Day Nineteen: Don't Make Me Do Workbooks!

The speaker's message resounded in me like a pounding drum and I was nearly taken with the simplicity and seeming authenticity of it all. However, what I know to be true of my children  also pounded in my heart--a competing beat vying for a place alongside this "new" philosophy. Near the end of the year, the homeschool convention is more than just an avenue for purchasing next year's curriculum; it's where parents can be redeemed from curricula that proved less than successful and they are encouraged in various seminars that there is more than one way to educate our children. So there I sat, with a couple of "unbudgeables" that have always worked for us but also some questions that just weren't going away. Was I reaching my children through each of their learning styles? Was I adding too many subjects? Not enough subjects? Since we have freedom as homeschoolers to choose our own educational materials, the task can be liberating and overwhelming at the same time. The message that blared charismatically from the podium seemed intriguing. It subtracted much parental work and focused on the main three areas of study for every child: writing, reading and math. I began to mull it all over as I drove home barely in time for supper.

spotting owls--our fave!

Later that week, however, somewhere between church and home, Oliver called out from the backseat, "Mommy, please don't make me do anymore workbooks. They don't teach me anything." The girls piped in with their agreement of his statement and for a minute, I sat silently rolling between the white and yellow lines, trying to steady my thoughts and my vehicle. Where did this come from and what exactly was he saying? Suddenly, I found myself in a curriculum debate with my children and although I defended their workbooks and tried to justify their value, I was amused by my kids' passion. Workbooks and textbooks have their place in our homeschool for two reasons: first, to cover all of our bases (details that might be missed in a unit study), and second, to maintain the flow of education during a lull in our thematic studies or a season when important things in life cause us to stop the afore mentioned studies. While they are essential for some families, for us, they are an "easy" fix for an educational blockage or deliberate break from the style we prefer.

Nine years of home educating, has taught me that as different as each of my children are from each other, they also change from year to year in their abilities and desires for how to learn. Although, I am ultimately in charge of their learning, I revisit our materials at the end of spring to see if anything should be changed up. This particular trip in the truck taught me that my kids actually care about the methodology. Oliver's realization that workbooks weren't working for him was a surprise to me and I am taking him seriously. He's not one to flounder or complain about a book simply because he is not in the mood for it. My heart drummed again with the same knowledge that beats rhythmically year after year: my children thrive under thematic learning. Once again, I was driven to plan and prepare an exciting curriculum not based on advice from keynote speakers or philosophical readings for home educators, but by my children's straightforward requests. 

31 Days of Wrapping Up the School Year

This month of posts begins with a trip to my local Homeschool Convention and that means I'll be inspired and oh so ready to wrap up the year, right? Well, that is my prayer. With our little Love (Ashanti) coming to us in September, it's been a rather unpredictably busy and distracting school year. Our biggest blessing also created a huge learning curve for how to homeschool with a toddler who took awhile to slide into our routines and us into hers. Thus, 31 Days is once again an accountability tool for me to help my children finish their present grades well.

In the fall, we dove into the continent of Africa together, trekking the vast Sahara desert and reading 52 Days By Camel by Lawrie Raskin. We suffered along with Olaudah when he was kidnapped and forced into slavery for eleven years (The Kidnapped Prince by Olaudah Equiano). We visited our Kenyan friend's lovely little shop which provides a place for artisans to sell their wares for financial support for their families. We memorized all the African country names. And, we prayed for and learned all about Ashanti's Ivorian momma's struggle with Canadian Immigration. With such an extensive subject matter, it is impossible for my children (or me, for that matter) to grasp the depths of Africa, however, if I can illicit emotion from them through historical biographies and lead them to Africans they encounter each day, to know their stories, that is half the battle. My desire is for them to love Africa and for them to be able to dialogue with others about it's rich and terrible history and it's spectacular hope for the future. With a couple more read-alouds and completing our project folders, this is where we stand on this first day of May concerning our Social Studies. 

My children, attempting to experience carrying water on their heads down our street just like Nya in A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park. They had a tiny idea of what it could be like... minus the burning heat, minus the severity of spilling the precious dirty water, minus the many hours of walking, minus the importance of the chore for a young child, add in the embarrassment one of my kids felt (I won't mention who) participating in this little exercise :)  And, to my dismay, after reading about well-digging and SODIS projects and the monumental problem of finding clean drinking water for many communities, my three kiddos each returned with their water jugs and one by one poured our pure, disease-free water all over the driveway. I think I may have done it too, without thinking. Lesson learned.

working on projects in the beautiful spring air

our very simple version of a Botswana marimba

this big kid joining us for very few adventures these days as she diligently completes her own highschool courses

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And if we could just scoop up creation and tuck it into a book, this would be our favourite subject :)

 feeding mute swans

 mallard ducks eating out of his hand too

 This little guy came only about four feet from us but was more fearful than our other forest friends.

 This never happens--the petting zoo experience--but, we'll take it today!

 chipmunks too

 Now, this is a regular occurrence and a welcome one.

 But this? It's rare for a woodpecker to sit on your finger! She was beyond thrilled.

 

desperate to see what's in the hole

Expect more of the above Nature Study photos since it tends to be how we reward ourselves for a job well done in our other subjects.  :)