still learning

Yes, we're still home learning. I think I don't report about it often because it just flows as part of the day. It feels normal.

Parts I love:

- No alarm clocks unless I set the coffee maker to brew at 8am
- Home lunches
- General control over social situations. I'm not such a control freak (maybe?) but I love being the architect of which interactions get supported and which lapse. Lots of good ones have lapsed, by the way, as total number of engagements/obligations is crucial to harmony around here. Large groups of young, aimless, lost children at recess? Should be outlawed, not labelled "social learning". My kids are not any more socially retarded from home schooling than they were before. Maybe less because they're not under stress to fit in.
- "Extra-curricular" pursuits. Ivy had nothing to give when she got home from school last year.
- Creative outlets. Of all the bonuses, this is possibly the biggest for me. Time & energy for free play and personal projects, of which there are many.
- Learning more about my own children. I have insights into their personalities I would probably otherwise have missed. It's more challenging as well, but in a good way. I think we're getting a good understanding of Ivy's modus operandi, but Ella is still a bit of an enigma, to go with the latin theme (eds. correction..."enigma" is Greek, thanks Holsten for your contribution). Ella is FIVE! Isn't this age about play dough and getting along with others?). Her advanced abilities in reading, writing, math and drawing have far outpaced her ability to understand abstract concepts & complexity in plots. Sit down to puzzle with her or dare to play "memory" and you see how sharp those senses are.


Friction:

- Ezra. The girls and I put up with an excessive amount of background noise and interruptions. I swoon to think of what we could explore without that responsibility. I know I signed up for it, I'm just sayin'.

- Curriculum. First of all, I had to learn to spell it. I knew this was going to be tough for me, and it is. I still haven't shed my teenage aversion to doing what someone tells me to. It's a constant background tension that Ivy has totally capitalized on. Of course she doesn't want to do it and she knows it's an Achilles heel for me. "I don't see WHY I need to do this. WHEN am I ever going to use this in real life? WHY can't I learn at my own pace? WHEN I need to know this, I'll pick it up fast." Shit. I can't answer those. The best answer I have it that we committed to this for one year and we're going to stick it out. We'll re-evaluate over summer. It's a constant toss-up between bailing because neither of us likes it and trying to demonstrate seeing through something that you've started (not a real strong point for any of us around here).

- The gap between text expectations and BC "Learning Outcomes" is stupid. For example, Ivy is apparently supposed to learn telling time, fractions, money and multiplication tables, according to her (dull, repetitive, ugly) text. Learning outcomes for her age? Money notation ($ signs) and "increasing familiarity with adding & subtracting to 18". Page 50 if you're still with me. Really? I've checked in with parents of children in her old school class and they're working on *drumroll please* addition & subtraction UP TO 10!

- Organization. Reporting. See aversion to authority above. I feel okay about pacing and knowing were we're at in our learning but I'm terrible and keeping track along the way. I'm in a stage again of gathering bits of paper and photos from all corners of the house to "prove" that we've been busy priming our academic brains and not say...watching MTV or engaging in child labour all day? I dunno.



*Sponsorship notes...Thanks to Blues Clues videos, Triscuits, Armstrong cheeses and Holsten Maibock for allowing me to make this post enjoyable.