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Raising Little Shoots

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Everything posted by Raising Little Shoots

  1. In case it helps anyone else, I found this thread: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/55942-any-suggestions-for-living-books-for-biology/
  2. Wonderful idea. So now I need to find myself a GCSE level, biology living book. Any suggestions?
  3. You have given me hope :) We are awaiting the textbook arriving in the post...and the textbook is only part of the learning...we will be meeting once a week with 2 other girls who are taking the same course. I have been running a science club for them for the last several months & they are a smashing bunch together. We have great discussions about what we (yes, me too) are learning.
  4. Kerry, you hit the nail on the head...we do so much to give our children the ideal...but we are in the real world. If she wants to go to uni (& I hope she will!) she needs to pass at least 5 GCSE's...so they are not just tests along the way...they are a big deal for her future.
  5. This this is the whole point of my post...this is what I have tired to do with my children's education...but now I have to teach for the test. In this case, the textbook is right! It will contain this information she needs to know (to pass the test). And the test is very important. GCSE's are what get you into college, college quals are what get you into university.
  6. Thank you for your encouraging reply, Denise. I have just downloaded the 'Powerful Discussions' talk :)
  7. I have just seen these audios in the Circe store & I am tempted.. Beauty in the Chaotic, Ordinary Homeschool The Three Steps: How to Lead Powerful Discussions The Fool's Guide to Cultivating Wisdom and Virtue Has anyone heard these talks?
  8. Hello all I am posting for thoughts from wiser, & more experienced mums :) I am English. The education system is such that children take their exams (G.C.S.E's) at age 16. They take a lot of them all at once...usually, between 5 & 11 separate exams is the norm. We have decided to start Elianna on the syllabus for the IGCSE in September (I stands for international - it can be done purely by exam, is the norm for home ed families as GCSE is part controlled assessment) We need to register her for the June exam in January, so we will have a short time to see how she is getting on (she will be 13 yo when she takes the exam) Many home ed families space exams like this, & I am hoping to avoid the pressure of many exams all at one time. So, getting to the point of this post...I have tried over our time of home educating, to keep in the forefront of my mind CM's ideal of 'Ideas not facts'. By the nature of the exam, (let's not get started on that one!) and of course to some extent, the nature of the subject, this is going to be more of a facts over ideas course. Please may I ask for thoughts on keeping an atmosphere of Truth, Beauty, & Goodness in our home? Her day is going to be very 'meaty' - but not many subjects. Mon-Thurs she will have maths, Latin, & Language arts in the morning. Monday afternoons are nature study & Lit, Tues & wednesday afternoons we will have afternoon tea together. On Tues we will have poetry, picture study, & lit, Weds afternoon will be poetry , philosophy (discussion using 'Philosophy for kids'), & classical studies (the trojan war) When I say poetry, that is CM style read aloud & discuss...same for Lit & classical studies. 1 x month for more formal poetry study. Thursday afternoons are for bi-weekly creative art, bi-weekly home ed social. In the evenings, she will be doing about 45 mins biology Mon - Thursday, plus her assigned reading which she does at night time, Mon-Fr. Friday mornings are history,(reading / outlining) science club with two other girls working on the same course & afternoons are either home ed group, field trips, or just a short day. Thoughts please..Truth, Beauty, and Goodness? Thank you if you made it to the end of this lengthy post! ETA history - oops! I forgot history!
  9. My 12 year old daughter will be reading come of Perrault's fairy tales this coming year & I would like to give her two or three writing assignments relating to the fairy tales. Would anyone care to make suggestions? Thanks for reading.
  10. I have heard John Dewey mentioned a couple of times in negative ways and wondered how nest to find out more. From what I gather, he was a proponent of progressivism? Please could someone point me in the direction of a resource to find out more? Thank you!
  11. For the last year I have used an A4 sketchbook that has a bazillion pages. I have only two children, so a 2 page spread covers a week for me. I mark the 2 page spread with a column for days of the week, & record any places we went to. The rest of the spread has boxes marked for each of the following: Communication, reading & Lit, creativity, science & tech, maths, other Each child has their own colour marker (& I use another colour to denote anything they did together. It only takes 2 minutes each week to mark out my grid & I *loved* this system! It really worked for me & I will be doing it again this coming year. I also included a few photos of each week on the next double page spread so I can keep it as a memory book of their year.
  12. Thanks :) hmm, why do I feel guilty?? Well, I was trained to feel that way as a child ;) But to get back on topic, there are so many different philosophies out there, I always wonder if I have got it wrong for my kids. It doesn't paralyse me - this is my 8th year of official HE - & each day I am able to get up & get on with it. I don't lie in bed dithering about it. But my own education was poor, and I seek to provide my children with a better education, which has mostly been inspired by the writings of Charlotte Mason. So I wonder - What if I am wrong? What they would do better if we unschooled??? I can never provide them with an amazing education, because I am not well educated enough myself (though I am always reading, always learning by my self.) I always doubt myself. When I read the article, I thought, here we go! Stop reading! But that initial phrase lured me in..the author remembered home, but not school. But it got me thinking (& not for the first time!) perhaps they would do better if they could follow their own interests. My 9 yo resists school time every day. It is exhausting. And no, my expectations of her are not too great. She works in short increments with plenty of time for play. Which is really important to her. She talks to her stuffed & wooden animals all day long :) And I love that about her :001_wub: Thanks for reading, I realise I am most likely not making much sense!
  13. This makes such sense to me. I have studied & have my own convictions about what education should be for my own family. But along with guilt (did I mention I suffer with guilt!!???) often comes doubt. I think because no one I know schools like I do. And so I wonder...what do they know that I don't???? As my eldest is only 11, I am still very much in the thick of it & have no 'proof in my pudding' so to speak :) That is why I like this forum & the S to S blog. Others, like yourself, have BTDT.
  14. I am aware that I have a strong tendency to feel guilty. I am aware that I have absorbed the message that school should always be fun. And it isn't always in my house. In fact Mon-Thurs in our home is cracking on with the fundamentals of education as I see them - Latin, maths, grammar, lots of reading etc. Fri we have a bit of fun ;) Science & art. I am well aware that I came to reading this post with baggage. And the author is of course not responsible for that! However, I am more frustrated than ever to find that an author who says that of her own childhood remembers little school, and quotes "The best way to teach is to not have to teach at all", actually spends a couple of hours each day on lessons (with younger elementary students) This, IMO is confusing best & misleading at worst. (Please note, I have not been back & read these comments myself, I am going on the words of another poster, whom I have no reason to doubt.) I actually agree with so much of this article - giving children access to educational resources, order, and masterly inactivity (the author calls it allowing boredom) Yes! This is inspiring! I also understand that bogland is only a slice of life, presented with whatever slant the writer wishes to show....but...& here is where I always doubt myself & have to remind myself to think on my own personal convictions for my own family. Not teaching at all is not an option for me...but neither for the author it appears, on closer inspection. I hope this makes sense. Thanks all for reading.
  15. Thank you to everyone for sharing your thoughts. I think what struck me about this article was the initial part that I copied & pasted. Namely this: when I’m asked what my homeschool days were like I usually respond, “I remember home but I don’t remember any school.†I have really had to study hard this summer to be more convinced that what I am doing is right for my family, and this article makes me feel guilt. This is presented as the way education should be...not remembering any school. My real life friends have tried to convince me that unschooling is the way forward...it always sounds so perfect, unlike having a child bemoaning doing their maths ;) I haven't read the comments, but I was surprised that the mother who wrote this article spends a couple of hours on formal academics...is it just me??? Because I did not get that from the article itself. “The key is … laziness! The best way to teach is to not have to teach at all. Ideally, our children should learn how to learn and begin to teach themselves.â€
  16. A big forest behind our house, lots of free time to read, a garden, science fairs, a playhouse, maps on the wall, Legos, an old piano, sketch books, almost no TV, and a library card. These were the key components of my homeschool education growing up. In fact, when I’m asked what my homeschool days were like I usually respond, “I remember home but I don’t remember any school.†A lazy girl's guide to home education Can we talk about this post? Almost everyone I know IRL seems to unschool..& while I know why I have chosen to do things the way I do, posts like this give me the wobbles..It just sounds so, well, idyllic. Does this reflect your experience of home education?
  17. Thank you. It is always very encouraging to hear from other mums who have older children & 'been there, done that.' :)
  18. Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, we are British ;) I have a loose plan to take her to age 14, when she would begin to study for GCSE's - exams that are usually taken at age 16 (can be taken earlier/later but 16 is the norm) She is for the most part, a really mature & hard worker. (most part ;) ) Our routine is really working for her. Maths is her least favourite. She does 1/2 hour of her text, then 10-15 mins of math fact practice. I plan our year in 3 terms & I had planned these 'extras' for this year: T1 Art of argument T2 Poetry & writing poetry T3 Figuratively speaking We began the year using art of argument, but it felt so squished in. I like her having that time to be free...she *does* reflect & think. She creates things...currently she is working on a model of Jotunheim in clay. All her own idea, inspired by her free reading. I would like to accomplish these 'extras' not sure how though! Thanks again for sharing your thoughts..it has left me less worried.
  19. Thanks for the replies! I try to tie her science to our current studies, and relate it back to that. Discuss as much as I am able, but not every reading. Yes, I think perhaps I need to increase math time. She does also spend time each day reviewing math facts, but I will be looking to increase her time daily. Thanks everyone.
  20. I am pretty happy with how school is going for my two daughters, but I am wondering if my 11 yo could/should be doing more reading...her day is pretty full, but perhaps I am missing something? 7am - she gets up & I read aloud for an hour while she has breakfast. 8am - she reads her current lit. book for half an hour 8:30 - Latin 9am - shower / dress / chores 10am- maths 10:30 - writing, spelling, grammar 11:30 -memory work (poetry/shakespeare/maths facts/ periodic table song - not all on the same day) 12-lunch 1pm/1:30 depending on how the day is going! History. Dependant on the day, she either reads from the Kingfisher encyclopaedia, outlines from what she has read, reads primary sources & writes a paragraph about it, or reads a book & writes a narration. Mondays we go out for nature study, so no history. 2pm/2:30 I like this to be 'free' time...no T.V. but often she will paint, or make things. I like this! 4:45pm we eat dinner, then I fly out to work! 6:30pm I am back home, she often watches a couple of T.V. programs with DH 8pm She goes up to read, and reads a chapter from whatever science book I have assigned. She then either reads from her own choice, (currently she is taken with Greek/Roman/Norse myths, or comic books) or sketches/colours. Fridays are completely different - we still have read aloud time in the morning, plus she reads her lit. book. She adds anything to our time line, then the rest of our morning is science & art. Friday afternoon is free for outings & meeting friends & family. Do you think she reads enough? This is turning out to be a great school year for both her & her little sister, so I do not want to be adding 'burdens' but I could be missing something obvious :)
  21. It brings me out in a rash to think of doing that! You are a braver woman than I am! Wishing you well with whatever you decide
  22. Your decision makes sense. Best wishes to you both!
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