May 3

I had a guest post up at The Mahogany Way yesterday...

October 28

I love to read and to do research, so it wouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that I've read a little about homeschooling too. I read The Home School Source Book last year which was um...interesting. The authors share a few of my views (attachment parenting, natural family living) but I could've done without reading their religious, racial, and political views. I bought it mainly based on the above mentioned shared views, but found it dated. I can see how it might have been a handy resource 15 or more years ago before the internets was huge.

I started The Three R's by Ruth Beechick this week. I haven't gotten very far into it, but I really like her no nonsense, no curriculum needed ideas about K-3 education. I totally want to be Zen and just believe that I don't need any more tools than the ones I already have to teach my children. But then I go on the WTM forums and that all goes out the window...

I also paged through Seven Times the Sun: Guiding Your Child Through the Rhythms of the Day as I'd been wanting to read it for a while. In AP circles, the term "Waldorf" gets thrown out a lot. So, many of the ideas in the book I was already familiar with (family rhythms) or practice myself (blessings and/or recitations before or during activities). I did learn a few new blessings which was nice, but I think this would be better book for a parent with a very young child (under two) who knew virtually nothing about Waldorf and/or needed tremendous guidance. I'm not really a "by the book" parent. In fact, I read an article recently that mentioned that while you may read parenting books, babies sure don't!

Today, I started Trust the Children: An Activity Manual for Homeschooling and Alternative Learning which I picked up at the library yesterday. I already love it. I rarely buy books anymore, but I'm going to purchase this one for sure. Kealoha starts out with an explanation of her own background as a homeschooler/alternative schooler. She goes on to mention everyone from Dewey to Neill in a short (two page) history of alternative education. I find her proposed educational utopia wherein schools become year round public learning centers akin to libraries where children can come and go as they please a fascinating and wonderful idea. That's as far as I've gotten. Lillian Jones has a much more thorough review here.

October 25

Our day so far:

• Early morning spent playing soccer in the yard (Daddy & Robin cut the grass yesterday)
• Read aloud time for Robin and Wren.
• Vocabulary and spelling words based on unfamiliar words from read aloud time.
• Tears brought to you by the letter "P" which Finch has a hard time writing.
• Fractions.
• Too many sentences beginning with "I".
• Division.
• Hot Wheels.
• Me loving Math Mammoth.
• Time4learning. Much more fun than that pesky letter "p".
• Breakfast...
• again...
• Snack...
• again...
• And in the background, nursing. Always nursing.

October 23

Every person we have told about homeschooling has brought up socialization. It wasn't something that ever occurred to me would be an issue. My kids had a few school friends, but they were all just that: school friends. The only time they would really spend with those kids were a few minutes during P.E. and sometimes lunch (and then only if they were in the same class as they were not permitted to talk across tables). We're lucky enough to live on a street chock full of kids. There is a knock at our door nearly every day after traditional school is out asking if my little birds can come out and play.  It's not unusual for my kids to spend two or more hours outside on a daily basis playing and exploring a nearby field and "woods". My door slams a few times an hour as they go in and out with bikes, toys, scooters, blankets and snacks. The large, active homeschooling/attachment parenting community here also organizes many events and park days. The only thing preventing us from attending was school! On top of that, Wren is a Girl Scout, the kids all swim, and the boys usually participate in fall/spring sports. So, yea, I think we've got that pesky socialization issue covered.