Homeschool Update
We have been extremely busy lately. The girls have started computer-based classes at Khan Academy, which eats up my computer access. More importantly, Brighteyes has taken the ACT. She got a bit confused on the math section, which lowered her grade. She only made a 34. Out of 36. Nobody's complaining. She started taking duel-enrollment classes at the community college this week. The house is so empty in the mornings now.
A teacher in my husband's department died at the start of the spring semester, and the subsequent extra work load led to him being very overworked this year.
Owl has started piano lessons. He may have the best ears in the family for identifying notes. Unfortunately our piano teacher seems to have retired on us.
I tried to be a laid-back Mom and let them set their own pace, but they did nothing and then complained about not being able to sleep at night while they dragged themselves around all day. This spring I kicked them out of bed for morning exercises and meditation. They're sleeping better as a result. But now that schedule has to be readjusted for morning class at the college.
After watching various local classes and fitness opportunities crash and burn over the years, I was shocked to find a tiny Shotokan karate class that had been going on for six months in a neighboring town. The children and I signed up, and I am verypleased with it. The teacher, whose kids are also in the class, is great with the children, who are all local homeschoolers. It's wonderful to have someone else tell my kids what to do for a change.
Shotokan karate: in the early 20th Century schoolteacher and karate instructor Ginchin Funakoshi stripped karate down to something that could be taught to young children in a grade school classroom. In the process he also made it very easy for non-athletic adults to pick it up as well. It didn't catch on in Japanese schools the way he hoped it would, but it caught on like wildfire in the rest of the world. The teaching style is meant to reward and encourage youngsters, and it does a pretty good job with anxious grownups as well.
The karate proved helpful with Brighteyes in a most unexpected way. When we started lessons I told my kids that learning martial arts had been on my "to-do" list for a long time, and this was the first opportunity I had had in a long time. As the date for the ACT got nearer, Brighteyes became more and more agitated, until she exploded and accused me of trying to live vicariously through her, expecting her to do all the things I had not had a chance to do. I told her I wanted no such thing. While I had put my other plans on hold to homeschool them, now that they were old enough to start seeing to themselves I was beginning to pursue those plans once again. I didn't want her to pursue my dreams, I wanted her to get out of my way so I could pursue my dreams. Surprisingly, this statement actually calmed her down quite a bit, and she even became more empathetic afterward.
That's all for now. More later.
A teacher in my husband's department died at the start of the spring semester, and the subsequent extra work load led to him being very overworked this year.
Owl has started piano lessons. He may have the best ears in the family for identifying notes. Unfortunately our piano teacher seems to have retired on us.
I tried to be a laid-back Mom and let them set their own pace, but they did nothing and then complained about not being able to sleep at night while they dragged themselves around all day. This spring I kicked them out of bed for morning exercises and meditation. They're sleeping better as a result. But now that schedule has to be readjusted for morning class at the college.
After watching various local classes and fitness opportunities crash and burn over the years, I was shocked to find a tiny Shotokan karate class that had been going on for six months in a neighboring town. The children and I signed up, and I am verypleased with it. The teacher, whose kids are also in the class, is great with the children, who are all local homeschoolers. It's wonderful to have someone else tell my kids what to do for a change.
Shotokan karate: in the early 20th Century schoolteacher and karate instructor Ginchin Funakoshi stripped karate down to something that could be taught to young children in a grade school classroom. In the process he also made it very easy for non-athletic adults to pick it up as well. It didn't catch on in Japanese schools the way he hoped it would, but it caught on like wildfire in the rest of the world. The teaching style is meant to reward and encourage youngsters, and it does a pretty good job with anxious grownups as well.
The karate proved helpful with Brighteyes in a most unexpected way. When we started lessons I told my kids that learning martial arts had been on my "to-do" list for a long time, and this was the first opportunity I had had in a long time. As the date for the ACT got nearer, Brighteyes became more and more agitated, until she exploded and accused me of trying to live vicariously through her, expecting her to do all the things I had not had a chance to do. I told her I wanted no such thing. While I had put my other plans on hold to homeschool them, now that they were old enough to start seeing to themselves I was beginning to pursue those plans once again. I didn't want her to pursue my dreams, I wanted her to get out of my way so I could pursue my dreams. Surprisingly, this statement actually calmed her down quite a bit, and she even became more empathetic afterward.
That's all for now. More later.