Reston Mom

First Day of School

Today was Hope's first day of school - I can't believe it!  It is a little strange to think that I have school-aged children.  Our CC group meets every Wednesday and with this being the first, we decided to let it kick off our school year.  I thought maybe I'd be very nostalgic or have some interesting emotions at the start of school, but I've discovered that one plus of homeschooling is that it's not as emotionally charged (at least for me)...we are very excited and I was not nervous or sad about sending the girls off for the day because there isn't the same separation.  However, there is the same amount of responsibility on part of the kids and I'm a little anxious to see how Hope responds to an organized program of learning.  We bought her first book bag and lunchbox - of course, she picked out ones that are both covered with large colorful images of Tinkerbell (not my first choice, but oh well, she was so happy that I just had to give in and let her be a kid) and school supplies.  All of our curriculum materials have arrived and we are ready to get started. Today went great, I was so proud of both girls! Maddie went to her little 3yr. old class and didn't cry when I left her with new people.

Tomorrow we're learning at home...here goes!

Home school, part 3

There are many reasons why a family might consider home-centered education, but you may not even know what your own reasons are until you've actually begun looking into it a bit.  Don't worry - considering home schooling doesn't mean you have to do it...and along the way, you might just discover goals and priorities and ideas that will help you to cultivate the best education for your children in whatever environment you choose. There are numerous and various methodologies, philosophies and approaches to home education.  It can be overwhelming to filter through them all to figure out which might fit your family the best...especially if you are still trying to figure out if home education might even be a possibility at all.  My best recommendation is to do some reading.  Visit a library and check out several general books about home-schooling (I'm not talking curriculum here) or by families who have done this.  Some will jive with you, some really won't - but it will help to narrow things down and direct you a bit. There are also a ton of homeschooling blogs and websites for you to browse as well.  Secondly, find families who are doing this now and ask them lots of questions or join a discussion board online.  Everyone who undertakes this starts with a lot of the same questions: Why do it? Is it worth it? How does it work on a daily basis? What about "socialization" and "assessment" and the law? Am I smart enough? creative enough? patient enough?  Will I be stuck in the house all day with my kids? How can I be both parent and teacher? What about sports and extra-curricular and arts activities? Where do I find resources and curriculum and help? and so on and so forth..... This can cause a lot of concern and worry, but I can encourage you and tell you that there are more resources, information, and help available than ever before and families just like yours (and mine) are not only making this option work, but are experiencing a lot of success and satisfaction.

Home school, part 2

It's unfortunate that many people dismiss home-schooling without ever actually evaluating and considering it.  The most common response I get upon telling someone that we will home school is: "Oh, I could never do that!" This may be true for some people, but I think that what the majority are really saying is; "I don't want to do that."  Which, is okay too - because I think it might be quite a painful undertaking if you don't really desire it.  But I would definitely encourage any parent who is considering options for their child's education to at least examine home schooling fairly.  There is always the possibility of finding something, as I did, which would make it truly worthwhile to you - worth every effort and sacrifice it might require of you in the long run.  The problem is, most people have a very skewed idea of what home schooling is, is about and looks like.  And most mothers are already convinced that they are neither smart, creative, nor patient enough to undertake the education of their own children.  It is difficult to formulate accurate ideas about something that hasn't personally been explored and is set against pre-conceived notions and erroneous ideas. But for anyone who would honestly critique this possibility in light of their own family, there is a plethora of information, support, resources, and help available. So much so that it often becomes overwhelming to even begin.  I'll tackle that in the next post!

Home school, part 1

During the first two years of Hope's life, if you had asked me about home school, you would have found me adamantly against it - at least concerning my family.  I was dead set against the idea....but in hindsight, I think I was intuitively rebelling against something that I was a little afraid of - at the very least intimidated by.  So I latched onto the common arguments against it such as lack of socialization, etc...and altogether dismissed the idea.  Anyway, I was a product of public schooling and a teacher of three years.  But two years later I found myself staring at a row of home schooling books at the library - and to this day, I don't know why I did it - but I picked up a book and brought it home.  It wasn't the greatest book, I wouldn't recommend it.  But something happened as I read it from cover to cover, I discovered something about myself. I discovered that I wanted things. Things for myself and my family that I wasn't going to get if my children attended public or even private school.  I couldn't let it go...the more I thought about it, the more hungry for those things I became and the more willing I was to sacrifice certain things to gain them.  The possibility of home schooling opened up to me.  I didn't really want to admit it, so I just read - more books about home schooling and families who have done that.  I've personally known some really amazing home-schooling families - real mothers, fantastic kids...and I thought about them. A lot.  Could this really be for us?  Could we really undertake such a thing? Could I handle it?  Would my husband think I was crazy? I told him what I had been thinking and his response was, "that sounds good, but are we going to become one of those weird families with unsocialized children who wear home-made clothes and long dresses and stuff?"  I still laugh about that - it's true and unfortunate that home education carries some stigmas attached to it.  But more and more regular families are centering education at home and finding lots of support, resources, and satisfaction. 

Ask RESTONMOM - 6/23/08

Dear Restonmom,
"Could you talk home schooling and how a family could plan for something
like this or even simply explore and evaluate this option. It seems like a
huge undertaking of a responsibility but well worth the results - my added
concern is the lack of social aspects for a home schooled kid and support
for that in the community." - Vj

Dear Vj,
I am glad that you asked, because other people have similarly asked me about homeschooling recently. Interestingly, I've been asked about this topic by people who weren't previously aware that my husband and I will begin educating our oldest daughter from home beginning this fall.  I think that shows that this option is growing in popularity.  Many parents will toy with the idea, some will explore it further, and some may decide that this is the best option for their family.  It can seem daunting to even approach and it is unfortunate that many people will disregard homeschooling as a viable option without taking any time to evaluate it.  I won't spend my time trying to convince everyone who reads my blog to home school, but I do think that I will give some more consideration to your question and do a series of posts this week on how to explore the option.  I'm sorry to make you wait for that, but it will be too much to cover by answering here. 

Dear Readers,
If you would like to ask additional questions or make comments regarding this topic as I consider posting more this week, please feel free to do so. I would love to hear from you!

the current state of education

I've been reading about education.  Here are just a few points from a book* written by an Aerospace Engineer and mother:
" I could have been self-satisfied and impressed with my aerospace engineering degree...the world said I was educated. Huh! It lied!  I couldn't comprehend the French in Henry V, the Latin in National Review Magazine, or

in English. Yet any fourteen year old could have done so 240 years ago in the American colonies."
" We are told they were mostly unschooled, which is true, but then we are left to conclude that they were uneducated, which is not true.  They were far better educated than modern children."
"...just as colonial students were expected to master Greek and Hebrew and Latin in high school...."
" Today, in the US, most children have lots of teachers, lots of subjects, lots of activities, lots of money, and yet they learn comparatively little."
" Now we just teach students to survey a variety of subjects, and hope somehow one may become relevant for that student. The result: our country had a 90% literacy rate until the 1950's and now we have about at 50% literacy rate. What happened? We certainly have children in school buildings for more years, longer hours, and with more money spent than the average farm kid of the 1800's, yet they had far more knowledge than I do even as an adult."

Thomas Paine's Common Sense was written to be readable by the average 12 yr. old in Colonial America. Here's a paragraph:  "Thus necessity, like a gravitating power, would soon form our newly arrived emigrants into society, the reciprocal blessings of which would supercede, and render the obligations of law and government unnecessary while they remained perfectly just to each other; but as nothing but as nothing but Heaven is impregnable to vice, it will unavoidably happen that in proportion as they surmount the first difficulties of emigration, which bound them together in a common cause, they will begin to relax in their duty and attachment to each other: and this remissness will pint out the necessity of establishing some form of government to supply the defect of moral virtue."

The State of Education in the US, according to the government's own statistics:

• in 2004, China graduated 500,000 engineers, and India graduated 200,000 engineers.  U.S. graduated 70,000 engineers.
• Until the 1950's education cost practically nothing; and the US had a literacy rate of 90% or better. Today, the District of Columbia spends over $13,000 a year per student and....
• Less than 50% of US high school students graduate as proficient readers
• Less than 15% of US high school students graduate as proficient mathematicians
• In 2006, only 60% of high school seniors graduated

              *Echo in Celebration, Leigh Bortins

Thoughts? Comments?

character and cartoons

I recently had a conversation with my husband where I made comment about cartoons.....the cartoons our kids would be familiar with are more and more engineered for educational purposes - getting smart.  Super Why, Word World, Little Einsteins are all prime examples, but even Dora and Diego include interactive decisions based on color, shape, logic, etc.... Entire channels are based around cartoons that are educational (sprout for preschoolers for example) - and it seems the more "educational" it is, as in the more math, science, reading help it contains, the more it appeals to parents.  Other than maybe Sesame Street and a few other obscure programs, this wasn't the case when I was a child at all.  Rather the cartoons were geared towards character. Remember the old-school CareBears who came down to offer support, advice, and cheer to children? Even the Smurfs and GummiBears in their good guys vs. the bad guy escapades usually had some moral or character-building wrap up to the plot.  Well, cartoons are just cartoons and this is somewhat of a ridiculous post...but there just might be a cultural trend that is subtly reflected here.  Are parents placing more importance on scholastic aptitude and IQ scores than on building good character? Well, I don't know.  But I do know that I've had more conversations at the playground about preschool and learning how to read than I have about teaching honesty, generosity, and keeping your word.  And, I've met more kids on the playground who can read and do math but find no trouble in directly lying to me and bullying other kids.  Just some observations.

ASK RESTONMOM - 4/2/07

Dear Restonmom,
"What preparations, if any, (and other than potty training) should you do with your kiddo who's getting ready to go to preschool? Thanks." - Leah

Dear Leah,
  Thanks for your question - a great one! I'll be there's a bunch of moms wondering the same question as they look ahead to fall preschools.  "Pre" school is really a big tutorial for what's to come...so don't worry to much about preparing a child to go and be preparing for school and other activities - that's kind of what it's all about.  The best suggestions I can make are simply to talk to your child to reassure them in advance of such a big transition in their routine - talk about preschool, other kids who go, read books about it, etc.  Keep reinforcing all the good manners, sharing, etc... that you are already working on, and begin to let them take on some bits of responsibility like getting dressed or helping to pack snacks/lunch so that they can feel excited about this new preschool thing that only "big kids" get to do and so that they feel a little bit empowered to handle life.  I would teach the child the name of the teacher and make sure that they know they can talk to him/her.  For example, my daughter Hope (who has been well potty trained for a long time) had a bit of an accident during class when she started ballet simply because she didn't realize that it was okay to ask the teacher to leave instruction to go use the bathroom.  It seems obvious, but sometimes children are timid about things like that.  And, make a special "good-bye" ritual to ease the separation anxiety - such as a special phrase, handshake or whatever.  I hope these tips are helpful, but I especially help that some other moms who have been through this will offer some comments here since we aren't sending our daughter to preschool.  Best wishes - preschool is an exciting time!

Community Spelling Bee

Here's a great opportunity!   SCORE! (located in the Northpoint Village Center) is hosting a community-wide spelling bee.  The spelling bee is completely free of charge and open to kids from K-10th grades.  The winners have the chance to WIN UP TO $1500 in college savings bonds! Here's what you need to know:

When:
Saturday, March 29th
11-2:00 pm

Where:
Mott Community Center
12111 Braddock Rd
Fairfax, VA 20124

To Register:
registration is free
call (703) 464-9300 or visit SCORE! at 1424 North Point Village Center before March 29th.

If you are unfamiliar with SCORE! Educational Centers you may find it a great resource.  Their mission is to deliver academic progress in a fun learning environment to inspire kids grades Pre-K through 10th to love learning.

 

Georgia schools go single sex

Greene County, Georgia, will become the first U.S. school district to go entirely single-sex - boys and girls in separate classrooms. " a move born of desperation over years of poor test scores, soaring dropout rates and high numbers of teenage pregnancies." There are hopes that single-sex classrooms will help raise test scores and graduation rates in a district where more than three-quarters of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Boys and girls in elementary grades will learn in separate classrooms and grades 7-12 will attend separate schools, while some elective and extra-curricular activities will probably remain co-ed.  Though this is the first entire district to approve the measure, these aren't the first schools to do this...nationally there are more than 350 schools already doing this. Research shows that girls and boys learn differently and that certain distractions ensue in mixed gender environments, so perhaps there are some great benefits to be had from this, but teachers and parents remain split over the move.  You can read about it here. What do you think about single-sex education?

Google wants your doodles

Calling all teachers (and friends of teachers)...Google is inviting students to participate in a competition to doodle around with designs for the Google homepage logo.  It looks like a great competition...you can check it out more here at the Doodle 4 Google site - where teachers can also register their students grades k-12 as well as lesson plans to help incorporate the competition into your curricula.  There is also a quick online form so that you can share this with educators who you think might be interested.

The secret to raising smart kids

Here is an article that a neighbor directed me to from Scientific American Magazine.  It is a great article discussing focusing on effort - instead of ability or intelligence - as a key to success in school and life.  I thought it was interesting and helpful with some really great insight.  It's definitely worth the read for moms with kids at home of any age. 

the early bird gets a bad grade....

There's been a lot of talk about this article from the NY Times, here's an excerpt:

"Research shows that teenagers’ body clocks are set to a schedule that is different from that of younger children or adults. This prevents adolescents from dropping off until around 11 p.m., when they produce the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, and waking up much before 8 a.m. when their bodies stop producing melatonin. The result is that the first class of the morning is often a waste, with as many as 28 percent of students falling asleep, according to a National Sleep Foundation poll. Some are so sleepy they don’t even show up, contributing to failure and dropout rates."

This doesn't seem like new news to me....I remember hearing this a good while ago, but perhaps there has been more research since then. At the very least, I can say that after three years of teaching high school I found that first period was DEFINITELY the most challenging to get motivated. At any rate, I'd love to know what parents think about the idea of moving the school day schedule back? 

For the love of learning....

Over the past few years I have spent a good deal of time considering what the formal education of my children will look like - public vs. private vs. homeschool vs. whatever.....  In the course of these ruminations, I have considered more than the institution of learning, but more specifically the "what" of their education.  Here are just some of the directions I would like to steer my children towards vs. other things...but of course, it is all still simply a brain sketch that is evolving all the time.

• (generally) how to locate and glean information well vs. rote memorization
• character vs. IQ
• the well being of others/society vs. striving for personal gain/material wealth
• developing personal faith vs. lack of any spiritual direction
• understanding and developing personal talents/strengths/interests
• historical awareness/competency plus technological advancement
• (generally) experience plus knowledge vs. one devoid of the other