Involved Education

Educating boys is, well, different.  It is fun and challenging.  That’s not to say educating girls is not challenging or fun, but boys are different.  My girls are talkers, pleasant, and reasonably gentle.  My boys are….adventures.

This morning I thought we would get a jump on lessons.  I was wrong.  The first thing that happened was my boys were playing Robin Hood in their bedroom.  Why is that a problem?  It wouldn’t be except it involved jumping from bed to bed and climbing on the dresser.  I walk into the room only to discover my five year old in only his pajama bottoms launching a karate kick at his brother’s belly.  I must add that my five year old was launching himself from the dresser and my eight year old was standing on the bed.  As I begin to scold, my eight year old suddenly remarks, “Look, Sheriff, we ain’t the enemy.  Chill!”  I admit I had flashbacks to my high school days at that moment.

Upon a little coaxing, I finally understood that I was Sheriff Nottingham, Peyton was Robin Hood, while Alex was Little John.  Needless to add but I will anyway, the game was over.  Both boys were grounded from their bedroom and from high objects.

Much to my surprise by eight, I had all the children dressed and ready to head to our little homeschool.  And then…..

“I want to play soldier!” one child piped up.

“I do too!” another one added.

Soon there were four voices arguing that playing soldiers was a reenactment of history.  And history is educational, right?  So I made a deal.  I was Major Mom and they were my cadets.  It was amazing how much my cadets were able to accomplish.  They learned to march, salute, do obstacle courses, remain silent, and …..

They were able to complete their lessons including poetry.  Yes, there was a lot of giggling, but that’s okay.  And yes, we did finish reading Robin Hood.

Tomorrow we start reading An Island Story. Let the next adventure begin!

If you ask my 8 year old, there is not a difference in the c spine compared to the patella.  He informed me of this numerous times today!  Finally after the third time he responded in the same affirmative answer, I became exasperated.  So I stopped the lesson and was like, “What!”  He nodded and said, “Yes, ma’am.  They are the same.”

Shaking my head in disbelief.  I walked over and knelt down in front of him and put my hand on the back of his neck and then on his knee.  “Are those the same?”  “No, ma’am but c spine and patella are.”

Now, I was really get irritated.  “Alex, ok, I give up. Why are the c spine and the patella the same?”  He looked at me with those serious green eyes and answered softly, “Mama, it’s because they are both hard words.”

That pretty much conveys our science lesson today.  It was a bunch of hard words that were unfamiliar to the younger group.  Yet, we continued to use those “same hard words” throughout our lessons.  I would stop the Lego play and ask the five year old to show me where his patella was located.

The result of today was they all learned where the c-spine and the patella are located and why they are not the same.

The purchase of two parakeets is proving to have been a wonderful decision.  T has not stopped reading on the care and training of parakeets since the purchase.  I had no idea that the purchase would lend itself to reading, but that’s the way true learning goes.  You start off moving in one direction and BOOM a child grabs the idea and runs with it in a totally new direction.  I love it!

So what did we accomplish today?  Plenty.  We made it through all of our core subjects and a physical ed class.  In other areas, we accomplished life skills such as the girl’s cooked breakfast and the boys helped clean the kitchen plus swept the foyer.  Then tonight, we  were able to attend the Nutcracker performance that was simultaneously broadcasted from New York to our local cinema.  It was an amazing opportunity for the kids and nicely rounded out our day.  I would be lying if I said homeschooling is not time consuming but it is so much fun that I often forget how much time I spend educating my kids.

Tonight, T will be singing with the Tupelo Symphony Orchestra’s Children’s Chorus.  What a truly wonderful opportunity this has been for her!  She has completely enjoyed it and wants to do it again next year.  Last night, I watched the kids practice with the full orchestra.  I can only say that I was very impressed.  The kids did a fantastic job and the orchestra was great.  I am looking forward to tonight’s show. 

Yesterday, we did not do a lot of traditional education, other than reading and math, due to the renovation of our science rooms.  We spent a lot of time preparing for the move.  The kids are responsible for assisting in sorting the different science supplies to help the unpacking process flow in some logical manner.  I am impressed that AH(8) has devised a system of boxes that are labeled and sitting in the hall for easy packing.  The kids also helped measure the new room and graphed out the design.

The new zoology and comparative anatomy area is our old science lab.  Everything else is going to the new area.  I did not realize how much science equipment, kits, and books we have until this move.  Let me say, it is a bunch!

The best part of the day was when the kids and I headed over to the local pet store and picked up 2 birds, 4 fish, and 2 frogs.  The animals had proper names before they reached their new homes.  We experienced only one small disaster.  The dark blue parakeet (Blue) escaped before being placed in his new home.  I spent nearly an hour trying to catch him.  I think he enjoyed the game of chase much more than I did.  And while I was chasing a flying bird, AH was filling the tank for the frogs.  The two inches of needed water turned into a fully filled tank. AH was enjoying watching me chase the bird so he continued filling the tank without paying attention to the amount within the  aquarium.   I was not amused when after catching Blue, I  turned and saw the fully filled, nearly over flowing tank.

What a wonderful life lesson this turned out to be!  Because THEN I had to teach my kids how to syphon.  This in turn lead to great discussions about gravity, force, motion, and more but it also lead to laughter as old stories about syphoning gas from the lawn mower were told.

At the end of the day, the children and I had set up artificial three habitats (cages and aquariums).    What a wonderful day!

Last night my ten year old (Jr. Scientist) returned from Nepal with her daddy.  I was happy to see my husband but I was thrilled to see my little girl.  I wanted to hear her thoughts of  Nepal and what touched her heart.

I asked her, “What was your favorite thing about Nepal?”  The answer was quick, “Everything.”  I heard tales of elephant rides,  Buddhist monks, canoe trips, elephant breeding centers, plants, festivals, and hungry crocodiles.  She talked of the candy, tea, and food.

Then suddenly tears filled her eyes and her face grew red.  I stopped and listened.  She said nothing but hung her head.  I knew.  I have traveled and experienced those feelings that I saw so clearly displayed across her face.  “The poverty?”  She nodded and looked up.  Her eyes held  questions but none she wanted to verbalize.  I understood and opened my arms.  A few minutes later her eyes began to dance again, “It was so different.”    ”Did you fall in love with Nepal?”  She smiled and I knew.  A part of her heart will always live in Kathmandu.