Tsuga Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Hi everyone. I thought I'd introduce myself here. I bought the Well-Trained Mind when my first daughter was about 6 months old. At the time, my marriage was stable (or at least I thought so), and I planned to stay home and homeschool my kids. Fast-forward three years, I had two kids, am separated, and the older child is the most social person I have ever met in my life. I can't keep her out of school and I realize that my introverted self can't cope with her constant emotional needs. So, school it is. Put TWTM on the bookshelf with a wry smile. "The best laid plans of mice and moms oft go astray...", I thought, to paraphrase the old adage. Now my youngest is in pre-kindergarten (and loves it, just loves the other kids, the school, everything) and the oldest is in public school in the first grade. Though I'm happy with their schools in most respects, I feel that they don't get nearly the classical background or reinforcement or repetition they need. Well, the first grader, really. Obviously the kindergartener is still learning mostly through exploration. So it comes down to math facts. I found myself, surprise surprise, on a WTM forum looking for information on math facts. How fast should she know them? What can I do to inculcate that? Our schools are really pro experimentation but I have seen in life that there is no substitute for drills for the basic operations on the single-digit integers. You just can do so much more without using your fingers. That was when I saw the myriad of articles arguing against homework, against repetition, etc. I started to look for parents who did afterschool supplementation and came back here. I'm not a Christian and I think that is a major difference between me and many other parents on this forum. But I'm very open minded and I think I will really enjoy it here. We have very strict limits and boundaries in our home and it's hard to get support for those online, when Alfie Kohn is so revered (especially amongst my social circle). Anyway, I've had too much wine tonight, but I thank you all for carrying on this tradition. I really look forward to cracking that book open again and getting started and reaching out to the community here. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Welcome. This is a very diverse group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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