Spin off of Nan's post - how are you approaching self-education?

[ELaurie]

Thank you again, Nan, for your wise and encouraging words.

 

As I said in my response to your post, I find myself reading TWTM over and over again in order to maintain my focus on the essential skills you reference in your post.

 

I attend every one of SWB's workshops, even if I've already heard them, at every conference I attend so that I can hear this message again.

 

This year, with a 5th grader and a 3rd grader, I am beginning the process of self education in earnest. I realize that what SWB says in her workshop on self education is true - if I don't read the classics now, I will be ill prepared to teach them when my dc are in HS. I don't have the foundation I'm attempting to provide for them myself; I'm learning the content at the same time that I'm learning how to teach the content.

 

As ds 11 enters the Logic Stage, I realize that the time is rapidly approaching when I will no longer be able to do this. I need time to think about this material before I can engage in a thoughtful discussion about it. I need to understand the "big picture" before I can understand the place of Plato, or Herodotus (fill in the blank) within the flow of history.

 

Right now I'm in the grammar / early logic stage myself.

 

So . . . I'm interested in learning how others are approaching self education.

 

For myself, I can tell you that my house is dusty, and the meals are boring :tongue_smilie:

 

I'm (finally) reading SWB's HOAW this year, along with DK's History: the Definitive Visual Guide. I'm taking notes, as SWB suggests in TWTM and TWEM. I'm summarizing the important people, places, dates and events in a notebook. I'm doing some of the assignments SWB recommends for HS in TWTM. I'm also reading ds 11's introductory logic text for next year.

 

It's tedious. Sometimes it's boring. Other things, including my children, need my attention.

 

But, I really feel like I need to continue to do this, if I am to equip myself to teach them in HS.

 

I'd love to learn from others who are doing this / BTDT :bigear:

[Nan in Mass]

I didn't. I self-educate, yes, but only about things *I* want to learn, not about things I just want to be able to teach. My children's education would have been much better if I had done more self-educating. Occasionally, I have self-educated about homeschooling, learning, and education in general, but that is about it. If I am really hard pressed, I will read the math lesson ahead of time or do some work at finding a lab notebook format that will work for us. My academic expectations probably aren't as high as many people's here. Mostly, I use TWTM open-and-go. I have to say that it works ok that way for us. My children were on their own for history. I handed them TWTM recommendations and they read them. I was more active in science but I have a fairly good knowledge base for science. I wish I were a scientist, with experience working as a scientist. That is the place that I think I have let my children down the most. I also wish I were fluent in some foreign languages and could teach Kodally-style music. As far as reading, writing, and literature go, I can understand the great books when I read them, so I think my reading skills are ok. I speak grammatically correct English (for the most part) and I learned the grammatical terms along with my children as we did Latin. We would have gotten further faster if I had known Latin. I regret that. But I think I would have had to be a Latin teacher to do a better job of teaching my children than I did learning it along with them. I wish I had figured out what I know now about writing earlier, but that was a result of researching different types of writing and how to write, not going through a writing curriculum myself. Literature is working fine using TWEM. Again, unless I were a literature teacher I don't think I could have done a better job. Just reading the classics myself ahead of time probably wouldn't have helped us. TWEM has these lovely general questions that allow you to do great books open-and-go style as long as you read along with your children. So I guess it comes down to this: I wish I were a working scientist in all the fields of science, a Latin teacher, a high school math teacher, a Kodally teacher, and fluent in several foreign languages, and of course I wish I had understood TWTM better and some basic things about teaching and learning better. THEN I would have been able to do a better job. Otherwise, I think I did ok by doing things open-and-go, learning along with my children. I think it all depends on what your own particular aims are, though. This answer is going to vary greatly depending on what your aims are. At this point, as I scramble to answer my son's questions about why the laser soldering iron he is trying to build isn't working, and how he can create a static field for another project, I would settle for a better basic knowledge of electronics so when I paw through the drawer at Radio Shack looking for capacitors and resistors, I would know what the second rating on them refers to and whether it is something we have to worry about. At least I remember that resisters add in series and capacitors in parallel and can do a bit of math and find substitutes for the ones that Radio Shack is missing.

 

At least I am a good example of using my own education for my own job and my own amusement, and my children see me modeling figuring things out and learning them every day as I struggle to remember their math and talk myself out of whatever I first thought might be true of whatever we are reading aloud for literature.

 

That wasn't very helpful or what you were looking for, probably. Sorry. This should be a good thread. I am looking forward to hearing about what other people are learning and how they are learning it. I always love those threads.

 

-Nan

[linguistmama]

I want to self educate more as well, but my weakness is science. I never took beginning physics, much less calculus based physics. Right now I'm going to read through the PHSE series and refresh my math skills up through calculus. At least I'll be way ahead of where the girls are for a while. For higher level science I'm not sure if I'll be able to get to the level I want to on my own or not. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm not really in a position to take a class, but I can read texts and watch the Khan academy videos :) I'm at a place in life where I have time and I'm interested in learning more so I want to take advantage of it. And DH is a university student and the library and ILL are awesome!

 

After science and math I want to review history, writing and grammar. I have TWEM and can't wait to get started. But it's my strongest area since I love literature and languages so I'm saving the bulk of it for last.

[Cleopatra]

Good for you, ELaurie, for getting a head start!

 

For me, I am doing the following on a regular basis....

 

1. Henle Book I

2. Elementary Greek I

3. LOF books

4. auditing a university course per year

5. this year, TA-ing for a C.S Lewis class for homeschoolers taught by a university professor

 

I am attempting and sometimes succeeding in ......

 

1. reading some classics using TWEM & Omnibus as guides

2. reading and studying French material to "brush-up" on this language

 

 

I am also considering taking Classical Writing's online course in June that will cover 2 years of the Diogenes level in a month so I will be prepared to teach my dd ----- or I won't take it and put my dd into the online classes; I'm not sure which yet ......:confused:

 

Like linguistmama, my weakness is science but I've managed to jot down a few recommended books from these forums and am planning to read through them when my courses finish.

 

So many interests, so many books, so little time ........ SIGH!:blink:

 

I'm looking forward to hearing what others are doing! :bigear:

Edited March 20, 2011 by Cleopatra
grammar

[Cleopatra]

That wasn't very helpful or what you were looking for, probably. Sorry. This should be a good thread. I am looking forward to hearing about what other people are learning and how they are learning it. I always love those threads.

 

-Nan

 

Nan,

 

Actually your post was very helpful for me. I've seen some of your other posts and, (besides offering great advice) it's obvious that your dc are getting a wonderful education. It's comforting to know that, as a homeschooling parent, you don't have to be the "perfect educator" for quality learning to take place! :001_smile:

[regentrude]

if I don't read the classics now, I will be ill prepared to teach them when my dc are in HS.

 

 

Absolutely not true - because by high school, you are not required to TEACH your children, just to facilitate their learning. So, I would just focus on reading what you find interesting.

For example: we covered Ancients in high school this year, and DD was learning just fine - despite the fact that I did not have time or inclination to read everything myself. We let a classical scholar on DVD (Teaching company) explain the epics and tragedies to use and learned both from her- and that was a great starting point to conversations and discussions. (Even if I had read all the material, I would not have the background in classics to discuss these on the level of the lectures; we would not have been able to explore the full cultural context etc without the experts' help.)

 

I also let my children teach me things they have learned. It gives them a good opportunity to organize material for presentation and talk in front of an audience. So, while I am still self-educating, I do not feel the need to cover all my children's potential high school material in advance. I choose the things that interest me.

 

This means that my children will know more about certain topics than I do. That is not a problem at all. What I find more important is that we parents model a life style of self education, of reading and learning- but those do not have to be the topics the kids will study.

[Elizabeth in MN]

I follow the suggestions in LCC when I can. Someone has to do the laundry

; )

[elegantlion]

I follow the suggestions in LCC when I can. Someone has to do the laundry

; )

 

This, except I let the laundry pile up. I started on the LCC high school recs a few years ago. My goal was to do one year at a time. Since then I've branched into my own interests and working on items I need to stay ahead of ds.

 

It took me 6 months to get through Lattimore's Iliad. I read it all aloud to myself while pacing in the bedroom when I had time. I loved it. Before that I had started my classics journey with Pride & Prejudice. No offense to Austen fans, but I thought if all classics were like that I would gouge my eyes out. I much prefer Homer. Now I try to always have a great book on my night stand.

 

I try to stay ahead of ds in two subjects, Latin and Math. Many of the great books we will be doing together and using DVD helps. My own interests have pushed me into Arthurian tales, Ancient Rome, and philosophy. I'm also on a quest to determine my personal writing philosophy for ds and my own writing. With that in mind I am putting myself through a college level writing course. I just started with that, though.

 

It's a process and I'm not as far as I'd like to be.

[Rosie_0801]

I'm working on the Well Educated Mind because I graduated from uni with my critical reading skills not even close to as good as I discovered they ought to be. Shame I started with the autobiographies though; I haven't found anything I've been willing to finish a grammar stage analysis of yet, let alone re-read! The actual content of the books are a means to an end. It's good that I'm familiarising myself with more classics, but if that were my primary goal here, I'd be reading more, enjoying them more, and not strengthening any of my weak areas at all. I intend to keep at this for the foreseeable future hoping eventually it will become automatic.

 

I have just started working on SWB's ancient history book. I have a history degree, but have never been through history systematically so my knowledge is like an unfinished jigsaw, and most of what I know doesn't have enough context to be useful. I'm keeping a journal as I read. It's not really a high priority for me, but I'm using it to nag a young friend about his education by correspondence. :tongue_smilie:

 

I've just finished season one of Analytical Grammar! I definitely don't know it well enough to teach, but I now have a foundation to work from. My lack of knowledge of grammar has irritated me since I did badly in my linguistics class :rolleyes: There is no way on earth I'd be able to force Latin into my brain without doing English grammar first. I started season two yesterday :)

 

Dh wanted me to start Latin with him, but I had to make him wait a whole year while I did grammar, and we should be starting it tonight! He wants to learn to speak it, so he's using Lingua Latina. I'm starting with Wheelocks. We'll see how far I get before I fall into a sobbing mess and skulk over to Lingua Latina. I know I'll come back to Wheelocks, though. I'll just imagine Ester Maria pursing her lips at me. :tongue_smilie:

 

I'm hoping to start revising maths next year, because I can't remember a wretched thing about it and was only ever taught to plug numbers into formulae anyway. That's going to be a major, major project for me. I'm worried that I won't be able to learn it properly; that it'll look too familiar so I won't be able to tell I don't know it the way I want to know it.

 

Science will have to wait a bit longer. I'll start by reading a lot of the books being published these days that seem to be science in novel format for us humanities types. Maybe once I've rediscovered an ability to do maths, I'll be able to handle something more.

 

Then I'm going to retire and learn Polish, heraldry and to play the clavichord.

Rosie

[Ester Maria]

I'm starting with Wheelocks. We'll see how far I get before I fall into a sobbing mess and skulk over to Lingua Latina. I know I'll come back to Wheelocks, though. I'll just imagine Ester Maria pursing her lips at me. :tongue_smilie:

:lol:

 

You know that you can just PM me with questions when you're stuck, do you? Well, if you didn't know, now you do. :001_smile:

[Jyniffrec]

I have TWEM and am working my way slowly through the novels. Very slowly. I will be taking Greek and Latin through an online classical school next year and am studying from the books now so that when I am unable to study I'll at least have a head start. I am using a loop schedule so that I don't kick myself for not getting it done, but am always able to return to where I left off.

 

The area that I have always been weakest in is math. I have been reading Liping Ma's book, reading discussions here and trying to think differently about understanding math. Things are improving vastly in our math experience at home in our school as a result. This is a reason to be thankful for this board - it provides an education to a certain degree, or at the very least a path to get there. One particular point that I have picked up on is that there is a grammar to every subject that needs to be mastered in order to be able to properly move forward.

 

And curiosity helps me along the way. :D

[angela in ohio]

Some very random thoughts:

 

I realized that I wasn't going to be able to learn everything my dc needed to cover through high school, so I have assigned "levels" for myself:

 

1. Professor - I know all of the material ahead of time and can guide them through it.

2. TA - I use a DVD course for the primary instruction, but do labs, grading, and discussion with them. I am learning the material with them.

3. Advisor - I have no part in the course, other than helping them to access it.

4. Fellow student - I am just an interested friend who wants to hear about what they are learning.

 

I am at the first level in literature and history. I read all the books, learn all of the material, and design the course myself. I can discuss all of the material with them.

 

I am at the second level in math and science. They have DVD instruction (DIVE and VTI,) but I can answer questions, because I follow along. I also facilitate their science labs.

 

We don't yet have a course of the thrid variety, but we will do something online next year I think, and we will possibly use the CC eventually.

 

The fourth category is for all the areas that they are self-studying in their free time. I encourage them to have interests outside of their required schoolwork, and that is where they independently practice the skills of learning that I teach them.

 

So, anyway :D, once I decided what "level" of involvement I would have, I could prioritize my own self-education. First priority goes to literature and writing skills. Because I teach those through history, that is also important. Second priority goes to rhetoric and logic, because I don't think you CAN teach those without instructor involvement and understanding. Then science and math, but I learn them with dc,* then my own self-interests (to model for them, even if they aren't interested in the same thing.)

 

*I went back to school starting last year to get a degree to teach high school math and computer science (and maybe physics,) so that ended up becoming more important to me.

 

Dh and I decided long ago that if I was going to home school, I was going to be an involved teacher, because I wanted to emphasize skills (writing, discussion, etc.) that involve participation over just content which they can learn from a text and repeat on a simple test. So dh is fully supportive of my time spent learning, which is hugely helpful. He sees the intellectual investment I make as even more important than my homemaking skills. (Luckily he married me for my brains, not my homemaking skills to begin with, too. :D)

 

I have automated many things in our life in order to create more time. We eat the same thing, very simple but healthy, week in and week out. I buy our food in bulk. My two girls and I share the cooking pretty equally. We have routines for cleaning. I don't have any other hobbies right now. I pick volunteer jobs and ways to help with dc's activities that take more skill than time. My two time luxuries are that I post here while I am waiting for dc (when I could be reading :001_smile:,) and I spend a ton of time alone with dh - going out, watching movies, etc.

 

I think one of the most important things I can do is to actually DO an assignment that I give dc. For example, when I assign my writing students a type of paper, I write it, too, the first time. I want to understand the process and the skills that they need for each part of the process. Otherwise, my teachng is weak. So I try to make sure I am not just reading and taking in information and considering it self-education. (It sounds like you are doing the same thing.)

 

Every time I can, I try to "double dip": spending time with dc while we learn at a museum, reading while taking them to the park, writing a paper while I wait for them to pick out library books, etc.

 

I do feel incredibly blesses that I enjoy learning so very much. That makes it easy. If I hated it, it would be hard to have the discipline to do it.

[Nan in Mass]

What a useful concept! I am going to keep that in mind. I've done it in much too mushy a way in the past.

-Nan

[Hunter]

The Bluedorns recommend only making modest goals, to add to, for each generation. For example they only recommend attempting one Biblical/classical language, for 1st generation homeschoolers, but think that our children will be able to accomplish two with our grandchildren.

 

Life does not stop when your children hit 18, for you or for them. Both of my boys have graduated homeschool and I am empty nest now. All of us continue to self-educate. It's a life long process and trying to cram too much in at once spoils everything.

 

I have to stop and reread Ecclesiastes every once awhile. It's on my priority list right now.

 

INTRODUCING ideas and methods and teaching our children how to learn is the meat. Skills are the gravy. Content is dessert.

 

Life is short and full of unexpected surprises. Most of what you think will happen never does. Set attainable goals that allow the home to move along with peace and organization, and time for proper meals. Daily rhythm, nature, beauty and spirituality is essential.

 

Most of our children will end out self-educating and teaching their own children at home. They may have to wait for Plutarch when they have their own little rug rats. Slow down and build the FOUNDATION.

 

Remember our best STOPS when the pain sets in. Pain is an indication of self-neglect. All neglect is wrong! Doing our best does not include pain. To be a good parent means doing OUR best and it is very much focused on the reality of where WE are and is not focused on our children. So be a good parent, and then accept what that means for each child's future.

 

Children who want something bad enough, grab the ball and run with it. I had one child who grabbed a ball and ran, and another...that well...he made his choices...but he is still young...and we will see what happens. For both of them, what counts if that I gave them good basics and introduced a lot of ideas and pointed them in the right direction. Now it's up to them.

 

I was a good parent. My greatest failing is that I pushed past my best and constantly engaged in self-neglect. I set a bad example and taught them to think of me as a machine and less than human. I have no academic regrets and actually wish I had set SMALLER goals. I would have been a better parent if I had paced myself more. Remember what type of parent I was is based on ME not them and their needs. I would have been a great parent if I had understood that, and focused more on me, and not have paced myself on their schedule. I didn't run my own race.

 

Ladies, run your OWN race, then pass the baton!

[ELaurie]

 

Ladies, run your OWN race, then pass the baton!

 

What wonderful, wise advice! This thread is full of so many inspiring ideas - it's a treasure to read.

 

Blessings,

[laughing lioness]

I learn along with my kids on some things and go off on tangents on others. All of us in this house have different interests and are at different levels in those interests. I am at the grammar stage in some areas and at the rhetoric in others.

 

What I do:

Sit down with my Grammarians and guide them through the work. I am (finally) really learning grammar with my 11 yo. I am also learning some memory work along with them- memorizing the VP history card titles and dates. I do not memorize poetry with them, though they are req. too.

 

I do not read everything my teens have read. I do not do the math and science problems with them. I did it all years ago, it is not an area I am going to personally develop).

I do assist my teens with scheduling, researching if they need it, editing, keeping them on track, finding opportunities for them to grow and succeed. I am a mentor to my teens, not the teacher I was during the Grammar stage. I expect, (like others have said so well) that they will know more than I do in many areas. They do.

 

I participate in the 52books/year reading challenge (this is year 2). I've always been a reader, but this has kept me focused and reading consistantly. I haven't focused on the classics. I am guilt free about that (really;)!!)

I also write (most of the time) detailed critiques of the books I've read on my blog. Writing helps me digest what I've read so that I own the material.

 

I also belong to 2 writing groups and bring something to read each time we meet and actively participate.

 

I read about education and educators consistantly. I incorporate what I've learned from them into our educational process.

 

I read TWTM almost yearly. I have a clearly defined pedagogy which guides our educational pursuits, purchases, and efforts. This was developed by reading voracioulsy on the topic of education (including these boards and writing a Master's thesis), discussing with my dh, seeking out educational resources and wrestling with it all.

 

I am open to and seek out educational opportunites that are unique. This includes field trips, travel, overseas opportunities, campaigning, investing in people from other cultures, camps, internships, gardening, building, learning new computer skills, etc.etc.

 

We don't watch T.V. or mind numbingly dumb videos (mostly, though this week-end we forayed into the mind-numbing world of Astro Boy).

 

We do focus on relationships in our home. That can mean a number of things: we don't get the self ed time in we want, our kids don't get through all of the school material we'd planned, etc. I blogged about that just last night

 

Our faith defines and guides us. What we study and how (both personally and as a family) is a direct result of our belief system. (Phillipians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.)

[Capt_Uhura]

 

INTRODUCING ideas and methods and teaching our children how to learn is the meat. Skills are the gravy. Content is dessert.

 

Love that!

 

 

Remember our best STOPS when the pain sets in. Pain is an indication of self-neglect. All neglect is wrong! Doing our best does not include pain. To be a good parent means doing OUR best and it is very much focused on the reality of where WE are and is not focused on our children. So be a good parent, and then accept what that means for each child's future.

 

 

I was a good parent. My greatest failing is that I pushed past my best and constantly engaged in self-neglect. I set a bad example and taught them to think of me as a machine and less than human. I have no academic regrets and actually wish I had set SMALLER goals. I would have been a better parent if I had paced myself more. Remember what type of parent I was is based on ME not them and their needs. I would have been a great parent if I had understood that, and focused more on me, and not have paced myself on their schedule. I didn't run my own race.

 

Ladies, run your OWN race, then pass the baton!

 

I do think I've done the same thing. My DH thinks of me as a machine. He doesn't notice when I'm at the breaking point. Then when I do admit I"m at the breaking point, I feel as if I've not done my best. Sigh..... I've gotten much better about this though....I think...

[ELaurie]

I do think I've done the same thing. My DH thinks of me as a machine. He doesn't notice when I'm at the breaking point. Then when I do admit I"m at the breaking point, I feel as if I've not done my best. Sigh..... I've gotten much better about this though....I think...

 

Cap't Uhura - we really are peas in a pod :D

 

This was a good reminder for me as well.

I think I'll read it every day :001_smile:

[mommymilkies]

Here is my plan: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246706

 

I have already started this, WEM, and poetry memorization. I do try to read everything my kids read. Except things like Eragon. I hated that series. :lol:

[Capt_Uhura]

Some very random thoughts:

 

I realized that I wasn't going to be able to learn everything my dc needed to cover through high school, so I have assigned "levels" for myself:

 

1. Professor - I know all of the material ahead of time and can guide them through it.

2. TA - I use a DVD course for the primary instruction, but do labs, grading, and discussion with them. I am learning the material with them.

3. Advisor - I have no part in the course, other than helping them to access it.

4. Fellow student - I am just an interested friend who wants to hear about what they are learning.

 

I am at the first level in literature and history. I read all the books, learn all of the material, and design the course myself. I can discuss all of the material with them.

 

I am at the second level in math and science. They have DVD instruction (DIVE and VTI,) but I can answer questions, because I follow along. I also facilitate their science labs.

 

We don't yet have a course of the thrid variety, but we will do something online next year I think, and we will possibly use the CC eventually.

 

The fourth category is for all the areas that they are self-studying in their free time. I encourage them to have interests outside of their required schoolwork, and that is where they independently practice the skills of learning that I teach them.

.

 

BRILLIANT!!!!!!!! Wonderful way to categorize this!

[Rosie_0801]

:lol:

 

You know that you can just PM me with questions when you're stuck, do you? Well, if you didn't know, now you do. :001_smile:

 

Thank you for your offer, but yes, I knew that already. I know an enthusiast when I read one. ;)

 

:)

Rosie

[Jyniffrec]

What amazing things you have all said. I will be mulling over this thread for awhile.

[karensk]

This is so awesome, Angela! Thanks for sharing it!!!

[Create Your Ritual]

I follow the suggestions in LCC when I can. Someone has to do the laundry

; )

 

Can I please ask what LCC stands for?

[justamouse]

Can I please ask what LCC stands for?

 

Latin Centered Curriculum.

 

What a fantastic thread.

[Capt_Uhura]

LCC=Latin Centered Curriculum

[LauraQ]

The best I can do at this time is to read Great Books when I can. Instead of reading ahead what my kids will read, I read *around* those books in areas I'm particularly interested in. This way, hopefully, I have some insight to contribute that they *can't* get from their assigned readings. Also, I'm more motivated to actually read books I'm interested in rather than just books from a list. I alternate these books with other books that are more light reading, and I think this also helps keep me motivated.

 

If I had more time I'd like to think I'd do more than I do now, but I work full time (37.5+ hours per week plus 3 hours of commute time per week) and I also have a great deal of work-related training and learning to do, so I do what I can. When the kids were younger, they needed more of my time & attention each day, but I didn't work. Now that I work, they require less of my time & attention each day, so it's been a trade-off for homeschooling, but I don't have the luxury of much extra time for self-study.

 

Still, I think the very most important thing I can do is to set the example for my children to be a life long learner. So, I don't just read lots of books, I *make time* for reading in my life rather than just wait for time to materialize (it never does that, trust me LOL). I also make sure they *see* me reading for pleasure and information, and I let them know when I'm doing research online and tell them if I discover something interesting. I try to read a variety of books--non-fiction in Science and History mostly, some old literature, and some more contemporary fictional works. I'm partial to sci-fi and fantasy, but I try to branch out and read other fiction works at times.

 

I do not take formal notes on what I read, but I do keep a couple of pencils in my nightstand drawer and in other places I read so that I can underline & scribble marginalia when appropriate.

[Amy in TX]

what I've lost of the foreign language I studied in high school (and one semester in college)--German. After trying a few books (Der Vorleser and Die Physiker), what I've discovered is that my problem is vocabulary. While I get the grammatic structure of sentences, they are full of "blanks" because I just don't have enough nouns and verbs. With both of those books, it was taking half an hour to get through a page, what with looking up every other word.

 

What seems to be helping now is two things: I'm going through a book called Mastering German Vocabulary, which is organized thematically, making flash cards. My ds10 drills me with the flash cards every day. Also, I'm reading Nikotin, which is the German translation of an Agatha Christie novel called Murder in Three Acts. That's going very well, because I was such a Christie fan in my youth that I can practically recite her books :). I know the story so well that I can figure out what most of the words mean without looking everything up.

 

At my age, without someone to speak with, I probably will not attain fluency, but it would make me so happy to be able to read books and articles in another language; so that's my goal (inshallah!).

 

BTW--I actually enjoy Die Physiker very much, and can't wait to be able to read it at a reasonable pace. This surprised me; it's not the type of thing I would normally choose for pleasure reading. Funny and thought-provoking.

[Nan in Mass]

Amy, this is how I recovered my French, or at least, my ability to read French. Don't forget that most of the vocabulary of a book appears in the first few chapters. I have found that if I looked up every word (and yes, it took half an hour or more at first to get through a page), the book sped up after a few chapters and I ended up only having to look up one or two words per page for the rest of the book. You might also be encouraged to hear that my ability to read transfered very fast to an ability to understand. Fast as in a few days of immersion. That was a wonderful, wonderful surprise and let me go back to just-reading fiction as a way of improving my French. I, too, used Agatha Christies. They were especially fun for me because I hadn't read most of them.

-Nan

[Amy in TX]

Amy, this is how I recovered my French, or at least, my ability to read French. Don't forget that most of the vocabulary of a book appears in the first few chapters. I have found that if I looked up every word (and yes, it took half an hour or more at first to get through a page), the book sped up after a few chapters and I ended up only having to look up one or two words per page for the rest of the book. You might also be encouraged to hear that my ability to read transfered very fast to an ability to understand. Fast as in a few days of immersion. That was a wonderful, wonderful surprise and let me go back to just-reading fiction as a way of improving my French. I, too, used Agatha Christies. They were especially fun for me because I hadn't read most of them.

-Nan

 

Thank you so very much for that encouragement! :)

[FaithManor]

Besides devouring SWB's Norton series as it comes out, I am trying to read books that challenge me in many ways. I've waded through "Goedel, Escher, and Bach. The Eternal Braid" again including doing the differential calculus. Yeah, it took several weeks.

 

I'm reading through all of ds's reference materials for art history next year. This is an area that I am not well-versed in so it will be good for my brain.

 

I'm writing a set of syllabi for Joy Hakim's "The History of US" series that all three of my boys will use and will be on loan to some other local homeschool moms who want to challenge their kids to think critically about history, but are a little nervous about making that happen. Though this has been a long process (I have four of the volumes complete), I am enjoying it and feel "streched".

 

I'm soon to start an online Norton course on Music History. I was a piano performance major so this is nothing more than a refresher class for me. But, I feel like after so many years of my career being on hold to raise and educate my kiddos, that my area of expertise is covered in layers of dust seen through the mists of time. So, I've decided to take some time each week and get my music brain back in gear. With any luck, I'll be bale to tutor a study group from the local uni at Barnes and Nobles. I've noticed that there is a music theory group and a music history group that meets there on Monday nights and they always look like the've "lost their mamma" - unfortunately, the music theory prof at this uni teaches WAY over the head of the freshman...he just simply does not know how to make this material accessible as he retrieves it from his composer brain. I'd really like to help them out as I've been an excellent theory teacher in the past and used to teach it as an assistant during my undergrad years.

 

I went through a phase when I was kind of surviving homeschooling and really not feeding my brain or my soul. I started burning out and now I know, I need to challenge my own brain and heart in order to keep things fresh and to keep that spark.

 

Someday, I'd like to recover French. It's not high on my list of priorities yet. But, I really would like to recover what was lost!

 

Faith

[Sebastian (a lady)]

what I've lost of the foreign language I studied in high school (and one semester in college)--German. After trying a few books (Der Vorleser and Die Physiker), what I've discovered is that my problem is vocabulary. While I get the grammatic structure of sentences, they are full of "blanks" because I just don't have enough nouns and verbs. With both of those books, it was taking half an hour to get through a page, what with looking up every other word.

 

What seems to be helping now is two things: I'm going through a book called Mastering German Vocabulary, which is organized thematically, making flash cards. My ds10 drills me with the flash cards every day. Also, I'm reading Nikotin, which is the German translation of an Agatha Christie novel called Murder in Three Acts. That's going very well, because I was such a Christie fan in my youth that I can practically recite her books :). I know the story so well that I can figure out what most of the words mean without looking everything up.

 

At my age, without someone to speak with, I probably will not attain fluency, but it would make me so happy to be able to read books and articles in another language; so that's my goal (inshallah!).

 

BTW--I actually enjoy Die Physiker very much, and can't wait to be able to read it at a reasonable pace. This surprised me; it's not the type of thing I would normally choose for pleasure reading. Funny and thought-provoking.

 

I brought back much of my German while we lived in Germany by reading Harry Potter. There is such a lot of good vocabulary in a fiction story; and by the end of it, you have really read quite a bit.

 

You might also want to check out some of the foreign language news offerings. I used to get emails from Deutsche Welle that contained about a dozen stories distilled into 1-2 paragraphs. Many stories were subjects that I was following in English anyway, so there was a lot of context for me to use in learning new words. Deutsche Welle did many different languages, not just German. I think that BBC has a similar option as part of their world service.

[Nan in Mass]

I discovered that, too. I can use some self-discipline to make myself suffer through the parts of the homeschooling day that involve things I already know how to do, but I need to be learning during the rest of our day. Either that or my children need to be teaching themselves. I guess I am just not a teacher. I don't get much personal pleasure out of teaching. I only get it out of learning. That is why I do not enjoy teaching those fundamental skills like outlining. I can already outline, not very well, admittedly, but well enough for my own purposes. I can already take notes and narrate.

 

This has been a frightening thread. It has led me to the conclusion that if my own education had been better, I probably would have done a worse job of educating my children. I think I'll just go hide up high in that nice tall pine tree now. Sigh.

-Nan

[Amy in TX]

Off to google Deutsche Welle--thanks, Sebastian :).

[linguistmama]

 

You might also want to check out some of the foreign language news offerings. I used to get emails from Deutsche Welle that contained about a dozen stories distilled into 1-2 paragraphs. Many stories were subjects that I was following in English anyway, so there was a lot of context for me to use in learning new words. Deutsche Welle did many different languages, not just German. I think that BBC has a similar option as part of their world service.

 

We listen to Deutche Welle's Portuguese news podcast everyday. Thanks for the BBC tip. I'm going to get their BBC Brasil updates on my phone since that will be in more manageable chunks as opposed to reading the whole site each day.

Edited April 6, 2011 by linguistmama

[Tammyla]

I'm very slowly working my way through TWED and studying ahead in Latin. One day I'd love to add Greek, but that just isn't on my radar right now.