Full Body School

Those three words sum up my approach to tackling homeschooling with Raccoon. We are going to be living out in the country, which I haven't had much peace about due to the King's long commute to work, but as I think more about my son, it's going to be a good thing for him.

An obstacle course.

An outdoor gym/playground.

A garden.

Water play.

Animals.

Maybe we'll build a rock wall.

I have to find peace about this move. To trust the Lord that my mission right now is not somewhere out there, but right at home, three feet and two feet tall.

A great post about this? Carissa's Blessed with Boundless Energy. I especially love this quote, "Specifically, I have him do some highly energetic movement and some relaxing focused balance type work right before we begin any seat work. We have been going in this order and it has helped a lot." This gives me hope. The nuts and bolts of how to make things work in school for Raccoon, this is what I need. Raccoon's energy is a blessing when channeled properly and not so much when it heedlessly overflows.

Homeschool is a Go for Fall 2014 (K)

The King and I (*smile* do you like my new name for hubby?) have officially decided to homeschool Raccoon next year for kindergarten. We were pretty sure that this was the best choice for us, but there were a few factors that confirmed it:

1) His birthday misses our preferred school's kindergarten cutoff by six weeks, no exceptions, so it's homeschool or another year of pre-k (which would not be a good fit for him).

2) Unless the Lord steps in, we will be living in a semi-remote location in South America next fall, so our access to local schools would be limited anyway.

There are other considerations, such as our plan to do school only a few days a week and my excitement over not having to get everyone going in the morning, so overall homeschooling is a win-win for our family at this point.

All this is to say that I am finally biting the bullet and looking at curriculum!!! Since it's kindergarten and I want to ease into things, I'm not going to invest in a box set, but am going to do things piecemeal. Raccoon is also fairly asynchronous and needs a full body approach to learning, so it may take us awhile to find our groove. I'm okay with that. I will also have to figure out where Robin fits in as I want to do some Tot School things with her while Raccoon and I "do school." I am hoping that she'll be past the mouthing, grabbing, and ripping stages by then so that she can join us (She'll be 19 months... I may be asking for too much. Plan B for her is... nap time.)

I was hoping to find a bookstore with used curriculum. I have to look at something in order to decide it's usefulness, online descriptions don't work for me. I'm a page-flipper. Sadly, there aren't any used bookstores in my area, I think they have all gone out of business, but I did find a large book section at Goodwill. It's like hunting for treasure. Amongst the every-TV-show-known-to-children beginning readers, there are also amazing Usborne, DK, and other resource books. I have spent $20 (can't beat $1 each!) and I have everything except health and math and social studies. Confession: I don't even really know what social studies is, isn't it part of history or how society works or something? I'm off to Wikipedia for that one... "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence." Oh.

Where was I? So several of the books that I have should last us several years as they are more comprehensive sources, such as "Everything You Need to Know About English Homework." I have a few of these on different subjects, and plan to use them as a starting point for different unit studies once I discover what works and doesn't work with Raccoon. I have specific lesson books for subjects like art, science, and music appreciation. As I look over the books tonight, I do wonder where they came from before Goodwill, and why, if they're so good, they still look like new. Hmmmmmm.....

Well, I'm off to make lists and plans and dream... have I mentioned that I loved school. At least, I loved the thought of school - unlimited learning and access to new ideas - but I have to remind myself that Raccoon's style and needs are different from my own. But still, I bought resources that I enjoy, because if I'm not interested, then how could I expect him to be?

P.S. Why all the books you say when you can find everything you need online?
1) We won't have high speed internet. It's back to dial-up days (almost) for us when we move.
2) I still love books and want to pass that on.
3) $1 a book saves me on printer ink and paper.
4) Recycle! 

I can do hard things

This is my new school motto. I told Raccoon that he is going to have to do hard things everyday. -Insert meltdown here-

I'm hoping that this will help him move beyond his paralyzing perfectionism. We have a little list of hard things he's done and hopefully it will continue to grow.

Confession: I'm a Nerdy Mom

Ok, yup, that's me... I'm a nerd. I think one of the most freeing things I've heard lately was a motto on a children's game, "It's OK to be smart." That's sad. I'm actually more like a nerd-in-hiding. The only reason I'm even writing this is because I like to record things that make me laugh. Today it was a sentence from here:

"This post is mainly for record-keeping, so it may be a bit of dry reading for many. If you are like me, however, you will find it fascinating in a very nerdy sort of way."

That pretty much sums up both of my blogs, mainly for recordkeeping. But it's okay, because I like them.

Projects and Dreams

When I find a new blog, I read through their latest posts until I find something that doesn't interest me. If It's right away, I simply click on. If I'm five or six posts down and still reading, then I'm in. This blog had me with the post "How to Mentor a Kid with Big (Possibly Unrealistic) Dreams."

Fall

 We don't have fall in South America, 

so I plan to enjoy this part of the year 

as much as possible with Raccoon and Robin.

On our schedule for this week is a fall walk, raking leaves, and making leaf stained glass.

Tricky Tuesday: Introvert Mom Extrovert Child

If I boiled down all of Racoon and my conflicts, this is at the heart of most. He needs more people time and I need more alone time. What I am trying to figure out is how much each of us needs to feel recharged. Right now our needs drain each other so neither one of us is happy. I currently need so much time to recharge (usually at night after everyone else is alseep), that there just aren't enough hours in the day.

I cannot feed his need to be with people all by myself, nor can he give me enough down time if it's just the two of us (well, three now with Robin). We seem to constantly be a sad couple, and I want to change that. At the end of the day, he resorts to being naughty because it's the only way he can get enough energy from my run-down batteries. It's a terrible pattern for us both and I feel squeezed dry.

So here are the million dollar questions: how much is enough and how do I make it happen?

"I aim to fit in my writing time as well as reading one chapter of fiction each day. If I get those two covered, I’m usually equipped to handle whatever twists and turns come my way," says Jaimie Martin at Simple Homeschool.

This is another great post on the topic - Grace for the Introverted Mom (favorite quote: "I won’t be able to sleep until I think about it.")

That sounds about right. But explaining this to my husband, also an extrovert, is difficult. "Why can't you handle just one child?" he used to ask me all the time when Raccoon was younger. Filling my needs can appear to him like I am being neglectful of our kids, or lazy.

As part of this post, I just have to mention that I love type talk. I am an INFP, my husband is an ENTJ, Raccon is an E_ _ _ (maybe SFP? N?), and Robin is still undecided. (Sidenote: understanding type has been very illuminating for my marriage. The two middle ones are personality and here is where my husband and I are similar, we are both Ns and our F/Ts are more middle than extreme. But our living preferences are exactly opposite - EJ (outgoing and structured) and IP (ingoing and unstructured). This is the secret to why we get along really well but have trouble living together. lol.) 

Our conflicting sources of energy are my biggest fear about homeschooling; how am I going to make it work for both of us? And throw in the fact that my little extrovert has social anxiety and needs very particular types of people interactions (small groups, a buddy, older kids).

Then we'll be adding in Robin once I figure out what she needs... which right now is not more than one car trip a day.



What am I doing that's working?

An outside preschool class for three hours two days a week. (We just started so I hope this works)
Stories on CD in the car (he usually wants me to talk nonstop in the car which drains me)
Projects for us to work on together at home (he gets my undivided attention and we're doing something we enjoy together)
Jumping on the trampoline together with Robin on a blanket on the grass (harder now that it's colder and wetter outside)
What it boils down to is outsourcing some of his energy needs without compromising mine.

What isn't working?

Finding enough kids for Raccoon to play with. Where can I find more opportunities for him that don't drain my energy? Outside spaces work best for us, but often there aren't any other kids there. We both get stressed at the play areas at kid restaurants (too busy and loud). Raccoon doesn't like structured activities like classes (too much sitting or waiting).

I can't save up my needs until nighttime. By evening I am empty and cannot cope with more demands. To stay sane, I need small breaks throughout the day with one long stretch (one to two hours).

Which of my strengths can I apply here?

What am I good at? Finding new places for us to explore. 

Brainstorm:

* Some sort of sport activity - it would have to be relatively unstructured and flexible with scheduling since neither one of us does that well with predictability. Maybe some sort of open gym? bouncy place?

* More playdates at home - I like having people come over because then I don't have the stress of driving, trying to get somewhere on time, and managing Raccoon's food allergies. These are usually a win-win for us. The problem is that Raccoon prefers children his age or a few years older, and everyone we know is busy at school.

* A homeschool coop - get-togethers yes, classes no.

* A membership to a kid's museum - we'd have to go at times when there aren't many children there, or it's the same overstimulation problem as at kid restaurants.

* A gym with childcare - I wonder how much this costs.

Possible solution (or first try at least):

Our win-win - unstructured play time with slightly older kids at our home, with a few special outings a week. I need a boy with a specific profile - extrovert! imaginative, energetic (but not out-of-control), playful, outdoorsy, and independent. Maybe I should advertise on craigslist:

 "Introvert mother looking for extrovert playmate for her extrovert son. 

Would prefer a homeschooled child (of any age) with flexible hours." 

Or as Raccoon suggested, we could just adopt more children. He said he wants five brothers and sisters. Sorry buddy, unless God steps in, that's not going to happen.

I've also considered getting him a kitten...