Inspired by A Thomas Jefferson Education, I'm going to further my own education. I'm following the steps at the back of the book and here's my rough schedule:
Upon the arrival of my Amazon order, I will first read Little Britches, by Ralph Moody. I already finished The Chosen, by Chaim Potok. I give myself seven days max to finish Little Britches.
Then Laddie, by Jeanne Stratton-Porter within one week.
Finally The Lonesome Gods, by Louis L'Amour. Who knew that would make a list of recommended reading? My grandpa used to devour Louis L'Amour books. It will be a tribute to him to read it. I'm kind of excited about it.
After those three weeks at most, I'll be reading and studying the Declaration of Independence. Following my study, I'll rope some lucky neighbor into listening to my discoveries.
I'll then have two weeks to read The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare) and do some writing in response.
Two weeks after that to finish Walden (Thoreau - probably was supposed to have read this in high school) and do more writing.
Following this two-month program, I'll regroup and plan out the next two months. I plan to use A Thomas Jefferson Education's list combined with information gleaned from this program to develop a personalized reading list. I'm really looking forward to all this, and I like having a little bit of structure but not too much (too much, right now, would look like tests, grades, and institutional deadlines) - I can handle my self-imposed deadlines because I am very nice to myself and I understand that I have a husband and four kids and homeschooling and Cub Scouts and church ministry and soccer practices and meal planning and exercise and Bible study and friends to hang out with and a house to clean and choir and some painting projects and a couple TV shows to keep up on for crying out loud!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Door, Desk, and Dream Come True
My dream of a lifetime would be to own a library like you see in old movies, where the shelves are floor to ceiling (and the ceiling is twenty feet high) complete with one of those rolling ladder thingys to reach the upper volumes. Granted, this dream would have to include an aproned housekeeper to dust the whole setup, as well as floor to ceiling windows looking out on my manicured gardens. Really, once you begin dreaming materialistically, where do you end?
It's all about the books. I love them. I loved them from an early age when the Bookmobile came to my preschool... when Grandma took me to the library in Tucson to gather titles for summer reading... when Dad set me free in the bookstore over by the old Vegas Village... when my book orders would arrive (with free posters! the joy!) in elementary school. What glorious memories! I still smile upon entering libraries and bookstores new and used. (I could happily plan an entire jaunt around the small towns of our country just dropping in on used bookstores. I can't wait til old age when this might be workable.)
Both my father and my husband have spent time and money over many years building bookshelves for me. There were two my father crafted which followed me from apartment to apartment in my college years. And when I saw a bookshelf built near the ceiling around the perimeter of a room in the Steve Martin movie "Roxanne", I requested the same in my condo - and got it! - thanks to Dad. He duplicated it with Kevin's help in our first house as a married couple. And Kevin used his now-professional-level carpentry skills to put one in our school room in the house before this one. It's starting to sound like I am as enamored by the shelves as the books.
This past weekend, Kevin's dad and step-mom visited to help with some important projects. One, a door desk:
It still needs some finishing touches, like a left side. But it is delicious for twenty bucks. And I have room to spread out three grades' worth of lesson plans across the top.
Next they hung a door between the master bedroom and bathroom. It still needs paint, and we're waiting for matching door hardware to arrive - but it's up!
And, finally, the piece de resistance --- the bookshelf! Here is the bare wall, screaming with potential:
And in a matter of a few hours...
Friday night, Kevin and his dad started with a clipboard, drew up the bookshelf plan, headed to Lowe's an hour before it closed, and twenty-four hours later all three projects were done. (The doors were ordered and bought ahead of time.) I have a gold mine in a father-in-law who builds custom homes. I felt like an episode of something on HGTV when the compressor hummed away and the nail gun shot off a hundred times.
Once I finish painting the rough trim and pull all my treasured books out of their boxes to arrange them in their new home, I'll post a photo of the completed project. I know I sound overly romantic about my books, but this really is a dream come true.
It's all about the books. I love them. I loved them from an early age when the Bookmobile came to my preschool... when Grandma took me to the library in Tucson to gather titles for summer reading... when Dad set me free in the bookstore over by the old Vegas Village... when my book orders would arrive (with free posters! the joy!) in elementary school. What glorious memories! I still smile upon entering libraries and bookstores new and used. (I could happily plan an entire jaunt around the small towns of our country just dropping in on used bookstores. I can't wait til old age when this might be workable.)
Both my father and my husband have spent time and money over many years building bookshelves for me. There were two my father crafted which followed me from apartment to apartment in my college years. And when I saw a bookshelf built near the ceiling around the perimeter of a room in the Steve Martin movie "Roxanne", I requested the same in my condo - and got it! - thanks to Dad. He duplicated it with Kevin's help in our first house as a married couple. And Kevin used his now-professional-level carpentry skills to put one in our school room in the house before this one. It's starting to sound like I am as enamored by the shelves as the books.
This past weekend, Kevin's dad and step-mom visited to help with some important projects. One, a door desk:
Next they hung a door between the master bedroom and bathroom. It still needs paint, and we're waiting for matching door hardware to arrive - but it's up!
And, finally, the piece de resistance --- the bookshelf! Here is the bare wall, screaming with potential:
Once I finish painting the rough trim and pull all my treasured books out of their boxes to arrange them in their new home, I'll post a photo of the completed project. I know I sound overly romantic about my books, but this really is a dream come true.
Monday, September 13, 2010
A Ramble on Homeschooling and Alcatraz
Remember the scene in "So I Married An Axe Murderer" when Phil Hartman's character was giving tours of Alcatraz? And his line, "Here's something the other tour guides won't tell you..."?
I love that line. I think of it often. Like now. As I'm sitting here being an imperfect homeschooling mom. Many women are perfect homeschooling moms, but I'm not one of them. And I'm here to share with you the lesser-known facts about Alcatraz (homeschooling). Uh-oh, I just compared homeschooling to a prison. I swear I didn't mean to do that.
Anyway... when you do something a little out of the ordinary in this life, you find out many folks have a common response whenever they find out.
Take homebirth: "You have your babies at HOME? Isn't that incredibly messy?"
Honestly, without a doubt that's the most common question I get. (For the record, I don't think it's any messier than having the baby at a hospital. Of course, the real issue is that the mess is in your bedroom instead of a hospital room which has its own custodian/janitor/orderly. There are ways to deal with this, however, and if a midwife wants to stay in business, she usually doesn't make the new mom clean up her own placenta. Now you know.)
Or convert to Catholicism in your adulthood: "What? Now you worship MARY? Isn't that unbiblical?"
Yep, Mary and Confession (which most non-Catholics have only seen in the movies) are the biggest hangups many people have. I don't worship Mary any more than I clean up my own placenta.
Or homeschool your children: "Ohmygod! I could never spend all day every day with my kid(s)!"
Well, here's the honest truth. It IS horribly difficult some days. But as I realized today, the issues that make the 24/7 problem a problem wouldn't be remedied by sending them to school out of my house. They would just be swept under the rug, easier to ignore or deal with in smaller increments.
My issues, friends, are that I am too permissive with my children and I have a pretty gnarly anger problem. Can you see how this combination could be ugly? It is. And it's heartbreaking and despair-inducing. But now, since I've decided to spend all day every day with my kids, I gotta work on being a better, more disciplined disciplinarian while simultaneously praying my booty off that Jesus will heal my anger. It's gonna take a miracle. Anger seems to be my default trait. Beneath the surface on any given day at any given time is a really mad woman. But I'm dealing with her (me) and I am hopeful that I will see some improvement any day now. The struggle is huge these past couple weeks so I know something is going to change. It has to.
Getting back to my Alcatraz allusion/analogy, I have given my last tour and am now riding in the boat back across the shark-infested waters toward the mainland. I've shown the people what they came to see. Yes, it's often tremendously difficult to be with my children all day every day. But, as with homebirth and becoming Catholic, it has been revealed to be the best thing for my family. Even with the messes and the misunderstanding and the mayhem.
I love that line. I think of it often. Like now. As I'm sitting here being an imperfect homeschooling mom. Many women are perfect homeschooling moms, but I'm not one of them. And I'm here to share with you the lesser-known facts about Alcatraz (homeschooling). Uh-oh, I just compared homeschooling to a prison. I swear I didn't mean to do that.
Anyway... when you do something a little out of the ordinary in this life, you find out many folks have a common response whenever they find out.
Take homebirth: "You have your babies at HOME? Isn't that incredibly messy?"
Honestly, without a doubt that's the most common question I get. (For the record, I don't think it's any messier than having the baby at a hospital. Of course, the real issue is that the mess is in your bedroom instead of a hospital room which has its own custodian/janitor/orderly. There are ways to deal with this, however, and if a midwife wants to stay in business, she usually doesn't make the new mom clean up her own placenta. Now you know.)
Or convert to Catholicism in your adulthood: "What? Now you worship MARY? Isn't that unbiblical?"
Yep, Mary and Confession (which most non-Catholics have only seen in the movies) are the biggest hangups many people have. I don't worship Mary any more than I clean up my own placenta.
Or homeschool your children: "Ohmygod! I could never spend all day every day with my kid(s)!"
Well, here's the honest truth. It IS horribly difficult some days. But as I realized today, the issues that make the 24/7 problem a problem wouldn't be remedied by sending them to school out of my house. They would just be swept under the rug, easier to ignore or deal with in smaller increments.
My issues, friends, are that I am too permissive with my children and I have a pretty gnarly anger problem. Can you see how this combination could be ugly? It is. And it's heartbreaking and despair-inducing. But now, since I've decided to spend all day every day with my kids, I gotta work on being a better, more disciplined disciplinarian while simultaneously praying my booty off that Jesus will heal my anger. It's gonna take a miracle. Anger seems to be my default trait. Beneath the surface on any given day at any given time is a really mad woman. But I'm dealing with her (me) and I am hopeful that I will see some improvement any day now. The struggle is huge these past couple weeks so I know something is going to change. It has to.
Getting back to my Alcatraz allusion/analogy, I have given my last tour and am now riding in the boat back across the shark-infested waters toward the mainland. I've shown the people what they came to see. Yes, it's often tremendously difficult to be with my children all day every day. But, as with homebirth and becoming Catholic, it has been revealed to be the best thing for my family. Even with the messes and the misunderstanding and the mayhem.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Top O' The Mornin'!
I tiptoed out to the mailbox this morning in my pajamas to mail my long-overdue birthday thank-yous. Happily I was wearing modest enough pajamas that aren't too silly since I saw not just one but BOTH of my neighbors (the husband half of the neighbors). One is Australian, and we love to listen to him talk - from him I got a "Top o' the mornin'!" The other called a greeting and gave a wave and I slipped back into the house resolved to get dressed quick before anyone else sees me. The pajamas are cute enough - I just bought them at Dillard's on my Mom's Day Out - but I'm not sure how much mascara is smeared under my eyes and how much of my hair is sticking out all over the place.
Top o' the morning, indeed!
Top o' the morning, indeed!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Challenging
Years ago in our little hamlet in Yucaipa, my dare-to-be-different friend Rachel and her husband Adam were visiting and oh-so-casually mentioned "Thomas Jefferson Education." I remember them saying something about a "list of classics" and "parents should read the books before the kids do" but it was all a blur because on the same trip I believe we celebrated the New Year AND one of their daughters broke her arm AND in our usual manner we covered ninety-four-thousand other topics too.
Innocently, my lovely friend Beth mentioned this same book on the phone the other day. So I ordered it. And ever since, my life has been in a turmoil. Over the past six years, I have become a fan of Classical Education. It makes sense, it sounds good, and all the best stuff I read supports it. When I put it into practice last year with Laura Berquist's book and her private school - it went okay, but it seemed a little dry for us. So I ordered something "jazzier" this year. And jazzy does not equal Classic. It's not on the opposite end of the spectrum, but it's still not Classic(al). We had a great first three days, but by day four, I received my copy of A Thomas Jefferson Education, by Oliver DeMille, from Amazon and was diving in head first.
In this diving analogy, let's just say I bonked my head on the bottom of the pool and paralyzed myself. Not permanently, praise God, but I had to take Tuesday off of homeschool altogether because I was a dizzy mess.
I'm going to spare you the entire tale of all I'm thinking about educational philosophy and my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher/tutor/mentor and tell you that we picked up today where we left off last Thursday (we have Fridays off already, Monday was Labor Day, and Tuesday was the dizzy day). However, I'm looking into attending a local seminar on mentoring, putting together a discussion group on Black Beauty, and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Junior Classics set we ordered on e-Bay.
THANKS A LOT BETH AND RACHEL!!!
Okay, facetious bitterness aside, I'm actually excited about doing some pretty serious studying myself. To start with, I am following DeMille's recommendations at the end of the book and am now nearly half through The Chosen, by Chaim Potok. Better go read!
Innocently, my lovely friend Beth mentioned this same book on the phone the other day. So I ordered it. And ever since, my life has been in a turmoil. Over the past six years, I have become a fan of Classical Education. It makes sense, it sounds good, and all the best stuff I read supports it. When I put it into practice last year with Laura Berquist's book and her private school - it went okay, but it seemed a little dry for us. So I ordered something "jazzier" this year. And jazzy does not equal Classic. It's not on the opposite end of the spectrum, but it's still not Classic(al). We had a great first three days, but by day four, I received my copy of A Thomas Jefferson Education, by Oliver DeMille, from Amazon and was diving in head first.
In this diving analogy, let's just say I bonked my head on the bottom of the pool and paralyzed myself. Not permanently, praise God, but I had to take Tuesday off of homeschool altogether because I was a dizzy mess.
I'm going to spare you the entire tale of all I'm thinking about educational philosophy and my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher/tutor/mentor and tell you that we picked up today where we left off last Thursday (we have Fridays off already, Monday was Labor Day, and Tuesday was the dizzy day). However, I'm looking into attending a local seminar on mentoring, putting together a discussion group on Black Beauty, and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Junior Classics set we ordered on e-Bay.
THANKS A LOT BETH AND RACHEL!!!
Okay, facetious bitterness aside, I'm actually excited about doing some pretty serious studying myself. To start with, I am following DeMille's recommendations at the end of the book and am now nearly half through The Chosen, by Chaim Potok. Better go read!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
501
I just noticed on my dashboard that I have 500 posts! Whoa!
So this is 501.
501 reminds me of Levi's.
On Saturday, I had my Mom's Day Out and bought myself a pair of real Levi's. I haven't had Levi's in ages. I like them.
One of my friends has a kid named Levi. I kinda like that for a name. Names. Kids. I'm not sure I can handle any more kids. Then again, it's good I can't do anything permanent, because I seem to change my mind on this about every other day.
Never made sweet and sour chicken before, but it's simmering in the crock pot right now. It's Kirsten's recipe. Kirsten, who is married to Mike. Mike who yesterday gave me a bright red t-shirt that says, "40 Isn't Old If You're a Tree."
Do you know they sell tequila with a scorpion in the bottle? This is foolish.
I'm back to running, now that the temps are staying mostly in the double digits. And we've got another addition to our running group! That makes five of us - we're a force to be reckoned with on the streets of Henderson. And in a road race coming soon!
So this is 501.
501 reminds me of Levi's.
On Saturday, I had my Mom's Day Out and bought myself a pair of real Levi's. I haven't had Levi's in ages. I like them.
One of my friends has a kid named Levi. I kinda like that for a name. Names. Kids. I'm not sure I can handle any more kids. Then again, it's good I can't do anything permanent, because I seem to change my mind on this about every other day.
Never made sweet and sour chicken before, but it's simmering in the crock pot right now. It's Kirsten's recipe. Kirsten, who is married to Mike. Mike who yesterday gave me a bright red t-shirt that says, "40 Isn't Old If You're a Tree."
Do you know they sell tequila with a scorpion in the bottle? This is foolish.
I'm back to running, now that the temps are staying mostly in the double digits. And we've got another addition to our running group! That makes five of us - we're a force to be reckoned with on the streets of Henderson. And in a road race coming soon!
Friday, September 3, 2010
First Week... Done!
Whew.
This time last week I was getting nervous. I know, it sounds silly that I would be nervous about teaching my own kids --- but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't picture how it was going to work (three kids at once!) -- and I am all about imagining things beforehand.
Here I was, with three vast displays of books fanned out before me, trying to figure out how three kids, three grades, and eighteen-ish subjects were going to "come together". I think Kevin took the photo hoping one day I'd look back on this and laugh.
The first day came, and my new fourth grader, second grader, and Kindergartener were happy to pose for photos. Joe wore the same shirt for his first day of third grade, too. I think I ought to be flattered.
Really, the first week went smoothly, and I think it's working well. In the weeks leading up to school starting, many people asked how I was going to juggle all three. It's just that: juggling. But I've learned a few things from last year that make it easier - or at least more manageable. After four days, I can honestly say I'm enjoying it and this curriculum is a better fit for us than last year's.
All that being said, I'd appreciate prayer! I've got a big job ahead.
This time last week I was getting nervous. I know, it sounds silly that I would be nervous about teaching my own kids --- but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't picture how it was going to work (three kids at once!) -- and I am all about imagining things beforehand.
Here I was, with three vast displays of books fanned out before me, trying to figure out how three kids, three grades, and eighteen-ish subjects were going to "come together". I think Kevin took the photo hoping one day I'd look back on this and laugh.
The first day came, and my new fourth grader, second grader, and Kindergartener were happy to pose for photos. Joe wore the same shirt for his first day of third grade, too. I think I ought to be flattered.
Really, the first week went smoothly, and I think it's working well. In the weeks leading up to school starting, many people asked how I was going to juggle all three. It's just that: juggling. But I've learned a few things from last year that make it easier - or at least more manageable. After four days, I can honestly say I'm enjoying it and this curriculum is a better fit for us than last year's.
All that being said, I'd appreciate prayer! I've got a big job ahead.
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