The Electrical Invaders take top honor at regional tournament

 By three methods we may learn wisdom: 
    First, by experience, which is the bitterest; 
       Second, by imitation, which is easiest; 
          and third by reflection, which is noblest.
Confucius

An unreflected life might as well not have been lived, for all the good it brought it's owner. (me) 

(Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/reflection.html#ixzz1dGR8TT8D )

In my business of actually participating in the world, I failed to carve any time to write about it.  I find myself seeking reflection at the end of this First Lego League (FLL) season, not just for my own sake but for my team.  If I am to spend the great mental, as well as actual, energy and money season after season, I need to understand why I do it. I have to find meaning in this maddening pace I set for myself (and kids.)
  Maybe it's the season of fall, with all it's bright colors that in their astounding beauty catch me off guard and quiet my mind while soaking in the shape and form- if only for a second.  As I take that next breathe I realize the noise that fills my head consistently.  So many tasks.  Maybe it says something about me, I read a review about the movie "How does she do it?" and thought, 'that's not that bad. I have slow weeks too.'  I refuse to the see this movie, not just because I dislike the dramatic twangs the main actress, but because it's a whimpering, pathetic cry of the modern life that perpetuates madness and then cries- "why am I so busy."   Let the worker bee tell you, 'it's not the work that drives you to question your existence, it's not knowing why you work. '  Being busy is a fine state of affairs, but I need solid, thoughtful proof that what I am working towards is the goal I hope to obtain.
     My best reflection came from an email from a fellow FLL coach. Eric apparently works for PBS, and they are doing a special about STEM (science, technology engineering and math) and wanted to include a connection to Lego robotics.  He asked for videos and got way more responses then he thought he would!  To narrow down the field of applications, he wanted us to email me him a list of answers to his question set.  Here's that reflection:

Please submit to me the following:

1. Basic team info: size, age range, division, makeup of team (boy girl count, etc)

We are a homeschooled team of 6 kids- 3 boys, 3 girls, 10-12 yrs old, so Division 2.  

1. Proposal: a few paragraphs Why your team should be featured?

 A few paragraphs, huh? I'll do my best.
              The line by line objectives we will fulfill by using NXT programming can be produced through other, single subjects. However, none of the other options allow us to reach our goals by demonstrating the integrated, unifying theories that cross all the presented curriculum and allow the children to develop a strong sense of teamwork through problem solving tasks. The children receive math instruction which covers a wide range of applications in their math courses. Unfortunately, those lesson stand alone in a world of numbers, figures and ratios. They do not cross the barrier to practical application, nor due they take root as deeply as when it is presented as a puzzle to be solved through technology. By using math, science, technology, and teamwork in one curriculum, we  reached our kids, some of whom have trouble finding meaning in any these subjects by themselves. No curriculum takes the place of FLL robotics.  It's singular in it's ability to reach so many ages, so many learning styles, and so many areas of study.
         I'm really happy that the creators of FLL saw past just the fun and excitement of the robot game challenge to incude the research aspect.  My team has learned a great deal each year in the research section. This year they tackled White Nose syndrome, a fungal infection decimating bat populations throughout the east coast. Turns out, bats are really, really important to farming. (Who knew?)  The kids not only learned how to conduct proper research, be critical thinkers in an age where information is put on the internet by all manor of people varying in knowledge and skill, but also to research thoroughly (aka beyond page 2 of the google search) and learned to ask the right questions to the right people.  I'm not sure my kids would have thought to learn as much about bats without this research topic, but it's been eye opening to parents as well to the children who now have new respect for nature's delicate balance. 

       My team of 6 kids represents the gambit of interest and skills.  We have our super builders, Ezra and Robert; our programer, Abby; our plotter, Olivia, who just sees how missions can be lead; our artist and creative spirit, Grace; and our team booster and spirit builder, Dylan.  Even though each person has a niche they fill that no one else does quite like them, everybody, even our brand new to Lego NXT members, jumped right in on the robot game planning and programming.  The support the team gives each other is quite unusual for their age.  I coached another team (a private school team), and I had trouble not comparing their teamwork skills.  They were different teams, with different strengths, but the Electrical Invaders did something the other team didn't quite do- really support each other.  E.I did manage to pull the Champion award, which is part luck as well as hard work, but even without the external recognition, these kids are going to take away some serious math, science, engineering and teamwork skills that just aren't replaced by any other ol' curriculum.

So in short sell me on why your team should be picked.

Because we rock the FLL's core value menu :)

So while I run my dizzying pace of life, trying to catch my head and keep my calendar up to date with the obligations from event to event.  My little moment of reflection created new found resolve to keep going.  
 Congratulations Electrical Invaders!!  I can not express how proud I am for all that you accomplished.

Electrical Invaders getting ready to run their 2nd scored robot game. Ezra in full research costume as the Bat.

What is free worth?

It seems  "investment psychology" made be a global concept.  Here a FB friend from Malaysia writes:

"When it comes to education, educated parents are not price sensitive because they see education as an investment, not an expenditure.

The more I learn about business and finance the more informed I become about education. Quality is not scalable. Education is not scalable. Parents with an Investor Mindset look for quality and reap the rewards in the future. Parents with a Consumer Mindset look at cost.

One of the best decisions I've made in my profession is to shift my target audience away from the general mindset and cater to parents with a business (not proprietary) and investor mindset."

Speak on, sister!  Yes, we in America have discovered the same thing about our homeschoolers.  For the past two years (amazing, wonderful, couldn't do it the co-op without her) CJ has arranged for the homeschooling liaison from Campbell University to come and give a free seminar to all the parents who wished to hear about homeschooling transcripts, admissions process in general and to get FREE onsite applications to this wonderful school.  How many people were able beating down the doors to get the information which is vital to the success of their homeschooled child's chance into higher education? Well, 1 person a year it turns out.  

      Fast forward to this year-  Mikeal Davis, ever the entrepreneur and business man at our co-op, decides to hold the same concept- onsite admissions, homeschooling transcript talk, William & Mary admission's officer available to speak with privately- Only this time, it's $40 a head.  It is also all day verses the 3 hours we had for the Campbell University consultant.  Droves of people sign up! A bunch of parents are coming to this now.  Quite a few people said, "Wow, $40. That's a little steep", and it kept them away, but it has not stopped many others from taking their place. 

Here's what another mom said today from the Homeschoolin-in hamptonroads yahoo group-

"We've taken advantage of (the William and Mary Gift education program) for the last year (my son is 6 years) and they are simply wonderful.  I could not recommend them enough.  At first I thought they were too expensive, but after seeing what they do in them, I think it's worth every penny."

So yes, education is an investment, and people who are serious about education can't consider not putting their money where their philosophy is.   Plato articulated these ideals.  He saw two kinds of value- instrumental and intrinsic. An instrumental value is worth having as a means towards getting something else that is good (e.g., a radio is instrumentally good in order to hear music). An intrinsically valuable thing is worth having for itself, not as a means to something else.  But it's wrapping both these concepts into one package where the golden coin of marketing lies.  If someone perceives the value of their payment as both necessary for the future and enhancing their common worth as a person, well now we've come full circle to the statement above about W&M gifted program.  Now price is no option.

I've been apart of 4 co-ops in my kid's homeschooling life. Two were true, "swap co-operatives"  where it was free, or almost no cost, and everyone traded weeks for teaching, and two have been private tutor co-ops. No free co-op I've ever been apart of, no matter how much I wanted it around, lasted more than 2 years in any form (we tried three different arrangements of this one science co-op but it couldn't hold together), but my private tutor class co-ops have been around for 8 years strong. 

  So did that get together for fun science Mondays fail?  Did your free trip to the aquarium fail to illicit any responses? Or  worse, you got takers but no one showed up?  Try charging for the opportunity.  I find that you don't have go extremes- like charging more than something would be "retail", but free, as much as I tried to convince myself the experience was still valuable to others, has never proven to be a motivating force.  Even charging $2 for the  art museum tour, and then donating the money to the museum got 10 times the amount of takers then the previous free tour of the same exhibit!  So take the advice of two continental homeschoolers, and know that what you know is valuable.   Charge a little something and others will know it's valuable too.

 Disclaimer and a dose of hard reality : Obviously, in economically depressed areas, charging for events is less likely than ever to get people out, but the point is, not charging anything is not going  entice people to come either.  I've set up free art classes in Hampton, and the classes were super small- 2 kids at best, & no one ever came with any consistency. Often, no one came that week.   So bottom line: what is free worth?

     

Yearbook blogs- a creative journey and an assignment for me too!

  I have the privilege of teaching at a homeschooling co-op I help organize.  In addition to my art classes, I added AP Psychology and yearbook to this year's mix.  
   The yearbook staff all have to create a personal blog that will document their year; be their own personal yearbook.   We have 5 out of the 6 kids able to participate with online journals.  We got our last participant in tonight.  As I look over the kid's blogs, each one is an amazingly accurate vision of their personalities, their aesthetics and their conversational styles.  The colors, the images, the text font.... I certainly did not go into as much depth when I set this one up!  It was obvious that, while this was an assignment, each one took it to heart that it was a view of themselves.  
      I can't wait to see how this yearbook shapes up.  It was one of my favorite classes in highschool.  I look fondly back on being on the team responsible for keeping track of everyone's life for 1 year. With the addition of the personal yearbooks, I'm excited to be let into their world and read about what's important to each of them.
Here's my daughter's site.  Very Mayah-esc:)

A journey of courage- the rocky beginning

 So we're just one month into the "unschooled" sojourn.  I'm getting my sea legs, so to speak, about what my obligations are to my child, and where her freedoms extends. 
        Here's the thing- I firmly, & with about the same conviction I believe in gravity with, believe that "what you do not inspect, you can not expect".  (Thank-you Ingrid Cannon, for that irreplaceable gem.)  So my child choose several courses to cover this year in her "year off" (with math being the one exception)  Great, she took the helm.  But at what point is it the first mate's job to look at the steerage captain and say, "Ice burg"?  My daughter is behind in work that should have been turned in- 2 weeks into the offical school year.  But she says, I should not tell her what to do, when to do it, or how to do it, because this is her "year off".  This illustrates to me that the full extent of our partnership and expectations were not completely verbalized before taking this adventure on.  We did not talk about the important things to the extent that she remembers the finer details of our arrangement as I remember giving them.   I'm wondering if a written contract at this later stage can resolve the issues.  Mostly, I'm getting teenage death ray looks from my 14 yr, and monotoned, serial killer voice instructions, like, "Mom, you are breaking your promise to let me unschool. I will do it when I want to do it."
  In my mind, a year off was, "I won't give you work to do that you don't pick yourself."  It was never going to be, "You can do anything you want, including nothing."   So.  The 64 thousand dollar question is- how to fix what is broken?  Or perhaps the question is- what does unschooling look like at my house?

Teaching Information literacy

Teaching Literacy use to mean teaching someone to read well.  It later included writing and expressing yourself verbally.  Today, literacy must also include "understanding online material sources" (coupled occasionally with good ol' common sense).  I received this email this morning from a  relative I love and respect very much  (Encase someone doesn't read further than the email repost, this story is not true )-

>Not pleasant but it makes a good point and it should never be forgotten.

>This one should be give wide circulation. 

VERY IMPORTANT - ALWAYS REMEMBER      When  I was a kid, I couldn't understand why Eisenhower was so popular. Maybe  this will explain why. General  Eisenhower Warned Us.[ It  is a matter of history that  when the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight  Eisenhower, found the victims of the death camps he ordered all possible  photographs to be taken, and for the German people from surrounding  villages to be ushered through the camps and even made to bury the  dead. He did this because he said in words to this  effect: 'Get it all on record now - get the films - get the  witnesses - because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will  get up and say that this never happened' This week,  the UK debated whether to remove The Holocaust from its school  curriculum because it 'offends' the Muslim population which claims it  never occurred. It is not removed as yet.. However, this is a frightening  portent of the fear that is gripping the world and how easily each country  is giving into it. It is now more than 60 years after the Second  World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a  memorial chain, in memory of the, six million Jews, 20 million Russians,  10 million Christians, and 1,900 Catholic priests Who were 'murdered,  raped, burned, starved, beaten, experimented on and humiliated' while many  in the world looked the other way! Now, more than ever,  with Iran , among others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,'  it is imperative to make sure the world never  forgets. [This  e-mail is intended to reach 400 million people! Be a link in the memorial  chain and help distribute this around the world. How many years  will it be before the attack on the  World Trade Center 'NEVER  HAPPENED', because  it offends some Muslim??? Do not just delete this message; it  will take only a minute to pass this  along. FREEDOM  ISN'T FREE...SOMEONE HAD TO PAY FOR IT! Hmmm.. The United Kingdom, who got flattened like a bad souffle in WW2, not educating it's newer generations on the horrors of the holocaust and the evils of the Third Reich?  The UK, who is more anti- Muslim than we are, perhaps because, sadly, they have had more attacks (though lost fewer ppl) than we have from Islamic extremist, deciding to cave to "Muslims who are offended" by a historical event? Really?  And I should pass this on to as many ppl as I can?  Really?      I guess what gets my goat here is this is clearly an anti-Muslim email spread for the sole purpose of hating a specific religious people, of making Muslims a "them" that we can hate, take rights away from and look down on. The email didn't want a call to action to protect our freedom to a factual history.  It wasn't calling for us to honor those who died in the holocaust, or the 9/11 victims, with a moment of silence so they may never be forgotten.  It was a call to hatred. (And before anyone gets on their high horse to ride over and refute me on the evils of Islam, please be reminded that the Klu Klux Klan calls themselves a Christian group.  Jihadist are picking and choosing from their book just like the Klu klux Klan backs everything they do up with the good book, The Bible.  Extremist are called such because they sit on the fridge of their religious community and do not, by definition, define it or represent the majority of those in it.) I'm sad that a person I love was duped into passing on what they believed was "an important email" that I should know about and read.   I have a counter argument- Information Literacy.  Information literacy 101 is Snopes.com.  Use it liberally (even if you're a conservative).  It's free and a wonderful source of help in determining if an online email chain if worthy of forwarding to everyone you know.  Here 's a good list of  (what should be obvious) fake wesbites.  It includes a webpage on dehydrated water!  Here's a generally cool website I was clued into by a FB friend, Sherene, about an article describing a tree octopus and how 87% of the kids who read the article believed it, because it was online.  Let me repeat that-They believed it because it was posted online.  In fact, most of the kids who didn't believe the tree octopus existed had had prior exposure to the page by what I can only believe is an amazing, forward thinking teacher.   I had thought to be rather sly; wait a couple of days, send all the "Muslim hate history" recipients the amazing Tree Octopus site, wait 5 days and then send the information literacy page by Wolchover.  We live in a fast world and learning logic, critical thinking and relying on previous experience to help us decipher current information is not a luxury anyone can afford to live without.   We need our children- and ourselves- to be critical thinkers.  Information literacy is one step to that overall package.

A journey of courage- the "unschooled" year.

Like a voter crossing over their political affiliation to vote for the "other" guy, I'm sure a few will read this and say, "DUH! Unschooling is awesome!  Can't believe you waited until now to do it."  The truth is we started out unschooling. Not because I didn't know about the other options- Classical, Montessori, Charlotte Mason, Reggio Emilia, or Unit studies- but because I thought that is how children learn best- through spontaneous play and without effort.  But about the same time your child stops playing with blocks- about 7 or 8- it's also time to keep up with them.  In my personal theories of education, this is the time we "school". There is a set number of things they will learn through intentional exposure with directed learning;  And that's leads us through the last 6 years.
        Enter year 14 of my eldest's child's life.  This year will be her "unschooled" year.  By this I mean, she gets to pick everything she's doing.  I'm not allowed to sign her up for opportunities :)  I'm allowed to assign her papers.  And to be frank, that's hard for me!  But it's also the reason why she gets to take a year doing everything she wants.  At 14, what would be traditionally be the start of her 9th grade, she has 19 highschool credits. (You only need 26 to graduated with an advanced degree.) So she's been on a warp speed of classes- having taken her first highschool course in 6th grade- and did very well in it, which encouraged us to fill 7th grade with classes as well.  And so here we are, with this great moment to seize- take this year to do what she wants, what she loves, to seek her passions unbridled by the restrictions of the usual load of classes I give her so she'll "be on track".  
        Well, we got ahead of the track! Way ahead. And at this pace, she'll graduate when she's 15.  Part of me is all for wearing that shiny ego badge of "My kid graduated at 15". I've seen articles on many 12 year old highschool graduates.  WOW. 12. But my first thought is not, 'how did the parents do that?', it's ' what will that child do in college?' What will, what was arguably some of the most fun years of my life, going to be like for a 12 yr old in many of the same situations?' 'What are the advantages?'- because from where I stand, I can only see the downsides. So graduating my child early, super early, is not what I want to do. It's not what I want for her.
      So this year is a slight pause form the regularly scheduled events. I handed the reigns over to her and am watching where it takes her.  Now this is not to say she will be loafing around, not doing anything. Quite the opposite; She's already signed up herself up for Yearbook, AP psychology, Italian, and Pre-calculus; (the only exception to the unschooled rule was math.  You have to keep doing math, especially higher math or you lose it.) We also purchased "One year adventure novel" on her request, which is a program that guides young writers through making their own novel, hopefully, as the title says in one year.  She wants to volunteer at a marine science institute, but we're having trouble because she's only 14.  Apparently 16 is the magic insurance number and despite the numerous opportunities that lie around us- and friends who work there that said they would mentor her- we have not been able to break into this field of volunteering.
        Unschooling a teenager may not seem a hard tool to use for other parents.  As an art teacher, I'm very comfortable with an amount of chaos and mess that apparently drives some others parents to muscles spasms. So we all have different tolerance levels for the different control buttons we run in our lives.  My control button appears to be set fairly high for educational direction, and so this is a moment of growth; not just for my lovely daughter, but also for me.  This is the beginning of a journey of courage that my husband and I have done well enough to let go and trust that she will be able to steer herself in the direction she wants to go.  She has dreams and desires for her future. This year, she gets to take herself there.
         Wish me all the serenity it will take to NOT ask for a papers on current events. To not ask her to take lessons in this or that because it will expose her to new and exciting experiences or knowledge. Grant me strength to keep trusting in the foundation that we have already given her, and to know that this has to be done.  Mostly, wish me luck in letting her make some of her own mistakes so she can grow from them, and not step in like a magic wand to make it all better!   This a journey of courage for me.

The challenge: it begins with optimism

 30 day drawing challenge:

 Allison Lehmon's 30 day Drawing challenge

I have no idea if Allison Lehmon was the creator of this list, but I found it on her blog, so I'm going to give her credit for showing me the list.  

  I had another creative friend do a 30 day challenge blog, but she kinda went rogue with the idea and just did something beautiful for 30 days, which is cool.  But I kinda like the idea of getting a daily focus.  I might not stick to it, but at least I've got a sturdy backdrop if I need one.  I know I will be wavering just a little bit, because some of the daily assignments will be sample pieces for my art classes.

      I also like the idea it's drawing.  Drawing is like lifting weights.  If you do everyday you will be incredibly strong in no time.  If you stop, you'll almost never have to go back to zero where you started, but you won't be able to pick up where you left off when you stopped either!  I think the most important thing about drawing daily is it helps artist- especially a young artist- develop a recognizable style.  There's nothing worse than not knowing what your style is, or having one so unstructured that no one could pick out your piece from a line up. 

 So here goes.... 30 days into the future.  

The seasons of a running co-op

So I wrote earlier about the joys of being in a co-op- the comradary, the effortlessness of having someone else teach something you stink at, the feeling of being in larger community and, of course for me, being able to teach the subjects I truly love to others. BUT! It's seems only fair, as the worst of it come crashing into my email box, that I mention the shadowy side of running the co-op.  Much a like a well rehearsed play, little to none of the work that I do and have to deal with ever hits the hands/ears/ or eyes of the many members of my co-op. None the less, they are invisible hurdles the admin jump over each year, and for the benefit of all other future and current homeschooling co-op leaders I will note my observations:
       My co-op has about four seasons; two of them very dramatic, like summer and winter.  I called these the "May bloom" and the "drop zone".   The other two are smaller and less dramatic, but no less cyclical then the first two mentioned.
         The "May bloom" is that optimistic time of the year when flowers fill the gardens, field trips are an every day event for homeschoolers and the optimism of the new year as the old year winds down is fresh and cozy as a newly laundered down blanket.  Ah, yes. Classes in Shakespeare, beginning Latin, taking your first AP class! Very exciting stuff.  People will sign up for almost everything on the roster.  Some classes do have low sign-up, but not even the teacher is worried, as summer hasn't even begun, advertisement for classes have been few and far in between, and all the participants have yet to decide on curriculum.  From joiner to teacher, there is a freshness in the air that nothing can spoil the mood of.  I do love this part of the year.  Questions that flood my email box are incredibly polite, & the tone is eager for information and inclusion.  The season winds slowly down.  With sudden, unpredictable bursts of emails sprouting up in random weeks in June and July.
      Then, two weeks before co-op hits. "The DROP zone".  The year is more clear. It's here upon homeschooling mom and child like a flash of summer lightening; hitting as hard and just as fast.  The bright flash of light was their summer screaming from view. And then they look to all the classes they have- perhaps it's that last line of our registration that sits in red (I really wish the site would make it blue or green or some other non threatening color like that) but reads as plain as day- the total amount due= $100s of dollars.  Can they do all this and the shining , still plastic wrapped curriclum they got at the convention? Or maybe it is their life that has changed.  Summer puts things into perspective for many homeschoolers who for the first time that year can really evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of how it went.   Work on doing more of what works, less of what doens't.  One class sign-up can affect the entire list.  A child who really wanted one class and can't get in, will drop everything else since it's no longer worth the drive to go to 2nd choice classes.  Unfortunate events like job loss, happy events like moving, or lateral events like public or private school instead of homeschooling cause the changes.  But whatever the reason, something will effect 1 out 4 registrations and class sign-ups (1 in 2, if you're unlucky). Teachers go from "hanging on" straight to "not enough to teach" in that hour.  A one student government class isn't really worth the 45 mintues drive once a week, especially when both your kids finished the class last year.  As much passion as the teacher has for the class she's facilitating, that doens't even cover gas now a days.
        Then season 3: the "September RUSH" comes.  It's not as noisy as the "May bloom".  It creeps in, often just shows up with the intention of signing up for classes.  We have had, and bless their souls 'cause I love each one of them, moms who come on the first day of classes and say "what's left?"  The rush crowd is late, and they know it.  They make the class that almost got canceled- famously our children's publishing class that went from 3 students to 8 in the opening hour- succeed.  You can only dislike them  a little because they are your fellow homeschoolers, of course, and they really make the co-op full of excitment and ppl.
           It is only irritating from my leader's perspective because I now have many more registrations to deal with in a small herd.  Since they tend not to like computers, it means volunteers- or myself- adding them to classes manually.   We have developed an "open house" which draws them in a week prematurely.  Nay, they are on time when they come for the open house.  It's the really Johnny-come-latelys that reach into my class times with dozens of questions on the actual first day of classes that spikes high blood pressure and attempts to divide my neurons between remembering everything single thing in the co-op registration pack, where it is and how to fill out, and teaching- simultaneously .  I have appointed a Queen of Chaos for the first day of classes.  This person speaks for the head of our organization and answers all questions. They are empowered to make any and all decisions, and their decisions are final.  Free registration from the Queen, ok then.  Don't have your paperwork, get the Queen's approval and come to class.  They only thing can't decide, of course, is to let in more students; that is always the teacher's domain.
        September RUSH is that moment of exhale where, as the teacher of a class, you get resolution.  You are teaching or you are not teaching.  Now you know for sure.  The day comes and goes and then it's smooth sailing through the rest of the year.
      The last season, almost so small it would easy to miss, is the "January Bump".  We get a few new registrations at this time of year.  Usually, they are not new to homeschooling families, but families who made it through the winter and really need/want to see other places/people each week.  They are comfortable with where they are in their own curriculum and want to enrich their child's week with a fun class.  We don't see too many core class sign-ups, but it does happen.  There is a small loss of student body.  I see one maybe two students drop off second semester, but often they are replaced by the bump of new comers.  Sadly, most core classes who lose ppl will not see replacements.
         Then rolls in the "may bloom" to do it all over again.  Like tides in the ocean and the evening stars, we have come to expect these fluctuations.  There is comfort in knowing what the seasons are and when to expect them.  When to be worried and hold on, and when to drop a class that is clearly defeated.  I guess I am most proud of our continued growth and the fact we stuck around long enough to know what to expect when.  We are in our 4th year of co-op.  A new record for Williamsburg co-ops who tend to implode in year 3.   Happy 4th Birthday Williamsburg Classical Academy :)
  Here's a niffty link to an article about starting co-ops-
http://homeschool.lifetips.com/cat/64324/homeschool-co-op/index.html

Holiday Lake Forestry Camp- a summer adventure, a lifetime of memories

OK, I'm being a bit cheesy here, but it was a pretty awesome summer camp.

To attend Virginia Forestry camp, you have to be nominated. (Thank-you Mrs. Jackson for your kind referral.)  For the 97.5% of kids who attend public or private schools, those would be teachers of any sort.  My homeschooler got nominated by her co-op science teacher, so even though she's homeschooled, she went a very traditional route.  If you live in Va and want to nominate a science lover, 13-16, go for it!  Homeschooled or not- as long as the nominee is not related to you,  they can get the nod.
  Once you get the nod, you're sent a set of papers about the camp, and the applicant must answer 5 essay questions.

 You're still not in the camp yet.

Now those answers get judged (I suppose) and the applicants get in, or not.  Mommy and Daddy aren't simply stroking the check for this outdoor adventure- which, by the way, will only set you back a tiny bit ($75 for 2011's camp.)  Each camper that gets accepted is awarded a $300 scholarship :)
  I loved the ideal that only the kids who really wanted to be in the camp were there.  All the kids share a common interest in science and were at least beloved enough to get nominated by a non-custodial adult.
     It did take us 6 hours for the drop off and 6 more for the pick-up, but it was totally worth it.  My 13 year old who doesn't really talk to us all that much, spent the first 2 solid hours relaying all the funny stories, all about the campers, all about the events (like the kid who made fun of her and then turned around to run face first into a tree...) and proudly showing us her accomplishments- a well turned bowl, a tree identification book, and more- that she picked one by one from her pillow bag sack.  As soon as she stopped talking, she fell asleep in the car.
  It seems they wook up at 6 am (an unknown hour of the day for my daughter unless she has managed to stay awake until than), showered, ate breakfast as a group and then moved onto activities.  They had classwork, quizzes, written work, and reviews, as well as doing forestry type stuff like tree climbing (with ropes), got picked up with a bucket crane, learned about insects, arbor diseases, measured trees with proper tools and took core samples.   She choose to take a class on lizards and amphibians and do a wood turning class.    Other classes were archery, fish, water sample testing and soil analysis to name a few.
        It is an overnight camp, so parents- you will miss your kids- but if you love a nature lover, it's worth all that "missing" to have your 13 yr old as excited about outdoor forestry as mine is now.  For her to get to learn more about herself and get to know more about she loves- and might love to do as an adult- is a gift that we may never be able to properly thank Mrs. Jackson for.  But here goes- THANK-YOU, Mrs. Jackson!!
 
 

Bigger bugs!

Prious Root Borer

  We got a visit from a special, and rather large, beetle the other day.  A giant root borer beetle (Prionus californicus).  It came to our window during a wicked thunderstorm.  It was tapping the on window, and I have to say I was a bit timid to look out of my window in a massive downpour at 1 am, but the cat would not be the only thing to die of curiosity in my house.  And I went looking for the tapping noise....
      I was happy to find that the beetle was still there in the morning, and I could take a few snap shots of him eating our windows.  Turns out, they can be quite destructive pests and I would have done better to capture and turn him over to my brother-in-law's girlfriend and her amazing bug collection then to let him go back to his root boring ways.
      Having seen these pictures on Facebook, his days are numbered  She still wants him in her collection, so we'll go bug hunting in the next couple of days.  Mr. Root borer, I hope you've had a good three days.......

Paul Revere's house (or the 6 things you should know before creating a paper model/ sculpture)

So we've reached that point in our history studies where we've come to the the American Revolution.  This is a  great period of history for America because it's so optimistic;  It has the hope of people who yearn to govern themselves equitably.  It is about freedom, liberty, and rights (which at that time, true, were only meant for white men.... but we're speaking of about ideal ideas, not how they were applied. Stay with me.)  It was in this pioneering spirit of optimism that I must have been overcome, because I agreed to make a paper Paul Revere's house.  We've made paper sculptures before so I knew what I was getting into, but still I decided, if it can help Ezra wrap that one more layer of understanding around that period of history, we would do it! 
           Here's what you might want to know before beginning your first paper sculpture of any kind:
PHOTOCOPY or SCAN the page you will be working on before you hack it up.  The reason you do this is for reference later.  the instruction for making these sculptures is simply a put together version of what you'll be doing with copious amount of arrows and numbers.  Some of the parts will have numbers on them, but the smaller parts never do and knowing which of the 45 tiny pieces you have go where will become important as the sculpture develops.

   Second thing you will want to know-USE STRAIGHT CUTS to cut around the pieces, always cutting from the outside.  What I mean by this is, if you have to cut out a triangle, use two downward strokes instead of one downward and then an awkwardly maneuvered upward cut to finish the triangle.   It will just tear the piece; sometimes in half if they are the tiny ones.   I run down one side making all the left leaning cuts and start at the beginning making all the right leaning cuts to finish the triangle out.  (As seen here in these ridiculously tiny pieces.)
 Third bit of advice:  Each of those lines represents a fold.  USE A PALETTE KNIFE, OR OTHER FLAT  STIFF EDGE, TO CREATE THE FOLDS.  The copy you made of the page will also help you remember which folds are "reversed", folding forward instead of back.   My Thumb nail was actually sufficient to create some of the tiny the folds here, but the center lines had to be folded over the palette knife.  It's just far easier that way and allows for more control.


  Fourth tid-bit:  Getting ready to glue.  Please do yourself an enormous favor and FOLD THE PIECE TOGETHER BEFORE GLUING.  Figure out where the glue actually goes, and what it's suppose to look like as a finished product.  This is sometimes difficult when the piece is actually made of two separate sheets of paper.  But it in these cases, it's actually far more important to figure out how it goes together because, in my experience, there is more that can go wrong and more hinges on those two pieces fitting properly together for all the other, future, pieces to fit together.  So fit together, sometimes with tape if you want. But before glue hits a surface, know where it's going to stick and how that fits together.


  Fifth pearl of wisdom:  GLUING TOGETHER. Here's where it starts to get personal.  Each person has their own idea of what constitutes a properly finished product, and your reach for perfection will govern what kind of glue you use.  My goal was to make the house, learn a little bit about Colonial Architecture with my child and enjoy the process as much as possible folding Lincoln head sided pieces together.  Because hot glue is instantaneous, it allows you to glue and go.  The con of hot glue is it's bulky and has tendency to show.  You'll get MUCH cleaner lines with craft glue (Arleen's Tacky glue  is a good one.), but the draw back is you must hold it until the glue is set, which can take several minutes for each glue.  Considering there is often four or five places on each shape to glue, it can be time consuming.  Though the result will be far more professional looking.
         Secret number 6- Don't expect your product to look like the picture.  As you can see in the photocopy above, they gave me 4 lanterns shapes.  There were actually six in the photograph and instructions.  This again is where the photocopy comes in handy.  You can then choose to print off more of a piece if you want. 

 

Most important here, we had a great time, have a nice center piece to our American Revolution Study, and worked on dexterity, manual skills, and problem solving.  Job well done, Phoenix.

Co-oping- the greatness that is community

I'm a co-op in Williamsburg Va. (which, by the way, is a great place to homeschool in!) so that can color how I feel about co-ops, but I'm not just a member, I'm also the president, or principal to be exact.
  It takes a grand amount of time to make it work, but no matter how many hours I spend on the computer that week, I'm happy when Tuesday comes and I roll into the church parking lot.   My kids help me unpack my car and set up tables and begin another day of what we do- homeschooling in community.   We only go to the co-op once a week (for now, but we're thinking about expanding to two days a week, as AP classes can take far more time than 1 day a week can effectively cover material. That will be in our future if we can get a second day at a nearby church.  Who knows :).  
    A couple of years ago, I had a friend come back from a seminar, and she was beaming with all the encouragement she had gotten.  She a was a little shy about specifics at first and I prodded her until she said, "Well, (the speaker) said you don't need co-ops at all."  Her kids have never been to co-ops- mine or anybody else's.   And it works for them. That's great.  I, for one, love my co-ops.  A woman once responded back to my email that she felt "bad" for me that I felt that I could not teach my own children Spanish.  I replied back, "It's not bad to have limitations.  It's bad to ignore them!"  I would like to convince myself that I excel at a few things, but not for one minute can I fool myself into thinking I am even good enough at ALL subjects to teach them.  Languages, (and anyone reading this blog for more than 2 posts will soon realize) editing & typing are my worst subjects.  I get by with history, thanks to great curriculum, and please don't anyone ask me to lead a botany class because it will be all by the book I'm using and not one page more than I've read. I do happen to have a penchant to teaching art, and I've recently added Lego robotics to the list of things I feel proud to tell others I teach.  
  At my co-op, my 9th grader took chemistry from a  mom who had her Masters in Chemical Engineering.  Her biology teacher last year holds a Master in Occupational Therapy.  Our preschool teacher has Master of Education and ran a large preschool before her life as a homeschooler and now teacher at our co-op.  Our new Latin & Italian teacher is working on his PHD in ancient history, and our drama teacher holds a Masters in education and Economics.   Basically, we teach what we love & what we're good at.  I do believe that is the definition of the world's greatest job.  I don't have to be great at everything as long as I'm start enough to get great people to work with me.   
     I believe that this co-op has allowed me to continue homeschooling my high schooler.  I couldn't imagine this journey without all the support and knowledge that my co-teachers provide.   I couldn't imagine her transcript without them! 

       Next year is her unschooling year, after all these years of classical homeschooling where I picked what she learned, she gets to be master of  her sophomore year.  So far she's picked guitar, AP psychology, Italian and, I am requiring math despite the other subjects being her choice, Pre-calculus.  All from our co-op.  I am thankful for my community.  Thankful that it allows me to offer my children the best education, which, after all, isn't that what homeschooling is about?
 

K'nex: Bridges