Gardening project

We're trying something new this year: container gardening! We've never tried this before, so we're starting off slowly. We made this decision because the house that we live in has no place where we can plant a garden. The backyard is all concrete,in order to accommodate the pool and spa. The front is desert landscaping, using a great deal of gravel.
We decided to plant rosemary, bush zucchini and bush tomatoes. We selected the bush varieties because they appear to be the most suitable for growing in containers. We are going to attempt to grow the tomatoes and zucchini from seed. Skylar also has a sunflower which she has been growing for several weeks, but needed re-potting. We've been making our own compost out of vegetable and fruit peels, as well as egg shells. To be completely honest, we were pretty grossed out by this concoction!
In spite of the compost, the girls and I had a great time together. If we're successful, next year we'll try planting more variety.

Rainy Day Fun

Nothing like building a fort on a rainy day. Such fun!

Musings on Unschooling

I've read a great deal about a method of learning called unschooling. Like many homeschoolers who've gone with more traditional methods of teaching,I've had my reservations. We are not unschoolers, as we belong to a charter school. However, we have incorporated some of this philosophy into the way we now do things. I was unsure that, left to their own devices, my children would want to learn such essentials as reading, writing and math. And frankly, none of my girls would voluntarily decide to learn how to divide fractions. However, by allowing my girls to choose the topics they wish to research and write about, I've seen a drastic improvement not only in their desire to write, but in their writing skills. It is not unusual for one of my girls to decide to research and write a four page report on a topic she finds interesting. The first time it happened, I was beyond surprised. Now it is a common occurrence. Skylar's writing is surprisingly mature and descriptive. And Haley has lately started looking into using more "colorful" words to make her writing more interesting. In the past, I have chosen the books or materials I wished my girls to read. It was a struggle to get them to spend as little as ten minutes a day reading. Since I decided to let them choose what they wish to read, it's difficult to get them to do anything else! The girls each read a minimum of twenty books a month. Skylar currently loves to read fictional stories involving horses. She has just finished reading the Phantom Stallion series by Terri Farley and has been looking for similar books to read. Haley loves the American Girl History Mysteries and the fictional diaries from the My Dear America series. Pickle loves the Fancy Nancy books. Now, if I could just figure out how to get them to enjoy math just as much...

My Musicians

Aah, the benefits of belonging to a charter school! Skylar and Haley recently started taking music lessons. They had been asking for these for some time, but being on a tight single-mom budget...well, you get the picture. Luckily for us, our charter school contracts with a music school right here in the boondocks! Their father provided the instruments, and now there is actually some rhythm to Haley's drumming and Skylar can play the first verse of "Hey, Jude". While our home isn't any quieter, it does sound less chaotic.
The music school we are attending is Mel Booker Music. The staff is very friendly and helpful. I would recommend them to anyone in the AV looking for drum, guitar, piano or voice lessons. I've posted a link to their site below.

When you make a mistake, it's just an opportunity to learn something new.
Haley, age 9

Riley's Farm

Last week the girls and I went on a day trip to Riley's Farms for a colonial era reenactment. It's one thing to read about history, it's another to actually experience it. Riley's Farm really brings history alive. All the staff at Riley's farm are dressed in colonial costume, and all speak with "British" accents
The first thing we did was try to show off our strength by using an authentic cider press to press apples for cider. We then dipped candles, which we got to keep for souvenirs. After etiquette lessons and churning butter, we learned how to write with real quills and ink, as well as loom. Writing with quills was surprisingly difficult. It's almost impossible to write without leaving dark blotches all over the paper.We had a wonderful time trying to produce the best written work. We rounded of our tour with colonial era games. So much fun! We had such a wonderful time, that we went back to Riley's Farm on Saturday to pick apples!

Riley's Farm
12261 S. Oak Glen Road
Oak Glen, California 92399
(909) 797-7534

Homeschooling thoughts for the new school year

So, it's the start of another school year! In our home that means going through all the old school books, replacing old supplies, and establishing goals for the year. I recently realized that this is my tenth year homeschooling! This has set me to reflecting on our goals for the year.
We've been homeschooling through a charter school here in Southern California for several years now called CAVA. There are several positives to schooling through a charter. First, all the materials and curriculum are provided for you,at no cost. You also get support from the charter schools staff, if you need it. We use the K-12 curriculum. However, the primary reason we chose to go through a charter was because of our experience with my son, who was the first of my children to be homeschooled. When my son reached the 11th grade, he decided he wanted to be main streamed into the public school system. He was accepted into the local high school. We submitted samples of his work. At 16 years old, he only needed the state required health class, a biology lab and the second semester of world history in order to graduate. When he was enjoying his senior year of high school, we were informed almost half way through the year that the decision had been made that my son wouldn't be allowed to graduate with his peers, that he needed to retake all the classes he had taken while homeschooling. I contacted a couple of legal groups that represent homeschoolers in the hopes of fighting this decision. This is when I learned that in the state of California, the schools must accept all homeschool students without prejudice, however, they aren't required to accept any of the student's work. This is what really lead to my decision to go with a charter school rather than homeschooling on my own.
When I first started with the charter school I'm with now, I was thrilled with the quality of the materials. We started out with a great deal of enthusiasm. I've always loved homeschooling, and my children enjoyed it too. However, without my even noticing it, the joy has gone out of teaching (for me) and out of learning (for my children). I had always kind of felt that the curriculum didn't allow for any creativity or spontaneity. But I thought the pros out-weighed the cons. But over the last couple of years, the focus of the charter has shifted entirely. Previously, the focus had been on the individual child and that child's needs. The focus is now entirely on standardized testing. From the first day of school, they start preparing the children to do well on testing. Nothing else matters. The kids are tested to death from day one. We are now two weeks into the school year, and my children are spending nine hours a day on school. There is an awful lot of "busy work" and I notice that my two youngest are frustrated and bored.
Therefore, my goal for this year will be to bring that enthusiasm and love of learning back into our schooling. I haven't completely figured it out yet, but I'm working on it.