Invitation Only Education

As I drank my tea this morning and listened to the pitter patter of rain drops in my suburban home, I read the Washington Post on my iPad like I do everyday. My kids were upstairs preparing for their day of learning at home and my thoughts drifted with every article I read until I read this one that indicated that DC Public Schools were making summer school “by invitation only.” Yes, you should take a moment to go read it.

You see, I have been doing a lot of reading lately on learning and education. I am enjoying the thoughts of Sal Khan in The One World School House: Education Reimagined, also I have been revisiting Charlotte Mason’s techniques because I have felt The Lord stirring something inside of me on how I teach my own children. As a homeschooler, I have been feeling that we I was treating learning more like those that taught me instead of understanding how they are wired and determining what is really important – what they learn or that they are taught how to learn so that information will serve them for the rest of their lives. Then I watched 180 Days and I experienced such a range of emotions from complete and utter shock to anger. I admit, I have only given the education reform movement a cursory glance. I hear things but haven’t really delved into things….I watched Waiting for Superman and didn’t think about the kids in the movie as much as I felt it served as affirmation that my kids need to continue homeschooling. I know I am not the only one who reads things and have a NIMBY like attitude because it isn’t affecting my household (hence my idyllic scene setting at the beginning). However, that attitude isn’t in line with God’s will for our lives.

So, when I read the article that summer school was going from first come, first served and going to invitation only, I had to pick my jaw up off the table. Based on what is happening in education, DC’s focus on those kids that are on the bubble will serve to help those kids do better on standardized tests but what does it do for those that are too far behind? Someone has passed these children along knowing full well that they weren’t where they needed to be or that they needed a bit more but our schools are not designed to help the child that needs a bit more. Yet, we want to hold their current teachers accountable for teaching them even though they are now presented with a Herculean task that was not of their making. So, how will some kids spend the summer – in most cases falling further behind. Could someone please explain how this helps our society as a whole?

I could go on and on about my thoughts on these issues, but I won’t because it does little but help me let off steam. So, I am hoping to start a list of free resources that could help those like the grandma in the article help their children/grandchildren. I know I have shared Khan Academy with members of my own family who have children in the same age range and they didn’t know it existed. As a homeschooler, I know there are many others that have been able to utilize free resources in their education environs so let’s share with others for the betterment of the whole. Do you have a great free resource you can share?

A Time of Real Refreshment

Over the weekend, I was blessed to attend the Real Refreshment homeschool mom’s retreat in Baltimore. This event is sponsored by Apologia, yes the makers of some awesome curricula, BUT it is not about hawking their wares – it is about equipping moms with the spiritual tools needed for homeschooling. Women travel from Massachusetts, New York, West Virginia, there was even a lady I met from South Dakota to attend this retreat as they are primarily held in Baltimore and Atlanta. Knowing of the large contingent of Christian homeschoolers just in the Maryland, DC, Virginia area, I am surprised that the event is not bursting at the seams. In the end, the women that were present were the women that God intended to be there and being one of them, I can say it was fantastic!

This is my second year attending and when I went last year, I was in a desperate place. I have homeschooled from the beginning but some things were not working with my then 3rd and 4th graders. Despite realizing that they weren’t working there was a part of me holding on to these not working items for.dear.life. Just like a kid trying to put a square peg in a round hole, I was forcing myself and my kids to suffer through some bad times. There was little to no joy in our homeschool and momma was m-i-s-e-r-a-b-l-e and we all know that old saying……suffice it to say, things weren’t pretty. When I read about the retreat, I quickly sent hubby an email, saying momma needs to go to this and he so quickly responded with “yes, please register”. Yes, he was desperate as well for some change. On the first day of the retreat, the truths shared shed light into the dark places and just broke me down. On the second day, the truths served to build me back up but in a better way and when I left, I was free of some of those things that had me shackled. Hallelujah!!

Fast forward to this year and I was in a different place. I wasn’t desperate and at my wit’s end. I had seen how God had been changing me over the past year but I knew I wasn’t where He would have me to be. I didn’t know what to expect this year but I expected to be changed, in a good way. I arrived Friday morning, bright-eyed and bushy tailed for the Nuts & Bolts section. I sat with some amazing women and bumped into a friend from the previous year. For the break-out sessions, I listened to Debra Bell. I absolutely adore this woman. She is so practical and shares insights that always speak to me. Her planners revolutionized things in our house after the last retreat. . By the time evening rolled around for our main sessions, I was amped even though I knew there was going to be a time of soul searching and probably tears. At least this year, they included packets of tissues in the goody bag. I was right, the prayer session did lead to tears and became a serious point of reflection for me. As I drove home, I was deep in thought about a lot of things not just homeschool related but also friendships with other women related due to a talk by Deb Bell.

Saturday was another day full of God’s new mercies and grace and as I kissed hubby goodbye (kids were at my parents) and headed back to the retreat, I was ready for more. Saturday’s speakers didn’t disappoint! However, the last speaker, Heidi St. John, really cut to the core about the state of Christianity and how easily some of us are being deceived. I know not exactly homeschool related but it was in that as moms we are shepherdesses of the next generation. Not only our own children, but even their friends. We must always be on guard to the ways of the devil because he is out to kill, steal and destroy our marriages, our children, our families, and more. She showed a beautiful painting of a shepherdess and her sheep and the image really hit home for me.

At the end of those two days, I came home renewed, refreshed, and reinvigorated. It was a blessed time and I look forward to next year. If you are a homeschooling mom, I encourage you to seek out this retreat or another because we all need to be poured into so that we can continue pouring out.

Moments

Happy New Year!! I pray that all had an enjoyable start to the new year. We rang it in quietly while visiting with my parents. The kids asked to stay up late and let’s just say that seeing the ball drop wasn’t as exciting as they may have thought.

Well, you know I am not big on resolutions, but the kids and I have resolved to read through the Bible in one year because it was on my son’s heart. Like last year, I am digging the one word and mine for 2013 is moments, hence the title. It may seem like an awkward word being that most people seem to choose a verb, but for me 2013 is about living in the moment and loving the moments of my life.

Whether we notice it or not, time flies whether you are having fun or not. It does not stop for any of us, so instead of just existing (which is what I felt like for several years), I am choosing to live my moments to the fullest. I can’t bring back a missed moment, so whether good or bad or somewhere in between, I am going to live and love my moments.

So, how about you? What are you going to do this year?

I am also dipping my toe in the Project 365 pool, so check the Flickr bar to see my entry for today. Yes, I missed yesterday so maybe I should call it Project 364.

Playing Catch-up

Happy Election Day!! No matter who you plan to vote for please go vote, it is important and it is your right.

So, I need to play catch-up on my postings. So, in keeping with Art Every Day Month, I have a few pics to share. No, I didn’t take the time to pretty them up via Snapseed so forgive my ipad2 pics.

In our extended family, the year my Princess was born, there were 4 girls born and this year they all hit double digits. The last one turned 10 over the weekend and I whipped up this little bag for her because she loves to draw and make doll clothes. Here is the bag and it’s inside lining.

Inside I put a nice pile of fabric scraps that she can use for her doll designs and some paper notebooks that she could use to doodle on.

That was my creative making for Friday. On Saturday, my creative making was centered around playing with my new toy – a Vitamix. It was an early Christmas present from my parents as it was a special value on QVC when I happened to be flipping channels during Superstorm Sandy. So, we tinkered with it and made some smoothies and ice cream. When it comes to kitchen gadgets, I am like a guy with tools – love them!! However, I was feeling rather guilty because I had just received an awesome juicer for my birthday (if you haven’t seen Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, watch it on Netflix or whatever and you will want a juicer as well). When the juicer arrived, my hubby took to it like a fish to water and being that he is often skeptical of health related stuff, I was shocked. When the Vitamix arrived, I was excited that we could keep the pulp (which I currently just compost) but he was not a fan of the extra goodness. So, now I have added yet another gadget to my kitchen countertops. Thankfully, they are both color coordinated with my mixer.

I don’t have pics of Sunday and Monday because life was flying by too quickly. Sunday’s creative making was dinner in the form of lasagna and garlic bread. Monday, I created a new hairstyle which I was tickled about because let’s just say the summer of the hair bun evolved into the fall of the hair bun and I was afraid we were going to go into the winter of the hair bun as well. Funny thing about hair, when it is short, you want it to grow long but when it grows you do very little with it. Go figure!!

Well, I hope that your Tuesday is terrific!

Happy November

Happy first day of November!! I hope all are well in the aftermath of Sandy. We dealt with heavy rains and high winds but thankfully we never lost power nor did we lose any of the huge trees that surround our home. I grew up in New Jersey on the shore and the pictures that I have seen and the stories I have heard, tear at my heart and I do hope we can all keep those impacted in prayer as well as donate to those helping them through this tragedy.

Lots of things happen in blogland during the month of November. There is something for the writer, the crafter, the artist and more. My friend Amanda, blogged about Art Every Day Month, which I felt came full circle to my word for the year if being intentional. It is designed for us to make ourselves be creative, in some way, on a daily basis for the month of November. I love that the creative is not limited to one genre as you all know I have some issues with being limited.

Today being the first of November gets my brain thinking of Thanksgiving, which I am delighted that for the first time in 11 years of marriage, we will have at our own home and I get to cook. Long story but know that God answers prayers just in his own time. So, we have done a giving thanks tree in the past, but this year I thought of a family journal. I went searching through my paper stacks and wasn’t pleased with any options and since I have been practicing my drawing skills (always felt I couldn’t draw but I am learning that anyone can learn), I took a few moments to play with my watercolor pencils to make the cover for our Thank You journal.

No, I am not Picasso but it is mine.

Be creative!

Finding the Time

It has been some time since I have inhabited this space in the blogosphere. You may notice that my address has changed as I let my domain name go for now and went back to being hosted at WordPress. Debating whether or not, that name will go forward with me or am I headed for a reinvention. Either way, I appreciate those that stop by here and keep track of my musings.

As a quick re-cap, our school year has started. We have made tweaks and I feel as if we are in a good place. Of course, trying to instill some new skills within myself and the children can always pose a new set of challenges. Challenges or not, we must all keep swimming. The garden is winding down and I was successful at planting some fall greens – so a few types of kale, mustard, spinach and turnip greens are growing like weeds. I need to get my hands on some straw to put a nice covering on for the winter. The chickens are still meandering around. We have farmed out some older gals and introduced some younger girls but they are seemingly getting along. All in all, I have no complaints.

Last Friday, we had to travel to New Jersey to attend the funeral of my Great-Great-Aunt Rosie. She was 104 when she passed and lived a full and blessed life. I blogged about her 100th birthday party here.

Here is a pic we took in July right after she turned 104. She was so lucid and even cracking jokes so it was hard to acknowledge that within 3 months she is now gone from our lives.

A sweet little cousin told my kids after the funeral that he would see them at the next funeral. Yes, kids say the darnedest things but it reminded me of my word for this year. I do a lot with my hubby’s family and need to be more intentional about establishing and reconnecting bonds with my side of my family. Amazing how in the 10th month of the year, I get the kick in my pants that I needed from an 8 year old.

There are other ways in which I am seeking to be intentional. One is in the area of creativity. My creative nature has been consumed by lots of other stuff and while most is good stuff (other is just stuff that must be done) it is not the creative stuff that makes my heart sing. Finding the time in the midst of my day seems to be an issue and I have noticed that I am not alone in the pursuit after reading this and this.

So, what am I going to do about it? I started last week with setting some goals and making plans for what I would like to accomplish and I plan to set aside some time every day to work on those goals and plans. The key is getting started, so I hope by planning and doing something everyday, I will develop a habit over the next 30 days that will serve me well in the days, weeks, and months to come.

Wish me luck!

Graduation Overload

It is that time of the year, everywhere we look there are graduation celebrations occurring and lots of happy faces. I have fond memories of my graduations from high school, college, and graduate school. My high school graduation was held in the same building that my dad graduated from and graduations are still held there. College was on Mother’s Day and it was h-o-t but the moms didn’t seem to mind. Graduate school was indoors and even though I wasn’t chosen as the graduation speaker, I think the guy chosen was fabulous. So, you may be asking yourself, where is she going with this……well, Webster’s Third New International Unabridged Dictionary, copyright 1986 defines graduation in definition 2a as: the act of completing a phase of one’s formal education; especially the act of receiving a diploma, certificate, or degree from a school, college, or university.

So, could someone please explain how we have devolved to having graduation ceremonies for every grade starting with pre-K? What in the world happened to being promoted? A cute little girl from church told me she was graduating from pre-K and I told her that she was being promoted to Kindergarten. Yes, call me Debbie Downer but I refuse to embrace this new trend. Nothing is “special” any more. The high school student’s graduation is mentioned in the same sentence as the pre-K graduation as if they are equivalent. People WAKE UP they are not the same measure of achievement.

We are lulling these kids into thinking that they have accomplished something special and yes finishing that grade is special but it is not the same as completing high school which represents a cumulative process that began when they were young. What will they do if/when they go to college – there is no hey, you finished your freshman year graduation ceremony. They are being programmed to expect some type of celebration after each year and that is not life.

In our current economic and global system, a high school diploma is really not enough. College is mandatory and still our youth are not guaranteed to find employment. Take a moment to google world education rankings, we are far behind others so shouldn’t we stop this foolishness of graduation ceremonies and focus more on preparing our children to function in the real world?

Have a party at home to celebrate but reserve the cap & gown for true milestones like high school, college, etc.