homeschool day - 9th and 6th grades

Every year for the past few, I have prepared and written a post for the Homeschool Day in the Life series at Simple Homeschool. I love Simple Homeschool. It was one of my first entries into homeschooling, before we even began. And I have loved contributing to this series. This is its 10th year, coming at a time of fewer blogs and more Instagram.

The truth is, this year it crept up on me and I didn't prepare anything.

The truth is, this year I am winding down as a blogger after 13+ years.

The truth is, so much has changed for us this year, as homeschoolers and as individuals, that I am not even sure how to write a homeschool day post.

But...those reasons feel all the more compelling to share something.

So with the link-up reminder arriving in my email inbox this morning, I am blogging about our day today and will link-up late.

Today is a Thursday. Each day of the week looks a little different for us, with a general schedule;

Mondays usually include a 4-H activity for my son.  My daughter will do a make-up of the 4-H activity at a later time, because her class schedule changed at winter break, making Monday one of her long days in the part time program she attends.

Tuesday is also a long day for her, and my son and I work on his various learning needs and desires.

Wednesday is charter school day. Right now, this is Shakespeare class, project, and performance. My daughter graduated from the charter, but is costume assistant. She then goes on to one class in her part time program.

Fridays are a home or field trip day.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings are ballet for my daughter. Tuesdays and Thursday evenings are karate for my son.

Every morning we have 'together time,' which includes a game, read aloud of some kind (book, poetry, news article, etc.), and CNN 10.

Today is Thursday and usually that means we have our morning together at home for together time and some lesson work and lunch before heading out so my daughter can go to a class and my son and I play at the park and go to the library. Today, though, after our together time, we had the first in a series of orthodontist appointments and when we got home, lessons didn't happen smoothly (or at all for one kiddo). Overwhelm from a lot going on finally came to a head and it was clear that structured learning was done while we worked through some big feelings. I called it a mental health day and we stayed home for the day. My daughter's class and my son's karate didn't happen today. I will be honest, 8 years into homeschooling, I am much better at taking a deep breath and letting it go. An occasional miss for whole health reasons feels right to me.

We spent the day on projects, resting, reading, and even having some time on screens. We played a game of Skip-Bo during dinner and we are winding down to an early bed with some music.

And tomorrow is fresh. I have a general idea what we need to cover, but, as always, we shall see how the day unfolds.

(For more about our homeschool, click here. For a little background (albeit 4 years old now!) on our homeschool journey, click here.)

learning period 3: 2019 - 2020

I am trying to capture each learning period as they happen, which, for our homeschooling arrangement, is a 2-month length of time, August through May. Learning period 3 covered December 2019 and January 2020. The idea of a learning period comes from the charter school that both my kids were in from 2013 onward and just Brown Mouse is part of now. Checking in every two months is doable for me and keeps me on track with both kids. Lala Bug is still homeschooling, but we are independently homeschooling now and she takes a couple classes at a private school, as a part-time student for hybrid-schooling.

Brown Mouse, grade 6:

Math: He is primarily using ALEKS and Key To workbooks for math. 6th grade is when I really backed off and made the year playful with math for his sister and I am keeping it short for him, currently, because I can feel a similar push-back and frustration.

Science: Science is one of his favorite subjects, so we do a lot of playing around with science. Recently, we have really enjoyed exploring science projects from the series of books from DK by Jack Challoner.

Language Arts/English: Brown Mouse is doing a loop of materials to work on different aspects of language arts in short bursts daily. He is using Typing Club, Handwriting Without Tears for Cursive, Editor in Chief, and speech-to-text to more fully get his thoughts in writing. He has also read and is now in a production of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Social studies/history: We are learning American History. Right now, we are in the Civil War time period. Just to be confusing, we are also re-exploring the Middle Ages and Brown Mouse is beginning to work on a research project to go with his Shakespeare class.

Other: 4-H (all outdoors projects this year; hiking, urban farming, and wilderness skills, for which he is the junior leader), karate (new for him), soccer (skills class and pick-up games with his rec team)

Lala Bug, grade 9:

Math: Algebra 1 at the school. She is doing really well in this, despite years of math-hating, but the homework is time and energy consuming for her, I won't lie.

Science: Biology, with lab, at the school. This is my background, but is definitely not a favorite for her. She is currently having to practice note-taking because of this class and that is a challenging skill for her differently wired brain.

Language Arts/English: This year we are covering Shakespeare - comedy and tragedy and also essay reading (and eventually a little more writing).

Social studies/history: American history with the intention of being ready for American Government next school year. Right now, we are in the Civil War time period. We have also been dipping in and out of current events, because so much has been going on politically.

World language: This is generally on hold, although she has been "playing" with DuoLingo for Italian.

Other: 4-H (all outdoors projects now; hiking, urban farming, and wilderness skills, for which she is the teen leader. Unfortunately, she had to drop a life skills project because her academic school class times changed), ballet, coding, fashion/design, knitting. (Soccer is on break for the season.)


What has your kids schooling and education looked like lately?

December's Countdown 2019

 

Every year, we do a countdown from December 1 through January 1. (In a row of little infant socks we clip to a string of twinkly lights.) This year, as with all things recently, felt a little different. Both kids wanted to do the countdown, but we didn't do some things we usually do (that were not missed) and did do some special things outside the countdown socks, which I was told were special enough that maybe they should be a countdown again next year.  This was a year of change and growth, but also unexpected occurrences that effected the holidays, so I have made some notes and am curious to see what next year brings.

 

Countdown:

        December

1. Sparkle Stories Advent stories begin!
2. Change the nature table for winter
3. Pull out holiday books
4. Visit the toy store and choose a toy each for a child in need.
5. Think of others today. What can you say to or do for someone that would be especially kind?
6. Do a little holiday shopping. Happy St. Nicholas’ Day! 
7. Pull out Christmas decorations.
8. Build a gingerbread house
9. Treasure hunt! (Find little trees to decorate for your rooms.)
10. Make a card or gift.
11. Decorate wreaths to leave as a surprise for grandparent.
12. Make paper snowflakes 
13. Go to the homeschool make and take fair (We opted not to go so made art at home.)
14. Go see holiday light displays.
15. Get a Christmas tree
16. Treasure hunt! 
17. Choose at least one book to donate, then visit the library book store to choose a book as a gift.
18. Do some holiday baking today.
19. Go to the reuse store and see what you can find to make a gift.
20. Make blessing bags for homeless.
21. Enjoy hot cocoa with a fire in the fireplace. (After seeing a holiday play with Grandma and Nonno.)
22. Hanukkah begins, light the menorah.
23. Make space for new goodies.
24. Neighborhood day; deliver homemade gifts, pick-up trash, and add a book to the little library.
25. Merry Christmas!
26. Choose a candy cane from the tree.
27. Play dreidel.
28. Make latkes and applesauce.
29. Today is to take care of and watch the birds. 
30. Thank you notes!
31. Make a collage with your dreams for the coming year.
    
    January

1. Light a candle tonight and make a wish or set an intention for the New Year.

light

I have thought a lot about how 2019 felt for me, how I want 2020 to feel, and I have thought about a lot of different words to hold in my mind and heart for 2020. 2019 was a year of a lot of change. Not the sort of change I could write about in our holiday newsletter, but changes of big and small kinds more intimate to our little family. It also held the kind of small changes that pave the way for bigger changes. I worked hard to be present through it all.

Oddly enough, I wrote part of a post about change in April, which I never posted. It is here, below.

I have been thinking about feeling behind, feeling stuck, progress, and change a lot this past year or so. 

As part of our read-aloud, we read poetry. When I read this some months ago, it held in my mind. It reminded me of the Rumi poem, A Guest House, and also of the quote by L.R. Knost (which is at the top of my homeschool planning/prepping Evernote pages). For some reason, this poem left me feeling as though the uphill climb, the sense of treading water, is normal, and there is company and care in each step.

Up-Hill

By Christina Rossetti

Does the road wind up-hill all the way?

   Yes, to the very end.

Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?

   From morn to night, my friend.

But is there for the night a resting-place?

   A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.

May not the darkness hide it from my face?

   You cannot miss that inn.

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?

   Those who have gone before.

Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?

   They will not keep you standing at that door.

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?

   Of labour you shall find the sum.

Will there be beds for me and all who seek?

   Yea, beds for all who come.

I think I am mentally a little resistant to choosing the word change because it feels forced and rushed and, if I am honest, I am not fully ready for some of the bigger changes that I know are inevitably coming. And so, I am mulling on change, but I am giving space around this word, this idea, and allowing my anchor word for 2020 to be something a little gentler, but equally important and certainly related and relevant in my world right now.

My word for 2020 is light. This word can apply to so many parts of my life right now, particularly as a melancholic, sentimental, deep-thinker and feeler. I look forward into 2020, a new decade, and I see a lot going on for our family, and I hope that holding this word close will help remind me to keep things simple, bright, and positive, if I am able. It was these images I had in mind, when I renamed my blog, Creative. Light. Less. several years ago. I want to move lightly on this earth, live lighter (less clutter, less spending), lighten my mood, my heart, my thinking. I imagine the light of a candle when my world feels dark, the light of a camp or hearth fire when my world feels cold.

One of the other words I considered was namaste, which I first learned to roughly mean "the good and the light in me sees and honors the good and the light in you." I think this imagery is so powerful and beautiful. There is light again. I want to pay attention to the light in others.

2019 was my 10th year of choosing a word for my head and heart. My guiding  words so far have been calm (2010), nourish (2011), hope (2012), renewal (2013), treasure (2014), joy (2015), potato (really, humor and laughter...potato was a family joke, 2016), harmony (2017), happy (with expectations and boundaries being the foundation, 2018), and present (being present in the moment and giving presents of restorative self-care to myself, 2019). 

Each of these words holds meaning and memories for me, which brings both a smile to my face and tears to my eyes.

I wish you all light, love, peace, and simplicity as we shift into a whole new decade.

learning period 2: 2019-2020

Learning period 2, October and November, 2019. I wrote part of this post back in early November and fleshing out the remainder of a short summary in late December. Clearly, it didn't get posted when it should have, so I will be back-dating the post to be time appropriate.

We spent much of last year really exploring and addressing Lala Bugs differences, needs, and exploring high school options that worked to address those in a healthy way. We made a lot of progress and experienced a lot of growth together, and she is bravely moving forward. Now, it is Brown Mouse’s turn. He and his sister are so different, but they both have some learning differences. So right now, we are working to identify and address his differences. He has possible dyslexia and likely dysgraphia, so evaluations and appointments are taking some extra time.

Both kids are in a group reading Shakespeare's Macbeth.While both kids love Shakespeare, Macbeth has not been a favorite of Lala Bug's. Blood, killing, and greed don't appeal to her and one can sense she is disturbed by Macbeth's selfish acts and Lady Macbeth pushing her husband to do sinister things. Brown Mouse has been more engaged with it. With the kids in two different schooling situations this year, both will be covering Macbeth, but in different ways. Lala Bug has gone to see a local performance of it with her school and will be learning, discussiing, and writing about Macbeth as it compares to Twelfth Night, a comedy. Brown Mouse will be part of a Shakespeare class that will ultimately perform Macbeth.

Both kids are also in soccer and 4-H.

Lala Bug has been adjusting to taking some classes at a small high school and while the adjustment has been challenging, she and we like the school and staff and she is thriving academically. She is getting her math and science (biology) outside the home. She has also been taking dance, her first autumn of doing both dance and soccer. I am hesitant to declare that as a success. She loves both, but has been running very tired and her sleep is 'off.' 

 

Brown Mouse has been taking an ecology class and a tall ships history class through our charter, and both have been a success. for his other subjects, he has been using Key To workbooks and ALEKS for math at home, learning more about American history, and we have been doing a language arts loop of skill-strengthening activities specific to his learning needs.

Onward into December, which boasts a variety of celebrations for our family and a welcomed break from the everyday lesson activities.

learning period 1: 2019-2020

We are in a season of busy! I have been wanting to find a time to blog about how our school is going so far, but time for me to pause, reflect, and write has been so limited. Right now, I am sitting in M’s car next to the soccer field, where Lala Bug has practice. Normally, I don’t wait here, but today, my car is in the shop (again), M is just home from a business trip and worked from home, so he and Brown Mouse are having time together, and with darkness coming earlier, soccer practice end-time feels unpredictable on this field has no lights. So this nets me a little time to write!

I looked back on some of my personal journaling from the past couple of years and the start to the school year has rarely felt smooth. This year felt even less so, as it was very, very drawn out, and growth has made our learning choices different this year. Lala Bug began a part time program at a small high school, which began slowly with orientations and community building, before classes began. The school requires we drive, so this commute is a change, too. Brown Mouse is still in our beloved charter school, and although we had to begin documenting our learning activities in early August(!!), the physical activities and classes didn’t begin until late September. There has been much change with our charter too, bringing more uncertainty. The same late start was true for 4-H, so it felt like we were trying to launch the school year over the span of about two months!

So here we are heading into late October and I feel like we are finally settled into a routine. I hesitate to use the word groove or rhythm, because our schedule just feels too full. We have quite a few things we have to be at, at specific times. It took me several weeks, and a comment from my friend Vanessa (of Wright at Homeschool), for me to realize that I needed a mindset shift to accept that this is our normal right now. We are intentionally busy. We won’t be busy like this all year. (We can’t be. It isn’t sustainable for me or for my differently wired girl.) Right now, we have activities out of the house 4 evenings per week, plus weekend games, in addition to daily classes and/or 4-H, and our homeschool. I have tried to keep Fridays clear, but Lala Bug does have Friday evening soccer practice and we have ended up needing to make appointments on some of the Fridays.

 

So for learning period 1, August and September:

Lala Bug, grade 9, is studying  algebra 1, biology with lab, American History, and English. The first two are classes she is taking and the latter two are been addressed in a less formal way at home with literature, documentaries, and discussions. In addition, she is in soccer, dance, 4-H, and is pursuing her own passions, including knitting, sewing, and fashion design. We haven’t been able to find a way to do block learning with her current classes.

Brown Mouse, grade 6, is doing language arts (rotating through grammar, cursive, typing, and writing, usually through dictation), science (we started the year with a lovely geology block), American History (I can combine with his sister and he is taking a class on American tall ships, navigation, and sailing history), and daily math. (We haven’t settled on a single curriculum for the year. He previously enjoyed Teaching Textbooks, but despite moving him up a couple levels, he is bored. He will likely get practice through Key To workbooks, Khan Academy, and ALEKS.) Brown Mouse is also in soccer, 4-H, and is interested in survival gear and skills.

We have managed to sneak in a couple family camping trips and a weekend in the mountains since this learning period began, which fuels the soul. M has had a couple of business trips. We've attended a harvest festival and a celebration of Monarch migration, which are near and dear to our hearts. So it has been a full couple of months.

I have had to make an intention to include some restorative self-care into my days and be clear and loving with my boundaries, because I know if I am well rooted, my branches are strong enough to help everyone else.

What has been keeping you busy this 'season?'

restorative self-care

I have been thinking A LOT about self-care in recent weeks. The word is used a lot in the social circles I move in, but it had lost a lot of meaning for me. Self-care, self-centered, self-indulgence, and restorative self-care were all getting muddled for me and I wasn't doing any of it well.

What I am trying to focus on these days is restorative self-care. Big or little activities I am doing thoughtfully, intentionally, mindfully to care for my body, heart, and soul in a way that I enjoy and makes me feel a little restored, without guilt.

Restorative self-care is different, for me, than self-care that might include an activity that is practicing care, but doesn't feel refueling or enjoyable, such as going to the doctor. It can include treats of various kinds, but that would fall, first, into self-indulgence.

If I am missing out on space and time to practice restorative self-care, I tend to feel a self-centered lacking. This manifests, for me, in resentful words and behavior that I regret later, and more self-indulgence than self-care. I start to feel guilty, very much aware that many of my challenges are what my family calls 'first world problems,' and while that is not said to diminish the difficulties that are truly needing attention, it does help me re-establish where I have lost my boundaries and...self-care!

Here are some small ways that I am caring for myself in a restorative way (in no particular order, except sleep comes first). These are small, doable things during this season of life that has us on-the-go far too much right now. None of them take much time or money. While I am realizing some changes need to be made in our schedule (and definitely my attitude about it), I am starting with making some shifts for myself to help me manage the overwhelm I am feeling.

Restorative Self-care Activities:

• Prioritizing sleep.
• A hot shower (For some, a bubble bath. For me, a hot shower at night after the kids are in bed.)
• Setting a morning intention.
• Writing down 3+ things I am grateful for each night.
• Getting outside! Nature is the most incredible balm.
• A hot compress on my eyes (I am prone to sties under stress and this forces me to sit in a favorite chair, close my eyes, and rest for 5 minutes.)
• Meditation. (I love the free Insight Timer app. It has something for everyone.)
• Reading a "slush" book before sleep (This is a non-heady book for pleasure.)
• Exercise, even if only 20 minutes
• Yoga (I am not a "yoga person," but Yoga with Adriene for 15 minutes leaves my body feeling really good.)
• Art (I am no artist, but putting colors on paper, taking some satisfying photos, or making something with my hands in a creative ways, feels positive.)
• Hugging myself, squeezing my shoulders, and speaking positive words to myself in the mirror.
• Crying. Yes, really. When things feel overwhelming, a good cry is a huge release for me.
• Journaling. (I am a highly sensitive introvert, so getting it out helps a lot.)
• Sharing the burden...talking with my husband, close family member, or friend all help. Sometimes in sharing, I unintentionally receive help I didn't realize I needed or simply get support that helps me let go of a few worries.
• Sitting outside for a few minutes with a cup of tea.
• If I have one-on-one connection daily with each of my people, I feel calmer and less guilty about needing to carve time for myself.
• 3 deep breaths. I cannot remember where I read about these names for it, but this type of breathing is instantly calming for me. "Mint tea," "Hot cocoa," or as my daughter calls them "Lavender and Dandelion" breaths. Breathe deeply in through the nose, hold the breath, then exhale, blowing out of the mouth, as if you are smelling your drink or flower, then blowing on it to cool it or make a wish. Do this 3 times. On breath one, just focus on the breathing. One breath 2, stretch and expand your body. (We tend to get tight and contract when stressed.) On breath 3, speak an intention or single most important thing for right now. (This 3 breath focus came from an episode of the TiLT Parenting Podcast, which I highly recommend, especially if you have quirky kiddos.)
• More of what feels good to my body (water, for example) and less of what doesn't (chocolate, for example...that is a self-indulgence).

There are certainly other small things that one could do. Some people like to give themselves a mani- or pedicure, have a personal dance party, or play a game of solitaire. Do what works for you. The list above works for me and it does not include screen use of any kind, which is my preference for restorative self-care.

Be well!