mothercroneshomeschool

Amazing Inspiration...update on blog

2008-09-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

It's amazing the change a few days can bring. Yet here we are, a few days later, happily settling into our lessons and back-to-school schedules. It seems that all we needed was the right inspiration.

That inspiration, it seemed, was the start of the co-op. Seeing all our homeschooling friends again was so different this year. There was "a lightness of being" , to steal a phrase, the surrounded the whole place. New and old families happily meeting, catching up and sharing. The vibe was amazing.

Both the kids and I found our enthusiasm again in those classes, and it has spread to our work at home. I was so pleased how we all just settled into our work, and the old diligence was right there. We were done in short order and had some down time watching reruns of "Heroes" together. And I happily discovered that little time is needed for administrative tasks, at least for now.

The only down side was that I found a few new local people have discovered my blog through Google. This is NOT a good thing. I had suspected it was happening over the summer, which was part of my infrequent posting. The feeling of anonymity I once had in posting personal struggles or successes is gone, and it is unfair to the kids to have their laundry out there for IRL folks to know that aren't friends.

I am going to be shortly starting a new blog under a different name and deleting these posts. I'll try to make a point of contacting my regular commenters directly, so you can find me.

Sharing for all the Moms Out There...

2008-09-07T01:20:00.000-07:00

A dear friend sent me this timely email. It touched me so much, and I thought to share it here. I'd love to give credit to the author, but it is unknown to me.

Invisible Mother......
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously, not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? & nobody special: Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right arou nd 5:30 , please.'

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England .. Janice had just gotten back from a fabu lous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. N o a ct of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. but it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women. Great Job, MOM!

Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know...I just did. Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does. We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our perseverance.

Getting Back to Center

2008-09-07T00:28:00.000-07:00

If this blog can act as a confessional, I have to admit that I have not been a very good mother or wife this summer. I spent far too much time working, trying to ensure that this co-op would be a success despite our high rent fees. With Scout off working full time with Dad, Girlie spent her days fending for herself, playing video games on XBox live or online.

At first, she seemed happy to have the respite out the constant companionship. She is almost 14, and needs a bit of personal space. But toward the middle of August, we were both sorely missing the companionable time we normally shared.

I am happy that we quickly made efforts to get back to our center, as easily as watching DVDs together or creating an art project. Last week, Scout was home again as well. The whole dynamics of the household has changed again, with all three of us looking at the start of schooling with mixed emotions.

This year will be more challenging for all of us. I will be learning to juggle not just the lessons at home with the kids, but my students in the three classes that I am teaching. All the while I will be faced with unknown demands of the co-op and learning to set boundaries with my time that put family first.

Scout will not only be a junior with a full course load, but will also be researching colleges, getting accustomed ot the responsiblities of being a new driver, and preparing for his Eagle scout project. I am thrilled though, that his working experience this summer has given him new direction and focus, and he is unusually focused to begin the year. He is ready to throw himself fully into both the social and academic parts of being a student again.

Girlie is already showing signs of a difficult transition back into academics. She really is my reluctant learner right now, filled with hormones, lethargy, and teenaged angst. She's spent far too much time alone without inspiration this summer. She is so full of dread for the start of anything academic.

I have to admit that for the first time ever, I feel the same way. In these dozen or more years, I have never felt so disconnected from our learning lifestyle. It's more than just being over tired from this incessant insomnia or mere distraction. I'm selfishly feeling that I just don't have it in me to be as creative as I have in the past with our lessons at home, going overboard to ensure ways to make unpleasant subject enjoyable.

We spoke about this at length today and she feels that is was a mistake for us to take so much time away this year. We normally only take a month off and do unschooling projects from July to September. We have done little bits and pieces here and there, but there has been no real form or function. We spoke candidly about her need to get over her stubborness about some subjects, like history, because it's just plain unfair to me as her teacher. She agreed that she has been "mule-headed" (her new fave term), and we will come to some middle ground.

We brainstormed a bit and came up with a few things that have been fun...and are going to try to do some focus on those, together, looking for a spark. A few of her subjects will be starting next week at co-op, and we will continue on with math. But we will let the other things rest for a week or two. It is far more important to get back to center of our learning lifestyle than force feed everything all at once.

We are both hoping that once we are in a bit of a rhythm again all the pieces will fall back into place without a huge struggle. It seems that we are all working our way through some growing pains on our way back.
If only I could sleep...

Learning Gratitude

2008-09-03T05:34:00.000-07:00

Gratitude is a concept that I have tried to remember in my own life, and to instill in my children. I've always believed that learning to truly be grateful for all the positives in our lives can ground us in a happy place. Not trying to be utterly Pollyanna about things, but being thankful for the good while acknowledging that things can always be worse is beneficial. And frankly, no one really wants to listen to anyone who complains ALL the time!

In our home, the habit is to try to maintain perspective , even if our gratitude statements are sometimes loaded with sarcasm. There is a difference if I jest that "I am grateful to be awakened at 3am with menopausal night sweats because that gives me extra hours in my day to get things done" than if I just go on a long description of complaint. The reality is that even in my over-tired state, I know that I am blessed to have slept for five hours in a comfortable bed in an air-conditioned house. I don't take that for granted, and that attitude of gratitude goes far for me.

A recent article in Body & Soul Magazine confirms this belief . "Thank You Therapy," by Terri Trespicio is an excellent read, and cites many studies done that give proof positive about gratitude. It is a great read. It points to the fact that gratitude does much more for us when it really becomes our thought base. Someone who is truly grateful and aware is less likely to become consumed with negative emotions like greed and jealousy.

I recently have been trying to put my gratitude into action in my business as well, in a sort of pay it forward way. When we hit the goal of 30 families in the co-op, I looked around at a few large families who are struggling to pay multiple college tuitions while still homeschooling other children at home. I knew that money was the only thing holding them back from participating fully.

My heart was for these kids, who I know and love. They belonged with their friends, and money is always secondary to what is right. I decided to act from the gratitude that I felt from all the support we had gotten thus far from other families and discussed the idea of offering full and partial scholarships with my assistant director, and then the board.

Our offers were received with such gratitude and almost disbelief. Each family jumped at the offer, and have their whole crew joining us all day long. The kids have been gushing with joy and excitement about the new year. Moms have stepped in to fill important volunteer roles in planning bigger events. And the best part? The warmth and joy we have received back in making this possible for them.

Not surprising then, is the fact that after we did this, we started receiving more and more enrollments from new families. Our numbers are at 40, with 2-3 new calls daily. At this rate, we might hit 45 families, and over 100 kids! All in four months time!!!

Girlie said it best, "Karma , baby, Karma!"

Teaching Creative Writing to Other Children

2008-08-27T05:43:00.000-07:00

Last winter, when I was first approached to teach creative writing to middle schoolers, I jumped at the chance. I was in the middle of a self-created writing and fantasy literature curriculum with Girlie, and we had been making such fantastic discoveries and progress. The *IDEA* was fabulous.

It wasn't long after that when I wiped a smudge off my rose-colored glasses that I pondered, "What have I done?" How can I recreate this dynamic, interactive student -teacher relationship in a once-a-week class with other children? Trying to hold the panic at bay, I threw myself into studying various writing curricula and techniques.

And the longer I looked, the more it became apparent there is little on the market that is dynamic and vibrant for teaching writing. If I look at ONE MORE boring graphic organizer or stunted worksheet I am going to scream. Institute for Excellence in Writing has some interesting points, but the exercises become so redundant and burdensome that they would suck any writing passion into a vacuum of dread. Bravewriter has some appeal, but we found that their $100 "The Writer's Jungle" it is more a guide of ideas for the teacher to getting the kids "unstuck". If you really want direction in developing literary elements into your writing, you are going to need to be come a never-ending ATM machine purchasing mini-units again and again. Ugh!

What I really wanted was something that really taught the kids about plot, character, conflict, point of view, voice, setting, tone and mode. I wanted to have them learn how to properly write dialogue, use connotation and denotation, and explore all those fun literary devices like metaphor, foreshadowing, alliteration,etc. Most of all, I wanted it to be dynamic and real.

The quandry came in that I know I COULD write all myself over a normal summer. But this year I was a little over burdened putting in 40+-hour weeks starting the co-op. I was a non-stop PR machine, all the while hammering out administrative details. My *Clever*, that creative vibrant side to my personality, took a vacation . All I could manage by way of planning were a ton of jottings in a spiral notebook and some web-surfing.

Three weeks ago, as things started slowing down on the PR side, I turned my focus to lesson planning these classes. I spent a week planning the psych class, and another tweeking environmental science unit that was almost done. All the while, this creative writing class loomed darkly over me . The class began filling quickly, and I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to consider the varied abilities and writing backgrounds of all these kids.

My panic was starting to rise significantly. I closed the class at eight students, realizing that my success in teaching writing is strongly based in giving feedback and editing help after instruction. I created a little outline, and I started to wade through all the scribbling in my notebook. I spent some more time surfing, and adapting some traditional lessons in fun and interesting ways.

The longer I worked, the faster the dread faded. It really is as easy as organizing the element, teaching the concept through examples and discussion, and getting to work WITH the kids. I found my excitement again as I planned. Like Elvis, the Dread has left the building!

Savoring the Summer's End

2008-08-18T05:51:00.000-07:00

Autumn is already giving us little reminds of it's return. Cooler morning and evening temperatures seem to tap some internal seasonal clock, helping us mentally prepare for the start of another year . Usually, I would be up to my elbows putting up tomatoes and pickles, but last week's hail storm took that annual chore off my plate.

In a way, I am grateful to that. This summer has been overstuffed with organizational tasks, and I haven't had much relaxing. Looking back, I have realized that I have created a lot of that work, for I filled my days with lots of P.R. type work. I don't regret all the time spent building relationships with the teachers and parents that will be attending the co-op this fall, but I do know that I have to put time limits on it now. Email will now become the tool of choice, which is much less intrusive . Thankfully, I am quite good about doing so guilt free, as everyone understands that my first commitment is to teaching my own kids, and then my students.

I look at the three weeks ahead and also realize that while there are some tasks still outstanding, we are in really good shape. And I am also realizing that not everything needs to be set in stone to start. This reality alone is giving me great peace.

As such, I took a little time to do some much wanting tasks around the house this weekend. I made new covers for the dogs beds, and got more stuffing to plump them up a bit. I went through the summer's accumulation of magazines, gathering them up for recycling. We went through the hunting clothing and took inventory of future purchases. Somehow, some of DH and Scout's stuff shrunk. (which baffles me as I only wash it once at the end of the season with special scent free detergent, but I digress. ) No tears shed, as they just passed them around to the smaller/ shorter members.

The reality of having a high school junior reminded me that I need to get on the ball. We waited to have Scout take the PSAT's until his junior year because if taken before a student loses eligibility for National Merit Scholarship money. I've a call into the local high school to get him registered for October's PSAT date, but I also got to thinking about the rest of the college testing , and got dates for registration and test taking sorted and on the calendar. I found an Open House coming up at one of the local schools Scout is considering, and registered us for that as well. He will be spending some time as part of his SAT prep curriculum to research other schools, and we may be taking other road trips as well.

We are purposely going to slow down a bit each day this week...to savor the summer's end. Whether it be hikes with the dogs, or snuggled in watching movies, or a trip to the ice cream store...I need to settle myself before beginning the new year much more than I need to get a jump start on academics. There is no need for such a harried attitude at this point in the game.

So, more unschooling this week. We will continue with some of the hunter's safety stuff, as well as math. I had picked up an excellent book Pirates, by Celia Rees, that has Girlie mesmerized and dreaming of swashbuckling. We will do some mapwork to start, but it will be a perfect segway into the navigation portion of our history of exploration unit.
She also wanted to experiment with a big of unique cooking. Since sausage, chicken and shrimp were on special at the market this week...looks like some old- fashioned gumbo is on the menu.

Wishing you all a last bit of total relaxation...

New adventures...

2008-08-17T06:22:00.000-07:00

Girlie and I are happy to announce that we passed hunter's education with flying colors, acing our tests at 96% and 100%, respectively. We sat around with the hunting schedules then, putting some family hunting days on the calendar before it is bulging with activities. She and her Papa are heading off to the range today, to get some practice in with her new shotgun.

I did learn through training that the hiking trail we often take with the dog is legal hunting grounds. This is not posted anywhere, and is frankly quite scary, with the amount of hikers and dog walkers that frequent it. I then think about Scout being out hiking all over the place in fall, and have decided that I need to invest in a half-dozen fluorescent orange bandanas, one for each of us and each dog. Better safe than sorry!

Girlie has more exciting news. Our dog groomer has a little shop only two blocks from our house, and she has always been very welcoming toward Girlie's interest in her occupation. We had the Lucy in for a last summer's trim, and the groomer asked if she would want to start coming by the shop and work for her part-time. You can imagine how thrilled she is! While her work would mostly be sweeping and cleaning, she will also get the chance to learn to bath the happy dogs.

The more she and the groomer talked, the bigger the plan became. She would work 10 hours weekly only in Nov & Dec, and then more in the summers, unless she fell short handed with vacations. She will take it upon herself to TRAIN her in grooming, so that by the time she is 16, she can move up into a year round part-time job grooming as well. She pointed out that it is a great skill to have no matter what she chooses to pursue, as she can always get a job that pays a decent salary whereever she goes.

As you can imagine, Girlie is over the moon about this opportunity. Being told that her level-headed nature had impressed the this woman so much that she would prefer to invest her time and training in her rather than others years older is certainly something to take pride in. Our own dog whisperer!

About that boy of mine...

2008-08-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

I suspect it has seemed that I have been extremely silent on my son. He's been fairly odd about my blogging, being a teenaged boy and feeling odd about privacy. Yet, I have been wanting to post an update, so I will hope that he is too exhausted when he returns from camping to remember to check. ;) If not, he'll just have to understand that I couldn't possibly be rude to my dear friend JoVe!

Things are going really, really well. Ty said the other day that this summer has felt like one long work day, and that is quite the case. I can see that the 4:30am wake up schedule is taking its' toll. Two weeks ago he even asked how long until school starts, so it must be getting bad. He's got two weeks left, then a week off before we start. But, his bank account and work ethic have definitely reaped the benefits of the experience.

He has been away a lot as well- off camping, hiking and going to concerts and such with friends. He's had his buddies over some here ,too, and still seems to find time to play Xbox live and chat on his computer. It's been odd, but he is just at an age to stretch his independence.

As I said, he is looking forward to the start of school. Last spring, after a number of conversations about his future, responsibility, and goals, we came up with a plan for his junior year that gives us high hopes. He is still dreaming of attending Green Mountain College in VT and majoring in Environmental science. The program seems a dream, but we all have some concerns about his ability to balance academics and social since homeschooling has offered so much "mom" structure.

So, for his junior year, we have "handed him the keys" in more ways than one. He is taking most of his academic classes at the co-op---algebra II, American Governement, literary analysis, and biology lab, as well as my intro to psychology class. He is doing Rosetta Stone Spanish and biology at home on is own. In the fall, he will also be doing an SAT prep class. In spring, he is going to be focusing a lot of extra time on his Eagle scout project, which he is hoping to do with the Wildlands Conservancy.

My role in all of this moved totally away from teacher toward parent. I won't be checking up on him and giving him little reminders, even for my class. He knows that this is the year he will show us that he is capable of organizaing and managing his academics and social life. If he does so, we will all then start looking into ways to make the expensive dream school happen. If he falls into bad habits and does poorly, we will redirect the focus toward smaller state school for the first year. He can always transfer later if he wants it badly enough.

As a mom, I have to say I am really enjoying where he is, standing on the edge of something big. It is also nice to give him the responsibility...as I know I've taught him well, but it is all ultimately up to him. I no longer feel this personal worry that his success or failure is a direct reflection on me, which I am certain has given our relationship a lighter, more fun feel.
Now, I am able to focus on teaching the same skills to Girlie, knowing that in a few short years she will be standing on the same mountain!

Hunter's Education from a Homeschooling Perspective

2008-08-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

It is funny how this delight-directed learning approach can jump out at you from the most unexpected places. Reagan has decided that after years of pursuing shooting sports at the range (both archery and rifle), she is wanting to make the next step into hunting. Pennsylvania Game Commission offers free 10.5 hunter's education classes throughout the summer. Since it has been almost 30 years since I took it myself, I decided I would tag along for a refresher so we can now hunt as a family.

Last night was our first 3-hour session, and I was surprised to find over fifty people in attendance. We were informed that there will be a 65 question test at the end of the course on Saturday, and we needed to pay attention and take notes in order to pass. Without passing, there will be no licensing.

I opened up the wonderful materials they provided each of us with and my mind went right into homeschooling mode. The wealth of information here, that these guys were just flying through without much more than a cursory mention was unnerving! As I scribbled notes away in the margins, Reagan recognized the crazed look in my face..."You are going to make this a unit study , aren't you?" Then she gave me a big knowing smile.

I had to admit...how could I NOT take this information and run with it? Just in just the first four chapters we studied last night, we were introduced to the following topics:

hunter/trapper education goals
funding of education programs, the wildlife restoration act, and excise taxation.
hunter responsibility and ethics, including public image and relations, and resource conservation
firearm safety, parts of the firearm and various actions of different types, safety mechanisms and sights.
differences between shotguns and rifles including the math and physics behind various bores, calibers, and gauges
basic parts of ammunition, including the chemistry behind ignition and firing .
the physics in the relationship between choke, distance and shot pattern, and general firearm range.
the mechanics of a working firearm
timeline history of firearms
storing, transporting, and cleaning of firearms
wildlife conservation and habitat management; carrying capacity of land and various control practices
wildlife identification, including large mammals, small mammals, upland birds, waterfowl, and rare,threatened and endangered species.

Information overload, as you can imagine!!! As they passed through the material at break-neck speed, I am imagine all the rabbit trails we will follow after the class is over. Physics experiments we can do at the range, hands-on cleaning and identification of firearm parts, and a visit to an uncle who fills his own shotgun shells. Maybe a trip to a firearm museum, and some research on gun laws and taxation. And that is before we get into any of the wildlife identification and conservation activities!

Reagan was completly excited about all these ideas, and wants to run with them for the rest of the summer, along with math, even after the class is over. We will be spending more and more time in the woods, familiarizing ourselves with our new hunting spot. We'll be going to the range as well, to ensure that our shots are clean and will not leave any wounded animals suffering. She was fascinated with the need to help control the exploding population of snow geese, and is trying to hook up with a friend whose father is an avid waterfowl hunter...looking forward to the experience of getting out there with the dogs. She was even mentioning going online to look for wild-game recipes to try.

Her excitement is contageous. As I looked ahead in the book, I realize there are seven more chapters, chock full of rabbit trails for us to find. Am I morbidly ironic in realizing that at the end of one of these we may actually eat the rabbit in a stew?

Lesson Plans-less is more

2008-08-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

I have accomplished something that I haven't managed in a decade. I have still held off from creating "lesson plans" for the year for my delight-directed daughter. Normally, I would have a syllabus for each subject, planned through March, only to find out in October that she was far too interested in a topic to move onto the next. When she would wander her way through the rabbit trails until she lost interest, we would often end up three weeks off track, and I'd need to rework. And this would repeat at least four other times a year. Why create so much unnecessary work for myself?

Mind you, I do have an idea file folder full of interesting projects, and mini-units that relate to her spoken areas of interest, or some on current affairs that we can work in during this election year. But all in all, we are both very committed to 'guided unschooling' approach for social studies and literature that worked so well last year. I am not feeling anxious at all about it since she is taking three academic classes at the co-op that will give her a framework around which to build her own studies.

All this free time has certainly come in handy, as I have been using it to instead lesson plan for the three academic classes I am teaching at the co-op. I have the majority of the environmental science and creative writing lessons organized, with only needing to create a few project instructions and outdoor assignment sheets.

I think, however, that my high school "Intro to Psychology" class will be my favorite. I have a great group of bright and animated teens who all think outside the box. My goal is to give the kids a more hands-on experience with the concepts. While they will be assigned readings, I will only be giving about a 15 minute discussion/lecture on the concepts. It took a while, but I found an activity for every week, lots of projects and applied psychology experiments that will make it fun. Now, all that is left are creating a few more take home tests for those lovely porfolios.

I am getting so excited about this coming year!!!