At the Heart of Homeschooling

At the Heart of Homeschooling

Redefining Education

This morning I when Luke asked to discect some Owl Pellets I got the stuff out for him thinking in the back of my mind that it would keep him busy while Jonah did his Rosetta Stone Spanish and his math.  Jonah was very interested in the owl pellets too.  While he was doing his Spanish on the computer he got up many times to "help" Luke.  I told him when he finished some of his "school" that he could work on an owl pellet too.   Then it hit me.  THAT IS SCHOOL.  THAT IS LEARNING.   When did I loose sight of that?  When Logan and Jonah were younger I had no problem looking at education in that light--interest lead learning.  But somewhere along the way, what I consider prep. for I don't know what--high school, college, has taken over.  I wish you could here Jonah and Luke's converstation right now.  It is priceless.  The are so excited about what they are finding. I love that.  And the question I am asking myself right now is why don't we do that more often.  When did that stop being as important to me as getting math done for the day?

Yesterday Logan woke up with a fever.  Day off from "school".  That's what I thought.  Do you know how he chose to spend most of his day? Laying in bed listening to a book on tape.  The book?  D-Day: June 5, 1944 by Stephen E. Ambrose.  It has two volumes---about 20 casette tapes.  This child who some times fights me when doing school, tells me he Hates school at times,  is choosing to listen to that. 
Maybe he hates school sometimes because of how I define it. 
This is a wake up call for me.  So I'm writing about it now in hopes that I take this seriously and really think about it. 
When we first started homeschooling I remember hearing a quote that I loved:  Education is more about lighting a fire than filling a bucket.  I need to change the name of my blog.

Owl Pellets

This morning Luke asked to work on some owl pellets that we've had sitting around for a couple of years.  They were a Christmas present from Aunt Peggy and Uncle Brian several years ago.  It was a great present. 
The kit contained many owl pellets, tools to help with the disection, cards with pictures of mouse bones, moles, voles, etc. so that we could identify the content of the pellet, and a curriculum guide on owls.  In case you'd like to disect some owl pellets and learn a little about owls, the name of the kit is: Barn Owl Discvery Kit found www. owlbrandkits.com.

Sports Poetry

For an assignment in their Wordsmith Apprentice, Logan and Jonah each wrote a Sports poem which focused on using vivid verbs.  Here is their finished work:

Logan...


Pelting people with colored balls,
Dodgeing fire left and right,
Splatting paint and curling tight!
Hurling grenades, shooting quick.
That's paintball.


Jonah...

Hurdling across the snow in midair,
Debarking on the snow,
Looping around a tree so I don't wipe out!
Flashing down the slope, and coming to a  stop.
That's snowboarding.

Funny things kids say

This is too good not to post because although I'd like to think that I'll remember all the cute and funny things the boys say, I know that with my very limited memory, I will forget.
So...this afternoon while I was practicing a song (It's All Because of Jesus I'm Alive)  for Kidzone tomorrow, Luke was being a little bit naughty so I sent him for a time out.  While he was sitting back in the hallway on his naught stool I heard him sining a little song about me.  "It's all because my mommy is not nice."  Yes, and it was to the tune of the song I had been practicing.  I had to let him up and told him to go downstairs so he couldn't see me laughing.  Kevin and I both agreed that we've been letting him see entirely too many Tim Hawkins videos. 

Poetry Writing

L and J have been working on some cinquain-type poems.  Here's some of their work.

Logan:

Sniffy
Cute sniffy
Little paws that never stop
Running around in little circles
My dog.


Guns
Deadly, dangerous
Devastating in the hand
Waiting for the trigger to be pulled
Lawfully lethal


Jonah

Bandit
Prancing Bandit
Prancing paws that never stop
Runs around the house and never gets tired
My puppy brother.


Snow
Light, White
Lives in the clouds
Wants us to play in it
Fluffy  blankets.

Snow Tunnel