For this subject, I am deferring to Oliver DeMille. He does such a good job explaining it with this article: click here.
Sam just received his scores back from the Explore test a couple of weeks ago. I noticed he did awesome in Math and....wait for it..... Reading Comprehension. Wow. The Math score was totally expected, but the Reading Comprehension score blew me away because the English score was really low compared to the other scores. We have been working on grammar and stuff, but I really do ascribe to the theory that a student who does a lot of reading (of good quality literature) will learn how things should be written... how they should sound...how ideas are transferred. The most interesting thing was that in the sections he scored lowest in, the ones that were wrong were all at the end of the section. I sat down with him and we went through these questions to have a "learning moment". It turns out that he knew most of those answers. He just didn't have time during the test, so he guessed.
I try not to place a lot of importance on these tests because, as Oliver describes in the above article, I want them to know how to think and love learning more than I want them to be able to answer multiple choice questions. When has a person's boss ever asked them to answer multiple choice questions as a regular duty? When has a business owner every excelled because they could answer multiple choice questions? What really happens? We get paid to think. And - those who out-pace others in the hunger to learn can usually think better.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
On a Scale of 1 to 10
It is not unusual to have Rosie come into our bedroom anywhere between 4 am and 6 am to snuggle in until wake up time, which varies, of course. So when I woke up this morning about 6 am to see Rosie standing there, I thought nothing of it.
"You need to come see something in my room," she whispered.
"Just get in bed, honey," I sleepily replied.
In the dark, I did not notice her frustration. Over to Papa's side she went.
"There is an emergency in my room," she implored him.
OK. If she had used the word "emergency" with me, I would have reacted differently, right? I would like to think so. Papa followed her into her room, like a wonderful parent, and found that she had indeed thrown up on the floor. I am such a dork. Why didn't she tell me it was an emergency? This afternoon, she said it was because she didn't want to tell me why. Am I that scary?
Today at the store, I heard (the whole store heard) a lady deriding her poor little girl. She couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 years old and she just kept singing and talking to her mommy. I have no idea who they are and what they are dealing with, but doesn't she know that most people keep that kind of thing behind closed doors? But no - Here she was for the whole world to see and hear what most of us are guilty of to some degree at some point.
This post really has nothing to do with home schooling. It is more to say I am thankful for a faith-filled home where the Holy Spirit is invited in daily to work on all of our hearts. He helps me to treasure the people in my life, especially my family.
Rosie is feeling much better tonight. The day was pretty uneventful. She said that on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 1 being normal and a 10 indicating a need to puke, she was only at a 3.5 when I put her to bed. On a scale of 1 to 10, Mama is thinking this little girl is a 10. :-)
Friday, January 2, 2015
Pace
Today we received news that Sam achieved the National Honor Roll for the AMC 8 (American Mathematics Competitions) ! He took the test, along with the rest of his math team, several weeks ago.
A couple of things this brings to mind are :
His older sister spent a lot of time helping him prepare for the test. She is part of the High School Math Team and she tried to figure out what was holding Sam back from doing his best on these tests. He typically does really well at home on practice tests, but didn't do as well at the actual test. Hope decided to make the practice test look like the exact same format. It must have helped! I ask myself how many sophomore high school girls would spend so much effort to help their younger brother in such a way. Maybe there are more than I think, but I am totally convinced that being home schooled together has fostered that relationship.
The other thing is that the kids can proceed in any subject as fast or as slow as they are able. (Of course, Sam would like to proceed very slowly in writing and grammar, but there are limits mom puts on going too slow. :-)) Math, however, has been something Sam and Hope have enjoyed and they have gone at a pace that is different than they would have in a school outside of the home. In fact, when Hope started learning math many years ago, Sam just joined us and I just let him observe and do what he could. He kept up with Hope for several years and then slowed down a couple years ago because he needed to in order to comprehend it. I love having this flexibility without having to deal with it at parent-teacher conferences after it may be too late! Well - I have conferences, I guess, but they are in my own head. :-)
So - I hope this didn't come across as a brag-fest. I believe there are many kids who could adjust their pace in any subject and, with the help of a mentor/teacher/tutor, they can speed up or slow down whenever needed in order to get the most out of their education. It is just easier when there are no formal classes.
A couple of things this brings to mind are :
His older sister spent a lot of time helping him prepare for the test. She is part of the High School Math Team and she tried to figure out what was holding Sam back from doing his best on these tests. He typically does really well at home on practice tests, but didn't do as well at the actual test. Hope decided to make the practice test look like the exact same format. It must have helped! I ask myself how many sophomore high school girls would spend so much effort to help their younger brother in such a way. Maybe there are more than I think, but I am totally convinced that being home schooled together has fostered that relationship.
The other thing is that the kids can proceed in any subject as fast or as slow as they are able. (Of course, Sam would like to proceed very slowly in writing and grammar, but there are limits mom puts on going too slow. :-)) Math, however, has been something Sam and Hope have enjoyed and they have gone at a pace that is different than they would have in a school outside of the home. In fact, when Hope started learning math many years ago, Sam just joined us and I just let him observe and do what he could. He kept up with Hope for several years and then slowed down a couple years ago because he needed to in order to comprehend it. I love having this flexibility without having to deal with it at parent-teacher conferences after it may be too late! Well - I have conferences, I guess, but they are in my own head. :-)
So - I hope this didn't come across as a brag-fest. I believe there are many kids who could adjust their pace in any subject and, with the help of a mentor/teacher/tutor, they can speed up or slow down whenever needed in order to get the most out of their education. It is just easier when there are no formal classes.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Time
Yesterday I took Hope to a pitching lesson at 11:00 in the morning and I thought to myself, "This is another reason I am thankful we home school." The kids have more time and we can be a lot more flexible. I don't think the normal school system schedule could ever align with our schedule as nicely as having total freedom to decide ourselves. Don't get me wrong.... Hope and Sam have things they need to complete by a certain time, but they have the freedom to schedule their tasks. (This is another huge lesson they are learning, especially as they get older and I let them take over more and more of their scheduling and work more independently.)
I also think about when I was in school and how much time was wasted getting to and from school, walking between classes, stopping at my locker, settling down a classroom before a teacher can start, etc..... My kids learned pretty quickly as they got older that they had a lot more free time if they got their work done during the day. Then they have the evening to spend with their family, babysit, develop a business, do chores, listen to radio dramas they enjoy (They love Adventures in Odyssey and Jonathan Park, for example.), play outside, etc..... I think back to my friend's comment about sending her kids to school all day, then fighting over homework all night, and I am so glad we don't do that. We do struggle sometimes because they may put something off, but when do kids not do that?
One very important thing I have to mention is that we never let them watch TV or online shows during the day. That would be a time-sucker and be counter-productive. (I have to admit Rosie gets a half hour a day to go on Grandma and Grandpa's i-Pad.) In the evening after all of the work is done, Hope and Sam have been watching old TV shows on Netflix. The latest favorites have been Leave it To Beaver and The Dick Van Dyke Show.
I have also found that the older kids get up and work out in the morning and then shower. How many teenagers would love to shower after gym in their own bathroom!
Here are some examples of times we have taken vacation from school:
When Aunt Ging had twins a couple years ago, Hope was able to go spend a few days helping.
We planned a vacation in late January and we don't have to worry about school schedules..... except they are missing one day at co-op, I guess, but ultimately I am the teacher and I don't plan on counting the missed day against them. Hope was actually quite upset she was missing it and I had to reassure her many times it would be OK. :-)
My aunt's funeral a couple months ago was on a Friday and we all took a day to go to Fairmont, MN.
The kids go on lunch or breakfast dates with Mom or Dad and we get some great one on one time in the middle of the day.
If Terry and I need to go out of town on business, we can schedule for the kids to stay at their aunt and uncle's (or wherever) and not worry about missing school.
The last thing I can think of before signing off for the day is that the kids have time to focus on what their passions are. There is time to work on being excellent at something. Sam has picked baseball. There is time to do specific workouts, throw the ball against a wall, swing a bat, run, study the game, etc....., but the school work also has to get done, of course. Hope has more interests, but the same idea still applies. She has time to focus, even if it is on several things at once. LOL
Well - I've got to get Rosie off the iPad now! :-) LOL again.
I also think about when I was in school and how much time was wasted getting to and from school, walking between classes, stopping at my locker, settling down a classroom before a teacher can start, etc..... My kids learned pretty quickly as they got older that they had a lot more free time if they got their work done during the day. Then they have the evening to spend with their family, babysit, develop a business, do chores, listen to radio dramas they enjoy (They love Adventures in Odyssey and Jonathan Park, for example.), play outside, etc..... I think back to my friend's comment about sending her kids to school all day, then fighting over homework all night, and I am so glad we don't do that. We do struggle sometimes because they may put something off, but when do kids not do that?
One very important thing I have to mention is that we never let them watch TV or online shows during the day. That would be a time-sucker and be counter-productive. (I have to admit Rosie gets a half hour a day to go on Grandma and Grandpa's i-Pad.) In the evening after all of the work is done, Hope and Sam have been watching old TV shows on Netflix. The latest favorites have been Leave it To Beaver and The Dick Van Dyke Show.
I have also found that the older kids get up and work out in the morning and then shower. How many teenagers would love to shower after gym in their own bathroom!
Here are some examples of times we have taken vacation from school:
When Aunt Ging had twins a couple years ago, Hope was able to go spend a few days helping.
We planned a vacation in late January and we don't have to worry about school schedules..... except they are missing one day at co-op, I guess, but ultimately I am the teacher and I don't plan on counting the missed day against them. Hope was actually quite upset she was missing it and I had to reassure her many times it would be OK. :-)
My aunt's funeral a couple months ago was on a Friday and we all took a day to go to Fairmont, MN.
The kids go on lunch or breakfast dates with Mom or Dad and we get some great one on one time in the middle of the day.
If Terry and I need to go out of town on business, we can schedule for the kids to stay at their aunt and uncle's (or wherever) and not worry about missing school.
The last thing I can think of before signing off for the day is that the kids have time to focus on what their passions are. There is time to work on being excellent at something. Sam has picked baseball. There is time to do specific workouts, throw the ball against a wall, swing a bat, run, study the game, etc....., but the school work also has to get done, of course. Hope has more interests, but the same idea still applies. She has time to focus, even if it is on several things at once. LOL
Well - I've got to get Rosie off the iPad now! :-) LOL again.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Go to School, Get Good Grades, Get a Good Job.......
Does anyone really believe that anymore? Yes - we talk to a lot of people who really actually do. I cringe when I hear someone say they are going to college and they don't know what they want to do yet. They will have so much debt! There is now more college debt in America than mortgage debt...or is it credit card debt? Either way, that is a lot.
So when the kids get a job, if they get a job in their field even, are they happy? Are they passionate about what they do? Some are. Most aren't. I was pretty excited when I got my first engineering job. I guess I am grateful I proved I could survive the college experience with what would look like flying colors to the average onlooker. Thanks to the amazing generosity of my parents (for the first two years), a paid engineering co-op position, and lower tuition costs in the late 80's and early 90's, I left college with absolutely no debt. Amazing. Does that happen any more?
There are a couple of things I realized after working for a while..... 1) After you get your first job, no one asks for your transcript anymore, 2) Continual hunger to learn means everything, and 3) A lot of employees scratch their heads and wonder how their superiors ever got to where they are.
Where is the real leadership? People know deep down when it is messed up.
I am thankful that the classical and leadership education (whether it is classic literature or contemporary information) my children are getting will equip them to do anything they want in life, and to do it with confidence, compassion, drive, humility, people skills, and leadership. If Sam wants to play professional baseball, I really truly hope he gives it everything he's got, struggles, and has a victory while being an awesome example all the while.
A great book by top leader, Chris Brady, is Pails. I have started giving it out as a graduation present. He does a great job walking through how to plan your life from there (or later). How many people actually plan their life? Bets are (and history has played out) that those we look at as successful are planners of their lives. "Go to school, get good grades, get a good job" is not really a plan. We think it is, but it falls quite a bit short. There is more to it, and Mr. Brady does an amazing job of explaining, so read his book if you want to know more. (Another good book is Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki.)
Time to go play card games with Rose. (It is on her schedule Papa helped her make this morning, clipboard and all. :-))
So when the kids get a job, if they get a job in their field even, are they happy? Are they passionate about what they do? Some are. Most aren't. I was pretty excited when I got my first engineering job. I guess I am grateful I proved I could survive the college experience with what would look like flying colors to the average onlooker. Thanks to the amazing generosity of my parents (for the first two years), a paid engineering co-op position, and lower tuition costs in the late 80's and early 90's, I left college with absolutely no debt. Amazing. Does that happen any more?
There are a couple of things I realized after working for a while..... 1) After you get your first job, no one asks for your transcript anymore, 2) Continual hunger to learn means everything, and 3) A lot of employees scratch their heads and wonder how their superiors ever got to where they are.
Where is the real leadership? People know deep down when it is messed up.
I am thankful that the classical and leadership education (whether it is classic literature or contemporary information) my children are getting will equip them to do anything they want in life, and to do it with confidence, compassion, drive, humility, people skills, and leadership. If Sam wants to play professional baseball, I really truly hope he gives it everything he's got, struggles, and has a victory while being an awesome example all the while.
A great book by top leader, Chris Brady, is Pails. I have started giving it out as a graduation present. He does a great job walking through how to plan your life from there (or later). How many people actually plan their life? Bets are (and history has played out) that those we look at as successful are planners of their lives. "Go to school, get good grades, get a good job" is not really a plan. We think it is, but it falls quite a bit short. There is more to it, and Mr. Brady does an amazing job of explaining, so read his book if you want to know more. (Another good book is Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki.)
Time to go play card games with Rose. (It is on her schedule Papa helped her make this morning, clipboard and all. :-))
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Statist Control (Common Core)
I was reminded this morning of another reason I am thankful we are home schooling. I received an update from ParentalRights.org . The specific article is here.
I am thankful that we know all of the content our children are getting and we don't have to battle with anyone in the school system to keep our children out of certain "classes". We also don't have to worry about them making those tough decisions if there are any surprises at school. And as long as we can keep Common Core at bay, we home schoolers can avoid that nonsense as well. (See link.) I thinkit is hardly alarmist to believe that the children of a country are the future of a country and whoever holds the educational content and methodology in their hands controls the future of that country. As the older kids and I read history without the state-approved textbooks, I am learning things my public education never taught me. Other interpretations of history are very important. If there is only one and it comes from the government, we are all in trouble. If we give the kids the different viewpoints and reason through it - they are less likely to be duped later. History keeps repeating itself. There is nothing new, just different names and backdrops.
Time for History!
I am thankful that we know all of the content our children are getting and we don't have to battle with anyone in the school system to keep our children out of certain "classes". We also don't have to worry about them making those tough decisions if there are any surprises at school. And as long as we can keep Common Core at bay, we home schoolers can avoid that nonsense as well. (See link.) I thinkit is hardly alarmist to believe that the children of a country are the future of a country and whoever holds the educational content and methodology in their hands controls the future of that country. As the older kids and I read history without the state-approved textbooks, I am learning things my public education never taught me. Other interpretations of history are very important. If there is only one and it comes from the government, we are all in trouble. If we give the kids the different viewpoints and reason through it - they are less likely to be duped later. History keeps repeating itself. There is nothing new, just different names and backdrops.
Time for History!
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