Questions Answered

One of my readers said to me today, "Athena loves school so much. Why are you taking that away from her?"

And I answered in a half hearted, non-confrontational way. A way in which I was not satisfied with at all. I babbled on about socialization and teachers and what not. I knew this question would come up and I was unprepared to answer on the spot. And now, with keyboard in hand and some time to explain, I answer the question. Why home school?

I have always thought that home education was an excellent alternative to conventional schools. I thought that way back when at the time I home schooled my adult daughters. Those three girls would have done well in school had I home schooled or not. That is the kind of kids they were. They were all different from each other to be sure, but they were the kind of children that teachers loved. They were well behaved, smart, kind and well suited to the classroom. The reason we chose to take them out of public school was because my oldest daughter was so influenced by her peers that frankly, I was scared by it. ( I was a young mother and had three little girls by the age of 20) I did the home school thing for several years and sent them merrily on their way to high school.

But now... but now, I have little Athena. She is quite different from the older three girls. In fact, I have never had nor seen a child quite like she is. She is smart as a whip. She has a unerring memory. She has an imagination that amazes me. She loves animals and nature. In fact, she just loves. Everyone and everything.

She is not, however, a cookie cutter kid. She doesn't sit still for long periods of time. She day dreams. She flits from one thing to the next at times. She is so inquisitive and so naive. She is happy. Every day. EVERY day. She struggles to get herself up and out of the house for school in the morning. She is totally exhausted when she comes home 6 hours later. It takes a lot out of her to be in class that long. It takes something away from her sweet sweet spirit. Dims the twinkle in her little eye just a little bit.

And so, after much thought we have decided that for now, it would be best for her to remain at home for her education. At home where she is accepted for who she is. Where she is unconditionally loved. Where she can learn at her own pace. In her own way and in her own time.

She'll be at home where she can be outside, in nature for more hours in a day. Where she can run and play and just BE. Home, where her imagination can run wild. Where her curiosity will not be stifled, where her questions will be answered. We will learn to read and write. We will learn mathematics and history. We will learn science by experiencing it. By staying up late watching the stars. By watching the moon and change of seasons. By seeing a garden grow. By watching the wild animals around us.

And socialization, the question everyone asks. She will play with other children to be sure but she will learn to relate to people of all ages, all religions, all ethnic backgrounds and all walks of life instead of being put in a class with children only her age and then be scolded for talking to them at all. I don't worry about the socialization thing one bit.

Of course we will evaluate this decision year by year to see if it is still in her best interest. But truth be told, I know in my heart of hearts that this is the right thing to do for THIS girl at THIS time in THIS place. It is not the easy choice, to be certain. I have been a Mama for 27 years and the thought of having some time to myself is pretty darn appealing. But like I said, I am a Mama, and Mamas do what is best for their children no matter what the cost.

Home Schooling Information Overload

So now the cat is out of the bag. Most of you know already. We have decided to begin Home Schooling in the fall. Maybe sooner. This decision was not made lightly. We have thought it through and through and it is not up for debate. We feel a real sense of peace about having made this decision. A decision we believe is the right one.

Now...
Oh my goodness. I think I have read/perused/scanned/studied every home schooling book our library has to offer but I have to make some decisions as to what method we will use.

I am no stranger to home education as I had my older girls home for several years. The first year was a horrendous mistake. As a new home schooler I used a workbook/Q and A type curriculum. It was not good and worse, it was very very boring. We went on to do unit studies in future years and that was much better. However, my philosophy of education has changed since then and Athena will only be at the first grade level.

I like a lot of things about the Waldorf Method and Charlotte Mason and Classical Education as well. Oh, and Montessori. I cannot forget Montessori. My daughter sent me some links which all look appealing. Enki Education. Christopherus Homeschooling, Oak Meadow. And the list goes on.
I know that I can integrate parts of all of the things I like and that would be suitable for Athena but I still need to have a definite plan.

The Prairie Spirit School Division that we are a part of requires that I submit an educational plan, complete with the resources and curriculum that we will be using. And, it has to be in by the end of May. So, now that we have decided to home educate, I have all the logistics to take care of.

I really like the unschooling approach as well, but I must say that it does scare me a bit. Okay, a lot. I am a methodical person and that part of me needs some plans. So if you have anything to say about this, any wisdom or any advice, please feel free to leave a comment or email me if you like.

I would really appreciate some feedback from any home schoolers, past or present. Thank you.

Caught in the Act!

Yes, this is one of the joys of having a husband who works at home. You can't get away with ANYTHING.

It was a very mild day yesterday and I couldn't resist the urge to go out to make a snowman.

Yes, I did it by myself. Athena wasn't interested.

It wasn't until I was almost done that she came over to help add the finishing touches.

And after Paul said "You finally got to make your snowman. All by yourself."It didn't "click" (pun intended) until I was reviewing the pictures on the camera.

Like I said, you can't get away with anything.

And last but not least here is my sweetie pie to give you a little smile.

Cropped

We did it. We had it done. And it feels great! Although we have virtually the same haircut, Athena says she looks cute and I look like a boy.

There were mounds of hair on the hairdressers floor. Mostly hers. All the grey ones were mine.

And I titled this post cropped when I likely should have called it Scalped.

I don't think I have EVER had my hair this short.

Not to worry, it will be back soon. It always is. But I kind of like it.

On My Mind

Todays offering is little snippets of what has been on my mind lately.

*If you have been wondering why there has been a lack of yoga posts here it is because...well, there has been a lack of yoga practice. A real lack. I have been so busy outside in these last weeks that I haven't taken the opportunity to do it. It's not that I am not exercising, I am. We walk, we skate, we play in the snow and finally, yes finally, we went snow shoeing yesterday. What a blast.





Paul snuck out from his downstairs office and caught a few candid shots of us on the golf course. We followed deer tracks and dog tracks. The snow was deeper than I thought. We went up hills, down hills and Mama decided that it would be good to go over a barbed wire fence to a small creek which had just started to thaw. Mama got a hole ripped in her ski pants for her efforts. On the way back, we crawled UNDER the barbed wire. Sheesh! And this weekend it is forecast to be above 0 degrees. First time in months. We will be sure to take advantage of that!

*Oh yes, back to yoga. Well the general malaise in my body this morning, obviously from the snow shoeing yesterday, brought me to the mat. Ah, sweet relief. Boy oh boy are my hips tight though. Much tighter than before. And my shoulders too. My balance was wickedly off in Tree Pose but interestingly enough it was superb in Half Moon and Revolved Triangle. Can't figure that out.

*I got another Etsy purchase in the mail. A lovely wood Waldorf inspired rainbow for Athena to play with. So far a big waste of $20. I thought it would be neat. Apparently, she was not amused or inspired by it. Check out her expression in the picture.

*Athena and I are getting hair cuts tomorrow night. I have tried and tried and tried again to have long flowing hair. Unfortunately, coarse, curly hair is not easy to grow out. And Athena has such a teeny tiny face and thick straight hair that she gets lost in it if it gets long. I am thinking Pixie cuts for the both of us.

*The other day, my dishwasher was making an awful sound. The kind of sound that makes you look in sale flyers for a new one because you cannot possibly live without a dishwasher. But, again, interestingly enough, it was the microwave that died yesterday. This, I am happy to live without. I use it as an exhaust fan and light for cooking and perhaps to melt butter. We don't even use it for popcorn any more since I started making it in a pot with oil on top of the stove. This microwave was not some cheapy either. We paid over $400 for it less than 4 years ago. (Don't ask. My husband just wanted it to match the rest of the appliances). Anyway, I will be glad to see it go and off the wall. It is HUGE and... I hate it. In good news, the dishwasher has not acted up again.

* I cast on Athena's sweater the other day for the THIRD time. Again, don't ask. You know what they say anyway, "Third time's the charm."

*In extraordinary news, Paul and I have booked a 5 day vacation in Victoria BC in May. Just the two of us. Athena will be well taken care of by Auntie Jen. We can't wait. It has been years since we have been anywhere alone. Years.

And last but not least:

*What do you do when you have something on your mind, so much so that when you wake in the middle of the night, it is what you think about? (Women under 35 probably don't wake in the night but we women in our early 40's do.)

And what do you do when you know that if you do this thing, you will have a lot of opposition from some of those people who are closest to you?

And what do you do when you know this is ABSOLUTELY the best thing you can possibly do because you have the life experience and wisdom to know that it is?

Why you do it of course. You just do it.