Back to Home School

Well, not back exactly. Depending on how you look at it, we're either just beginning or we're just continuing on the same path we've been on. But a few things have changed.

This week, all across America, H1's age mates are heading off to kindergarten. So, I guess we've "officially" begun our homeschool journey. I've created a daily and weekly schedule for the family. It includes some "kid school" time among many of the activities we already participate in.

Our daily routine includes a trip to a local park. Today the park was full of other kindergarteners burning off steam after their first day of school. Which is how I came to have what I am sure is only the beginning of a long line of annoying conversations. It went like this:

Nice dad in the park: So how old is your son?
Me: He's 5.
NDIP: So he's in kindergarten?
Me: Yep
NDIP: So is my daughter. She goes to [local highly rated elementary school]. Where does your son go?
Me: We homeschool.
NDIP: Oh. Do you do that on your own or as part of a group?

At this point I explain the once a week homeschool enrichment program that H1 attends.

NDIP: Oh. We thought about homeschooling, but we wanted her to be around kids her own age.
Me, inwardly rolling my eyes: Well, that's one of the nice things about this program.

Now, I could have said any number of things: "Really? Why?" or "Hmmm. We don't really want our son to have friends." or "I plan to intentionally keep my kid from all kids his age. In fact, crap! We should leave the park right now as this place is crawling with kindergardeners."

Now, I don't believe this man had any malicious intent or realized that what he said could have been offensive. Now that I've had time to process it, I think the main problem here is that the topic of homeschooling is a small talk killer. Though homeschooling is becoming more and more common, it still one of those things that people don't quite know how to respond to. But really, at least in the context of meeting a stranger in the park, it's not that big a deal. It's just what we do. And it's not a commentary on your family and the choices you've made. I don't care. Really. I fully believe that each family has the right and the capability to make good decisions for itself. You don't have to defend your choices to me.

Also, schooling is so prevalaent and so mainstream that, when it comes to school-age kids, we don't know what else to talk about. So maybe I need to come up with a way to quickly redirect the conversation to a non-school, "how's-the-weather" sort of topic. Maybe, "do you live in the neighborhood? Isn't it great to be so near such a beautiful park?"

As for the rest of our day, I think it went pretty well. School around here is pretty loose. I've only scheduled in 2 or 3 short lessons a day. We have dedicated time for Reading, Math and Spanish. Everything else is well covered by our daily living. For example, while we have no "science time," in the past week we've learned how to identify a swallow, discovered volcanic rock in our back yard, learned all about how sound waves travel through the air and into our ear where they vibrate the ear drum and the cochlea turns them into electrical impulses which the brain interprets as sound. And more. Really, when it comes to science, I'm learning more from him than I'm teaching him!


Our very first intro to kid school was today's phonics lesson. He resisted, but once we got started he enjoyed it and it was quick and painless. He then insisted on listening to the phonics song over and over and over and over again. After kid school we headed out to the museum of nature and science. While H2 napped we did a Spanish lesson. Again, he resisted, but didn't want to stop once we started. He seems to be wary of anything that may have expectations of him attached to it. So, for now, kid school is optional to him. I'm going to do the lesson no matter what, and he can choose whether to participate. So far that strategy has worked well with him.

Tomorrow he'll go to his first full-day of his enrichment program. I'll admit I'm nervous. Orientation was less than wonderful for us. Hopefully he'll hang in there a bit better tomorrow. We shall see.

Two Great Science Series for Kids

H1 is very interested in science these days. Some of his favorite topics include human anatomy, sea life, and, oddly enough, sound. We've discovered a couple of really great series of kids' science videos, and I thought I'd share them here.

Popular Mechanics for Kids
This series really makes science fun and exciting. There's a lot of gross out science and amazing animal features. We've learned all about aquariums, sewers and water reclamation, garbage and landfills, killer animals . . . all kinds of exciting stuff! This is one that I enjoy watching with the kids because I learn something too. It even holds the attention of my 2-year-old.

The Way Things Work
This series is based on the classic book by David Macaulay and focuses primarily on physics. Islanders and mammoths on the mythical "Mammoth Island" seek to solve everyday problems and teach the principles of physics along the way. H1 will watch these 2-3 times in a row. I couldn't find the videos on Amazon, but we've been getting them from the library. They're short - about 13 minutes - and they cover topics such as light, sound, electricity, heat, pressure, etc. Designed to be used in 3-6 grade classrooms, each DVD comes with a teacher's guide that provides a summary, a glossary, pre-viewing discussion questions, follow-up questions and activities, suggested internet resources and suggested print resources. Grab one of these and you can have a complete physics unit. Very cool.

We've checked out lots of videos form the library, but these have been the favorites so far. I'm sure there many other great resources out ht

Whatever is pure . . .

We've recently had some run-ins with superheroes at our house. It seemed harmless enough at first, but it has started to cause problems with behavior. Spiderman recently swung from his web (i.e. the shower curtain) and ended up in the ER with 4 staples in his head. That was clearly a problem, but the greater problem, really, has been the physical aggression and the level of disrespect and the mood swings that seem to have escalated since we've invited these wonder men into our home. But it was the ER visit that made me start really thinking about it.

Yesterday, at H1's request, we got a copy of some Batman cartoons from the library. I watched one with him, and truly it was horrible. Very dark, very violent. But H1 loves the excitement. I spent a lot of time yesterday pondering the role of this sort of entertainment in the life our family. I asked God to speak to me about it. It came to me that this is just the beginning of our job as parents in determining what forms of entertainment are appropriate for our children, and we have to learn how to discern what is good and right for our family. Would we let our son surf porn online just because "everyone's doing it?"

Still, taking something a child loves away from him is never easy as a parent. At least it's not for me. I dread conflict. I dread tantrums. It's a weakness of mine as a parent and an area I know God is asking me to grow in.

As nap time approached today (when H1 watches TV while H2 naps), I was dreading the meltdown that would come when I informed H1 that there would be no Batman today. I thought. I prayed. I fretted. Then I remembered the following passage:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. (Philippians 4:8)

I decided to read it to H1. I asked God to guide me. I prayed to H1's guardian angel. When he asked me to put on Batman, I asked him to first sit on the couch with me and read something from the Bible. I told them that they were words written by Paul, who used to be Saul. (Saul's conversion story made a huge impact on him and he's always remembered it.)

I read it to him and then I summarized it again for him, telling him that God wants us to spend our time with things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and excellent. I told him that I'd been thinking about the TV shows we've been watching and I don't think that Batman fits into this category. I waited for the protest. He was quiet for a moment and then he said, "It's not true, but it is honorable." I said, "Well, beating people up isn't honorable and Batman does a lot of beating people up." He was quiet again for a second and then he picked up a copy of Popular Mechanics for Kids and said, "How about we watch this instead?"

I wanted to weep! I told him I was very proud of him for choosing a more suitable program and he is now happily watching something I feel very good about.

I never cease to be amazed by these miracles. I wish I could remember that when we seek to do the Lord's will and ask for His help, He will make the seemingly impossible not only possible, but easy.

Thanks be to God.

Thoughts on Community Service

Random, unorganized, half-formed thoughts on community service.

I was recently exposed to an educational philosophy that has me very excited about my decision to homeschool (more on that later). One of the key tenets of this philosophy is that the primary curriculum of a child's early years (birth to about age 8) is simply (ha!) learning good from bad, right from wrong, and true from false. These are the impressionable years where you have the opportunity to fully indoctrinate your child into your family's values. 

Of course, this has me thinking about our family's values. I am, once again, renewing my efforts at (weekly) daily Mass attendance. I believe that I have found a nice, nearby Mass at a time that almost works for my family (it's the 8:15 am Mass at St. James for those who may be interested).

I am also, once again, interested in finding some sort of service opportunity to participate in with my children. And this is where I begin sharing my rambling, half-baked, stream-of-consciousness with you.

It occurred to me as I was searching for an opportunity that something as simple as baking cookies for the elderly couple across the street would be a great way to serve with my kids. It also seems the best formalized service available to me with small kids is visiting seniors in nursing homes. I cannot imagine anything I'd less like to do. It seems so awkward. Does anyone who's done this have any insights on how to do it well?  


I'd like to start modeling service to the community for my kids, but . . . This is hard for me to articulate. I don't want to create an "other" mindset. Does that make sense? I want my children to value serving everyone - not just those who are officially "at risk" "in need" or "less fortunate." I want them to serve their father, mother, sister, brother, neighbor, friend. I don't necessarily think that serving at a soup kitchen has instrinsically more value than sharing toys with your sibling. Does that make sense? I think in many ways it's easier to spend an evening feeling good about yourself serving soup to the homeless than it is to be nice to the people in your own home. I'm not saying that volunteering in a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter or a food bank is a bad thing. Not at all. These are very, very important things to do and opportunities I have considered. I just want to make sure that I don't give my kids the idea that spending time with a senior at a senior home is somehow better than spending time with their own grandparents.

And yet, even as I write that I think, "is it really not?" I mean, their grandparents have lots of friends. The old guy at the nursing home may not have anyone who comes to see him. Their grandparents are healthy and vital, nursing home residents generally can't get out and seek their own adventures.


The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that "the family should live in such a way that its members learn to care and take responsibility for the young, the old, the sick, the handicapped, and the poor (2208)."

The Bible tells us that "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world (James 1:27)."

We are also told "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5:8) and "If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need" (1 Timothy 5:16).

So it seems to me that, yes, we are called first and foremost to "take care of our own." But this in no way diminishes our obligation to help our neighbor.

Okay. So again, random, jumbled thoughts! I'm not sure what I'm after here. Just thinking out loud I suppose. I welcome your own thoughts on the topic - even if they're as incoherent as mine!

Little Friends in the Forest

I was captivated by the "Instant Friends Kit" in the June/July issue of Disney's Family Fun magazine.

I was bored this afternoon and wanted to do something outside with the kids. I happened to have a handful of googly eyes on hand, so we made our own! Cute critters, don't you think?

Yay! Our Kindergarten Curriculum is here!

I guess I'm officially a homeschooler. I've always considered myself a homeschooler, but now that my son is officially of kindergarten age, it feels more official. People are going to start noticing he's not in school, even though he "should be."

We are enrolled in a homeschool enrichment program through the local school district. It's a neat program that meets one day a week and offers some of those enrichment activities that can be difficult or inconvenient to offer at home (group games in gym class, big messy art projects, dissection, etc.). It also offers a great community of homeschooling families for friendship and support. I'm really looking forward to it.

One of the really great benefits of the program is access to free curriculum, and I just got our supplies today. If I were to buy everything I just got for free, I'd have to spend over $600. So this is a really great perk. Each family is allowed to check out one product per subject per child/grade.

So what's in our package?

Sing, Spell, Read and Write
This looks like a really fun way to learn to read. It came with a ton of little readers and kids keep track of their progress by moving a little race car around a race track. I think DS will find this motivating. I'm excited about the music CD (he's a very auditory learner) and the games. We got it out and looked at it today and he's excited about it being special time with mommy while little sister naps.

Math-U-See
I don't know much about this except that the mom I talked to at the curriculum affair kept going on and on and about how clearly and easily it teaches basic math concepts. She had been using the Saxon program and then switched to Math-U-See and couldn't believe how well everything clicked for her kids after that. I like that it's hands on.

Power Glide Children's Spanish
This teaches Spanish through an action and adventure story. It's a very auditory program and I think DS is going to love it.

Artistic Pursuits
I actually wasn't sure about getting an art curriculum, but since it was free, I figured it didn't hurt to check it out. I liked this one because it comes with prints of famous pieces and teaches art appreciation and isn't just a "how to draw" course. I figured even if DS hates it, I might learn something from it.

I didn't get a social studies or science curriculum because, frankly, what was available was totally lame. We do a lot of science through our homeschool preschool co-op and, when I looked at the available text books, I realized that what we've been doing is at at least a 3rd grade level. So we're good there! As for social studies, I feel like DS is getting plenty of that through just our natural living - particularly what is considered kindergarten-level social studies.

I should mention here that I've been really hesitant about using curriculum at all. I certainly don't think it's necessary. But if we can keep it fun, I think it's a great way to provide some structure to our days and offer activities that DS and I can do together that we (hopefully) will both enjoy. DS seems excited about the idea of learning to read and write and do math. So I'm excited too!

A Mass-ive Headache

I have always felt called to attend daily Mass with my children. Not everyday, but at least once a week. I've never done it. Well, I may have taken #1 once or twice before #2 was born, but it's certainly never been part of my routine.

Recently, daily Mass attendance was a topic of conversation on a Catholic homeschooling board I am a part of, and I heard once again that this is something I need to do. "If today you hear God's voice, harden not your heart." I've been working on instituting more discipline into my life, and I have somewhat of a fledgling weekly routine, so I decided Thursday would be my day for taking the kids to Mass. Today is Thursday.

I have to tell you, I was not looking forward to this. My kids are not the sweet little angels that fold their hands neatly in their lap and sit, stand and kneel with the congregation. My 5yo boy likes to alternate giving me kisses and an angelic "aren't I being good?" smile with flopping his body around in the pew pretending he's just been shot. My 2yo girl likes to alternate "singing" loudly from the hymnal with digging through my purse to find my lipstick to smear all over her face while I'm attempting to pray.

They're cute. They're hilarious. So long as it's not your job to keep them "still and quiet" for the duration of Mass.

Now I don't have unreasonable expectations. I don't expect them to actually sit still and be quiet for the entire Mass. I expect to have to remind them of appropriate behavior. But I do expect my 5yo to respond to my reminders without "sassing" me. When I ask him to sit up, I expect him to sit up, not to let his tongue hang out of his mouth and kick the pews.

By the time the final blessing rolled around I was exhausted and discouraged. A kind older woman who had been sitting behind us came and told me I have beautiful children and that she "had to chuckle" because she's been there. She told me I was doing a good job. I appreciated her kindness, but I didn't believe her. I felt like a miserable failure.

We went home and I put the 2yo down for a nap, and, after some quiet time, my son and I had a snack together.

Suddenly he raised his cracker, broke it in half and said, "Take this all of you and eat it. This is my body." He turned to me and handed me half of the cracker. Then he asked, "Can the water be the blood?" Uh, sure. "Take this all of you and drink it. This is my blood." He handed me the cup.

Then he said something I don't quite remember about how Jesus makes him happy.

"How does Jesus make you happy?" I asked.

"He shares. He shares his body and his blood."

Well okay then, I guess it wasn't a complete waste of time taking him to Mass.