{SQT} Waxing Sentimental about Homeschooling

1. Symphony

On Sunday, my son who is almost as tall as me escorted me to the symphony for a selection of Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Delius, and Beethoven. A half-price coupon applied to the cheap seating at a matinee (already less expensive than an evening production) is the way to make it happen, let me tell you! We had a lovely time.

2. Relatives Visiting

We enjoyed a spontaneous visit of relatives Art and Gina from Buffalo. They spent Sunday afternoon with us as well as overnight followed by a Sunday-style breakfast on President's Day.

3. Cooking with Children

At virtually every meal, I have one or more children helping me cook. I know some mothers are extremely exasperated by having children seemingly "underfoot," but I would offer encouragement that there are many benefits:

(1) Children in your kitchen are supervised children who are not off getting into mischief. This was the original reason why I began keeping children with me while cooking!
(2) The children are doing something wholesome.
(3) They are learning very important life skills that some families pay big bucks for their tiny tots to take!
(4) The more cooking skills your kids learn, the more they will start cooking independently for the family or helping little siblings with meals.

8-year-old making cinnamon rolls

6- and 8-year-olds making minestrone soup

4-year-old learning to flip sausage links

4-year-old learning to flip sausage patties

2-year-old helping with morning eggs

11-year-old making rice dish

2-year-old helping make deep dish pizza

I came upon Thomas (4-1/2) one afternoon and he had used a stool to get down bread, jelly, raisins, and milk. He told me triumphantly that he had made his own snack and poured his own milk without spilling. What a big boy--if naughty to get food without asking!

4. Scholastic Scenes

I've homeschooled since our firstborn was in Kindergarten, so eight years now, and the longer I do, the more I see the fullness of this as a complete lifestyle. It is not just one segment of our lives, the school segment, apart from everything else. This has recently been illuminated for us as my husband has weekly conversations with a great Catholic fellow at hockey who asks pointed questions about homeschooling. Really, we (including Dad) eat definitely two and sometimes three meals together daily? We don't leave the house at the crack of dawn? We are not exhausting ourselves driving our children to extracurricular activities daily? Our kids love spending time with us? Though it is hard and there are Very Hard Times, homeschooling has so many benefits that bring great joy, peace, and calmness.

What does homeschooling look like--at least for us? 

Homeschooling can look like a seventh grader doing work for an online class, a fifth grader taking a math exam, Mama folding laundry at the same table--all quietly--and four younger siblings taking recess break outdoors in sight of my window.

Homeschooling can involve the family learning the same subject together--easiest with things like history and science--thus facilitating conversation among everyone outside of 'school hours' because they are having a shared experience weekly.

I use History to help teach note-taking. My fifth and seventh graders take notes in an outline format . . . and this week my first grader decided to take his own notes by drawing illustrations of all the history I was reading aloud! Both precious and excellent!

Homeschooling can look like allowing one's sons to express more of their natural male attributes than they might be allowed to otherwise. One day we were doing Joseph's math and I grabbed a nearby bowl of snack peanuts to use as manipulatives for his subtraction.

That was going well when Joseph found a jumping rabbit toy and had the rabbit "eat" the peanuts being subtracted. What fun! Even more fun is then having the rabbit "poop" out the peanuts to set up the new subtraction problem.

Homeschooling can look like bringing around younger ages to learn academic behaviors but only for appropriately short periods of time. While we are doing daily history, the 2- and 4-year-olds can join us and, if they last 10 or 15 minutes learning to sit quietly in a seat and maybe manipulate a crayon, then that is great!

Homeschooling can look like an older sibling inviting (of her own accord) her two baby brothers to sit on her lap quietly and watch her math lesson. (We are trying Nicole the Math Lady and loving her!) An older sibling might occupy the wee one with offers that he can push the button or draw something in pencil on her homework. We see this often around here.

Boys "reading" science books up on the shelf

It might feel like nothing to get the blocks out of the cupboard for the two-year-old to play a few feet away while teaching the first grader to read, but being able to stack a specific number of blocks is an actual skill emphasized in the preschools people pay money to send their kids to, and is a skill checked by occupational therapists for proper development. These 'little things' are not so little!

Homeschooling can look like doing Nature Study together on Fridays (we love No Sweat Nature Study!).

We experimented with opening and closing cones!

I'm so glad we homeschool and have the flexibility to pursue our interests (dance, music, hockey, travel, etc.) but also the self-direction to live slowly enough to have peaceful lives (much of the time).

5. Ice Skating

The girls went skating with our neighbor's visiting granddaughter and had a wonderful and unexpected break from school that day!

6. Lent Is Coming!

Lent is mere days away! Chris and I are planning the Lenten sacrifices for our family as a whole and for ourselves, while the children are coming up with their own ideas, which they will run by us for approval.

We like to use the Lent Is Coming worksheet available at Regina Prophetarum--which has many interesting and helpful spiritual worksheets!

I have penciled in some time this Saturday to get my Lent box out of the attic and put out decorations and such. I am considering using this traditional Latin coloring calendar (available on Etsy for $1) this year.

7. Miscellaneous Moments

One evening, we parents were honored to be invited to a puppet show for which there were props and even tickets with assigned seating. Who says we don't get out on the town?

Thomas (4) of his own initiative made his bed for the first time.

Big brothers are great!

"No, you don't have to nap, honey. You just enjoy this little nest and listening to a story on CD for a while . . ."

Friday ended with my attending a Mothers' Night Out, and it was so lovely to converse with sincere women seeking to create holy lives!

For more 7 Quick Takes Friday, check out This Ain't the Lyceum.