No-Coddling Zone

“There’s a lot of talk these days about giving children self-esteem.  It’s not something you can give; it’s something they have to build.  Couch graham worked in a no-coddling zone.  Self-esteem? He knew there was really only one way to teach kids how to develop it: You give them something they can’t do, they work hard until they find they can do it, and you just keep repeating the process.”

—Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Home Education for Expelled Students

There’s always one of “those” days, usually near the beginning of the school year, and inexplicably after a few couple great days of intellectual accomplishment, when we all collapse and want to quit. Someone gets into an argument, doors slam, tears are shed, and the yellow pages lie open with the phone number of the local public school prominently underlined. Today I actually found a number to call for “Home education for expelled students.” Apparently home schooling is punishment for delinquents, so is public school punishment for uncooperative homeschoolers? Honestly, I wasn’t truly thinking of enrolling my kids in school (not this time), but I wanted them to think about how things could be different.  We are very privileged to do what we do here, studying cool things in fun ways and at our own pace.

I am not proud to say that due to my hollow threat they both ended up crying on their beds for over half an hour as they pondered their imminent doom. 

I have been homeschooling long enough now that when days like this happen, I am neither surprised nor fall into a pit of despair, as I used to. Though I am not happy when it happens, it is apparently something we all need to go through as we adjust to the new fall school routine after having been relatively loose all summer. Days like this are the necessary growing pains of working together as a family of unique, intelligent, democratic-minded individuals.

In retrospect, today’s explosion had been creeping up on us in the form of the “mines.” That’s my chair, I get the front seat, That’s my candy! When attitudes no longer take each other into account but only focus on what the self wants, then it’s only a matter of time before a major conflict takes place, usually about something stupid like a blanket or a cookie (even, maddeningly, for 12- and 10-year-olds). 

We spoke for a while (again) about how antagonizing each other leads to consequences, whether we deserve them or not. In this case, it was a bonk on the head by an aggravated brother, which may very well be a gift to a sister who could be hurt much worse in the future by someone who feels no need to hold back. During our lunch prayer, we thanked God that He can take broken things and turn them into something beautiful—even days like this. 

The beauty of our homeschool today is that we have the luxury of time to address character issues that come up. We can take the time to cry and talk over hurts until we can forgive, pray and reconcile. The stuff we learned about French pronouns or Medieval Europe or arteries and veins? Not important. At the end of the day, we remember what matters in life: Love God, Love Others.  Everything else is extra.

Portrait of a homeschool mom--2nd week of school, 2013

Time journal 2013

Monday, September 9, 2013

Went to bed at 11:00

Woke at 5:00, tossed and turned until 6:30

Woke at 8:35

Shower/makeup/haircut/dressed/coffee by 8:50 (wash hair, flat iron bangs)

Started time journal 8:53

Worked on Excel worksheet for the Edge project until 9:11

Clean cat hairball off the floor 9:12

Get school assignments out 9:12

Check email/facebook until 9:31

Quick clean wesley’s room (too messy to live with) till 10

School devotions, etc until 10:45 (protein bar for breakfast)

Writing workshop till 12

Lunch (made by Sophia) and history/hammock time till 12:30

Outdoor time: bugs, weeds, arranging furniture for birthday party on Thurs till 1:20

Work on emails and calendar till 1:25

Studio work until 2:25 (protein bar for lunch)

French until 3:04

Get supplies and head over to the Edge to paint third coat on wall/trim—Biblegateway on the way

3:45 arrive back home, start dinner (sambar with rice & chapati bread)—finish Biblegateway daily reading

6:15 finish cleaning dishes, head to KCC Wyoming campus for meeting (snack on carrots and dip)

Get back home at 8:50, put Sophia to bed by 9:20

Jammies, read until 10:30 (snack on white chocolate chips)

Jeopardy till 11

Read till sleep, about 11:10

 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Wake 8:00

Run/Biblegateway till 8:25 (1.5 miles)

Help Sophia with breakfast, chit chat

Shower/get dressed/makeup etc 8:45 till 9

9:00 write this journal, check mail/facebook etc

9:20 create new school blog

10:00 help kids with school, eat breakfast (egg & ham slaw)

10:20-11 devotions: Passport to India

11-12 writing workshop

12-1 lunch, history read-aloud (ancient romans)

1-2:30 design school and personal blog at new website

2:30-2:45 French online

3:00 rest

3:30 take Sophia to viola lesson

3:45 grocery shopping at Aldi, shopping at Goodwill

4:30 pick up Sophia, bring home groceries, put away

5:00 pick up averys and bring to movies (protein bar for dinner, popcorn and gummy bears @ movie)

7:30 movie ends, go to the field by KCC and look for mug, goof around

7:50 come back to our house for goofing around; I work in the garage a little

8:00 show the girls the clothes I bought today, goof around

8:05 bring averys home, chit chat a while

8:25 come home, play Fruit Ninja

8:55 Sophia gets ready for bed, I finish processing mail, clothes from store

9:00 call Mom back

9:15 put Sophia to bed, chit chat with Tim a while

9:30 work on this journal a bit

9:40 facebook, emails

10:00 read until Jeopardy

10:30 Jeopardy—I won!!

11:00 read until sleep, about 11:10

 

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Wake up at 7:50, shower (wash hair)

8:10 facebook—wish Wyatt a happy birthday, emails, cry more than I expected

8:15 biblegateway

8:30 get ready for

Steelcase Appt. (blow dry hair, flat iron bangs)

9:15 head to Steelcase. Carte blanche, baby! Couches, soft seating, etc, for the Edge!

Pick out furnishings, head home by 12:00

Read history to the kids—The Ancient Americas—till 12:30

Clean up, small break till 12:45

Devotions till 1:30 (breakfast protein bar)

French till 1:45

Small break till 2—work on banners for next Paris Picnic show on Vistaprint

Writing workshop till 3

Write thank you note, mail order for KCC craft show, fix Vistaprint order with customer service till 3:20 (lunch protein bar)

Price items from garage sale for Allegan till 4:05

Bring Wesley to karate till 4:20

Make jewelry with Sophia till 6:05

Bring Sophia to Impact till 6:25

Go to Mom’s, bring furniture for booth till 7

Go to Carabbas for dinner till 8:15

Go to menards for pear picker, etc; then Meijer for Sophia’s bday cake till 8:40

Pick up all the kids, bring friends home, till 9:25

Sophie to bed till 9:40

Tidy house till 10:30

Jeopardy till 11:00

Read till sleep, about 11:10

 

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Wake 8:10

Tidy house for party tonight, wrap sophia’s presents till 8:25

get ready and run 2 mi. till 9:10 (biblegateway during)

shower (don’t wash hair), flat iron hair, get ready till 9:40

tidy house some more until devotions with kids at 10

devotions, read Jillann’s blog till 11

French till 11:15

Tidy more while kids finish computer work, till 11:40

Work on pendant jewelry designs till 12

Cook soupe du jour (from yesterday’s French lesson) & chop/freeze overripe pears till 12:15

Tidy yard, sit in the sun till 12:30

Read history (Native Americas) during lunch till 1:15

Make parfaits to go with today’s French lesson till 1:30

Tidy lunch, bring Sophia to ballet till 2:05

Shop Goodwill outlet, Ken’s fruit market for party food and flowers till 3:40

Arrange plants, stock drinks, begin cooking till 5:30

Party! Till 8:30

Clean up till 9:30

Put Sophia to bed by 9:50

Hang out and watch random tv till Jeopardy, then bed at 11:00

Read till 11:05

 

Friday, September 13, 2013

Wake 8:15

Run/bible gateway 8:40 (2 mi.)

Get dressed, makeup (no shower)

Go to Krispy Kreme/read Harry Potter till 11

Eat lunch, put chicken in crockpot, sort emails, facebook till 11:45

Make portable lunches for kids, field trip at Garfield Park till 3:30 Make a phone call for the first 10 minutes of field trip

Get ready to go to the edge for painting pews for coffee shop

3:45 leave, find out the pews aren’t ready yet; unload 4 lamps and 3 bolt of fabric into a spare office, tour the newly finished areas of construction, go home

4:00 kids do screentime; I take a nap

4:50 warm up side dishes, make a sauce to go with noodles

5:15 eat dinner (meatballs & veggies for me)

5:45 get ready to go to Horrocks, leave

7:30 get home, get a game of Settlers started, play till 7:55

Go to Toni’s sweet 16 birthday till 10:30 (1/2 sandwich, chips & guacamole, ice cream parfait)

Get home at 10:35, watch remaining Jeopardy till 11, go to bed without reading

Sleep all the way thru night till 5:30, toss and turn, then relent and just get up

 

Saturday, September 14, 2013

6:00 get up, make coffee, record receipts, check email and facebook, research Science videos for school

8:08 go for run/Biblegateway

8:45 take shower, dry and straighten hair (read the Last Lecture during this), makeup, jewelry etc

 tidy bedroom and kitchen till 9:50

Artprize installation at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, downtown, till 11 (eat a protein bar)

Farmers Market downtown till 12:30 (eat ½ a Honeycrisp apple)

Work in studio on jewelry designs till 1:00

Work outside on painted pieces till 2

Go to Meijer and Goodwill outlet with kids till 4:50

Eat dinner, heated up by Tim (garden green beans & beef pie from Farmers Market for us, macaroni and sausage for kids) till 6

Rest while Tim and kids play

Go to mary’s house for game night until 11:30 (no snacks)

Bed by 12

Wake up at 3 and don’t get back to sleep until around 5:30

Wake up again at 8

 

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Wake at 8

Tidy bedroom, bath, kitchen till 8:15 (protein bar)

Makeup, get dressed, re-straighten hair till 8:45, leave for church

Baptism class for Sophia till 10:30

Chat in hall till 10:55

Church service till 12ish

Home for lunch until almost 2 (chicken noodle soup, 2 bowls)

Nap till about 3:30

Read a magazine till almost 4

Get ready, leave for Artprize Artist party at the BOB

Get home around 9:30

Hang out with fam till bedtime, 11:00

Fall Curriculum

Devotions & Geography: Passport to India.com
Passport to India

Spelling: Spellingcity.com
              New Testament 1
              Ancient Civilizations 1
Spelling City

History: Ancient History by Capella

Math: Teaching Textbooks, Grades 5 & 7
Teaching Textbooks

French: Mango Languages.com
Mango Languages

Reading (just a sampling): The Hobbit, Dear America

Writing: Excellence in Writing, Level B
               Strong Verbs, Banned Words, Which/Who clauses, etc.
Excellence in Writing

Art: ArtPrize, The Edge remodel, Paris Picnic shows
Artprize
The Edge
Paris Picnic

The School Year Begins With Loss

...of our old blogs on Xanga.com.

Years of homeschooling by scratch, learning on the fly, figuring out how to grow up with grace and wisdom without the benefit of public (or any) funding...gone.

Yes, I have the blogs and photos saved to my computers, as well as our yearbooks from each school year.  But that was a special site that I designed and maintained with love, and now it is suddenly--but not inexplicably--gone.

The revenue for the site had been declining due to unpopularity, which can't support the ads. Maybe free isn't better, after all. 

There is one plus to this loss, though: the atheist stalker that had been hounding my creation science posts won't be able to heckle me any more.

Unless he finds me here. Oh well.

Here's to a new year!