A Different Skill Set

My kids couldn't swing on their own until they were about 6 years old. I think that's probably later than usual, but in their defense, they didn't have much exposure to swings until that time. Asia, particularly China, is relatively swingless.

On the other hand, our kids are fairly adept at using chopsticks, they could swim like fish at an early age, and they can navigate airport security and customs without assistance. Overseas living develops a different skill set.

So I just finished yet another (and I think finally successful!) lesson in "How to Tie Our Shoes." It's hard to believe that kids who are 9 and almost 7 don't know how to tie their shoes, but consider this: aside from the annoying habit of shoe companies making shoes with velcro almost exclusively, our kids have spent the last five years in a country where only sandals are required. On top of that, they are homeschooled. They are barefoot most of the day.

Our two months spent in the States last winter, finally wearing something other than sandals with consistency, convinced me that it's been long enough. It's just in time too, since we will shortly be moving back to China, where there is more shoe variety.

Homeschool? What's that?

We're several weeks into our visit to America, and homeschool has mostly gone out the window. Or has it? They've been consuming books like crazy (we're in the land of free and abundant libraries!). They've been learning how to play and live in a cold climate. They're developing their relationships with family they see about once a year. Last week they learned how to ski in Vermont. They're discovering what it's like to live in a different culture. So has the learning stopped? No. I guess it's just changed.

BFS #108 - Quality is Job #1

Intro: Quality is Job #1 (Ford)

Assignment: My family and I rarely do anything apart from each other. We don’t really have quality time together because all our time is together. We feel like the more special moments are when we have dinner together or when we worship God together. For this assignment, tell how you and your family spend QUALITY time together.

I think there's a bit difference between time together and quality time together. I do spend most of my time with my kids, but I know I am not always focused on them. I may be trying to shoot out an email, or distracted by my task list while they are trying to get me to engage with them. I find that the times when I tell myself, "There is nothing else in the world right now that is important other than being with my kids" I feel a great sense of freedom and enjoyment of them. If only I would remember that all the time!

One of the ways we've been trying to pursue making our time together fun and memorable is doing family active games together (this also doubles as phy ed time!). A few weeks ago we had a rousing game of "Run For Your Life!" which is something like what we used to play as kids when we hid, ran for "base" and yelled, "Oly Oly Oxen Free!" Now that I think about it, why on earth did we yell that? Anyway, Run For Your Life was great but now that rainy season has hit, and daddy's had a heavy travel month, we've brought our game times back inside.

The most popular game of late has been balloon volleyball. We connect the backs of two chairs with a rope and hit the balloon back and forth - you probably could have figured that out on your own without my explanation. What's funny to me is that because we basically don't have rules regarding how many times you can hit it, or even having to keep it off the ground, it's really just a game of "keep the balloon in the air." But the kids aren't complaining so why quibble the small stuff? It's become an almost daily activity lately. I confess I leave most of the moving to the kids who are sweaty and worn out by the time they're done, although last night Ethan and I had a pretty heated game that resulted in my arms feeling a little sore.

It's fun to hit on an activity that is quick, easy, and everyone enjoys.

I realize this doesn't look like a family activity - where are mom and dad? Dad was on a business trip and I'm taking the picture. But usually we're all involved!

Life is learning

My first exposure to homeschool came before I was even married. One summer day, feeling lonely, I walked across the street to introduce myself to the family I knew worked in another ministry on campus. The door was answered by a wonderful woman, Dee, who became mentor and friend to me in the next year.

She had three sweet little girls and one on the way, and she homeschooled them. I watched Dee parent them and talk about homeschooling - she mentioned how the smallest thing like seeing a firetruck drive by, or them watching her bake, was an opportunity for learning.

That lesson came back to me today when my son, who had been occupied measuring the living room furniture said, "Mom, do we have to go back to homeschool now?" We had read a book called Measuring Penny about a girl who measures her dog in every possible way, so the kids had grabbed tape measures and were hard at work measuring different things.
I said, "Ethan, you've been doing homeschool!" After all, he was learning, just at home.

One of the things I often hear is, "homeschooling is not school at home." In other words, you aren't trying to recreate what they'd have at school. But my personality demands structure, as does my time conscious son's, so while I want us to have an atmosphere of learning, I do find that I have a starting and stopping point each day. Part of my reasoning in that is that I want my kids to learn structure and how to be engaged in an activity for a prescribed time.

But as I reflect on our detour this morning, or the fact that right now Ethan is learning what happens when you burn rubberbands (yes, with permission - it's science!), or that earlier he observed the water tension on top of a cup of water and spend time reading about surface tension on the internet (more science!) I'm reminded that their learning isn't restricted to "school time."

Blogger Friend School Assignment #104 - Wacky Week

Have you done something crazy in your homeschool? Do you fingerpaint with your toes? Do you let your children do your hair? Do you wear your pajamas during homeschool? Oh, the list is endless, but it’s up to you and how much fun you want to have.

I'm late in doing my assignment this week because I've spent most of the week sick. And if I'm too sick to write, then you know I'm sick! Armed with a fresh load of drugs from my allergist, today I'm able to look at a computer screen without covering it with spray. Rejoice in all things!

What do we do in school that is wacky? The pure fact that I'm homeschooling my kids feels a bit wacky to me. When I tell people that's what we do for school, I get that brief bewildered look and then the obligatory comment that implies I'm some sort of saint. Well, the Bible does say I'm a saint, but not because of anything I've done, and certainly not because of homeschooling.

But back to the wackiness. Since it's taken me awhile to get into homeschooling, we haven't ventured too far off the beaten path. On occasion we mix things up and write all our subjects on pieces of paper, then pull them out of a hat to see what order we'll study things. The kids enjoy that.

This year I think I've become more relaxed, so we've had days where I said it was ok to watch the Olympics for two hours during our normal school time (it's educational! and the coverage here was incredible). The wackiness for me (which probably seems quite normal to people who've been gung ho about homeschool from the beginning) is seeing all of life as teaching, and not being so wound up about seeing tangible, boxes I can check, kind of learning. That gives us the freedom to follow rabbit trails throughout the day.

Oh, and the best kind of wackiness - the freedom to call a "teacher mental health day."