What do you do for school? Some one asked.
Well...I feel guilty about our our lack of schoolwork ( another thing for me to feel guilty about - my guilty list...me as a wife, the budget and money, my weight, the house and disorganisation, my laziness, I should be doing more Kumon and more maths study for me, my lack of cooking, our homeschool! Argh!)
So...I talked about this with friends at ice skating.. and remembered the Emergent curriculum..
On Monday, the kids elected to stay home and catch up on stuff when I went for coffee with a friend. They did their Kumon Maths, Alexander caught up on language study and Anthony did some more exploring with Journey North stuff - it is almost finished, so he and Greg looked up latititudes and longitudes and pics of possible places...I did Kumon. Then we went to Kumon! Read some more of Inkheart, watched Stargate Atlantis.
Tuesday was French class- a review of body parts, of dialogue, some translation and grammar. We wolfed down morning tea and went to the movies with French class to see Inkheart. Discussed Brendan Fraser's character and the power of words over lunch and shopping with friends. Work for Alexander and me, serving at Mass, novena to St Anthony , games with brothers and friends - while mum went to movie club.
Wednesday began with games and fitness, silent reading, Alexander and I went to the dentist and shops. We read about St Catherine of Siena and Doctors of the Church. Anthony regaled us with information about The Great Schism and the Byzantines. He went through a Byzantine-ish reading frenzy awhile ago. And while we talked of Shakespeare and found our copy of the book Tales From Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb, Anthony and I also discussed his personal reading. Bulldog Drummond ( an bit B grade, he says), poems by Tennyson and Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Prayed the Anima Christi. Morning tea with a visitor, lunch out and a long discussion of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and the Holocaust, delivery of junk mail, work for me, games with brothers and friends while mum at a meeting.Lots of reading and writing of novels.
We began Thursday with Latin Breakfast Club, after mum going to mass and working out and kids doing chores and using the computer. The kids played at the park, played active games, played Star Trek Monopoly -oh, and did Latin! We reviewed some Latin words and greetings and grace, listened to Veni Veni Emanuel, learned Adeste Fideles and vocabulary. Work at Kumon, gaming and ordering pizza for dinner, cake with dad when he came home from interstate, discuss Womens' Group with mum when she came home.
Friday fitness, Mass and serve at Mass, discussion about the internet andappropriate/inappropriate conversation,ice skating with other homeschoolers, reading, lunch with dad, music practice, more reading, parish stuff me, youth group for some, attend a Missa Cantata in Extraordinary Form for others, discussion of our different nights with family and a friend. Oh, and a Numbers episode before bed!
Saturday Mass, breakfast and family meeting at McDonalds, chores at home while I grocery shopped, a very late lunch, role playing games, serve at mass, some went out with friends and some watched the old movie version of Escape to Witch Mountain with me, comparing it with the new version we saw at the cinema a week or so ago.
Emergent curriculum is a way of learning based on the student’s interest and passions as well as the teacher’s. Emergent curriculum starts with the children’s interests rather than starting with a lesson plan or a “hook” to get the children interested .
People who hear the words emergent curriculum may wrongly assume that everything simply emerges from the children. The children’s ideas are an important source of curriculum but only one of many possible sources that reflect the complex ecology of their lives. Elizabeth Jones, Emergent Curriculum
The same is true of unschooling - we live a complicated life of work, of family interests, of kids' interests, of appointments and meetings and chores and prayer and mass..people often think unschooling is all about the child when it is really also all about the family.
Our week reflects the complex ecology of our family's life.
On Monday, the kids elected to stay home and catch up on stuff when I went for coffee with a friend. They did their Kumon Maths, Alexander caught up on language study and Anthony did some more exploring with Journey North stuff - it is almost finished, so he and Greg looked up latititudes and longitudes and pics of possible places...I did Kumon. Then we went to Kumon! Read some more of Inkheart, watched Stargate Atlantis.
Tuesday was French class- a review of body parts, of dialogue, some translation and grammar. We wolfed down morning tea and went to the movies with French class to see Inkheart. Discussed Brendan Fraser's character and the power of words over lunch and shopping with friends. Work for Alexander and me, serving at Mass, novena to St Anthony , games with brothers and friends - while mum went to movie club.
Wednesday began with games and fitness, silent reading, Alexander and I went to the dentist and shops. We read about St Catherine of Siena and Doctors of the Church. Anthony regaled us with information about The Great Schism and the Byzantines. He went through a Byzantine-ish reading frenzy awhile ago. And while we talked of Shakespeare and found our copy of the book Tales From Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb, Anthony and I also discussed his personal reading. Bulldog Drummond ( an bit B grade, he says), poems by Tennyson and Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Prayed the Anima Christi. Morning tea with a visitor, lunch out and a long discussion of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and the Holocaust, delivery of junk mail, work for me, games with brothers and friends while mum at a meeting.Lots of reading and writing of novels.
We began Thursday with Latin Breakfast Club, after mum going to mass and working out and kids doing chores and using the computer. The kids played at the park, played active games, played Star Trek Monopoly -oh, and did Latin! We reviewed some Latin words and greetings and grace, listened to Veni Veni Emanuel, learned Adeste Fideles and vocabulary. Work at Kumon, gaming and ordering pizza for dinner, cake with dad when he came home from interstate, discuss Womens' Group with mum when she came home.
Friday fitness, Mass and serve at Mass, discussion about the internet andappropriate/inappropriate conversation,ice skating with other homeschoolers, reading, lunch with dad, music practice, more reading, parish stuff me, youth group for some, attend a Missa Cantata in Extraordinary Form for others, discussion of our different nights with family and a friend. Oh, and a Numbers episode before bed!
Saturday Mass, breakfast and family meeting at McDonalds, chores at home while I grocery shopped, a very late lunch, role playing games, serve at mass, some went out with friends and some watched the old movie version of Escape to Witch Mountain with me, comparing it with the new version we saw at the cinema a week or so ago.
Emergent curriculum is a way of learning based on the student’s interest and passions as well as the teacher’s. Emergent curriculum starts with the children’s interests rather than starting with a lesson plan or a “hook” to get the children interested .
People who hear the words emergent curriculum may wrongly assume that everything simply emerges from the children. The children’s ideas are an important source of curriculum but only one of many possible sources that reflect the complex ecology of their lives. Elizabeth Jones, Emergent Curriculum
The same is true of unschooling - we live a complicated life of work, of family interests, of kids' interests, of appointments and meetings and chores and prayer and mass..people often think unschooling is all about the child when it is really also all about the family.
Our week reflects the complex ecology of our family's life.
5 comments:
Thank You Leonie !
I have just now been finding myself again , as mum , homeschool mum , wife , and just Roxie .
Even having 4 adult children who are off in the big world doing well I find myself feeling I am not doing it right , not doing it good enough and in the end I start falling because I tend to become what I am thinking I am . we had far to much computer happening and me just ditching the kids the last month .
Mothers month is going to be different ;-) it has begun already finding my groove , my place , being me then the kids fall in too .
Life is life and in the end I see our kids are all beautiful and it is His wonderful plan .
I am so glad you share in being a real mum ;-) it helps the rest of us go on and get thru it too .
God Bless You Leonie
Wow, Roxie, I know just what you mean about finding yourself. May is probably a good time to reflect and make changes.Good for you! Sometimes I feel powerless to change, things seem too hard to change. Other times, I am more determined, more strong and so change is easier.
Sounds like plenty to me! I'm starring again at AO YEAR 7 and the phrase "out of my mind" keeps coming into focus..... As for the guilt? Not being Catholic I guess I'm not cursed [blessed?] with MUCH of that, but I do worry that my daughter hasn't done enough writing this year and in spite of Charlotte Mason's writing speaking to the contrary, her spelling hasn't improved from reading all the great literature this year. Guess that's my big guilt!! I'll be back on Thursday--off to bury Auntie.
I think alot about this, too - and how much learning happens through living. I'm stunned by it all. Discussions on ethics, morality, geometry through fencing, baking, reading, playing, playing, and playing! I really believe the most underrated resource in learning is play.
Told you I was coming over here - LOL! Now I gotta go make lunch!
Lisa, feeling guilty isn't a Catholic thing per se but more of a personality thing, I think...and
something that comes with some jobs than others, in my experience. In fact, the Catholic Church is less about guilt than it is about charity and redemption..These are what I have found in the Church...blaming myself is my own personal demon, from my (non Catholc) childhood....Am interested in hearing about your AO Year 7 experiences..
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