Ah, that time of the year again . . . when I constantly bite my tongue when hearing other parents talk about not being able to wait until they can ship their kids back off to school.
I don't think it's as simple and clear as judging them as not missing their kids enough (I know many schooled parents who DO miss their kids during the day . . . and I also remember having that "can't wait for the schoolbus" feeling when my kids were in school, even though I did miss them). I think there are multiple factors at play.
When you are accustomed to a routine-- get up, eat, meet the school bus on time, free time for the stay at home parent to do housework, errands, doc appointments, meet the schoolbus, afterschool activities, dinner, homework bed-- your life has a predictable feel to it that gets disrupted in the summer. I think it is normal to feel antsy when your routine is disrupted, and to welcome that routine back, no matter the pitfalls.
Households with two working parents and young kids also face a dilemma in summer about how to ensure their kids are supervised properly, and that stress is relieved when school resumes.
Finally, in today's world, the notion of just letting your kids be bored sometimes instead of constantly entertained, in entertainments arranged by adults, is an odd one. Many of today's parents feel pressured to make sure their kids are busy and productive.
I think when you are accustomed to having your kids cared for by someone else all day most days, you do start to think of taking that on for yourself as being harder than it actually is if doing so is just your normal routine.
But I admit I still feel sad when I hear it. It comes across as sounding as if the parents really don't like their kids or spending time with them. And I think the kids overhearing it can sometimes hear it that way too-- and kids overhear more than we usually realize. I am happy now that I get to spend my days with my kids (over four years now, not to mention their pre-school days). I am happy that our "routine" includes them being around, so it doesn't feel like a burden. And I do think that parents who make spectacles of themselves at this first school bus pickup are pretty far gone-- that behavior sends a really bad message to the kids.
We are not better humans because we homeschool. We are not superior to kids-in-school parents. There are good and less-good parents in both camps. But even knowing I once felt the same way, it's hard to hear parents celebrating handing their kids off to strangers, and that they don't know how to interact with their own children for more than a couple of days per week, or not trusting their kids to be okay if not being "organized" by someone. It's just hard. But I know it's complicated, and so I bite my tongue. Then go hug my kids, and thank my lucky stars that homeschooling is an option for us. It has definitely changed my outlook on life and family.
Thanks for reading!
Jen
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
20 Reasons to Love Homeschooling
This is a guest blog by my 14 YO, with an introduction and commentary from me.
A friend of mine who also homeschools posted to Facebook a list of 20 reasons to love homeschooling (Read it here), generated her daughter (I am totally poaching her idea here). I decided that it would actually be good to have my boys reflect on what makes homeschooling enjoyable for them, and below is my 14YO's list. I agree with him on most of them-- though #11 cracks me up, as I doubt he ever had a "several hour long lecture" in public school. That may be how he recalls it, though! As with my friend, I post this with some concern it will make us sound like completely lax homeschoolers, which is not the case at all; this 14YO has finished algebra 2 already and is powering through geometry; is finishing up a 4-year world tour of history from which he remembers quite a bit, has read books on high school and college reading lists, etc etc etc. Somehow, with all that, he still seems to have had no trouble coming up with 20 reasons to love homeschooling. I will also note that he has excellent study habits overall, tending to stick with a task as long as necessary rather than giving up or getting distracted.
My favorites from his list are 2, 4, 9, 14, 16, 17, 18, and 20. I think they nicely sum up some of my favorite things about homeschooling too, and I'm thrilled to see he appreciates these things.
I do think any of us might benefit from this exercise-- what is it that occupies most of our time? A job, a new baby, a new vocation in training? Sitting down to reflect and generate a list of 20 reasons to love why I do what I do would certainly boost my spirits; perhaps I should do it next!
So without further ado, here is DS14's (4 1/2 years of homeschooling) list:
1. Snack whenever
2. Actual challenge
3. Random days off
4. Cats
5. Sit anywhere for work
6. No work after school
7. Break anytime
8. Can do sports
9. Flexible
10. Can sleep in
11. No several-hour-long lectures
12. Can do essays right on the computer
13. Can take days off to play with friends
14. Independence
15. Can finish before 3:00 pm
16. Can learn stuff on my own
17. Not every day is the same
18. Can go to fun places on weekdays
19. I don't have to worry about bullies
20. I can ask for help whenever I need it.
Thanks for reading!
Jen
A friend of mine who also homeschools posted to Facebook a list of 20 reasons to love homeschooling (Read it here), generated her daughter (I am totally poaching her idea here). I decided that it would actually be good to have my boys reflect on what makes homeschooling enjoyable for them, and below is my 14YO's list. I agree with him on most of them-- though #11 cracks me up, as I doubt he ever had a "several hour long lecture" in public school. That may be how he recalls it, though! As with my friend, I post this with some concern it will make us sound like completely lax homeschoolers, which is not the case at all; this 14YO has finished algebra 2 already and is powering through geometry; is finishing up a 4-year world tour of history from which he remembers quite a bit, has read books on high school and college reading lists, etc etc etc. Somehow, with all that, he still seems to have had no trouble coming up with 20 reasons to love homeschooling. I will also note that he has excellent study habits overall, tending to stick with a task as long as necessary rather than giving up or getting distracted.
My favorites from his list are 2, 4, 9, 14, 16, 17, 18, and 20. I think they nicely sum up some of my favorite things about homeschooling too, and I'm thrilled to see he appreciates these things.
I do think any of us might benefit from this exercise-- what is it that occupies most of our time? A job, a new baby, a new vocation in training? Sitting down to reflect and generate a list of 20 reasons to love why I do what I do would certainly boost my spirits; perhaps I should do it next!
So without further ado, here is DS14's (4 1/2 years of homeschooling) list:
1. Snack whenever
2. Actual challenge
3. Random days off
4. Cats
5. Sit anywhere for work
6. No work after school
7. Break anytime
8. Can do sports
9. Flexible
10. Can sleep in
11. No several-hour-long lectures
12. Can do essays right on the computer
13. Can take days off to play with friends
14. Independence
15. Can finish before 3:00 pm
16. Can learn stuff on my own
17. Not every day is the same
18. Can go to fun places on weekdays
19. I don't have to worry about bullies
20. I can ask for help whenever I need it.
Thanks for reading!
Jen
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
The Story of Science: A New Book Review
Update: the book is shipping early! If you have been waiting to order one, you can go for it!
I have had the privilege of previewing Susan Wise Bauer's upcoming book, The Story of Science: From the Writings of Aristotle to the Big Bang Theory (Norton, release date May 11, 2015)
over the past several weeks. These have been a few weeks of sheer reading pleasure. This volume belongs in any home library-- homeschooler, interested lay-reader of the sciences, informed voter, or any person who wants more context for today's media reports about new (or "new again") scientific discoveries regarding our health, the environment, and our world.
The scope of this new book is vast, covering the development of the scientific method itself, as well as developments in scientific thought from ancient through modern times. Other collections or books have attempted the same feat; what sets this effort apart, in addition to Bauer's clear, accessible writing style, is her reliance upon primary sources to tell most of the tale.
Each chapter discusses an important leap in the progress of Western scientific thought, placing the writings of the featured character in the context of their time and place of life as well as of scientific inquiry. Every chapter concludes with a list of recommendations on how to investigate the source material, including helpful commentary on clarity of translations, where to obtain a free copy when available, readability of versions of the text, inclusion of original artwork where relevant, and, where a reading of the entire selection might not be necessary to grasp the essential point, a guide to what to read from the source material. To make life easier for the reader, Ms. Bauer has developed a website with hyperlinks to many of the source materials, not only from the well-known Plato's Timaeus, Aristotle's History of Animals, but the oft-neglected works of Bacon, Hooke, and Wegener. Additionally, there are links to more modern authors such as Stephen Jay Gould, Steven Weinberg, and James Gleick, and their writings which are aimed at more general audiences than technical journal articles.
It is not necessary to read every primary source referenced in Bauer's walk through scientific history in order to get much out of the book. I do recommend reading all of Bauer's chapters, as they reinforce the understanding that each discovery owes something to those that came before it-- whether the new direction in thinking builds on past understandings or overturns them.
This book truly felt like the story of how and why we know what we know. Dogma was developed, and sometimes refined, but many other times overturned entirely. The process of science involves unending questioning of that which we sometimes take for granted, and the biggest leaps have come from those who had the courage to ask, "What if . . . what we know about this is wrong?" This book causes the reader to both appreciate the scientific process and the ability to intelligently question that which we dogmatically hold true-- and to understand how the interfaces among science and society and human nature can sometimes cause confusion and conflict.
Susan Wise Bauer's The Story of Science: From Aristotle to the Big Bang Theory has obvious applications for particularly rhetoric stage (high school age) homeschooled students of any type-- classical, unschooled, eclectic-- but interest in this work should not be limited to homeschooling families. This is a book for all adults who are fascinated by the Great Conversation, that linking of minds that extends back to the ancients. This is a book for anyone who is concerned about making sense out of how the scientists get and evaluate their ideas, whether they are talking about GMO's, global warming, allergies, or signs of life on Mars. This is a book for anybody who would love to have an accessible, understandable guide to reading excerpts or works from some of the greatest scientific thinkers in Western scientific development, a guide that will place each work in context and point out the best places to read original sources.
Of course books such as this leave me wanting more. I'd love to see a second volume, addressing those who had to be left out of this one-- perhaps one addressing mathematics, or non-Western scientific development; the contributions of Indian and Arabic mathematicians are of great importance to our everyday lives, and many modern conveniences we enjoy today were developed not in the West, but in Asia or other parts of the world. The story of how these discoveries arose, impacted, and became intertwined with those in this volume would make for a fascinating read as well. In some respects, it might have to be a different book, as I'm not certain how complete the written records are of all of those achievements, whereas this book focuses on the writings of great scientists, but it would be fascinating nonetheless.
Now I'm off to figure out where this book will fit into our homeschool's high school plans . . . if you decide to get a copy and read it for yourself, please leave your comments here! I'm very interested in hearing whether others were as captured by this book as I was, and how you either plan to use it in your homeschool or in your life.
Thanks for reading!
Jen
PS This page contains affiliate links below-- if you click through to buy the book from Amazon (See link at the bottom of the page), you'll help fund my writing of this blog. To buy the book without providing anything to me, simply to go Amazon.com and type the title or author into the search box. I was sent a pre-publication copy of the book to review by Norton, but not provided any actual compensation for writing this review; the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
I have had the privilege of previewing Susan Wise Bauer's upcoming book, The Story of Science: From the Writings of Aristotle to the Big Bang Theory (Norton, release date May 11, 2015)
over the past several weeks. These have been a few weeks of sheer reading pleasure. This volume belongs in any home library-- homeschooler, interested lay-reader of the sciences, informed voter, or any person who wants more context for today's media reports about new (or "new again") scientific discoveries regarding our health, the environment, and our world.
The scope of this new book is vast, covering the development of the scientific method itself, as well as developments in scientific thought from ancient through modern times. Other collections or books have attempted the same feat; what sets this effort apart, in addition to Bauer's clear, accessible writing style, is her reliance upon primary sources to tell most of the tale. Each chapter discusses an important leap in the progress of Western scientific thought, placing the writings of the featured character in the context of their time and place of life as well as of scientific inquiry. Every chapter concludes with a list of recommendations on how to investigate the source material, including helpful commentary on clarity of translations, where to obtain a free copy when available, readability of versions of the text, inclusion of original artwork where relevant, and, where a reading of the entire selection might not be necessary to grasp the essential point, a guide to what to read from the source material. To make life easier for the reader, Ms. Bauer has developed a website with hyperlinks to many of the source materials, not only from the well-known Plato's Timaeus, Aristotle's History of Animals, but the oft-neglected works of Bacon, Hooke, and Wegener. Additionally, there are links to more modern authors such as Stephen Jay Gould, Steven Weinberg, and James Gleick, and their writings which are aimed at more general audiences than technical journal articles.
It is not necessary to read every primary source referenced in Bauer's walk through scientific history in order to get much out of the book. I do recommend reading all of Bauer's chapters, as they reinforce the understanding that each discovery owes something to those that came before it-- whether the new direction in thinking builds on past understandings or overturns them.
This book truly felt like the story of how and why we know what we know. Dogma was developed, and sometimes refined, but many other times overturned entirely. The process of science involves unending questioning of that which we sometimes take for granted, and the biggest leaps have come from those who had the courage to ask, "What if . . . what we know about this is wrong?" This book causes the reader to both appreciate the scientific process and the ability to intelligently question that which we dogmatically hold true-- and to understand how the interfaces among science and society and human nature can sometimes cause confusion and conflict.
Susan Wise Bauer's The Story of Science: From Aristotle to the Big Bang Theory has obvious applications for particularly rhetoric stage (high school age) homeschooled students of any type-- classical, unschooled, eclectic-- but interest in this work should not be limited to homeschooling families. This is a book for all adults who are fascinated by the Great Conversation, that linking of minds that extends back to the ancients. This is a book for anyone who is concerned about making sense out of how the scientists get and evaluate their ideas, whether they are talking about GMO's, global warming, allergies, or signs of life on Mars. This is a book for anybody who would love to have an accessible, understandable guide to reading excerpts or works from some of the greatest scientific thinkers in Western scientific development, a guide that will place each work in context and point out the best places to read original sources.
Of course books such as this leave me wanting more. I'd love to see a second volume, addressing those who had to be left out of this one-- perhaps one addressing mathematics, or non-Western scientific development; the contributions of Indian and Arabic mathematicians are of great importance to our everyday lives, and many modern conveniences we enjoy today were developed not in the West, but in Asia or other parts of the world. The story of how these discoveries arose, impacted, and became intertwined with those in this volume would make for a fascinating read as well. In some respects, it might have to be a different book, as I'm not certain how complete the written records are of all of those achievements, whereas this book focuses on the writings of great scientists, but it would be fascinating nonetheless.
Now I'm off to figure out where this book will fit into our homeschool's high school plans . . . if you decide to get a copy and read it for yourself, please leave your comments here! I'm very interested in hearing whether others were as captured by this book as I was, and how you either plan to use it in your homeschool or in your life.
Thanks for reading!
Jen
PS This page contains affiliate links below-- if you click through to buy the book from Amazon (See link at the bottom of the page), you'll help fund my writing of this blog. To buy the book without providing anything to me, simply to go Amazon.com and type the title or author into the search box. I was sent a pre-publication copy of the book to review by Norton, but not provided any actual compensation for writing this review; the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
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