Green Meadow Homeschool

Why I love our dog

2009-05-17T14:08:00.001-04:00

There are too many happy adjectives to describe this!

A lull in homeschooling

2009-05-05T11:22:00.009-04:00

Well, we've been really busy at home with all sorts of things, though none of them on my 'original' plan. With spring bursting foward, all of us have been busy cleaning up our yard and readying it for planting. Every year I think I will plant early, and every year I end up planting in early May....hmmm. At any rate, the garden is an amazing source of inspiration to us as a family and as an artist. Its a time to contemplate, dig deep and meditate. Of course my girls love the worms and seedlings. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect is being able to watch our efforts become real throughout the summer months. Our garden is very small, but you would be amazed at just what you can grow in a small space! We actually don't have any real grass area in the yard anymore, with a park/ play structure down the street and a huge field there as well, we just decided to grow all we could.

Now if only I could get some chickens! Of course with our goofy dog (hound) there would probably be an incident! In fact any suggestions on handling this would be appreciated!

Speaking of gardening, this talk at TED on our relationship with nature was mind bending....that much production on 100 acres ...huh!

I'll post pics soon, we're off to get compost at the works department...

Why climb the mountain of workbooks

2009-04-07T08:14:00.005-04:00

I have come to the realization that there is no one program to fit all our needs. Not one new workbook that upon completion will fill the void in my daughters education. In fact, I many days want to scream at some of the workbooks/unit studies I have used. At the end of it, workbooks are like the favorite DVD you pop in so you get a moment of peace. Its there when you need it.

However, workbooks have given both my daughters a sense of accomplishment and control over their education. It is so solid and easy to measure progress with. At the end of the day, I use these resources as another piont of view coming into our home school. Afterall, I do not want to be the source of knowledge. I want each of my daughters to become guided by their own inner compass. Independent learners.

The reality is that learning to read, write, and do basic math is just a matter of time and attention. But to have direction, creatively solve problems and take an interest from a thought and investigaate this subject fully; this is my goal for my daughters education. This is where unschooling and Project-based learning come in. I've been using a journal to help give feedback to both Anya and Fi on their interests. It also means I don't have to remember every interest they have and I can see patterns of interest that have developed.

Check out Lori's website (at the link above). It's fantastic and her resources are amazing.

Wow, this post has wandered a bit!

Mountains of workbooks and such...how to climb it and do you want to?

2009-04-06T13:55:00.005-04:00

Fellow homeschoolers, on many different educational paths, have been a buzz about the huge amount of tools available to us! So I thought I would talk about some of the tools we use.

History: Love love love Mr. Scott Powell's History at our House program. Fiona has been doing this for a year and a half and we are both very happy. This year we went with the live call in option. It seems to have brought it more to life for Fi (even though she doesn't say much) . The cost is reasonable(ranging from $20-$75 a month depending on how many live lectures you attend) for the amount of material and support that is givien and I really like the way information is built upon in three year cycles. Next year we will be trying this for Anya (she'll be 6). Also, Mr. Powells knowledge base is extensive as well as his passion for history, something that comes through in his lectures.

Science: For Fiona, we've been doing experiments on and off, natural science unit studies that are mostly observation and nature drawing, and this year our Co-op offered a science and literature class that has been a bit challenging but Fiona has had fun in. She was surprised at how much fun she had in that class. In addition, we've been reading Joy Hakim's first (of three) book on The Story of Science Aristotle Leads the Way and we also just got the workbook and teacher edition that goes with it. These are wonderful basics that really cover the material very well.

We have also participated in Cornell University's Project Feederwatch. Both my girls have gotten a lot out of this this winter (it goes from Nov-April). We are also doing the Sunflower Project this summer. Science, for us, has been really about doing and understanding. THe more abstract concepts have been hard for Fi to get sometimes so I thought I'd get Nebel's book Building Foundation of Scientific Learning to do with Anya (of course Fi is right there to 'help' and listen) and the book is awesome! I think this paired with Comstock's A Handbook of Nature Study is a realistic curriculum to take young first graders through third or fourth grade.

For hand-on nature studies, there are so many local gardening projects in the city and load of 4H in the outer suburbs and country it is relatively simple to get good hands on instruction if gardening is not your strong suit. I'll do a post on this later. Probably untitled "not all nature programs are equal".

Math: We've been using math-U See for the past three years and recently added Aleks

(if you sign up, be sure to mention me as referral ). Math-U-See we started using just one manual at a time, but soon I switched to 2 at a time since there is a lot of repetition in the workbook. Also, I first use the test manual, and if Fiona takes the test and gets 99% correct, we go on to the next test. I do this since she has many levels of competency in math depending on the subject. Anya started the kindergarten workbook this year. We go in spurts and starts with her on math. I will say that math tutors can be the right choice if your student is struggling here. I saw amazing improvement at the end of summer shen Fi saw on once a week. We've also enjoyed Donna Simmons math unit studies(first through third grade). She is a Waldorf based curriculum so some of the very anthropologically based exercises may not be what you're after. But she is practical too. Very practical! So many awesome ideas about how to present this subject or that with really simple and easy to do hands on activities (like measuring a mile by walking for 1/4 and counting how many steps you took) It makes math real.

I'll post more about what we use for litrature, art , nature programs and music tomorrow.

Snow in almost April

2009-03-29T18:54:00.000-04:00

Water's state can be gas, liquid, or solid!!!

2009-03-24T17:55:00.001-04:00

My little one on the state of water.

Tapping the trees

2009-03-20T12:59:00.000-04:00

In the sugaring house

2009-03-20T12:57:00.000-04:00

Maple sugaring

2009-03-20T12:55:00.002-04:00

We had a wonderful time at my friend and fellow homeschooler, family
maple syrup farm. Thank you Sue and the whole Battel family for a
great time and yummy syrup!

Archetypes

2009-02-10T07:40:00.003-05:00

So I was just trying to put into words an idea that has been tumbling around in my head for awhile. I've been reading a lot about the Reggio Emilia schools in Italy and this translation of an approach to education her in the US. We as human beings love archetypes. Fairy tales and legends, the pastoral scene, even in modern media this ideal image is brought out and displayed. In the Wii game Animak Crossing, the world is pre-industrial and romantic, another example is the tv show Stargate were almost every world they encounter looks like a village out of time. The image a child draws of their house and the grass and flowers around it. These images are deeply ingrained in us and affect us profoundly.

So, I've been asking my art students (and my own children) to do contour drawings of everyday object. This helps us really see an object, we are surrounded by lines. At first the children were a bit lost, but now they have really gotten into it. During the next two classes, I'm going to talk to them about the story we just read from India about the goat and the wolf. Last week we drew pictures that reflected out idea of what that landscape would be like. I want them to imagine this story in their own neighborhood taking place. This week and nest we will be working on drawings of this story using modern terms instead of a more pastoral view of the mountains and jungle below. I do wonder what they will come up with?

I guess what I'm trying to get at is our world will change and morph in years to come, will it be able to change enough? Especially if the archetype we hold in our heads of the ideal family and setting is so set in the past. When I look at the images from the 50's, how amazing their design was, how foward thinking, I wonder what has happened? Where is my flying car?!

I'm not saying trash that pastoral image, but instead make room for another ideal. I truely believe that while working on a real farm and experiencing nature in all its gritty reality is a truely valuable experience. It is hard and dirty work. I also value experiences that are just as real, authentic, that take place in the city or suburb. A working artists studio, public works department, a laboratory, manufacturing plant.

We all try to make sense of our world, try to make it better, dream of our place in it. If the images presented as ideal all look alike(farm in the country or small tudor village), I wonder if we would be ready for true inovation.

Anchor points

2009-01-21T15:50:00.002-05:00

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

2009-01-21T13:45:00.008-05:00

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?!

2009-01-13T16:55:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-01-12T14:44:00.002-05:00

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

2009-01-09T21:07:00.003-05:00

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

2009-01-06T16:52:00.000-05:00

Back to work! Well,Already working!

2009-01-06T16:41:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-01-04T13:57:00.000-05:00

Test com phone

2009-01-04T13:55:00.000-05:00

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

January 3rd

2009-01-03T19:57:00.013-05:00

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

Our journey this year

2007-10-25T12:46:00.000-04:00

Well, tons has happened since the beginning of school this year. Fiona is finishing her first block dealing with farming. We have been working on Simple Times Farm each Sunday, milking the goats and tending the garden and chickens. We have also had 6 meetings with our co-op, celebrated together Sukkah and had a potluck and lantern walk. I've finished the first six week session of my art classes for 4-6 year olds and 7-11 year olds. And all of our extra activities have started, and soccer season is coming to an end. WHeeew! I think this year we may....really I may have added too much to my plate. However adjustments are not so easy to make, so I will see how this goes and perhaps cut back on my personal commitments.

This year with homeschooling, since Fiona just turned 9 before school started, she is studying the third grade curriculum for Waldorf. Though she has advanced in both mathmatics and grammer. I basically have kept the focus of our blocks for third grade material (according to a Waldorf education) and will continue to add extra lessons for Fiona according to her capasity. Even Rudolf Steiner thought that in foreign language, math and music, if a student could do more than their peers, they should be allowed to advance further in these areas. I have found that the material set out for a particular age group in Waldorf is spot on for what they are ready for. Practical things are really what Fiona craves right now. As a result, our main lesson book is not very thick. She has really been resisting work with writing involved, so we've been doing some composition, but we have also been making lists and playing games. I've also been working with painted forms, from Donna Simmons (http://www.christopherushomeschool.org/2nd_grade_math.htm) math book. Fiona has been loving this!

Today we worked with a lenth of rope and practiced tying knots, she worked in her math book and did some amount of spelling work. Of course she also practiced her spanish, recorder and piano and read on her own. Tomorrow we will work on her and her sisters Halloween costumes.

We just love working on the farm. Fiona has had a bit of the "why doesn't Anya have to..." and the "I'm doing the most work it's not fair" but I suppose that's just the way 9 is, and the way Fiona is. However at the suggestions that perhaps we stop coming to do the work with the goats, she becomes very upset. I believe she is adjusting to doing some more challenging physical work. I just love the time with the goats, they're like dogs, I mean they are obviously goats, but they can make you look a fool...just like my dogs do. Our joke now is that our 1 1/2 year old dog Puck is half goat. Both Anya and Fiona have a deeper understanding of just where our food comes from, and Fiona especially is becoming quite the advocate for natural sustanable living. As fall turns to winter and into spring, I believe this time we have on the farm will be remembered fondly in my girls adulthood. We will be planting spring bulbs there this Sunday, and have plans for the small playhouse they have in the backyard. It needs some sprucing up.

The art classes went really well. The younger class was enjoyed very much by the students, and my daughter Anya (4). She was the youngest in the class and I know that students any younger just wouldn't work. The class is set up really like a waldorf kindergarten, though the time frame is for 1 1/2 hours. There is a craft, circle, story with puppets and work with block crayons or wet on wet watercolor. The older class also had crafts, and story as well as working with block crayons and wet on wet watercolor in addition we work with form drawing and nature journaling and use pastels as well. The younger class really loved going to the orchard for their feild trip. We had our circle in the midst of the trees. I brought the star in the apple story and puppets with me and we did some leave rubbings as well as beeswax apples. And of course, we ate some apples and picked wuite a few too! The older children came with me to Greenfield Village and we saw and drew many harvest activities. I took a page from Comstocks book on corn, since there was a corn field growing with squash and beans.

Our co-op is so supportive and so much fun! The older children will be performing the "Blessings of the Corn" in another month or so. Anya just loves the stories with puppet and our circle is just so sweet. I love celebrating the year with these families...it has been very special . This last month we had so much fun taking the wool we washed and we felted them into pumpkins, adding some orange wool and green for the stems. The older children helped needlefelt them into shape as well. We've also made lanterns for our lantern walk, had a nature treasure hunt and woven the finds into a stick frame, and this next month we will be weaving baskets...I jsut have to get some grapevine from my in-laws forest. Fiona is learning recorder finally. We tried two years ago, but Fiona just wasn't ready. Last year she started piano, and had been a fantastic student with that. So this year I really wanted her to learn the recorder since part playing will be introduced later and she is coming along, though she is much more frustrated by this than piano. She must really need to do some work with the breath! Anya has been really playing with children her own age finally. Anya had been gravitating to children Fiona's age, co-op day has brought some balance to her week.

For Anya, she gets her circle on Monday ( in art class) and on Wednesday (in co-op) and on Fridays, we have spanish and just a fun day,Anya and FIona also go to spanish on Tuesday as well. Fiona's schedule is a bit , well more. Mon,Tues,Thurs are main lesson days, Tues is art class (group)Wed are co-op(group) and piano and on Tues and Fri are spanish. She also in in Girl Scouts twice a month, soccer for 6 weeks in the fall and spring, and will begin Gymnastics once a week while soccer is off. Also we all go to the farm on Sunday mornings, all this has made for a busy week, though thankfully, we do not have to drive all over the place. both Girl Scouts and soccer is local and spanish is within 30 minutes. My art class meet here, so its Tuesday and Wednesday that has been a challenge.

Really the biggest challenge for me has been all the changes I've had to work through myself. My schedule this year is much different. I've changed so much of what I do, change is hard.

Well, I'm moving through it. Right now I'm preparring for my next art session. I'm reading Coyote Road, a Datlow and Windling adult fairy tale series. Session II is focused on animal and trickster tales. For Fiona's main lesson studies, I'm also reading the old testament since we will be covering creation from the old testament just prior to Solstice. As for Anya, I've been using Ellerseik's movement and song book for fall and winter. It has been awesome!

Bringing it Back

2007-09-01T15:47:00.000-04:00

I decided with all my new ventures that I would start posting again. This will be our third year homeschooling Fiona and Anya's first year for kindergarden.

This year is jam packed! I've decided to offer five sessions (6weeks in lenth) of Waldorf-Inspired Art classes to children aged 4-14. So far 2 of my 5 class times are full and one is well on its way to being full. This has been a tremendous way for me to share my experience as a homeschooling mother and artist.

Also, the co-op I was involved in last year is expanding and we will be doing some very nifty things with the older children as well as keeping the time for the little ones. I feel like I have such a rich diverse community of families to draw support from!

We're also hosting and planning a number of celebrations and festivals throughout the school year. I have to say that when I started homeschooling three years ago, I wasn't sure just how to build or become a part of a community like the one me and my family have, but here we are. Sometimes you just have to try stuff and it works!

We will also be working on a farm this year one day a week. I've dreamed of doing something like this for years! And here we are again! Its a beautiful farm that was started by a beautiful family and is now going to be run by a dear friend of mine. Both Anya and Fiona love it there, and they can't wait to get started with all the chores and milking the goats. I think my girls will have so many rich experiences to remember when they are older because of this and everything else David and I have done raising them.

Start where you are

2006-01-23T15:30:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a few months since I posted. Fiona and I have gone through the 2 Language art blocks, Nature blocks and Quality of numbers. We are now on the second Math block and this one introduces the four processes, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. She is smart as a whip, really gets this stuff! We are at week 3 of this 3 week block, introducing division. It is easy for her to divide out. Fiona is obsessed with fairness. But more than that, doing math problems focused on the whole of the number and seeing how many processes are tied up into each number has been fun to see with her, through her eyes.

I thought about going back and updating it week by week to "catch up" so to speak, but while it might give me a sense of completion, it would just be too stressful.

I am looking ahead toward next year, grade two, and am very excited to use Donna' Simmons (of Christopherus ) again. She has been invaluable to me for insight, practical, just everything. She has also urged me to attempt to network together all us Waldorf Homeschoolers in Michigan. A daunting task but one I believe will benefit me and my family greatly.

We had a great time during the holidays. I can not believe how much more meaningful they were this year focusing on All Saints day , we visited my mothers grave (something I have never done since the funeral..Very cathardic) and continuing with Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. I'm actually looking forward to Lent this year! Since we are not Christian, though I grew up in a Catholic home, celebrating these times throughout the year has been difficult, but using the festivities as a way of introducing that part of my life to Fiona and Anya, and creating a meaningful passage of time throughout the year is becoming more important to me and them than I would have thought. So we celebrate these points through the year, as well as Wesak (buddha's birthday) and I see the effect it has had on Fiona. She has an understanding of what these celebrations are to us as a family and how other families celebrate. I could go on and on (I think I may just have) about how deeply the celebrations have touched me and my family, but I will wait and think more on them as I think I may be babbling a bit.

Anyway, Co-op is awesome, great friends! And while it isn't strictly Waldorf, I think it does just fine. Afterall, Fiona has what we do each day at home to be her basis of education. Co-op has provided group activities, cooperative games, active math, plays and art in groups as well as many science experiments.

Michealmas and the daily grind

2005-09-29T14:34:00.000-04:00

We have been so busy these last two weeks! Last week we started our first week of a four week block on Introduction of letters. Fiona's handwriting has improved by leaps and bounds, she plays with the stories I've presented the last couple of weeks and she has mellowed a little in her attitude towards starting. Both Fiona and Anya have a hard time after the weekend to get back into the swing of things, but we have muddled through and come out fine at the end of the week. Even David has commented on how much Fiona's temper has improved over last year. It was common last year after school for Fiona to have tantrums nearing bedtime and to completely lose it by about 8PM. Now, there is a bit of flourish when daddy gets home, but nothing so extreme as the screaming and yelling of old!

Michealmas today and with much of the activities we've done leading up to today has been eye-opening! The stories I have told for both the main lesson and for fall and the story of St. George and the dragon, Archangel Michael and the kite have really been working in Fiona's soul. She has pondered what it means to be really useful, thought about how being brave and doing things that we haven't done before mean we grow ,sometimes grow up. She is seeing things in the world around her differently and in a very profound way that isn't easy to express with words.

Anya these last couple of weeks has been quite a handful. She really needs my attention and has a hard time lately playing for more than 10 minutes at a time without me. I know this is just a stage, since I have been really aware of keeping one day a week very kindergarten-like for Anya and focusing our day around her needs. In addition, she is included in almost all Fiona's studies, crayons in drawing, painting right along with Fiona, but she is just into everything and having a hard time with being told 'no' when she asks for say gum at 8 in the morning. This too shall pass I'm sure.

Our handwork lessons are coming along. Fiona has learned the basics of spinning with a spindle and is almost finished knitting a gnome. She is also making a quilted pillowcase for her friend Chloe who is turning 7 next week, so very busy with all of this. We will also be going on a feildtrip tomorrow to the Greenfield Village Fall Harvest days, I'm very excited about this!

Her recorder lessons are going, but barely. She really can't stand all the clapping and playing the recorder without sitting. The rhythm of music is really challenging for her.

Anyway, that's a bit of an update for now, more later!

Dad and Desmond Tutu

2005-09-29T14:33:00.000-04:00

Sunday, Monday – 9/18-19/05

Slip into the routine easily – Since I don’t have any books except for global studies, I can’t read for the classes. While most of the textbooks are on reserve in the library, they can only be taken out for 1-2 hours, and since many of the students also don’t have books, I don’t want to disrupt their study opportunities. So in class I listen, contribute a bit, and take notes.

Tuesday – 9/20/05

NEPTUNE CAME! Awakened by his minions rolling thru the halls with drums and bells, all polliwogs were called up to the pool for initiation into the ranks of the shellbacks (first time across the equator). We were lined up, covered with some disgusting concoction, dumped into the pool of cold water, and had to kiss a fish and a ring before we were released to a holding tank. Then, everyone was forced to get their heads shaved (if they wanted to). Of course I participated in this torture and am now enrolled into the shellback ranks (I will even have a certificate to prove it).

The rest of the day was taken up with pictures and relaxation. Neptune had declared a holiday from classes.

Saturday – 9/24/05

Today, the executive dean announced that the ship would not dock in Kenya. Apparently, there was some indication off AlQuaida terrorist activities, along with an increase in piracy (a US warship that had been scheduled to stop in the port had been ordered away). In addition, the government had become increasingly unstable in the last few weeks. What a disappointment!! I had been looking forward to my safari quite a lot, and couldn’t see much chance of any good substitute. The dean wasn’t able to tell us what our schedule would be – arrangements had to be made. He did assure us that the scheduled arrival in India, the next stop after Kenya, would be kept.

The rest of this presentation was taken up by a round-table with Archbishop Tutu and a couple of students and professors. Each asked the Archbishop a question or two mostly relating with the Truth & Reconciliation Commission. I’m trying to get hold of a recording of this, because the Archbishop was very impressive in his responses. No luck so far.

Monday – 9/26/05

Came into Capetown harbor this morning – Table Mountain was a distinctive site, and the town is big! We were greeted with the sight of a whale, obviously hired by the Chamber of Commerce, who showed us his tail at least a dozen times, tho some 700 yards away. The pier is surrounded by very civilized amenities - shopping centers, 5-star hotels and restaurants, etc. Immigration was quick, and transparent to the passengers, and I went on my first excursion.

This was a geology tour of the Cape Peninsula, with very good elevated sight lines showing just how big Capetown really was. The lectures, given by an American who emigrated to Capetown and was teaching at the university, was very informative. He explained that the primary under soil material was sandstone, quite thick, which came from sand laid down by either a river delta or boundary islands. This compressed over time, and was then raised up here and there by molten granite breaking thru from the hot spot which lies under much of sub-Saharan Africa.

Also, while there are no volcanoes in S. Africa, they do have earthquakes, which means that the buildings have to be built to withstand them. The trip took us up to Table Mountain (with the midday cannon), then down and around to the South coast to many other bays, including a large ideal looking bay called False Bay (It apparently did not have a good supply of water – or alternatively the mountains around it fooled many navigators into believing it was Cape Town).

We stopped off at the University of Cape Town for a look see – the tour guide is a professor of geology there. In this area, it is the English speaking university – there are two others just outside Cape Town, one that teaches in Afrikans, the other teaches in Zulu (they still haven’t gotten rid of discrimination yet).

The rest of the day, I wandered around the harbor area, window shopping, with some friends. When we got back to the ship, there was an announcement that the Cape Town stop would be extended 2 more days, and our substitute for Kenya would be Mauritius. So far, the only info on this stop is that it is a small island with beaches, well regarded in France for vacations. We will stay there for 3 days, then go on to India, as scheduled.

Dad's further adventures

2005-09-24T11:31:00.000-04:00

Saturday – 9/3/05

Up early (6:30) to get breakfast and meet expedition group. 28 in my group – first off the ship. Had to take passport since the destination (upriver on the Caura River) was close to Brazil. No one else was interested, so I didn’t get an entry stamp to Venezuela – Darn!

Bus to airport (Caracas International – but really in LaGuira, the port city). Plane (1 hour) to Puerto Orinoco, then 4-wheel Toyota Land Rovers for 5 hours (interrupted with a lunch stop @2PM as an isolated fishing camp on the Orinoco. This had air conditioned cabins, and many other amenities – we just had lunch (good food) and went on. After the drive, we got into large dugout canoes with motors for a 3 hour ride to the overnight stop. It was dark when we got in. A long hard day!

The camp was on an island in the Caura River, with ‘buildings’ consisting of a roof and open walls. The beds were hammocks which took a while to get used to. Dinner in the dark was again tasty food, followed by some scare stories about anaconda snakes, viewing a tarantula and an amazing starscape, then to bed.

Sunday – 9/4/05

Up early – didn’t sleep well or continuous. Took a look at the river where we had come in in the dark last night. Those river pilots were good! Rocks all over the place with only narrow routes and lost of turns. If any of the boats had hit and tipped over in the dark, it could have been a disaster – many of the students had taken off their safety harnesses, and the current was very swift.

We were visited by a green parrot and a macaw and a family of some kind of chicken-like bird for breakfast – beggers of course. Tasty breakfast. Pack up and on the river again. Man, those dugouts were uncomfortable – hard seat, hard back on some of them, and a not-flat bottom lead to dead butts and strain on back, hips, thighs and feet. Then they also leak, so the bottom was always wet.

More and more of us took off our safety harness so we could sit on them and be a little more comfortable. Today, our first stip was at Crab mountain for a view over the river and tropical forest (the same one that feeds the Amazon). It was about 900 feet up, and in many spots a 60 degree rise. The guide set a hard pace, to the top in 1.5 hours. Many of us, students and adults (me too) were hard pressed to keep up. ½ hour at the top to rest and take some pictures, then back down to the dugouts.

A short ride to a minimal beach for lunch – a rice casarole. The heat and humidity were really getting to everyone, so most of us went into the river for a cool down and rinse. Hard to stay in one place with the current moving so fast. Saw a river dolphin. I hadn’t brought a swim suit, so soaked in my pants.

Back in the boats for 2 hours to an Indian village for dinner and sleep – again in hammocks. The students were in one large dirt floored hut while the adults separated ourselves in a smaller cement floored hut. Dinner was short, and while waiting for it, some of the students played with the children – way too active for the adults. After dinner, the play continued while we went to sleep.

Monday – 9/5/05

Sometime in the middle of the night, we were awakened by a student, who asked for help from the tour leader for a number of students who were suffering from some type of GI distress.. She and her husband are both retired MDs which helped to comfort the students. As the night went on, more and more of the students took sick, so the other adults – myself and one of the professors – had to help out so the doctors could get some rest. Shift on and off the rest of the night – no fun!

The villagers had strung a string from hut to hut so an old blind native could find his way. Needless to say, this string also caught many of us about the head and neck until we got used to looking for it. The bathroom was an outhouse, to be used to sit down, and flush with a bucket. The men were to urinate against any convenient tree. No electricity or running water anywhere. They maintained one hut with craftworks for sale. Got a few things. No apparent native costume

Up in the morning, some of the students quite sick. Many skipped breakfast, a lot of naps. Scheduled to go for walking tour of medicinal and eating plants of the Indians – few went. Also scheduled a bird watching trip on the river – cancelled. After lunch which more attended (naps had helped a lot), back in the boats to go back downriver (much faster) to our next night’s stay.

On the river, I and the other adults started to succumb to the infection – whatever it was. Not serious, but I was overdressed. At one of the stops to rest our weary butts, I fainted from the heat. Changed my shirt, and felt immediate relief. The rest felt I had to be coddled for the rest of the way – I didn’t object. I got to lay down in the boat – a lot more comfortable!

Our overnight stay was downriver where we had originally picked up the boats. This was a very well established ‘camp.’ The buildings were log or cement block, some with beds (the adults and some of the students opted to spend the extra money to get these). The students were mostly in hammocks again – apparently they were getting used to sleeping in them. The cottages also had proper bathrooms with running water (tho not hot).

There were a number of confusing times when everybody tried to pay the extra toll for a room. The proprietress apparently couldn’t understand the conversion value, especially when two currencies were combined. Finally, a good meal, a cool shower, and to bed.

Tuesday – 9/6/05

Again up early, for another good meal, than packed the 4-wheels and on the road. This time we had 3 cars with air conditioning. Adults and sick were placed in these 3, and off we went. We stopped once for fuel, another time for snacks in one of the villages we passed, another for the bathroom, and finally at a privately owned ranch for lunch and a view of some wild animals. Lunch was postponed until we got to the airport, and the animals were a disappointment – most were ill fed and housed. A disappointment.

We got to the airport with about 2.5 hours to wait. Did some shopping and rested in air conditioned comfort. Uneventful flight and bus to the boat. When our backpacks were inspected, the disallowed the small blowpipe I had purchased – broke it in half and threw it away. Excessive bureaucracy! On board and Home, at last! Still an exciting and interesting trip, not including illness.

Wednesday – 9/7/05

Today and tomorrow are the last days to pick classes to attend. I have settled on 3 communication classes (interpersonal, intercultural and non-verbal) and one on Islamic thought. This in addition to the Global Studies which everyone must attend. Thankfully. Adults do not have to complete homework or take exams. Just the classwork is educational enough.

Settling into the routine is comforting. Since we set sail last night, we have already come 185 nautical miles, heading E off the coast of Venezuela. Am gradually meeting the rest of the staff and adults on the trip – all are interesting in their own way. We have one passenger, a lady in her 80’s, who has been on about 16 of these trips so far. She never leaves the ship but stays on board the whole way. We are gradually getting stories from her, especially about the excitement on the Spring ’05 voyage.

Thursday – 9/8/05

Routine, but I found out today that I didn’t have to wait for the scheduled laundry day since I am an adult passenger – so sent my bag out. Each bag is $5 just to wash, so it is economical to send it out full. This time, it was full to bursting, and quite aromatic, since it included my shore trip clothes.

Saturday – 9/10/05

There are no weekends on this voyage – just spring breaks every week (shore trips). So school goes on. In the meantime, the adult passengers had a wine raising to a couple (Betty and Bob Wittemore) celebrating their 1st anniversary – in their 60s. And a birthday. Than the crew prepared and served a barbeque on the pool deck – quite a spread, and a very jolly time by all. A good break, especially since many had been suffering from mal-de-mer because of the rough seas.

There is a program – adopt a family – that pairs adults up with students if they sigh up to get a mentor – sympathetic ear. I was assigned 3 students, and met them tonight. Marshall Burt from Colorado, looking to join the Coast Guard, Ashley Hughes who is following her sister and aunt on Semester at Sea, from PA, and Kate Troiana, from the Cape in MA, who is suffering from homesickness, Larium and a little sea sickness. She will take a little looking after for a while.

Sunday – 9/11/05

Routine – classes, etc. The school schedule is set up while on board as A days and B days, with different classes set as A or B classes. So there is always an even number of A days and B days between ports. If the number of days at sea is uneven, the schedule establishes a free day. Global Studies, which is required for everyone on board except the crew, is given every day, and I am taking two A classes and two B classes.

They have given us a short Bio of Desmond Tutu, who is scheduled to be the port-tp-port lecturer from Brazil to South Africa. Looking forward to that!

Monday – 9/12/05

They have saddled me with being head proctor in one of the dining rooms for the first exam in Global Studies. I’m proctoring 115 students, with 3 assistants. My voice is not quite enuf for that large a room, but what the heck. The hardest part was the alphabetizing of the answer sheets before turning them in. All went OK.

No other exams for my classes. Routine rest of the day.

Tuesday – 9/13/05

Landfall – a different procedure at immigration. First, we anchored outside the bay for a medical clearance. Than into the dock, where immigration came aboard, and required all passengers to present their face and passport for comparison. Went well and relatively quickly.

My first shore excursion was to the Afro-Brazilian Museum, which concentrated on the history of slavery, and the synthesized black religion, called Condoble. The guide knew her stuff. One big difference between the slaves brought to Brazil and those brought to America was that most of them came from a few areas of the West coast of Africa, and kept their language, and religion, which did not distinguish between male and female heads. However, since they were not allowed to practice their own religion, the blacks incorporated the saints of the RC church into their hierarchy of spirits, and celebrated their spirits under the RC saints’ names.

Condoble is considered a monotheistic religion, but they don’t celebrate the primary creator as Christians do – they believe that the prime creator created other spirits (somewhat like angels) who were to then go on to create the things within their responsibility. There are 16 of these spirits who are considered prior, but they believe that there are hundreds of them.

These spirits manifest themselves to the people by possessing some of the initiates, One spirit can possess more than one receptive person at a time, and there is some tension between some of the spirits, so when both of these are present at the same time, the worshipers can feel the tension.

The next stop was at a Condoble compound. Within this one particular compound, which is one of the largest in Salvador, there are separate ‘chapels’ to each of the spirits who regularly possesses one of the initiates who belong to this ‘parish’. They also have an elementary school, which is open to the children of the ‘parish’ as well as children whose families are not believers. Besides the school, there were two crafts practiced in separate buildings – weaving of cloth and dolls of the spirits. There were also a number of residences (small, one or two room) where some of the families of the initiates lived, and several elderly members of the ‘parish’.

Back to the ship, where only one dining room was open because most of the students and staff were out on the town or on their own excursion.

Wednesday – 9/14/05

This morning we had to get up around 4AM to catch a 6:30 flight to Rio, where my group was scheduled to stay for 4 days, 3 nights. Found out that our group was bumped off the direct flight – we would have to change planes in Brazilia. But on the way back, we would get the non-stop flight. As it was, our flight took 5 hours, instead of the 2 that had been originally scheduled.

When we got to Rio, it started to rain. And after lunch it was pouring, so we rescheduled the trip up to Sugar Loan to Friday. The lunch was at a restaurant on Copacabana Beach, and was a fantastic spread – buffet style for the appetizers, and they included everything – salads, seafood, cooked and raw. Then after we had eaten that, the servers brought around the meat – on skewers, from which they carved portions at the table – and they had all kinds and cuts of meat, with a couple of fish and frogs legs just for variety. That turned out to be a lot of protein!

Since we missed the Sugar Loaf, we went to the hotel to register, and were greeted with drinks and an invitation to visit a jewelry factory, which a lot of us accepted. An impressive operation, and I an the other adult ended up buying, at what we think are good prices, some jewelry.

The other adult on this trip was the trip leader, and her background was as a comptroller, i.e. bookkeeper-accountant. She is a very nice lady, but fulfilled the stereotype – very detail oriented, and a worry wart. She and the tour guide in Rio succeeded in convincing everyone that the streets were dangerous, both day and night, so no one went out on their own, and we all took taxis at night instead of walking. I later learned that their care was slightly exaggerated, but the warnings kept me in at night.

The weather in Rio, being early spring, was cooler than many of the kids had planned for – they were dressed in shorts and T-shirts, which was suitable for Salvador, but not for Rio. Luckily, most of the afternoons the weather was in the low 70’s, so comfortable.

Thursday – 9/15/05

Up at a civilized hour, with a good breakfast. Our first stop for the day was the site of the Carnaval parade. There was a display of costumes, some of which could be tried on (over clothes). The site is permanent, 1 ½ miles long, lined with grandstands. There are 12 ‘schools’ of samba clubs, each of which has around 5000 members, who compete for first place prize, which is mostly prestige. But they are serious enough to spend a whole year preparing. Of course, Carnaval is not limited to this one site, but this is the place for the formal celebration.

Later, we continued our city tour, which covered a number of neighborhoods, expensive, or artist colonies. When we stopped for lunch, there was an impromptu samba demonstration – two drummers and a guitar. Since our guide loved samba, she wanted everybody to take part. Lunch itself was similar to yesterday’s, but the beer came in 1 liter bottles instead of the familiar 12 oz.

After lunch, we jumped into 4 wheel drive jeeps that held 10 in the back in facing seats, for a trip up to the Christ statue. The statue is in a national park, which has very few birds. Apparently, the capuchin monkeys which were imported to Rio, eat all the bird eggs, so there are more birds in the city than in this park.

The statue is @ 650 meters higher than the city, so the temperature is about 5 degrees cooler, and much less humid, than in the city. Since I had prepared for cool weather, I was overdressed for the city, but very comfortable up the mountain. The statue is impressive, and the surrounding views were spectacular.

After the statue, we went back down to the city to attend a samba class to be given by a professional choreographer, Jaime Aroxa. A very good lesson, lots of fun, wore me out. When we returned to the hotel, I was so tired I slept through to the early hours.

Friday – 9/16/05

Up relaxed in the morning, leisurely breakfast, then went shopping in a nearby mall – very familiar. I didn’t find what I was looking for, but had a pleasant walk. Lunch was on our own, but I wasn’t hungry. The tour than continued with our trip up to Sugar Loaf, via 2 cable cars. Good views at the first stop, but at the top the clouds were low lying, so only caught glimpses when the wind blew a hole.

Our next stop was at a drumming school for lessons in Brazilian rhythms. After a rather labyrinthine route thru an old warehouse (converted to a music club), we got to a basement room where we were met by a rhythm group, with lots of extra percussion instruments – drums (base and kettle), gourds with beads on the outside, tube with beads on the inside, and a large bell. We all picked up one of them, and started making music. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the bottle of cotton balls until the first exercise was completed, so my ears rang for a while. Lots of fun!

Then dropped of at the hotel, for dinner on our own, which was OK but not as good as the first lunch. And to bed.

Saturday – 9/17/05

The only scheduled activity was returning to the ship, so a relaxed morning, but to the airport, and a non-stop flight to Salvador. On the ship for dinner and back to the routine. Archbishop Tutu joined the ship’s company tonite – everyone is looking forward to his presence and contribution.

2005-09-17T18:39:00.000-04:00

What a whirlwind!
I have been elated, exhausted, exasperated and am feeling so secure in the knowledge that this was the right decision for my family.

We've finished our first 2 week main lesson block on form drawing. Fiona is awesome at this! She is very much a perfectionist, so this main lesson did display that tending in its entirety. There were tears, jumping for joy as well as acting like a noodle or dead fish flopping on the floor. As I write this I am laughing about it all.

We also had our first day at our homeschooling co-op. The families are really awesome, and all the classes are geared with a Waldorf grace even if many of the families don't use a Waldorf as their curriculum. She loved being with her new friends, having that fun in a group, I really think this will be so worthwhile this year! She can't wait to go back next week, I think they will be doing a small play in addition to cooking and preparing their own snack and continuing with some fall science projects, very fun!

The co-op also is great for Anya as there are activities for her to attend and participate in and it gives me a chance to spend all my attention on Anya when I'm not instructing a class.

We have also started learning to play the recorder. I say we since I am new to it as well, though I do read music so it hasn't been too difficult. Fiona has done much better following rhythm and her ability to play the first piece has improved. Anya has enjoyed singing along with us and 'playing' her own recorder.

The handwork lesson has been awesome and my favorite. It is late in the day during Anya's nap and gives us some nice close time. Fiona has sewn a recorder case, and because she now knows how to sew, during her free time she has many times chosen to sew up some projects with some scrap fabric of mine. Fiona also decided she wanted to make a doll quilt and spent some of her allowance money she had saved on fabric for it. We'll be starting on the quilt tomorrow. We also started knitting a new project. First Fiona made her own knitting needles and finished them with beeswax. Now she has almost finished knitting a gnome doll, very exciting. Fiona knew how to knit last year and her skill has improved greatly.

Next week we start our language arts main lesson block and it will last 4 weeks. I am so excited and a bit daunted by this. During this main lesson block I will introduce the alphabet (upper and lower case) with a story . Then Fiona will create a picture involving the story as well as the letters. Fiona will also be copying short phrases into her book using those letters. The daunting part of this is the amount of memorization I need to do. I will be telling an ongoing story about a prince on adventure as well as many faity tales. I will also be using puppets/dolls to illustrate these stories. Lots of work, but well worth it.

Anya has been good and bad these last 2 weeks. On the days after a good nights sleep, she has been awesome, albeit a toddler (sometimes the toilet is just too tempting). On the days when shrieking and crying are prevalent, I have been at the end of my rope a bit, but, I just adjust the rhythm of the day for Anya and we have done some of the lessons after Daddy gets home.

These next few weeks will be busy with field trips, dance lessons, soccer, girlscouts, co-op and Gaelic lessons in addition to regular school work, but our days have been filled with lots of laughter to temper the fits. Our nights have been calm and we all sit down to dinner each night. So I think there is a balance here, one which I hope to continue...

The first day of school

2005-09-06T10:09:00.000-04:00

We have had a wonderful time so far! Fiona was excited and happy to finally begin schoolwork and loves finding 'cool stuff' to bring home on our morning walks. I made the nature table for autumn and Fiona has said how pretty the table is.

We started with some daily chores about the house, had a walk. Found lots of straight and curvy things (though Fiona wasn't interested in finding them at first, but by the end of the walk was pointing away). Anya has also joined in to the frey, picking up sticks etc., though she was more interested in her stuffed dog and talking to "the puppy" than anything else. I thought I'd keep my walks on the short side, for my backs' sake since Anya has decided the stroller sucks about 15 minutes into a walk and won't walk more than 5 min. I asked her to speed up a bit and she sat down, hmmm. Anyway once how we used our whole body moving and singing, warming and waking everything up and got to our main lesson. For the next 2 weeks it will be form drawing (see an earlier post for a brief description) and got out chalk on the driveway and drew lots of big forms. Fiona had some amount of fun, but mostly thought it was kind of silly. She did have fun with the game we played where I drew on her back and she drew the forms on the driveway in chalk.

Then we went inside and shaped some beeswax in the straight and curved forms and placed them on the nature table. Fiona really got into using the beeswax , although she was a bit frustrated that it wasn't soft at first and had to hold it to soften it. I told her a little story about an old woman who walked hunched over (like the curve ) and her three young tall daughters and their adventure in the wood. By the time the story was done, the wax was soft.

After we finished our main lesson we had a snack and made some bread with Anya. Then Fi and Anya played a bit. Anya took a nap and we started our next lesson. For the next 2 weeks she is learning to play the pentatonic recorder and Fiona's recorder lesson was a bit of a disaster. Fi thought she would be learning to play the piano, not that recorder(!) and why do we have to practice singing and playing clapping games anyway! Well, Anya woke up and I started to sing some songs with her, Fi joined in, reluctantly. She did like the rhythm/clapping/stomping game and we went on like this for @20 min. Fiona begged and begged to learn piano and saw the row row row your boat music at the piano (we had also sung it) so I did teach her a bit. I kept all my instruction to numbering my fingers (5) and flow me (imitation). Much screaming and tears later, she satisfied herself by being able to play the first half of the song. Uhg!

Thankfully I planned to go out to lunch with her best buddy Chloe (1/2 day of school) and also have a little celebration for Anya (she turned 2 today!) This was a very good idea, Fiona relaxed, had Chloe over after for a couple hours play time and was much more cooperative. I have noticed that Fiona (and most girls I know this sge) get very wound up about their birthday, anything exciting that is going to happen including the first day of school. I guess I thought that since this was at home there wouldn't be so much nervous energy, but there was! Oh boy.

Even with all this, we all had a great day. Fiona and I finished the day after dinner with some handiwork. She finished her recorder case and did a bit more on her latch hook pillow she's making for Anya. I hope we have more days like this!

My dad's adventure

2005-09-02T14:37:00.000-04:00

I may trasfer this to a different blogg eventually, but for now I wanted to post my dad's journal of his trip and will update as he sends more:

SAS Journal – 2005

8/27/05
The Adventure begins!
It starts with a pleasant ride to the airport with Ann discussing generational viewpoint and biases, leaving behind a number of jobs undone with the truck and RV. Checked in and thru security without a problem and in about 1 hour. Nothing different until we were on the runway, and took off about 10 minutes late. Arrived in Miami 15 minutes late, and I had to exit the secure area and check-in at Continental. Fortunately, they had changed the flight number and time, so while I started rushed, I ended with plenty of time, especially since that flight took off 10 minutes later than scheduled.

I didn’t feel like I was on an adventure until I was over the Atlantic in the Continental turbojet. Now started the new experiences. I met a couple of students also going on SAS while waiting for my luggage. Unfortunately, after getting thru immigration, I found that my luggage hadn’t kept up. Apparently, the number of students coming in to the Island with 2 heavy bags had overloaded a number of flights. After going thru the paperwork, had a pleasant ride to the hotel Atlantis on Paradise Island. After check-in and settling into the room – without luggage – did a small walk-around and dinner, since I was without lunch.

While at the restaurant, I discovered that my usual libation was not easy to order. Trying to say “dry vodka gibson on the rocks” didn’t translate very well. The first waitress thought I said “rye Gibson” so gave me one made with Jamesons. She corrected the error. The second thought I said “dry vodka gimlet” so when she brought the drink with a lime in it instead of onions, I mentioned this difference and she took it away and returned with onions – I suffered thru that gimlet.

While waiting at the bar for a table, I met a man who expressed sympathy for my wrong drinks. Since he was drinking champaign, I asked him what the occasion was. Turns out he was a butler on a night off. We were discussing his job when I was called away to the table. He worked for a couple on the West side of the island, running an establishment with 47 servants – inside and outside. I went back to the bar after dinner, and he was still there, but talking with a lady so I didn’t feel free to get more details of his job since I was very curious.

I have discovered that this hotel – I guess being a resort – is definitely a la carte. They charge for everything extra, and they consider everything extra– internet, local phone, and graciously add a 15% gratuity to all services. Thank goodness, they do allow you to add to the gratuity (which I do, very occasionally).

I returned to my room, and after struggling a while, went to bed, at 9:30 EDT. (BTW, the time on these islands is either EDT or a time zone which is 1 hour later, but not daylight savings.) Hot and humid!!

8/28/05

Boring! And a little stinky and sticky. Mostly waiting for my luggage, which finally showed up around 8PM. In the meantime, just wandering around exploring, checking back with the bellhops every 30-45 minutes.

After getting both bags, freshening up and changing clothes, went down to the lobby where a lot of SAS students and parents were meeting up and planning the evening. Met a couple of parents, PA $ WI, here to see their children off. They weren’t aware of senior adult passengers, and were curious about my life.

Back to my room around 11, and to bed.

Homeschooling is all about family

2005-09-01T20:03:00.000-04:00

One of the things I've read,and totally agree with, is that homeschooling is about family. Well the last couple of days has been just that. You plan your days and lessons, and some days go easily, some hard but always there are diversions. Yesterday on our nature walk, a crew was cutting down a tree, so we sat and watched for 20 minutes as a man climbed the tree and cut down huge limbs, much to the chagrin of both my daughters. So we didn't get to the recorder case until Thursday.

It has amazed me just how much you can get done with your child when you aren't intructing other students at the same time! This gives me a lot of hope for this year as I wanted it to be low key and not such a ridgid schedule. At the same time we need to cover certain things this year and I am hoping to do some additional work with rhyming and memorization of poems and verses as well as getting a bit deeper into math than first grade curriculum has scheduled.

The recorder case Fiona is almost finished with one side of and should finish up the other side Saturday. Tonight she is having sleepover fun with a friend, so once again, homeschooling allows for flexibility and family fun in a way I am just beginning to see.

I have lots of work to do this weekend on our main lesson area (in the front of the house, recently remodeled) and our nature table. I want Fiona to feel just how special her first day of formal school is!

You've got to begin somewhere

2005-08-30T17:14:00.000-04:00

I guess when you start, you start at the beginning and for me, that would be about 3 years ago. David and I have thought about homeschooling for awhile and for all sorts of reasons. We decided after experiencing how good public and private school can be, and how bad it can be, that this school year we will take the plunge with our first daughter, Fiona . This year, Waldorf inspired curriculum will be used. It made the most sense to both David and I, I only hope to grow enough (inner work) to do it justice.

Last year she entered first grade. This year, after much consideration, we will begin, at the beginning and again with first grade. Have you ever marveled at just how amazing some peoples' minds work. It is as if they have bridged all those gaps the rest of us have in our understanding of certain subjects. Whether it be history, art, physics, chemistry, math there are large gaps each of face to understand them. These gaps are much of the reason we are starting with First grade material this year and will go into second grade stuff in the subjects Fi is well versed in.

The first main lesson block will be form drawing. Something I did a little with Fiona a bit in the spring, she loved it and hated it. She also obsessed about some of the forms weeks later in her play. Form drawing obviously hit a nerve. I love the meditative quality of it. Oh, if you're wondering what form drawing is, think about the repetitive forms seen in all cultures like Celtic knotwork or Greek running forms. As an artist, when I first tried them (they start very simply with Straight and curved lines progressing to more complicated rosettes) I felt,'how boring!'. But then I realized that it isn't about being able to draw a straight line or a circle, but how well-formed they are. You can really get sucked into it, like Thi Chi.

Well, we went to a 'not back to school picnic' today to help kick off the season. It was loads of fun. We have also started our school rhythm (for more on rhythm/Waldorf see http://mysite.verizon.net/res2216j/wonder/id4.html or just think of getting into a grove!)
so that we could do a few projects to prepare for the formal start of school. We've made a weather tree for Fiona to place a leaf on each day after our morning walk. She loves this! She loved cutting out all the different colored leaves, helping decide what color paper would go with what kind of day and she really liked making the tree with me. We used stockmar crayons (from my own childhood I might add-20+ years old, so buck up on the price you pay for 20 crayons,about $25, thes aren't like crayola!)and blended the browns for the trunk. Really grounding it into the earth and flowing the braches up and out into the sky.

Tommorrow we start sewing a recorder case for the Pentatonic Flute we will be playing this year.