Then it is time to make them beautiful.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Monday, August 08, 2005
I've Always said Homeschooling was a Marathon and Not a Sprint
I have spent many hours this summer getting my school lesson plans ready for the fall. It seems as though I spend a lot more time than I did in the past. All of the classes are more of a challenge now that we are doing high school. The books my children read are hundreds of pages long now, and for some classes I need to do a lot of studying so that I can be better informed; overall, the work is at a level that stretches my knowledge and abilities.
As a young adult I read a lot of good books. I started working at our small town library when I was 16, and I pulled a lot of books off the shelf to read that were well worth my time—Jane Austin, Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy were some of the authors I enjoyed. Many of these books are ones my children are now reading, and even if I have read them, I usually reread them so that I can better discuss them. This year, however, we will be doing books I have never read. The Odyssey is one of them. I plan to try using some of the lessons in Veritas’ Omnibus—I hope we enjoy them. Even the history books seem to bulge with more pages than can be read in a single class—Spielvogel’s World History: A Human Odyssey is over 1,000 pages long. Preparation for these large tomes takes much more time than putting together lesson plans for Blueberries for Sal and The Long Winter! It takes a lot of time and effort to prepare for the literature and textbooks that are used for high school, rhetoric level students.
This year we will be studying American government and economics. I have several texts and materials lined up for these classes. Although my father was and econ teacher, I must admit that I never took a class in that subject area. I am grateful for the help I have received from so many other homeschoolers who know more about this than I do. Between my own studies and their knowledge and help, I do believe that we will have an excellent class this year—and I will have learned a lot, too. Throughout our past 11 years of homeschooling, I have studied and learned many things—much has been a review of what I learned before, but I have also added new knowledge and depth of understanding that I would not have had if I had not taught my children at home. I have worked hard to give my children a good education and have benefited, myself, a great deal as well.
When my children were small, my children learned phonics and spelling. We studied the pilgrims and looked at the parts of flowers under the microscope. The children added and subtracted and learned their multiplication tables. Today what my children study is beyond what I studied and learned in high school. Although I took several years of Spanish, I have found that Latin demands and teaches a child a lot more about language and grammar. We all studied composition, but the progymnasmata teaches a use of words that I did not begin to study in school. Logic class has trained our minds to think and reason in ways we did not know possible. I am grateful that my children and I have had the chance to be challenged at this level of learning and understanding, which goes beyond normal expectations. It has been worth our while.
Now we are coming to the end of our summer, and although I am not as ready as I would like for the coming year, I am glad that we are going to be starting our 12th year of homeschooling. Soon my oldest will be applying to colleges and be preparing to move outside of my little schoolroom. She will be ready. I am grateful for the years we have had together and would not exchange them for anything! At times I could have said that “I found myself astray in a dark wood where the straight road had been lost”, but I know that we will not be sorry for the road we have chosen—you know, "the road less traveled…." We take the knowledge of having studied Dante and Frost and so many others with us. Who could regret it?
As a young adult I read a lot of good books. I started working at our small town library when I was 16, and I pulled a lot of books off the shelf to read that were well worth my time—Jane Austin, Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy were some of the authors I enjoyed. Many of these books are ones my children are now reading, and even if I have read them, I usually reread them so that I can better discuss them. This year, however, we will be doing books I have never read. The Odyssey is one of them. I plan to try using some of the lessons in Veritas’ Omnibus—I hope we enjoy them. Even the history books seem to bulge with more pages than can be read in a single class—Spielvogel’s World History: A Human Odyssey is over 1,000 pages long. Preparation for these large tomes takes much more time than putting together lesson plans for Blueberries for Sal and The Long Winter! It takes a lot of time and effort to prepare for the literature and textbooks that are used for high school, rhetoric level students.
This year we will be studying American government and economics. I have several texts and materials lined up for these classes. Although my father was and econ teacher, I must admit that I never took a class in that subject area. I am grateful for the help I have received from so many other homeschoolers who know more about this than I do. Between my own studies and their knowledge and help, I do believe that we will have an excellent class this year—and I will have learned a lot, too. Throughout our past 11 years of homeschooling, I have studied and learned many things—much has been a review of what I learned before, but I have also added new knowledge and depth of understanding that I would not have had if I had not taught my children at home. I have worked hard to give my children a good education and have benefited, myself, a great deal as well.
When my children were small, my children learned phonics and spelling. We studied the pilgrims and looked at the parts of flowers under the microscope. The children added and subtracted and learned their multiplication tables. Today what my children study is beyond what I studied and learned in high school. Although I took several years of Spanish, I have found that Latin demands and teaches a child a lot more about language and grammar. We all studied composition, but the progymnasmata teaches a use of words that I did not begin to study in school. Logic class has trained our minds to think and reason in ways we did not know possible. I am grateful that my children and I have had the chance to be challenged at this level of learning and understanding, which goes beyond normal expectations. It has been worth our while.
Now we are coming to the end of our summer, and although I am not as ready as I would like for the coming year, I am glad that we are going to be starting our 12th year of homeschooling. Soon my oldest will be applying to colleges and be preparing to move outside of my little schoolroom. She will be ready. I am grateful for the years we have had together and would not exchange them for anything! At times I could have said that “I found myself astray in a dark wood where the straight road had been lost”, but I know that we will not be sorry for the road we have chosen—you know, "the road less traveled…." We take the knowledge of having studied Dante and Frost and so many others with us. Who could regret it?
Friday, August 05, 2005
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Updates
A week ago we attended one of the area fairs. It rained and rained until everything and everyone was soaked. We still had fun.
A soggy boy and his cow, Rigel
And when we got home from that, I called my sister and found out that all of her children were going to be home, so we jumped into the car and headed to Florida. Thursday we packed the car and headed out. We made it about half way through Indiana. Friday we drove until we got to the southern end of Alabama. We negotiated Birmingham in rush hour traffic--do they always have multiple accidents there? Yikes! At the end of the day we encountered a rainstorm that made it hard to see the road and pulled off into a rest area—nearly full with other travelers who were doing the same. We crept down the road to a nearby town and found another hotel room so that I did not have to find my sister’s home in the dark.
By morning, we were all in better spirits, and we were at my sisters by 10:30 or so. We attempted to visit the beach but were rained out. In the evening there was a baby shower for my nephew and his wife—he will be shipping out to Iraq later this year. Sunday was a great day at the beach and time to chat with family. By Monday, the nephews had headed out and the house was growing quiet. We chatted until after lunch and then started the journey toward home once more.
That evening we had the chance to meet Dy and her family. How pleasant! I’m certain my children would not have sat at a restaurant at 9:30 at night letting me chat with others when they were that age! Such sweet, gentle folk—I hope to see them again on another trip south.
Shortly after 5 A.M. the next morning we were already on the road heading north. Fourteen hours later we were turning into our drive and greeting the kitties. I’m glad we went.
So now I’m back to blogland. I still need to clean my house and get ready for school, which is coming up too fast. Let me know what you have been doing lately!
Thank you for all your prayers for our safety. I really think I needed them! Blessings.
A soggy boy and his cow, Rigel
And when we got home from that, I called my sister and found out that all of her children were going to be home, so we jumped into the car and headed to Florida. Thursday we packed the car and headed out. We made it about half way through Indiana. Friday we drove until we got to the southern end of Alabama. We negotiated Birmingham in rush hour traffic--do they always have multiple accidents there? Yikes! At the end of the day we encountered a rainstorm that made it hard to see the road and pulled off into a rest area—nearly full with other travelers who were doing the same. We crept down the road to a nearby town and found another hotel room so that I did not have to find my sister’s home in the dark.
By morning, we were all in better spirits, and we were at my sisters by 10:30 or so. We attempted to visit the beach but were rained out. In the evening there was a baby shower for my nephew and his wife—he will be shipping out to Iraq later this year. Sunday was a great day at the beach and time to chat with family. By Monday, the nephews had headed out and the house was growing quiet. We chatted until after lunch and then started the journey toward home once more.
That evening we had the chance to meet Dy and her family. How pleasant! I’m certain my children would not have sat at a restaurant at 9:30 at night letting me chat with others when they were that age! Such sweet, gentle folk—I hope to see them again on another trip south.
Shortly after 5 A.M. the next morning we were already on the road heading north. Fourteen hours later we were turning into our drive and greeting the kitties. I’m glad we went.
So now I’m back to blogland. I still need to clean my house and get ready for school, which is coming up too fast. Let me know what you have been doing lately!
Thank you for all your prayers for our safety. I really think I needed them! Blessings.
