1. Next Gen on the Road Residency
Click here to read about John and Mary taking Masters classes with the Next Gen on the Road residency program and Mary being able to play in concert with them!
2. Fraternus Challenge Ceremony
John participated last Monday night in the inaugural Challenge Ceremony for this year of Fraternus. The parish priest sat before the tabernacle and held out a Fraternus sword. As each boy approached, he knelt before the priest, put his hand on the sword, and asked, “Do you accept that you are a son of God, redeemed by Jesus Christ and called to a life of virtue and holiness?” The boy would answer, "I do accept," and the priest would give his priestly blessing.
It is a fruitful program for Catholic young men!
3. Sisters
4. Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
Click here to read about our fun and educational science day at the botanical gardens!
5. Mira Via Fundraising Banquet
On Thursday (Chris' birthday!), our family attended the annual fundraiser for Mira Via, a support center plus a college-based maternity home for unwed mothers. We appear much calmer and more cheerful in the photo than we were with all the family mishaps that afternoon as we tried to get ready.
The speaker this year was Abby Johnson of "Unplanned" and her speech was incredibly moving and well-polished, and I did not feel that I'd already heard the content, even though I have read her book and watched the resulting movie. If you get a chance to hear Mrs. Johnson speak, I recommend it!
6. Scholastic Scenes
. . . In which schooling always appears more peaceful, joy-filled, and productive than it is in reality! |
| To Do Lists this week |
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| Castle by Thomas (4) |
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| School outdoors |
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| Doing Grammar with little brother |
My two- and four-year-olds are not in my lap during Literature Read-Aloud time ("Log of the Cowboy" by Andy Adams) because I love snuggling with them but because if I let them run free at all, they are loud mischief-makers who make it impossible for me to read to the older children.
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| Reading literature aloud while pinning down littlest boys |
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| Preschool matching game--"Don't touch that! It's mine!" |
7. Experiments in Homeschooling
EDITED to delete all my venting about some homeschooling difficulties right now. I don't know where the line is crossed in public cyberspace, as I can't share challenges or ask for help without exposing what are imperfections about the real souls who are our children. So, I guess I'm left unable to ask for help. :)For more 7 Quick Takes Friday, check out This Ain't the Lyceum.
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ReplyDeleteHave you thought about using noise cancelling headphones or ear plugs for children who are easily distracted by music practice or siblings? I know one homeschooling family who keep a pair of professional construction worker grade noise cancelling headphones specifically for math time. Prayers for your homeschooling journey! Yes, it is hard, but as a homeschool graduate, I know it is worth it!
ReplyDeleteDear Joy Therese,
DeleteThank you for sharing your insight as a homeschooling graduate and for encouraging me that it is worth it! I'm a public school graduate, myself.
I ordered noise-cancelling headphones, which just arrived, so we will try them starting Monday Nov. 4! If they are beneficial, I will order more!
The ideal of students working independently is something that can happen at any age depending on the kids, and it is something that you want students to work toward as they get older. In a brick and mortar school, the expectation from at least second or third grade onward is that we would do the items on the board while the teacher worked with different math or reading groups. I think John, Mary, and Margaret are old enough where the expectation would be that they do at least some of their work independently with John doing the larger chunk on his own.
ReplyDeleteIt's also an impossible ideal to have everything completely silent. Even in the classroom where I'm sitting while conducting drop-in tutoring, there is the hum of monitors, the (quietish) voices of my co-tutor working with people, and the sound of people in the hallway. If your kids need quiet to work, earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones would be a worthwhile investment.
As far as the schedule goes, 15-minute increments might be a doable thing. Yeah, you've got more things to write in, but it does allow for bathroom breaks and stuff like that. You might want to look at planners marketed to teachers online for yourself. Sites like Plum Paper can help you customize one to your specifications, or you can do the bullet journal thing and make a daily planner that works for you. I find that bullet journalling is the easiest way to deal with my strange schedule.
For the kids, maybe make an Excel sheet for them that has a list of subjects in those 15-minute increments with a box that they can check off? I know that I love being able to check off or color in boxes and I'm turning 40 soon! It would mean that they can schedule in a break. You can also give them kitchen timers which would provide a visual cue as to how much time they have left.
Most elementary school teachers don't have kids that little in the school room, but that's a quirk of your method of doing school. If you look around the Quick Takes, a lot of them are moms doing school who have littles and the littles invariably disturb things. It's just the reality of having kids that young right now.
My 2 cents as one who *ISN'T* a homeschooler but who has seen what works in her friends' families.
Dear Jen,
DeleteYes, I am the Queen of Lists. I have done spiral notebooks, various charts, currently Excel spreadsheets in color with check boxes. I just have to institute much more strict discipline right now so that they will work better independently without distracting each other and going off on a rabbit trail while I'm too busy with another student to stop them. Thanks for your encouragement!
I'm sorry that you felt you had to delete your venting. I do not home-school but it's got to be hard at times with an assortment of kids and multiple subjects. Dividing them up to work and going back to a check list with 15-30 min increments might be best when you need the kids to work independently. Starting with the plan - even if it doesn't get completed or has to be shifted due to outside forces - will give some structure and make it easier to look back and catch what was missed. And you can always add things to the checklist if you wind up doing something else for the day.
ReplyDeleteI think you have some special challenges with the amazing amount of music practice you have in your home. Using noise blocking headphones is a great idea. (I have a daughter whose aural sensitivities mean the boys have to practice their instruments before she gets home from school, otherwise she hides in a bed room with her hands over her ears crying! I need headphones for her.)
Even parents who don't homeschool have periods where schooling just seems way harder than it should be. Why can my son lose every piece of social studies homework between his locker and home? Why aren't the teachers making sure he has his homework when he leaves the classroom? Why did he not participate in a group? It drives me nuts when little things build up and turn into disasters.
So we all have days and weeks when we feel at a loss. Reaching out about these troubles makes one feel less alone and hopefully can aid in finding solutions. Writing out the troubles can help you pinpoint what the troubles really are (it's hard to think about how to fix things when you feel overwhelmed by chaos!) and help you process what solutions might be best.
Best wishes for a calmer school day!
Thank you for the encouragement and for reminding me that even parents who do not homeschool face these times of Schooling Despair.
DeleteDear Katherine,
ReplyDeleteI read your post about homeschooling and did not think you crossed the line at all. I also thought that all you described was very normal and common for someone trying their best. All the happiest, calmest and most successful veteran homeschool moms I know "do less well". When I first heard this the workaholic perfectionist in me thought that was a lazy person's philosophy but it really is the most effective for everyone. So don't feel bad about cutting back or consolidating. Work, rest and play are supposed to be in balance and just as important as one another, especially for mom, the source of the home. So prioritize relaxation and fun as much as work and you'll find that work time is more effective and everyone is much more content. (This is much easier for me to write that to practice!)
You are so right about how those experienced homeschooling mothers of the larger families tend to do less well. I feel like I've cut back more and more each year until I can't imagine more to cut back, yet there is more. I, too, envision an ideal in which we not only do school but we work together (e.g., gardening and physical projects around the home), we recreate together, and we have quiet reading time. Yet how on earth to fit that in with a school day remains beyond me! Sometimes I think we just have to stop school at noon each day in order to do these others things, too, but there is no way I could educate everyone in such a narrow window. I really have to trust that it will all work out and they will be educated enough to earn an income and survive out there in the world.
Delete