Ending up high.

This was a highlight of this term. Jet and I watched a movie called Loving Vincent. it is a story of a part of the artists life , made from 100 s of paintings of his actual work. Just delightful.

 Ethiopian food

The continual learning from History of the World part 1 has been absolutely spectacular on so many levels. We have been filling in bits of the puzzle pieces of the hows and whys of modern life. What a special history year it has been. 

Jets beautiful cat Whiskers died very suddenly and we were heart broken This little ball of energy has joined us.

We have been doing a bible overview and Jet has really grown in his ideas of the big story of the bible and the Lord Jesus.

On Sunday Jet took part in his very first stage performance. Wow! he was the puppeteer and we are so proud of him for being brave enough to be on stage. Thank you Spotlight and Laurie!

Art class has continued to be a place of growth for Jet.  

 Crazy mom dressing up in her home made and home designed space outfit. Fit for space travel???

  Tom had his grade 10 dance and these crazy kids joined in the photo fun!

  Dying eggs and other fun experiments were all part of the journey.

We have completed some bigger projects this term as part of the History and Geography sections. One is on the empires of Africa namely Mali and Ghana and the other is on the Trans Atlantic Slave trade. The Caps Textbooks have been so helpful in filling in gaps and developing Jets ability to read sources for history exploration.  The sections on population and the UN 12 sustainable goals  have been helpful in building big brushstroke ideas  of the world from yesterday and through today.

These have been great learning and discussion opportunities and have really challenged us on many fronts . We are watching some great movies that are linked to these themes like The Mission and The Colour Purple . 

This has been a very good year of much growth and development for our Jet on many fronts. We continue to enjoy the homeschool experience for him and are truly blessed to be able to have this journey.

Deep, real learning

This year we have been studying Botany. What a reminder it has been , of how absolutely magnificent God is. His creation in all its glory.

We have used a combination of Apologia and Caps to dig  into this section on the plant- structure, pollination , fertilization and seed dispersal

 The application and deep learning found its fulfillment in our morning visit to Kirstenbosch. It was after a week of much need rainfall and the gardens where fresh and colorful. 

Jet took photographs of flowers and seed pods and birds and butterflies pollinating . 

What a fantastic learning experience for us both. To see the book learning in action. 

 Jet had a ball. Now he will choose examples and put together a mini project describing what we found out in the world. Very cool indeed!

Reflecting and Revealing

This is our crazy family.

 (One of our darling sons is not in this photo.)

We are in part a homeschooling family and in part a school going family. Jet, our youngest son is homeschooled. This is our second year of choosing homeschooling as an option. 

We are studying the history of the world from Book Shark - year one as our history choice and we are loving it. One of the great discoveries has been slotting all the early biblical narratives into the time and space they were in. 

There have been so many good steps that Jet has climbed this term. 

* together we worked through our first book study. The book was Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creed . What a fabulous book , highlighting again the wonder of books that HS affords

* we swapped our Maths curriculum and it has proved to be an excellent decision

* Jet has burrowed into his swimming schedule with his friend Mat with no resistance ( a huge shift)

* He developed an interest in Stop Motion and set about investigating and then creating  some really awesome stuff. Here is a photo of one of the small parts created. It was hours of planning, thinking and actual work. This is actually the heart of homeschooling for us.The time and space to really let this kid burrow into something ( even if it is fleeting ) 

* his personal growth in participating in a group of kids he does not know. Phew. This is also huge.

Jet is a reluctant participant and he has his logical reasons but I do thing confidence is part of it. In a very large group he would not really " fight " to be heard but in smaller groups he is now putting up his head and having a voice. Hooray!

* we need to work a little more on Afrikaans and actually am looking forward to trying some new ideas in this area.

The big question that I always ask myself is actually not what people ask me. People don't really ask me this one. 

My question to myself ,always, is are we doing enough? it is such a tricky question to measure because the work we do and they way we do it is so different from school. My 3 other sons are in high school and I am a teacher, and so I get school and how it works. I see the amount of work and especially the output that school kids do. We definitely are NOT in that league. So my self question still stands?

I thing time will answer this one. The process of learning for Jet has changed and is changing continuously and he is discovering strengths and weaknesses in himself . As we journey on and press on into the difficult areas , I think his learning will solidify and the enough of it will be revealed. 

My hope and focus is that when it comes time for the meaty stuff in high school , he will be equipped to self learn and self manage. 

The tests of the work of homeschooling are so other. This is an example.

Jet has ADHD and really struggles to focus for long stretches of time especially if the topic on offer needs deep focus tunneling in. Like a church sermon!!

Yesterday was Good Friday and Jet does not like holiday church much so he comes into church with us.  He usually brings a book to read but this time he did not. He was wriggly as he sat next to me. I really did not expect him to pay attention or take much in from the deep sermon. However, what a surprise. I sat , holding him so that he could lean into me and be still ( well a little more) , he had his meds to help but no fiddle toy . The sermon grabbed him and he listened to everything.  So, this whole learning thing with him is really up in the air and yet it is happening. 

We Begin Again

This is 2018 and it is our second year of homeschooling with one of our four sons.
We began with a brand new History Curriculum. It is called The History of The World. The best way to describe it, is to say it is a broad painting of man from nomad through farmer and city dweller. It covers places far and wide from the fertile crescent through China and Greece through to the South Americas. Etc.. I think you get the picture.

Jet and I are both enjoying learning enormously. Did you spot the.... And I. This is one of the gems of homeschooling for us. We are kind of " in it together".

Although the history curriculum I'd American in origin we are using CAPS for pretty much everything else. The "dreaded" CAPS that sends everyone into a flurry.

There are many reasons we opted for using CAPS.

* it is accessible and it has both online and bookshop supporting material
* it is cheap
* it often spans local interest and places for example Geography
And while on Geography which I love, the history curriculum does include some ace identification but the Geography we are exploring has a deeper / wider reach
* it is the same body of knowledge available in other curriculi
* it is easy to addapt, work around, add too or subtract from.

One of the add one is our own book report on our own book choice as well as an introduction to Philosophy in the place of LO.

Our favourite thing about homeschooling continues to be pace.. We can keep going or stop as Jet needs to or as time gems us in. We can search up extra information on a section and we can ditch something that is weak or incomplete or we can add two themes together. I have done this quite a bit with English. If we meet an idea that is new and really interesting, we have the freedom to tunnel into it as long and deep as it takes us.

Jet gets to read a great deal in general, excluding his prescribed books linked to history. Our book project is Walk two Moons. What a read it is. I found some online help to explore the themes etc and we are about to dive in head first. A highly recommended read.

At the end of last year I really wrestled with our maths. We had done a year of Maths U see and Jet had surely mastered his maths. However, he is an ADHD boy and he is easily bored with continual repeatition.

And so my head told me the master approach works but my heart told me I was killing maths for this kid.
We switched!
Another beauty of homeschooling.
I am using Headstart maths and we are really enjoying it. The teachers book is full of good ideas and helpful explains toons
A very happy move.

The first of many!

We have completed our first year of homeschooling.

There were a plethora of highlights , joys and successes and few struggles and difficulties.

Many of these struggles were recoverable.

The greatest joy for me was to experience Jethro growing into a happy and more content child who is able to work with his strengths and work at his weaknesses at his own pace. He has learned an enormous amount and wholeheartedly enjoyed learning in many ways. We have experimented with different methods and tried a variety of approaches. Some we tossed out, others we gathered.

Doug and I are continually amazed at the son we have before us. It is profound and we are deeply grateful.

Our History curriculum was a South African system called Footprints on our Land. We loved it and so enjoyed immersing ourselves  in our South Africa.

I am not one to write negatively about our school system and National Curriculum.  In part, this is because we have children in the system or are thriving and growing and learning. They are critical thinkers and great kids. It is also because I have worked with our CAPS Curriculum . the textbooks are great. the information relevant and child focused and the information is like any other collection of information.  It has its faults, of course but it is none of these; the system nor the Caps curriculum that we rejected outright. I am a firm believer that there are and must be a variety of educational options for children because we are individuals and different ways suit different kids.

I am grateful we took this plunge and have been privileged to make this option available to Jet.

We are super excited about 2018!

The space to do the "other"

I thought I would write a note about space. One of the joys of homeschooling has been the space it has provided. The breathing space. The time space. The calm, no urgency space. All of these provide, for us, some time to do those things we just never seemed to get to.

One is to join OT. Jethro has been learning so much from his OT. Once a week, set apart, for discovering what his body can actually do.

Joining the gym. We have both joined up so we can swim. He has FINALLY discovered a happy space exercise.

Space to spend time with his family. Now he is relaxed and has more energy, Jet has time to share life with his brothers.

Space and time to pause and take stock of actual learning.. We can take a breath to assess, seeing where he might need to recap or practice something. He can also be a part of this process.

Space to just really get into something. Last week Jet wrote a three page legend. It took all morning. He could just settle into it with vigor.

Space to take brain breaks and be creative.
We get to bake and do science experiments or just read, well, because.

Space. That beautiful gift that has sharpened and lengthened Jet as we know him.

And we are back

The holidays passed with lots of good family time. Time to connect and enjoy each others company. One of the things I love about holiday times with our big, busy family.

We are back and we are having fun. This term I decided we are going to make a lot more things. This will give us hands on experience which is great for learning and memory and also those times where we can just have brain rests. I have tried several different ideas for brain rests for Jet and some work while others just do not. Hands on activities are awesome and work well.

We have said goodbye to the 1820 settlers and are moving on to discover the world of the Voortrekkers and the Great Trek.

A friend noted last night - " Do they still do The Great Trek?"

I totally get her reluctance. We were fed a steady diet of skewed History in relation to these events. However, the approach that the History curriculum we are using has taken, is a liner approach. it builds up events from the beginning and moves through the events in a timeline kind of way. One thing overlapping and or leading to the next. I love this approach as we are building a complete picture of time and events that will lead us to the present day.

So, we have marbled paper, baked rusks , drawn an ox wagon and read a whole lot. 

#learningisfunagain

Books Galore

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It is not that he did not read before we home schooled.

 No, that is not quite it.

It is just that he his reading has more than doubled. I am talking about reading books FOR school. 

I struggled to decide on our English Language curriculum for Jet and as yet am struggling to settle on anything really excellent. However, the one thing that our Language program introduced us to, was some different sorts of books.

In addition to the 5 books in the program, I ordered a whole stack of other books from another selection. We are gradually making our way through those. In addition to these books, jet has read some books from our History Program and of course we are reading aloud the books that introduce the history to him ( and myself) through literature. 

I have a whole stack of excellent reads that I am giving him to do some theme thinking and book reviews  on and he is ploughing his way through those too. 

The thing with ADHD kids is this one difficulty with reading. If they love reading, then the tricky thing is to find books that hold their interest. Jet loves reading but we often struggle to find books that will grip him.  He struggles to try a new book, especially if it might not look as if it will grip him. This approach to school, for him, is excellent because he is getting exposure to a wider range of books that he might not have read by choice. 

Right now he is devouring the excellent read , "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio. I doubt he would have read it before but as his school reader, he is devouring it and loving it. This after having read a Footprints read alone book which is part of our History program and whilst reading a book , just for fun! Three at once. That is unheard of for this chap.

We are so enjoying this excellent way of doing school with books and stories. The books are exposing him to some great , new language and ideas.  Reading for learning is definitely a win.

Language is indeed an art

http://www.africansuccess.org/docs/image/Mhlope400.jpg

English language as we call it in SA is known as Language Arts in the USA. It took a while to get used to this in the world of homeschooling.

We settled on an American curriculum called Learning Language through Literature. The purple book level is what we decided on for Jethro. There are 5 books that are to be read throughout the course of the study.  It has been good fun getting into some American literature  including some poetry. The work has a weekly method to it and includes skills such as letter writing. It has been good but it has not totally hit the spot for us. 

Alongside it I have been using our Platinum Caps grade 5 textbook and Oxford textbook. A couple of weeks ago we embarked on a poetry slot. First we set off with Caps poetry and ended with a section from LLATL. Boy, what a poetry blast we have enjoyed. Jet has been writing up a storm of poetry. We have really enjoyed learning and sharing all sorts of poetry types including Gcina Mhlophe live poetry and of course some modern Slam Poetry, South African style. Jet has found his happy place!

I am in search of some good South African books for kids ages 12-15. If you know of any, please share them with us.

Loving homeschooling with English - the South African way!

Crazy Kid

This is Jethro,, actually known as Jet by those who love him.
He is a great kid, full of fun and adventure. The thing is, we didn't know that about him, until we homeschooled him.
Today we visited a market. It was noisy, full of people and weird food. All the things that would have previously been enormous barriers to entry for him.
Before we went, I talked him through it.

Afterwards he concluded that it had been fun doing something new.

What has shifted for THIS kid.

Two things....

Trust.... He trusts our judgement all the more deeply since we decided to bring him home.
Energy.... He has way more energy to deal with difficult situations. School sucked his energy daily and now he has freedom to try the new. This has been an enormous shift for him and for us as a family.

Thank you Lord.

Jonny Clegg... Here we come.

The snapshot!

The first term of homeschooling with Jet is done and partially dusted.

It has been a good learning experience for us both.

Snapshots of my learning.

#plan a more end in mind planning structure for the term so we work with the whole picture in mind. This is indeed the most tricky thing for me as I am not necessarily a big picture thinking, yet.

I sat down yesterday and planned ahead with the end in  mind so that we can know where we need to get to. 

# . I have gathered a far wider understanding of the history of our country. Thank you Footprints and also the beautiful Platinum  Caps textbooks. ( yes I do love these!) They are designed for kids to read and so are full of colour and good information as well as excellent pictures and activities to build on.

# a renewed respect for teachers who have a classroom of kids to get much work done with.

# it has been a joy and an absolute pleasure to work with this kiddo. we are having enormous fun learning about microbes in our science group and about Barty Dias in History as well as working through some great geography lessons on South Africa. 

Maths and English are simply full and exciting. 

These photographs are all from our outing to the Slave Lodge in Cape Town . The art is from the wall in the section on democracy. The photograph is of a man whose heritage is from slavery. His surname gives this away. He is named after the month of one of the ships bringing slaves arrival at the Cape.

Snapshots of Jethro's learning include...

# what it feels like to be happy in learning and to enjoy school

# seeing that he actually can learn something he thought was just too difficult

# finding out his strengths and areas of "yet" for himself.

Thoughts

My head is just full of thoughts. Trying to reconcile what we are actually trying to achieve for Jet in education and thinking of the bigger picture, which to my mind is.....

Given where we are in history and given the unknown world we are creating, how can we best educate our children so that they can function well and not only that but contribute successfully in this unknown world?

This is a gigantic question. It is one that I allne do not have the answer to but there are many who are sharing their ideas on this topic. Helping to deconstruct my own educational framework and thus reconstruct something that works is an incredibly painful process. My thinking is in chaos. I am torn between that which ,as an educationalist, I know to be true and yet seeing in reality that something new has come along and is taking its place.

I am wrestling with myself.

This morning Jet and I have revisited maths ,touching on a concept that he was struggling with. Here is the wrestle. If you watch the Ted talk called build a school in the cloud by Suguta Mitra  , you will notice that the notition that we should actually write out long division sums is rediculous. That we can do them is of course a given for me, in that good neurological connections are made in thinking  it all through. Figuring things out and joining the dots seems far more worthy a lesson given that problem solving is going to be the order of the new world. Indeed it is already the order.
So, after maths Jet asks if he can continue on his Khan programming course. For the past hour he has been busy learning to code using functions. A worthy hour.... indeed... on the curiculum ... not really. And so my inner chaos reins on,

What are we to do because we are straddling two worlds. The world of the old and obselete and the new , misty world. Our kids are pioneers and adventurers. They will be exploring the new. Are we giving them the right tools to do this well?

The more I think about it, the more I thknk the Finish approach to education is spot on. Inquiry based, real life learning makkng ALL subjects relevant to actual life so that it all makes sence.

Lets get out of here!

http://belafrique.com/images/experience/khwa-ttu-san-culture-route/khwa-ttu-san-culture-route_1388_lrg.jpg

Our choice of curriculum, especially for History , has been Footprints on our Land. We are thoroughly enjoying the book Ghamka By Eve Merchant. Yesterday we set of to The Natural History Museum to explore the San Rock art and other connected sections.

On route, we swung by some fellow homeschoolers to drop something off. It worked out that they two wanted to join our outing. 

What a fabulous time we had. I set them a question.

What were the pros and cons of this way of life? ( followed by the comment that they thought this was a good question)

We had a blast sharing ideas and checking out the information cards as well as asking lots of questions. 

I just loved the depth and breadth of engagement from all three children and of course am thrilled that Jet is super engaged and interested. 

I love that we can join up our learning and this meant we could also check out the bone section and briefly chat about the types of joints found on the colossal whales.

I am personally thriving on exploring how to make learning relevant and deep.

Learning is fun and people, both child and adult alike, are designed to learn, think, problem solve and grow in our understanding.

This is my aim. The absence of tests and assessments have meant that that pressure is off and we can focus on developing other skills.

For those who have never been to this museum, here is a link to check out.

http://www.iziko.org.za/museums/south-african-museum

Step by Step

http://www.dreamsleep.net/images/journey-dream.jpg

The truth is that this homeschooling journey is a step by step walk.

Some days are a more quick jog and others a little like a snails slow travel across bumpy terrain.

The things I am absolutely thriving on are all the things I imagined to be true. Things like joining up learning experiences and solidifying concepts across the different areas , making all of our learning rich and meaningful.

Another is being able to fill up gaps that exist in thinking or understanding or just in lack of life experience.

I am getting to experiment with methods of teaching and learning first hand and enjoying the outworking of these. 

Inquiry learning and growth mindset ideas have shifted my thinking around education and learning and awoken in me a real thirst for knowing more. It is extremely stimulating .

The difficult bits have much to do with my expectations and insecurities. These ride on the wave of fear which I have for all my kids. However, the reality is that now the buck stops with me, with us and that feels heavy .

It is heavy!

So I have to do a lot of self talk and looking at the bigger picture in education rather than the small , local Bergvliet world experience. I have to set aside the old and familiar and test what we are experiencing with itself.... this is forcing me to live, with Jet, in the here and now and this is both very difficult but also beautiful.

(Because I am the person I am , I mention these struggles to a few Homeschooling moms. I discover to my joy that I am not alone! It is part of the journey. Thank you for being honest!! It was helpful.)

The difficult bits have to do with Jet and his ADHD brain. This is a constant and despite coming home, he still has his difficulties in concentrating and boredom. We have to navigate this and at times it is disheartening, for us both.

He is getting to talk through what is happening in his head and how meds  make him feel. All good but sad too.

On Friday Jet did a comprehension.  It was dull and quick.( Note to self: I really need to find some more inspiring comprehensions)

However the last question was excellent, not in itself but in the answer.

Here it is.....

What subjects do you like?

mmmmm. So he sits and thinks. I ask him if all is ok?

He says," I dont really know what I like." Well, I suggest we start with what he DOESN"T like.

Histroy!  

"Jeepers! You Do not like Ghamka and Byrd and the other explorer we looked at?"

" Ooh, no , no I do!"

and then this gem......

"Mom, I really like everything. When I was at school I did not like anything. - he lists them all- but now I like doing the learning we are doing."

BINGO!

Time to Write

This morning began with me having to attempt a visit to Home Affairs in Wynberg rather urgently. I had set some work for Jet and Doug was with him. I antisipated that the entire day would be a mess.

However, extraordinarily pleasantly , I was done and dusted by 930. I arrived home to Jet having been busy at school , all on his own, and he greeted me enthusiastically.

He was off his meds and not much good focus had been at hand but he was perservering and hungry.

We downed tools so to speak and went in search of suitable food. After a delicious time at one of our local resturants ,we headed home to begin and try again.

I am introducing all my children to the concept of growth mindsets. We watched a TED talk which was really facinating  and given by the key researcher, Carol Dweck, and we settled done to watch some short, pithy explainations for kids on youtube.

In short, having a growth mindset is my goal for the year. Making every effort to try and perservere and not think we can not achive new things. This is a big shift for a young man who has a rigid brain by nature.

Creative writing was the order of the morning. Through much huffing and puffing and brain pain he hit on a topic of HIS choice and ditched all my fabulous ones. I just love this about him.

He then proceeded to, through much pain, write and write and write........ he wrote for over an hour and announced at the end ,"I think I will turn it into a book." Whether he will or not is neither here or there for me but the process was exceptionally important, as will all ideas around growth mindset thinking. His brain made lots and lots of new connections this morning.

A simple joy of being able to homeschool Jet - he had time to write for as long as he needed to.

The Real Reality Dawns

Here we are.. A week and a bit into the first term of our first year of homeschooling Jethro.

 Our other three songs ( although they are our songs, all four of them, I meant to write-SONS) are settling in at their two schools and so are we.. 

It is indeed "a settling period".

 A coming to grips time. 

A finding out feet space.

I won't lie.. I wake in the wee early hours of most mornings and think to myself " What the heck have we done?" ............and then I remind myself of these two things a friend's husband asked me.

Is Jet happy?
Are YOU learning?

Along with all the other good tips people have given me these two things were compelling and I can answer without missing a beat.. 

Yes!

I am totally aware that many "Purest" homeschoolers would be horrified at us having some of our children in school and one at home. They might even think we are not true homeschoolers BUT I know that we are so encouraged and enriched by the broader educational community, despite its faults. It has enormous strengths  despite our own individual experiences and I count myself fortunate to straddle these two worlds. It would be great to see more of a sharing and integrating of the two sides of the same coin. There is much to be shared!

This week we had the usual orientation meeting at our primary school.. This year it was a meeting with a new, fresh start. You see, as things shift in life education is forced to shift too. Gratefully but a little late for us, this school is shifting in a good way.

 Collaboration and team work learning is going to be emphasised, rather than individual's competing against one another. Etc.

The introduction of Kagan. Took me on a search and I stumbled upon another world of growth mindset education.. This was an exciting and helpful discovery for us. I feel as if I want to go study again. There is so much new info on education and brain development and it is exciting.

So, back to Jet.......and me.

We are having fun and we are experimenting.. I am adding, chucking and using so much good stuff from Footprints to LLATL.. Through to Cambridge and yes CAPS( which despite the much shared negative thoughts around it, it has many helpful learning tools and great activities)

 We are both experimenting, exploring, trying and discovering and we have not yet found our rhythm.  He is learning something about himself and so am I.

The best thing so far is such a simple thing. We can go and stop doing something when we feel Jet needs a brain rest or when he has got it. The flip side of that is we can pick it up again in the car or while watching CNN Student News  because that is how we rock with home-schooling.

and so we begin....

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A brand new year. A brand new beginning for our children. 3 of them are off to new grades. Grade 11, 9 and 7 and the forth is being home schooled in grade 5. 

We begin for real now and my tummy id full of butterflies. I keep thinking," what the heck have we done?"

This weekend I got to share a birthday with a friend and she brought with her a whole bunch of homeschoolers. One mom I am getting to know and we are sharing Science together with two other home school families.

I shared my fears!( daring greatly and being authentically vulnerable. Thank you Brene Brown!!)

To my surprise she told me she felt the same , often. What a great and honest thing to share with a brand new homeschooling mom. Thank you oh fellow brave one.

And so here we are......

My other boys keep asking me if we are actually going to do any school this week. They are as curious as I am!

The Uncomfortable Place!

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Today I decided and acted on this one word.

STOP!

The truth is that although I had these amazing ideas to un school or to de school and in reality we have to a certain extent, the teacher in me.... the fearful one in me... the voice that worried about the " what if " won and so we have been soldiering on with Maths and some English .

Last night, after a darling friend dropped off some maths to peruse , I decided to STOP. And so today we did out last maths for the year.

I can spot the gaps and I can see the cracks as he works but hey, next year is another year to begin a fresh and get going.

STOP!

The firmest and friendliest word I have said!

So we blew up balloons and made  a tactile balloon ball with cornstarch  that did not work as well as the bloke on Youtube made it work.

We made those beaded iron shaped goodies and we bought some dough to make "Suzzelle" bread tomorrow.

While I explore Project Based learning , lets get some projects going.

As Jets fellow grade 4 kids write exams and have Christmas assembly  and all that jazz, I have to say that strangely, none of that feels at all as though we are missing out.

I think it is because of this one all pervasive truth.... Jet is still singing, loving art and drama, joining in and did I say singing.

A friend popped by that has known Jet since birth. She spent some time with Tom and Jet as I was teaching art and then she came through. Her eyes all shining and happy as she shared with me how totally happy Jet is. How engaged and chatty. My eyes brimmed with tears. 

He may very well NOT be getting the absolute best of education but can we put a price on this boys  deep happiness?

Lets get Doing!

This is week 5 of the term. For us as a family we are busy as bees with exams. Our older two are writing grade 8 and 10 exams respectively and the third is about to begin grade 6. For those who do not know, Grade 6 exams are the ones the high schools use to decide if a child is the "right" fit for their particular school , or not.

I find exam time both slightly stressful and also great. The kids get to come home early  and I loving having them around. The banter and fun amidst the learning and serious stuff is a delight. Our school going kids are lead extremely full lives. Some of this is great and other parts are not. Learning to juggle,balance, pace , re-adjust and even say no are things that they are each learning along the way.

In the midst of all this, this is the de - schooling term for our Jet.

As I am still juggling art classes in the mornings , we have had to swish and swash through some days and really plan others.

I am a person who finds education exciting. The different ideas, shifts,offers, and thoughts on what should be and is really inspire me.

I also find children interesting. Having an ADHD family has forced me to investigate alternative brain diversities and learning methods. I am still trying to get my head around some of the workings out of these.

As I sit with Jet, his thinking process fascinates me. There is much about how he learns and engages I do not yet know BUT a picture is revealing itself and it is one that was puzzling and concerning me .

If you know anything about ADHD children you will know that their learning and engaging with the world is different and complex. ADHD that we experience is the tip of the ice berg and below the ice berg are many complexities unique to each child. 

As I watched him think I could literally see the frustration and anxiety one day as we did some maths. This was AS his meds kicked it. But , as soon as they  had, he was off.

Settled?

Not really. One of our aims in taking Jet out of school was to Switch him on to learning again because we are all designed to learn and love it, to inquire and ask questions and yet that was not his experience.

Partly his ADHD played into it and partly not. ADHD people experience a great deal of bordem ( I have written about this on my ADHD blog). Jet was extremely bored. Not because he is supper bright or the work was dull but because he struggled to engage it.

Coming home I can see that struggle still exists. So now I have a problem. I kept thinking that there must be another way. A way to engage him that is really going to get to him.

Last night I found it.

As I have been working with him, I can see the difference between his engagement on project work and making stuff as apposed to a simple written task. While he will need to do some of these, there is another way.

Project based learning

and its fellow friend 

Inquiry based learning

These are not the same thing but both engage the child in the learning process although in different ways. There are overlaps. 

This is all new thinking to me and I am really excited by it all.

For the first time I think we may have hit on something here. I was thrilled to see schools are using these two approaches in the USA and they really seemed to be places of awesome learning.

Isn't that what we all want. Places that kids actually learn and enjoy doing it? 

There is so much more for me to explore here.

But for now, God has answered our prayer in this regard, in a day actually.

Thanks be to God!

The Educational Fizzer and the Release of a Butterfly

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We decided to take our youngest son out of school and to home school him. For obvious reasons it has been an enormous decision and one that has had exceptional consequences.

We are in the de-schooling process  which is for both of us. We are kind of doing bits of school that are interesting and helpful but other wise we are rediscovering ourselves, our space and our relationship. It is enormous fun! Educationally this is blowing my mind . It feels like a fizz inside of me and it really is explosive.  There are amazing curricula available for us to use as home school families . In addition there is a world of wonder ,online!

 Education as we know it is shifting, and shifting fairly quickly. People are able to access free online courses at universities like Harved as an example.

Kids have access to excellent , visual, clear lessons on Maths and Science and much more.

There are ideas and examples and help on platforms like Pintrest.

Khan Academy is absolutely brilliant and anyone can benefit from the excellent visual explanations.

We checked out a few on Time in Maths and came across spectacular way of presenting time, especially for kids who do not quite " get it".

Our son in grade 10 is using Khan for science upskilling.

I keep calling this an adventure and that is exactly what it is for us all.
The adventure includes not only what we are learning but how slowly or quickly we do it and more then that HOW we do it.

Jet is a kid who needs to move. This is the perfect space to experiment with how far and how much we can move and learn new concepts. He is using words like "fun" and "exciting" and "interesting" which he has not used for a very long time - in relation to learning ( enrichment is the exception) but then I think we are doing enrichment most of the time right now.

He is also a kid who get tired easily and so we can have those spaces too. Time to just rest the brain and take a break - just when he needs to.
There is a body of knowledge we need to do and we do not need to get through it all right now. There is time and this choice has afforded us that precious gift.

Time!

People are so encouraging and helpful. Some don't quite get what we have done while others somehow wish they could be as brave.

There are many unknowns but I am choosing to live in the here and now. We are enormously grateful to God for this opportunity. It is absolutely the very best thing for this darling  boy right now! 

He is like a caterpillar escaping its cocoon!