We've decided that our P.E. will consist of training for a 5K in April. J and I will walk-run-walk to get in fighting shape for a fun run. I think we have it narrowed down to the ASH Dash Bunny Run. This run seems like a low key (re)introduction to running.
To be sure, I hate running. We're doing this because he needs to have a goal or he'll put off whatever "it" is and never get it done. I think I need a timeline too. Training for a fun (ha) run has a definite date of completion. There is an open and closing bracket to the goal.
We'll be using the Couch to 5K plan to train. I started on this program a couple of years ago and it was relatively painless. I like that it gives clearly defined goals and doesn't try to get me to do more than my totally inactive self can manage.
Wish us luck!
2/1/2012 Update - I feel that it's just as important to report on the misses as well as the hits in this game. (I'm going with the sports analogy because we're talking about P.E. here, but I promise not to overdo it. Unless it's too late now.) We haven't walked one darn day. I'm going to chalk it up to end of the fiscal year/quarter/month that requires my attention so my life has been unbalanced. Still the decision is in tact and all we can do is get up and try again. I'll let you know.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Rearranging
I work from home. My son schools from home. My family lives at home. That's a lot of activity for one domicile. It's time to rearrange.
A few years ago I got two large stainless steel shelving units that went in my craft room/office. The shelves were to hold fabric when I got organized someday. I've tried. It's a work in progress. Still education waits for no one and my children need a space to learn.
Today we spent time swapping shelves from my fabric-bomb and paper-cyclone hit office to the kitchen. There is so much more room in the kitchen and dining area. I'm able to put my large baking pans and cookbooks on the shelves and still have room for cookie cutters, Christmas china and then boxes of homeschooling supplies.
Last summer my husband and I gave up our master bedroom for my business. I've spent quite a bit of time setting up my workspace. J has helped since he's home with me. I think that's fine because it gives a better grasp of what I do working from home. So now J needs a clean, flat surface to do his work. Enter the dining room table. I think the dining area is the best place for school work that isn't online because I'm able to monitor what he's accomplishing.
Sometimes you have to make things work. Before and after pictures to come soon.
--
A few years ago I got two large stainless steel shelving units that went in my craft room/office. The shelves were to hold fabric when I got organized someday. I've tried. It's a work in progress. Still education waits for no one and my children need a space to learn.
Today we spent time swapping shelves from my fabric-bomb and paper-cyclone hit office to the kitchen. There is so much more room in the kitchen and dining area. I'm able to put my large baking pans and cookbooks on the shelves and still have room for cookie cutters, Christmas china and then boxes of homeschooling supplies.
Last summer my husband and I gave up our master bedroom for my business. I've spent quite a bit of time setting up my workspace. J has helped since he's home with me. I think that's fine because it gives a better grasp of what I do working from home. So now J needs a clean, flat surface to do his work. Enter the dining room table. I think the dining area is the best place for school work that isn't online because I'm able to monitor what he's accomplishing.
Sometimes you have to make things work. Before and after pictures to come soon.
--
Friday, January 20, 2012
Write, J, Write
This week we were going to focus on a journal writing routine. I created three pages of journal prompts and the plan was for him to write 15 minutes a day on a private blog. I didn't want him to worry about grammar or spelling. This is to be an exercise in getting thoughts from his brain to "paper". Back in public school he was tested for dysgraphia, but wasn't diagnosed with it. I think there is something there or maybe his handwriting is a byproduct of the ADD somehow. So I figured typing out his thoughts in the form of a journal about subjects he may be interest in would help motivate him to write.
Not so much.
He writes for 3 minutes and then is done. Or so he thinks. I tell him more detail, but he says that's all he has to say. Alright, Forrest Gump. I don't want to push him too hard because if it becomes a battle of wills he will dig his heels in and we're stuck. I'm thinking about backing off the writing and focus more on reading. It will build his vocabulary (which is already pretty impressive) and he'll get a feel for the structure of the written word.
I'm a big believer in the watch-one-do-one-teach-one method of learning. Maybe we're still on the watch-one part of the equation? I still want to keep the routine of the journaling because it gives me a benchmark, but I think I'll stop stressing about the product.
--
Not so much.
He writes for 3 minutes and then is done. Or so he thinks. I tell him more detail, but he says that's all he has to say. Alright, Forrest Gump. I don't want to push him too hard because if it becomes a battle of wills he will dig his heels in and we're stuck. I'm thinking about backing off the writing and focus more on reading. It will build his vocabulary (which is already pretty impressive) and he'll get a feel for the structure of the written word.
I'm a big believer in the watch-one-do-one-teach-one method of learning. Maybe we're still on the watch-one part of the equation? I still want to keep the routine of the journaling because it gives me a benchmark, but I think I'll stop stressing about the product.
--
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Field Trippin'
Today we went on our first homeschool field trip. The Long Center hosted the Architects of Air exhibit this week and I took both my boys to see it.
Wow. I didn't really know what to expect, but from the pictures it looked like a series of bouncy houses and that can't be bad.
Back to the Architects of Air though.
Inside the dome the light came through the plastic in streams provided by the sun. So we learned a little about solar light. We were so impressed with the the color and design. I think the boys made a connection about how art and science can work together. They still think in a very compartmentalized way as though if you like art you can't also be interested in science.
See those lines are lit by the sun. We're in the red dome, but in other pictures the colors don't come out in photos the same as in real life, which is part why it's so interesting.
I took Z out of school to go on the field trip. That must be why he looks a little green, sick donchaknow. Actually I love this picture. It's on my phone's wallpaper now.
Wow. I didn't really know what to expect, but from the pictures it looked like a series of bouncy houses and that can't be bad.
Outside was a sight to behold, but inside blew me away. Inside are these rooms of color and design. It's meant for meditation and reflection (yeah, I know that sounds very woo-woo). The plastic that shapes the exhibit is .5 mm thick so everyone has to be very careful. We had to remove our shoes and thank goodness I remembered to bring warm wool socks. Some participants had only shoes sans socks, and although it was a lovely sunny day in downtown Austin, it was quite chilly.
Back to the Architects of Air though.
Inside the dome the light came through the plastic in streams provided by the sun. So we learned a little about solar light. We were so impressed with the the color and design. I think the boys made a connection about how art and science can work together. They still think in a very compartmentalized way as though if you like art you can't also be interested in science.
 |
| J looking like a Superhero. |
So that's our first official homeschool adventure. I can't wait to see where else this road leads us.
--
Monday, January 16, 2012
Whew! That Was Exhausting!
The first week kicked my butt.
There I said it.
Of course the timing of beginning to homeschool could not have been worse. You see, I'm a bookkeeper. Yes, I work from home so there is some flexibility, but the work still needs to get done. And January is the month bookkeepers dread. We have to create reports for not only the fourth quarter, but also the year. Then we must produce many forms the IRS requires of businesses including payroll, sales tax, W4's and 1099's. It's always crazy in January and this year I threw a side of homeschooling on my already heaping plate full of crazy.
Even with the difficult circumstance I can say that I really have enjoyed homeschooling. I love knowing exactly what my child is learning. I'm in tune with his lessons and what he's accomplished. That was a major obstacle in public school. It was hard to get information on his assignments. Now that I'm the one assigning the work, I know.
For his part he says he loving homeschooling. He likes that he can double up on an assignment and then take time off when we have an opportunity to school out in the world (field trip, lessons on laptops at a coffee shop). He likes our new routine of eating lunch while watching "Gilmore Girls". I like that we are creating traditions.
There are some things that bug me, but that's a story for another time.
There I said it.
Of course the timing of beginning to homeschool could not have been worse. You see, I'm a bookkeeper. Yes, I work from home so there is some flexibility, but the work still needs to get done. And January is the month bookkeepers dread. We have to create reports for not only the fourth quarter, but also the year. Then we must produce many forms the IRS requires of businesses including payroll, sales tax, W4's and 1099's. It's always crazy in January and this year I threw a side of homeschooling on my already heaping plate full of crazy.
Even with the difficult circumstance I can say that I really have enjoyed homeschooling. I love knowing exactly what my child is learning. I'm in tune with his lessons and what he's accomplished. That was a major obstacle in public school. It was hard to get information on his assignments. Now that I'm the one assigning the work, I know.
For his part he says he loving homeschooling. He likes that he can double up on an assignment and then take time off when we have an opportunity to school out in the world (field trip, lessons on laptops at a coffee shop). He likes our new routine of eating lunch while watching "Gilmore Girls". I like that we are creating traditions.
There are some things that bug me, but that's a story for another time.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
A Bite of the Elephant At A Time
My plan is to introduce another layer of homeschooling each week. The first week it was the core curriculum process. Last week we blended in electives - violin, P.E. and chess club. This week we will start our journal writing.
We've set up an online journal for J to write daily. Back in the day I used a spiral for a similar journaling activity. While he was in a bricks & mortar (b&m) school he used composition notebooks. Something I've decided to modify in our homeschool is that J can type his journal writing. He's been tested for dysgraphia and I was told that he doesn't have it, but I wonder. His writing hand doesn't seem to receive the message his brain is sending. When I ask him questions to test his comprehension, J is able to articulate the answer. What comes out handwritten on the page is not representative of his best work.
I have spent the last week collecting journal prompts, and until he he feels comfortable picking his own topics, I'll will e-mail his subject each day. Okay, I cheated a little and set up a week of scheduled messages to go out one each day. Technology in the (home)classroom, baby. At the moment my goal is for him to exercise the brain "muscle" that gets the thought out of his mind into the written word. He has to write for 15 minutes. He doesn't have have to stay on topic, but he has to write something. Copy a poem, make a list, tell the chicken a story, it doesn't matter as long as he is writing.
If you have an idea for teenage journal prompts, please feel free to leave them in the comments section.
Mama P.
We've set up an online journal for J to write daily. Back in the day I used a spiral for a similar journaling activity. While he was in a bricks & mortar (b&m) school he used composition notebooks. Something I've decided to modify in our homeschool is that J can type his journal writing. He's been tested for dysgraphia and I was told that he doesn't have it, but I wonder. His writing hand doesn't seem to receive the message his brain is sending. When I ask him questions to test his comprehension, J is able to articulate the answer. What comes out handwritten on the page is not representative of his best work.
I have spent the last week collecting journal prompts, and until he he feels comfortable picking his own topics, I'll will e-mail his subject each day. Okay, I cheated a little and set up a week of scheduled messages to go out one each day. Technology in the (home)classroom, baby. At the moment my goal is for him to exercise the brain "muscle" that gets the thought out of his mind into the written word. He has to write for 15 minutes. He doesn't have have to stay on topic, but he has to write something. Copy a poem, make a list, tell the chicken a story, it doesn't matter as long as he is writing.
If you have an idea for teenage journal prompts, please feel free to leave them in the comments section.
Mama P.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Meeting & Mixing, Homeschool Clubs
We attended our first chess club meeting this week. Wow. Getting started was a little crazy because it was the first day back after the holidays and because they were trying a new pairing process. I'm sure the other reason was because there were parents who withdrew their kids over the break and are seeing if the chess club is a good fit. At least that's why we showed up to play.
Both J and I were overwhelmed. There were at least 25 tables with 2 pairings of players at each table (4 kids). While not every table was full there we a LOT of homeschooled kids in that room. It's hard to believe how many people are choosing this path. Close to 100 students were playing chess and even more were on the playground, reading or working on other projects. I was able to connect with a few other moms to talk about possibly creating a co-op or park day type of thing in our area for our kids (all of us had 10-13 year old boys).
I was overwhelmed at the first meeting, but I think both J and I will do much better the next time knowing what to expect. Anything new is hard to assimilate. Knowing that is one of the reasons I'm only introducing a task, activity or process at a time to our routine.
Mama P.
Both J and I were overwhelmed. There were at least 25 tables with 2 pairings of players at each table (4 kids). While not every table was full there we a LOT of homeschooled kids in that room. It's hard to believe how many people are choosing this path. Close to 100 students were playing chess and even more were on the playground, reading or working on other projects. I was able to connect with a few other moms to talk about possibly creating a co-op or park day type of thing in our area for our kids (all of us had 10-13 year old boys).
I was overwhelmed at the first meeting, but I think both J and I will do much better the next time knowing what to expect. Anything new is hard to assimilate. Knowing that is one of the reasons I'm only introducing a task, activity or process at a time to our routine.
Mama P.
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