Half Way

We have reached the half-way point in our curriculum this week! It doesn't necessarily mean we are halfway through the year, but it's an exciting benchmark. JT spent the week working on some lessons and completing test Lesson 80 for all the subjects, except math. Tomorrow he will take the Lesson 140 math test. We spent 3 days covering their material on fractions that was supposed to take about 2 weeks. What we covered will allow him to take the test that only expects minimum knowledge of the concept. After the holiday break, we will spend some serious time really covering fractions. The tiny glimpse they gave brought on plenty of questions that we can cover with our extra time. Since we are so far ahead, I will request the 4th grade math be ordered, but I'm not sure if we will actually do anything with it this year. The remaining sections for the 3rd grade math are decimals and working with larger numbers. We will probably dive into the decimals much deeper than the material provides and stretch that out. After that, I think we'll spend some time exploring ancient number systems.

As the break approaches, we are spending less and less time in our regular routine. JT is still learning new things all the time, but not in such a structured way. He has been reading a book about the seige of Troy. He designed his own strategy game to play with his brother. Today while taking a break from testing, he spent 45 minutes reading online about poisonous snake bites, what to do if you are bitten, how to survive a bear attack and other fun things. I'm sure they might come in handy some day.... I'm trying to let him explore a few of his own interests this week while I get ready for the holiday. We will still have school Monday and Tuesday of next week. We have been putting together a pile of "fun" things to do then. We are planning crafts and games. Isn't that what they do the last two days before break in the brick and mortars? :-)

One small change in our classroom. I decided the chalk board was way too much of a mess. I love the feel of writing with chalk. Chalk board paint is the coolest stuff. The chalk dust all over my carpet, molding and bookcases is not. My parents bought us a new dry erase board. It's 48" x 36". We will hang it up over the holiday. I also plan to do some classroom cleaning and organizing then. It's amazing what a mess things become in such a short period of time! I am also trying to come up with a plan for a craft area. Right now, JT just works on his desk for crafts. I would like to make a counter under one of the windows to allow room to stretch out and leave projects as they are in production. That might have to wait for summer and the next school year.

I will not be posting next week. I'm taking a MUCH needed break from all things schooling. But I will be back the following week with my plans for the second half of our school year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

To Complain or Not to Complain....

When we started out with PA Cyber, I was especially pleased that they allowed us to choose between primarily virtual classes or the more traditional homeschooling option using Calvert curriculum. I am still happy that I have the choice to not use the virtual classes, but I'm starting to really despise the Calvert material.

This week we received the corrections from the Lesson 60 test for all subjects, except math, which was lesson 100. JT had all As. Personally, I don't really worry about the grades, more about if he is really learning anything. On these particular tests, there were a few things marked wrong. As I looked over the mistakes, I found that he actually had 3 of the 4 correct. One problem was on the math test. It was a matching question and two were marked wrong. I assume the answer key was probably wrong; they had just been flipped. I figured the teacher must have just missed it. Then we came to the Geography test. The test directions instructed the student to use a map from the text book to answer several questions. One section required the student to find a location on the map, then list something to the East, West, South and North of that location. JT had done it right, but one was marked wrong. From using this text book, I know that most of the answer keys are not very accurate. I have stopped looking at it and just grade the materials myself. I guess that the teacher must not have had a copy of the map available or the answer would have been ovbiously correct.

I have contacted the school about the problem. I emailed our IS and she forwarded the information to the head of the Calvert department and our teacher. It seems we are not easily able to contact the teacher. I am not sure what the reason for that is, but we need to go through the IS for most communication. I would like to press this further, but worry if I complain too much they will pull the option of using Calvert. Calvert is not the best choice of curriculum, by a long shot, but it gives us the opportunity to easily differentiate most lessons. I hate allowing faulty materials to continue to be used, but I'm guessing there would be no replacement for those who don't want virtual classes. So...do I just say, "Oh well!" and move on, or do I fight? I need to figure this out since the next math test has questions that defy logic.......

Bounciness

I think the thing that makes my days rough is the massive volume of movement JT can produce. I was never the kind of person who needed to tap my toes and twiddle my fingers. When I was really young, I chewed my hair and nails, but that was the extent of my nervous habits. This kid CAN NOT stop moving! The exercise ball does little to alleviate the problem. I send him outside to run around. I allow him to sit on the floor, lay on the floor, sit on his desk. If he's concentrating on reading a book he's really into, he stops moving. That is the only exception. If I could, I'd have him read all day! I just hope he grows out of this before his teen years, or I'll need new furniture every week.

With the holiday, we've had kind of a slow two weeks. Wednesday we put in almost a full school day and I felt like we had accomplished quite a bit. Today we had the morning in the classroom and then a friend of JT's that also cyber schools came over to play games. That was a nice break for all of us. The moms were able to visit and the kids got to play. I need to work a few more sanity savers like that into our schedule.

I'm hoping to get a full day in tomorrow. It's still difficult to get him to want to work on composition assignments. I haven't found any tricky ways to convince him it's fun. At bedtime last night we had a funny conversation. He was reading a non-fiction book about a bird rescue shelter. When he finished it he said, "I hate it when I come to the end of books like that one". I told him there are plenty of other non-fiction books at our library. "Plus," I said, "there are people writing more every day, maybe you could even write one". He said, "I'd love to write a report on fungus farms". Isn't that what every 7-year old would love to do?! This idea came because on Thanksgiving while channel surfing at my parent's home (we don't have tv, so it's always funny when the kids get access to it) he made my husband stop on the History channel. There was a show about fungus and mold. He bypassed all the cartoon channels, etc to stop on fungus and mold. Then he was irritated that everyone was talking and he couldn't hear what was being said on the show. We sent him alone to another room and he watched the whole program. Come to think of it, he sat perfectly still through the entire thing! If only I can find enough material to engage him at that level we might have peace in the classroom.

Slacking Off

I realized this week that we have fallen into kind of a slump. I could blame it on the approaching holidays, but I think it started before that. In the beginning, we would be in the classroom somewhere around 9am. Usually no later than 9:15. As the weeks went by, it would get later and later. Then lunch started lasting longer.... JT is still completing all the work required by the school. But, we haven't been doing the extra things we wanted to do. Plus, it was getting harder to get him to complete his assignments. I think my slacking off on the structure of the day caused all of this.

So, I told myself this week we would reform. Monday is usually only a partial day of class since E doesn't have school Monday or Friday. We did okay that day. We also have a lot of out of the house activities on Monday (library and piano lessons) so we take up time with those. Tuesday we had a good, full day of school. JT and I did an experiment for science class. We don't always squeeze in time for those, so that made it a fun day. Wednesday I had planned on only a half day to get ready for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I woke up sick! My husband took over and JT had a computer programming lesson. Everything else I had planned will be on hold until we start back up next week. I'm glad that we have been working so far ahead. It gives me some room to take it easy when I get stressed out.

Being sick this week brought something I've been thinking about a lot lately into play. What would happen to my kids if I became very ill or died suddenly? Of course it's something all parents think about at some time. That's why we have wills. But now that I have committed to providing my children's education, it feels like there is so much more at stake. I am planning on calling our insurance agent in the near future to discuss increasing my policy. When my husband and I took out our policies, I only took out enough for myself to cover funeral costs. I assumed the kids would be in school and my husband would be available for evening care. Now we would either have to have someone care for them during the day and my husband provide schooling in the evening or find the money to send them to a private school. The school our youngest attends for Kindergarten, although not the best fit, would be a reasonable substitute if necessary. Adding the extra payout to my policy could provide the tuition for their schooling. Under NO circumstances would I want them to attend our public school. It's not a good fit. Plus, I kind of went to a school board meeting at the height of our school battles and told them my children would NEVER come there again. There are a few burned bridges there.....

I guess this is kind of a morbid topic. But, it's something that's been bouncing around in my head for awhile. In fact, one of my friends who also homeschools told me she has the same fears. I don't know what the odds are that I could be unable to teach them all the way to graduation. I know I have no control over those things. I've decided to do the best thing I can to plan instead of just worrying about the possibilities. What else is there to do?

Freedom

This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland, in November! This is the earliest in the season I can remember having snow since I was a kid. The boys were very excited. We had a very productive morning, since I could keep saying, "The more time you waste on school work, the less time you'll have outside!" If only it would snow every day..... Today we were very happy to have the flexible schedule that allowed us to play in the snow when it was still daylight. If they were locked up in a traditional classroom, they wouldn't have gotten off the bus until 30 minutes before sunset.

I didn't enjoy the snow as much as they did. At least not last night. I was in Harrisburg attending a group viewing of a SENG hosted webinar by Dr. James Webb titled, "Common Misdiagnoses and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: What Parents, Educators and Psychologists Need to Know." The drive home in the premature wintry weather was not much fun, however, it was a great night out for me. I was able to spend time with friends that I don't often see due to our geographic mismatch.

Far too many gifted children are misunderstood by medical professionals and end up diagnosed with psychological problems that they don't have. I have often wondered if JT's endless need to move and difficulty in focusing on my directions meant he had ADHD. After this webinar, I'm pretty certain he is a normal, gifted child. If you are wondering the same about any quirky behaviors your child has, I suggest reading a little about Dabrowski's overexcitabilities. These intense traits may make our children hard to live with on a daily basis, but after taking the time to explore these characteristics I can better appreciate the special needs my children have.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

When I first started writing my blog, I promised to record, "The good, the bad and the ugly". Well this week, I think we had all of that!

The good. First of all, our trip to the Symphony and museum was terrific. JT enjoyed himself (he did complain a little about the amount of walking we had to do around Harrisburg). He told me he definitely would like to learn to play the flute, now that he experienced an orchestra first hand. He already plays piano and guitar, so what's one more instrument? The museum was also a good decision. It was a school day, so we practically had the place to ourselves. If your kids are in public brick and mortar school, I highly recommend taking a day and getting them the "educational journey" permission slip so you can enjoy things like museums without the crowds. JT zipped through pretty quickly and I was afraid we were not spending the kind of time we needed to really see the exhibits. When we were leaving, he immediately asked to go to that museum again, so I guess he did get something out of the trip.

The bad. Wednesday will be the last day JT has his virtual class for an hour in the afternoon. At first, I would spend the whole hour hovering over him to see if he was listening and responding appropriately. About the 3rd week in, I suddenly realized he had somehow managed to be "alone" in his previous school all day. So I started using that hour for things I wanted to do! Whenever I feel JT is working independently and I can leave the classroom for a few minutes, I get a horrible guilty feeling. Like I should be in the room at all times or the education will not happen. It may be a silly thought. But when the online class is happening, I know he is doing something he's supposed to be doing and the responsibility is temporarily removed from me. I'm REALLY going to miss that class. I hope they offer something else he is interested in the next time around!

The ugly. Tuesday was one of those days where JT can't seem to focus. I was feeling stressed because I wanted to get a good, full day of school in due to interruptions I knew we would have later in our week. He was working on part of the Geography test for the next mail in packet. I gave him instructions and he was being flat out defiant about doing the work the way it was supposed to be done. I started with the ticks on the board process. Within 5 minutes we were almost at ten. I was losing my temper big time. Finally I said, "Get out of the classroom!" He just sat there, so I picked him up (not so easy anymore!) and dumped him outside the door. Then I told him, "Go see your dad." My husband has been acting as our principal on occasion. He works from home, so he's in his office about 20 feet away most days. I had to propel my child into the room where I announced, "Talk to your son. He's been kicked out of class."

I waited in the classroom feeling awful for losing it. Ten minutes later he was back. He apologized for not doing what he was supposed to be doing. Then he told me what his punishment would be. His father had assigned a composition. It was to be two pages long. One page is "what I like about cyber schooling", the other is "why I'm lucky my mom is teaching me". Until it is finished, he has lost all computer/video game privileges. He's actually very upbeat about the whole thing. He's planning to finish it in time for Saturday when he typically has extra computer time. The best part was, he sat down and finished the Geography assignment without a problem.

From the very beginning of this whole adventure, I have been waiting for the day I just CAN'T take it anymore. So far, the day has not come. If my husband had not been home Tuesday, that may have been the day!

Solo

This week my husband was out of town for work. This has been the first time I had to fly solo since we started cyber school. Typically he is not very involved with the school day. He does work from home and I do pop into his office from time to time to chat or rant...depending on how the day has been going. This week, there was no one to rant to. I drank a lot of coffee. I also found out that even one piece of Halloween candy after breakfast can cause an already bouncy child to become nearly unbearable.

My husband is now home and I can stop considering the Prozac IV drip....

This picture is a sample of what things look like as I plan for a week of school. I like to see what I am working on... I need that hands on kind of work zone. I can now typically prepare a week's worth of work in about an hour. I also spend maybe 15-20 minutes the night before pulling the books for the next day and checking that I know what is coming. Much better than the sleepless nights I had the first month.

Tomorrow JT and I are going to a performance of Beethoven's 7th Symphony in Harrisburg. It is offered free to children through the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. I am going with a group of other moms and kids who either home school or cyber school. JT and I are also going to the Harrisburg State Museum while we are close. He has been bugging me to take him to a museum for months, so we can't miss our chance. I just hope I can find my way around the city.

Tonight we were chatting about how this school week had gone. Even though things were more stressful than usual, I felt like it had been a good week. We spent more time than usual focusing on the arts. It really made the learning so much more meaningful. Today JT spent about 45 minutes drawing a picture of a castle and battle (some of his favorites) while listening to the symphony that we will see performed tomorrow. He also spent more time than usual playing piano this week. We have spent so much time focusing on Math since school started. Once again we fell into the same trap as the brick and mortar schools. School is not only about Math and learning to read. It's about learning to love to learn. We did that this week.

*Check out this site to find out ways to expand your child's art exposure: Americans for the Arts