Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Somedays are good and somedays are.....
So I've started this post about three times now and have scrapped each entry. It's a dreary day today and I am feeling the same way. Our day has not been great. Matthew seems to be feeling a little under the weather and that has made for a very rough educational day. It's times like these when I question what I am doing and how effective I am. It is understandable that rough days at home are not at all what they would be in a public school setting. Having a meltdown in front of your mom is much safer than doing so in front of an entire class. It also occurs to me that at times I push hard for an answer and that in return pushes his buttons which NEVER ends well. My expectations for Matthew are simple. He has to focus for the 2 1/2 hours before he goes to chorus so we can make it through our core subjects. After chorus, he has time to catch up on whatever he didn't finish or he goes to robotics. No video games before 3:00 because that is when our school day is officially finished. Simple in my opinion but some days it just doesn't work. Today is one of those days. Thankfully, tomorrow is a new day and we will start fresh!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
C....R.....A......Z........Y
The title of my post actually has described life for our family the past few weeks. My mom had her knee replacement surgery on October 21st which meant our school for that week was chaotic. Matthew does NOT like working on his assignments without my company; so it was a struggle but he persevered and all went as well as could be expected. Thankfully, mom was only in the hospital for a few days so it wasn't quite as hectic. God has answered prayers once again and her recovery has been amazing. Her mobility is amazing and she proved that healing at home would be the best for her. I have often said this but I will say it again: I hope that I am as tough as she is when I am her age.
Let's see what else has happened with us since my last post. Matthew has once again been selected to participate in the IMEA District Chorus festival in November. His audition went well and apparently the adjudicator asked him if he would be interested in a solo during the festival. I'm not sure what that means or if anything will come from it, but it made Matthew happy that he had been asked. I, unfortunately, will not be able to hear the concert because that is my School Board conference. Hannah will be going to IMEA this Monday, the 4th for jazz and is playing 2nd part in the second jazz band. She is beyond happy about this because the jazz bands are much smaller than the concert bands and competition is greater. Being selected as a trumpet in your sophomore year is quite an accomplishment and it only proves to me that if she had not "checked out" of band last year and auditioned, this quite possibly could have been her second year. A lot of the credit for her jazz musical ability is owed to our previous band director, Mr. Jason Waddell. He had the passion to teach our students and they truly learned style, technique and shared his passion. Hannah also made IMEA high school chorus which was a double surprise for her and even though she complains about the length of the rehearsals, she loves any opportunity to get together with musicians and create music. I happen to love the fact that both children share some of my musical talent!!
First term is already over and we spent the entire 8 weeks covering adjectives for our grammar. I believe that it's important to understand the function of words within a sentence, so I have made an effort to work on mechanics with him. We also began reading Journey to the Center of the Earth; but the beginning chapters drug on a little too much for him and he lost interest. I, however, spent one night reading about 14 chapters and hope that he comes back to the book. We've been studying the Incas and Aztecs in History and it's been a little slow. Friday was our fieldtrip to the Spurlock Museum in Urbana and we were able to see many artifacts from the ancient civilizations, but nothing from the Incas or Aztecs as I had hoped. Science has been studying topics about the earth, it's composition, etc. We have had some fun labs learning about chemical weathering and erosion and Matthew loves the hands- on activities. Of course, he continues to work with his robotics team as they prepare for competition in December. And, he has begun basketball which he loved last year. The first practice was a tough one but he loved every minute of it. The team may be a younger one and so games could be just between the team. So, this could be more of a P.E. on Monday mornings, but I don't think he will care. He likes the coach and it's a safe place for him.
As usual, I have started to make this a mini novel so I am signing off.....
Let's see what else has happened with us since my last post. Matthew has once again been selected to participate in the IMEA District Chorus festival in November. His audition went well and apparently the adjudicator asked him if he would be interested in a solo during the festival. I'm not sure what that means or if anything will come from it, but it made Matthew happy that he had been asked. I, unfortunately, will not be able to hear the concert because that is my School Board conference. Hannah will be going to IMEA this Monday, the 4th for jazz and is playing 2nd part in the second jazz band. She is beyond happy about this because the jazz bands are much smaller than the concert bands and competition is greater. Being selected as a trumpet in your sophomore year is quite an accomplishment and it only proves to me that if she had not "checked out" of band last year and auditioned, this quite possibly could have been her second year. A lot of the credit for her jazz musical ability is owed to our previous band director, Mr. Jason Waddell. He had the passion to teach our students and they truly learned style, technique and shared his passion. Hannah also made IMEA high school chorus which was a double surprise for her and even though she complains about the length of the rehearsals, she loves any opportunity to get together with musicians and create music. I happen to love the fact that both children share some of my musical talent!!
First term is already over and we spent the entire 8 weeks covering adjectives for our grammar. I believe that it's important to understand the function of words within a sentence, so I have made an effort to work on mechanics with him. We also began reading Journey to the Center of the Earth; but the beginning chapters drug on a little too much for him and he lost interest. I, however, spent one night reading about 14 chapters and hope that he comes back to the book. We've been studying the Incas and Aztecs in History and it's been a little slow. Friday was our fieldtrip to the Spurlock Museum in Urbana and we were able to see many artifacts from the ancient civilizations, but nothing from the Incas or Aztecs as I had hoped. Science has been studying topics about the earth, it's composition, etc. We have had some fun labs learning about chemical weathering and erosion and Matthew loves the hands- on activities. Of course, he continues to work with his robotics team as they prepare for competition in December. And, he has begun basketball which he loved last year. The first practice was a tough one but he loved every minute of it. The team may be a younger one and so games could be just between the team. So, this could be more of a P.E. on Monday mornings, but I don't think he will care. He likes the coach and it's a safe place for him.
As usual, I have started to make this a mini novel so I am signing off.....
Friday, October 4, 2013
It's Friday, it's Friday
To say this week was rough at LADS is a bit of an understatement. But, I try to keep everything into perspective and roll with it. Sometimes our mornings start out rocky and even though we open with a devotion and prayer, it doesn't seem to help. I have decided to STOP praying for patience because it seems the God has a wonderful sense of humor and decides to test me when I do. I fail miserably!!!
I have noticed some interesting things about Matthew this week. For instance, when he gets bored with Teaching Textbooks, he starts working all of the problems in his head and is accurate about 90% of the time. He would much rather use the calculator but I am old school and want him to work problems out so he doesn't lose that ability. This math curriculum is still a review of what we covered last year, but it seems to be working for him still. He likes the study buddy which happens to be a polar bear that munches popcorn and drinks soda. The bear also cheers for him when he gets the answer correct.
Today we are finishing the week with several tests and surprisingly he is in a good mood. He has taken his vocab/spelling and is currently working on a math test covering two chapters. Next, he will finish the day with an open book science test. Matthew loves science and we have jumped ahead in the book so we can cover evolution because he seems to be interested. Unfortunately, we need some background on the earth before we can really explore in depth the theories. So, we have to push through the boring to get to what he would like to study. We have begun reading Journey to the Center of the Earth to supplement our science studies. He seems to like the story and it's been challenging because the vocabulary is not typical of today's books. I love classic literature and have tried to expose him to these books along with today's fiction.
On another topic, we had our first parent teacher conference for Hannah this year. Her Biology teacher is awesome and I, personally, would love to sit in her class. Just listening to her describe Hannah's class made me realize that she truly knows her students. It's no wonder that Hannah has asked her to be a judge for the FTC qualifier in February. What's sad is how she can already know so much about Hannah and other teacher's just don't have a clue, or maybe they do!
Well, time to read some in Journey to the Center of the Earth...Have a great weekend!
I have noticed some interesting things about Matthew this week. For instance, when he gets bored with Teaching Textbooks, he starts working all of the problems in his head and is accurate about 90% of the time. He would much rather use the calculator but I am old school and want him to work problems out so he doesn't lose that ability. This math curriculum is still a review of what we covered last year, but it seems to be working for him still. He likes the study buddy which happens to be a polar bear that munches popcorn and drinks soda. The bear also cheers for him when he gets the answer correct.
Today we are finishing the week with several tests and surprisingly he is in a good mood. He has taken his vocab/spelling and is currently working on a math test covering two chapters. Next, he will finish the day with an open book science test. Matthew loves science and we have jumped ahead in the book so we can cover evolution because he seems to be interested. Unfortunately, we need some background on the earth before we can really explore in depth the theories. So, we have to push through the boring to get to what he would like to study. We have begun reading Journey to the Center of the Earth to supplement our science studies. He seems to like the story and it's been challenging because the vocabulary is not typical of today's books. I love classic literature and have tried to expose him to these books along with today's fiction.
On another topic, we had our first parent teacher conference for Hannah this year. Her Biology teacher is awesome and I, personally, would love to sit in her class. Just listening to her describe Hannah's class made me realize that she truly knows her students. It's no wonder that Hannah has asked her to be a judge for the FTC qualifier in February. What's sad is how she can already know so much about Hannah and other teacher's just don't have a clue, or maybe they do!
Well, time to read some in Journey to the Center of the Earth...Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Books, Books and more books
I happen to love books and so does Hannah. She is my reader of the family and will often times turn me onto a series that is a must read. She did that with Hunger Games before it was so popular and I loved the series. In fact, I stopped reading another series because she was emphatic that I read the Hunger Games. Now, I have to catch up with the James Daschner series because she already has two more for me to read after that. The problem is that when I begin reading a series, I often times can't put the book down. That translates to reading into the early morning hours which does not work for me now that I am homeschooling Matthew.
Matthew, on the other hand, prefers graphic novels and honestly does not enjoy reading that much because of AR tests. It seemed that even though he loved a book and could tell you all about it, his AR tests did not reflect that which then resulted in a low reading grade when in school. He has always tested above his reading level so we have been puzzled by this and have yet to figure out what goes wrong. We do read a lot at home whether it is informational articles on the web, library books to supplement what we are talking about in a certain area or classic literature that I remember that I think might appeal to him. We have attempted Shakespeare and he didn't hate it which is a plus, in my opinion. I introduced him to Edgar Allen Poe and he almost chose a graphic novel based on Poe's stories today at the book fair. Yes, I was secretly smiling about that. Last year, we read Animal Farm and although it was above his reading level, he stuck with it and we had great discussions. I recently began Journey to the Center of the Earth with him and although it's going to be a challenge, we will finish it.
Today we stopped at the book fair because I can't resist the bargain books. They are a great addition to our library at home and Hannah usually finds one or two that she likes, if she needs one in a pinch. So, we spent 45 minutes in the library trying to decide upon some books. I found several that I thought seemed interesting and I let him read the back. Matthew thought they seemed ok but time will tell whether he will actually pick one up to read it. If not, maybe Hannah will. Matthew settled on a graphic novel that was on the NY Times Best Seller list. I, personally don't care for graphic novels, but I also try to give him the opportunity to find a book that he would like to read. He really prefers Manga and is kind of snobby when it comes to any other graphic novel. When looking at the choices at the book fair, he would point out how the style of drawing was too cartoonish or the paper that the pages were printed on did not feel right. He is a true fan of Manga and knows a lot about it. With graphic novels, he starts with book one and then wants to go right to book two without delay. In fact, he has already finished this graphic novel and we have been home since 1:15. He finished it in 45 minutes and wants the next books so I will have to order those from the library. He will then reread book 1 and then move on to book 2 as soon as he is finished. That is one of his oddities, I suppose. Well, I have a couple of books to skim through before tomorrow so I will end this post. Happy Hump Day!
Matthew, on the other hand, prefers graphic novels and honestly does not enjoy reading that much because of AR tests. It seemed that even though he loved a book and could tell you all about it, his AR tests did not reflect that which then resulted in a low reading grade when in school. He has always tested above his reading level so we have been puzzled by this and have yet to figure out what goes wrong. We do read a lot at home whether it is informational articles on the web, library books to supplement what we are talking about in a certain area or classic literature that I remember that I think might appeal to him. We have attempted Shakespeare and he didn't hate it which is a plus, in my opinion. I introduced him to Edgar Allen Poe and he almost chose a graphic novel based on Poe's stories today at the book fair. Yes, I was secretly smiling about that. Last year, we read Animal Farm and although it was above his reading level, he stuck with it and we had great discussions. I recently began Journey to the Center of the Earth with him and although it's going to be a challenge, we will finish it.
Today we stopped at the book fair because I can't resist the bargain books. They are a great addition to our library at home and Hannah usually finds one or two that she likes, if she needs one in a pinch. So, we spent 45 minutes in the library trying to decide upon some books. I found several that I thought seemed interesting and I let him read the back. Matthew thought they seemed ok but time will tell whether he will actually pick one up to read it. If not, maybe Hannah will. Matthew settled on a graphic novel that was on the NY Times Best Seller list. I, personally don't care for graphic novels, but I also try to give him the opportunity to find a book that he would like to read. He really prefers Manga and is kind of snobby when it comes to any other graphic novel. When looking at the choices at the book fair, he would point out how the style of drawing was too cartoonish or the paper that the pages were printed on did not feel right. He is a true fan of Manga and knows a lot about it. With graphic novels, he starts with book one and then wants to go right to book two without delay. In fact, he has already finished this graphic novel and we have been home since 1:15. He finished it in 45 minutes and wants the next books so I will have to order those from the library. He will then reread book 1 and then move on to book 2 as soon as he is finished. That is one of his oddities, I suppose. Well, I have a couple of books to skim through before tomorrow so I will end this post. Happy Hump Day!
Friday, September 20, 2013
The love of learning
Good morning to everyone out there in "blog land". I have been wrestling with something for about a week and a half now so today I've decided to share it with you.
Now that I am homeschooling Matthew, I am determined that I will not destroy his love to learn. I refuse to get bogged down with ridiculous rules that do not affect the overall learning environment at LADS. Granted, I understand and see the need for rules to be followed. However, when these rules destroy the passion that students have for learning, I become concerned. Some of the recent examples that have come to my attention just drive me bananas. For example, when did the focus of name placement become more important than what is actually written on the page? How can we ask for a student's opinion or interpretation of a piece of poetry only to tell them that it is wrong? Why do we encourage discussions yet dictate how a student must contribute in order to receive points? When did we stop encouraging our students to think for themselves instead of expecting them all to be cut from the same cookie cutter? I could continue with the list but if I do I believe my head will explode.
Right now, I am sitting across from Matthew watching him work on a Science project and listening to him laugh and joke. I still see that sparkle in his eye as he works to get something accomplished. Do I worry that the labels aren't 100% straight? Am I going to make him re-do the project because it doesn't look exactly like the teacher's example? NO! I want him to comprehend the information and understand how it relates to the other concepts of earth science. Isn't that what we are supposed to be encouraging in our students?
It is no secret that I would love for Hannah to choose to be home schooled. The possibilities for her are endless and she would be much more content. She has considered it and even made a pros and cons list in detail this past summer. However, she loves poms and softball which are extra-curriculars and home schoolers are not allowed to participate. So, for that reason, she will continue to to hide behind her "everything is going fine" mask and sadly no one will know any different.
Now that I am homeschooling Matthew, I am determined that I will not destroy his love to learn. I refuse to get bogged down with ridiculous rules that do not affect the overall learning environment at LADS. Granted, I understand and see the need for rules to be followed. However, when these rules destroy the passion that students have for learning, I become concerned. Some of the recent examples that have come to my attention just drive me bananas. For example, when did the focus of name placement become more important than what is actually written on the page? How can we ask for a student's opinion or interpretation of a piece of poetry only to tell them that it is wrong? Why do we encourage discussions yet dictate how a student must contribute in order to receive points? When did we stop encouraging our students to think for themselves instead of expecting them all to be cut from the same cookie cutter? I could continue with the list but if I do I believe my head will explode.
Right now, I am sitting across from Matthew watching him work on a Science project and listening to him laugh and joke. I still see that sparkle in his eye as he works to get something accomplished. Do I worry that the labels aren't 100% straight? Am I going to make him re-do the project because it doesn't look exactly like the teacher's example? NO! I want him to comprehend the information and understand how it relates to the other concepts of earth science. Isn't that what we are supposed to be encouraging in our students?
It is no secret that I would love for Hannah to choose to be home schooled. The possibilities for her are endless and she would be much more content. She has considered it and even made a pros and cons list in detail this past summer. However, she loves poms and softball which are extra-curriculars and home schoolers are not allowed to participate. So, for that reason, she will continue to to hide behind her "everything is going fine" mask and sadly no one will know any different.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
It's Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuump Day!
I titled this post in honor of a very special 3 year old who was in Tarzan with us. She was an energetic young lady who would come up to me and say, Maria, do you know what day it is? When I didn't respond quickly, she would say in a low voice filled with great expression...it's Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuump Day. This was followed by the biggest smile and us both bursting into laughter. What a little ham and such a cutie even though she kept me hopping behind stage trying to keep her busy.
We've been working on the earth's layers in science because Matthew has been interested in learning about evolution. I couldn't just jump right into that without touching on the earth to lead up such an interesting topic. He has been busy working on a foldable for the earth and it is looking great. Besides, we've managed to have a vocab/spelling quiz already, a math lesson and a short discussion about those great Aztecs. I'd say it's been a productive day and we're not even at 11 a.m. Soon we will leave for Chorus which is by far his FAVORITE time of day. And, I get to visit with Monica for 40 minutes which is sometimes my only down time for the day. ( In between his school work, I find myself sending emails for work and making phone calls to check on my foster parents.)
Scarlett
We've been working on the earth's layers in science because Matthew has been interested in learning about evolution. I couldn't just jump right into that without touching on the earth to lead up such an interesting topic. He has been busy working on a foldable for the earth and it is looking great. Besides, we've managed to have a vocab/spelling quiz already, a math lesson and a short discussion about those great Aztecs. I'd say it's been a productive day and we're not even at 11 a.m. Soon we will leave for Chorus which is by far his FAVORITE time of day. And, I get to visit with Monica for 40 minutes which is sometimes my only down time for the day. ( In between his school work, I find myself sending emails for work and making phone calls to check on my foster parents.)
Scarlett
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
I'm back....
LADS is still going strong although our blog was deleted by someone(not mentioning any names) but he deleted an email account that was linked to many web based things and our blog was one of the casualties. I have decided that I enjoy blogging much more than my student. Matthew does not like to share much about himself, but he would blog all day about his Yugi-oh cards or plans for his video game. So, he continues to have a blog for those interests.
As many of you know, our theater company just finished its run of Tarzan The Stage Musical which turned out to be one of my favorite productions that we have put onstage. Matthew was cast as Young Terk so he had a solo which required some effort to learn. He loved the part and enjoyed the choreography. But, more than that, he loved being with the friends who accept him for who he is. That is why I love our theater company. We have become a safe place for those kids who don't fit in with the crowd at school. In our shows, these children can do what they love to do without fear of ridicule. These boys who aren't jocks can sing and dance and for a few hours make people smile with their talents. And, I will not hop off of my soap box and move on....
So, I have found that in year two and a half of home school, my expectations of myself have decreased a bit. I don't stress if we don't get everything done that I had planned for the day. In fact, I give myself plenty of time to cover subjects in the morning because after chorus, Matthew has robotics or works on something of his own choosing. I am beginning a new math curriculum this year and it will hopefully relieve Dan's worries about us not being able to prepare Matthew adequately with math. I also tend to use my "excited" voice when I try to get a concept across(at least that is what Dan says) so having this curriculum means less lecturing by me. That does not hurt my feelings at all. The other subjects that we are continuing this year are vocabulary, earth science, history and anything else that I decide to throw in the mix. I have found some wonderful books this year that are the Horrible Science and Horrible History series. I think these will be wonderful to use to supplement our units and the books are fun to read.
I will consider this a good start for my blog and end this post.
As many of you know, our theater company just finished its run of Tarzan The Stage Musical which turned out to be one of my favorite productions that we have put onstage. Matthew was cast as Young Terk so he had a solo which required some effort to learn. He loved the part and enjoyed the choreography. But, more than that, he loved being with the friends who accept him for who he is. That is why I love our theater company. We have become a safe place for those kids who don't fit in with the crowd at school. In our shows, these children can do what they love to do without fear of ridicule. These boys who aren't jocks can sing and dance and for a few hours make people smile with their talents. And, I will not hop off of my soap box and move on....
So, I have found that in year two and a half of home school, my expectations of myself have decreased a bit. I don't stress if we don't get everything done that I had planned for the day. In fact, I give myself plenty of time to cover subjects in the morning because after chorus, Matthew has robotics or works on something of his own choosing. I am beginning a new math curriculum this year and it will hopefully relieve Dan's worries about us not being able to prepare Matthew adequately with math. I also tend to use my "excited" voice when I try to get a concept across(at least that is what Dan says) so having this curriculum means less lecturing by me. That does not hurt my feelings at all. The other subjects that we are continuing this year are vocabulary, earth science, history and anything else that I decide to throw in the mix. I have found some wonderful books this year that are the Horrible Science and Horrible History series. I think these will be wonderful to use to supplement our units and the books are fun to read.
I will consider this a good start for my blog and end this post.
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