Things I have learned in 2 weeks....

So I just finished my second full week of homeschooling my kids, and here is what I have learned. 

1.  I can't wait until next year when I have my "real" curriculum!!!  I mean we do a lot, and they are definitely learning new things, not necessarily things that are above them, but things that have been pushed aside due to the annoyingly ridiculous standardized test.  Because you know, all people learn the same way, at the same pace, and understand everything the same way at the same time -_-....right

2.  Things that were once considered important in school, clearly are not even being taught anymore, like not even a little.  Oddly enough the subjects that the kids and I spend the most time on together are language arts, and spelling skills.  I am pretty sure its really important to know the parts of speech in your language, but I am SHOCKED at the amount of teaching I have had to do in this area.  You see we just grabbed a year long curriculum and we are doing multiple lessons a day because they already know most of the stuff so we will be done when school lets out for the other kids.  But I have had to teach them analogies, how to use a paper dictionary and thesaurus, proofreading (like slowing down so you can catch mistakes like spelling and punctuation etc), and how to identify letter patters that create vowel sounds.....what is going on in the public school system???  Anyway it really makes me glad I pulled them when I did.

3.  Kids in public school, here anyway, eat lunch WAY TOO LATE!!!!  Its no wonder that the kids are bouncing off the walls and crazy, off task, and losing their minds.  They are hungry and thirsty.  Who on earth can concentrate on anything if they are hungry, thirsty, or have to use the bathroom.  I know I can't, I have to be hydrated to even think straight, let alone sit down and try to learn something.  Gwen use to eat lunch at 11:45 am after eating breakfast at about 7:00 am, and Gavin would not eat until nearly 1:00 pm.  So for Gwen that means, no food or water for almost 5 hours, and Gavin almost 6 hours with no food or water.  My kids still eat around 7-7:30 but they have access to water whenever they want it, and don't have to beg to go to the bathroom, and by 11:00 am they are getting really antsy for not only a break but some food.  So I give it to them, between 11-12 they eat and get to go away from school for a "brain break" usually one gets on the computer and the other plays in their room, or we all go outside and ride bikes when its not super gross out.  And yes I let Gavin play minecraft during the day for about 20 min, you would be surprised how much 20 min of non school activity can recharge a brain.  I get it, why doesn't the public school system get that???  Oh wait, they totally use to, until standardized test scores took precedence over actually learning.

4.  We get thru 10 subjects a day, before school public school lets out here....WOW.  Now I know that has A LOT to do with the fact that our ratio is 2:1 but still.  I happen to know for a fact that in public schools right now, the kids are ALL DAY LONG PRACTICING FOR THE STUPID STANDARDIZED TEST!!!  The teachers and administrators are pushing off learning for stressing these kids out on how to pass a test, because we all know one test totally 100% defines a year in a person's life.....SARCASM.....Whoever thought it would be a grand idea to base the amount of money and incentives a public school gets should be based on the best test scores was a fool.  I am so glad I didn't get my degree in education, and I am so glad I didn't get hired to teach in this awful district.  I would have been heartbroken to come into the public school system to find out that I could not teach the kids about Shakespeare and art, and script analysis, and acting ( I was applying for drama teacher jobs) and I had to teach to a test.

5.  Dealing with a wandering mind is easy, when you can do it one on one.  One of my kids gets distracted pretty easily, especially if I open the blinds while we are at the table doing school.  But you know what, I asked, "why are you getting so distracted?', the answer "can you close the blinds?  When they are open I get distracted." O_O are you kidding me, a child, knows what they need...NO WAY...SARCASM....Its amazing what you can learn from a child from a 2 minute conversation, and actually listening to them.

6.  Conversation is SO IMPORTANT!!!!!!  Not only conversation between teacher and student but also student and student.  I do allow them to talk, when their conversation has to do with the lesson at hand, sometimes their lessons are the same, so they can bounce ideas off each other, and sometimes the just talk about stuff.  Example:  Social Studies yesterday, Gavin was learning about the Boston Tea Party, and Gwen was learning about The Star Spangled Banner.  They talked back and forth a bit about both.  Gwen asked about the Boston tea party, and I let Gavin answer her, Gavin asked about the national anthem, I let Gwen answer.  When they got off that topic then I reigned them in back to their assignments.  YAY FOR DISCUSSION!!!!!  If there is one thing I miss from college, its sitting in a classroom or the green room just discussing things, movies, plays, art, editing, music, EVERYTHING!!!!  I call this phenomenon, the foundation for creating thinkers and leaders, not followers ^_^

7.  Foundations are the most important thing EVER.  We all know that if a building doesn't have a stable foundation its going to crumble and fall.  Well, these past 2 weeks I have learned that elementary school is a place to build foundations.  They start really simple, and each year the same materials and subjects are used but expanded upon.  You build up and fill in cracks each year in all the basic subjects, and guess what....by middle school they are ready to start building up frame work!!!  That frame work, IMHO, gets built clear into high school, and then you start filling in the walls and floors and stuff. Then in college that is when the finishing touches go in, carpet, paint, light fixtures, decorative moldings etc...and then the building is ready for real life!!!!  If your child chooses to go to college.  If they want to attend a trade school, join the military, or skip college altogether (I hope not but they are their own people) then you can tailor high school to prepare them for whatever they need, because guess what....they have a strong foundation, and strong framework!!!!  YAY  I am so very excited about the prospect of being able to tailor my children's education to what they want to do when they "grow up".

Anyway these are just a few things I have observed these past 2 weeks. ^_^