Sidewalk Chalk and Long Summer Days

On Saturday we had no plans. My husband took our eldest out for an early bike ride. I stayed in bed as long as I could (8 a.m.), although I had technically been awake since 6:20 a.m. because of one of the small ones.

I can already see how the summer is shaping up. They spent an hour on each activity (chalk, playing in the dirt, riding bikes, jumping rope/running around, etc.) Still, occasionally I would hear the complaint that they had “nothing to do.” Their friends (neighbors) did come out to play – and there was no more whining after that.

There are always bike rides to the playground, park, and swimming pool, too.

WWYD?

It was around 11:20 p.m. on a Friday night in our small town (less than 3000) in middle America. The peace of the night (and my newly found sleep) was shattered by fireworks. They lasted less than 10 minutes, but they were disruptive and loud, especially because they were not “in season.”

The law in our area is some fireworks are allowed in the weeks before and after Independence Day. Many fireworks are not allowed even then.

My children were all asleep in their beds. Have you ever had (many) kids wake up to loud noises (storms, sirens, squealing tires) and try to crawl into bed with you in the middle of the night? Would you call the police (on their non-emergency number) and report it? Or lay in bed praying silently for the people to stop before the kids wake up?

So Far, So Good

I’ve written lately about our “finals week” and our upcoming “summer plans.” So far, we are on track for finals week even though we have had our bumps in the road. We like to get all our school done in the morning, but on Monday, it just didn’t happen. We ended up finishing half our subjects after dinner. It went a bit better today, but only because I punted on school after completing the “must dos.”

I’ve been following this blog since last fall. As I said before, most of the homeschoolers we know are year-rounders. That is true for the Gray Family Circus as well, it seems. I recently checked back to see how things were going as they are using some of the same materials we are (Spell to Write and Read) and/or some we are planning on using (Story of the World, Prima Latina, Apologia Astronomy) and I wanted to see how they worked out for them.

I am always interested in reading how other curriculums that we don’t use go as well. I’ve seen several comments lately about First Language Lessons not being a good ‘fit’ for their child. I’m very interested in hearing how some people use the McCall-Crabbs book for reading comprehension as I have been wavering on shelling out the big bucks for that book. I have looked at R.E.A.L. Science material previously and will probably continue to keep an eye on it for the future.

 I’ll probably write about how finals week went after it is over. Stay tuned!

Hoodlum or Munchkin?

I have many names for my brood of children. I’ve been told not to call them “hoodlums” because they do not fit the definition (thug, ruffian, bully). Technically this is true, but if you lived with them, you would understand why I sometimes refer to them as a group of hoodlums!

For example, my kids could be squeaky clean and freshly starched when they exit our house. (Reality check:  They are rarely both at the same time, but it does happen occasionally.) Give them 15 minutes outdoors and at least two of them will emerge as the spitting image of White Trash (also referred to by some as “trailer trash”). I cannot tell you how many pars of pants have become shorts due to holes in the knees. Oxiclean and Shout are mandatory for each load of laundry. Smudged faces, sticky fingers (I don’t want to know!), and tangled hair are part of my hourly cleanup tasks.

But I was still surprised to overhear one of my children ask two of the others which they were:  munchkin or hoodlum?

Do you have any nicknames that you refer to your family/kids as?

Summer Plans – No Structure But Some Ideas

I thought about this previously, but was motivated to add it after reading cellista’s “Is it May or is it me?” post.

Most home schoolers I know are year rounders. We are not. I want my summer break!

I don’t want to stick to a schedule in the summer. I want to sleep in (as much as the kids will let me, that is), not have my chores done by 9:30 (start of school), or worry about getting something done each day for the official record.

Do I think learning should stop in the summer? No! Swim lessons are on the list for this summer.  I have a ‘review’ book or two for the oldest to work on “for fun” when she is “bored.” The local library will have a summer reading club that we may take part in each week. I hope to teach the eldest and possibly #2 to write in cursive using sidewalk chalk. There may even be some spur of the moment science experiments to go with the flowers and plants the kids are growing.

But if something goes wrong, if it all fails miserably, I won’t stress about it. It is summer – a time for fun in the sun and great memories. Besides, in our house, no one wants to do school on beautiful days.

And I have to plan my schedule for next year. But that is fodder for another post, another time.

Society is Definitely Anti-Family

I have been thinking about Teresa’s post patriarchy hates families, not just women since I read it yesterday. I definitely agree with her thesis, if not all the specifics. The government and society in general have it out for intact families.

The tax code, welfare system, and financial aid of several kinds have all traditionally penalized those in intact, two-parent, married households. I have read that employers used to (pre-WWII) pay men a “living wage.” It would allow them to live reasonably and support what people would refer to now as a bigger sized family (3-4 kids). It is difficult to do that since the time when society started to discriminate against “traditional” families without giving up some of the “perks” which are a given in most households (cable TV, two cars, etc.).

While I would not consider myself a feminist as she does, I agree with her diatribe against the “patriarchy” and that women fight amongst themselves to our own detriment. I am pro-family, not anti-woman. In Teresa’s conclusion, she calls on the feminists (indeed, all women) to empower those who put their family first.

Until we as a society consistently teach our children that the family is the bedrock of our civilization upon which everything else is built, the ‘hand that rocks the cradle‘ will be seen as weak.

Raise your kids to respect and honor what each parent does. Speak out and show an example of your inner strength. Try, one child at a time, to change the future. We each have to do our part.

Finals Week

As I wrote previously, we need to assess our progress for this school year. I have made up a schedule for finals week. Friday is currently scheduled for a day of FUN! Hopefully, we will get everything done before then so Friday will only be fun.

As I test something, it will drop off the list of subjects to teach each day. Otherwise, I will continue to teach my usual subjects. Some things have been evaluated already, so the list is not all-inclusive.

Monday: Test all phonograms. Test map skills (geography).
Tuesday: Write Bible story & draw picture. Reading level evaluation.
Wednesday: Test weekly spelling words. Take Catechism/Prayer test.
Thursday: Test spelling level. Final math test.
Friday:  Clean out desk. GAMES.

Sunrise, Sunset. Swiftly Flow the Days

The school year is coming to a close. Part of the ‘end of school year’ process at our house is assessing progress and assigning an official “grade” for subjects. Sometimes, just figuring out what we want to assess is a lengthy process.

Some of the subjects are cut and dried. Take Math, for instance. The curriculum has tests about once per week. Average the oral and written grades for each for the whole year and there is your final grade. Voila! There is no “final exam” because we use a spiral curriculum.

Other subjects are much more murky. How do I assess my eclectic science year? We used a Charlotte Mason approach and did a lot of experiments. I don’t want to ‘test’ in this subject at her low elementary grade level. But I do want to reward her for her year of learning and interest with an official record of this subject.

I just got done making up a ‘final exam’ for her Catechism work. It will make up half of her Religion grade with the other half coming from an evaluation of her remembrance of our twice weekly Bible readings throughout the year.

It is interesting to look back at the school year to see what we learned and to look forward to the books we have already gotten in the mail for next school year. It is a sense of accomplishment followed by more than a small dose of excitement.