Suggestions for a Grandparent Unit Study - Homeschooling

Maybe when the boys are a little older we might do a Grandparent Unit Study.

From a Grandmother's Point of View

This evening DH told his parents about me changing careers. They asked if it was for homeschooling, even though DS1 is only 4. I wasn't in on the conversation because DS1 woke up and I was helping him go back to sleep. That was probably a good thing. I think Grandma should read the article, From a Grandmother's Point of View. Maybe she wouldn't be so critical or worry so much. Maybe not.

Unschooling

Have I blogged this site, Unschooling, before?

Vacation

We had a great trip to Colorado last week. DS1 said his favorite part was going down the big giant slide with Daddy. We did 2 hikes and played at several playgrounds and rest areas. The Children's Museum of Denver was fun. The boys tolerated the long car rides pretty well. The special case we had to mount the laptop in the car for DVD viewing was handy; we used it once on the way out and once on the way back. Our resort has a library of books, videos and toys for checkout; the boys watched Richard Scarry's Best ABC Video Ever dozens of times. On the way home they were even reciting dialogue. The wheelbarrow was a hit, too. One fun thing we did on the way home was play "The Alphabet Game" where they (and the non-driving adult) tried to find letters on signs and vehicles. We actually made it all the way to Z less than a mile before getting home on Sunday.

Summer water fun

Our city has 6 Interactive Water Fountains that run May 1 through September 30, 10 am to 8 pm. Plus Exploration Park has two giant Sunflowers that shower water when a button is pressed. We have been to Exploration Park and Osage Park; only 5 more to go.

Baseball in the Living Room

Yesterday we all played baseball in the living room. The boys took turns batting with a 18" foam floatie stick and pitching the 6" inflatable beach ball. I was usually the catcher, helping the batter, but sometimes I pitched, too. DH was usually the umpire, but he was catcher sometimes, too.

It was great fun, and both boys hit a couple of "homeruns" that bounced off the ceiling or into the next room. We called balls and strikes but no one was ever out, after a hit (that was more than a foul tip) the other batter got a turn. DS2 is a better pitcher than batter because he doesn't quite get the swinging yet, and he can throw pretty well at 6-10'. DS1 was doing rather well at both pitching and batting. He was doing really well hitting it out of my hand (like in T-ball); so well that DH looked up the local park board and Y t-ball info on the internet. There are leagues for 4 yr olds, but they are already in progress. Maybe next year!

Anyway, it was great fun for all!

Random Thoughts from a Homeschool Convention

Written while waiting for the last keynote speaker of the convention Saturday afternoon:

Many good workshops.

Strong Christian encouragement.

The unschooling desire in me feels out of place. My struggle will be to balance my responsibility to train my boys and teach them about God with my desire for flexibility and trusting them to learn what they need. How can I take my cues from them and still teach Biblical principles? How can I reconcile my not-so-conservative Christian views with the very conservative things I have heard here, some of which I think are really good (and some that make me cringe)? The parts that feel good and right make me feel that the "outside" things that differ are "out of place".

In homeschooling, just as in much of the rest of my life, I feel like I don't fit. I think I need to read Christian Unschooling again.

Part of me wants to resist the preachy stuff, but it comforts me and encourages and inspires me, so I am confused. I wish DH would have come to this afternoon so it would be easier to discuss. He came yesterday evening with the boys and shopped with me, but did not attend any of the workshops.

What I bought: a big tub of pattern blocks, 3 lap size white boards and 2 packages of white board crayons, 2 software programs: Clifford (DS2) and a 3 pack of Adventure Workshop for ages 4-6 (DS1), Math U See primer level and blocks, and 2 cassettes of sessions for DH (that he requested). Saturday evening we all played with the blocks making patterns up; I think I had as much fun as the boys.

Deschooling

I found this deschooling article via a link on KS Homeschool net's beginner's guide to homeschooling in Kansas.

Tomorrow I'm going to the local homeschool convention. I hope to get some encouragement and information without being too influenced and overwhelmed by all of the curriculum stuff. It's a real struggle for me; I see all of the things that I think would be fun, and I have hard time resisting them for my boys. Maybe I don't need to resist them all, but I do have to think about what my boys would like, not what I would like.