Enjoying My Humble Pie

It has been 15 years now since I first started investigating home education.  Consequentially, it has also been 15 years since I first heard of Charlotte Mason.  I was intrigued by many of her ideas and loved much of what I learned.  I read several books and websites about her and joined several forums (the facebook groups of the day).

But you see, I was both prideful and intimidated by her.  She represented to me an ideal that was a little too far out of reach.  I didn't like being stuck to schedules and I liked flexibility.  Translate that as: I was lazy and lacked self-discipline.  I wanted to do it my way.  I knew better.  I didn't need to spend the time to develop habits for my morning routines let alone school days.  I wanted to live, parent, teach by the seat of my pants.

This philosophy may have been just fine if I had stuck with having one or two children.  But as my family continued to grow and their interests and needs grew, my lack of structure became ever more visible.  My world became chaotic and I became stressed.  

Through these last 15 years, I have been lead and guided.  I have been blessed with finding the resources

I slowly realized that pre-made plans and curriculum are my friend.  That systems for home care are essential (still working on this one).  That routines help make my life easier.  I dejunked my house. ( The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.  This is the first book I have ever seen that addresses the emotional aspect of our attachment to things and provides and emotional solution.)  I started meal planning and automated the process.  I started making lists and ACTUALLY check them off.  I think I am starting to grow up (about time!).

My Humble Pie is not so yummy to eat,
but hopefully, in the end, it will be just as sweet.

Finally I come back around to Charlotte Mason: Habit Training.  That little bit that scared me ages ago now looks quite appealing.  Only now the pride is coming back - in a new way.  Now it is more like: I first learned about this ages ago.  I should be way further ahead by now.  What's with all these young mothers knowing more and being better at this than me.  All my children are now school aged and one nearing graduation, is there still time to make a difference?  Is it too late?  (you know, all that negative talk type stuff?)  Do I really want to admit to my mentor and friend of 10 years that I never really got what she tried to teach me all those years ago?  

Yes.  In many ways I need to start at the beginning.  I need it.  My children need it.  Habit and Self-discipline are essential to become self-propelled and if done right (The way Charlotte Mason really intended) we can do just that.

The Self-Propelled Advantage

I love teaching.  I love sharing in the learning of my children.  It brings me joy and I feel fulfilled.  I love planning our school days and spending them with my children.  I could even do a decent job of it when I had just a couple young children.  But then my family grew and they started growing up.  I became way too busy.  I even found myself spending up to 8 hours a day teaching only three of my children.  Something was a miss, and I was quickly becoming overwhelmed, the one thing I preach against being.

Even when my children were young, I saw the wisdom of working myself out of a job.  I wanted my children to become self-motivated, self-learners.  This has always been my desire, however it didn't seem to be happening.  For some reason, my methods were not giving the desired outcome.  But I wasn't sure where the problem was. 

So, I do what I usually do when I find I am in over my head: I PRAY.  

And what do I find? Underwhelmed Mom, Joanne Calderwood from URtheMom.com.  She teaches the why and how of teaching self-learning.  I browsed her website and learned some very valuable things.  The first one struck me as a DUH!!  That "duh", was simply this: Give them the planners.  I had a beautiful school planner wherein I kept track of everything.  I had check lists for the kids but I kept the control.  I realized that if they were going to really own their own education, they needed more power.  I quickly made some planners for them.  That simple thing did WONDERS.  They could see what they needed to do, how long it would take, and then have the joy of crossing it off when done. 

 I decided to order her new book (the Kindle version is less than $8.00).  I am glad I did.  I had many of the tools already, but in this format, I was able to put the pieces to create a better whole.

Not just for Home Schoolers:
The Message is for All Students

She also has several hours worth of audio over at Blog Talk Radio that is fascinating to listen to.

The thing I like most about Joanne message is that it is Not just for Home Schooled Kids.  Her message is for all students and all parents. 

My days are already easier.  I am less stressed and have the time and energy to do more fun things with them.  In other words, the quality of our time is better.  My vision for them has expanded.  

The kids are less stressed and they have more time to enjoy.  I still have a lot of heart training to do (mine as well as theirs. After all, it was mostly my attitude that needed tweaking.)  But I am so much closer to my goal of having self-motivated learners.  

I challenge you to give your children the Self-Propelled Advantage.

Ken Robinson: How to Escape Education's Death Valley

I really like Sir Ken Robinson

Coding

I've been thinking about coding and computer programing for a while.  I am only fleetingly familiar with computer coding from messing around with my blogs.  But just that little bit has peaked my interest.  I wish I knew more.  And every once in a while I do come up with an idea and wish I knew how to make a program to do "that."

My brother alerted me to this video.  It didn't take much to convince me, not with it already in the back of my mind.  Basic computer coding/programing will be added to my family's class schedule and part of our graduation requirements.

A Master Plan

I was first introduced to the idea of developing a Master Plan by Diann Jeppson at the TJED Transition to Scholar seminar in 2005.  A Master Plan is that road map to guide you through this home schooling (and perhaps even child-rearing)  journey.  Whether you follow your state's curriculum guidelines or un-school or fall somewhere in between, a plan is essential.  Without it, you begin to feel unsure, uncertain, and nervous about what to do.  You might double guess yourself, question your ability, rely on "experts" or even give up entirely.  A Plan will give you the direction to fulfill your desires.

Although I was struck with the wisdom of going through this planning and reflective process, I did not create my own until the following year when I was being mentored by Donna Goff.  Both of these women approached their master plans in a slightly different way and format.  I found myself not quite jiving with either.  It wasn't until I looked at both plans, that I saw a way to do it for me.  I essentially combined elements of both formats and then continued to simplify.  This is what I ended up with:

• The Library (this is by far my largest section)
• Gospel Classics
• Classics
• Children's Literature
• Literature for Youth and Adults
• Non-fiction
• General Knowledge Classics
• Curricula I Intend to Use
• Other Possibilities
• Home Culture and Cultural Literacy (Breadth and Depth: Fields of knowledge I want to experience with my children.  e.g. Math, math history, mathematicians; physical geography and explorers)
• Adult Skills (Skill areas I want my children to gain proficiency in before they reach adulthood e.g. baking, home and auto maintenance)
• Experience (Experiences/proficiencies I want my children to gain before they reach adulthood. e.g. public speaking, swimming)
• Organizational Programs (Programs connected with specific organizations that I want my children to complete. e.g. church programs, Boy Scouts)
• Places to Go (Places and events I wish to take my children for the purpose of rounding out their education and experiences. e.g. see congress in session)

Your family culture should be represented within your Master Plan.  Mine reflects my family's religion, love of sailing, and involvement in the Boy Scouts.  Creating your Master Plan requires time and some work.  You do not have to rush the process, but I encourage you to preserver.  It is a valuable process and resource.

Every time I begin planning for the coming academic year, I reread my Master Plan.  I review how we have done and how I can meet my family's needs.  I tweak it if needed, but the essentials have remained the same.  This process has helped me keep focused on the Big Picture.  I can better see the growth my family has made and this gives me joy.


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To develop your own master plan you can use my template.  To see how others have done it, you can see Diann Jeppson's example in A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion, by Oliver and Rachel DeMille and Diann Jeppson  or visit my first mentor Donna Goff at Mentoring Our Own

The Tuition Bubble

Something of which to be aware.



What do you think?
Is a college education still important?
Should it be?
Is the debt worth it?
What other options are there?

A New Focus

Families grow, children grow, needs change.  My application of educational principles has evolved.  It was easy when I had one.  I could make stuff up as I go or as the need arose.  I was able to get away with very little planning or record keeping.  I didn't like schedules - I felt that they cramped my style.

Now that I have four school age children I have had to rethink things.  I realized that my "style" was a mess (cramped or not).  I needed a more routine schedule and actually had to plan.  The kids were needing it too.

So I am using more prepared curriculum than I have in the past, more workbooks and independent work and I like it - much better than I would have thought a year or two ago.

This is the first year I actually have a "lesson planner."  It is essentially a calendar and journal.  I plan only about one or two days ahead.  Never more than a week ahead (With the exception of planned read-alouds.).  At the end of each day or lesson, I write down what we did and what we will do tomorrow.  I make notes about what went well or poorly.  I used to be able to remember where they were in their progress.  I just can't do that anymore.  My planner is my brain/memory for that.

And it is working well.  I feel that we are getting much more done than before.  The kids do too.  I'm sure that we will evolve and refocus in the future.  But this is where we are now and I am happy with it.