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Except when it is.
I wish I could find that groove that I've been wanting since we began the school year.
It's one of the areas of life that seems to be constantly brought to my mind's eye with the accusation that I'm failing. The professor has been quite steady through it all.
"We'll get there."
I've had day-mares that we've had to send the kids to school and they didn't know anything about anything. And i failed them. It's not a pretty day-mare at all.
Sometimes they just outnumber me. Their needs, wants, whines, bickerings...add to that the house issues of dishes, plumbing, laundry, potty issues, attitudes... Yeah. I get to feeling outnumbered.
Then there are the times when they get it.
They might get it in an odd sort of way - but they get it.
"Mom. The spartans were barbarians." Says a very indignant Mini-Me. "The Penguins of Madagascar would fit right in, though. Since they think 'a friend is an enemy that hasn't attacked you yet'."
I'm still struggling with the whole "write a report" thing in a homeschool setting. Our curriculum schedules them in. I never liked them when I was doing this - never saw the point. Still don't. It didn't stop me from "getting it" when I was taking classes in college. So I'm debating whether or not I should push the whole report thing with the kids. Especially since most formal writing is met with great gnashing of teeth.
Mini-Me's report subject?? Captain Edward J. Smith. Captain of the Titanic.
How many books does our library have on the doomed captain?? NONE.
"Hey, mom" - says G-man, "I read in my health book about manners. I'm not supposed to eat with my fingers."
I'm raising esoteric and random children.
I guess that should count for something. :-)
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4 comments:
Don't ask me for advice because when it became a choice between the gnashing of teeth or finding another path, I went for the other path.
In fact, I even told my step-daughter that it was totally her choice on where she choose to take her life; options ranging from sleeping in the woods to being a successful adult. She decided to go to college and is doing great heading towards successful adult.
As per the youngest, whom received very little writing instructions, he was able to write a nice manual recently for Magic the Gathering. I'm sticking to the theory that if they read, they will write, as it seems to be panning out for my youngest.
When I need insight, I go read at http://www.joyfullyrejoycing.com/academics/writing.html
So far, I've found no fault with Joyce's thoughts.
Good luck!
(And thoughts on what I should change the 'intrigue me' to?
If I had a dollar for every time I had that day-mare, I could have invested it and lost it all in the stock market by now. :o)
You might have better luck taking out books on the Titanic for your captain. There might even be an official site for the Titanic with info.
Try having them look at the reports as their way of teaching you. Tell them they have to be the teacher and fill in the gaps in your education. :o)
Peace and Laughter,
Cristina
Word Verification: ingly. The adverb of a suffix.
Heh. I just noticed your "Leave a comment" comment. Too cute.
And I'm big on writing, lots of writing. Journals, cartoons, stories, poems, whatever. I get a little giddy when Dr. D or Shaggy have such an assignment come across their web classes. I do think it's a great skill to learn (to research, summarize, note, write and re-write) but I have yet to find a way to make THAT kind of writing fun for any of my gang. Even my ones who LOVE words.
However, in an Am. Lit. class that I taught, I had "book projects" that the h.schoolers could choose from, once we were done with a book. For example, when we read Gatsby, they could choose from a couple projects: writing a personalized letter to share the Gospel with a character, research the changing roles of women in the Roaring 20's, read another work by another author of the same era and compare/contrast, oral presentation on a facet of life in the 20's.
Taught them the same skills but they got to decide how to implement that body of research. I got some really coooooool projects that year!
I did that. A lot. Those day-mares, I mean. Now my 20-yr old is making straight A's in college. I remind myself of that when I have those day-mares with my 13-yr old.
And when I take the time to really listen, I realize that mine is learning all the time. Just not always what I think she's supposed to that day.... ;o)
But it truly does get easier as they get older! Honest! LOL!
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