Oh wait… I did!
The following article has an interesting spin on teaching math – the concept of waiting for children to gain maturity and life skills – waiting for the child to be ready instead of force feeding information that means absolutely nothing to them. Kind of like our style of homeschooling!
When Less is More: The case of teaching less math in schools
I spent the weekend looking through history videos wondering where I should start teaching history. Starting from the beginning (Creation) and making our way through chronologically seems a tad boring to me – and I’m really not the expert when it comes to history. I found videos on Egypt and the pyramids which tags in Pharaohs and Kings, Cleopatra, etc… and then we have a gazillion videos and books on both World Wars and Canadian history. Needless to say, I will definitely be learning alongside Breanna on each of these topic.
Then it dawned on me… just go with the flow 
After all, it is what I do best. So since today was Martin Luther King day, we started there.
We started talking about ‘black people’ and the different names they have been refered to (and of course why certain words are now considered insulting). Today, we call them African-Americans, however I personally have trouble with that term – but anyway….
Breanna is well aware of slavery so we didn’t really discuss much but what happened after the law declared slavery illegal? Hmmmm time for some “hands-on”. I had errands to run and Breanna was going to join me. On the bus, we started discussing Discrimination, Racism and Segregation. We then ‘categorized’ people on the bus by groups – different ways these people could be discriminated. I was surprised at how easy this was for her.
Our list:
Once she had a good grasp of discrimination, racism and segregation, I introduced Martin Luther King and we discussed that he had a Dream – a dream that he strongly believed in and he fought for it until he died by assassination < that seem to catch her attention.
Breanna will be putting a lapbook together tomorrow – pictures to follow!
Sending your child to Section 23 sounds kinda top secret doesn’t it?
That’s what has been recommended to us over and over again in the past year and a half. Breanna would benefit from Section 23. So what is Section 23? According to their website:
The focus of Section 23 programs is to provide education for students whose circumstances or needs are such that they are unable to attend their community school.
This partnership allows the student to continue with an educational experience while they receive the treatment deemed necessary.
Basically, they don’t give a hoot about academics, it’s all about learning coping skills, focussing on the child’s mental health. Ah the very reason why we started homeschooling < to primarily teach Breanna coping skills. Besides that, I really don’t have much more information. They’ve told me she would receive resources where she couldn’t access elsewhere such as Occupational Therapy. So this has been heavy on my heart. What do I do? Who do I call? Where do I go?
I called her old school (Public system) for information – they didn’t have any but would get back to me. I called another local school (Catholic board) and same thing. However they did call me back with a name and number – good enough, I can start there. But never did I expect the conversation to go in the direction it did.
This lady was exceptional! I only found out at the end of our conversation that she is the Chair of the Committee of this Section 23. The committee that decides who gets in the program and who doesn’t.
The very first thing she said to me was
“If homeschooling works for you guys, why would you want to change that?“
Are you kidding me? This is the first time someone for the school system or even the hospital is remotely supportive or positive about homeschooling! She replied:
“Well it’s all about what is in the best interst of the child!”
Really??? No one else seems to think so! Homeschooling is apparently destroying my child! She continued:
“From our conversation, you are making sure she is socialized within groups and peers her own age. You intervene when needed and you support her through the anxiety. If you can continue doing that, nothing else can be better!”
Did I mention she’s from the school board? Blew my mind!
When I mentioned I was accused of doing Breanna a disservice for not signing her up, she asked me how so. I explained that I couldn’t get any outside resources without paying an arm and a leg for private therapy. Let me just say, I was misinformed! She clearly explained in great detail where and how to get the additional support we needed. What makes me so very angry is that the hospital never told me about the services THEY could provide us. Nope if I’m not putting my child in school, forget it! Well she told me otherwise and it’s very unfortunate that they would do this to a child.
We also discussed my concerns and options about high school. Technically, high school starts at the age of 14 here and Breanna won’t be ready to jump right in. So it all comes down to do I want to send Breanna to Section 23 which will help her re-integrate into the system with the supportive resources she needs in order to complete her schooling? Or do I simply want to continue our journey of homeschooling.
She admitted to me that sending Breanna directly to regular school was setting her up to fail, even if she did well for a few months or a year. The long term effects of schooling is causing a lot more damage but she was more than willing to present Breanna’s case to the committee to see if she would qualify for their service. I just wonder if it’s really worth it! The bigger question is will Breanna EVER go back to school or do we homeschool forever?
We went to see my aunt this week to get our haircuts. While we were waiting for our turn, Breanna took out her knitting.
“Are you knitting?”
“Yes”
“Wow, that’s a lost art! Who taught you that? School??”
“No, my mom”
Later…
“So what school is Breanna going to?”
Smile… Deep breath: “She doesn’t go to school – we homeschool”
“What? YOU teach her at home? How does that work?” (typical question)
So we got into the discussion on how, why, where, how, why, who, how, why and did I mention how and why?
“Well, she’s obviously not stupid if she can learn to knit!”
No kidding! Homeschooling is a lifestyle that we choose because it is the most beneficial for Breanna – not because she’s stupid or out of control, or because we’re just plain weird!
Refraining from imposing my own creativity and allow my children to flourish with their own is something I struggle with all the time. I think we’re all guitly of it, as parents, to want to improve our child’s work…. to perfection – our own perfection. How many times do we tell them: “But if you do it this way… here let me show you!” Why do we take over like that? Why is it that we insist on showing our children there’s always a ‘better’ way to present their work?
Today, Breanna wrote an acrostic poem. I told her she could use any word she wanted but she insisted on using the word provided in her workbook.
“But Breanna, you could use your own name! Wouldn’t that be neat? See look… B – what can we say about you that starts with B?”
I was even willing to ‘show her more examples’ when she didn’t bite:
Beautiful and
Really bright
Energetic
Artisitc…
“Come on Breanna – help me out here!”
And then I realized what I was doing. This is her homework, not mine – allow her to do it her own way!
BOOKMARKS
Bookmars are really fun
Of things you can see and
Of things you can play with
Kind of safe toys
Making believe
A little thing is
Really like
Kids
It’s perfect – Perfect for her. It’s complete and creative. She’s happy with it – and so am I. Lesson learned – on both of our part!
We have this homeschooling mom in our local group who likes to organize little educational groups (or clubs) for the kids. She reminds me of me when I was younger LOL Today, we started the Book Club!
When she introduce the concept to us, I expected we were going to read a book together during our library time and then discuss it. I should have known she had bigger and better things up her sleeve!
She introduced the group and started off by mentioning that everyone is at different reading levels. I added in that even adults read at different levels. Reading is an individual pleasure and not everyone likes or can read the same thing.
She then introduced us to the head librarian (who is 100% supportive of homeschoolers). She is volunteering her time to the group and will also educate our children on discovering the library’s many resources.
After setting up the room to our benefit, we started with our day’s topic - the Book Cover. Today we were going to discuss everything there was to discuss about Book Covers. What can you find on them? What do they tell you? What type? Name it – we discussed it. Then she sent the children out into the library to find different books and sort them . Then we all examined and discussed their individuality. She even gave the children homework to design their very own book cover to any book of their choosing.
At first, of course, Breanna was a little introverted – hiding in her jacket. Once I removed her cloak, she completely opened up. She was giving answers and really participating in the group. At the end, she expressed she really enjoyed the group! ~ Yes! ~
I’m really looking forward to see what else we’ll learn along the next few months.
Every once in a while, I see Breanna struggling with worksheet assignments and I wonder if she’s really finding it difficult or if she’s simply being lazy at the moment – hoping to get away to something else. So what do you do? Drill until you have proof of comprehension and mastership?? Sounds too much like forcing an education rather than “Learning to love to learn” to me! Depending on the subject/topic being taught, it’s not always mandatory to know Breanna has 100% comprehension – What I believe is more important is to have a basic understanding of the concept and know where to find resources for more information when it’s needed.
I came across these ‘mini offices’ a while ago and although I really wanted to incorporate these into my own homeschooling, I didn’t know how to get started. The videos and resources are quite clear however Breanna is a little older. She requires more advance concepts. I realized that our mini office would have to be a growing project so we are building a “mini resource guide” with one lesson at a time.
For example on Friday, she had to list a few words that had Silent Consonants. Not very difficult but she struggled. Now I had to realize that spelling is not her strong suit so this obviously presented a challenge for her. I didn’t push for correct answers. When she was done the worksheet, we put it away. Later, I went to correct her answers while she was away. She got A LOT wrong! Do I make her redo the sheet? Do I try to make a new game? Do I give her a long song and dance lesson on this? I say it’s all useless. Will she remember next week or next month? Absolutely not! So let’s create a reference guide for her instead.
I can still remember a teacher telling me that Breanna had no concept of money. Two years they had tried to explain this essencial skill to her with no avail. “She simply doesn’t get it!”
I know my little girl isn’t stupid. If she’s not grasping it, she either needs: 1. more time (still too young) or 2. a different approach. So off shopping we went. At some point throughout the afternoon, after spending time counting at the dollarstore, a lightbulb came on for her. She ‘got’ it.
Did it mean she knew all there was to know about money? No! But it was a starting point. A from there, I could explain there are 100 pennies, 20 nickels, 10 dimes or 4 quarters in a dollar. But for that, she needed bigger pictures to put it all together.
Today I asked her to get a Math Game off our Games Shelf and she came out with a board game called: “Money Cents”. This isn’t something we’ve played a lot, honestly maybe only twice before and the version I have was tweaked by another mom to accommodate her children so I had to read the instructions – Of course, we made up our own rules as we played to make it more interesting (and challenging)
Success for us, is when I see Breanna wanting to exchange all her change for ‘paper money’. I was even more impressed when she had to ‘break’ that money to make change. It still takes a bit of thinking on her part, but she’s got the concept – now she only needs practice!
We joined our local homeschooling group today at the Canadian Museum of Civilization to officially kick off our homeschooling after the holidays. I was really looking forward to seeing other homeschool moms but more importantly, I was really hoping Breanna would meet new friends. Although I don’t think she lacks in any socialization, I know she lacks in the friendship department, mainly due to her lack of friendship skills!
So it was a great pleasure to meet up with not only one but TWO little girls Breanna’s age. They played most of the morning in the Children’s Museum and had lunch together, finishing the day off exchanging numbers and emails among parents. One girl even lives close-by and is thinking of joining the book club we’ll be participating in starting next Tuesday.
After the museum visit, we saw Animalopolis at the IMAX Dome Theater:
Breanna enjoyed it. She also slept all the way home – it’s hard work making new friends! LOL
December 17th… last day of school before the holidays begin. Yip… Pee!!!! My biggest debate is do I not tell Breanna and keep her doing little things – or still tell Breanna and also tell her I expect this, this and that.
I know my homeschooling friends would tell me DUMMY! We all need breaks or else we’ll burn out. I know that. But I’ve just spent a week fighting with myself about future plans and having a break right now seems, well, inappropriate.
I know every homeschooling family goes through the same internal struggle every once in a while. Another homeschooling mom told me she’s been hearing a lot of doubt from others lately too… It must be the season! Am I doing the right thing? Am I teaching the right material? Is she picking up enough? Which we all know is a stupid struggle because it doesn’t matter WHO teaches what. She would be picking up a lot less in school.
Her psych told me this week that by not looking into other alternatives, such as sending her to a specialized school called ‘Section 23′, I am doing her a dis-service. Why? Because at this school, they offer on-site psychologist, occupational therapy and many many other services she can benefit from.
My question is: Why do I have to send her into the system (that has already failed her) in order for her to benefit from these services? Why can’t she still tapped into resources from home?
Friends have suggested that I jot down everything. Keep a daily journal of what we accomplish everyday. Well, that was the purpose of this blog. The intention is there but I’m not doing so well at keeping it updated.
So I pray for strength and discipline. That’s what I want for Christmas. And as for Breanna, I’ll tell her today is the last day. But she still needs to earn her TV and computer time with reading.
Peace and happiness….
Written by hsmomma2bre
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