beauty that moves

More Independence Please (Mid-Year Homeschool Changes)

We've recently entered the second half of our school year and as such a thing typically goes for many homeschoolers, it has provided a great opportunity to mix things up.

We can wake up on a Monday and declare that "x, y and z" just aren't working anymore, and have it all changed up by Friday. This isn't something we do casually, because there is a certain stick-to-it-ness that we try to foster as parents, but we also believe that life is here for the making (not taking)... so we best get to it.

As the holidays approached we found ourselves checking in with all sorts of things on the homeschool front. How's it going? Do you need anything? Are there any new classes or experiences you'd like to have happen this Spring? That sort of thing. I love that we get to do this. 

So, a couple of things were discussed. The fall semester Web Design class that she took? Html coding and the like most certainly did not ignite a deep passion at this time, there is no need to sign-up for Web Design II in the Spring. The Honors Lit. class though? More please! (We'll save those additions for next year as big ticket item funds are already allocated for this year.) But I agree with her, that class was an excellent investment and the course work was of quality and meaning. This class does run through the Spring semester, we aren't done with that yet, but Web Design was a single semester course so that is completed. 

This is our first experience with a true online school and while there has been a learning curve for sure, mostly it has been wonderful. The learning curve came mostly as a result of understanding the technology that supports an online classroom (blackboard, dropbox, skype, etc.) but once we figured the system out it was fairly smooth sailing. 

Like regular school, some teachers are incredibly charismatic and easy to connect with while others are a little quiet on the personality front. It's been interesting to see Emily experience this and her response/love for the subject has been definitely effected by how brightly the teacher would shine through the computer screen. So interesting. 

As for her other subjects, she wasn't looking for any changes there, all seems to be well still. 

But what I really wanted to talk about today is the big change that we've made for the second half of the year. 

When we checked in with Emily, asking her those hopes and dreams kind of questions for the remainder of our school year, she requested one thing, and she requested that one thing quite firmly. 

More independence. 

Now, Emily has always been one for a school-like feel to things, even resisting terms like "unschooling" when I was campaigning for a looser regimen. But we have total freedom Emily... each day holds limitless possibilities... let's think BIG! 

Yeah.

She just wanted to know what History chapters to read and when the test would be. 

This goes against my self-starter/free-spirit nature - so it goes without saying that providing true structure and rhythm hasn't always been a place of joy for me. But, I happily obliged as it seemed to provide what she was looking for in her learning experience, and that is the point after all. 

But you know, I've always thought this was quite unschool-ish of us, perhaps. Providing a routine that looks very much like school can indeed be total freedom applied if that is indeed the true learning desire for the student. 

The thing about writing these homeschool type posts is it can be hard to stay on track! So many threads weave their way into the bigger picture... it makes it hard to get to the point without telling a few side stories first.

In short, Emily was asking for less hour to hour type scheduling and more freedom to explore and study at her own pace - by her own accountability. That last part is huge and reminded me she is indeed growing up and ready to take the reigns more and more.

When we teased out exactly what she was looking for with this increased level of independence, we learned that she still wants the work and study of her typical school days as they are now - she just wants less oversight from us and more accountability on her own part, as well as more freedom within her days. 

I'm so happy to see this development. 

Basically, up until now we've scheduled blocks of time in the day and have broken those blocks down a bit into tasks/assignments to be done throughout. This format was based on Emily's request, not from some way we (the adults) thought homeschool should look. 

Based on Emily's request for more independence, we've tossed that routine. 

Now, Monday morning she is given a weekly syllabus (designed by Adam) with all of her assignments and lessons for the week. She can decide however she'd like to go about getting it all done, and knows we are always here for support and discussion, but how she decides to manage her workload and the rest of her days (basically) is up to her.

For my routine loving, rule following girl, this step on the path of independence feels pretty exciting for those of looking on. 

And of course, it took her no time at all to figure out that if she applied herself on certain days and did a little "overtime," she could turn her five day school week into four days and go visit with friends at a local cafe for Friday afternoon lattes. That sure keeps a teen motivated!

We still hold an 8am-ish start time to the day, but she has a lot of freedom with how the day unfolds from there. 

I should add that Emily has always had this level of freedom, she just wasn't looking to apply it before. It is so great to watch her mature in this way and come into her own by way of this significant step in self-management. 

We still "hold space" for learning each day, (that's just part of our family culture) and Emily doesn't head off to her room closing the door behind her. Adam is still here three days a week, available as her primary learning mentor - facilitating discussion on politics, literature, history, movies, books, biology, sports, math, and who knows what else. 

Because Emily is older now, there is a certain amount of mentor involvement that we feel is necessary at this level, more so than when she was younger. We homeschooled for a period when Emily was in fourth grade (before jumping in fully when she was in seventh grade), back then she could zip through her Wordly Wise and math lessons with little oversight. But now, deep into her scholarly years, dialogue is an integral part of the experience. We believe the best way to "test" someones knowledge on a topic is to simply see if they can have a conversation about it. Dialogue about everything under the sun is still a huge part of Emily's day. For us, how deeply and inquisitively these conversations become is the real measure of learning. 

So, this has been a rather long winded way to share that we now give Emily her full week's worth of work on Monday, and she has until the end of the week to complete it. 

And, it's totally working. 

It's been a few weeks now and she is applying herself in ways that are new and fun to watch. She hustles at certain points during the week and also notices when she just needs some down time to simply hang out. 

It feels like the perfect preparation for college really. Maturity, self-discipline, increased opportunity for time management - important life skills that are practiced more and more each day by this girl that is growing so quickly right before my eyes. 

As I finish this up I can hear her downstairs with Adam - she's playing a tune on the ukulele and singing along. A much needed break from classifying algae and debriefing the disappointing triple overtime loss in last night's game. This afternoon she'll do research for her debate argument at co-op tomorrow, on whether the CDC should destroy the Smallpox sample it is holding. (She has debate at homeschool co-op as well as her competitive team.) After that she'll head off to piano. (Where I think I need to request the teacher stop assigning Bette Midler tunes to learn. Ahem.)

There is still more that I'd like to share about this school year. How Emily's Debate Team experience (the study, research, preparation and practice involved) is quickly becoming one of the most prominent subjects in her week. I'd also like to share a little more about her homeschool co-op and what exactly that brings to the table for us. 

For now, I'm just so happy to see Emily step outside her oh-so-structured comfort zone and begin to explore new territory within her days.  One of the top reasons we homeschool is for the freedom... so let us make the most of it each and every day. 

A Milestone

When we decided to homeschool during the summer Emily was entering seventh grade, it wasn't because we thought all schools were bad. Sometimes people assume we feel this way, that's not true. Our decision to homeschool was born from making a list of pros and cons as we looked at our options - public, private, homeschool - and choosing the one that appeared to be the best (not perfect) of all three. And so, we homeschooled.

For us, the public school options seemed to be lacking more than they were providing. When we looked at private schools, with their hefty tuition, we began to think "what could we accomplish if we used even half that amount as our homeschool budget for the year?" (Turns out quite a lot.) 

As far as homeschooling goes, we did have one concern, and it might come as a surprise. We weren't worried about being "smart enough" to "teach" Emily (that's not really how homeschooling works), we weren't worried about socialization (oh, when are we ever going to be done asking homeschoolers about that). We were, however, a bit concerned about Emily finding opportunities to be a leader. That is who she is. 

It's a little complicated, because Emily is a highly sensitive young lady who really doesn't like a whole lot of attention placed on her (she has not wanted a birthday party since she was five years old). But given the opportunity to demonstrate real leadership - speaking in front of a crowd, coordinating a project with her classmates, speaking to a person of authority on behalf of her peers - she's a natural. 

Even with homeschool co-op and regularly hanging out with plenty of people - as homeschoolers, when would she have the chance to regularly cultivate this part of herself, in a peer based setting? This was the one thing we felt could happen more easily in a typical school setting. But "one thing" wasn't enough reason to attend.

We weren't overly worried about how to fulfill this, but opportunities for leadership have been on our radar from day one of this homeschool journey. Because I truly believe in the limitless abundance of homeschooling (one of the top reasons we chose this path), I had faith the right opportunity would present itself. Our job was to stay active with plenty of feelers out there. In other words, I knew we had to do out part. Opportunity wasn't going to come knocking unless we were actively looking to receive it.

In October a friend contacted me about an opening on her daughter's debate team and she thought Emily would be a good fit. She wanted to recommend her to the coach if we were interested. She told us about the level of competitions they participate in, and the success (and fun!) they have in doing so. 

I should add, this is considered more than just a "debate team." It is a Debate and Public Speaking Academy, how perfect for Emily!

This could be the very thing we were looking for.

After meeting the coach (who happens to be the perfect match, energetically, for Emily), and having a trial run, Emily joined the team. 

You go through life trying not to be too prideful. Humility is good. We love that, yes? 

But sometimes as a parent you find yourself bursting with so much love, admiration, and pride - you can barely contain yourself! 

When these moments are born from incredibly hard work, preparation, dedication, and leadership... well, it feels only right to be present with it all and take in the glow of such a powerful moment. 

Emily had her very first debate competition yesterday.

Her debate team is made up of mostly homeschoolers, but also has a few kids from two private schools in the area. They compete against teams from the best schools in the region, and also some of the best in the nation. 

When Adam and I pulled onto the beautiful campus of Loomis Chaffee yesterday morning, and saw the buses for the schools she would be competing against, it kind of took our breath away. Written on the sides of these buses - Choate, Roxbury Latin School, Andover, Kingswood Oxford, and our host for the competition, Loomis Chaffee. 

A quick check on any of those links and you will see these are some of the best schools in our region, some of them among the best in the country.

Wow. And here we come with my twelve year old car pushing 200,000 miles and rusting out on the bottom. 

But you know what? My girl is smart and driven and just as prepared as anyone else here... so let the games begin.

Even though we feel there are many ways to achieve an education, we do stand in awe of academic excellence and the schools that have a history of graduating truly educated and capable young adults. Being among these schools for her first competitive experience was an honor. 

And she did incredibly well!!

I'm still learning the debate vernacular, but I have deciphered that she:

• won 2 out of 3 debates
• scored a perfect score on one of her rebuttals
• was "best in room" at least once during the day

What an exciting first experience filled with great minds and new friendships formed. I loved hearing stories of how the competitive barriers released during social times (brunch and dinner), as they talked about fashion, life as a boarding student, homeschooling, and other teen goodness. 

Photo by Emily

"They have wooden lockers, Mom! With brass locks and hardware! And a brass statue of Athena!"

For Adam and I, Emily's successful outcome was the icing on the cake. We were proud the moment we pulled onto campus in the morning and felt the significance of the day. We were proud as we watched her research topics and prepare her arguments. We were proud when she dug deep and worked through the nervousness of new and unknown experiences. We were proud and humbled that she had the opportunity to do something she loved, all the while standing in her place of grace.

Yesterday was quite a milestone for our family in many ways, I just wanted to share a little bit of that experience here today. Thank you.

Homeschool Update (the first part of our year, in photos)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In closing out some photo folders from the first part of our school year, I couldn't help but to pause with gratitude and awe. The teen years are truly an amazing time to homeschool, it can feel like college in a very "the world is your oyster" sort of way, with the bonus of us parents (mostly) coming along for the ride, unlike college.

In addition to her (not so photo-worthy) academics, Emily has had countless opportunitties to grow, learn, volunteer, be challenged, explore, give back, and so much more. Adam and I try to say 'yes' to as much as we can... while staying mindful not to allow our cups to run over, leaving the three of us feeling depleted. There is never a shortage of amazing opportunities, there is only a shortage of time. 

I'm happy with (and dare I say proud of) this funky little life we're creating, and feel a certain kind of peace looking at these photos. I can only dream of the memories we'll look back on come springtime. But for now, these moments are everything, and I couldn't ask for anything more. 

a very full weekend, a slow and steady monday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn't this such a pretty place?

Emily had the opportunity this weekend to attend classes at Yale for teens. It's a program called Yale Splash and is a day long series of classes (over 100 to choose from) taught by Yale students. 

Emily took classes in East Coast Swing and The Charleston, Biology of Cancer, Top Secret Medical Experiments of the 20th Century, and Hearts, Robots and Arithmeas. She was also scheduled to take a class called Detroit and the Shrinking City but it was cancelled due to teacher illness. We were disappointed as that was the class she was looking forward to the most (aside from the dance classes). Oh well.

It was a wonderfully engaging day spent on a beautiful campus with good friends, both old and new. 

In November we're heading up to MIT for their weekend-long Splash event. The whole family is going (sans Scout) and we've booked double rooms with another family so the kids can be close to one another for late night shenanigans and goofing around.  I do not anticipate much sleep that weekend. Too much memory-making to be had I'm sure. 

Our day at Yale was made perfect by a surprise visit from my guy - bringing me lunch. I felt woefully and uncharacteristically unprepared food-wise for the weekend and found myself an hour from home without anything to eat (lunch was provided for the kids). I didn't know the area too well and though I'm sure the vicinity of a place like Yale is filled with wonderful dining options - I wasn't comfortable straying too far as I wanted to remain close in case the two fourteen year olds in my charge needed anything. 

Adam knew I was empty handed for the day and made the hour long trek to surprise me with yummy delights. The fruit and sushi were lovely, but the gesture itself is what made me swoon. We'll be married seventeen years this November, and the little things still mean everything to me. 

The weekend was so very full. A Friday night sleepover, Saturday at Yale, Sunday afternoon spent with Emily's girlfriends and Sunday evening at a Haunted Hayride with other homeschoolers. Oh my, that is a very tiring sentence...

Today, I worked in the morning but now intend to slow the pace for a bit this afternoon before canning the apple butter that is simmering away on the stove. Emily and Adam have declared a day off from school to prepare for my parents arrival this week (a day sooner than we thought - oops!). I'm hoping those preparations include some Halloween decorating, of which we haven't even begun yet. This morning I had a strong desire to make pomanders... so maybe that too. Yes, autumn decorating this afternoon sounds perfect. Perhaps I should switch from lemon ginger tea to hot apple cider...

our homeschool curriculum ~ 2012/2013

Why do I get so nervous publishing posts ike this? 

Maybe because it's a culmination of very careful and personal decision making laid bare for the world to see. At first glance you wouldn't think a discussion about learning material could leave one feeling vulnerable... but, well, it does (at times - on the internet). 

Still, I'm jumping in because every year I look to so many families in my community, both virtual and here at home, and glean wonderful ideas on how they "do school." Like many homeschool parents, I'm particularly interested in reading about families one or two years ahead of us. 

This year we have entered high school! So, if that is on the radar for you, this post may provide some new ideas that you can file away in your planning. The downside to writing a curriculum post in September is we haven't spent a great deal of time with our chosen resources yet so this really can't serve as a review, but I'm happy to explain what we're using. 

Before I jump in, a quick revisit to our homeschooling philosophy, and a brief mention of the style and rhythm Emily looks for in her homeschool days.

Emily is very clear about how she likes homeschool to play out.

She likes structure, accountability (to other adults/peers, in addition to Adam and I), measured progress, assignments and projects that can be completed and moved on from, etc. She also likes a bountiful social calendar balanced with equally important unscheduled down time.

So, I share the details of how Emily likes our days to flow because our homeschool looks very much like, well... school. (Except without all the other school 'stuff' that we're not so much interested in.) 

There are textbooks and online classrooms and grades and lessons plans and even homework on occasion. We've designed our days around exactly the sort of learning experience Emily has requested, so that means our rather formal way of doing things is totally "child-led." Maybe we are Classical Unschoolers - ha!

As parents, we all want what's best for our kids. Each of us hopefully does our parenting job consciously, and lives out our days as best we can. Nobody does it perfectly. We strive to align our values, hopes, and dreams with the actions of day to day living. Some of us homeschool, some of us don't. Still, we're all moms and dads doing the best we can - hoping to offer up some pretty awesome people to the world when our work is done. (Is it ever really done?)

Okay, so let's get to it.

 

A rather extensive list of all that we have going on this school year:

 

English/Language Arts

For the first time we are enrolled in an online school for two subjects, English being one of them. Through k12, Emily is taking Honors Literary Analysis and Composition. I'm pretty excited about this. Her teacher in highly interactive and the work I've seen so far is rich in content and appropriately challenging. There is a learning curve involved in the new territory of an online classroom (it's quite sophisticated!), but we are now in week two and she's finding her way around just fine. 

Wordly Wise - This is a spelling and vocabulary workbook series that Emily has done since her early Montessori days. We don't do the new online version, preferring the old-fashioned workbooks. It isn't necessary to do this really, as there is a vocabulary/grammar strand in the k12 class she's taking, but Wordly Wise is such a part of how we've always done things. And it's fun.

 

Math

Teaching Textbooks - We started using this last year and really like it. The reviews are generally excellent if you do a quick online search, the only common "negative" being that the classes are slightly below level in their content. If you have a child that is not so strong in math, this might be the perfect solution for you. It is for us. We are condensing Pre-Algebra into the first half of this year (she is moving quickly through it) and adding Algebra I beginning in the second half. Technically, this track places Emily slightly behind "schedule" according to her grade level, but I believe whole-heartedly in mastery of each concept before moving on. 

History

This year (and probably into next) we are studying US History and I'm happy to say I've finally liberated us from a formal history curriculum! As much as I've tried, I just can't seem to get behind any textbook type history program. Too much is glossed over or left out entirely, leaving us hungry for more. This year, thanks to the recommendation of my new homeschool mama friend, Melinda (who has a beautiful blog by the way), we'll be using Joy Hakim's, A History of Us. In addition, we'll be touring many of the Historic New England Homes, working our way through a great literature list, using A Young People's History of the United States, and creating weekly timeline cards based on the period in US History that was studied that week. (Have you ever done that? I'll show you more about that in a few weeks when we have a few more in our binder - it's a great project for any age.) In keeping with how Emily likes things, I did go ahead and order the assessment book for weekly tests based on the reading we've done. 

 

Foreign Language

Rosetta Stone Spanish - This homeschool version of Rosetta Stone allows for record keeping and grading. We actually started using this last year and it has proven effective, Emily is indeed learning Spanish. Technical and customer support have not been fantastic for us (various issues) so that is a little disappointing. Also, lacking a real classroom feel to the language has me thinking of moving her foreign language to a k12 type of option for next year. Of course, so many of us took 2-3 years of language in high school and can barely exchange the simplest greetings. I'm not looking to stress about the perfect program, but Emily does have a natural propensity to language so I am mindful of fostering this appropriately. 

 

Science

Apologia Biology with Lab - This is the second science book we've used from Apologia. It's not for everyone, if you're looking exclusively for a secular science program this is probably not for you. Dr. Jay Wile writes Apologia's textbooks (the two we've used anyway, not sure if he's written all of their texts), his personality is quite something and Emily has grown to look forward to what he has to say each day. He can be outrageous, funny, brilliant, frustrating, and incredibly thought provoking (oh, the discussions that can stem from a curriculum you don't completely align with, philosophically speaking - I guess we embrace our differences rather than resist them). But the science is excellent, and it is not dumbed down which I appreciate. (I really dislike textbooks that aren't much more than a collection of sound bites.) 

Samantha of To Be Busy at Home wrote an excellent review about this course and it helped us to make our decision to go for it. We are pretty much doing this course as she describes, including ordering the supplies from Sonlight (we now have a microscope!) and the Lapbook Journal Kit from Knowledge Box. Emily is going to love that. I really loved Samantha's thorough review, if you have a minute and are looking ahead to high school science you might like to pop over and have a read. 

 

Computer Science

Web Design - This is the second course Emily is taking through k12. It doesn't begin until tomorrow so I don't have much to share about it. She did have her orientation with her teacher and that went well, other than that we are just waiting and looking forward to it. 

Wellness

In many ways, we live this subject everyday. To formalize the experience we are using Vintage Remedies, Family Herbalist Course - We started this class last year and plan on taking it at least until the end of this year, perhaps into next year. This is something we do once a week and usually there is a project involved - one that is provided by, or inpspired by the unit we are currently studying. 

 

Sports

You know, I think I'm going to save this for another post. What we have in the works is brewing itself up right now so I'll wait until a few more pieces fall into place. 

Emily is an athlete and filling this part of her experience as she gets older proves to be the only (slightly) tricky part we need to deal with as homeschoolers. This is because many towns lose there youth sports come high school age. In my state (not sure if it's the same elsewhere), any homeschooled child can play team sports, participate in band, and even take certain classes in their district without being fully enrolled in public school. It makes sense because you do still pay taxes, after all. Some kids however, don't get too excited about the idea of only attending school for select activities - feeling it can be awkward socially. Some kids have no concern and jump right in, those kids often find the notion of social awkwardness to be a myth. They are accepted just fine by their teammates. Each kid is different with how they feel about this. 

 

Art

Artistic Pursuits - I don't want to say too much about this yet as it just arrived here two days ago. I'll share more in the another post down the road. Of course creativity happens each day in so many other ways too, but this pulls together a few key techniques and teachings that I'm looking forward to. 

 

Dance Card

So to speak. Important to Emily at this point in her development is having plenty of great things on the calendar to look forward to. She is a teenager now (or young adult, as I prefer), and is looking to explore her growing independence and interests with peers and through various out of the house activities.

Basically, in order to know what she would like to do in this world, she is more eager than in her younger years to get out there and explore it. October is already pretty full and she's quite pleased about it - looking forward to a Haunted Hayride (for teens), two dances (one Harvest themed dinner dance, one Halloween themed), two concerts (Brandi Carlile and Regina Spector), and Yale Splash. 

 Teen Book Club 

A wonderful group of about eight young ladies (just happens to be all girls) have begun meeting once a month for a traditional book club. Their meeting place is a funky cafe in Northeastern Connecticut and the gathering is a nice balance of discussing the book and moving on to discussing life. Emily is having a wonderful time. 

Piano

Emily is finishing up her first year of piano lessons at The Community School of the Arts at Uconn. She loves her teacher and loves the piano too. All is well there... although there is mention of adding the cello next semester. (!!!)

Homeschool Co-op

We have joined a new to us (weekly) co-op that is quite popular in our area. In our new home we are about twenty minutes closer to the co-op which brings the drive in under one hour. Emily is taking three classes this semester - Constitution, Freakonomics, and Gluten Free Cooking. We've only had one week so far but I'm sure I'll have much to say in the future about this community, it feels like a really wonderful group of people. 

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Oh my goodness this looks like so much.

And it is! This is by design and not all things meet daily, or even weekly. They are all worked into our regular schedule and I have a feeling this is going to be our best homeschool year yet!

Is there any new curriculum happening in your homeschool this year? No matter the age range, if you have a minute, do share a link to what you are using. We all love to peek in on what each other is up to. Thanks! 

(And thank you for sticking around to the end of this very long post!)