Anchor points

Each day I have anchor points. They are the moments that are not attached to a specific time of day, rather an approximate or perhaps something that happens after XYor Z.

I've tried to schedule our days by precise time...that did not work. I've tried to be very fluid about when things happen...this also doesn't work. So lately I've been thinking instead of anchor points in my day. What comes first, folloes that, happens after this etc. It has been very helpful for me to realize how my time flows and has allowed our schedule to flow much better. There have been many many adjustments, and yes I do keep a calendar with times we actually have to be such ans such place for activity X, but this way I see my time in large (or they are sometimes very small) chunks so I know when we have time for what. Organizing my time does not come easily to me, however this system I have is working. Whats more it has allowed me to see what days are just too busy, can I scale them back? If not, what can I do to make them easier? 

Anchor points are;

Walk/morning sanity/coffee

knitting/sketching/journaling while Fi does independent work

Anya project/storytime when Fi is blogging and on her conference call

Lunch and playtime outside for the girls...I do email/bills/invoicing

Afternoon...well here is where I loose my time

Afternoon/Evening activities or I work

Nighttime planning/knitting/TV

Down time

I'm back up after a bout of the flu.  Sometimes illness can be a blessing. It gives you some time and space to slow down a bit. It is such a struggle to balance our work, schoolwork and family time.

Since both DH and I work mainly from home, and we homeschool our two daughters, home is very much center stage. More like HOME for us. It is very busy in our house. Time slips away here. I wonder sometimes if we get anything done, and at other times I look back over the year and am amazed by just how productive all of us have been. How is it possible to hold these two opposing thoughts? Connecting to this is a blog entry I read on Camp Creek's blog . She talks about 'white space'. As an artist I relate to thisw deeply, negative space or empty space when composing a picture is as important as the lines on the page. I guess my point is that as I wonder at how little I feel I get done each day, and also am amazed at how much we did last year, it dawns on me that dispite our schedules and best intentions, learning happens. I have seen huge jumps in understanding in the subjects of science, math, reading etc. when we 'rest' or take a break from it. Connections made between one subject and another are made. 

So I've thought about time and how to devide it and I am being much more fluid. I've been reading a lot of books about the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. They take a child lead (read very unschooling) approach to education. Project based learning and documentation coupled with easy access to art supplies and the space and support to do them in is key to the success of these schools. What drew me to Waldorf was a focus on open ended, arts based education. Focusing on the child as a whole, for example, paying attention to the space a child lives in as well as what they eat to support learning. What has turned me off about Waldorf is the 'rules' that come with this. Like most forms of education, a curriculum is laid out, and of course, you can't learn everything there is to know in 8 years of elementary education, so you have to pick what is important to know. This is where I diverge from Waldorf and most curriculums. What is important is as individual as your children. Sure, reading, writing, counting and basic math are neccessary for independent study, but the reality is that as long as your children live in a home with materials to investigate; that encourage reading, writing and math, these basic skills will be learned with some amount of focused instruction and attention. The rest? WHat is important? This is a question I keep coming back to and fortunately this world of ours, with information about any subject so easily available, lends itself to project based learning. As the main teacher to my girls, I need to give them the tools neccessry to discover the world. Math beyond the basic, scientific analysis, how to hold a brush for paint or pen to paper...this is my job. Finding things to inspire, books, music, art, ideas...this is my job. My children's work is to explore and investigate their world and this whole world we live in. I can give them places to start, but where they end up is always more amazing when I wasn't at the helm (so to speak).

WHew, well this was long...food for thought.

If the funk over?!

Ever understand why parents used to send their children away to apprentice with another family? I can honestly say I never had, until the funk hit my sweet Fi hard. She is almost itching to go and do something, somewhere, but doesn't want to leave home (think Joe in Little Women). Oh the yelling, the tantrums. This morning was AWEFUL, but somehow, through love, listening and patience, she seems to be over it. I believe it is the "back to school after a nice break with lots of fun, family and friends and I don't want to ever do any of this schoolwork again and besides why do I need to know that anyway?!" funk. She announced last week that she plans to retire as a job (huh?). I believe in the heart of her childhood some angst has hit, she is a very perceptive child and I think she sees her younger sister, playing, having fun. Sees how easy Anya's work is (easy for Fi) and wishes things were easier.

I get that. There just anything to do or say about it.

Thankfully, Fi is back to her joyful , bouncy, studius self after a blowout this morning. 

Oh and Anya says 'I'm Hepertized", I love Anya-isms!

Oh and check out Fi's little blog about Puck, it's for a science class at co-op. She's using it t log his activities and pictures she takes each day of him...she is very excited about this!

Maker Profile - Cyclecide from make magazine on Vimeo.


Thanks Kirsten for this link! Fiona & Anya are loving this series! too cool!!!!

Studio class and co-op

Whew! what a couple of days. Soooo happy to be back into the swing of things with school, and this includes my studio/art classes in Thursdays as well as the co-op we attend (and I teach at) on Fridays.

Thursday brought a festive fiber atmosphere as we get into knit/crochet/felting/ serwing of it all with my studio class (last session was printmaking). F was inehr element, as were all her classmates. It will be really exciting to see all the projects when done. 

Today brought a bit of discomfort to Fi, she was not ammused yb disection in her science/lit class. I love that she did it, I love that she had a lot of feelings about it, but mostly I love that she know what the inside of a grasshopper and a starfish look like. For all the complaining she did, she couldn't stop describing what she saw, how it felt and smelled. Lots of really neet descriptions, like the inside of a starfish looks like raw meat (ewwww!) but cool! Anyway, it was a really great day. A had fun with the boxes I brought for the younger ones to marker up and sit it. Spanish for both girls went well...A frequently comes out of there spouting all sorts of phrases. She just loves her teacher!And we are all loving the shorter day (was 9-4, now 10-3). So happy for the weekend of cleaning, rest and reflecting.

Anya's awesome piano playing

Back to work! Well,Already working!

We've been back to homeschooling for the last two days and it has been great! It has been hard ..it has been eyeopening. 

Fi is diving into writing and science, at both daunting to her because she knows co-op mates will be reading her stuff, and really creative...for the same reason. It has lead to some interesting talks about editing, collaborating and being interdependant. The last bit is something she rails against being such an independent spirit.

In the midst of this, Anya is soaking up info like a sponge. Talking about cephalapods and nematods, not to mention ancient greece and playing the piano. She amazes me!.

Apeaking of viola, Fi will be playing a peice for the director of the string program next week Thursday to determine if she can go up a level. Keep fingers crossed! Fi is super excited and I am to proud of all the hard work she has done in this. She is a bit surprised at how hard learning new pieces has become since what she is learning has a lot of phrasing and dynamics.

Anyway, we are plugging away here...

Thank you Kirsten for the great gift!

Test com phone

I am just testing this feature for the future , hope it works
Ann

January 3rd

To update our homeschooling journey. We've moved away from Waldorf. I've learned a lot about myself and about what I value.  I still use much of the arts related content and love love love the focus on stories and litrature. However I've found that Waldorf just stays away from hardcore science and facts too much for too long. I don't have children that are interested in the sciences heavily, so I've been a bit light on that side of their education. In addition, I was appaled by some of the main material used in Waldorf schools for grades 4,5,6,7,8. I do not agree with much of the emphasis on myth and legend as if they are fact. While I realize some of this is which auther you read, I find overall the emphasis for our family is just tooo tooo tooo much on myth and legend.

So what do we do now. We still use block crayons and wet on wet watercolors. We still use a picture and creative retelling of the 'story' written in the students hand. I still follow much of the general subjects covered in a traditional Waldorf school. I have veered away from math and science and grammer being a main lesson and add them into our weekly routine. In addition, we attend a secular co-op (since we are agnostic) and are loving all the great families! Fiona is getting her science work from a parent who is a doctor and teaches college level chemistry. In other words, she really gets science.  I teach art history there (a forte of mine from college).  Fiona has been taking her history lessons from History and Our House. Mr. Powell is a great instructor and we really enjoy the lessons. Fiona also is using Aleks for daily math problems. When we have a new lesson, I give that to her and she also completes portions of the workbook Math-U-See 

Other than that, I have daily read alouds for Fiona and Anya. Fiona has a book to read for each Main Lesson block. We still do main lesson blocks throughtout the year, and Anya also has math work and natural sciences in addition to weekly poems and fairy tales. Whew!

Fiona is also very lucky to be involved in the Power of Dreams program. She is playing the viola, see her first concert ! In addition, Anya started ballet in the fall and will continue through winter. Both Fiona and Anya are swimming, Fiona to keep in shape for HWAC swim team and Anya is learning by leaps and bounds...she want to be on the team this summer too!

So, in addition to that, I've been teaching art to elementary (grade 1-8) children at my home studio. I am also teaching at Ewe-Nique Knits. I've been toying with the idea of a blog about the classes I teach and my own art adventures and will post a like to this when I set it up