up things to pay for and transport him (Connor spends a chunk of his school day in the car) and Austin has turned into a big jerk. Now I'm threatening to homeschool Austin too. Funny, huh? At the beginning of homeschooling, Austin begged me to homeschool him too; now, I use it as a threat. Austin sees that Connor does twice as much work in a school day, and he no longer wants to homeschool. He may not have a choice.

Ignatian Prayer for Parents

This sums up my goals for our sons to a tee!!!

Ignatian Prayer for Parents

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Build us sons, O Lord who will be strong enough to know when they are weak, and brave enough to face themselves when they are afraid; sons who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build us sons whose wishbones will not be where their backbones should be; sons who will know Thee—and that to know themselves is the foundation stone of knowledge. Lead them, we pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and sour of difficulties and challenge. Here, let them learn compassion for those who fail.

Build us sons whose hears will be clear, whose goals will be high; sons who will master themselves before they seek to master others; sons who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; sons who will reach into the future yet never forget the past.

And, after all these things are theirs, add, we pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that they may always be serious, yet never take themselves too seriously. Give them humility, so that they may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength. Amen

From St. Xavier High School Cincinnati OH

Monday June 15

I didn't blog on Friday because we didn't do too much. Connor went to Chess club, and then he left to go to Pennsylvania with his aunt and uncle for the weekend. Today we went to church, played Risk, studied Chinese, practiced guitar and went to Tae Kwon Do class. At Tae Kwon Do, one of the students (an adult) asked me quite a few questions about homeschooling. She wasn't being critical, she was just curious. She wanted to know if we take the summer off, just like "real" school. (The answer is no). I explained that although Connor is done with his Math, Geography and a few other subjects, he also takes guitar and Chinese, which he needs to continue all summer in order to progress. Reading is another activity we do every day, all summer long, and I hired a math tutor to work with Connor over the summer. In Tae Kwon Do class, Connor is extremely focused, attentive and driven; I think the woman was asking about homeschooling because she sees Connor at his best. What I find annoying is that I feel we are constantly being measured and evaluated because we are homeschoolers. Kind of a pain, but I guess it goes with the territory. I just need to memorize a standard answer to say when I get questions. I know that after Ken died, I just started saying, "I'd rather not talk about that." I simply got tired of giving out a long explanation to virtual strangers. People are curious and determined to offer their opinion, but I refuse to be put on the defense all the time. My family, and those who know Connor well, know that homeschooling is right for us at this time. It might not be right later, or for another child, but for us at this minute, it works.

Thurs. June 11th

Xiao is done with school, and so is Austin. Connor, however, is not quite finished. I gave Connor a blank map of the world today, and he was supposed to place the 292 countries/states/provinces/territories on the map. He found that he could remember about 3/4 of the map, but he needed to refresh his memory on the rest. Therefore, Connor spent a few hours today playing geography games online using Sheppard software. I am also threatening a cumulative vocabulary test (300 words) so he brought out his flash cards for a bit to review. After that, Connor studied Chinese with Xiao, played Risk, read Thief, and went to horse-back riding lessons. At 7pm we attended the show Walking with Dinosaurs at the Blue Cross Arena. The show fit in nicely with Monday's study of fossils and rocks etc. Lucky timing, really.

The Nay-Sayers and my response Wed. June 10

Yesterday, Wed., a woman came to look at the puppies for the second time. She asked me, with a critical tone, why I homeschool Connor. I briefly explained to her his need for challenge, and how NYS does not mandate that schools have gifted programs or accelerated academics. She restated that she's "Against homeschooling, but perhaps she can see where I might have no other option for a child who is working 3-4 grade levels above his peers." Then she again brought up the socialization issue. Kids need to be with other kids. Yes, I agree, to a point. As I said before, there are a million homeschool groups that we can join when/if he wants to hang out with other kids. But how many other kids does a child really need to be well-socialized? We have a houseful of siblings (biological and otherwise) and beyond that I think a child only needs one or two good friends. Even in school, Connor only really socialized with the two kids he liked. When I worked with 90 other women my own age, I only socialized with the three whose company I enjoyed. The rest of the woman I avoided. As an adult, we choose our friends and seek out their company. Why should children be forced to "socialize" with children that do not share their values or interests? Is the purpose of school to learn academics, or to learn how to get along with others? I believe we can learn how to get along with others just be being active members of our community. If school teaches socialization so well, why then can I point out several people who have poor social skills, after attending public school? Get this straight please--homeschoolers do not sit at home all day with their children chained to the desk in the basement! The other point the woman made is that children often learn better and listen better to someone who is NOT their parent. Agreed. That is why we have a guitar teacher, a horse-back riding teacher, a Chinese teacher, a Tae Kwon Do teacher, a boat-building teacher, a chess teacher, etc. etc. etc. Connor learned a ton about construction in the last few weeks just by hanging out with the workers building our sunroom. He learned about rocks and fossils this week from an instructor who has her PhD in paleontology. Hard to beat that! Thursday night we are attending the show Dinosaurs Alive at the Blue Cross Arena. The experts there will teach us more about the Triassic, Jurassic and Crestaceous periods. At this point in Connor's life, I see no benefit to school. He sees his friends a few times a week, and that is more than enough!!

Tues. June 9th

A quiet morning, finally. Church on Tuesday is at 9am, which gives us a few hours of quiet time in the morning before we have to run out the door. We took care of puppies and then spent an hour studying Chinese and having a leisurely breakfast. After church, Connor reviewed geography using Sheppard software. We met a woman yesterday (at the diamond mine) who was talking about a friend who adopted recently. The woman knew that her friend's adoption took place in Africa, but she couldn't remember the country. I called over Connor to see if he could name the various African countries to jog the woman's memory. Unfortunately, Connor could only remember a few of the countries, which made me decide that a geography review day was in order. We then did more vocab., read The Lord of the Rings, practiced guitar, went to Chinese class and practiced Tae Kwon Do. For almost an hour today Connor pestered the workers who are building the addition to our house. They were laying the tile, and Connor was interested in the tile cutter and the whole tile process. The tile-cutting machine is similar to the gemstone polishing/cutting machines we saw yesterday at the mine. The workers showed Connor the diamond that is the blade and answered his zillion questions. Diamonds are of the hardness scale 10, and they are the strongest cutting tool. Connor got out his new Herkimer diamonds (hardness 7.5) to show the workers. The difference between "real" diamonds and Herikmer diamonds is that real diamonds are made of Carbon, and Herkimer diamonds are sulfite. They both form naturally from the forces of nature, and they both have 18 facets and look exactly the same. When we got home from Chinese class at 5:30p, I dropped Connor off to go horseback riding with his friend. By the time I got home (I had to drive Austin to Civil Air Patrol) it was 9:30p and Connor was in bed already.

Monday June 8th

Today we went to Herkimer diamond mine!! What a fantastic day. Here are Connor's thoughts. I'm just too tired to type!
Hello everyone. It is Connor! Today I had to wake up at 4:30 am. and we had to get in the car at five. The car ride was 2 hours and 52 minutes long. What a bummer, being in a car for three hours with mom! She made me listen to Chinese Cds the whole time. It was so boring!!! Luckily, I fell asleep for half of the ride. When we got to Herkimer, I went upstairs to the museum. They had a real dinosaur skull! After the talk about what to do, and how to do it, we went into the mine. It was not underground, but was all rock and open. I got a nasty cut from the rocks on my knee. Anyway, I spent an hour of fun, smashing rocks and finding beautiful Herkimer diamonds. Then we when sluicing. I got a partner and a bag of soil, then put it in a cage-like thing. After that, I put the cage-like-thing in the running water, and moved it around. Out came beautiful gems, after the soil washed away.
Well, after that, I got snacks. We then looked at how jewelers smoothed out stones with grinding machines. There were two machines, and they did different jobs. Two of them smoothed out stones and one of them makes the faces of the diamonds really clear. Then we went to the appraising table. I found some drusey (spelling ?) that they told me is worth eight dollars, and a few perfect little diamonds.
Then my mom and I learned about Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary rocks. After lunch, we decided to mine the rest of the day. I found tons of diamonds. I could sell them all for $100+ dollars. That was my trip at Herkimer Diamond mine!

Life lessons

I noticed that I blog a whole lot about academics, and I often skim over the life lessons. I think that is because I am trying to make our blog readable for the nay-sayers of homeschooling or something. Tonight, while everyone sleeps, I want to comment about normal life lessons. Earlier, under the blog entitled "Socialization 101" I chatted about how people are worried about my homeschooler's opportunities for socialization.I expounded on the myriad of activities homeschooling groups have etc. etc. Look at the older post. What I want to comment on now is life lessons afforded because we have the time to devote ourselves to LIFE LESSONS. For instance, we have four foster children. I refer to them in this blog as "our babies." I can not even begin to describe the learning that goes on when we have them here. The McQuaid motto is "Men for Others" and we simply live that way every day. Connor has to navigate and negotiate these four children all of the time!! When it gets difficult (Connor can be bossy) I have to remind him of their recent history and he really steps up to the plate. My point is, I guess, is that we are more grounded in the real world and socializing FOR THE GOOD OF THE WORLD than is the school.

Friday June 5th

The morning was the usual stuff-- church, vocabulary, Chinese, and then guitar. Math is officially done for the year, but the economics of horse-owning is certainly math, and we're doing a whole lot of measuring with the construction crew. Math surrounds us daily. At 11a was Connor's chess club, and at 1p we went to Tae Kwon Do.We sold another couple of puppies, and we had the four foster children again today (and all weekend).

Thurs. June 4

A much better day today overall. I slept in until 7:30 (wayyy late for me) and Connor was already working on his vocabulary book when I got up. He wants me to hurry up and get his vocab. test over with so he can do the other things on his "list." He prioritized his day (he does this every morning) and made this list: Vocabulary, Chinese, guitar, read, essay questions, build tree fort, build slide, write story about pirates, horseback ride, play basketball, make hickory bark syrup. He finished the first half of his list, then spent time watching the builders work on the sunroom/deck. Drywall mud was the topic of today's building lesson. After horse-back riding, Connor decided that he needed to buy his own horse. Four hours later, he comes to me with a spreadsheet of how much it costs to board, feed etc. a horse, and how much he can make an hour grooming dogs, picking strawberries, sell hickory bark syrup and clean stalls. He is going to save up enough money to cover the costs for one year, $10,000, to be safe, he tells me. "How much is a pound of sugar, Mom, to make the syrup?" Me:"I don't know; go on Wegmans site." Connor: "Am I old enough to get a job picking strawberries? I'm fast at it." Me: "I don't know, call J & A farm market and ask them." From 4p, when the horseback riding lesson ended, until 8p this continued. "I found a horse for sale in Naples. Is that too far away?" Me: "Use google maps and see how long it takes to get there." All this was not on the learning list for today, yet it was authentic learning for sure!

Wed. June 3rd

Wow, I am tired today. I got a call to come get our "babies" today, and I wasn't organized and ready for it. Generally, when I have the extra 4 kids I get up early, start dinner at 5am, get Connor up by 6a to do his math, vocabulary, writing etc. etc. Instead, Connor and I went to church and found out at 8:30a that I was going to have the little ones. Also, the contractors are here building the addition, the furnace guy is putting in the new furnace and air conditioning, and I'm selling/showing puppies. We had no running water for two hours due to the construction. At 12:30p, I took Connor to Tae Kwon Do lessons, at 2:15 he had a guitar lesson, at 3:30p we were in Rochester to pick up Austin at McQuaid (listening to Chinese in the car), and at 4p I dropped Connor off for his horseback riding lesson. I just felt disorganized all day and behind the eight ball. Fortunately, all the car time is conducive to learning Chinese. Even the babies are beginning to babble Chinese sentences! Too cute.

Tues. June 2nd

This morning I asked Connor what was on his agenda for today, and, after attending church, Chinese was at the top of his "to do" list. We have Chinese lessons at 3:30 on Tuesdays, and he likes to go into class prepared. So he spent at least two hours today studying Chinese. He also finished correcting his math workbooks. I give him the answer key, and he does all his own "edits." Basically, it means he finds out that he made a mistake, OMG, and then he tries to figure out where he went wrong. Connor is also writing a gospel song on his guitar. The song has evolved this week from a serious Catholic church type song, to a rockin' with the gospels song! Too funny!! But each time Connor writes out the lyrics (and the notes), and then he reworks the song. Yet, it's still not a song that I'd say is "good." But the experience is important, and the patience attached to songwriting is something we are working on developing. We practiced our Tae Kwon Do form for a bit, and Connor spent awhile watching the guys build the new deck/sunroom.

Monday June 1st

We had a normal day today. Church, reading, guitar, writing, Tae Kwon Do etc. Connor finished the vocabulary book the other day, and he spent a long time today making flash cards to review. I am going to administer a cumulative vocabulary test, and he needs to knuckle down and study the 300 words. Yes, he learned 300 vocabulary words in 5 months, along with the spellings and parts of speech. Not too shabby. Connor also found an online course offered by John Hopkins University that he wants to take. I contacted the University to find out the prerequisites, and they emailed me a placement test. Wow, is it difficult. It's all higher level math, at least at the 10th grade level. I doubt that Connor will pass the test, but hey, it's worth a shot. He is now more motivated than ever to work with Xiao on Algebra and Trigonometry. Thank goodness we have Xiao here!!! What will we do when he leaves?

Thursday May 28

"I think today I'll finish my vocabulary book," Connor declared at 7am this morning. Self-directed, student-led learning. What a concept! "After my vocabulary book, I am going to finish The Hobbit, correct my Math pages and work on my story about pirates." Yes, he sets a plan for himself now, writes it down and gets down to business. I would never have envisioned homeschooling in this manner. I am a teacher, and I make the lesson plans--NOT.

Wed. May 27

Hey, this is Connor speaking. Is this thing on? Testing, testing. Mom wanted me to blog, and you know, what mom says goes. So here I am blogging. I recently started writing a story, and it is about pirates. What inspired me to write it, is that I just read Treasure Island and bought a new book about pirates. Then, I decided to write one. At the end of my blog I will include the first two paragraphs of the story. Email me at sandyanddavid@epals.com if you want to read more. Notice the email is different than my mom's email. Anyway, I am trying to write a chapter a day, but today, after I was finished writing, the computer didn't save right, so what I wrote today is lost.
Some builders are building a deck. I like watching what they have to do. Today, they ran into the problem. The hottub won't fit into the door. Now, they have to tear down a wall and start again. What a bummer. Well, that is really all I have to say. My story is below.

Chapter I
Pirate's Soul, Lost at Sea.
The ship's port side was carved to look like a cutlass slicing through the air. The poor craftsmanship made it look like a pointed stick falling from a tree. On the starboard side of the Viking ship the same thing happened. Yes, the Sharktooth was a Viking long ship. At least it was made to look like one. The Captain was a retired pirate named Black-Handed Bill. The crew, a sad sight to look at, were sailors and various types of Navy commanders. No pirates. Or so they thought.
"Ello, I am Terris Long-foot. I would like to join the crew." an elderly man in rags spoke to the Captain. By the looks of things, he was a killer.

Tues. May 26

Connor finished his Math curriculum today!! Whoo hoo! A whole year's worth of Math completed in 5 months, and a grade level higher than what he was doing at Geneseo Central. He's also half-way through the book The Hobbit, and he went to Chinese class too. Of course, some of our day was dedicated to the puppies!!!

Thurs and Friday

We did our usual school things, Math, Vocabulary, Reading and Writing, plus we took care of puppies all week. Wow, the puppies are gorgeous! Connor had a guitar lesson and a horseback riding lesson on Thursday, and Chess and Tae Kwon Do on Friday. He's almost done with the second Math workbook, and Xiao has been teaching Connor basic trigonometry. If I haven't mentioned it before, having Xiao here has been a huge blessing to this family. He plays Risk and Chess with the boys, and he teaches them Math and Chinese all the time. I will be sorry when he returns to China next month.

Connor's blog

This time of the year has been hard for me because I have to make a choice between going to school next year, or staying home-schooled. I do not want to disappoint my friends at school, but to be honest, I love home-schooling. I think I am going to stay home-schooled until seventh grade when I go to Mcquaid Jesuit. I think home-schooling is really good for me is because I want to go to church and learn about God. At public school I would not have a chance to do that. Also, I learn a lot more in a half a year, then two years at public school, and I feel good about that. The only bad thing about home-schooling is that even when I'm on vacation Mom still makes me do work, and that gets really annoying. When the puppies were born, all the kids were calling me lucky because I got to stay home with them. But I am doing as much work as they are, and you can't consider me "off" from school because I'm ALWAYS in school.
Mom is going to let me take an online course at MCC (Monroe Community College). I have not started yet, but I am pretty sure I am going to be able to take one this summer. I know I would not be able to do that at ten years old in public school. At first, I was browsing Google for free online courses on how to design video games. I came upon a free course at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Mom said that MIT is way not right for a ten year old. What I want to do is: (this sounds hard) is get an Associates degree at MCC,then go to Notre Dame for a Bachelors degree. Last, but certainly not least, I want to go to a seminary for however long that is, and get ordained as a Priest. I have high goals, but hey, my brother wants to go to Westpoint.

Wed. May 20

We didn't go to church this morning because Connor slept in until 8am. I was up 3 times with the puppies during the night, so I didn't feel overly motivated myself. The puppies are gorgeous and Maggie is simply amazing. She is the best mother!! While I showed off puppies to various friends, Connor completed his math pages. The lesson was about calculating the volume of a prism triangle, and it was confusing even to me. Eventually, I told Connor to skip that problem and wait for Xiao to get home. Xiao is brilliant at math, and he often helps the boys with their computations. After math, Connor created 20 flashcards and completed a unit in his vocabulary book. On Tuesday night I was driving Austin and his friend John to their Civil Air Patrol meeting, when John found Connor's vocabulary book. He thought it was Austin's (which it is in a way, since Austin is using the same book at McQuaid) and John commented that the vocabulary book is a grade level higher than the one he is using in the same series. John attends a private school in Lima and he's in the eighth grade, so I found that interesting. Anyway, after vocabulary Connor revised the essay he wrote on why he wants to be a priest. At 1p we went to Tae Kwon Do. I was extremely proud of how well Connor stayed on task during the class. He's never been that quiet and focused for 45 minutes. This is progress! After Tae Kwon Do, Connor had a guitar lesson. On the way home from guitar, I had to call the vet to find out the cost of the 1st and 2nd shots for the puppies. Connor was trying to figure out the economics of breeding. Of course, he found out that there isn't that much profit in the puppy selling business, although it's better than not being able to cover the costs. We got home from guitar and Xiao helped Connor with the rest of his math. Now they are playing Risk, a board game. The boys play Risk for hours.

Tues. May 19

Puppies, puppies and MORE puppies. Our dog had puppies Monday night (all night) and that is consuming our every waking moment right now. Of course, Connor did his math, vocab. and Chinese today, but primarily we took care of our dogs. Whew. I'm pooped.

Monday May 18

Well, the big news today is that we think Maggie might be in labor! She dug a hole in the kennel, and laid down in it and refused to come in the house. We finally dragged her in the house at 4p, and she's been acting weird ever since. But back to homeschooling, Connor took his first official group Tae Kwon Do class today. He is doing great already. Very focused, which is unusual for him. Of course, we went to church this morning, and he completed his math, read (The Last Lecture) and responded to essay questions on Treasure Island. He also installed a new program for writing web pages (and video games). It's called Alice, and he read about it in the book The Last Lecture.

Sunday--a changed perspective

I wanted to take a moment to blog about how home-schooling has changed my perspective on learning. Earlier in the week, I put our old Oreck vacuum cleaner into the car to drop off at the local Orek dealer to use for parts. I've had the (very, very expensive) vacuum cleaner for 15 years, and I decided not to spend the money to have it fixed yet again. I bought a cheapo vac at Wal-mart instead. Then Connor found the discarded vacuum and declared it a national treasure. If you read last weeks' blogs, you saw my comment about Connor taking apart the vacuum and researching how to make motors etc. He wants to use the motor to make a rotisserie for the grill.In Myrtle Beach we ate pineapple cooked on a rotisserie, and he's sure he can duplicate the recipe if only he can build the right motor.

Yesterday, I stopped by my dad's apartment to load up the van with junk the tenant left behind. After I dropped off the junk at the dump, Connor lamented that I didn't let him keep the old bi-fold closet doors for his fort. Oh yeah, that WOULD have been cool. Why didn't I think of that?? I've never been one to hoard stuff, and I hate junk with a passion, but now I finally see its value as an educational tool. On Mother's Day, Uncle Charlie was loading scrap metal into his truck to take to the metal recycle place. While the other kids decided it was "work" to help Uncle Charlie load up, Connor found great pleasure in going through the junk. He came home with an old metal saw, a copper planter, assorted wire, and other interesting stuff. To the budding inventor, these are treasures! Though I cannot change my perspective overnight, I am at least starting to see the world through my son's eyes; it's a cool place to be.

Thurs. and Friday May 14-15

Thursday we had the babies here again. We went to Mass, and then Connor did his normal things (Math, reading, vocabulary, Chinese). At 2p I took him to his Tae Kwan Do class. The instructor is rather intimidating, and I am surprised Connor likes the class as much as he does. Don't get me wrong; I think the discipline is just what Connor needs and I'm happy he wants to sign up for 6 months of lessons. The instructor expects a "Yes, Sir" answer every time, and Connor is simply NOT allowed to interrupt with questions. Connor's favorite thing to say is, "I have a question." It turns out that the dojo has a day class scheduled 1-1:45p M W and Fridays that Connor can attend. The other attendees of the class are adults, and I hesitate to have Connor join a class of adults; however, the instructor ensures me that the class is based on ability, not age. The junior class (for kids his age specifically) is at 5:30p, and I told the instructor we are NOT going to get back into running around every darn night. Our supper time and evening time together is simply too important. We have enough running around with Austin's sports. So it looks like Connor has yet another activity on his plate. At least boat-building and Impact Academy are finished now, and we'll be done with this session of Chinese in a month. I did tell Connor that he will have to eventually choose between horse-back riding and Tae Kwan Do because of the costs involved. We're currently spending as much on homeschooling Connor as we do for Austin's tuition!! On Friday we went to Chess class, in addition to our normal school things. Yes, we could go, go, go and have Connor in a class every single moment of the day, if we so desired!

May 13th Wed.

Connor spent most of the day completing the standardized tests required by NYS. It was boring,unproductive and a complete waste of our day. At 1pm, we went to check out a Tae-Kwan-do class. Connor took an introductory class with the instructor for 30 minutes, and then we watched a group class for an hour. He is going to take another introductory class tomorrow, and then we will decide if Tae-Kwan-do fits into our life/curriculum/goals/budget. From there, we went to a Dr. appointment to get Connor's stitches taken out. Kids heal so very quickly!!

Tues. May 12th

I just found this on another blog: "WHY WE HOMESCHOOL: We have seen the village and we don't want it raising our children! God gave them to us. We'll take the job." We did the usual activities today: church, math, vocabulary, and writing. We focused most of our efforts on writing. I want Connor to write a concise essay with organization, but it must have his voice and personality too. I gave him the topic "Chores" and he wrote a great essay arguing that chores are important to teach children pride in their work and responsibility. In the afternoon, Connor took apart our old vacuum cleaner. He researched motors online and found a way to make a simple motor with a magnet, wire and batteries. It consumed most of the afternoon. We went to Chinese class at 3p and arrived home at 5p.

Monday May 11

Well, today was an interesting day. First of all, both Connor and I slept in today after our busy holiday weekend (with the four kids here), and we missed church completely. Then we found out that Maggie IS pregnant afterall. Last week when the vet did X-rays, he told me he can't see the bones of puppies until 45 days. I calculated her heat date, and said, yes she should be 50 days or more. I was wrong. Today he saw 3 (possibly 5) puppies on the X-ray. We are ecstatic, really,even though we need puppies like a hole in the head. As for school work, Connor spent most of the day on writing an essay. By 2:30p I had ripped up his essay and made him start over again entirely. After reading the Catholic Courier (featuring the new ordinations), Connor decided to write on why he wants to be a Priest. His essay was both formulaic and BORING. Some teachers love an organized, "I want to be a Priest for these three reasons" 5 paragraph essay; I do not. I tried to give him suggestions for improvement, but since he wasn't able to fix the essay in the editing stage, I simply ripped it up with great drama and a little bit of yelling. Again, I am not like his previous teachers who think (or at least pretend to think) that Connor is brilliant and wonderful. I ripped up the essay and told Connor that his essay lacked personality, voice and was boring. He needed to tell a story instead. After a break, during which Connor disassembled our old vacuum cleaner, he wrote a new essay that was a hundred-percent better. Of course, he also practiced Chinese and did his Math pages. Tomorrow, more writing exercises!!!

May 6-8

We have been working on more of the same. Church, Math, vocabulary, Chinese, PE, writing and reading we do daily. This week, because of Connor's stitches, he didn't play guitar, horse-back ride or use power tools. Connor did write an essay about WHY he wants to be a Priest, and he spent a fair amount of time gardening. We built a raised bed garden and planted vegetables. It's not as easy as it sounds. After Chess on Friday, Connor's friend Ezra came over. The boys built a tree fort and played the strategy game Risk. Then the kids that I watch (all four of them) came to stay with us for the weekend. We hiked, planted another garden, played games, went to church, and played outside. I'm just pooped. We love having the children here, but I will admit that it is exhausting too. In addition to the four kids I watch, Ezra stayed the weekend, my nephew Nick was here Friday night to Sat. afternoon, and Johannes (a German exchange student) was here all day Sunday. Tomorrow we have a busy day with Mother's Day and visiting two sets of parents. School day on Monday will seem like a break with only Connor here.

Tues. May 5th

We went to 9am Mass today at St. Matthew this morning. I am beginning to get tired of Connor's passion for religion. So very tired, in fact, that I sent an email to our Priest asking him if I ought to be concerned, or if he felt that way as a boy too. Connor's interest seems sincere, but he drives me crazy. Last night Connor was searching for another web design book online, when he came across a Latin Bible for $59.00. He begged and pleaded with me to let him buy it, with his own money. When I pointed out to Connor that he knows very little Latin, he brought me our Latin dictionary and tried to convince me that he could LEARN Latin by comparing the English Bible translation to the new Latin one. Again, I tried to talk him out of it, and I promised to take him to the bookstore today. So, after Math, Chinese, and vocabulary, we headed to Barnes and Noble. On the way, we listened to cassette tapes of Basil Rathbone reading Edgar Allen Poe's short stories. Connor found the set in my bookcase, and he really loves the British accent and the short horror stories. Hmmm, Latin Bible or The Mask of Red Death. Tough call. At B & N Connor found two cool looking non-fiction books to buy, instead of the Latin Bible. The first book is about pirates. Connor and I are both (concurrently, not out loud) reading Treasure Island, and we need to learn more about pirates to understand the book. The second book is about the Knights and castles of the 16th century. He did ask the woman at the bookstore if they had a Latin Bible, but when they didn't, he found (what I think) are more appropriate books. We also picked up Connor's canoe from the YMCA today. Neil, the instructor, said that 3 kids took it out on the creek last week, and she performed beautifully. After the bookstore, we went to Chinese class. Connor drives me nuts there too. He knows all the phrases and answers, and he cannot contain himself long enough to give Austin or me a chance to answer the questions. He just blurts out the answers. I know that it's a lack of maturity, and he will get better as he ages, but by the end of the Chinese class I was frustrated. Being his mother and not a politically correct teacher, I blasted him when we got in the car. "Shut up, Shut up, Shut up! If I can teach you one thing it would be to shut up!" Not so nice, huh? But it's what he needs to hear sometimes I think. Connor is so used to being right and knowing all the answers that he doesn't know how to be quiet and listen to others. Or in this case, give others a chance. Sigh. Tomorrow is another day. God grant me patience!

Monday May 4

Because Connor had a long night Sunday night, we didn't go to church Monday morning. He wanted to go to pray for healing, but I convinced him sleeping late would help the healing. Having one finger out of commission has affected our plan for this week. I had to cancel Connor's guitar lesson, two appointments with the crossfit trainer, and the horseback riding lesson. We are also finding that it is difficult for Connor to type without the use of his left hand. After studying Chinese, Math, vocabulary and geography in the morning, I had to take Connor for a tetanus shot. This too shall pass. We took the dog to the vet and found out that she is NOT having puppies. It is a hysterical pregnancy. We are disappointed, but relieved too because she is only one year old. A stop at the bank was instructional today. Connor has a savings account, and before I home-schooled I would do all the banking for him. Now, I take him to the bank, have him fill out the forms and present himself to the teller. The teller asked about Connor's injury, and that led to a conversation. Within five minutes, the teller is impressed with something Connor said (I think he told her he is withdrawing money to buy a Latin Bible) and she compliments his intelligence. That leads to Connor explaining that he's home-schooled. A few months ago we were like thieves in the night, hiding our little project from the public for fear of ridicule. Now, every chance he gets, Connor brags to people that he's home-schooled. Inevitably, he gets to tell the curious person that home-schooling allows him opportunities to do "cool stuff" the other kids never get to do. Although Connor got bored when we spent an hour printing and editing photos on the Kodak machine today. He is an expert at photoshop now though.

Look on the brightside, Mom, at least I LEARNED SOMETHING!

Oops! Today Connor almost sliced the top 1/3 of his finger off with his new pocket knife. We spent 1/2 the day in the emergency room, and after a few hours of reviewing Chinese words while waiting, Connor commented, "Well, look on the brightside, Mom, at least I learned something today!" Incredible!

Oh Joy! Puppies!

We just realized that our Golden Retriever is going to have puppies!! Oh joy! Now we're frantically researching how to make a whelping box and the care and delivery of puppies. Try to duplicate all THAT learning in science class...We also have the economy of selling the puppies for enough money to cover the vet costs. Today Connor built the whelping box with David, and next he will create a spreadsheet for puppy data (weight, sex etc.)

Sunday May 3rd

It's amazing how other people come into your life briefly, and then inspire you to tackle great things. For instance, I decided to train and run NYC marathon after a 2 second conversation with another runner at the Oaktree 1/2 marathon. A five minute chat with my brother-in-law's brother's wife at a family function(follow that relationship?) inspired us to adopt a special needs child from China. This winter I met a woman at the ski lodge who was struggling to find a school that could meet her son's educational needs. At that time, I had been homeschooling for less than a month, but we chatted about our sons and exchanged email addresses. Her comments led me to seek out professional testing for Connor, and I found that beneficial.Yesterday this virtual stranger contacted me because I inspired her to at least consider home-schooling as an educational option. We've now exchanged several emails, and I'm now newly motivated to blog everyday! It's nice to know that someone DOES read all my ramblings!! I cut and pasted her comments below:I was able to read through your whole blog yesterday afternoon, and while you may find your entries becoming boring, it was great for me on so many levels. 1) You opened your home and life with Connor to me. 2) It gave me at least a peak of the type of schedule and expectations you developed for your day to day travels through his curriculum. 3) Your asides, especially about Connor’s passions had me laughing out loud. 4) It was refreshing to understand the flexibility that you learned both in growing Connor’s autonomy and in striking a balance of workload and activities. 5) The way you carved out time for yourself without sacrificing Connor’s progress (I’m freaked-out that I’ll loose myself in all of this.) 6) Your willingness to try new things (like morning mass) perhaps grudgingly at first, but then embraced as a unique learning experience for yourself as well. 7) The frustrations you experienced with bridging the gap between what’s right for your family and what the state requires and the disconnect between the fact that even when the district can’t provide what he needs to grow appropriately, all the money remains with them anyway. And more.

Thurs. Apr. 30 and Friday May 1st

Thursday was a good day for Connor. We decided not to go to church on Thursday morning because we want to have at least one day of the week where we don't rush out the door. Connor managed to get all of his school work done by 1p, and he had time to play outside for awhile before his horseback riding lesson. The weather was nice and he was happy. The best thing was that the YMCA called to tell us that Connor's name was drawn to win the boat that the group made in the boat-building class. Oh joy! Friday was less eventful. We went to Mass and then to Chess club. After Chess, Connor had a headache so he slept for 45 minutes. Then he did his math and spent two hours taking the placement tests to see what level of PASS test I should administer. At the end of the year, I have to administer (and pay for!) a standardized test. This particular test packet requires I have Connor do a placement test to determine what level of the standardized test he should take. It seems like double work to me, but next year I can just skip the placement test and jump up one level. The tests are for 5-8th grade. As always, Connor rushed through the multiple choice questions and he made a few silly errors on the easiest problems. The pre-test score chart indicates (because of the mistakes) that I should give him the 7th grade tests. I'll have to start the end of year testing next week to allow time for the test company to grade the exam and create their statistics. What a bore. After the tests, Connor practiced guitar and his Chinese.

April 29th Wed.

This morning I noticed how much we get accomplished before the actual school day officially starts. This epiphany occurred at 9am when we passed Geneseo Central School and saw the buses disembarking. By 9am, when we passed, Connor had already completed his Math for the day, attended Mass (more on this below), read four chapters in Tom Sawyer, and we did the workout of the day at crossfit. We used to spend our morning "getting ready for school." Now we live school. Mass today was especially interesting. Today was the celebration of St. Catherine of Sienna. Father Ed spoke most eloquently about St. Catherine, and her protests against the Catholic church. The only reason she wasn't burned at the stake as a heretic is because she essentially starved herself (an anorexic, as Father Ed explained) and she lived on only communion bread. People back then thought she must be holy if she can survive on only the host. Consequently, she was a big reformer of the church during the time when the church was at its most corrupt. After Mass and working out, Connor spent hours learning the new Chinese phrases. Then he practiced guitar, and created a map using a graph and plotting the points to outline the world. He is tired of Sheppard software and devised this other way of visualizing the countries and states. Guitar lessons followed, and then Connor read more of Tom Sawyer. He is almost done with the book, and he just started it yesterday!

April 27th and 28th

You'll notice that I am not blogging everyday anymore. Upon review, I found that I was getting quite repetitive. I do want to log what we accomplish, but I think blogging every few days will make it more interesting reading. Yesterday, I had Connor's schedule tightly packed. No more vacation time! We went to daily Mass, did Math pages, a unit in the vocabulary book, finished the book The Ranger's Apprentice, wrote three letters (and addressed the envelopes), responded to a writing prompt on the book White Fang, practiced Chinese, practiced guitar, and went to cross fit. Today, after Mass and math, Connor spent a whole lot of time answering essay questions on White Fang. We went over the proper way to cite a book and quotations. This afternoon we went to the bookstore to buy new school books (Treasure Island, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Tom Sawyer and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy). It was interesting watching Connor interact with the person at the information desk at Borders. He confidently approached her and discussed the new series written by Flanagan, and the release of book five. Connor is allowed to read one "fluff" book for every three classic books, and he is loves this Ranger's Apprentice series. After the bookstore, we went to Chinese class. At 5pm, Connor created 63 flashcards with Chinese phrases, and then he settled down to read Tom Sawyer. Yep, my blogs are getting boring. Oh well, at least I am keeping track of what we do all day.

April 20-24 Myrtle Beach

Last week was officially our vacation. That said, we, of course, made certain it was an educational trip. On our way to Myrtle Beach we stopped in Gettysburg Pa. We had all heard about the civil war battle fields, but their sheer size and scope were something to behold. We walked the fields at sunset, and Connor recited the Gettysburg address. While at Myrtle Beach we read a ton of books, played in the sand, studied Chinese, ate like pigs, attended daily Mass, and Connor did Math pages.We took a side trip to Charleston Virginia to spend five hours touring the Boone Hall Plantation. There they had 9 slave cabins with individual museums chronicling the life of various slaves and a working plantation. We also saw a performance of a Gullah dance (their culture)by a slave descendant. On the way home we stopped in Williamsburg Va.for five hours, and then drove through Washington DC. The kids visited Washington DC two years ago, but it was cool seeing the monuments all lit up at night. Vacations are fun, but we were all happy to get home!

Thursday April 9- April 13

This was Austin's holiday break for Easter, so we kept Connor's school work very basic. Everyday he completed at least 5 pages in his Math workbook, he practiced Chinese with Xiao, ran or did other exercises, and practiced his guitar. In addition, he finished chapter 13 in the vocabulary book. Tues. through Friday Austin has school, and Connor will attend his normal school classes (Impact, Boatbuilding, Chinese, guitar etc.), then the following week Austin is on school break. Again I'll scale down Connor's schoolwork, but he never really gets "off." We are completing the entire 5th grade curriculum in 6 months, so we do not take full days off.

Wednesday April 8

Yesterday was an Impact HS Academy day and then Chinese lessons in the afternoon. Today was boat-building at the YMCA, and then guitar lessons after.I would normally have Connor blog about what he learned Tues. and Wed., but he fell asleep when we got home from guitar. The poor kid is exhausted. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a stay at home day and we can work on our writing then.

Monday April 6

Today I could easily list the daily Mass under the title "critical reading." Father Ed compared the reading from yesterday, from the gospel of Mark, to the very similar reading today, from the gospel of John. He pointed out the inconsistencies between the two readings, and questioned why they were different, and which was the correct version of the events. Father pointed out that in the Mark version, Jesus is at the home of Simon the Leper, and in the John version, Jesus is at the home of Lazereth, etc. etc. What I find interesting, is that Father Ed encourages the parishioners to read the Bible through a critical lens, and seek out the true lesson beneath the text.

Sat. April 4 2009

The weather was windy and rainy and Connor was inside on the computer all day today. He decided to tweak his webpage, and he found a site that gave him more advanced programming ideas. Yes, he's writing in Java script now, and he spent all day Saturday working on programming. He also used Xiao's camera to take pictures, upload them to the computer, and add them to his webpage. He figured this all out by reading a book and researching online. Very cool!

Friday April 3

Our "babies" (Chasen and Skylar) are still here, and Austin has off school today. It's been difficult for us to meet all of our objectives with all the distractions, but we really worked on it and did well. Connor finished 7 pages in his Math book, practiced Chinese, did unit 12 in the vocabulary book (I had him skip ahead to unit 12, since that is where Austin is and they can now study together), Sheppard software, worked on his web page, did a webquest on World War II (related to the book Summer of my German Soldier),and read The American History book (nonfiction). It's 5:30pm, and I'm still chasing two toddlers around. I'm wondering where their grandma is, and I don't have time to type much now.

Thursday April 2

I didn't blog yesterday simply because I didn't have time. It was the first gorgeous day out, 65 degrees and sunny, and we were outside most of the day. The only formal schoolwork Connor did was 10 pages in his Math journal. The rest of the day we chased the "babies" around and enjoyed the day. We do lots of work on what are officially non-school days, so I figured we would take a day to enjoy the sunshine.

Wednesday April 1st

Mass this morning was especially interesting. I think I'm going to list our daily Mass under the category World History, or maybe vocabulary. I won't go into detail, but Father Ed always gives the historical background of every reading, and today he spoke of the various translations of the Gospel and how the text changed over the years. After Mass, I dropped Connor off at his boat-building class. From what Connor said when I picked him up at 2p, it seems they sanded and used a router today. Guitar lessons followed boat-building, and reading and Chinese were completed enroute.

I'm coming to the conclusion that I have too much packed into a week. For instance, after church and a full day at Impact Homeschooling Academy, Connor attends Chinese class. That means we are gone from 7:30am until 5:30pm on Tuesdays. On Wednesdays, after church and boat-building, Connor attends a guitar lesson. We don't get home until almost 5p. I was trying to be efficient with our drive time when I coordinated these activities, but sheer exhaustion seems to be setting in lately. Fortunately, there are only two more boat-building classes, and only five more Impact HS classes. When these sessions are over, we will need a break from co-ops for awhile. We really want to just stay home and work on other things for the rest of the school year. We will still have Chess on Fridays until the end of June, horseback riding lessons and guitar lessons; I think that will be enough group work. When I set up the curriculum, I was worried about Connor having enough time with peers and me having enough time to myself. What I didn't expect is that we would crave a little less structure. Going to church everyday is sometimes the only outing we need. This weekend we are going to build a raised bed garden, and just getting outside at home will be a pleasure.

Tuesday March 31, 2009

It's Tuesday and that is our Impact Homeschool Academy day. Even before leaving at 7:30am (for daily Mass and then school at Impact), Connor completed 6 math pages in unit 7. After Impact, we will again attend Chinese class, finally arriving home from school at 5:30pm. Today I mailed my quarterly report, and I ordered the PASS test to administer in May. This is a big downside to homeschooling. We have to pay for all the materials, including the state required standardized tests, yet we get no reduction on our school taxes. We pay over $8000.00 per year in school taxes, plus $10,000 a year for Austin's tuition to attend a private school, and now we have to pay for all of Connor's activities--including the state mandated tests!! I don't even believe that standardized tests are a true measure of knowledge, but pay for and administer them I must. If Connor was falling behind, the state would be required to drop mega dollars to try to get him up to state standards, but because he is a few grades ahead, he must fend for himself. If we want to teach our child at his academic grade level, we have to pay for all his classes and all the state mandated tests too! There's definitely something wrong with the system.

Monday March 30, 2009

Morning Mass was at 8am at St. Mary's, and it was rather uneventful today. After Mass, Connor completed unit 7 in the vocabulary book, and created vocabulary flash cards too. I bought him a plastic container to keep all the cards in, and Connor sorted his words alphabetically to store. After vocab., Connor completed six Math pages in Math Journal 2, studied Chinese, practiced guitar, read a chapter in his Chemistry book, made flashcards for his Chemistry vocabulary, and filled in some more blank maps. Although Connor can place all the countries in the world very quickly on Sheppard software, I'm finding that the skills do not always transfer to the blank map. On the geography software, the names of the countries are listed. When I present blank maps to complete, sometimes Connor struggles to remember the names. We are going to spend more time on blank maps this week.Connor finished Summer of My German Soldier and he started Jacob Have I Loved. He's been choosing to read mostly historical fiction lately.This afternoon Connor asked me if he could take the McQuaid placement exam this month. At first I said no, but then I paused to ask myself, why not? If he fails, then he learns that he still has more to learn. If he passes, he feels successful. If he passes with a high mark, then we can sit down with administration and decide how to proceed. So I called the office and asked if Connor, a ten year old, would be allowed to sit for the 7th grade exam. The administrative assistant was quite hesitant, and she said she'd check with the Dean and get back to me. I should have just signed him up for the test, and not asked if Connor's age prevented him from taking the exam. My mistake.

Sunday March 29, 2009

Yesterday, Connor and I attended the NYS boating safety class from 9a-5pm. It was a very long day. At the end of the class, as the Sheriff/instructor (who also happens to be Connor's former art teacher at Geneseo Central School) passed out the test, he asked me if I wanted to go out in the hall and help Connor with the test. Connor was the only child there, and the Sheriff said that the test is at a 10th grade reading level. I responded that Connor can read at a 10th grade level, and that is why he is not at school anymore. The teacher said he wondered what happened to Connor, but he didn't know. Then he again said that the wording of the questions and the directions are confusing (many double negatives) and that he didn't think Connor would be able to pass it without an adult's help. I said, "That's ok, if he doesn't pass it then he can take the course and test again next month." One of the other attendees turned around and congratulated me on my decision. He was "old school," he said, and that is how people learn. Sometimes they must fail. This goes back to my concern about schools making so many accommodations to help students succeed that they forget how to fail and learn from the experience. In the end, Connor scored an 86% without any help from anyone, and he could walk away proud of himself because he passed without extra help.

Sat. March 28. Quarterly Reports

It's Saturday, and I have a few minutes to blog before Connor and I head to the boating safety class. I've already blogged about how school is not 9-3 at our house, so it should be no surprise that we are attending an eight hour class on a Saturday. What I want to address is the issue of quarterly reports. Earlier this week,while I was waiting for two hours in Warsaw during Austin's Civil Air Patrol meeting,I met several other home-schooling mothers. Since several of the mothers have been home-schooling for 15+ years, I asked them questions about the quarterly report that I have to file at the beginning of April. I have been recording on this blog every day,keeping every test, museum ticket stub, and taking photos of Connor's various activities for almost ten weeks. I went through all my notes, and spent hours and hours filling in the form the school district sent me. One of the mothers told me that I am wasting my time because no one will even bother to read my report. Huh? I read on a few blogs about various school districts investigating home-schoolers to the point of harassment. Therefore, I have gone to great lengths to make certain that I am in compliance with NYS guidelines,and I spend hours every day documenting our studies, and no one is even going to read my report? Holly told me that she writes less than one page, and she uses the same report (with only slight changes) every year. Her friend writes "See IHIP" on her quarterly report and that's all. One part of me is happy that rural school districts leave home-schoolers alone, but the other part of me really wants someone to acknowledge that Connor is learning a whole lot more at home than he could ever learn in any public school. As I write this, he is upstairs working on his Math pages. We calculated that he has 9 more units to complete (journal 2, 5th grade Math) and only ten more weeks of school. He wants to get it finished early so that he can be done with school when Austin is done, which is June 11th. Xiao has school until June 29th, and that is how I paced our curriculum, but Connor wants the extra time off. Ha ha. Like he will really be completely off, ever. But that goal keeps him pushing forward, and that is a good thing. Off to boating safety now!

Friday March 27

Connor was feeling a little better today, so we headed out to Mass at 7:30am. It was further away today, in Leicester. We got home from Mass at 8:45am, and had just enough time to complete 5 Math pages, and then we headed off to Chess. I was asked to take charge of this session of the home-schooler's Chess Club, and I was gratified to see 18 (instead of the usual 10)participants. This means that the price goes down to $30 (from $55) per student. After Chess, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed to the Rochester Museum and Science Center. We hit more areas today than we did last week, and then we stayed for the Dinosaurs Alive show at the Planetarium. We didn't get home until after 6pm! What a long day of learning. After dinner (we ate pancakes with Connor's hickory bark syrup!) Connor responded to his new Pen Pal, a boy in China!! He is now upstairs reading his newest historical fiction, Summer of My German Soldier.

Thurs. March 26

Connor is still contagious, so we didn't go to Mass again today. He's NOT happy about missing church, but I insisted we stay home. We also have a whole lot of work to do today, after missing yesterday. First thing this morning Connor reviewed his vocabulary flashcards in preparation for the cumulative test, units 1-6. He took that test, and then took the cumulative Math test for units 1-6 also. He still feels quite sick, and I sort of felt bad having him take the cumulative tests. Guitar practice came next, and then he answered the comprehension questions on The Witch at Blackbird Pond. For a break, I suggested he make a batch of hickory bark syrup. We got the recipe when we went to tour our friend's syrup making operation a few weeks ago.Connor had collected Hickory bark last weekend and has been asking to make the syrup. After boiling down and straining the syrup, Connor wrote a five paragraph essay in response to a writing prompt I gave him on The Witch of Blackbird Pond. For fun, Connor identified famous painters for awhile on freerice.com, earning 750 grains of rice. At 3p he went to a horseback riding lesson. I almost canceled the lesson because he is still quite sick, but I would feel bad canceling last minute. Now it's 4:30 and he's downstairs working on his web page. Tonight he has to study Chinese. That is all I had left on his list for today.

Wed. March 25

Connor has strep throat and a fever. He didn't do much today except stay in bed and read. Poor guy was miserable all day because he missed his boat-building class. Hopefully, the antibiotic will kick in soon and he'll feel better by tomorrow.

Tuesday March 24,2009

Connor woke up with a fever and a cough today, but he wanted to try to go to Impact HomeSchool Academy anyway. So I gave him Ibruphrophen and we headed off to church. On the way to church he studied his script for drama class. He has one of the major parts in the play they are going to perform. When I picked him up from Impact Academy at 3p, he was just burning up. I don't know why he didn't tell one of the teachers to call me to come get him, but now that it was 3p I had to go pick up Austin at McQuaid. I gave Connor more Ibruphrophen and we headed over to Chinese class. He was half out of it during Chinese, and at 5p I put him to bed for the night. If he feels well enough tomorrow, I'll have him blog about what he did at Impact today. He may miss his boat-building tomorrow.

Monday, March 23

It is a Superintendent's Conference Day at Geneseo Central, so I let Connor stay overnight at Joe's house last night. Before he left Sunday night,I had him do the review questions in his vocabulary book and fill in a blank map of the United States, just to make sure we don't get behind at all. Then today I picked up both boys and took them out to lunch at a Japanese restaurant. After lunch, Connor worked on his mystery story for two hours. The final copy is due (at Impact HS Academy) tomorrow. Connor is still having trouble punctuating dialogue correctly. We will have to work on that some more later. After the mystery writing, Connor spent 90 minutes working on his web page. A few weeks ago I bought him a web page (HTML) book, and he has been working on his website off and on every since. He would monkey with it all day if I let him, but of course I have my own objectives. After dinner, Connor practiced guitar and created flashcards for vocabulary units 4-6. So while it was technically a day off, we still spent quite a bit of time on school work. No rest for the weary, I like to say.

Socialization 101

Frequently, when people hear that we are home-schooling Connor they ask, "What about socialization?" I thought I'd take a moment to address this question. First of all, it's important to note that homeschoolers do not simply stay at home alone all day. Even if we were NOT involved in two home-schooling co-ops (Impact and the YMCA), chess class, guitar lessons, Chinese class, horseback riding lessons, and crossfit, we would still not have a problem with socialization. The grocery store, church, restaurants, and just daily living give us ample opportunities to interact and socialize. In addition, I am extremely social, and we entertain almost weekly. Last night we had four families over for dinner. Connor had to negotiate with, and juggle being the host of, 12 children of various ages. Today we are going to cross-fit, and again Connor will have to interact with a roomful of people. If we wanted to, Connor could go to a homeschooling activity with other children virtually every day of the week. There is the home-schooling ice skating club, the home-schooling bowling club, the home-schooling swim club, the home-schooling board game club,boyscouts, Civil Air Patrol,community service club, the Museum classes etc. etc. etc. We get out and about so much that we have decided to discontinue the Impact co-op next year. We feel that we need to stay home more, and socialize less!! I hope this clears up any confusion about home-schooling children lacking socialization.