Wrap Up

Our 2009-2010 school year is nearly over. The next week will be three days of schooling (mostly fun stuff) and a field trip on Friday. It's hard to believe that I already have two years of experience under my belt. When I look back at our progress, I know this year probably won't be recorded as one of our best years homeschooling. We made it through, but I felt like we really didn't take advantage of the opportunities we had in front of us. Here are some of our highs and lows:

Positives:

EM made solid progress in his reading. He is now working his way through chapter books, reading level N. At the start of the year, he didn't want to spend any free time reading. Now I find him reading alone without my encouragement.

EM has moved quickly through the first and almost all of the second grade math material from Calvert. We used those textbooks in more of a review fashion, while he also did work with Singapore Math 1B, Key Curriculum Press Introduction to Fractions, and various other math workbooks. He probably could have been more challenged than he was, but I had a hard time finding just the right fit for him. I plan to continue with Key Curriculum Press since he really liked the way the material was presented.

JT did an excellent job with spelling this year. We used the English Root Card set to develop our lists. I felt that he is finding it easier to decipher the meanings of strange words he encounters now that we are looking at the origins of the words on his list.

JT enjoyed his social studies material through Calvert. He learned a lot about the geography of the United States. He also had to write the research paper on California. This was a challenging assignment for him. It really made him have to think about organizing information. We also discussed the need to be able to communicate things you have learned in order to share that knowledge with others.

Negatives:

JT's math was not what it should have been this year. He raced through the Calvert material and then we floundered around for a bit. I hadn't planned well for what to do with the second half of the year. He worked his way through Life of Fred, Fractions. I feel that I should have had more supplemental material ready to go along with that book. I plan to have him do Singapore Math's placement test and start him in that series in the Fall.

EM spent far too much time waiting for me to be able to work on things with him. Many times I just assigned worksheets to keep him busy while I got JT pointed in the right direction. I had hoped JT would be more self-directed this year, but soon found EM was the one who can self-direct. Next year I plan to give EM his own notebook of assignments, like I already do for JT, and see if he can work independently.

Once again, I dropped the ball in science. We covered all that Calvert offered...but not much more. That said, the boys still manage to learn about science through their own explorations and reading. If I follow through with my summer plans, I'm hoping to be ready to dive deeper into science next year.

I also found that I waited too long to really get started on a few things. JT's German class through the cyber has been working out fairly well. I wish I had looked into that earlier in the school year. He has completed 1 out of 4 units. I hate to try to continue it through the summer, but don't want him to lose any ground, so we probably will. Also, I picked up an old high school poetry text book in the library discard pile earlier in the year. I just started having JT work through it a week ago. He has really enjoyed the depth of the study. I avoided pulling that out sooner because of the need to finish the Calvert test assignments.

All in all, the year was still a success. The boys were able to learn at their own pace. They could go off on tangents when the whim hit them. We were able to maintain a schedule (most days) that allowed us to finish school work and have time for outside activities. I still believe that this is the perfect fit for our family. I worried at the beginning of this year that EM would miss his friends from his year of schooling. He mentioned them from time to time in the Fall, but since then has decided being home is far better than being in a 'regular' school environment. I am still having fun. Things could change...the boys could decide they want to try something new. Either way, it will continue to be an adventure!

Summer Plans

I finally sat down and outlined what I would like to accomplish this summer. I have some goals for myself and some for the boys. Let's start with me...

Because the cyber school misunderstood a request I made for them to order 5th grade "MATH ONLY" for JT in December, I have the advantage of having ALL of the 2nd and 5th grade Calvert curriculum in my home at the START of summer break. Remember last year? I have promised myself that I will spend no less than 5 hours a week working my way through that material this summer. I have definitely felt a lack of organized planning on my part this year. Part of that may have been having to coordinate both boys' education for the first time. I really believe if I had invested more time immersed in what they would be working on in advance, I could have done a better job.

Along with that goal, I will (remind me that I said this later, would you?) I WILL find ways to incorporate the ton of enrichment materials I have bought in the last 3 years into our daily classroom experiences.

I will also clean out the old books that are no longer needed for the boys.


Now for the goals for the kids.

JT expressed a need to continue with some form of routine throughout the summer. We worked out a very simple schedule to keep us in a learning state of mind:

1. We plan to do some form of math twice a week. Whether it is through games, websites or workbooks, we need to keep up with the math facts.

2. We will have a new spelling list every two weeks. For the summer, we will introduce the words on Monday in week one, use Spelling city and other fun learning tools with a final test the following Friday. (JT specifically requested the continuing spelling lists)

3. We are creating journals now that the boys will use to record insects they observe this summer. We are also keeping a journal for the birds we see in the yard.

4. We will be working on one art project a week. Art has definitely been something we don't do enough. I'm hoping if we really get in the habit this summer it will carry through in the fall.

5. Our group of friends that participated in the chess classes we had in our home last year seem interested in starting up again. We plan to try to coordinate times once school lets out. We also want to start up our Summer Science group again. I hope to meet at least 4 times this summer.

6. My parents have a swimming pool and only live about 5 minutes away from us. Last year, the weather was not the best for swimming. I hope to get the boys over there 3 times a week if possible. Neither of them can swim at this point. I want to remedy that this summer. They also enjoy riding their bikes on my parents' long driveway.

7. I absolutely MUST set time limits for computer exposure this summer. We just purchased Lego Rock Band for the Wii. I can see all of us (especially me) spending too much time with that new toy.

8. Finally, having a planned reading time daily. JT reads in his free time without the need for encouragement. I want to start moving EM in the same direction. Plus, I want reading time for ME!

Today I took EM for an appointment for his teeth. He was telling our dentist about his adventures in the backyard. The doctor said, "I am so glad to hear that you play the way a little boy should...outside in the yard, climbing trees and getting dirty!" I had noticed in the last couple years, that my children seem to be some of the only kids that really spend a large amount of time just playing. So many kids are tied up in sports and other activities...they never have time to just go out and explore. I am hoping my goals for this summer will not get in the way of their most important task...playing...like little boys should.

Fun Science

Now that we have made it through all of our required work for the year...we have time for the FUN stuff!
I picked up a book last summer that I kept hoping we'd have time to use. We finally have time. It's A Guide for Using "The Magic School Bus, On the Ocean Floor"in the classroom . The boys have been having fun with the hands on experiments. Always a big hit at our house. Nothing like a table full of cups of dyed water and eye droppers to make little boys happy...and messy. We looked at the density of different temperature water samples. We also compared salt and fresh water. JT was speculating on some other possibilities for experiments along the same line of thinking. I'm hoping to have him lay out a plan and set up his own experiments next week...outside. :-)

We started to make plans for our summer work. Maybe one or two days a week...just a couple hours. We want to try to keep the kids up to speed without over-doing it. I'll have more on that in next week's blog.

Finally, JT is now taking a German class through PACyber. I had been wanting to work with him on foreign language for some time, but never seemed to get motivated. I decided to give the school's program a try. So far, it has been pretty good. JT works his way through each lesson independently. Each lesson has a podcast by the teacher, several online activities and an assignment he needs to complete and upload. This has given both of us a chance to learn how to use some of the technology we have avoided with the cyber school up until now.

TWO WEEKS LEFT TO GO! Can you tell I'm ready for a break?

Time Will Fly

We are planning to complete our school year on May 24th. When I look at the calendar I think there is plenty of time left to finish everything on my to-do list. But I know this is an illusion. I had hoped to pack a month of fun into May. At this point, it's looking like we might have a week or two of fun...

JT is so very close to finishing his research paper. The rough draft is being composed this week. I am hoping to be printing out a final copy early next week. We started a unit on Marine Biology this week. There are quit a few hands on activities to keep us busy. EM is working on his journal a couple times a week. He has always avoided that kind of work, so I thought now that he has little 'assigned' work to complete, we can really take our time and focus on writing skills.

Speaking of writing skills...JT had an OT evaluation this week. He has been complaining of pain when writing for a couple years. I chalked it up to not enough practice. It turns out the therapist believes his 'grip of death' on the pencil is related to some upper body weakness. She gave him several exercises to work on strengthening. Hopefully, he will have an easier time in the future. For now, she recommends keeping his actual writing time to a minimum. Thanks to the cyber school allowing him the accommodation to type his compositions, that shouldn't be a big problem.

I am about to leave on a mini shopping vacation with my daughter. I am going to be gone for Friday. The boys will spend tomorrow at my parents' house. They are taking the Lego Mindstorm with them. There will be bike riding, yard work and science documentaries all day! I will have a much needed day out. :-)

Research Paper

This week marked the completion of all the Calvert tests we need to send in for the year. The only thing left to do before I mail them is JT's research paper for social studies. Knowing how much he enjoys the writing process, you can probably guess what this experience will be like.

First of all, do 4th graders really need to be able to put together a research paper, including a bibliography? I enjoy writing, but I despise putting together a bibliography. This assignment is no picnic for me, either.

JT had to pick a state to write about. He chose California, mostly because he loves reading about Yosemite, so he figured it would be interesting. We went to the library to pick up a few books. Then I showed him how to gather the information on note cards. We made up cards for his sources...and away he went.

He came to me today and said, "Do I really have to list which source the information on each card comes from?"
I said, "Why would you not want to list it?"
"Well, I know that Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America. But, I don't know where I learned that."

I guess mom didn't make the purpose of a research paper entirely clear. :-)

Tomorrow he will start his rough draft. I would really like to see it done before next week. I want to start our last month of schooling with nothing but "our" stuff on the schedule.

EM was free and clear from his Calvert work awhile back. He spent the week reading new books, completing some workbook activities on pronouns, contractions and verb tenses. He also has been working his way through a 2nd grade math activity book. We also did a few experiments on states of matter.

Next week, I hope to give an update on our new Lego Mindstorm activities. The boys have been slowly working on putting together the alligator. It is motion activated. They have it almost ready to go. The poor cat was the victim of its initial attack. I guess we'll have to teach them to use their super powers only for good.

For now, I am happy to see the end of the school year right around the corner. It's been tough adjusting to teaching both the boys at once. I hope to write up an evaluation of how this year went for us. I want to look at the rough spots and try to come up with solutions for next year. If we improve each year...by the time they graduate, I'll be a pro!

Confession

I know I have ranted and raved about the annoyances of PACyber...so this may come as a shock.

We are going to stick with them another year.

It took me most of the year to realize I am willing to jump through the hoops in order to gain some benefits the cyber school has to offer. JT and I sat down together and made a pros and cons list for staying with the school.

PROS

• virtual enrichment classes (JT's main reason for staying with the school...these classes are non-credit fun stuff. He really enjoys them, but they are mostly fluff.)
• reimbursement for internet
• $75 a kid, per year, for PE
• free books and supplies
• free computer, printer and ink
• the school does all the reporting to the state; no portfolio to put together

• no need to deal with our local school district (if traditional homeschooling, they would be reviewing our plan and portfolio)

CONS

• Must take PSSAs every year from 3rd - 11th (homeschoolers are only required to test 3 times in their school career and parents can chose from a list of standardized tests)
• can't chose our own material (we can always supplement with our own, but often feel too strapped for time to pull it off)
• some of the curriculum we must use is inferior to what we would like to use...by a large margin
• inept grading of tests by the cyber school staff

Once we put it all down in writing I felt like I had been whining far too much. At least, I felt that way for a couple days. Then I went in my office and saw the bookcase full of the stuff I so desperately would love to teach my kids but never feel I have enough time to fit it in the schedule. I tried to broker a deal with JT. It went like this...

me: "If you would set your mind to it, we could do all the Calvert material for the week in 1 or 2 school days. Then we'd have the other 3 days to work on all the fun stuff we have wanted to do."

JT: "Okay, no problem."

Two days later...

me: "Why don't you just work through these assignments quickly so we have time for the fun stuff this week?"

JT: "I don't feel like it."

Case closed.

Exercise

I just started reading an incredibly interesting book, "Brain Rules" by John Medina. He gives 12 principles to improve our 'brain health'. See more here. He makes some well-supported claims about exercise that really have me thinking. I need to get the boys more active WHILE they are learning. Part of me knows that exercise is important. But it often gets put on the back burner. My boys are very active on their own, so I generally don't feel I need to tell them they need to exercise. In the book, however, Medina argues that because aerobic exercise increases blood flow to the brain, children can learn better if they are being active. He is quick to point out that most classrooms are in no way designed to accommodate this. Guess what? My classroom can!

Now I need to find out how to make it all work. I already have an exercise ball. JT used to do most of his work sitting...well...bouncing on it. I put it away when I got tired of telling him to stop throwing it around the room. One idea I am considering is after presenting new material I could take the boys for a walk and discuss it. Maybe we could work in the garden while reviewing facts like states and capitals. I have had my eye on a recumbent exercise bike for awhile. Maybe they could be reading while riding the bike. All sorts of possibilities open up!

JT took his PSSA tests in reading and math today. He was in a small group of kids who were not doing the 'normal' 3 days of testing. He finished all 6 sections in just under 3 hours. When I asked him how it went he said, "I stood up for the whole test. The chair was not comfortable."
Maybe that bit of movement helped him work faster and smarter.

Traditional brick and mortar schools have moved away from the multiple recesses they used to have in a day. They argue the need for more time in the classroom. Maybe that time would be better spent if the kids were ready to learn. Sitting at a desk all day does not get blood flowing the way it should to provide the best learning opportunities. All of those fidgety kids know they need to get moving. Now we just have to convince the adults.


On Saturday: I just had to add something here. Tonight I read this post on exactly what I'm talking about! There's a link to an article about the school that is using exercise to help kids think better. Cool!