Adventures In Homeschooling And Classroom Visits

The tapestry of summer is a learning experience.  The five senses awaken and reach far beyond the early signs of spring.  Sight and sound combine to serve as the teachers of nature.  Who the teachers are is the question.  The summer of 2007 has been no exception to this.  It has brought with it uncaptured memories.

 A storm began while travelling this summer.  Streaks of lightening darted across the river forming a mirror image of reflections.  The rain followed along with it to create a chorus of sound.  The sky glowed with lightening.

It is the warm months during which a range of wildlife frequently interacts with humans.  The question exists about who needs the other more.  Since the beginning of time,  animals have existed.  The bond between animals and humans is irreplaceably undisbutable.

A variety of critters found a vacation resort at our home this year.  This began with a few scattered squirrels who found birdseed a more than suitable diet for themselves.  Thoughts of colorful birds being the center of attraction were quickly set aside.  Chipmunks were the next to arrive on the scene. 

The outdoor diet quickly expanded to include intersting seed mixtures.  A solution being looked for...

Tags: chipmunks, daylight hours, five senses, groundhog day, racoon, squirrels, threatening stripes

| | del.icio.us

For whatever reason,  there is not enough time during the summer days.   The hopes that we had during the short days of winter seem to be fading memories.  The afghans that we huddled under during the long winter nights were shed like skins a few months ago.  Conversations about what we would do when the weather became warmer were exchanged like cartoon and sports trading cards.  Spring allergies followed the need for cold remedies. 

The days of summer have finally arrived.  Snow that once carpeted the lawn is gone.  The icy driveway has become a sheet of black pavement.   The snow and ice have become replaced with plants,  mulch and wheelbarrows. 

Learning through practice is the method approach that our family has frequently had.  It is how almost everything has been learned.  This summer has begun with laughter and tears for both old and new memories.  It has been applied as a way of smoothing over what has rippled as undercurrents in our family for so long.  It is the least of compensation that I can offer to my son Zachary for skinned knees and hearts.

 The "crick,"   as he refers to it,   is where he spends countless hours of his time at learning to swim.  Owned by his father, ...

Tags: borrowed time, cold remedies, conversations, creek, icy driveway, learning through practice, old and new memories, rippled as undercurrents, skinned knees and hearts, spring allergies, ten mile creek

| | del.icio.us

Having a great,  or at least reasonably good,  yard sale is always a lot of work for anyone.  The planning process can take weeks if not months.  It includes advertising,  sifting through what amounts to often years of assorted belongings,  pricing and setting up the sale.  Along with managing the rest of someone's life can be a feat extrodinare.

Mine was not an exception to the generally accepted rules for yard sales.  It was planned and announced as a homeschooling sale.  Invitations were sent to homeschoolers residing in the area.  I sorted through homeschooling materials that I had put into practice during the past academic year.

Days before the homeschooling sale date,  I began to receive requests from homeschoolers.  They had needs for homeschooling materials.  Ranging from pre K forward through high school,  their requests covered a wide spectrum of the world of homeschooling.  To further their search for materials,  there were homeschoolers who wanted to visit before my homeschooling sale date.

The location planned quickly expanded from the driveway to the house.  Those who requested their own private sale times came with specifications that included the ages of their children and the subjects that they needed.  Slowly,  the trail blazed by homeschoolers began...

Tags: academic year, early childhood education, educational sets, feat extrodinare, homeschooling sale, invitations, planning process, sale date, saturday morning, trail blazed

| | del.icio.us

Taking a trip to an art museum is something that should never be done alone.  While spending time alone at an art museum,  the moments of silence can seem overwhelming despite the breathtaking pieces of art that are seen there.  Frequently,  visiting an art museum is an act that is done as a romantic encounter shared by two.  At least,  that has been true from my experience.

The decision was made this Good Friday to take homeschoolers from the Northern Virginia and Maryland area to the art museum.  When the invitation was first extended,  I thought that it was planned as a mother's temporary escape from home.  This thought was quickly chased away by the reality that there were plans to bring young children to the museum.  It was going to be a time of learning.  The question was who would actually do the learning.

 The morning that I arrived at the art museum,  the weather was chilly for the Washington area.  The temperatures were below normal.  At least they were for the Easter season in this part of the country.  Spring clothing remained in closets and drawers.

There were at least half a dozen mothers,  along with over a dozen children, ...

Tags: angel gabriel, art museum, chilly, easter, fountain, good friday, invitation, maryland, moments of silence, northern virgnia, painting, tour guide

| | del.icio.us

A solar eclipse was predicted that spring (www.exploratium.edu/eclipse/index.html ).  The assignment was to build a sundial.  This sounded like a simple project for a class of thirty.  Together,  we would take a single sundial to the playground to watch the solar eclipse.  It was a moment in time that happens once every two years in the life of planet earth.

While planning this assignment the classroom teacher realized that this project could be broken into small groups.  The students would be able to decide what groups they wanted to work within.  I had made friends with another girl withing the class.  Frequent days of "medical excuses" took a seemingly healthy girl from the classroom.

The project was completed at her home.   With her mother's instruction we successfully completed this project.  We gazed at our sundial with a sense of accomplishment.  A Guide To Monitoring The Progress Of Solar Storms is at http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/swac .

Bright and early the next morning we arrived at school.  There,  we were met by representatives of the court in the county where we lived.  She was not able to attend school that day or for weeks to come.  I would have to make the presentation without...

Tags: fairfax county virginia, first grade, homeschooling, immunizations, medical excuse, nasa, solar eclipse

| | del.icio.us