School and Homeschool

Mirin has so far survived two weeks of his new charter school, and has even gotten to experience a hurricane day.


This charter school has some great things about it:  project based, creative, drama class on Fridays with an old acquaintance of mine, Capoiera instead of PE.  There is a lot of good energy behind this school, and his former homeschooling friend we met at a co-op meeting is also attending.

Mirin was initially very worried about being in school.  His spelling is not good, and he is a slow reader.  He knew we wanted him to have higher standards than he was being held to in homeschool, and more discipline and focus.

He has so far said he really enjoys school.  He has already made friends.  He is delighted that there is actually less discipline and less rigorous academic requirements than in my homeschool.  A lot is done on computers, with games, so he is enjoying this distraction that would not be tolerated at home.  There are copious amounts of junk food he has also been enjoying immensely.

And in homeschool, Rose is now flourishing.  It was always very difficult to try to get Mirin to focus on his studying because he was always provoking the little sisters into fits of rage or tears while I was busy with one or the other.  He would spend all day being a nuisance, would accomplish absolutely nothing except a lot of whining and complaining, I would be completely drained of energy and fed up with him, and the sisters would be fractious and close to hysteria from being pestered so much.  It has been so nice to spend time with my girls.

I also LOVE not being responsible about his education (or actually the lack of) any more.  This was a big issue for me.  We have lots of concerned family in town.  The harder I tried, the less he seemed to care.  I spent hours pouring over books about different education techniques.  I scoured the internet for fun ideas.  I invented stories and games just for him.  Everything was geared to appeal to him as much as possible, to cater to what he wanted, what he liked, and as a result he hated it all and scorned it.

And when he refused to learn, it wasn't his problem - it was my problem.  Everyone came to me - I wasn't trying hard enough, I wasn't qualified.  I wasn't doing enough.  It was my failure, not his.  This was very unhealthy for both of us.  I feel freed from this, and I was glad to hear my dad lecturing him about trying harder in school.

(Another thing I have realized is that my homeschool is actually quite good.  The Math he is learning in school is stuff we were reviewing this year from two years ago.  He claims that what I considered minimal effort for 6th grade level was actually much more rigorous than is expected at public school for writing and thinking.  Maybe instead of Standardized Testing, the schools need concerned relatives breathing down their necks to improve standards.  It gave me such a sense of inadequacy, but it made our homeschool standards sharp.)

On the other hand, he is very, very stressed out.  He comes home snarling and swearing.  He does nothing creative, he only craves the screen and idle distraction.  He has lost his mature homeschooler demeanor for an obnoxious manic blabbering and erratic jumping around that I have observed so often in kids just let out of school.  I was not expecting this change to happen so fast.  I think part of this is because the 6th grade class is notoriously badly behaved, and every day I hear stories of how a teacher just gave up on the class, there was a fight, someone was expelled, a teacher was in tears, he couldn't hear what the teacher was saying because the class was so disrupted.  So while he is not being bullied, like our last school experience, but I am also not happy that he is surrounded by such strong examples of disrespect and disorder.


So we are really not sure about this change.  I am very glad he is so happy and making friends, but it is not providing what we wanted:  more discipline or higher educational expectations.

(I want to clarify that the other grades at this school are reportedly not like the 6th grade at all.  This class is particularly rowdy for some reason, and is giving the staff a big challenge, so please don't form a bad opinion about this school just based on our experience of the 6th grade!  It is a great school, and there are great people working there with wonderful ideas.  I think they will sort it out, but they have only just gotten started as a school.)

Back To Homeschool

We started homeschooling again last week.  It is nice to be back to fall structure rather than the loose, unplanned summer days.  I realized we actually do homeschool year-round, but with different styles.  Very structured schooling in Fall and Spring, unschooling in Summer.  It seems to work well that way.  Beginning of summer, the children and I alike are glad to shake off the daily rhythm and have some freedom.  September-wise, it feels sort of like putting things back together again.

This year Rose is in 3rd grade, Mirin is in 6th, and Clo is in a difficult age where she can't quite join in, but doesn't want to be left out.

I put off planning for most of the summer, and did it all in a few desperate weeks in beginning of August.  I was trying to figure out what we were doing.  Now that we are not Waldorf homeschooling, I felt a loss.  I thought last year I had it all figured out, but I found myself back to the drawing board.  I haven't had enough time to study, figure out, and implement anything else.  Running out of time, I went ahead and planned 3rd and 6th grade by taking the things I liked the most from the Waldorf plans, adding my own stuff, and finding some new interesting things that we never would have found if we had been still stuck in the Waldorf rut.

For 3rd grade I chose the things we had enjoyed when Mirin was a third-grader.  The Native Dwelling series by Bonnie Shemie are fantastic.  We loved studying the Native Americans, so I kept that as part of the curriculum.  We are also studying the great civilizations of Central and South America.  These blocks include Language Arts, culture, and history.

Science in 3rd grade was Weather - and we are keeping that.  It was fun and interesting to keep a weather journal, and included honing observational skills, measurement (inches, centimetres and temperature), cardinal directions, graphing, data analysis, and weather phenomenon.  It is a very rich subject.

I found a beautiful cursive practice book that includes beautiful artworks.  After the basic letters are taught, the lessons center on finding and describing things in famous classical paintings.

Looking around this same website, I discovered the Life of Fred books that intrigued me.  I bought a few to see how my children liked them.  I got the first book for Rose, thinking it would be a good review, and I got a more advanced one for Mirin.  We ended up working through the first one and are starting the second.  Some of the content is very easy, but it also has things that we have never done before.  I looked through the harder book and decided to just start them both at the beginning.  So far we are really enjoying it.  The story is entertaining, and includes much more than just math.  I particularly like the way the negative effects of sugary foods and television are worked into the story!  How great is that?

For 6th grade we are working on Geometry, Greek Myths, studying the planets, stars, and solar system.  I planned it very lightly, because Mirin balks at lots of planned, structured schooling.

And of course I had to include Clothilde in my plans.  Every week we are trying to do some cooking together, some art together, and some small lessons - like counting and listening to stories.  Every day we do a seasonal verse (one of my favorite things I learned from Waldorf - I have always loved poetry and awareness of the seasons).  We also have a break between different parts of the lesson and do yoga stretches from a wonderful book written for children, picture-book style.  Often Clothilde will get the book out and do the stretches herself - even at age 3 she can do this because of the very simple format.

While I was planning, I remembered drawing shapes with my mom when I was about Clothilde's age.  I recalled being so pleased learning to make stars and hearts especially.  Last week, while Mirin was plugging away at Math and Rose was working in the cursive book, I got out drawing paper and crayons and tried to draw shapes with Clothilde to keep her occupied.

To my surprise, it wasn't just the casual, "Oh, we'll just play around with shapes and colors" that I had expected.  No, Clothilde takes things seriously.  I started drawing a few circles, which she tried to copy, and was quickly screaming and sobbing because her circles were not exactly the same as mine.  Simultaneously, Mirin got frustrated with his Fractions review and was clamouring for my attention.  Rose got angry because during the excitement, the table was jostled and messed up her letters that she was painstakingly working on.  We ended up with everyone screaming and crying - not exactly what I'd had in mind!

After the older children were done with their lessons, I got out the crayons and paper again, and sat down with just Clothilde.  I thought my approach was wrong.  I didn't remember this sort of thing being such a crisis when I was drawing shapes as a child!

Instead we opened the crayon box, and I told Clothilde to pick three things.  She picked:  a girl, a dog, and a horse.  I drew them on the paper, and began making up a story about the three of them, drawing as I went.  Halfway through, she pulled the crayons away from me and began drawing confidently, making up the end of the story on her own.  I found it fascinating to watch her creative process with this, and how a different approach can completely change a child's reaction to an activity.  My structure of drawing a circle did not inspire her, as I had expected, instead she became focused on how her drawing was not the same as my adult drawing, and felt inadequate.

When the process was freed up to her creativity, she became inspired, the flow of the drawing and the story came bursting out.  After she was finished and went off to play, I quickly jotted down the story on the back of the picture. I am imagining making a little book with her drawings and stories.

It was an intense week back to schooling, and I am having trouble finding time to write here, or work on French recipes.  My garden is very weedy, and my fall seedlings got slammed by hurricane Hermine over the weekend (and we lost electricity for two days - no joke when you have chest freezers full of your year's supply of meat!).  Dinners are usually a scramble and end up being something I pull desperately out of the freezer at the last minute - usually steak (not complaining, I love steak).  But I will try to write at least once a week until things settle down.

Chalk Paintings

An artistic friend of mine has recently been making beautiful chalk paintings of flowers.  We used to do a lot of chalk drawing on our tiny blackboard for home school, but I have abandoned that, largely because there is no paper-trail of work that way to show that we have done something other than bake cookies all school year.  I hadn't thought of using chalk on paper.  She has done several very lovely paintings (they actually are called paintings, if they are drawn in chalk on paper), and even has one entered in a gallery in Canada.

The technique intrigued me the moment I saw it.  The colors are so vivid, and they blend together in interesting ways so different from paint, and the movement it captures is so distinct.  My friend has a gorgeous set of chalk she got second-hand at a great discount, because real chalk-painting chalk is incredibly expensive (like hundreds of dollars for a set).

I found a beautiful (and affordable) set of chalk at Scissors, Paper, Stone that I invested in.  We just used regular construction paper I got locally.  Everyone loved making these paintings.  After drawing for a little while, Clothilde rubbed her face and turned completely green.  She looked like a ninja turtle and had to be washed off.  The big kids started with garden pictures, and moved on to snow scenes.  I can't tell if they were just dreaming of cooler weather, or if it was to monopolize the much-in-demand white chalk.  Artistically, it is a good opportunity to work with directional line, shading, and how different colors interact next to each other, because the chalk colors don't blend easily like paints or crayons.

Another plus - the clean up and set up were easier than painting, which requires jars of water.  Half the reason we don't paint more (we used to paint every week when Mirin was little) is because Clo always manages to overturn a jar of water, every single time - and she also does unmentionable things to paint brushes that can be frustrating for the older children, who like the paintbrushes to have hairs in them and still work.  I know we will get a lot of use out of these chalks for awhile.

Sick Days and Baking

Note: The two cake pictures were from the "Dad Bake-A-Thon", and you can't really expect anything to be put away or the table to look clean.

We have been so, so sick.  The kind of sick that strikes you down and crushes you so you can't move.  Clothilde spent four days lying in bed, sleeping.  THAT kind of sick.  I haven't seen her so still since she was newborn.

Last week, when we were just starting to feel a tickle in our throats, I had to have a big cooking day.  There was cream to skim, butter to make, tomatoes to boil down to sauce, stock to set on and an overload of eggplants from the garden and eggs from the chickens.  And not to mention all the goat milk.  Every day I am draining more cheese. 

I've been lately been spending a lot of time working on things with my children - we've been doing chalk paintings, reading, playing board games and needle felting to amuse ourselves while it is so hot and awful outside.  But there had to be a cooking day, so I pushed them outside and took over the kitchen.  It was a  busy day, but so much got done.  And then, to my amusement, the very next day became a Baking Day.  I got pushed out of the kitchen, the cookbooks came out, and a baking contest began.  Rose made pretzels, Mirin made cake.  Clothilde hindered in a helpful way.  I helped decipher recipes and offered advice, but mostly I stayed away and knitted.  It was fantastic to see all of them working away in the kitchen together.

The day after that Clothilde was sick.  Then Mirin was sick.  Now I am sick.  I am just now feeling well enough to be out of bed - the sooner, the better.  Everyone has missed me so much, it's hard to say who misses me more - Ethan or the children.

Clothilde was up horribly early, energetic and chirping after four days of rest.  The big kids were up soon after, squabbling with each other and playing wild games on the furniture.  They needed breakfast, the dishes had to be put away, the floors swept, the milking equipment boiled and set up, the milk skimmed, the jars washed, the laundry sorted, washed, and put away.  And Clothilde played a game in which she locked all the doors in the house and Ethan had to search for the key to the back room so we could get to the phone.  Just the usual, but if you aren't used to someone else's work, everything goes slowly, and if you aren't used to doing things with three children bouncing around, it can be distressing.  I was accused of being secretly amused by it all when I came out briefly to lay on the couch and see how things were going.

By mid-morning the children sent in a delegation.  They said they were being neglected.  Rose wanted to bake a cake (correction:  she wanted someone to bake a cake with her), and Mirin was insisting on chocolate chip cookies.  Rose gave a long-winded speech complaining that "Daddy is so horrible"  (that was basically what she said), and Mirin claimed that I needed to get better immediately because, "It's daddy's job to sit in a chair at work and make money.  It's YOUR job to take care of us."  He said it was all they could do to survive.

However, they finally went away to do better things and Clothilde and I got a nap.  Ethan did bake cookies and cake with them, and everyone survived.  I'm feeling slightly better, and I hope to be back to my usual duties tomorrow, which apparently I am irreplaceable for.

The Patisserie

We have had the best summer crafty project going lately - in the summer I always like to have something fun to work on that we didn't get time for during the rest of the year.  Summer here is like the deep winter of other climes.  The weather and bugs make you want to lethargically hang out inside.  It's taken me so many years of living here to discover this.  The weather is just too nice in the spring, winter and fall to sit inside with crafts.

Rose and I had this brilliant idea back in May - and since then we have been working to make a tiny, needle-felted patisserie.  It's been so fun to think of different pastries and cakes to try.

None of us have much experience yet with needle felting.  We had a kit from ages ago that no one could quite figure out from written instructions.  I finally found some videos on youtube that helped a lot.  We started with simple cookie shapes, and moved on to gingerbread men, pain-au-chocolat, and cupcakes with cherries on top.

Not only are they delicious-looking and cute, but I am thinking they will be fun to work with when we review money for third grade in the fall.

I've also found that interesting my children in arts and crafts must be done in a certain way.  It wouldn't work if I had gotten all the wool, foam, and needles out and announced, "We are all going to sit down and do needle felting now!"  I can get out all kinds of great art supplies that way, and everyone ignores them and finds something better to do.

Instead I got it all out very quietly, while they were busy fighting over something in their room.  When they sent out a delegation for appeal and accusation, I was just sitting at the table quietly, working on a cookie.

"It's all his fault, Mirin did blah-blah-blah, he's such a horrible person."

and, "Rosie is so mean, she did blah-blah-blah," faded as they watched me as I quietly poked the cookie shape with the felting needle.

"Yes?" I said, not looking up.

"What are you doing?" became the question, and Clothilde crawled into my lap making further progress impossible.  Then, suddenly, everyone wanted a felting needle, and I had to give up my piece of foam.  The creativity blossomed and everyone was curious and wanted to try.

The People of the Desert

We are starting another Native American block for homeschool (we are using the Christopherous 3rd grade syllabus this year).  Last week we stdied the people of the desert, which I had been really looking forward to.  

Three years ago we went on a cross-country camping trip to California along I-10, so we all got to soak up the desert environment a little.  It was amazing to watch the land and vegetation slowly change on our journey.  You could see how the lyre-leaf sage in Florida was closely related to the chia in New Mexico.  Mirin made a sword out of a saguaro rib that he still treasures all these years later.  We hiked (and got lost looking for grottos), tasted mesquite and sagebrush, identified desert animals and plants, and even stopped by the Sonoran Desert Museum - which is hands down the most amazing museum I've ever been to (I've been to lots of museums, as my mother used to work for the local museum here and went touring them all over).  The desert museum had docents giving incredibly interesting mini-lectures about the wildlife, ethnobotany, and history.  We got to hold a stone that was older than the sun - pretty amazing - and walk through their humming bird aviary.

So a lot of last week ended up being, "Remember when Rosie was two and we were in the desert..." but we also read some books about desert animals, weaving and some stories from the people of the desert.  We also learned about the cliff dwellers, the pueblos and building with adobe.

I left all the writing and more academic bits for the last day, and we did mostly stories and activities earlier in the week.  It worked out really well.  We made pots from clay - Mirin put a design on his with candle smoke.  We cooked two great dinners - one with chicken (instead of turkey, which they raised) and tortillas, and another with lima bean breads and salsa.  They were actually out of my Mayan cookbook, but they had similar foods to work with.  I wish we could have had some mesquite beans, too.

The best thing we did was the loom above.  Yes, we actually built a loom and wove on it!  I am inept at building things, so this was a huge accomplishment for me, especially since it involved sawing through a steel-like piece of old growth long leaf pine that was rescued from an old building (the nine-year-old didn't have the motivation to complete this step, so I did most of that).  It's a bit wonky - okay, it has an obvious lean to it - but it works!

Mirin had felled a weedy cherry laurel tree in the yard the week before, so we used forked branches from it and skinned them with his whittling knife.  We also got other straight branches for the other necessary sticks.  

Years ago I actually had a real Navajo loom I'd bought at an estate sale.  It had a beautiful unfinished tapestry on it.  The woman who had started it had died, and her daughter was selling her things.  She urged me to purchase it and try to finish it, despite my misgivings.  I did buy it, and ended up ruining the tapestry by trying to figure it out (this was before the internet was such a resource like it is now).  Then the loom sat in my room and gave me nightmares until I gave it away (I think it was haunted by the poor lady who started the tapestry.  I'm sure my feeble, clawing attempts were the cause).  Anyway, once I had watched a few how-to videos, it all became clear, even so many years later,  what all those sticks were used for.  It is ingenious, really, how it is set up.

Mirin was also inspired to try building an adobe-like platform on his pit.  This was all his idea, which made me so happy it had made such an impression on him.  I'm finding more and more that if I step back and let things breathe, he really gets so much more of homeschool.

Sheltering

It was stormy yesterday evening when we were doing the chores, so Mirin and Rose decided to build a new kind of shelter.  It was built on The Pit, which has become a famous feature of the farm (this is actually the second and more respectable pit).  When kids come to visit, the pit gets a little larger and children end up having to be dragged away screaming and begging for more time.  We invited Mirin's cub scout troop out last summer and apparently this was the biggest highlight.  When one little scout came out to celebrate Mirin and Rose's birthdays, he leaped from his car saying, "Where's this pit I've been hearing about?"

Every kid should have a pit, no?

Ethan helped a little with the first knots, but Mirin cut all the stakes and Rose helped put the roof up.

 (Please forgive the quality of the photos.  It was nearly dark by then)

They did some more digging to shape the sides and created a great entrance slide.  It's about four feet deep now.  When we were out earlier so I could milk Nougat, all three of them played in the pit, making a nice break for my back to not have to crouch down under a kicking goat with the baby in the Ergo.  It reminded me of the Incan women in Peru who would dig a pit to keep toddlers safe while they worked on the very steep terraced mountain fields.  There's so much entertainment for a toddler in a pit!

Yes, every kid should certainly have at least one.

Horses and Chariots

For some reason Mirin has been completely taken with the idea of building a chariot.  He found the modified bike wheels from the old horrible "Chickshaw" coop that has fallen into disuse and disrepair, and has been trying out different ways of attaching them to something he can ride on.  Because Rosie is the little sister, she is always the "horse."
Instead of finishing the roof of the barn, Ethan decided to help them out the other day, and came up with this extremely cumbersome version of the farm "chariot" with pieces from his junk pile.

Rosie was hitched up and it was tried out.

Mairie was watching:

"Dear God, what kind of a farm was I sold to?  What is wrong with these people??"

Oops!
Although it doesn't look like it in the pictures, the chariot game is primarily for the amusement of the "Horse."