Last year, my daughter learned some basics about birds & how to identify the common species we see around our home. She has maintained an interest in birds, including often asking to look up a bird she heard about. We saw the movie "The Big Year" in March, which piqued her interest to see how many species she can find herself. In April, she went on a mini-hunt, and identified approximately twenty-five species over the course of two weeks. Her favorite bird-spotting moment? When a blue heron flew directly over her head on the way to the water!
Here are my favorite links for birding:
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has photos along with information on each species.
The Maryland Ornithological Society and their Youth Division. Much of their information is better suited to older children or adults, but their Birding Basics has good information on the how-tos. Their Ethics page helped me introduce "ethics" as she begins to understand our responsibility in this particular endeavor.
WhatBird helps with using a variety of characteristics to identify different birds.
As a Science topic birding includes: exploring bird identification, anatomy, habitats, and behavior; environmental science, such as habitat protection; ethics, including proper behavior of the birder; other animals and plants found in the habitats; scientific classification and species names; and exploring endangered species, and how populations are affected. Math is used in a real-world manner through counting and estimating, grouping and categorizing. Language Arts skills include reading and comprehension, learning to research and write a report, keeping a journal, and using library and Internet (technology) skills. As for socialization, in our experience, birding has allowed us to meet with and talk to other adults and children we meet while out walking and observing.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
My Teacher's Planning Calendar
Over the past year I have worked out a system for recording lessons in an easy-to-view format that allows me to seperate each subject area, and customize for short notes along with a brief resource list per subject. This has evolved into a 5-page monthly summary- which seems like a lot, but my table format is what takes up the space, not words.
I prefer a computerized version of record-keeping, as I not only need to keep my state-required documentation, but also keep a more detailed record for my daughter's noncustodial father. I can save the month's record-keeping on PDF format, making it easily accessible, without having to make numerous copies.
Instead of placing all lessons per day on one calendar day- which I found messy and which did not easily allow me to check progress in a specific subject- I now use a table format that allows me to place two subjects on one page, each subject having it's own 5-week section, allowing a slight overlap of the previous and upcoming months. I pair Language Arts and Mathematics, Science and Social Studies, Art and Music, Health and P. E., and Religion and Socialization. Each pair recieves their own page, totalling 5 printed pages, one-sided, per month. Under each pair is room for an abbreviated list of the resources used in the subject that month.
Language Arts: “Grammar Workbook”, vocabulary list, “Poem” (author), “book title” (author), “book title- teacher resource” (author). Free Reading: (list of student picks)
(The above sample did not quite transfer properly, but I hope it makes some sense.)
I use all seven days of the week, as learning can happen at any time. Maryland requires 180 school days per year, so I mark down on a separate chart any date- just the date- where there were 3 or more subjects taught or a field trip until my daughter has reached the 180 days for the year. We still do school beyond those 180 days; I just don't officially record them as school days.
In each subject area, I mark down either "no lesson" or a brief description of the learning that took place on each day of the month. I may mark down a specific lesson number: #42 (86%) in the Language Arts rows would mean Climbing to Good English Lesson #42, and she earned an 86%. I might use page numbers instead: 256-257 (92%) in the Math rows would indicate Sylvan workbook pages 256-257, and she earned 92%; or E 34, G 62 in the Science would mean we used those pages in the Essentials and Giant workbooks. I also use a chapter or a subject, such as Ch 30 (India) to indicate Chapter 30 of Story of the World (Social Studies section) or landscapes, van Gogh under Art. If she has a class, I will describe the class: co-op, or voice, or soccer. I may list sharks in Science, and in the resource list note the name of the TV program and channel or the book she read. Because I am aware someone else looking at my notes may not know what it means, I use the resource list to note the texts, programs, classes, and websites referenced.
I include Socialization as my final subject area, though only to demonstrate that my daughter has a wide variety of interactions with peers and in the community, as well as with family. I will note down friends, Church, classes, events, organizations, appointments, visits, special family time (e.g. game night), and any other happening that counts as a social interaction. This is not a legal requirement. Because of my custody situation, however, and I know many other homeschoolers face similar scrutiny in family court, I chose to include this section in my record-keeping to demonstrate the varied and consistent interactions my daughter has with peers and adults. When academics cannot be targetted, critics often try to say homeschooling is harmful socially. The falacy of "isolation" is one I am more than willing to demonstrate!
I have learned that everyone eventually figures out a system that works for them. Sometimes, it takes experimenting with several options. Sometimes what worked needs adjusted. When I look back at how I initially recorded my daughter's homeschooling I cringe at how difficult it is for me to read, and I am happy with the system I have since come up with. Being able to quickly glance through a subject, without having to read through notes or around other subjects has helped me notice her progress and the concentration of topics. If I need more detail, I can use the brief note on this planner to go directly to the actual lesson done, and since I save her finished work in subject order by the month, it is easy to find. I also hope it has made it easier for others, both for reviews and the family situation, to see that my daughter is learning, and socializing.
I prefer a computerized version of record-keeping, as I not only need to keep my state-required documentation, but also keep a more detailed record for my daughter's noncustodial father. I can save the month's record-keeping on PDF format, making it easily accessible, without having to make numerous copies.
Instead of placing all lessons per day on one calendar day- which I found messy and which did not easily allow me to check progress in a specific subject- I now use a table format that allows me to place two subjects on one page, each subject having it's own 5-week section, allowing a slight overlap of the previous and upcoming months. I pair Language Arts and Mathematics, Science and Social Studies, Art and Music, Health and P. E., and Religion and Socialization. Each pair recieves their own page, totalling 5 printed pages, one-sided, per month. Under each pair is room for an abbreviated list of the resources used in the subject that month.
SAMPLE
Month 2012 Lessons & Activities SAMPLE
Sunday
|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
|
Lang. Arts
Week1
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
Week2
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
Week3
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
Week4
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
Week5
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
Math
Week1
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
Week2
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
Week3
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
Week4
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
Week5
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
day
|
Language Arts: “Grammar Workbook”, vocabulary list, “Poem” (author), “book title” (author), “book title- teacher resource” (author). Free Reading: (list of student picks)
Mathematics:
“Math Workbook”, tanagram puzzle, Yahtzee (game), community
transactions (bank, shopping), “Website” (online skill games,
math practice)
(The above sample did not quite transfer properly, but I hope it makes some sense.)
I use all seven days of the week, as learning can happen at any time. Maryland requires 180 school days per year, so I mark down on a separate chart any date- just the date- where there were 3 or more subjects taught or a field trip until my daughter has reached the 180 days for the year. We still do school beyond those 180 days; I just don't officially record them as school days.
In each subject area, I mark down either "no lesson" or a brief description of the learning that took place on each day of the month. I may mark down a specific lesson number: #42 (86%) in the Language Arts rows would mean Climbing to Good English Lesson #42, and she earned an 86%. I might use page numbers instead: 256-257 (92%) in the Math rows would indicate Sylvan workbook pages 256-257, and she earned 92%; or E 34, G 62 in the Science would mean we used those pages in the Essentials and Giant workbooks. I also use a chapter or a subject, such as Ch 30 (India) to indicate Chapter 30 of Story of the World (Social Studies section) or landscapes, van Gogh under Art. If she has a class, I will describe the class: co-op, or voice, or soccer. I may list sharks in Science, and in the resource list note the name of the TV program and channel or the book she read. Because I am aware someone else looking at my notes may not know what it means, I use the resource list to note the texts, programs, classes, and websites referenced.
I include Socialization as my final subject area, though only to demonstrate that my daughter has a wide variety of interactions with peers and in the community, as well as with family. I will note down friends, Church, classes, events, organizations, appointments, visits, special family time (e.g. game night), and any other happening that counts as a social interaction. This is not a legal requirement. Because of my custody situation, however, and I know many other homeschoolers face similar scrutiny in family court, I chose to include this section in my record-keeping to demonstrate the varied and consistent interactions my daughter has with peers and adults. When academics cannot be targetted, critics often try to say homeschooling is harmful socially. The falacy of "isolation" is one I am more than willing to demonstrate!
I have learned that everyone eventually figures out a system that works for them. Sometimes, it takes experimenting with several options. Sometimes what worked needs adjusted. When I look back at how I initially recorded my daughter's homeschooling I cringe at how difficult it is for me to read, and I am happy with the system I have since come up with. Being able to quickly glance through a subject, without having to read through notes or around other subjects has helped me notice her progress and the concentration of topics. If I need more detail, I can use the brief note on this planner to go directly to the actual lesson done, and since I save her finished work in subject order by the month, it is easy to find. I also hope it has made it easier for others, both for reviews and the family situation, to see that my daughter is learning, and socializing.
Pineapple Rice
Last month, my mother-in-law, sent us a wonderful cookbook, Grazing Along the Crooked Road: Recipes and Stories- Past and Present by Skeens and Bondurant. Visiting family in the hills of Virginia is always a welcome respite, especially those Southern breakfasts, lunches, and dinners that go along with the relaxing companionship. It is a pleasure to bring some of the South to our home, both in the recipes and the stories.
My daughter loves trying to cook, and she picked "Pineapple Rice" to try first. The recipe is simple, but I could not imagine adding those ingredients to rice. So, with trepidition on my part, we had Pineapple Rice for dinner one day last week. I, suprisingly, loved it! I did not add all the sugar the recipe calls for, as I did not want a sugar overload, but as sweet as the rice turned out, I still quite enjoyed it. My daughter and husband, both of whom I often think would prefer to live on bowls on sugar with maybe a few extra other foods, both found the rice too sweet! I can't stop giggling. I love the irony of my two sugar-holics disliking a very sweet rice (I will mention that my husband typically adds both sugar and butter to plain rice before he will eat it) while my curry-spicy palate took a liking to a sweetness I don't usually pick. My recommendation would be either baked chicken or pork chops to go along with this rice.
My daughter loves trying to cook, and she picked "Pineapple Rice" to try first. The recipe is simple, but I could not imagine adding those ingredients to rice. So, with trepidition on my part, we had Pineapple Rice for dinner one day last week. I, suprisingly, loved it! I did not add all the sugar the recipe calls for, as I did not want a sugar overload, but as sweet as the rice turned out, I still quite enjoyed it. My daughter and husband, both of whom I often think would prefer to live on bowls on sugar with maybe a few extra other foods, both found the rice too sweet! I can't stop giggling. I love the irony of my two sugar-holics disliking a very sweet rice (I will mention that my husband typically adds both sugar and butter to plain rice before he will eat it) while my curry-spicy palate took a liking to a sweetness I don't usually pick. My recommendation would be either baked chicken or pork chops to go along with this rice.
Friday, April 27, 2012
My Curriculum
(Note: I will be adding more links, once I can get my connection to to stay connected :-)
I often get asked if I use a curriculum that someone else sends me. A "boxed curriculum" is one of the options available to homeschoolers, but it is not a good fit for my daughter. An advantage of learning from home is the ability to customize learning based on the individual child, and on the family. A lot of new homeschoolers will picked a boxed curriculum because the format is easy and automatic, with lessons outlined and explained for both teacher and student. Other homeschoolers might follow a specific philosophy, but not a preformed curriculum. Some might "unschool" (self-learning). Still others, like myself, will choose an "eclectic" approach.
I chose an eclectic curriculum for a variety of reasons, not the least that our family life is fairly eclectic in and of itself, with many interests and a lot of creativity. My daughter, herself, is a very creative individal- often outside of the box. She also has some issues that can make learning difficult, one of which is ADHD (and here.) Since I work, I also had to choose a way to teach that allowed flexibility with scheduling. So my pick-and-choose system started and has grown.
For grammar and writing, I tried "Climbing to Good English" this year. I quite like this text and workbook, and plan to continue with the fourth grade level. I have had to explain some of the more old-fashioned words used, which my daughter was unfamiliar with- pupil, rather than student, for example- but I personally love the focus on proper English and good writing, something I grew up with, but that I found lacking in the public school education my daughter was receiving. For Literature, I use a large variety of classics as well as some more modern child-friendly authors. My daughter has a high reading level, but does not love reading, so I have learned to find samples of good writing that I can use to pique her interest while still exposing her to rich language. She has outright objected to Dickens!
For math, I spent a long while on "real life" math- math that could be done during daily life. Her public school experience left her very anxious about worksheets and formal math- she would literally start hyperventilating. So, while out at the playground, I would have her trace shapes with her scooter and we would add up the "perimeter" with imaginary numbers; I taught her how to use a shopping budget and placed her in charge of makign sure we "stick to our budget" when grocery shopping. We did measuring and fractions while cooking recipes. She learned to do bank transactions, her own shopping transactions, and how to decide what to spend or not spend with her allowance. And we played lots of games that used numbers and logic. We still do those real-life experiences, and more. After several stop-start attempts to go back to worksheets (so I would have something physical to demonstrate her learning) I finally discovered Sylvan workbooks. The Sylvan format seems much less frightening for her, and we are both thrilled when she completes her assignments and gives herself a fist-pump! She is finally reaching her grade-level for math, and has fewer anxiety attacks when worksheets.
Science is very free-form. I have two large "worksheet" books that I use. I also have her explore online learning videos, look up information on specific topics, and we do hands-on experiments. I do pick the main topic, but there is enough leeway to take a side-trip or two. I combine a lot of science topics with the history lessons, which reinforces the history topic and also demonstrates how science is present and usable in daily lives, even from ancient days. She also deals with math while exploring science.
Social Studies takes several directions in our hoemschool. My main text is "Story of the World." We are nearly done with the first book, and this classical curriculum has, by far, been my daughter's favorite. "Story of the World" is mostly chronological, and can be expanded with many other resources- I use the Internet as well as other books and museums. The lessons also fit in with other subject areas- science, as I mentioned above, as well as literature, math, government, religion, art and music. I use the ancient maps to compare with modern maps, and open up discussion sometimes on how the ancient civilizations she is learning play a part in our modern world. I also take side trips into American history and government.
Art and Music are frequent. My daughter loves exploring her creativity. She has always loved music, so she is a member of a vocal and an instrument choir, as well as taking private voice lessons. Planned or unplanned, art projects often end up part of other lessons- a collage or sketch or painting, making a sculpture or bead necklace to learn more about a culture, and so on.
Health may incorporate information on our bodies- a topic, with my background, I regard as science, but the reviewer marked as health. I also cover various safety topics- danger signs, what to do in an emergency, okay versus not okay contact with other people, fire drills, handling peer relationships. Physical education sometimes incorporates health- taking care of your body- but also includes a variety of outdoor and indoor games, sports, dance, and learning about famous events and participants.
I do cover religious education, though that is not a required subject for reviews. Faith is a big part of our lives. We have a terrific Church network, and my daughter attends children's classes. At home, we discuss the Bible and faith practice, and what she learned at Church. We explore how faith works daily in our lives. I do discuss different religions and belief systems, so I classify this as "Religion" and not "Bible study".
Finally, I keep track of her social life. Having been asked often enough "but how does your daughter learn to get along with others?" and other less well-put questions, I feel it is easier to simply glance at her calendar and go "oh, well, this week she's had Church, two classes with other kids, several hours at the PAL center..." For those who believe homeschooling isolates a child, I have learned that my daughter's social circle is massive now compared to the social circle she had while in public school. She interacts with people of all ages, is comfortable knowing who to talk to when in a public situation- bank, store, museum. She has friends who are homeschooled, private schooled, and public schooled (and, yes, she has commented on the differences she sees in how those kids all relate with themselves and adults). She knows several adults she considers safe people- in abuse prevention, it is important for a child to be aware of who they can go talk to if they feel unsafe in a situation or with another person, and while a parent should always be a good choice, a parent may not be the most comfortable initial choice for a child- and has some encouraging adult mentors.
In short, I use a varied approach to homeschooling lessons, and allow flexibility for self-interest. I have leaned toward a more classical approach, with some "unschooling" influences, and some more traditional and "standard" ideas. I try to encourage my daughter's strengths while helping her grow in the areas she has less interest or comprehension. We have found a system that works, for now, and I leave room for adjustments. And so, our adventure continues!
I often get asked if I use a curriculum that someone else sends me. A "boxed curriculum" is one of the options available to homeschoolers, but it is not a good fit for my daughter. An advantage of learning from home is the ability to customize learning based on the individual child, and on the family. A lot of new homeschoolers will picked a boxed curriculum because the format is easy and automatic, with lessons outlined and explained for both teacher and student. Other homeschoolers might follow a specific philosophy, but not a preformed curriculum. Some might "unschool" (self-learning). Still others, like myself, will choose an "eclectic" approach.
I chose an eclectic curriculum for a variety of reasons, not the least that our family life is fairly eclectic in and of itself, with many interests and a lot of creativity. My daughter, herself, is a very creative individal- often outside of the box. She also has some issues that can make learning difficult, one of which is ADHD (and here.) Since I work, I also had to choose a way to teach that allowed flexibility with scheduling. So my pick-and-choose system started and has grown.
For grammar and writing, I tried "Climbing to Good English" this year. I quite like this text and workbook, and plan to continue with the fourth grade level. I have had to explain some of the more old-fashioned words used, which my daughter was unfamiliar with- pupil, rather than student, for example- but I personally love the focus on proper English and good writing, something I grew up with, but that I found lacking in the public school education my daughter was receiving. For Literature, I use a large variety of classics as well as some more modern child-friendly authors. My daughter has a high reading level, but does not love reading, so I have learned to find samples of good writing that I can use to pique her interest while still exposing her to rich language. She has outright objected to Dickens!
For math, I spent a long while on "real life" math- math that could be done during daily life. Her public school experience left her very anxious about worksheets and formal math- she would literally start hyperventilating. So, while out at the playground, I would have her trace shapes with her scooter and we would add up the "perimeter" with imaginary numbers; I taught her how to use a shopping budget and placed her in charge of makign sure we "stick to our budget" when grocery shopping. We did measuring and fractions while cooking recipes. She learned to do bank transactions, her own shopping transactions, and how to decide what to spend or not spend with her allowance. And we played lots of games that used numbers and logic. We still do those real-life experiences, and more. After several stop-start attempts to go back to worksheets (so I would have something physical to demonstrate her learning) I finally discovered Sylvan workbooks. The Sylvan format seems much less frightening for her, and we are both thrilled when she completes her assignments and gives herself a fist-pump! She is finally reaching her grade-level for math, and has fewer anxiety attacks when worksheets.
Science is very free-form. I have two large "worksheet" books that I use. I also have her explore online learning videos, look up information on specific topics, and we do hands-on experiments. I do pick the main topic, but there is enough leeway to take a side-trip or two. I combine a lot of science topics with the history lessons, which reinforces the history topic and also demonstrates how science is present and usable in daily lives, even from ancient days. She also deals with math while exploring science.
Social Studies takes several directions in our hoemschool. My main text is "Story of the World." We are nearly done with the first book, and this classical curriculum has, by far, been my daughter's favorite. "Story of the World" is mostly chronological, and can be expanded with many other resources- I use the Internet as well as other books and museums. The lessons also fit in with other subject areas- science, as I mentioned above, as well as literature, math, government, religion, art and music. I use the ancient maps to compare with modern maps, and open up discussion sometimes on how the ancient civilizations she is learning play a part in our modern world. I also take side trips into American history and government.
Art and Music are frequent. My daughter loves exploring her creativity. She has always loved music, so she is a member of a vocal and an instrument choir, as well as taking private voice lessons. Planned or unplanned, art projects often end up part of other lessons- a collage or sketch or painting, making a sculpture or bead necklace to learn more about a culture, and so on.
Health may incorporate information on our bodies- a topic, with my background, I regard as science, but the reviewer marked as health. I also cover various safety topics- danger signs, what to do in an emergency, okay versus not okay contact with other people, fire drills, handling peer relationships. Physical education sometimes incorporates health- taking care of your body- but also includes a variety of outdoor and indoor games, sports, dance, and learning about famous events and participants.
I do cover religious education, though that is not a required subject for reviews. Faith is a big part of our lives. We have a terrific Church network, and my daughter attends children's classes. At home, we discuss the Bible and faith practice, and what she learned at Church. We explore how faith works daily in our lives. I do discuss different religions and belief systems, so I classify this as "Religion" and not "Bible study".
Finally, I keep track of her social life. Having been asked often enough "but how does your daughter learn to get along with others?" and other less well-put questions, I feel it is easier to simply glance at her calendar and go "oh, well, this week she's had Church, two classes with other kids, several hours at the PAL center..." For those who believe homeschooling isolates a child, I have learned that my daughter's social circle is massive now compared to the social circle she had while in public school. She interacts with people of all ages, is comfortable knowing who to talk to when in a public situation- bank, store, museum. She has friends who are homeschooled, private schooled, and public schooled (and, yes, she has commented on the differences she sees in how those kids all relate with themselves and adults). She knows several adults she considers safe people- in abuse prevention, it is important for a child to be aware of who they can go talk to if they feel unsafe in a situation or with another person, and while a parent should always be a good choice, a parent may not be the most comfortable initial choice for a child- and has some encouraging adult mentors.
In short, I use a varied approach to homeschooling lessons, and allow flexibility for self-interest. I have leaned toward a more classical approach, with some "unschooling" influences, and some more traditional and "standard" ideas. I try to encourage my daughter's strengths while helping her grow in the areas she has less interest or comprehension. We have found a system that works, for now, and I leave room for adjustments. And so, our adventure continues!
Summary of Our First Year Plus
Wildcats Homeschool has been in progress for one year and two months. We are nearing our third county review, and settling into our routine. I have looked back over the past year at the challenges and adjustments I have made as my daughter and I figure out how to homeschool, how to form a routine that works, and I've had to figure out how to organize and record our days and her progress. We've enjoyed our first homeschool co-op, taken field trips (though not as many as I would have liked), and met some terrific parents and kids. I really look forward to seeing where our homeschool adventure takes us in the next year and beyond.
During this past year, we have endured criticisms and encountered the run-of-the-mill misconceptions as well as some suprising supporters. My decision to pull my daughter out of public school to homeschool led to her noncustodial father challenging my decision in court, but the Master held to the law stating that unless homeschooling was proving to "not work" I legally maintain the right to make educational decisions. I have been pleased that her father has reported being comfortable with her progress so far and he can see through the documentation I provide that she is learning and she is not being harmed. Of course, I meet a lot of people who believe the criticisms of homeschool: no socialization, parents who homeschool must be abusing their kids, a parent can't possibly "teach" without being a certified teacher, etc. I usually step aside and let those nay-sayers observe my very social, mostly well-mannered child talk on and on about some recent topic or other that she has learned. But the biggest suprise for me, which relieved my anxiety over this decision, was the support I have found from so many other non-homeschooling parents, my co-workers (I work at a public school), and strangers in the community we meet. Some of my favorite shows of support came from two city firemen, a birder, and my mother. My mother is a school teacher, and I learned a lot about educators and school watching her prepare for and teach her classes; she taught me to value learning- not "just the facts" but true, deep learning- and I credit her for instilling in me an importance on education as well as a knowledge (from my observations) of the work a teacher does. She has been a big source of encouragement in the past year. Recently, we went for a bird-walk and my daughter initiated a conversation with a birder who was photographing; the two had a detailed conversation about each other's favorite birds, and the lady helped my daughter identify male versus female in a couple species flying around. The birder then looked at me, and congratulated me for giving my daughter the opportunity to really participate in her learning. The firemen were also very excited to talk about homeschool. At first, my daughter was just asking questions and answering fire safety questions, and one asked where she went to school. I found out one had been homeschooled, and the other was dating a woman who was homeschooled.
Coming up, I will give some examples of how I record my daughter's homeschool, as I have had several questions about that topic. I also want to elaborate on some of our favorite lessons and resources. This election year, I also want to note our Presidential and other government homeschoolers.
During this past year, we have endured criticisms and encountered the run-of-the-mill misconceptions as well as some suprising supporters. My decision to pull my daughter out of public school to homeschool led to her noncustodial father challenging my decision in court, but the Master held to the law stating that unless homeschooling was proving to "not work" I legally maintain the right to make educational decisions. I have been pleased that her father has reported being comfortable with her progress so far and he can see through the documentation I provide that she is learning and she is not being harmed. Of course, I meet a lot of people who believe the criticisms of homeschool: no socialization, parents who homeschool must be abusing their kids, a parent can't possibly "teach" without being a certified teacher, etc. I usually step aside and let those nay-sayers observe my very social, mostly well-mannered child talk on and on about some recent topic or other that she has learned. But the biggest suprise for me, which relieved my anxiety over this decision, was the support I have found from so many other non-homeschooling parents, my co-workers (I work at a public school), and strangers in the community we meet. Some of my favorite shows of support came from two city firemen, a birder, and my mother. My mother is a school teacher, and I learned a lot about educators and school watching her prepare for and teach her classes; she taught me to value learning- not "just the facts" but true, deep learning- and I credit her for instilling in me an importance on education as well as a knowledge (from my observations) of the work a teacher does. She has been a big source of encouragement in the past year. Recently, we went for a bird-walk and my daughter initiated a conversation with a birder who was photographing; the two had a detailed conversation about each other's favorite birds, and the lady helped my daughter identify male versus female in a couple species flying around. The birder then looked at me, and congratulated me for giving my daughter the opportunity to really participate in her learning. The firemen were also very excited to talk about homeschool. At first, my daughter was just asking questions and answering fire safety questions, and one asked where she went to school. I found out one had been homeschooled, and the other was dating a woman who was homeschooled.
Coming up, I will give some examples of how I record my daughter's homeschool, as I have had several questions about that topic. I also want to elaborate on some of our favorite lessons and resources. This election year, I also want to note our Presidential and other government homeschoolers.
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