Whop Whop -- I love being a Follower of Jesus, First and I love being a Vineyardite!

I continue to piece together our hs experience, but unquestionably, my time in DK has a current impact on how school happens here. High school students in DK were highly motivated to do a good job with their academics; they knew what was expected of them and were internally motivated to perform. I lived with three different families during my year abroad, and never once did I hear children being reminded about homework, independant reading, etc etc. The younger children were not asked if they had completed yesterday's assignments - they were taught from a young age that doing the work was a reflection of their internal ability to motivate themselves. How does this reflect in our daily hs? Mostly, it reflects in how I see the long-range academic plan for our children. I only learned in my post-DK days that school was my joy, not my bondage. The Danish students went above and beyond in their schoolwork because they were proud of what they could accomplish. I want that same thing for my kiddoe's, and I'm willing to take the time to ground them with that same feeling of accomplishment. I don't want them to do their schoolwork properly because of my standards . . . I want them to work to their own highest common denominator. If they work to meet my standards and not their own sense of accomplishment, I wonder how long it will be before they begin to resent their increasing workload as they get older. The work piled on Danish high-school students was insanely heavy, compared to what I knew, but they didn't chaffe under the workload. It was a very different mentality. The other aspect of Danish life that I remember clearly was that home and school were the most important parts of a child's life. DK kids were not over-scheduled with activities. This has been a real stretch for me, because I was a classic over-scheduled child, and I loved the busy of being on the go. Granted, as Momof7 spoke to on a different thread, Scandinavian students are sifted and directed into different educational streams at a younger age. DK students probably felt the pressure at a younger age to make sure they were managing their learning environment/landscape.

Hmmmm, each families circumstances are different. We took a 50% pay cut 4 years, and we've never looked back. There are all kinds of ways to make money in the margins! We flipped property, lived with less and made it work. I would never, ever go back to the life we had to live to make lots of money. (That sounds like a vow . . . yikes . . . ) It would be a highly unlikely circumstance that would encourage us back to the crazy of corp life and lots of $$$$$. Be blessed, Tricia

I read the article with interest . . . and it resonated with me mostly in terms of students being internally motivated to do school well. Scandinavian children understand the priviledge of education in a way that North American children do not. "What they find is simple but not easy: well-trained teachers and responsible children." I spent a year living in Denmark and watched Scandinavian school in action . . . my philosophy of education and how I walk out teaching my children continues to be deeply influenced by what I witnessed 15 years ago as a 17 year old student. One comment made to me by a middle school tutor, when I asked her why she didn't check to ensure her student had completed her homework, has stayed with me all these years. The tutor told me that she wanted her student to enjoy the self-satisfaction of an assignment well-done instead of needing the tutor to tell her what a great job she did. The tutor was building in her a sense of responsibility and work ethic that needed no outside encouragement. I school that way with my children . . . I don't want them to do their best work to satisfy my demands. I want them to satisfy their own inner-desire to be the best they can be. Warmly, Tricia

Wow, what an interesting, lovely group of children we parent! DS 9 enjoys making money, thinking about making money, being a business man. We've been experimenting with dog biscuit recipes to sell under the name Peachey Pooch Treats. DS 7 loves Star Wars Lego, SOTW audio cd's, and Math. They both love Webkinz, March break, beaching. DD 4 loves being a princess, giving Mommy-make overs and working at the art table.

I am completely and unapologetically a "do the next thing" hs'er. Tried for 2 years to squish myself into something I'm not . . . and now, I know what I want to accomplish and we work towards that goal. Trying to figure out each day or week is an absolute waste of time for me, because I won't follow my own sch, even if I had one. If I lived in a state where I had to detail each learning moment, I'd be in serious trouble. Good luck finding your groove. T

Yes -- the whole summer! We beach, picnic, play, vacation, read, bake and hang-out. I can't wait. Three more months. Granted, lots of learning takes place over the summer months -- but we won't look at our formal curr. until September. I have littles, remember . . . early elementary kids. I can absolutely see why some families, especially with older children, need to press into the summer months as they prepare for higher education. I revel in the freedom to be relaxed, and I enjoy it immensely because I know it won't always be this way. Have a great Friday, Tricia

Hello Hivers: It was here I first heard about the idea of having an art table, fully stocked and accessible with paint, papers, glue, materials and art books for inspiration. I couldn't wrap my head around that idea -- too messy, too crazy, kids won't pick up their stuff, where would I put it . . . etc etc. A few weeks ago, I decided I'd give this free-range art table a try . . . and much to my surprise, the Peachlet's really enjoy creating. It's a favourite spot for all three of them, right in the kitchen so I can supervise if need be, close to the sink for clean-up. I used an old 6 drawer sewing desk, so all of their supplies are tucked away, but easily accessible. It's a win-win . . . the kids have their art and that space is relatively uncluttered! Be encouraged, if this art table idea is on your radar but you can't quite get there. Tricia

Academically? Character? Mine are little (9 7.5 4.5) so nothing I've taught them academically holds any weight compared to what we've attempted to pour into their characters. Some fav. character lessons: - keeping a soft, teachable heart. - getting up again and again after you've made a mistake - forgiveness - eating an elephant one bite at a time - the easiest way from Point A to Point B is a straight line - You are lovely in the sight of God, despite what you feel about yourself - Using your spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear from God. - Obedience is an act that glorifies God and your Parents -- you get to. - Giving respect to those deserving of it - the difference between being internally and externally motivated - the concept of making family life a win-win-win. - struggle is a good thing. You can't always get what you want. - First things First. These ideas take precedence over any academic teaching we could do right now.

I love this idea of reading being a pleasure and not something they had to "work" at . . . you see, I have one son who got there very early --- early five year old that could read anything. My second son is turning 8 in July, and he still has to work at reading. He's just not interested -- he'll read whatever it is I have him read and he can do it pretty fluently, but to grab a book and read before bed or just for interest' sake -- not there yet. He can read his SOTW history, but enjoy it . . . now that's a whole other kettle of fish. *sigh* T

{Whops . . . this is the high school board . . . rigour away, gals. Fill your boots. Get those kids ready for university! I thought I was on the curr. board. *sigh*) I think you posted very eloquently and gently about meeting your children at the heart-level while continuing to pursue "rigour" in your academics. I often find myself squirming while reading the "purists" point of view for education and academics. I believe rigourously educating a child in the classical/neo-classical method is lovely so long that the K - 6 child not be burdened with heavy, lengthy academics. IMHO, joy of learning is THE foundational cornerstone for a young child to carry on with higher level academics. If it burdens a child's spirit just to finish the K- 6 years, will they have the stamina/desire/joy to keep plugging? Or will academics become a battle of the wills, plotting parent against child and possibly damaging what should be a lovely, long-term relationship? I want my children to look back on our school days with fond, happy memories . . . it forces me to be on my game, and always working hard to deliver school in a way that agrees with the different personalities of my kiddies. Musings from this end. T

I use the SWR phonogram's in just about every subject . . . especially with ds#2. We're always on the look-out for the phonograms. The program itself -- take me into a field and just shoot me now. There. I said it . . . we've got a lovely array of phonics workbooks but truly, the best time we have with phonograms is actually reading and figuring out how a word is read by using the phonogram clues. sigh. I worked hard to figure out SWR, but I'm too CM-y to pound home spelling in that manner. My ds#1 is writing up a storm (decided to be an entrepreneur by penning his own book) and I find spelling sticks much better when he's actually using the words. Different strokes for different folks. Cheers, Tricia

Two things I do: (and I didn't read all of the responses so this might be a repeat.) First, as the Teacher-Mom, I assess whether the mistakes occurred due to (a) sloppy, hurried work or (b) a genuine, not understanding the information. For (a), I'll make him copy the entire sheet on his own free time. It sounds harsh, but just the threat of having to spend an extra hour copying is enough external motivation to keep him neat, tidy, checking his work etc. Neither have had to do it yet - they've internally motivated themselves to avoid my external consequences. For extra-fabulous penmanship (the flip-side), I might add fifty cents to their allowance, make a special, unplanned trip to a park/McD's for an ice-cream, rent a special movie for Friday night. I make it worth their while when they spend the extra time doing a bang-up job. For (b), that's my issue, not his -- so I have to come at the material from a different perspective, make/find different manipulatives, find better/different teaching words. My sil is a ps math teacher, and she's a firm believer of good math words to connect the concept with understanding. Division is always called sharing. Fractions - part of a whole. If the problem is mostly (a), I would move along. If the problem is mostly (b), then I would hit the brakes and rethink my teaching strategy. I have a lovely unit study on fractions that I think I picked up here -- I'll find it and post, if you'd like. It might be something to play with in the evenings. We found the Cuisenaire rods and books made fractions a breeze! Tricia

I've broken most of our subjects up now -- because everything becomes a competition, and ds#2 can't compete with ds#1's tenacity and focus. Currently, the boys do Earth Science/Latin together, but even latin is becoming a stretch. My boys are only 17 months apart, but academically, the gap is larger. It's not an easy situation. Tricia

GWG is extremely easy to use, for both child and parent. I've said before, GWG on a yearly basis is my compromise for the necessity of grammar within the Classical S & S. GWG is thorough - ds is picking up what he needs but it isn't overkill. He very much enjoys GWG and I can tell by his independant story writing that the grammar info is sinking in. HTH's. T

I'm reading Eat Clean . . . and the author mentions Ezekiel Bread. Tell me everything! T

We fell of our chairs visualizing Mansa Musa and his 60 000 person entourage traveling to Mecca. We write funny, silly poems and then laugh about them for days. SWR gives sentences that show the the same sounding phonograms . . . ie: "Her first church worships early" . . . my kids make up silly sentences that reflect the phonograms. Our current favorite, usually sung on the way to swimming -- I have a spare pair of underwear. Finally, my 4.5 year old was reciting our latin vocab and chants to our babysitter, and we all just fell over laughing. Not sure why exactly, but it struck us all very funny. I couldn't do school without some laughs. I think laughing together lays foundational bricks of relationship -- that's most important to me! Cheerio, Tricia

Good Monday Morning Hivers, DH bought me a KitchenAid mixer for Christmas. Needless to say, it has revolutionized my kitchen experience. He bought me the smallest, cheapest version and even still, I can't remember life before the mixer. I'd like to extend my love affair in the kitchen with a food processor -- I have visions of home-made salsa, hummus, Scandinavian slaws, foo-foo drinks, slushies -- my little stand-up blender isn't making the grade. What food processor do you have, and what do you make in it that your family absolutely loves? (This continued spending fast has freed up cash I didn't know we had - it's rather addictive finding new and frugal ways to make life work. Colleen in NS is on to something -- Frugality has brought the Peachey's more Freedom. TY for your inspiration, Colleen.) BTW, Cindy in C'villes Skillet Pizza Crust recipe was a big hit -- I doubled the recipe, made 12 shells for a "Saturday night grown-ups only pizza party" -- the compliments came fast and furious. Everyone brought a topping - good times. TY, Cindy! Cheerio, Tricia

I'm trying to cultivate/encourage this entrepreneurial thing that has surfaced in my boys for many reasons -- the short-term so they can buy something they want by earning the money themselves. They'll have a real sense of satisfaction, I dare say. Long-term, so they can find a way to support themselves during their university years. There is a homeschooling family out there somewhere that has developed software that teaches young people the ins and outs of the stockmarket. I think they were a Christian family operating under the premise that their sons could buy a home outright in cash before they married, so that their wives could be at home, should they desire that. Anyone know what I'm talking about? I stumbled over the site quite a few years ago. Interesting ideas for kids and cashflow! The mother in me wants to bless them hand over foot (give them whatever they want) but I've seen how that plays out in the long-term and it's not pretty. Cheerio, Tricia

Hi Hive, My boys, 9 & 7, want to make money. We give them $5 every two weeks for an allowance; we want them to be savvy spenders. They pay for their lifestyle - movie rentals, treat foods, lego sets (sigh) . . . They both want MP3 players, which aren't cheap. So ds #1 is scheming a business. He (read *we*) are going to make doggie biscuits for him to sell, but it's so Mommy-intensive. (sigh, again) What have your kids done to earn money, apart from allowance? I'd love to direct them into something a bit more inspiring than doggie biscuits. Anyone?

You are an **amazing** photographer. Lord willing, I'll never return to Anyplace/Anywhere Alberta, but if I were, I'd be looking you up for a family photoshoot. The trampoline photos were fab. T

Brilliant -- my boys wrestle all. the. time and I don't mind because they really are just blowing off steam and having fun. Rarely any ouchies or hurties. The problem, however, is they love sharing their joy of wrestling with their hs buddies on Friday afternoons . . . that doesn't work out so well. Five little wrestling men and a princess in a small space always spells disaster. I'm going to enforce your rule -- thank you. Tricia

My biggest challenge with homeschooling: Finding time for me.

I just checked her out online -- wow, what an incredible transformation. Did you purchase any of her books? Can you give a review? As for using your free weights at home -- do you have a guide for what you do? Do you have a bench? TY, Tricia