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.