What’s next?
Last night the students of Excelsior performed beautifully for their friends and family. I truly enjoyed watching them showcase some of the things that they’d learned over the past school year. Some works included the Gettysburg Address, poetry by Robert Frost and Christina Rosetti, ASL of song, geography songs, scripture, and the recitation of history timeline cards just to name a few. Kids’ minds are comparable to sponges absorbing all of these mental pegs, so it’s quite impressive what they can remember. Their “showing off” is always welcomed by me.
I got the question several times last night asking what my family and I will be doing now as we leave the co-op environment. I have many ideas running around in my head, but I don’t have any firm answers yet. One thought that is pressing on my mind repeatedly is to make my kids “global”. The increasingly smaller world that we live in is driving my red flag on that, so I’ll be looking for ways to expose them to other cultures, foreign experiences and languages, worldly problems, and environments that will teach them how to solve the problems and make a societal difference. Getting out of the 4-wall schoolroom is high on my wish list. This goal of becoming global will not only benefit them in the job market but will hopefully help our society. So, what will we be doing now as we open up our calendar and explore? I don’t know, but I will still be staying up late trying to figure it out.
I will share with you that I had some encouraging words and feedback spoken to me by my girlfriends last night. They were so appreciative of my efforts and commitment to Excelsior families, and my asking more from them in this educational journey. Those words were so special, and I will never forget them. Here’s the thing as I shared with one friend. I just know that our Western culture must and should, for the benefit of our children and future generations, commit to demanding excellence. Our culture has become lazy and sloppy and self-centered, and we will not be able to sustain ourselves if we don’t make radical changes. The best way I know to make those changes is to instill this higher learning environment in our children’s minds and hearts. They can do so much more than they are being asked to do. These ways have not helped America or any other Westernized nation, so far.
My soap box today (Eagle Mother:)
Coffee time…spring break approaches-yah!
The global bladder of Germany
That title highlights some topics of discussion today..
We began studies around 9:30 after the kids had eaten breakfast and helped with cleaning the house. Man alive, the stuff under our sofa pillows was disgusting! Hadn’t seen that area in a while. A myriad of subjects were covered. I’ve done such a poor job of laying with Latin this school year, so I finally got my act together and incorporated a lesson in there today. The kids watched their Latin DVD during the lunch break. My older son and I finished his lesson in his workbook at 10:00 tonight. I know, it’s late, but this is the way we roll. He had come in from his soccer game around 9:00 (they won a pretty amazing game I’m told), had dinner, and we finished up shortly thereafter. That was after I finished math lessons with my second son. You see that we don’t really have a set schedule. I’ve tried. It doesn’t work. We school all over the place, anytime, anywhere. Whatever I need to do to expose them to what I think is important.
So “the global bladder of Germany”. Yes..Well, a couple of random things in my head. I had a lovely discussion with some homeschooling colleagues today on the importance of making your child global in nature. What does that mean? It means exposing them to bigger things, issues, people, other cultures and so forth outside of their local community bubble. Such experiences will affect their outlook, change their interests, and shape how they interact and impact the world. We are all aware of how much smaller our planet is becoming because of things like technology, so our children and future generations have to adjust and adjust quickly so it seems. The Ivies appreciate such experiences, so there’s another reason to connect the world for your child.
The bladder..I was just having a good laugh this afternoon during my gym class because the instructor was having us jump rope for quite a while. I eventually had to excuse myself because I was afraid I might go to the bathroom from all of the jumping up and down. When I arrived back into class, she quizzed me on why I had left for a few minutes, so I got to share with her how my pelvic anatomy has changed since carrying four babies down there. She enjoyed my torture. Of course, it made me think how much these little people have impacted my life. Not only do I have many sleep-deprived nights, but my ability to exercise has been altered because of their stretching out my ligaments for months on end. Ugh…
Germany…I’m told Fox News and Friends will have Mike Farris from HSLDA on their show in the morning, 7:15 eastern time. The story will be highlighting the homeschooling family who fled from Germany after being harassed by their government. Watch it if you get the opportunity. It’s 2 A.M. Time for bed..
http://www.hslda.org/legal/cases/romeike.asp?src=slide&slide=Romeike_March18_2013&pos=1
Anybody see the Harvard basketball team win tonight?
Do your kids live in a bubble?
We’ve become a subscriber to “Time Magazine for Kids”. Today we received two of their country issues (I believe they go out every 6 weeks?). These short stories are around 6 pages in length, and they highlight issues concerning a particular country amongst other things. My oldest two read about Ethiopia. They learned that some areas lose electricity frequently, for example.
Do I think my kids live in a bubble? Are they sheltered and likely not aware of what impoverished children around the world endure in their daily lives? Yes, absolutely. My plan is to expose them to these types of conditions as they mature and can handle things that are not so lovely or easy to process. My hope is that they grow up wanting to make a global difference.
Ivy League Homeschooling 