Smrt Lernins

Laura asks, “How do you know how to pace homeschooling? I know homeschoolers who finished high school at 16 – how do you feel about that?”

It’s a little hard to think about long-term pacing right now, when all I want is for Captain Science to finish his daily assignments on time! I wish I were currently in the midst of worrying about pacing from the “whoa, don’t go too fast!” point of view, instead of our current “why is it taking you three hours to finish one math problem?” point of view. This boundary testing nonsene is a bitch that I’d like to send back to the pound.

Still, you’ve touched on a big issue for homeschoolers. Obviously, there are different schools of thought about how (or whether) to pace work in order to keep a homeschooled student on track for a roughly “normal” age of graduation. Some people let their children work at an entirely self-directed pace, even if that means graduating at 14. Others believe strongly (and I mean strongly) that certain subjects are taboo before certain ages or stages of development, and that you’re damaging your child horribly and permanently for allowing them to work too far ahead of what they feel is “age appropriate.” Think I’m exaggerating? Ask Patchfire how much flack a homeschooler takes for daring to algebra to a nine-year-old (even a gifted one). One mustn’t learn too fast!

Of course, you’re not asking what They (the collective “Them”) do, but what the [Smrt] Homeschooler does. Thus far, pacing (at least for the sake of making sure he doesn’t finish too early) has not been something I’ve worried about excessively. Captain Science is already officially one grade ahead, due to skipping a grade, so he’d be graduating early anyway. He’s working ahead of his grade level (the one to which he was skipped) in several areas, when he isn’t wrapped up in his hissy fit of “I don’t wanna!” that we’ve been experiencing the last few weeks. I couldn’t imagine deliberately holding him back or slowing his progress, just to keep him on “grade level” — whether out of fear of potential damage from introducing concepts or out of fear of him going off to college too young.

Some of our curricula is self-pacing. Life of Fred is a good example of this. He does a section a day, moving through it at a pretty fast clip, unless he’s having trouble with one of the concepts. If something is tripping him up, it will come out in the bridges between chapters. Since he has to correctly answer 9 out of the 10 questions to move on the next chapter, he could theoretically complete the bridge in one day. If he answers fewer than 9 correctly, however, he must complete the next try the following day. While only five tries are provided, there’s the option of repeating them until the concepts are cemented. Typically, he makes it through by the fourth try, though second or third is more common.

This does mean that he’s moving through the Life of Fred books pretty quickly, covering more than one full book per semester. It also means that, in another six to eight weeks (provided he gets back on track) we will be faced with the choice of starting either pre-algebra or beginning algebra, which puts us into the “oh no, you can’t start algebra too early!” zone. Personally, if the kid has the prerequisite skills, I don’t see why s/he couldn’t start algebra. Whether or not Captain Science will be ready, however, is going to depend entirely on his skill set at that point. I won’t hold him back if he’s ready. I won’t push him forward if he’s not.

The subjects where I control the pacing, such as history, I’m careful to not throw too much information into one day. This isn’t because he couldn’t make it through the work, but because I want him to have time to savor the minutia of the subject matter. Yes, he could read the entirety of Eyewitness: Ancient Rome in about 20 minutes, if it even took that long. He wouldn’t, however, take the time to think about the similarities and differences between Roman culture and ours, or what it would really mean to live in a stratified society (especially as someone on the lowest stratas), or about how different childhood might have been for him had he lived over 2000 years ago. Pacing, for history, means offering just enough information in a go to let him look at each fact and draw conclusions between those facts and his prior knowledge and experiences.

What I expect from him, work-wise, is increasing gradually over the year. He’s moving pretty rapidly from simple ideas to broad and important concepts — the speed at which he goes through the material hasn’t changed, but how he relates to it has.We’ve gone from listing dates and finding vocabulary to writing (hopefully) thoughtful essays based on essential question (both the “recurring questions in life” and the “key inquiries within a discipline” varieties). How do the differences in cultures affect childhood? What is the meaning of the forms of entertainment we choose, the foods we eat, the rulers we elect (or who conquer us)? If he’s ready to seek out the answers to questions like that and to think deeply and meaningfully (moving from the grammar stage and into the logic stage), why would I continue to insist he work on the lower level, simply because he’s in fourth grade and the logic stage “officially” begins in fifth grade?

As for what we’ll do about college when (since we’ve already gone past “if” by virtue of grade skipping) he graduates early, most of that will depend on Captain Science. If he doesn’t get any further ahead than he is now, and graduates at 17, I have no problem with him going to college wherever his heart may lead. At fifteen or sixteen, if he’s ready to handle the work (which he should, if he’s graduated high school), we’ll probably send him to a local college/university for a year or two, as we have wide variety from which to choose within a 30 miles radius.

Of course, if Harvard or MIT comes knocking at fifteen, I guess we’ll just have to change our plans a bit, right?

Do you have a question for the [Smrt] Homeschooler? Email them to
smrtmama@smrtlernins.com

Officer Daddyman likes to containerize. We tease him about his collection of bins, particularly clear plastic bins of various sizes. While he really does buy bins with some degree of regularity, he usually does buy them with specific goal in mind, and the purchase typically is precipitated by lots of measuring and sorting. January is a good month for Officer Daddyman, because it’s when all the bins go on sale. I want you to hold all of this in your mind as I continue with this Tuesday’s “Ask a [Smrt] Homeschooler” post.

I wanted us to start our second semester with reorganized binders. Officer Daddyman wanted us to start with a neat desk. These are both noble goals.

Reorganizing binders meant a lot of sorting into categories, repairing torn notebook paper holes with those little white circle thingies, and generally reshuffling. Officer Daddyman walked into the school room to find me surrounded by piles of papers. His eyes grew wide, and he asked, “Are you keeping all of that?” (Of course, I immediately told him I’d be blogging that).

Today’s question, from Officer Daddyman is, “Are you keeping all of that?”

The short answer: No.

The long answer: While I’m not required to produce records for what we’ve covered, I want to keep them anyway. Keeping records does not, however, mean keeping every scrap upon which Captain Science ever scribbled a math problem. My keep file boils down to this:

The “dispose of” pile included all the “your turn to play” sections from Life of Fred, rough drafts of essays, old history vocabulary and timeline stuff (since we pretty much ditched that), and any scribbles, doodles, or scratch paper. Trust me, the “dispose of” pile was much larger than the “keep” pile.

Now the [Smrt] Homeschooler has a question for you? What do you keep? What papers are you required to hang on to for continued homeschooling on the up-and-up? What do you keep for personal records?

Heyunyi asks, “Is your decision to homeschool going to result in you being a stay at home mom longer than you originally planned?”

When I first saw this question, my immediate response was, “No, of course not! I always wanted to stay home as long as possible,” but once I got to thinking about it, I realized that this really did potentially alter my long term plans.

I had no timeline on returning to work outside the home, though I planned on going back to school to get my PhD in creative writing. I currently have a master’s degree in professional writing, but I just don’t feel that I’ve reached the terminus of my education. I miss taking classes. I miss being around my professional peers. I want to learn more about my craft. I’d like to have the option of teaching collegiately some day. I’d also like the additional credibility that having a doctorate bestows, especially since I have plans to develop a creative writing curriculum for homeschoolers. All of this points towards going back to grad school.

My bachelor’s and master’s degree were both completed after having Captain Science. I was pregnant with the Tank while still in my master’s program and he was born before I completed my thesis. School and children can definitely be compatible. A doctorate program is a different kettle of fish, though. Along with taking classes, I expect I’d be teaching some, as well. That’s a lot more of a time sink than two hours of classes a few nights a week.

Homeschooling the children means a delay of my doctorate plans, not that I had a specific time frame in mind. With the kids’ age differences, I could conceivably be homeschooling for the next 16-18 years or so, if we decide to homeschool Babypie the whole way through. I wouldn’t have to be home every waking minute of every day past a certain point, obviously, and by high school, who’s to say what the various children will be doing — college classes, magnet school, co-op stuff, begging to be sent away to boarding school because they’re so tired of looking at their mama’s ugly mug?

Luckily, additional graduate school isn’t on the horizon in the near future, regardless of my homeschooling plans, so I’m only thinking about it abstractly right now. Who knows what the future holds? After doing some thinking on the matter, I realize that I’m willing to put some of my goals on hold or even reevaluate them all together for the sake of homeschooling my children, and that’s nice to know.

Do you have a question you’d like to ask a [smrt] homeschooler? Email me at smrtmama@smrtlernins.com!

Ariana asks, “How you deal with homeschooling the oldest while still caring for the two younger?”

I’ve written previously about my decision to put the Tank in a traditional preschool. I have arranged our two most rigorous curricula days to fall on two of the days he’s at preschool. Our away-from-home science lab is on the third day of preschool. This allows us to accomplish a lot while the Tank has a nice playdate. On days he is home, distraction is helpful. Sometimes he’ll do “table lernins,” working in a workbook or coloring book while Captain Science and I do school work. Sometimes I set him up with a snack and/or a movie. Sometimes he comes in and out incessantly, bothering us, until I snap at him and send him to his room. You never really know what to expect!

Babypie is a distraction for Captain Science. He loves her so much that it’s hard to keep him on task. Separation to another room (for him), frequent reminders to stay on task, or trying to arrange her nursing and napping time to coincide with his more important work all help. As she has gotten older, she’s shown a remarkable ability to self-entertain, playing alone with her toys for 20-30 minutes, easily. All I have to do is keep her away from the stairs and Christmas tree!

If we decide to home “preschool” the Tank next year, we’ll have to find some methods to keep both of the boys on task, especially with a busy toddler underfoot, but that’s a bridge we’ll cross when we come to it.

She ask wonders, “When, if ever, do you get time for yourself? Has what you choose to do with that time changed at all?”

I definitely have less “me time” than I used to. When Captain Science was in public school, I could be guaranteed at least an hour of quiet while the Tank napped. Now, it’s a crap shoot as to whether I get any quiet at all. On the plus side, Captain Science is old enough to be trusted with Babypie while I cook dinner…or use the potty in blessed peace and solitude. Trust me, with three children, making a tinkle without a pottience is me time, homeschool or no homeschool.

Officer Daddyman tries to make sure I get enough time to myself, but that’s hard to achieve. Someone always wants me, and Daddyman suffers from a distinct lack of ninnies for nursing a fussy baby back to sleep. Once a week, we go over to Patchfire’s place, and she and I head out for frozen cutard at Rita’s, leaving the kids with the daddies. That’s a nice little respite, however brief. Sneaking up to have a hot bath and a book (sometimes with a glass of wine) is a nice little luxury in which I indulge a few nights a week, though normally after the kids are asleep.

I definitely appreciate my “me time” more now, but I haven’t made any significant changes to how I use it. I’ve grown a lot closer with Patchfire, due to our bond over homeschooling, so I see more of her and her family than I used to, but I still enjoy the same things — reading, knitting, playing Pet Society on Facebook, watching a little mindless television (on Hulu or Netflix), playing a little Wii on occasion, and spending time with family and friends. An hour out with the girls is practically a panacea for mama-stress!

That’s how a [Smrt] Homeschooler balances time with all her kids…and still sneaks a little in for herself.

Do you have a question to ask a [Smrt] Homeschooler? Email them to smrtmama@smrtlernins.com!

MJ has a few questions for the [Smrt] Homeschooler this week. She asks, “How long to do you plan to homeschool? What/how do you base you decision on whether or not to homeschool the other kiddos? And/or will you start Babypie out on the ‘public’ path or just skip it altogether and do homeschool from the beginning?”

Right now, my plans for homeschooling have no upper limit (other than college, obviously). That is going to be entirely up to Captain Science’s needs as he ages. I’m sure there will be many subjects where his needs outweigh my abilities. Luckily, that doesn’t necessarily mean a return to public school, unless he wants to attend one of the magnet high schools in our area, of which we have several. He could attended our local university (or one of the downtown universities) as a joint-enrollment student. He could take classes at Pierian Springs, which offers classes for upper grades with a collegiate style schedule, format, and campus (complete with collegiate pricing, though. Ouch!). We can get packaged curricula or find online classes for Advanced Placement classes, if it’s outside my subject area, and he can take the AP tests to exempt out of college courses. There’s tutoring, co-ops…we have lots of options. Returning to a mainstream public school really isn’t one of them at this juncture, though.

I might do with Babypie what I’m doing with the Tank, and put her in a year or so of preschool at someplace like the little Methodist school where the Tank goes. It will depend on her needs. I have no plans to enroll either of the kids in a mainstream school past pre-K, though. I’ve become too disenchanted with public education’s methods and goals. I think homeschooling is better for my kids and for our family as a whole. If one of them shows a need for a different environment, we’ll address that as it comes.

As a bonus, MJ also would like to know, “What’s the wackiest religious based material you’ve seen out there?”

Oh, MJ. How could I pick just one?

Emily at Learning Vicariously asks, “If you could go back in time, would you have homeschooled Captain Science all along, or were you happy with his early education before last year’s teacher? What made you decide to put The Tank in a traditional preschool? What are your plans for him and Babypie in the coming years?”

I’m not really much of a “go back and changes things” person in general. The end is almost always a result of the process. I never would have come to homeschooling as a first choice — I had to get there by seeing how nothing else was right for Captain Science.

We learned a lot from the different schooling methods. I regret a great deal about those years, too, especially not pulling the Captain out of his Montessori school when we first suspected the bullying problem (the bullies in question was the teacher’s daughter and her best friend, the daughter of another teacher in the school) or insisting that he be moved to a different class in public school when we realized the ongoing issues with the teacher were so extreme. I’m unhappy with Montessori and public schooling, both as they apply to Captain Science and systemically. Having something to which I can compare homeschooling, however, is a good thing. Having Captain Science’s attitude, demeanor, and willingness to work to compare to how he was in other schools means I can appreciate just how good homeschooling is for him. Seeing what methods don’t work for him gives me a better idea of what we should try as an alternative.

We opted to put the Tank in a traditional private school setting for a few reasons. For starters, the little Methodist preschool is the same place where Captain Science went for two years, and he loved it there. The teachers are sweet, it’s low on the God stuff for a church school, it’s close by, and relatively inexpensive. Because this was our first year homeschooling, I thought it would be best for Captain Science if we could focus as much attention on him and his education as possible. I had no idea how this was going to work! I had no idea to what degree we’d struggle, how much time it would take, or anything like that. Having the Tank out of the way for a few hours, three days a week means I can put a lot more energy into school for Captain Science on those days.

I also did worry a little about the socialization issue. The Tank isn’t old enough for classes at the co-op, so he spends a lot of that time playing with the babies and younger toddler. While many of my friends have children Captain Science’s age, their other children are mostly older or younger than the Tank. He’d never spent any significant amount of time away from me. I wanted him to have an opportunity to play with other children in a safe environment for a short period of time — preschool seemed like an ideal place for that. Plus, he had been begging me to go to school since he was old enough to realize Captain Science was going somewhere, and despite the Captain being home now, the Tank still wanted to go. He enjoys it immensely and I view it as a regular playdate much more than I do “school.”

Next year is still up in the air for the Tank. I know I’ll homeschool from kindergarten onward, but whether or not we re-enroll him for another year of pre-K is yet to be seen. I know he’ll want to go, but I’m not sure I’ll want him to. The back and forth to the preschool is disruptive and inconvenient, so if I can find a better outlet for the Tank’s (considerably higher than Captain Science’s) social needs, we may not go back next year. As for what we’ll do with Babypie, that’s still so far in the future at this point that I don’t even want to think about it! There are several other baby girls her age in our homeschool circle, which gives her more of a ready-made friends than the Tank had available. With her being my (potentially) last baby, I might also be too clingy to send her off anywhere. Yes, I admit it! I might be a bit overprotective of my baby.

All in all, I’m happy with the choices we have made for this year, but I wouldn’t rearrange our past in hopes of getting this experience sooner. It’s homeschool-by-comparison that allows us all to truly appreciate what a gift we have been given.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I though today might be a good idea to answer some questions about those parts of homeschooling for which I am most thankful (and, yes, least thankful).

Zelda asks, “What is your LEAST favorite thing about homeschooling? What is your MOST?”

Since one of the glories of homeschooling is that I have no obligation to do things “in order,” I’ll address my most favorite first.

I love many things about homeschooling: not having to get up at 6am, having control over the depth and breadth of the curricula, having the freedom to take our work with us, having the opportunity to take fun classes through the co-op, developing a wonderful new community of friends for both of us, and more. The thing I love most, however, is how much homeschooling has improved my relationship with Captain Science.

This was actually the area I was most concerned about before we started homeschooling. We butted heads over homework so often when he was in public school, and it led to a lot of tears, yelling, stomping around, and general frustration and unhappiness. When homeschooling first popped up on our radar as a possible solution for Captain Science’s school problems, family member questioned whether the parent-child relationship could really hold up to me being the primary instructor day in and day out.

Miracle of miracles, however, we are getting along better now than we ever have! I enjoy working with Captain Science, and I know he can see that. My positivity over the curricula and the educational experience rubs off on him, and his joie de vivre that comes from not having to sit in a boring classroom, going over repetitive work as a snail’s pace rubs off on me. This isn’t to say that every day is easy, joyful, and stress-free. It’s not (and I think I blog about that pretty frequently, too). Our overall attitude towards school and each other has changed, though. We like each other’s company more. We don’t have to go back and forth over homework that neither of us see as being worthwhile, but I feel obligated to make him do to keep him from failing a subject that he mastered two years ago. I’m proud of his hard work now. I’m excited to see him engaging with challenging subjects. I’m in love with his love of learning. I’m rediscovering what an amazing child I’ve brought into this world and seeing what a remarkable person he is growing up to become. Who wouldn’t love that?

Homeschooling is definitely more than just joy and good times, though. It has its own host of frustrations and difficulties. I’ve written before about the isolation that a classical, secular homeschooler can experience, my frustrations with religion being so pervasive in homeschool curricula, and some of the (stereo)types of homeschooling moms with whom I have come into contact (including the ones that are homeschooling their 11-month-olds). I dislike the lack of diversity without our homeschool community, having to always be the one who has to take care of everything, and those days where Captain Science dawdles and wastes everyone’s time.

Despite all that, however, the one thing I have to say I like least about homeschooling is no more school lunch. I didn’t go up and have lunch with Captain Science often in the previous year, because the temptation to bitchslap his teacher into next Tuesday was just too hard to resist, but when I did, I usually planned it carefully around what they were having. Seriously, I love school lunch. Those little Krystal-style hamburgers, the fluffy rolls, the practically-cardboard school pizza, and little cartons of orange-flavored pseudojuice — HEAVEN! Alas, we bid farewell to that world of giant cinnamon rolls, diced peaches in a tiny plastic container, salad dressing pumps the size of my torso, and the weirdly delicious meat-floating-in-gravy that I can only assume is supposed to be Salisbury steak. I’m pleased that Captain Science now gets a more nutritious meal every day for lunch, but I do miss those pastel-colored sectional lunch trays full of tasty, nutritionless, institutional faux food.

Hapersmion asks, “Any plans to teach Latin, since you’re going the classical route? Greek? Hebrew? Ancient Etruscan, perhaps?”

I’ve looked for Teaching Ancient Etruscan for Idiots book, but haven’t had any luck with that one. I suppose I’ll have to call that a lost cause.

As for Greek and Latin, well, those would normally be a part of classical education, but we’ve decided not to pursue them as our language(s) at this point. I understand the arguments in favor of Latin, especially, but because it’s an area where neither of us have any interest or passion, I just can’t motivate myself to WANT to include Latin. Captain Science wants to do eastern languages, so we’re starting Japanese in the spring. I think a modern language of that caliber is going to benefit him more in the long run than Latin.

We are, however, doing a vocabulary program called Vocabulary from Classical Roots, which (obviously) introduces Latin and Greek roots to words. If learning classical languages is supposedly to help build a better base of understanding for modern languages, I think a classically-based vocabulary book at least accomplishes that to some degree. Captain Science loves it, because he loves language, and has really taken off with it. If, by the end of this first book, he responds more positively to the idea of learning Latin, I’ll consider adding it.

Sure, maybe this gives me Classical Education Fail, but I only have so much time in a day or week. We have a lot of subjects to cover and I have to prioritize. Learning Latin for the sake of learning Latin just isn’t high on my list of priorities. I also admit that my appreciation of Latin isn’t as high as others’ might be, because I never took it in school. My education was public and traditional, not private and classical, so have a tendency to prioritize things based on that experience.

Now, the various incarnations of English? That we will learn. Old English, Middle English, early Modern English? That’s where my passion lies and where I’m apt to get all het up to teach. Perhaps I can manage to drum up that level of excitement for Latin. I’m trying. I really am. I

“It’s been a long day of wrangling minds, trying to tame the house, etc. — it’s 5:30…what are you going to make for dinner?” — Heather S.

Well, Heather, first I have a question for you. Is this scenario from a day where I like my children? If I don’t like my children on this particular day, the answer is “sandwiches…wanna make something of it?”

If I manage to make it through the day without wondering whether I can time-travel and tell my past self to strongly reconsider the option of permanent sterilization, then I have a few low-impact standby meals that I can whip up and serve in about an hour, cooking time included.

We have a freezer full of locally, ethically raised, grassfed ground beef and a cabinet full of organic canned tomato sauce, organic diced tomatoes, and whole wheat pasta, all purchased in bulk from Costco. I can assemble a meal from that in 20 minutes that gives me the illusion of having prepared a healthy, loving meal without a significant amount of work. I have homemade (by Nana, not by me) pesto, frozen into tablespoon-size portions, in the freezer and jarred minced garlic in the fridge to change the flavor. If we happen to have any fresh vegetables in the house, I have the option to dice those up and toss them in with the sauce.

Tacos are also a fast option. I keep tortillas (both corn and the uncooked wheat variety) and cheese on hand at all times. Brown beef, add prepackaged taco seasoning (I buy the reduced sodium variety), and top with cheese and sour cream if you’ve got it. I view refried beans and black beans as staples, so I always have both in my pantry. Either is an acceptable side dish.

If I want a vegetarian option, enchilada bake is the way to go. Canned refried beans, corn tortillas, shredded cheese, and a can or two of enchilada sauce. Mix 1-2 cans of beans with 1/2-1 cup cheese. Dip tortillas in enchilada sauce, fill with bean/cheese blend, roll up, place in pan. Pour rest of sauce over enchiladas, cover with cheese, cover with foil, and bake at 375ish until heated through and the cheese is all melty on top. Serve with something green and you’ll have a dinner that looks a lot more time-intensive than it is.

Another option that can be vegetarian or not, as it please you, is Braised Lentils And… And what? And anything you like. The actual braised lentils recipe, from Bon Apetite, calls for diced red onion, carrot, and celery, as well as chicken broth, but I routine change up the flavor by using different kinds of broth (mushroom broth is great, especially if you add diced mushrooms to the lentils, vegetable broth keeps the meal vegan), different diced vegetables, and a variety of seasonings. Add white onion and bell pepper, with cumin, and the dish has a Mexican flavor. Add curry instead, and it’s closer to Indian food, and tastes delicious in a pita pocket. I sometimes brown and dice chicken breasts and cook them with the lentils. You could brown tofu and add it, instead, for a nutritious, high-protein dinner.

None of these meals take a lot of time to prepare and mostly they can be assembled from stuff that you can (and should) keep in the pantry or fridge at all times. They meet basic needs for proteins, carbs, and a semblance of a vegetable. They appear to take more work than they do. I can still have a sit-down meal with my kids, even on nights when I’m tired, with minimal effort.

That’s what a [Smrt] Homeschooler makes for dinner!

Do you have a question you’d like to Ask a [Smrt] Homeschooler? If so, email me at smrtmama@smrtlernins.com!