Day 3: Communism

Yesterday was our attempt at communism.

As soon as I mentioned what kind of government we would have, my 8yo became very depressed. Later he told me all of the images he had of an oppressed society. He didn't settle down till I announced our communism day was over at 10:30. I realized how much he values his freedom. The other two kids, 6 & 4, went along with it since they realized it was all pretend. My 6yo was a really good worker, saying that since he watched so much TV the day before he knew he needed to work.

I realized I'm too soft to ever be a dictator. I also realized how much my 8yo is understanding about freedom and the different governments we've talked about. Lately he's been very interested in nations and slavery and oppressed people and how does that all happen. How do the people let others rule them like that? This all hit that home nicely. I think I could definitely do this again sometime, imitating other forms of government like socialism, monarchy/aristocracy, etc.

Anarchy

Thursday was our day of anarchy. I set up a few rules:

1. Do what you want to do when you want to do it.
2. If you break it, you buy it.
3. Be safe.
4. No one is in charge.

The kids ate a bunch of granola bars all day and played a lot of Wii and watched some TV. The house stayed quite clean considering there was no one doing anything to clean it. I enjoyed a one hour work out and a couple of hours reading a book. At the end of the day, though, we all acknowledged feeling very lazy, not energetic, and a couple of the kids admitted to having a TV headache.

But my 6yo told his grandma that it was the best day ever.

One thing I learned is that my kids are pretty good at governing themselves. I sure like knowing I can trust that!

Freedom Test: Democracy

My kids are always saying, "But I don't ever get to do what I want to do."

So last week, we talked about how real freedom requires responsibility and thinking of others. And since then, I've reminded them a lot that sometimes we don't have the freedom to do what we want to but we still have the freedom to choose how we feel/think about it. aka...complain or be happy.

They still don't get it.

So I decided to do a Freedom Test. Over the next few days, our home will mimic 4 types of government. Democracy, Anarchy, Tyranny/Communism (I haven't decided which one yet), and the Kingdom of God approach (Pre-determined commandments and blessings/consequences, but the use of agency).

Today was Democracy day. We voted on lots of things. Majority ruled. Offenses and injuries were brought before a judge.

Main things we learned:

• The hardest worker is rewarded the most.
• Majority rules. If the majority chooses a rule/method, we all have to follow through with it even if it's not our preferred choice.
• We still have to take care of the poor and the weak.
• The penal system is complicated. When my son came to me with a complaint about his sister, I told him I would meet with him and her in 10 minutes to judge the situation. In the next 10 minutes, he asked what the punishment would be, he asked why I might not punish her, I suggested that he drop the charges and just work it out with her. I tried to explain it in terms an 8yo would understand. I tried to explain representatives, lawsuits, punishments based on precedent. In the end, I didn't have very many chances to have the kids judged...they behaved really well today. I was hoping for some major conflicts that would incur the wrath and punishments of a judge.

I better understand why it takes an educated people to understand Democracy. It's a complicated system.

When I got out of the shower, the kids were reading books or "working" (my 4yo daughter) in workbooks. Instead of starting the school day with me telling them what to do, I decided that I didn't need to suggest a law when it was already being obeyed. So I just sat on the couch and followed their lead. I listened as my 8yo showed me pictures and read me stuff from a book about Egypt. I resisted the temptation to tell them what to do next. When they were done reading, I let them vote on whether they wanted to play or do a learning activity. My 6yo asked if they could do a learning activity on the computer. I told them that they could if they voted for it. Majority ruled. They did math games on the computer until lunch time. And they got along with each other.

After lunch was gymnastics. We had a surprise visit from Grandma and she spent the rest of the day with us. We only voted a few more times, and the kids spent the rest of the day playing with their cousins. But I did have them establish their own rules for Wii play. Which turned out to be very nice. I didn't hear the usual bickering that I hear when they play on the Wii.

My biggest Ah-ha. On the way to gymnastics, my 4yo and 6yo did not tease each other at all. They were talking nicely with each other. I think it's because I didn't stress them out this morning with always telling them what to do all the time and giving them the freedom to do good things. I also think it's because they were in charge of what they could do.

Tomorrow...Anarchy. I plan on sleeping in, getting in a full hour work-out, only fixing food for myself (and baby), only washing my own dishes, and catching up on some much-needed reading. As for the kids, we'll see what happens.

And the next day, Communism. I'll have to put everyone to work to fix what happens after a day of Anarchy. Plus, the pay won't be good at all.

A Learning Rich Environment

Years ago, I realized that having a learning rich environment was going to be an essential ingredient of my mothering and of my children's education. I think it's the foundation upon what I allow in the home and what I veto. It's also an attitude I have towards what kinds of things I encourage my kids to spend their time doing. For example, I try not to interrupt them when they are "practicing/playing" the piano even if they do have chores to do because I want them to develop their musical talents. We have several maps up in the house...the World and the US maps in the kitchen that frequently spawn geography discussions. We have book shelves everywhere, including in both of the kids' bedrooms. I used to keep the crayons and markers out of my oldest son's reach when he was little to avert messes, then I decided to make them more accessible to everyone. They're on the 4th shelf of the bookshelf so my baby doesn't get into them at will. My daughter gets them down daily to draw, color, or write. (Maybe that's why my oldest has an aversion to writing...I prohibited him free access to it when he was 3...). I try to be available to answer their questions. Sometimes I try to encourage the older one to find his own answers.

My house often looks this crazy!

I try to say Yes to my kids. I so often tell them No, we can't do that right now--so it's really good when I tell them Yes. Usually it's something that creates a mess or requires a lot of me/time to make it happen. Lately, my 6yo has just been doing his own thing when I tell him Yes. Sometimes I just have to take a deep breath and allow him to do it his own way because I know it's ultimately good for him to try and succeed or try and fail on his own. He also is exercising his independence and leadership when he does that. My 4yo daughter will just do it anyway...so it's better when I give her permission so I don't have to scold her later. 

I also try not to interrupt my children when they are doing "constructive" play...like pretend play and cooperative play and inventive/building play. Lately, I've been getting a little stingy about the types of toys I allow in the house. There are so many "junk" toys out there that don't encourage make believe play or interaction or invention/building and just make lots of messes, so I've been putting my foot down on those. And I've encouraged their Grandma's to get them toys and activities that encourage learning. We still get plenty of "junk" toys from birthday parties. But I try to limit what they bring home on their own. I think that helps.

Educational Philosophies

A friend on Facebook asked me advice as to what to do to get ready to homeschool her children. Her oldest is 2, so she has a bit of time to research things. This is what I said to her. I would like to share this because it's basically a compilation and record (for myself) of the research I've done on homeschooling methods/philosophies for the past several years.

It's good that you want to start gathering information already. The best thing I can recommend is to do a bunch of reading...I think it's important to decide how you want to home educate your children. Because each way is so different, it's important that you do your research and decide on something that can provide a great foundation for your home education. The reason why I say that is that there are SO MANY resources, educational philosophies, and curriculums. But if you choose an educational philosophy that resonates with you, it will be easier to narrow down what you feel like with work with you and your family. The reason why I say you is that you will be their primary educator, so you need to choose a philosophy that really resonates with you.

Here are some educational philosophies that are worth looking into. Just check out books from the library at first...only buy the ones that resonate with you.
www.homeschool.com has a bunch of other resources if you want to pick and choose your curriculum/resources. They also have a bunch of webcasts that you can listen to that give you a general idea of the different philosophies. I've listened to some of them and haven't thoroughly researched these things. But at least I have a basic understanding what each one is and it has helped me realize if it's for me or not.


School at home:
Basically it looks a lot like school at home...textbooks, workbooks, assignments, quizzes, etc.
www.k12.com is a good example of what this looks like.


Non-traditional types of schooling:
Unschooling: Look up Unschooling on the internet and you'll come across some articles written by a male teacher who got fed up with the educational system and started promoting unschooling. Basically...provide your kids with tools for learning, don't force them to learn, and they will amaze you with how much they want to learn and how much they do learn.

Charlotte Mason: She seems to focus on early education...nature studies, children's natural curiosity. She encourages a lot of reading, especially living books which would be like classics and scripture.

Waldorf: Chants and rote memorization in the early years combined with life skills like knitting, sculpting in bees wax, baking. Waldorf describes what ages learn which skills best. He doesn't push reading and writing until 1st/2nd grade. Lots of nature time.

Lapbooking and Unit studies: A unit study is when you take one topic (like astronomy) and bring in a bunch of subjects to teach it (read stories, work math problems, do science experiments, read history of astronomers). Lapbooks are a popular way of bringing the unit study together in a portfolio form.

Montessori: Systematically teaching your child one skill that builds upon another. Encourages learning at one's own pace. Uses a lot of touch and manipulative. There are many charter schools that use her methods.


Classical education:
Book: The Well-Trained Mind: education based on the Trivium. Early grades focus on the grammar of learning--memorization of facts. Middle years focus on bringing that learning into context. Later years focus on rhetoric--being able to effectively communicate that learning to others. The book is very detailed in the curriculum it recommends and even gives sample scheduling as to how to implement it in the home.

Book: Thomas Jefferson Leadership Education: A classical based education based off of the kind of education the founding fathers received...from mentors, not teachers. The way the mentor (parent or other) guides the child (the learner is in charge of his/her education, the mentor guides and inspires the education but doesn't force it) in learning changes as they move through phases. Preserving the Love of Learning throughout all phases is essential.
Core phase (0-8 yrs) is all about right/wrong, good/bad, work/play.
Love of Learning (9-12ish) begins to love reading, learning, experimenting, exploring, inventing, etc, but still engages in a lot of childhood play.
Scholar phase (13-18) is when the learner buckles down and really studies...often 8+ hours a day. Gaps are filled in, learning really happens.
Depth phase (19-25) is essentially college...where the depth and breadth of learning and knowledge happens.
Mission phase (life) is when you take your knowledge and learning and pass it along to others through the special life mission that is God's gift to you as a unique person.

The philosophy that resonates the most with me is the Thomas Jefferson Leadership Education. But it took a few years after reading the book the first time for me to really agree with it. :) I don't follow their recommendations, I do my own thing. A lot of homeschoolers do their own thing...mix and match. They call it eclectic homeschooling.

I hope this all helps!

A Peep into our Homeschool Life

I am taking some classes for me...for the MOM and I love, love, love them. This summer, I took a class about energy management and renewal. I studied several youth classics like Heidi, The Bronze Bow, Little Men. Right now I'm studying Uncle Tom's Cabin. And I'm taking a class about the nuts and bolts of homeschooling...simplifying, family work, and I forget the name of the last session. I just listened to the recording of the class on simplifying (since I'm not able to attend at the time). And it was so good. I decided to email the teachers and this is what I wrote them. I'm sharing this on my blog because so many people ask me what my homeschool day looks like and this covers it a bit:

I just now watched the recording and I just have to say THANK YOU! I always need the reminder to simplify. For me, it's mostly about simplifying my schedule. But I also have found that simplifying my stuff helps me sail through a busier schedule better. A few months ago, we purged about 1/2 of all of our kids' toys. I'm ready to get rid of more. :) Always. I've always been pretty good about minimal clothing. I have 4 kids and just 2 dressers. They each have 3 drawers and it helps me keep up on the laundry. There's no way I can go a week with letting the laundry pile up, somebody will run out of something.

I'll just share a little about what's going on with me right now. I have kids 8, 6, 4, 1. We're already busy with music lessons, soccer season, Cub Scouts and me being a new Den leader (with the learning curve), a LOLIPOP group with me being a project leader, twice-a-month homeschool park days, working at my husband's office one afternoon a week (because I already tried doing the marketing from home for 2 years and I just didn't get much done--he started his own business 2 3/4 years ago so it's still in the building phase), and watching my 5yo nephew once a week so his mom can get quality 1 on 1 time with her 10yo Love Of Learning daughter...that's my family service.

Some weeks, I can handle it. I'm so glad I started meditating a few months ago...and that I decided to work on anger management. August and September were really bad months for me. My 4yo daughter started saying the "I hate you" phrase a little too much because I was wound up a little too much and my voice was a little too harsh too often. But sometime in September, the meditation started kicking in and more often than not, I find myself handling situations with more calm and perspective instead of just reacting.

Last week, because I don't feel right about pulling out of the music lessons (I'm committed for the semester) and soccer season right now, I decided to simplify my academic expectations for them. (It's not like our schooling schedule was even rigorous...I was only doing core subjects once a week since they are all basically Core phasers: Monday was Math day, Tuesday was History/Countries, Wednesday was Science, and Thursday was Grammar/Spelling.) But with our schedule and chores and their need to practice their music lessons, it was taking a toll and they really just wanted to play anytime we were home. So last week, I told them that we would put a hold on the formal schooling and just get back to the basics...work, reading time, play, and music practice. I even put reading time right after breakfast instead of requiring the work first because they always gravitate to the couch with a book right after breakfast. I used to fight that and push them to work, but now I'm trying the devotional and reading. They sure like it. I still have to push them to do their work after reading time...they just want to play. It's working, usually. Each of them is also more prone to wanting to practice their music. I will probably keep it this way until somebody starts asking/begging to do core subjects again.

I still feel like I don't have enough time in my days. My afternoons are too busy so I'm not getting as much personal study time in and they aren't getting as much quiet time in. I'm sure there is more I can do to simplify our family schedules. I love the idea of saving mornings for home. I can't wait until my oldest is old enough to leave home with the napping baby...that's one of the hardest parts of having all young children. Any time I have to go somewhere, everyone has to come, too, whether they like it or not.

I would ask for your suggestions, but I know that I just need to pray and ask God how I need to simplify. The last time I asked Him what I should take out (I'm always telling my husband that I'll be happy to quit any time he can find a replacement for me), I actually got an interesting answer...I felt like He didn't want me to remove anything but that He wanted me to keep doing these things and learn (efficiency? leadership? better time management? household management? delegation?) and grow because of everything I'm doing.

One thing I've done is implemented a more solid reading time which includes poetry and regular reading from classics. I'm building in the devotional. I'm so hit and miss with that. When I do bring back regular academics, it will be when one or more of my kids wants more learning after our reading time is done.

Thanks for letting me ramble.

One thing is Constant

Change.

Since my last post, a whole lot in our life has changed. We welcomed a baby boy into our family last April! Needless to say, the '10 and '11 school year came and went and now my next son is reading, my oldest loves math, and my 3yo daughter is trying to keep up with everyone!! It's a constant struggle trying to figure out what's "best" for our family, but it's a great struggle to have.

We added something to our "school time" that we have just loved...hiking with another homeschool family. We live in the perfect place for hiking (near Prescott, AZ). It's something I've loved all my life and I decided the best way to incorporate it into my own life is to include my children.


It's fun to turn heads as just a couple of moms and 7 young children go hiking in the middle of a school day. And it's awesome because our kids are learning tons of stuff! As we hike, we stop to look at plants, insects, birds, reptiles, deer, the geology, and we get exercise along with learning how to be tough, be persistent, navigate the trails, reach goals, hang out with friends, and just have fun.