Happy Birthday!

 

Twelve Years

Homeschool Mom

I don't like stereotypes, and I definitely don't like being put in a box. So it is very hard for me to say that I am a homeschool mom, because I'm not "that sort" of homeschool mom (nevermind what "that sort" is).

I had not planned on homeschooling my children. I didn't have any problem with homeschooling; I was homeschooled, my husband was homeschooled, I went to a college where pretty much everyone had been homeschooled. But I thought it would be too difficult to be a mom and teacher at the same time. After teaching other people's kids, I became even more sure that homeschooling was not for me. When I had to teach my own children to eat, sleep, use the bathroom, pick up their toys, etc. etc. etc., I thought homeschooling would be impossible.

So we sent our kids to a private Christian school (another stereotype, another time). They were in Kindergarten and Second Grade when Covid-19 rocked the world. When we all got sent home to finish the school year, I got to see what it would be like to have all of us home all the time. And, it actually was good. Really good. So good that we've never stopped. However, I was also teaching a literature class online for their school, and doing some community building activities such as ICS-TV. All of it was a great experience, but all of it was too much.

At the end of that school year, I realized that online education was not working for my kids. Since no one was sure whether or not school would open in person in the fall, homeschooling seemed to be a necessity. However, I realized that I could not run an online classroom and homeschool my own children. So I stepped down from my position at the school and began researching homeschool materials. 

My cousin was also planning on homeschooling and she was way ahead of me in researching. I piggy-backed on all the information she shared with me and chose my curriculum. Our first year was rough. I am a teacher by training and personality so I tried to run our homeschool as I would run a classroom. But my children needed a mom first, then a teacher. As I mentioned before, we adapted, and it became a really good thing for us all.

 The next year I switched up curriculum, we moved, and things went much better. I tutored a friend's kids in literature and edited their writing. The next year, the boys increased in their independence and responsibility, which allowed us to participate in a play, and I was able to teach two literature classes. Unfortunately, I was beginning to notice pretty large gaps in their understanding. So this year, I switched up curriculum and routines again, and we'll see how it goes.

Each year, we ask the boys if they want to go back to "normal school," but they emphatically prefer homeschooling. Every year it has gotten easier to say, "Yeah, we homeschool," and the support from our community has grown. Life and school run together and the line between learning and playing has become "Mom-directed" vs. "Independent." I don't wear a denim jumper, but I do teach in my PJ's from time to time. I like living on our own schedule and doing things at our own speed. I have even come to enjoy logging days and activities. I do lesson plans, just like I plan menus. I still think of myself as an educator or a Teacher, even as I morph into Mom without quite so much effort. 

Maybe someday I'll be able to say with confidence, "I'm a Homeschool Mom."

Fall Term

 This school year, I decided to try a dividing our school year into terms. The Summer Term was three days a week and lasted from July 31-August 31. We focused on getting our daily routines and drills, but we also started the new curricula, so it wouldn't be a shock of everything new when school started.

The past few years, the boys have gotten increasingly more independent, to the point where I could give Eamon a list of assignments and he could do his work without my help at all. It was great, but since we are using some new curricula, I knew I would need some "teaching time" with each boy. We also had trouble remembering to check our work regularly, and ended up have weeks worth of checks/corrections to do.

So now, two weeks into our Fall Term, we have only followed "my Fall Term Schedule" one or two days. But the boys are getting the idea that one boy has seatwork, while I work with the other one, and we go back and forth between subjects even if they haven't finished everything. And Malcolm has really owned the idea of checking his work daily and is doing great at it! 

 For me, this term's lesson seems to be consistency, while maintaining flexibility. It has felt like rush, rush, rush every moment of every day until this past Wednesday. And still everyday I feel behind, catching up from the vacation as well as fitting all our normal things in. To make it work, I have to be consistent with my tasks, but also be flexible enough to fit the needs of the day.

It feels too soon to say how this school year is going. But maybe if I don't overthink it, but keep going, it will get sorted out?

Georgia Trip

Malcolm wanted to go to Georgia for his birthday. We couldn't do that, but we were able to go down for the first ten days of September.

We left September 1st. The goal was to leave by 6am. We left by 8:45am. The rest of the day seemed to go in a similar manner. Everything took longer than we thought it should. We picked up Thomas's sister who lives about two hours south of us, and one hour out of our way, so we added two extra hours there. Then the road was closed, and all the detours around the road closure were backed up, so we meandered through the country for about an extra 45 minutes. And we kept running into road construction or accidents that slowed down traffic. We took one other detour off the interstate, and came back on right next to the cars we recognized from before we got off, so that one didn't add any extra time, but it was a slow down and it was beautiful. South of Virginia, and after 6pm, traffic was clear and we made great time, but when it is supper and you are only half way through your trip, you begin to question your sanity. We arrived around 2:30am on September 2nd, so thankful for Thomas's mother's hospitality. Although it took approximately 18 hours instead of the 13 that we have done before, the last several hours were quite pleasant for me. The boys cuddled into me and fell asleep on my shoulders.

When we woke up on Saturday, we felt like the boys needed to get out and walk around. So in spite of the fact that Thomas and I were exhausted, we went to a historic mansion and garden called Hills and Dales.  We watched a short video about the women who kept the garden, which gave us the general history of families. Then while Grandmommy and the boys rode the fun cart to the garden and mansion, Thomas and I walked through the big trees on a pleasant little path. We walked around the garden, but we had a specific time that we had to start the tour, so we had to rush a bit. The tour went very quickly, and although I would have liked to take a little more time going though, it was plenty long for the boys. It was almost 5pm when we left, so after a quick stop by the grocery store, we went home for supper.

On Sunday, we went to church and rested around the house. I think that day we played some theater games together. Slow Motion Samurai was a big hit with the boys. Thomas's sister and I worked a little bit on the Cat Duet. 

Monday was an at home day as well. We all needed a just a day to slow down and not do anything major. But we did go for a lovely walk.

Tuesday morning, we went to the Infantry Museum at Fort Moore. Maybe most people don't notice stuff like this, but the design of the museum was really good. Our favorite display was called "The Last 100 Yards" which depicted several infantry charges throughout American History, from the Seige at Yorktown to Normandy to Desert Storm. In the lower floor of the museum there are at least five rooms detailing the infantry through the years, but we only went to the first one about the first militias up until right before the Civil War. We also went to the Cavalry display, also fascinating. There was so much to see and hear, that after those two rooms, and being incredibly hungry, we left the rest for another visit. For lunch, we went to Country's Barbeque, a favorite place to eat while we are down there. We got home in time to welcome my sister who was able to drive across the state to visit for one full day and two nights. 

Wednesday we went for a walk in the morning and swimming at the Rec Center in the afternoon. The walk was on a long and twisting walking trail, and I saw so many leaves and flowers that I had never seen before. One of them was the kudzu flower, with its incredibly sweet fruity smell. We were pretty tired when we got home for lunch, but the kids bounced back quick enough to go to the pool for a few hours. My niece and I had a great time playing "being swept out to sea," and "exploring." After the local schools let out, a few other kids came to the pool. They all played separately for a little while, but then our boys invited the others to join them for a game of Sea-Serpent Tag. By the time we left, everybody having a grand time altogether. 

That night we played Apples to Apples, with all the kids. It was hilarious as my three-year-old niece would play cards that she couldn't read, but often worked really well. She just loved holding and handing out the cards. And it is one of Malcolm's favorite games because it can get so funny.

My sister and her kids had to leave Thursday morning. The rest of the day, we relaxed and played games. I think that was the day, we played some theater games with Aunt Anna, and Ticket to Ride with the boys. I played on Malcolm's team, and Eamon played on his own. I loved watching him use his logic and figure things out.

Friday, we went to the Little White House, where Thomas's mother works, then Warm Springs Pools, then a Fish Hatchery. The museum was fascinating to us grown-ups, but we took too long for the boys' preference. However they really enjoyed the walk with the state flags and a rock from each of the states. Since we are learning States and Capitals, I enjoyed watching them make some connections between what we are learning and what they saw. The Little White House and the other buildings around the grounds were fascinating. I especially liked the fully electric kitchen. After we toured the house, we had a picnic lunch where I got three huge bug bites that still itch two weeks later. The Warm Spring Pools had an interesting display on Polio and it's prevention. We were able to walk down to where the water flows into the pool area and stick our hands in the water. Compared to the day, the water 88 degree water was cool to the touch. Not only was it hot, the sun was so bright, all the white buildings were hard to look at for long.

The fish hatchery was just down the road. On the wooden walking trail/observation deck, we saw an alligator gar, lots of carp, some big gold fish, a long necked turtle and an actual alligator. We also saw several other turtles and a kingfisher (I think) as we walked around the other ponds. 

Friday night, one of Thomas's other sisters and her son came. It was so good to see them, and the boys played laser tag until they had to go to bed. In the morning on Saturday, we tried to get up early, and partially succeeded, to go on a hike at FDR State Park. We walked about a mile round trip, I think, which was just long enough for the younger members of our company, but had a lovely time chatting and being outside. It stayed cloudy for most of the morning, so it didn't get really hot until after we got back to the house. That day we also did some tourist/gift shop shopping.

We packed as much as we could on Saturday afternoon because we left around 8am on Sunday morning. The drive home was uneventful and we made an hour better time. However, we have decided that 17 hours in the car is still too much for one day. But we were home and that was good.