Homeschooling | Page 10 of 13

What Is Your Focus?

March 28th, 2021
Mollie T. Cox

I knew I couldn’t run a half marathon. I occasionally wondered if I could power walk 13.1 miles if not constrained by a time limit. When Covid-19 forced in-person races to become virtual races, the time limit was removed. I signed up for my first half marathon and then a second.

I decided the best way to meet my self-imposed time goal was to keep a consistent pace. My focus became my Fitbit, tapping the screen regularly to display my pace. I rejoiced when I beat an 18-minute mile and became disheartened with a 20-minute mile. My emotions followed the numbers for too many hours. Eventually, I fell while checking my Fitbit.

For my second half marathon, I focused on my walking, An app announced the pace at the end of each mile, which was sufficient. How did I do? I enjoyed it more, didn’t fall, and beat my previous time by almost seven minutes.

How is this relevant to parenting and homeschooling? When we become too concerned about moment-by-moment progress, our emotions can rule, we can stumble, and we can cover ground less quickly.

What is your focus?

Art, Homeschooling

Art: Play Name that Painting

February 28th, 2021
Mollie T. Cox

Do you need a short break from structured learning or want easy art appreciation? Naming works of art will accomplish both objectives.

I started this game to distract a five-year-old while her family wondered through the National Gallery of Art.

As a warm-up, I asked my restless charge to name an object in a nearby painting. After she said “girl” for Cassatt’s Girl with a Straw Hat. I praised her and asked, “What is she wearing?” followed by “What kind of hat?” Rachel was pleased when I read the title, and she realized that she could guess a painting’s name.

Choose well and your student will be successful. Consider Girl with a Watering Can by Renoir; The Mill by Rembrandt; Sunflowers by Van Gogh.

If you get “I don’t know?” explain that some artists also didn’t know. Their works are “Untitled.”

Extend the activity by asking your child to think of a different title or a subtitle.

Identifying a painting’s main idea extends to choosing topic sentences and recognizing themes in literature.

Tip: If you don’t live near an art museum, buy art calendars when they are discounted after Christmas and use them.

What games have you quickly invented ?

Homeschooling, Parenting

Mirarme, Look at Me

February 21st, 2021
Mollie T. Cox

I had just boarded a boat to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, when I heard a preschooler holler “Mirarme! Mirarme!”

Although I had taken five years of Spanish classes, these were the first Spanish words I had immediately understood after two weeks in Spain.

I turned and saw two nearby adults whom I assumed were the girl’s parents and the object of her commands, “Look at me. Look at me.”

The young child wasn’t doing anything exceptional, just frolicking on the deck, but she wanted her parents to see and undoubtedly applaud.

When a college friend interviewed me for her sociology essay, I relayed this story.

That is what I needed to know,” she said. “What is universal across cultures? Children wanting their parents’ attention.”

Kay’s observation has stuck with me forty-four years. Children never lose their desire for you to pay attention to them.

What can you do when you don’t know what to do? When parenting or homeschooling seems too hard? Look at them and give attention.

It is the easiest to do and the hardest to remember.

Heading for the airport to fly to Madrid. My high school Spanish Club spent four weeks traveling though Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

Who is calling “Look at me?” Perhaps silently?

Homeschooling

February is Hard

February 14th, 2021
Mollie T. Cox

I love winter—and not just the snow and glowing fireplaces and hibernating inside. The gift-giving holidays occur during winter, and I so love giving presents. I have more opportunities to drink hot chocolate. I can bake muffins and pies and not overheat the house. I can snuggle under blankets piled high and not overheat myself.

However, February was my hardest month to homeschool. When I told traditional teachers how I felt, they agreed. February was hard.

The excitement of new subjects has worn off like the edges of our new books. The end of the school year seems far away.

What did I do? Eventually, I learned to accept it. There was nothing wrong with me or my children or my school choices. It was a hard point in the journey that had to be traveled.

Second, I looked for a break in routine. Once, we spent the entire day reading about animals in winter after I kept yielding to “Another chapter, please.” We built models: castles, Viking towns, a Roman amphitheater and much more. We spent more time drawing. And no regrets.

How do you handle your hardest month?

Homeschooling

Independent Learners

January 24th, 2021
Mollie T. Cox

Multiple speakers and magazine articles had declared children were natural learners. (Natural Learners? Or Not? here.) Even better, teens were independent learners and required little parental input.

Early one morning, I sold a used geometry book online. The buyer asked if I had my lesson plans, and I offered my experience as well.

“My sons could not be given geometry and left alone to master it,” I typed. “They are not always independent learners.”

The admission was important to both me and my buyer. She confessed that her teens were not independent learners for most subjects.

Swapping stories felt like a conspiratorial moment against peers.

I added, “I would be upset if a traditional teacher handed my sons books to master and told them to return when ready to be tested. Why should we be expected to do that?”

I am grateful to the home-educating pioneers for their courage, legacy, and advice. I am grateful they invested in my generation. However, those with both time and willingness to write articles and speak at conferences were the parents most likely to have strong independent learners. I wish I had realized this sooner.

Which declarations do not match your reality?