tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post4327220576440819231..comments2024-03-25T10:03:49.844-05:00Comments on Stitched Together: Because Home's Cool : Jude's Fourth Grade Year rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12000794959264304528noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-11957392843469886812015-08-08T09:32:58.820-05:002015-08-08T09:32:58.820-05:00I loved reading about Jude's year. It sounds l...I loved reading about Jude's year. It sounds like you've found a really great fit for him and his learning. I hope this year is going well so far!Fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02512549905259433501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-57798343789153711592015-07-16T14:46:18.326-05:002015-07-16T14:46:18.326-05:00Thanks for the additional insight! I will be keepi...Thanks for the additional insight! I will be keeping an eye out for your Math Schedule post, I am sure it will be helpful. Plus, it will give me 10 hours of my life back because I won't have to create it for myself. Can I say I love you :)<br />I have looked into Christopherus for my first grade daughter but I am not sure about it for my third grade son. What differences do you notice between the Oak Meadow and Christopherus curriculum? I am really on the fence for what to pick for my oldest. His interests sound a lot like Jude's so I am curious as to why you decided on Oak Meadow for him...Leahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09057400669050922789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-46340673328883895632015-07-13T23:57:13.473-05:002015-07-13T23:57:13.473-05:00Oh yes, you are so so right! <3 :DOh yes, you are so so right! <3 :Drachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000794959264304528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-72534559688354440392015-07-13T16:23:05.227-05:002015-07-13T16:23:05.227-05:00Thank you so much for the encouragement, Lucinda. ...Thank you so much for the encouragement, Lucinda. It really means so much to me! <3rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000794959264304528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-69841146139015255372015-07-13T10:43:49.790-05:002015-07-13T10:43:49.790-05:00Gasp! That last photo of Jude with your dog is jus...Gasp! That last photo of Jude with your dog is just stunning - love it!!<br />And reading your description of your homeschool year/curriculum creates in me a) pride in you for the the amazing job you are doing and for juggling so many balls so well! and b)slight regret that I never explored this as an option for my own kids. They attend a great school but it's so easy to feel out of touch with their individual curriculum and to feel like an observer rather than a participant. Your experience appears to be just the opposite, and I love so many aspects of your daily routine that you described. My hat goes off to you, Rachel, as it so often does:) You're doing a fabulous job as their mother AND teacher, both academically and spiritually. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12042868068336882455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-33328180180351073892015-07-11T03:05:02.726-05:002015-07-11T03:05:02.726-05:00Wow! What an amazing year of learning. I want to l...Wow! What an amazing year of learning. I want to learn more about this style of math. I do not like how they teach my children math at school, I've been kinda teaching them my way and they are both doing heaps better. I actually liked math at school. Love these photos you've captured. I wish I was better at taking photos of the boys!! Larahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01042439506901561443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-76574881193247124852015-07-09T00:25:26.227-05:002015-07-09T00:25:26.227-05:00I feel obliged to say that building with LEGO bric...I feel obliged to say that building with LEGO bricks IS an art form. It's like clay only better :DAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16989203864771856745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-56652111681970943402015-07-08T10:07:15.492-05:002015-07-08T10:07:15.492-05:00Janet, I have to laugh because I really wondered t...Janet, I have to laugh because I really wondered the same thing when I read that about math. No correct answers in math? How is that even possible?! But then I wonder if there is more to it than that, as it kind of sounded like the professor in the Stanford video I wrote about was for Common Core. I'm just not sure and truthfully, I don't know enough about Common Core to have any educated/informed opinions about it. In Texas, we don't have any homeschooling regulations other than to .... wait for it... teach our students about the state of Texas. <br />You know, if you are in a situation where you could try homeschooling, you might want to! I never saw myself as a homeschooler, really, and we kind of fell backward into homeschooling. I was terrified to start. I literally started in the summer so we could bail on the idea if it didn't work. And now it just feels right... to all of us. At least for right now.rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000794959264304528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-52800003258838543172015-07-07T13:33:30.099-05:002015-07-07T13:33:30.099-05:00This all sounds like a great idea and a ton of wor...This all sounds like a great idea and a ton of work on your part to make sure your children have the best education you can provide. My kids go to public school and I'm so sick of the Common Core curriculum that's being driven down our throats. Vague and often strange teachings with no real right or wrong answer. How can you do that with math?? It's weird. I sure wish it would be appealed and let us get back to teaching the kids in a more traditional way. Letting them get back to the basics of a strong math, science, reading and English background. I would have liked to have had the ability/time/patience to try this. Your kids are very lucky and will be better off for it as well rounded young adults.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12346983987332695248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-7433382532280963582015-07-06T23:23:53.300-05:002015-07-06T23:23:53.300-05:00Yes, they do! :) The kids would help me out with ...Yes, they do! :) The kids would help me out with events at the little girls’ preschool and seriously, like 7 different teachers would independently stop to tell me how nice they were and how they couldn’t believe how hard they worked. They are hard workers! I also like that they are able to ‘socialize’ with all different age groups from young to old! :)rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000794959264304528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-63048264089369150302015-07-06T23:04:05.174-05:002015-07-06T23:04:05.174-05:00Yes homeschooling is lots of work. Do people alway...Yes homeschooling is lots of work. Do people always tell you how nice your kids are? Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16927477648248371423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-81338645368058204632015-07-06T17:42:33.167-05:002015-07-06T17:42:33.167-05:00Thank you for sharing this information! Really enj...Thank you for sharing this information! Really enjoyed reading all about it and definitely will take some time to learn more about Singapore Math. As a mother of twins that could not be more different in every way, I totally agree that what works well with one is not the same that works with the other one and the better way to deal is by respecting their personal preferences.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-17124528072091594172015-07-06T17:38:07.375-05:002015-07-06T17:38:07.375-05:00Your daughter might enjoy the Stanford program on ...Your daughter might enjoy the Stanford program on math. It was really engaging! And yeah, I totally get it. Before we started homeschooling I read (and still read) a blog called Simple Homeschool. Apparently most of her readers are non-homeschoolers looking for things to do with their kids during the summer and things like that. We actually never intended to homeschool. We started it when we thought we were moving - first domestically and then internationally -and didn't want to start the kids in new schools for only a few months. Neither of those job opportunities worked out and here we are. :)rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000794959264304528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-6929185017956688212015-07-06T17:34:05.393-05:002015-07-06T17:34:05.393-05:00Oh goodness, yes! I feel stretched a lot. But be...Oh goodness, yes! I feel stretched a lot. But before I got into sewing and photography I felt restless. I needed something outside of my kids, something for myself, you know? And when my kids were in traditional school I felt worn down by the driving, loads of homework and trying to fit extracurriculars into the weekends and/or week nights. That schedule could get grueling, too. So I realize now that there is no perfect solution where I will feel balanced every moment. I think that’s just kind of a myth. <br /><br />I guess because I am truly passionate about most everything we are doing, that energizes me. But it’s also hard work. So I try not to overcommit to things and take it one day at a time. But yeah at the end of the school year this year, with Iris’ tonsil surgery also, I felt bone tired and so, so ready to be done.<br /><br />How is your husband doing? How about your baby? I think about you guys all the time.rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000794959264304528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-78928075878164359652015-07-06T16:18:34.259-05:002015-07-06T16:18:34.259-05:00I really enjoyed your insight into home schooling....I really enjoyed your insight into home schooling. Whilst I know it is not for us, I do know I need to spend some more structured time working with the girls each week and pushing my very laid back oldest daughter. I take from this that organising is the key, and totally what I need to work on for the summer and beyond. Off to check out Singapore maths too!Kittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01923355536364636514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-10679886408074445412015-07-06T15:23:48.672-05:002015-07-06T15:23:48.672-05:00Thanks so much for sharing this. It is so helpful ...Thanks so much for sharing this. It is so helpful to read all the details about your homeschool life. And although I am not happy you felt stretched thin, I am glad to read that someone else feels that way, too. Because I really admire all that you do with your family, and it is good to keep in mind that it is anything but effortless. I am not certain we will be able to homeschool again this coming year due to the new reality of our family situation, but I've been looking into Christopherus for my rising first grader as I think it would be a good fit for her, too, Great photos as usual.Mashahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05364861545043732582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-61230664310977203402015-07-06T15:02:40.891-05:002015-07-06T15:02:40.891-05:00I really enjoy these updates, and this almost seem...I really enjoy these updates, and this almost seems like a continuation of our recent email exchange! Yes, no such thing as "math people" just like there's no such thing as a "green thumb" or a "just a creative person." Yes, people have aptitudes and strengths (and mine is definitely in verbal and written communication rather than math or spatial reasoning or physical coordination), but math, gardening, creativity, and sewing are *learned skills.* It is not something you are either born with or not. My dad was frustrated by how many girls drop out of math in the junior high years (uncoincidentally around the time puberty hits and girls are really absorbing gender norms), and worse, that this is culturally accepted. "I'm just not a math person," being an acceptable excuse for a 12 year old girl, and she's patted on the head and told "that's okay, honey." That made/makes him furious. So I was never let off the hook and since Dad paid for my college, I was expected to finish a full year of calculus regardless of my major. I will say this, I was never a stellar math student- I got solid Bs in math through college even though I was a straight A student in humanities and social science classes. I am not very detail oriented, but I got along by relying on "partial credit." I was good at the concepts but then I'd get some arithmetitc wrong! But I'm so glad I did all that math, it taught me to appreciate math and sciences and it also taught me a really useful skill - learning to work hard at a subject matter that does not come naturally to you is in fact an extremely useful life skill! Plus, it is a source of pride that I kept up with math classes while so many of my lawyer colleagues did not. <br /><br />Once again, I am struck that Jude looks like an older Joe. He's such a handsome lad. In his photographs, he seems to radiate a very steady, quiet energy. Perhaps it's a trick of the lens, but he seems very self-possessed, almost zen. Inder-ifichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09724667602427496583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-84679054057129780152015-07-06T15:00:31.542-05:002015-07-06T15:00:31.542-05:00So this is where I feel Waldorf philosophy really ...So this is where I feel Waldorf philosophy really saved me. Before I had a very polarized view of home life- either you run a tight ship where things are orderly all the time and there is no creativity OR there is lots of creativity and you live in total chaos-disorder-mess. I was always in the latter camp... until I just couldn’t do it anymore. I felt like I was drowning. So, from the podcasts I have listened to - they recommend keeping art supplies out of the child’s reach. The children need to ask to get them out and they recommend completing one project before moving on to the next. They recommend only keeping a limited number of toys out, rotating toys in and out. And then you always pick up when you are done. They recommend singing songs while you do it, but it is a must to clean up. Mom does not clean up while kids make messes all day. The goal is to teach reverence/respect for people and for things while fostering a spirit of creativity. <br /><br />Here is a Q&A on this topic, if you find it helpful. This was really helpful to me. http://christopherushomeschool.typepad.com/blog/2008/03/a-question-of-c.html<br /><br />Also, my older children are older (10, 8 and 6) so they can really contribute to putting our house back together after they have made an enormous mess. With young children, it is very, very hard to get anything done, in my opinion.<br /><br />This is just what works for us and it has really helped me create a peaceful feeling in our home again. But I know every child is different and every family is different, so I’m definitely not saying this is a one size fits approach. But it has helped us tremendously and I am grateful.rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000794959264304528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-53746682085978038942015-07-06T14:40:05.420-05:002015-07-06T14:40:05.420-05:00Hi Leah! That is a great question! So, no, I do ...Hi Leah! That is a great question! So, no, I do not use Christopherus or Oak Meadow math. I use Singapore Math alone. My understanding of Singapore Math is that it was never intended to be used alone - that all parents in Singapore would be supplementing. Did you know that there are lots of Mental Math Exercises in the back of the Teacher’s Guide? Also we supplement with the Singapore Intensive books, too, which are challenging - a lot of work. We spend so much time on math, sometimes I worry it’s too much! I am actually going to be posting our schedule for Singapore Math : Textbook, Workbook, Intensives and Mental Math to my blog when I complete it. I write out the assignments for every day of the school year. We take weeks 18 and 36 off. Last summer I put 10 hours in creating the year long schedule and I figured I should share it in case it helped anyone. I plan to do that for grades 1, 3 and 5 again - if it would help you and you haven’t done something similar. Or maybe you don’t need anything like that. I just wanted to let you know, in case. :)<br /><br />I am really excited by Christopherus third grade. It’s emphasis is on farming and building. The kids are going to build a tree house with my husband and we are also getting backyard chickens! The focus is Old Testament stories as well - not sure if that jives with your worldview. If you are a Christian, Christopherus does have some strange/non-orthodox beliefs. If you are not a Christian, it might not be for you. That’s kind of the criticism of Waldorf. I think most of it is so amazing and spot on, so I just disregard the parts that don’t work for me. rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000794959264304528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-52969963701235070942015-07-06T14:32:19.063-05:002015-07-06T14:32:19.063-05:00Great post, and wonderful photos as always! My kid...Great post, and wonderful photos as always! My kids are going to a Waldorf school, and I really like the focus on rhythm and balanced education/development (the school's motto is "learning with your head, heart and hands"). I agree with you, sometimes it's a bit too esoteric... And it's great to see how their creativity is fostered. But 'creativity while maintaining a peaceful sense of order'...? That's far from reality in our household. My kids are taking over every inch of our small house with their creative endeavours, gathering materials ("don't throw away that box/drawstring/toilet paper roll/wrapping paper/... mom. I might need it!"), and mass producing things. One side of me loves it, but the other is feeling overwhelmed by it sometimes! How do you keep a peaceful sense of order in your house?Vera Lunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02336471925444181969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7512686951576132673.post-38130044985367509062015-07-06T14:06:43.112-05:002015-07-06T14:06:43.112-05:00I have been reading up on all your homeschool post...I have been reading up on all your homeschool posts and I am glad that I have put off buying curriculum so far as I think I might try Christopherus for my kiddos this year. I do have a question about math though, are you using the Christopherus math and supplementing with Singapore or do you just use Singapore by itself? I used Singapore for first grade and felt like it was a little light so I ended up supplementing with other math resources. How much math are you doing a day? Math is the one subject that I never feel sure the kids are getting enough of. My son will be going into 3rd grade this year and my daughter into first, do you recommend buying the curriculum packages for each grade or just picking and choosing the books individually? Thanks for your posts, they are so helpful!Leahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09057400669050922789noreply@blogger.com