State Testing: An Education Super Fail

It's 4:16 AM.  Instead of sleeping, I'm here drinking coffee and blogging.  Why?  Because today was absolute utter hell in my home, and my daughter just got to sleep about two hours ago.  I'm still running on pure adrenaline and righteous anger.

Let me back up a bit.

Last year, I began homeschooling my children.  The reasons are many, but it mostly comes down to my belief that education is not one size fits all.  My children are both diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, and my son additionally has a diagnosis of expressive/receptive speech disorder.  Both of them also have sensory processing disorder.  Mostly, in everyday life, this means little.  They have coping skills, they are really great kids, and they deal with the things that pose challenges like a couple of champs.  We realize, though, that it is having the freedom to be who they are in a supportive and loving environment which allows them to really shine like they do.  A public bricks and mortar school was not that environment.

K12 seemed to be a perfect fit for us.  I loved the curriculum.  Yes, I am using past tense words here, because I am beginning to realize that K12 is susceptible to the very same pitfalls, in terms of actual education, that any other public school suffers.  Perhaps it hit me extra hard this year because the language arts curriculum reading materials were severely slashed in terms of quantity, while at the same time we received a pile of test preparation materials which seemed more than a bit over the top.  The only reason I can think of to remove so much of the reading materials is that kids struggled with the amount of it, and spending additional time working through it would mean less time spent on test preparedness.  It also affects the kids' grades, and thus the school's reputation.  Now, I'm not blaming K12 for this at all; the state regulates their schools just like any other public school.  If anything, I think K12 is fucntioning exceptionally well given the circumstances and all of the red tape.

I wondered to myself, what would a curriculum look like if the schools were not being judged and the children were not being dragged through this nightmare known as state testing?

Today, I sat beside my daughter as she worked through a math Scantron assessment, her eyes welling up with tears, shaking with frustration, rocking back and forth.  She is good at math, but she hates it.  Her mind is definitely geared more toward right-brain activities than the logic-based, left-brain activities involved in math.  She hates math that is typical for her grade level, but this is the type of problem she had to work on:

Forgive me, since it's been quite some time since this was first introduced to me, but isn't this something you'd expect 7th-9th grade students to be working on?  I know a lot of adults who would struggle with this.  I almost wonder if they gave her the wrong assessment or something, because the problems were almost all at this level of difficulty and this was complete and utter torture for a 3rd grade child who detests math to begin with.

I have no idea what is in store on the actual state testing, but if it's anything like this, I have no idea at all what the goal is.  This is ridiculous.

I hope I feel better about things at some point, but right now I've had a rough day and I'm not feeling very warm or fuzzy about any of this.  Kids should not have to go through what my daughter went through today.  And you know, I'm quite sure that these state tests and district scores won't mean a damn thing in 100 years, but the contributions these children make to the world because of actual knowledge and experiential learning (read: not from tests for pretests for pretests to prepare for the pretest for the actual test) will.  Einstein, Tesla, George Washington, Hippocrates, and Galileo did just fine without all of this state testing crap.

Alrighty, then.

Data Entry

My complaints tend to be minor and few when it comes to K12 and the curriculum.  However, I'm not a fan of the changes they've made to Language Arts (I think it is a scattered, disorganized, diluted version of the previous one), and I absolutely loathe the answer entry forms that I must do after my kids do math (and some other) assessments.  Assessments are printed from an online document, or are in the workbooks provided in the curriculum materials.  The kiddos complete them, and I enter the results in an online form when they're finished.  Instead of making a simple form where we click Yes or No the entire way through, or enter their answer in a box for each item, it goes more like this:

1. Did the student answer correctly?  Yes No
2. Part 1: one point.  Part 2: one point.  Enter the number of points the student earned.
3. 465 - 200 = ____________
4. 76 - 20 = __________
5. Did the student answer correctly?  Yes  No
6. Part 1: one point.  Part 2: two points.  Enter the number of points the student earned.
6. 98 - 45 = ___________

I mean, really?  I can't recall how many times my children have arrived at the correct answer, and I've entered the wrong one, clicked the wrong circle, put the correct answer in the wrong box, etc.  I basically feel like I am doing the assessment after they do the assessment with all of the trick data entry stuff going on.  Very annoying, time-consuming, distracting, and completely unnecessary.  Not to mention the fact that my son is prone to melting into a pouting puddle when I enter something wrong that he got right.  Ugh.  #parentfail

Second Round of Assessments

When I decided to take on the responsibility of teaching my children and removed them from public school, I was both excited and nervous. I looked forward to being a part of their learning experience, to taking field trips together, and to feeling like a whole family again. During the two years that Reezle was in public school, I felt as if I lived for weekends and strangers were spending more time with my sweet girl than I was. But I was also really nervous. Education is not something I take lightly, and I was (if I'm to be honest here) a bit unsure of myself. There is an overwhelming message in our society that parents are incapable as teachers and barely equipped to assist with homework, and there was a part of me that believed it.

Today, Reezle did her second assessment of the school year. The first was done when she started homeschool to get a baseline. At the time, she scored off the charts, 'well above average', as did Little G. Today, she did it again. According to the teacher who assessed her fluency, Reezle is reading at 158 words per minute (2nd grade average is 89 wpm, 5th grade average is 139 wpm, 6th grade average is 160 wpm, according to this. Wowza.). She started the year already reading 142 words per minute, so I didn't really expect much in the way of gains between September and February. I guess I should have known better, considering how much she loves to read and how many books she's devoured in the past five months. I am so proud of her! I always had exceptional comprehension and vocabulary, but I was and still am a very slow reader.

She also scored perfect on the math assessment, quickly answering all 50 points worth of questions correctly. I wish her confidence in her math skills matched her ability, but it doesn't. I suppose having a 6 year-old human calculator for a brother probably doesn't help. She doesn't seem to realize she's still way ahead for her grade level. She has a very competitive spirit when it comes to academics.

Thus far, I've been keeping her at grade level work because of her extremely low frustration tolerance and the fact that I wanted to transition her into homeschooling comfortably. However, she is working below her ability and I've decided it is time to start challenging her a bit more. While I stand by my decision to keep her in grade 2 math and language arts, we are working through it at a faster pace now. I echo the teacher's sentiments; we don't want her getting bored...it's difficult to get them back after that. Indeed. I was bored at her age, so I stopped paying attention. I didn't need to pay attention. But by the time I realized I did need to listen, I was out of practice and overwhelmed with frustration. It can be a delicate balance for kids.

In some really fun news, the teacher introduced us to a cool educational website this afternoon called Reading Eggs (it's so much more than it sounds like!) that the kids can hardly wait to start using! There are even books they can read on all kinds of topics, and Reezle is anxious to dig into the history ones.

We're now more than halfway through the school year, and I love this more all the time. The kids love it, too, and there is no doubt whatsoever that we will continue with the K12 curriculum for the coming school year. If anyone reading is considering homeschooling, or looking at different curriculum options, I encourage you to look into K12. It is absolutely wonderful!

He Wins

I've been debating what to do about Little G and his obsession with math. Right now, he is a Kindergarten student, technically, but he is taking 1st grade math and language arts. He was taking 1st grade phonics as well, but he completed it. If I let him work at his own pace, he would have finished 1st grade math as well. Part of me thinks just letting him finish and move up to the next grade level in math would be better for him. Originally, I felt this would place undue burden on him and stress him out. But, as it turns out, he's a lot like his mama - if his mind doesn't have something to work on all the time, he gets moody and his mind finds things to work on.

The little dude has always loved numbers and math. He could add and subtract by preschool, and by the start of Kindergarten he was begging to do multiplication flashcards all the time. He loves chess and card games, can kick my butt at Sudoku, and is at his happiest when he is challenged. (But he hates to lose and has no tolerance for anything less than perfection from himself, which means meltdowns and tantrums...)

I'm at a point with him where I feel like pacing him with the rest of the 1st grade students in math is unfair to him. During math lessons, G is typically lying on the floor, answering questions I ask aloud, rolling his eyes and saying, "I know this already, mom. It's like preschool baby stuff." And I tell him, "Yes, G, but you have to demonstrate that you know this, so we have to at least do the assessments." His reward for getting through it is always something he enjoys that is also math-related (Sudoku puzzles, a website that has flashcard games, or workbooks, usually). I keep some grades 2 and 3 math workbooks on hand, hidden as a special treat; but he found and finished the remaining half of a 250-pager the other day when I thought he was coloring. It took him an hour. So, I think we'll start letting him do as much as he wants, and see where this leads.

In other G-related news, my little boy is growing up and developing a mind (and attitude!) of his own. I'm sad, nostalgic, and somewhat uncomfortable with his growing independence, and yet I am also proud of his developments. The fact that he has been so dependent on me for so long makes the transition difficult for me, I'll be honest. Heh, I know, I know, that's the selfish, but-he's-my-baby! part of me talking. He still has many needs (basics, like dressing, brushing his teeth, washing his hands) where he needs much more assistance than his age-matched peers, but intellectually he is light years ahead of the game. He gets so frustrated, knowing what he wants or needs to do, and having the hypotonia and motor issues that make his body a bit slow to catch up. We're doing a lot of sensory diet and OT activities, which change frequently to meet his ever-changing needs, and the results are coming quicker these days.

People always say that kids grow up so fast. It's amazing, though, as a parent. It all seems to happen in fast-forward, and I've come to a point where I try to savor the little moments because I know, before I know it, I will be thinking about how ages 8 and 6 were really so little.

Common Questions People Ask About Homeschooling

Some of the most common questions I am asked as a homeschooling parent are: What does your day look like? Do you teach for as many hours as they teach in regular schools? Isn't it difficult? Do your kids respect you as teacher, or do they think they can get away with stuff because you're mom? Do they have recess? What do you do for gym class? How do you teach two grades at the same time? Do your kids still get up early? Do they 'go to school' in their pajamas? Well, I've finally put together a post to answer these questions!

Do you teach for as many hours as they [the teachers] teach in regular [public, bricks and mortar] schools?

No. And yes. Are my children sitting with pencil to paper for 6 hours per day in a highly-structured manner? No. But if I tried to quantify the hours they spend learning, it would add up to more than the typical school day. Because I am the one teaching them, I can slip relevant information into just about every aspect of their daily routines, and I often do. Baking is science and math. There is history all around us. Health is a part of our lives every day. And my children and I love to hula hoop, so we get lots of physical activity that way and count it toward our physical education hours. My husband and I will discuss what they have learned and delve deeper into history lessons or do flash card contests in the evenings or on weekends. I find a lot of great resources on YouTube (travel videos are a fun way to learn more about geography and world landscapes, for example). The whole world is a classroom without limits! Learning at home is a much different style of learning, and affords us a lot of flexibility. For us, flexibility means enrichment opportunities more than location or time.

Isn't it difficult?

It really isn't! I was a little nervous (okay, completely terrified) going into this adventure. However, I did a couple of years worth of researching various curriculum options and I feel extremely good about choosing K12. The curriculum is excellent and the support is very good. There is very little I don't love about K12.

In terms of keeping the kids focused, I really don't have a problem there. They love to learn, and I have been "teaching" my son since he was a baby because he has autism and a speech disorder. This is no different for him than teaching him sign language or doing his speech homework. There is a lot of reading in the K12 curriculum as well, and I have read to my children since before they were even born. It is a very good fit for us. My daughter did have a rough few days one week, but that's about it. I think it was more that she wasn't feeling well than anything else. As long as you already have rules and discipline, and you discuss with your child the responsibilities of learning at home, homeschooling should not be difficult - especially with a supportive structure like K12 has.

Do your kids respect you as teacher, or do they think they can get away with stuff because you're mom?

My children respect me as mom already, and all parents are teachers whether they homeschool or not. I always find myself telling other parents this, because it's so true; you are your child's first and most important teacher. The only things I ask that differ at all during learning hours are raising a hand during discussions (which my daughter does whether we're learning or not - and it's kind of funny), and there is a no electronics rule (except, of course, the computer).

Do they have recess?

Yes, they do! Indoors or outdoors, depending on the weather. Sometimes we go for a walk, sometimes they play a board game, and sometimes they combine recess and physical education and do some hooping or bike riding.

What do you do for gym class?

Lots of things! We do many of the things children would do in a bricks and mortar school, and a lot more. I try to involve my children in community sports when possible, we ride bikes, we hula hoop, they do sit-ups, squat jumps, jumping jacks, balloon chases, run races, do hopscotch challenges, play catch, jump rope, and much more. The possibilities are endless!

How do you teach two grades at the same time?

It's very easy. I work with one child while the other works independently. Also, since my son is in Kindergarten, but doing 1st and 2nd grade work, much of what I am teaching works well for both grades. This makes it much easier for me, but I think we would do just fine even with a much greater grade level difference. It's all about time management and finding a groove that works for you. It takes a few weeks when you're just starting out to find that groove, but things go surprisingly well once you do.

Do your kids still get up early?

Usually, but now I don't have to worry about a rough morning if they have a cute holiday movie on TV until 10PM! My daughter used to catch the bus shortly after 8AM. She used to wake up at 7AM to be ready, and now she wakes up closer to 8:30AM. However, we're usually starting our school day around the same time the public schools are because their transportation time is our breakfast time.

Do your kids 'go to school' in their pajamas?

Not always, but sometimes! And sometimes upside down in pajamas!


They both like to start the day in pajamas, for the most part. Unless we have something fun planned, in which case they want to get dressed up before I even have breakfast started.

Do you have questions? Feel free to ask! If there's one thing I love to talk about, it's definitely homeschooling!

Beautiful Autumn Days

The phone rang just before 5AM today. It was my husband's work calling, as sometimes happens. I couldn't find sleep again, so I figured it would be a good time to assess where we're at with school and put together a plan for getting back on track in terms of what the online school says we should be doing.

Every day, my children have some form of Language Arts. We read every day, taking turns. We have Technology daily as well, because I allow at least 30 minutes each day of educational computer games. This is a special interest for my son, who really enjoys ABCya and iXL. Another favorite of his is a website that allows him to put together meals and desserts with various ingredients. The boy loves to cook! My daughter loves it, too.

We also have music daily, because the kids and I just love music. It is a great way to boost energy ad improve mood in mere minutes with very little effort. Since the three of us love hooping, we usually take breaks by turning on some of the kids' favorite tunes and hooping for 20-40 minutes each day. We're all better prepared to focus on school work afterward, and it's keeping us fit and healthy. Since we can hoop indoors, even though it is more fun to hoop outdoors, it's a great activity for staying fit and active during the winter months. Nature has been very generous so far this year, though; the incredibly beautiful and warm autumn days might be part of the reason we're a tad behind on some of the OLS items. You know, maybe. Heh. But in this snowy part of the world, November doesn't typically offer much in the way of gorgeous autumn days that beg us to open all the doors and windows and head outside to hoop and swing. We're taking advantage when we can, before the snow starts falling. And I love the smell of autumn. Except when people are burning leaves, I could do without that.

Today is pleasant, but overcast and somewhat gloomy. Reezle noted that the trees are quite bare now, though the remaining leaves are putting on quite a colorful show for us. The yellows and reds are absolutely brilliant and photo-worthy. Too bad my good camera is in need of major repairs. We took the gloomy day coupled with the 5AM start to my day as an opportunity to do a lot of work and catch up. Reezle really worked hard today, tackling several lessons in Math, Language Arts, Music, History, and Science. No complaints at all! I'm so proud of her. She is currently enjoying some free time on the computer since the majority of her lessons today did not involve a lot of screen time.

Little G spent most of the day curled up in the recliner with Reezle's Math workbook. He copies problems out of there onto scrap paper and asks me to print him worksheets. When Reezle gets stuck on a problem, he helps her understand it. The boy amazes me. He definitely did not get the math genes from Mama. He also helped Reezle with some of her spelling, as he has been doing since early last year. He picks things up so fast that there is very little effort involved in teaching him anything. Reezle does get frustrated with him, though. She is very bright herself, so being corrected by her brother, who is two years younger, doesn't always sit well. He just can't seem to help himself. I guess if there is some good to be found in it, the sibling rivalry element sure beats bullying, and it does seem to inspire Reezle to push herself more to really grasp the material. A little healthy competition is fine, as long as no one starts having self-esteem issues. So far, that doesn't appear to be the case.

My daughter is happier than she was last year. She does miss her friends, but she isn't having tummy aches all the time and is no longer extremely moody. She smiles more, enjoys her studying, and says that I make it fun. That warms my heart. Little G, well, I stand by the belief that traditional schools would not have been able to handle him. He gets so frustrated, even with first grade math, because he knows (or learns after one quick explanation) most of the material. He does not appear to be challenged even by his sister's second grade math, which he actually helps her with when she gets stuck. Too bad his conceptual understanding and whatever it is that goes on in his head doesn't translate well into actually teaching others; he becomes impatient rather quickly when others don't understand things as rapidly as he does. Boy, I suspect he is going to be a handful as he gets older!

We're all looking forward to the holidays while at the same time enjoying these amazing days that autumn is offering up before the snow flies. We've been fortunate not to have any of the white stuff yet. It's difficult to look forward to it when I know it's going to stick around until April. But at least the warmth of the holidays helps dampen the effects of the bitter chill and brighten even these dark days as the sun sets much too early for our liking.

After completing our first 9 weeks of homeschool and being well on our way into the next 9 weeks, we're all still enjoying our adventure...including watching the bus go by without making a stop here! It feels right being together and learning as a family. Yes, it can be hard work sometimes, but I can say without any doubt that this was absolutely the best choice for all of us.

No Subject Left Behind

No Child Left Behind. It sounds great when you just hear the words, doesn't it? But what does it really mean and how does it translate into real education? Simply put, it may mean a whole lot of subjects left behind instead.

Math and language arts (reading/writing) are the core areas where schools are evaluated based on student performance. This is great if you consider how much these areas mean to effective learning and functioning in this world. However, it's not so great once you realize that schools are losing sight of equally important areas such as history, science, and the arts. While some would argue that these areas are not on level with math and language arts, I completely disagree.

First of all, there is a saying that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. I was appalled not long ago at how many people my age and younger don't even know who Adolph Hitler was, or much of anything about World War II and the mass genocide of the Jewish people in concentration camps. Far fewer are aware of our own country's post-Pearl Harbor internment camps which the Japanese-American citizens of our country were forced into, many after agreeing to renounce their American citizenship because they were bullied into doing so. If we do not know our history, and world history, we are doomed to repeat it. That is a frightening thought. But beyond simply repeating past atrocities and costly mistakes, there is also the insight that comes from comparing similar past events to current situations and making more informed decisions based on what happened previously; this insight is lost when we do not know our history!

It is not just political leaders and big decision-makers who need to know history, but the people voting for their leaders, laws, and government. People rely much too heavily already on others to make decisions for them, and a frightening number of people are just plain apathetic about politics. As a country, we do not appreciate the power we have to vote and make a change; and considering how far we have come to have such right and privileges, this is truly a shame. If our forefathers could have seen the ambivalent mess we have become, they would likely have either thrown their hands in the air and said, "Why bother!?" or done everything they could to instill within each new generation the importance of knowing history and being a part of their own instead of passively sitting by and consenting to whatever others chose for them. I choose the latter for my own children; in some ways I believe history is even more important than mastery of math or language arts. Our country was founded on the hope of having a choice and the freedom to govern ourselves. We have become a country that largely lets others govern us. It may not be kinds and queens anymore, but it's more corrupt than ever.

Science is important as well, for reasons too numerable to list. Science helps us understand how our world works and how we interact within it, in addition to providing us with an understanding of the most fundamental facts about ourselves and our bodies, from nutrition to exercise to our overall health picture. But it goes much deeper. Without science, history, and all of the subjects we used to learn in school, we become sheep. Plain and simple.

The cursive writing debate is one that seems to be drawing attention from just about everyone. Because the focus of education is the "core" math and language arts courses, cursive is being dropped from many curricula around the country because it is not something the schools are evaluated by. This is not in the interest of our children at all, but rather the interest of the ratings of the schools and their respective districts. Good penmanship may not be as critical as it was 20 years ago since technology has become paramount in producing finished academic works, but there are benefits (as this ABC article points out) which are being overlooked for the sake of schools looking better on paper. I don't know about anyone else, but I couldn't care less what schools look like on paper; I have always wanted my children to have a full and excellent education which will prepare them for the future - whatever that means.

People seem to be completely unaware of the fact that our current way of life is neither natural nor sustainable. We have achieved great things in this world, things which are incredible to even consider. Most people, however, stick a plug into an outlet or place a call from their cell phone and take it completely for granted. I'm not saying we should all return to the times before electricity, computers and cell phones. I rather enjoy these luxuries and I believe most people do. What I am saying is that we should all be prepared to live off the grid like our forefathers did, should the need ever arise. This is not some doomsday prediction, but rather something we should give some consideration to; what kind of mess would our society be if we had to live as they did 100 years ago? 200 years ago? It's fascinating but also sad how far we have come from that. Also, we should value the wealth of knowledge we have to learn from, realize that many of our ideas are not new but tried and tested, and act accordingly. In 200 years, your school's academic performance rating won't mean a thing to this world; your child's knowledge and potential to change the world, however, will mean a great deal.

Learning is important, and not just the subjects someone deems more important than others and evaluates schools by. Knowledge is power.

Spain and First Grade Curriculum

Our quote of the day is brought to you by Reezle: "Sticky is my furry sister. She picked me to be her non-furry sister." Indeed she did.

This morning started off with some unexpected excitement; the OLS had Little G's 1st grade Phonics and Language Arts! The good news? He was super excited and we worked on Phonics today. The not so good news? They don't have 1st grade Math in there yet, nor is it listed in our orders. Of course, that is the one he wants the most, so I bought him a math workbook to hold him over until the OLS updates his curriculum.

In other academic news, we are currently studying Europe in K History. Today's focus was on Spain and I had G color Spain on his Europe map while we talked about it. I found a couple of beautiful time lapse videos on YouTube, which had both of my children saying they want to go to Spain.

They also did some Art, which I will share sometime this weekend. R chose her favorite illustration from a book she recently read, Clara and The Bookwagon, and it turned out amazing! Little G colored Spain's flag and his suitcase for our European adventures.

Over the weekend, I plan to spend some time working with G on his handwriting. His capital letters are great, but his lower case letters could use some refining. I also want to get him writing more sentences, which I'm sure can be easily accomplished just by encouraging him to write descriptive sentences about the things he loves. Like cats. And Math.

I am ready for the weekend. I'm sort of emotionally drained for non-school reasons, and I just want a day or two where I don't have to think about much of anything but snuggling up with my kids and maybe watching some movies, playing a little Monopoly, and getting lost in a good book. The chilly, windy, rainy, 55-degree weather almost begs for chili to be made, so I will probably be adding that to my to-do list as well.

Jack and the Beanstalk

As part of Little G's curriculum, Language Arts includes The Random House Book of Fairy Tales.

First, let me say that I am not a fan of fairy tales, so I wasn't exactly thrilled to have this as part of our curriculum. I get that fairy tales have are supposed to have lessons in them or whatever, and some do. But most of them are depressing at best, weird almost always, and sometimes downright creepy or just plain messed up. Jack and the Beanstalk seems to convey the message that being an idiot and a thief, making poor decisions, and taking unnecessary risks is a good thing. I hadn't heard the story since I was a child, despite the many fe-fi-fo-fum references in pop culture. I've learned my lesson: read all material before presenting it to the kids.

Despite the creepiness of the story and the poor message, Little G liked it. He answered all of the guiding questions very well and obviously has an excellent comprehension of the material. The one part I skipped was having him read it back to me, like I usually do with everything we read. Quite honestly, if I never hear that story again, it will be a good thing.

I'm really looking forward to getting him started on some material he can actually learn something from. He has to be assessed first, so while we wait I am doing what I've been doing right along - supplementing with material that is at his skill level. He enjoys second grade workbooks, and we have several. We read daily, and he is expressing interest in books with chapters now. I have learned that spelling and grammar are strong points for him, and he even helps his big sister when she gets stuck. Likewise, she helps him when reading instructions gets in his way. It's not that he can't, he just doesn't like to. Typical guy thing, and just like his mama! Ha!

We're still experiencing our "problem" of the kids wanting to do lessons at all hours. I'm just going ahead and letting them have their workbooks to do as they will with them. At this point in the early years of their learning years, they are familiar with most of the material. Holding them back would be doing exactly what I criticized public school for doing. It is amazing how much children will learn just because they want to. I think traditional schools ruin that natural curiosity and desire to know in many children. I mean, this is a far cry from last year when R would sit at her desk, following 7 hours of school, and be just totally burnt out and done with it all while we prodded her to continue. Hearing groans and complaints because it is bedtime and we have to put our workbooks back on the shelf is much more positive, in my opinion.

Week Two Wraps Up

As of today, we have completed our second week of homeschool! It was another enjoyable week, and we played with different schedule variations a bit. On Wednesday, Daddy had to work a couple of extra hours, so we used this time to do some extra lessons. On Thursday, we started bright and early in the morning and had most of our lessons finished by 10:15AM due to our jump start from the previous evening. The children were rewarded with a morning movie break for their hard work and great progress, and we wrapped up the remaining work after lunch.

The Math workbook is by far G's favorite, while R gravitates to the handwriting practice workbook. Both of them are doing great in all of their subjects, though G keeps asking me when he is going to start learning something in Math. They're going over shapes and colors, and he had that material mastered prior to preschool. "Mama, when can I learn multiplication?" he asks. We'll get there, little dude, I promise.

Language Arts is a great and challenging curriculum for both of them, and I'm taking some extra time there so they can learn both the Kindergarten and Grade 2 lessons together. The History curriculum also gets my approval, and the Kindergarten material is providing a great refresher course for R. Right now, we are studying the 7 continents and their well-known attributes, and both of my little students can name all of them. If they forget here and there, I can mention an animal or land attribute (i.e. penguins for Antarctica, the Great Wall for Asia, the Sahara Desert for Africa, and so on), and they will remember right away.

The internet, specifically YouTube, is a wonderful homeschool resource to compliment curriculum material. We watched videos about The Great Wall, kangaroos and the Great Barrier Reef, penguins, the Saharah, European castles, and this incredible Grand Canyon flyover:



R and G are learning, actually acquiring new information and retaining it, and being a part of this process is an honor and a gift. This feels right, like the way it is supposed to be. And not only do I enjoy having my family together and being a part of their learning, but I really like the teaching part!

I'm also still enjoying that bus passing right by our home, no stops required. I think I'll enjoy that indefinitely.

Groovy

We're finding a groove.

I am more grateful now than ever about finishing up my last few college credits via correspondence courses. It gave me an idea of what a partially web-based school curriculum would be like, taught me time management in terms of independent learning, and gave me the confidence to do teach my children using a method which can be very personally rewarding for students. I loved independent learning, and it appears that my children are feeling the same way.

Today we experienced our first Elluminate sessions with each of their virtual academy teachers. This is where students and/or parents/learning coaches have virtual conferences and assemblies via an online sort of Skype-like interface. It was a fun, highly interactive, and very informative experience for us. The children even had a chance to doodle on a white board, a program similar to Paint, with their classmates. It seemed a bit overwhelming at first, but it was actually very user-friendly and fun to use.

We are becoming comfortable with our scheduling very quickly and beginning to settle into a routine that works for us. It's not nearly as scary as it feels just starting out, and I am already identifying places where we can supplement some of the things I was hoping to fit in. Study Island (mentioned in my previous post) is something we enjoy doing pretty much any time of the day, since both R and G like to test their knowledge. The most difficult part for me so far is letting R answer her own questions on the assessments even when I know she's wrong. That is part of the learning process, and her skills need to be evaluated for what they are. I write down any areas where she seems to have hesitation, and come up with a fun way to help her understand it better. The main issue for her seems to be with reading all possible answers before making a selection, and following instructions, not the actual material. She is still Accelerated or Advanced across the board, so I'm not concerned. Similarly, Little G has scored Advanced in all of his assessments, never getting below 100% on any of them thus far.

This Kindergarten Phonics, though...ugh. It's frustrating the heck out of G - not because he doesn't know it, but because he's bored to tears. It's like asking a 9 year-old to do sight word flash cards. He was (no joke here) helping R study for her first grade spelling tests and instructing her on the proper way to pluralize words when he was in preschool last year because he had already mastered what she was learning. I will never forget hearing R mutter something in frustration at her desk as G said, very animated with hands going and all, "You have to drop the Y and add an I-E-S, sissy." I wrote a quick note to his teacher and asked if we could at least change his Study Island Reading items to first grade. She's awesome about getting back to us quickly, so I should know something as soon as tomorrow.

Since the Kindergarten Phonics is what it is, I am having G join in R's Phonics and Language Arts lessons. I even print extra worksheets for him so he can actually do the work, too. And I supplement a lot in this area. In addition to the curriculum, they both have at least an hour of independent reading each day. We also make time to take turns reading aloud to each other after we break for lunch. It is a relaxing way to get their minds back into thinking mode.

Daddy is also helping to supplement their curriculum. In the evenings and on the weekends, he is often doing math flashcards with them (addition, subtraction, and multiplication) or playing skill games like chess, checkers, or memory. I love this, because it is a great way for them to spend special time with Daddy while also learning. This is not anything new, but now that we have specific things to study, he discusses a lot of what they are learning.

We're all looking forward to getting started tomorrow. R has already asked me if I have printed out our lesson plans for the day yet. I have. We talked a little about what we have planned for the day, and she was literally jumping with joy about Science because we will be going around measuring things. And, for Music, stuffed animals will be participating. How cool is that!?

Very cool, indeed.

Study Island and Day Two

There is a neat little assessment tool which we became familiar (and a little obsessed) with today. It is called Study Island. We all enjoyed it, and the children's scores were as follows:

R

Pretest, reading:
Score: 100%

Phoenemic awareness, word recognition, and fluency (word sounds):
Goal: 68%
Score: 100% (Ad) Advanced

Acquisition of vocabulary; context clues:
Goal: 67%
Score: 100% (Ad) Advanced

Pretest, math:
Score: 100%

Number, number sense, and operations:
a. Place value
Goal: 70%
Score: 90.9% (Ad) Advanced

b. Compare and order whole numbers
Goal: 70%
Score: 90.9%

c. Odd and even numbers
Goal: 70%
Score: 100% (Ad) Advanced

d. Money
Goal: 70%
Score: 100% (Ad) Advanced

G

Math: Numbers, operations, and quantitative reasoning

a. Counting objects up to 20
Goal: 70%
Score: 100% (Ad) Advanced

b. Comparing Numbers
Goal: 70%
Score: 100% (Ad) Advanced

c. Ordering
Goal: 70%
Score: 100% (Ad) Advanced

d. Dividing in Half
Goal: 70%
Score: 100% (Ad) Advanced

This was actually a bit of fun that helped us all unwind a bit from what started as a somewhat stressful day. The OLS (online school) was suffering from some technical problems, and we (as well as many other K12 families) were suffering right along with it. I found myself thanking my lucky stars that I printed out my lesson plans for the day bright and early this morning before the birds even started chirping. I will make it a general plan from now on to print all lesson plans the night before, just to be extra safe.

Though I was admittedly stressed out, since I tend to prefer things super organized and highly predictable and because I could not access all of the information and was forced to miss out on a really cool connection opportunity with one of our virtual academy teachers, we managed to keep busy and even have fun with our offline studies until the technical issues were ironed out. Even on a stressful day, I still love this experience and felt us finding a bit of a groove today as we worked. I would even go so far as to say the technical issues were a bit of a blessing in disguise because it showed me we work well under pressure and the flexibility of the curriculum is a major benefit for many reasons.


I am witnessing myself some of the things that R's teacher told me last year about her strengths (most places) and the areas where she needs a bit of encouragement (focusing on the details instead of skimming, and counting money). It is a different perspective. It's one thing to hear it and know it, and another entirely to witness it and work with it. And, pleasantly, I am surprised how well R and I work as a team. My concerns are quickly fading, our collective enjoyment of the experience is already growing, and I am feeling truly blessed and incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to witness and be a part of my children's learning experience. Honestly, it almost feels too good to be true.

Today, we enjoyed Math and Language Arts, as we will every day. My only problem there is getting Little G to pace himself. We really need to move ahead for his sake, because he had three days worth of lessons completed in the five minutes - no kidding that it took me to set R up with her words list and book for her Language Arts lesson. I mean, he was done, and everything was correct. I think he could complete that entire math book in a day's time and not miss a beat. Fortunately, he cuts things very slowly, so I set him to work on making a shapes puppet. To quench his mathematical thirst for knowledge, we studied only Math in Study Island. He loved it. Eventually, his 5 year-old attention span won, daddy came home, and the two of them enjoyed a game of chess together.

Did I mention how much I love this? Because I do.

My precious R did a self portrait today as part of her Art curriculum, and I have to tell you I am still in awe of it. She is an artist. She comes by it honestly; her grandma Josephine and cousin Josie are also very creative and talented artists.

We didn't get to music today, but since we put in extra time on most of our other subjects, the plan is to have a lot of fun tomorrow with that.

Today I made a call to the transportation department to let them know that my children will not be attending the local elementary school and thus not taking the bus, so we should not have a repeat of the bus stopping and beeping like it did this morning. I will not miss that, though I do have to admit that I enjoyed watching it drive away with absolutely zero anxiety about the fact that we were not curbside, dressed, backpacked, and ready to leave for 8 hours. I relished making breakfast in our own time, doing school in pajamas again (because we can!), and inviting Sticky and a few bears to join us for our lessons. The big yellow bus, once so anticipated with innocent smiles and hopes and dreams, lost much of its appeal by the end of Kindergarten for my sweet R. I hated that. But the smiles are returning now instead of fading, and there is nothing in this world that could ever mean as much to me as knowing my children (and husband) are happy.

Designer Curriculum

Today was an exciting day for Little G! His virtual academy 'homeroom' teacher, Mrs. M., called today and G had a chance to talk to her. And, of course, it didn't take him long to find a way to work numbers into the conversation. After asking G a few questions, Mrs. M. asked him if he had any questions for her. "Yes," he said. "What is 4 plus 4?" She said she thought she knew that one, and answered 8. "Correct!" he said, delightedly. His face lit up like it was Christmas, as usually happens when anyone is willing to talk numbers with him.

Mrs. M. and I talked about G's speech, the fact that he is well beyond the Kindergarten phonics and probably the Kindergarten math, and she shared some ideas on bumping up his curriculum. We're going to start him in the later Kindergarten Phonics lessons now, and - depending on the results of his reading assessment, which I am sure will be ahead of grade level - the plan is to get him working on grade 1 Phonics. I was so excited about this, because I was figuring I would just continue teaching him reading and writing using the grade 2 workbooks I've been using for most of the summer. He has been reading books for more than a year, so the sight word flash cards and learning letter sounds is a few steps backwards. I'm glad his curriculum is flexible. That's something a bricks and mortar school cannot offer, at least in such a custom fit way, right now. I told the kids we have a "designer curriculum".

The unexpected twist in plans was that G will be doing a part-time curriculum instead of full-time. I had been slowly coming to terms with this before today, simply because it was taking so long for the issue to be ironed out. Today, we were given options and I feel like, with the input from two teachers, we made the right choice for G. We were given the option of trading History for the Science we really wanted, but since Science is a strong point for me and I was already brainstorming ways to create a Science curriculum on my own for him, I opted to keep the History and have G study grade 2 Science with R. This is one of the many benefits of having two students just a couple of years apart. Mrs. M. suggested that we could log some of G's science studies as Technology.

I'm feeling even more excited about the start of our school year now. Autumn is fast approaching, which means we will have the chance to do some really cool seasonal activities to compliment our curriculum. We will be doing some fun things with apples, thanks to some great experiences from the kids' preschool days that I want to keep repeating. It's a surprise, but I will be sharing soon!

Cool Things

This morning, I logged into the OLS (online school) to browse announcements and check my e-mail. In my inbox was an introduction and bio from the teachers who we will be working with as Little G navigates his Kindergarten year on our homeschool adventure. And I could not believe what I read; one of the teachers also has a degree in communicative disorders!

Since Little G has a diagnosis of expressive/receptive speech disorder, the only concern I had about homeschool (or any school, really) was the possibility of encountering issues where is receptive communication challenges would become an issue. Let's just say I feel a whole lot less concerned now! I was so excited that I immediately e-mailed her to introduce myself and tell her about my son. Any trepidation I felt about plunging into this unknown continues to ease, as these little affirmations seem to be popping up at every turn.

Truly, my only frustration at this point is that I still have not received any science, art, or music curriculum for Little G, and he actually became very upset and started to cry about this when he realized it this afternoon. His favorite things, in order, are math, music, science, and art. And since he will blow through the phonics and language arts at warp speed with little challenge, if any, the lack of science doesn't leave a whole lot to his core courses. Hopefully I can get this rectified tomorrow.

Meanwhile, G did enjoy going through what he already has, which are below:



Pictured are mostly Little G's materials, but a few items of R's. In the upper photo, G poses with his phonics materials, inflatable globe, map, and some reading materials. Below we have math manipulatives, beans, grass seeds, a pile of workbooks on top of a pile of reading books, a slide whistle, a (hot pink!) tambourine, and 3-D shapes. I can't seem to stop playing with the tambourine, heh. I think we are all going to enjoy the music, even if Little G doesn't get his materials. It's not like we're going to leave him out of the fun!

It's Official

I will have a two-student classroom as of the end of this month! I'm excited and scared at the same time, filled with hope and optimism with a healthy shot of trepidation thrown in for good measure. I'm feeling very thankful for having had the experience of completing a couple of my college classes by way of independent learning, because that experience has prepared me in many ways for this. Time management is key, and it eases my mind knowing that we will find our groove after a few weeks and the fear of the unknown will be behind us.

As it turned out, R heard G and I discussing his Kindergarten curriculum and some of the things we planned to do as far as field trips and hands-on learning, and she became more interested by the day. Finally, she just flat out asked me if she could be homeschooled, too. I had been on the fence about her. I never suggested she try homeschooling, but I did let her know the option was open if she wanted. I have been working closely and constantly with G from the time he was a baby because of his speech disorder and autism, so we work extremely well together and I feel confident being his learning coach. With R, it is an unknown. She could be less than pleasant during some of her homework assignments, but I'm not sure how much of that was how we work together and how much was saturation point - the simple fact that a 7 year-old child started her school day by getting on the bus at 8:30am and was still dealing with school at 6:30pm.

I don't want to sound like I am anti-homework. In fact, quite the opposite is true. I felt such a disconnect with my daughter being in public school, and I sincerely welcomed the opportunity to be involved in her education in any way. I think homework is an excellent way for parents to show an interest in their child's education and spend time together working on something important. But I wanted to be involved more, especially in the more enjoyable aspects of the learning process before the end of the day has come and we're all just exhausted and pressing through the motions so we can get to bed and start over the next day.

Until she started public school, I was highly involved in my daughter's learning experiences. And I loved it. I hoped I would adjust to her going off to school. Society says I am supposed to; age 5 is when children are expected to leave the family home for as many as 8 hours per day to begin their structured educations. But it just felt like something had been stolen, from all of us. And when my sweet girl was bullied, and coming home with an education I did not sign up for, it only made things feel more wrong. But at the same time, she thrived academically and undeniably had wonderful teachers. I did not want to take that experience from her by encouraging her to follow my heart; I want her to follow her own heart.

I guess I didn't realize just how much I truly wanted her to want to do homeschool with us. I kept asking over and over to make sure, and her decision did not waver. And since our decision was made, our home has been filled with more happiness than we've collectively experienced for some time. I no longer dread the start of school, I look forward to it excitedly as we begin our new journey as a family, the way I feel it ought to be. For us.

And the curriculum? Fantastic! I have a great deal to say about that, and I will soon.