Dysgraphia and Creative Writing

Dysgraphia is a learning disability in which writing is difficult.  This is more than just the inability too legibly create letters and words.  It extends to the inability to spell and properly organize thoughts on paper. A child that is dysgraphic gets hung up so much on how to form the letters, that their brain often loses track of what they were trying to spell or write. 

Here's a picture of the process for the visual learners...

When my son was diagnosed with dysgraphia in December, it came as no surprise to me.   I have spent much more time on handwriting, spelling and sentence building with him than with any of my other children.  When he practices a lot, his cursive is nice and legible, but it requires so much work and effort on his part, he is unable to write spontaneously.  He can do copy work very well.  He can't easily write what he thinks. 

I have always encouraged my son to type assignments.  He has had his own laptop since he was 10 because of the difficulties he has always had with writing.  He is not a proficient writer, but he types faster than he writes.  He has also learned to rely on the spelling and grammar checking, and I am okay with that.

Obviously because of his difficulties, I will not give up on teaching him the elements of writing (five paragraph essays, in particular), formatting (MLA mostly), and grammar (via intense Latin study and an extremely rigorous grammar program).  We've also come up with an editing process that I found out is used often...just didn't know it already existed.  It's called the power method and it uses an acronym which makes the process easy to remember:

P-lan
O-utline
W-rite
E-dit
R-evise

Now, that may seem obvious, but it is not to an ADHD kid, especially one who hates the writing process.  I have always tried to get my kids to plan out what they are doing BEFORE they write.  They have begrudgingly done it, sort of...however, it wasn't until we were working through Essay Voyages by Michael Clay Thompson last year that they saw the power of the outline.  I gave the four kids I was working with an assignment.  Within the book, there was an outline of an essay.  Their job was to write their own essay, using all the things they had learned thus far from that outline.  They were all astounded at how easy it was when they had a good outline!  From there, the editing and revising was actually easy.  Handwriting aside, the process seemed easier.

However, I had never spent much time on story writing.  I didn't feel I needed to because my kids have always been good, not only at narration, but at making up their own imaginative stories.
One babysitter told us, after watching my children play, that my eldest son would make a good scriptwriter and director.  He would orchestrate elaborate stories into their play sessions.  Not only would he tell everyone what to do, but also what to say.  All the kids would follow his instructions because his stories, created on the fly, were fantastic.  Somehow, it occurred to me last year that my son needed to work and further develop that skill. 

One thing I have learned (listen up curriculum developers) is that the assignments need to be engaging  The premise behind TJeD is to let kids follow their interests and they will learn what they need to learn.  Inside my kid is a story teller without a way to get it out.  I decided that I needed to take things into my own hands and figure out a way to get him writing creatively.  So, given his interests - Star Wars, weapons, adventure stories, games and role playing (although he'd never played an official RPG), I took a lesson from Joseph Campbell and great ideas from George Lucas, a student of Campbell, and put them all together.

Last year, the idea started niggling and I bought some Star Wars books to thumb through.  Of course, my son thought that was divine.   Then, I had to take some time and learn what RPG was all about.  I guess I hadn't realized that Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) is a role playing game.  I never played it, but my friends in high school (yes, almost 30 years ago) did play it.  So I did have exposure, just not experience.

What I ended up with was a writing class for reluctant writers based on the Star Wars universe using role playing games as a way to a create the story.  While I wrote the class for my son, I knew he would not be interested in doing it by himself.  That is where the RPG comes into play.  I knew that if he had to share the story with others and that others would be involved in the story with him, he would work hard.  What an incentive!  So, we invited 11 of his friends to join us.  I used Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces to teach the boys what makes a good myth.   One young man dropped out, but the older brother of another participant requested to join when he saw how much fun it could be.  These young men, aged 11-14 voluntarily joined us six weeks over the summer to write five 8-10 page stories.  And yes, my son came up with five 10 page stories.  I typed much of it for him because his ideas came so fast, he couldn't capture them all.  We're now working on using Dragon Dictation so he can hand it by himself.

Here is what I found.  The boys loved the themes, character development and structure.  But I think I was the big winners because I learned so much in those six weeks about boys, the writing process, RPG, Star Wars (did I really need to know more???) but most importantly  I also got to know these 11 young men much better.  It was especially funny to see how they would include each other or me in their stories, either by killing them off (not me) or buttering them up (most often me) so that others would include them in their stories.

My daughters, age 9 and 12 at the time, sat in hiding close to our school room enraptured as they listened in as the boys told their stories.  I am now working on the same process for girls, but the story lines will be much different.  In fact, we're toying with either a time travel element or putting the entire story in a particular period of time...not sure yet about that one.  Perhaps...



So, I'm curious.  Would it make sense to run the Star Wars class again?  Would there be interest?  I know the boys that took it enjoyed it, but I don't know if they will join us again.  By the way, I only charge for the cost of materials for these classes.  I am not interested in making money on it.  Last year, the boys paid $30, which covered all the class costs as well as snacks, materials, books, etc.  Let me know if you have someone interested.  My son would be...

Classically Catholic Memory - Memory work worth doing

 

A friend recently emailed me asking what I thought of doing CCM (Classically Catholic Memory) in terms of Anthony Esolen's most excellent book Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child that I reviewed a few years ago.  I love Esolen's work for many reasons, but mostly because he was able to articulate many things I thought and felt, but could not properly put down on paper.  That's why I read books like his.  I knew I would agree.  His book gave me the words and arguments to support my opinions.

Now, one must remember that Esolen's book is ironic, like Screwtape writing letters to his nephew, Wormwood, in the Screwtape letters.  So, it requires you to look at his advice as contrary to your desired goal.  In the first chapter, he talks about Mr. Gradgrind in Hard Times.  Mr. Gradgrind asks Cissy (who is a horse breaker's daughter) what a horse is.  She is unable to answer him.  Mr. Gradgrind declares she knows no facts about horses.  Esolen warns about the danger of facts :-).  In fact on page 8 he asks,"of what use to us now are Facts? Surely in the case of homeschooled boys, we have seen Facts run amok."  He spends the entire chapter bemoaning anyone learning facts, because once you learn a fact you might actually learn more about the subject!  Oh no!  So the danger he is really pointing out is memorizing the facts only.
If you have a right brain kid, memorizing is hard work.  The way you get it to work is to explain the big picture and drill down to the fact they are memorizing, which not only helps them (whole->parts learning) but also give them the context about why they are memorizing this information.
CCM is not focused on just memorizing the facts.  It's learning the why's and what's about the facts. So, our CCM classes are not simply rote memorization.  They are not just about reciting the facts.  Our class time each week is spent explaining why we are memorizing these things and in what context the facts exist.  We are not just chanting and reciting...
This week, in fact, WEEK 7, if you are wondering, we were able to make many connections about things the kids have learn within the context of Religion, Timeline, Geography and History.  The Science class, the most interesting so far, keeps building on fact they have already learned, broadening their horizons in areas I've never approached with my kids on my own.  How many homeschoolers do you know have dissected an earthworm and lived to tell about it?  We have.  And, really looking at the earthworm hearts wasn't nearly as interesting as the looks on all the kids' faces.  The kids really will remember that forever.
So, is CCM just about facts?  No.  It could be, but with the right teachers and kids with the right attitude, it is not.

"A fact may not be much, by itself, but it points toward what is true, and even the humblest truth may in time lead a mind to contemplate the beautiful and the good..."

Summer School Bleg

I'm curious what others  are doing during the summer.  Do you 1) shut down, do you 2) keep up with math facts and reading, do you 3) do fun stuff like camps and projects OR do you 4) keep going all year round?

This year, we are doing a combination of 2, 3 and 4.

My #2 - My first and third graders are struggling with fact memorization right now.  The third grader is definitely a right-brain learner, so memorizing facts is not an easy task for her.  We've adapted our method to her needs and we are seeing much progress.  One of the things that has helped is Times Alive by City Creek Press.  Homeschoolbuyersco-op.org is offering 50% off right now, so we decided to try it.  It's been a great help, but she really needs more work.  The first grader is just resistant :-).  They will also have some assigned reading and read alouds this summer.

My #3 - For fun, I'm hosting a Writing Club for Reluctant Boy Writers, some Engineering Camps and some AHG Badge clinics (Space Explorer, History's Canvas, Our Feathered Friends, Dawn of our Country and Archery).  My summer is filling up!  We'll also do Catholic VBS, Schoenstatt Camp for Girls, Boy Scouts Camp, our church's family camp and a couple of camping trips with the family.

My #4 - I will be still teaching Latin (Lingua Latina is our chosen curriculum), via Skype to my group of middle-schoolers at least once a week, at their request.  One of my young gents will be out of the country and plans to participate, taking his mom's iPad2 to Skype with us while he's gone an entire month.  He cracks me up because he was deeply disappointed we were going from 3x a week to 1x a week.  Love that love-of-learning!

So here's my bleg - what will you do this summer?  Your comments will be helpful for me to share with the group at the Beginning Homeschooling talk at MCHEC.  Thanks in advance!

Book Review: Drive:The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us

Have you ever gone down a rabbit hole to find a treasure for which you were not looking?  I found this book while reading through the Amazon reviews for Mindset by Carol Dweck.  I had checked out the library copy and kept it passed the due date, incurring a fine close to the cost of the book.  I am fully convinced I needed to own this book because it is just so good.  So, while I was reading the Mindset reviews again, about to purchase the Kindle version, I came across this book.  But this is not a review of Mindset.  I've done that already.

This book is relevant to me because I am often asked at talks that I do or in helping other moms that are new to homeschooling how they can better motivate their children.  The ratings on Amazon for this book are very high. What caught my eye was this from one of the 266 reviews:

This is a great book for teachers. As an upper elementary teacher (I've taught 4th through 7th grades, primarily 5th and 6th), I've long struggled with the emphasis on extrinsic motivation. I think that and the enormous pressure to raise test scores, thus narrowing the curriculum, are doing great damage to our children. They are told what they must learn and how they must learn it every day of their education. Their curiosity and interests are not respected and they are responding accordingly with apathy. This book is a clear, readable summary of the research of motivation and clarified many things for me. It also made me think deeply about my classroom and my practice and what it is I want for my students, which is to be able to think for themselves and love learning. Thank you, Mr. Pink, for a boost before I start another school year!

It is that age group that I believe struggles the most with motivation.  And it is this time of year I need motivation. 

And so now my review.  I started this book this morning.  It is not a long book.  It is engaging, however, and my kids have enjoyed the day off due to the illness of one child (who is on the mend).  All of our book clubs and activities were canceled because he was contagious until today at 5pm.

The book starts out with the thesis that Carrot and Stick motivation is dangerous.  Study after study and example after example show the reasons why and the Seven Reasons that Carrots and Sticks (Often) Don't Work.  My favorite part of the book is the Type I Toolkit.  He spends one third of the book explaining how to create an environment that supports Intrinsic motivation over Extrinsic motivation. 
Perhaps the part that hit me hardest upside the head was this:

Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement...While complying can be an effective strategy for physical survival, it's a lousy one for personal fulfillment.  Living a satisfying life requires more than simply meeting the demands of those in control.  Yet in our offices our classrooms we have way too much compliance and too little engagement.  The former might get you through the day, but the latter will get you through the night.

I thought of this with relationship to my parenting style and homeschool environment.  While obedience is a good think, I want my children to obey me because they are motivated to do it, not because of fear of punishment.  I want my kids to learn because they are curious, not because they will get some "reward" for doing so or they will receive punishment if not successful.  I once heard someone say at a homeschool workshop that you only need to provide extrinsic rewards for a short while before intrinsic rewards set in.  I don't believe that works for my kids.  Daniel Pink also provided proof that indeed, that is the case - extrinsic rewards do not lead to intrinsic motivation! 

Please keep in mind this book is written more for the professional world, but there is really no reason the ideas he gives can not be used in the home and homeschool.  Perhaps what appealed to me the most was that he wrote this book from the perspective of a software release, which is something to which I can relate.

I am in the process of writing two new talks.  One talk is on motivation which has no title yet, but I was asked to put together for a homeschool group.  The other I'm writing because of the number of requests I have had from parents about Special Needs and Special Gifts.  This book will figure in heavily in the first talk and I can see it being extremely useful in helping our kids with Special Needs develop the mindset to grow and succeed even when it's difficult. 

Love of Learning - Dweck Style

My current library read is Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck.  I got it after researching the difference between gifted learners and non-gifted learners.  There are two schools of thought on intelligence.  One - IQ doesn't move and you can never get smarter than you are (or better at anything than your natural ability.)  Two - you have to work hard at something.  If you don't get it right away, keep working.  Practice.  Don't give up.  I'm sure it is a little of both, but we all know that practice is necessary to be come an expert an anything.  I wrote about the 10,000 hour phenomena a while back.

What I was more interested in was finding out what turns a kid off of learning and success.  What can a parent or teacher do?  We often, unconsciously, use language that paralyzes our children.  We assume the praise is helpful, but instead it can build barriers.  Sometimes frustration appears because a child feels something is "too easy" but when given a challenge gives up.  Some people have a "can do" attitude while others have an "I could never do that" attitude.  Dweck studied this phenomenon for 15 years.  I was interested in how my interactions with my kids was affected by my reactions to their success.  So, I reserved the book. 

Dweck's studies found there are two prevalent mindsets: fixed and growth.  A fixed mindset says something like, "Oh, they think I'm smart in Math.  If the problem is too hard and I can't do that they won't think I'm smart in Math anymore..."  Whereas a growth mindset says, "Oh!  I didn't get this the first time. I must need to practice to understand it better."

Ultimately, her book agrees with Talent Education (that of Suzuki), TJEd (Love of Learning) and the 10,000 Hour Phenomona.  Here's a synopsis:

World-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, in decades of research on achievement and success, has discovered a truly groundbreaking idea–the power of our mindset. Dweck explains why it’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us success–but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset. She makes clear why praising intelligence and ability doesn’t foster self-esteem and lead to accomplishment, but may actually jeopardize success. With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids and help them to raise their grades, as well as reach our own goals–personal and professional. Dweck reveals what all great parents, teachers, CEOs, and athletes already know: how a simple idea about the brain can create a love of learning and a resilience that is the basis of great accomplishment in every area. “If you manage any people or if you are a parent (which is a form of managing people), drop everything and read Mindset.” –Guy Kawasaki, author of _The Art of the Start _and the blog _How to Change the World_ "Highly recommended . . . an essential read for parents, teachers [and] coaches . . . as well as for those who would like to increase their own feelings of success and fulfillment.” _–Library Journal (_starred review) “A serious, practical book. Dweck’s overall assertion that rigid thinking benefits no one, least of all yourself, and that a change of mind is always possible, is welcome.” _–Publishers Weekly_ “A good book is one whose advice you believe. A great book is one whose advice you follow. This is a book that can change your life.” –Robert J. Sternberg, author of _Teaching for Successful Intelligence_ “A wonderfully elegant idea . . . It is a great book.” –Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., author of _Delivered from Distraction_

 So, if you are struggling with "Inspire, not Require," I highly recommend this book, especially the chapter written for Parents, Teachers and Coaches.  I attribute my turnaround in school in the 6th grade to Ms. Kunz, who challenged me to do better because she knew I was a hard worker, unlike the teachers up to that point who told me I was too smart to be doing so poorly.

Finally: A Review of 10 Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child

Late January, I mentioned this book. I finished it a couple of weeks ago, then 2/3 of my children got sick.  So, this review was put on hold until life started to resume some kind of normalcy.

Anthony Esolen has a biting style similarly adopted by C. S. Lewis in Screwtape Letters.  The premise of his book is to give you a list of 10 premises that will destroy your child's imagination.  Of course the book is actually full of bits and pieces of beautiful classical literature and ideas that one would never want their child to read should they want them to mature into a thinking adult!  Heaven forbid! 

What I think I loved most about this book was that it gave words to me to explain several things I have always inherently felt, but could not articulate.  One example is why, oh why, boys don't want to altar serve anymore now that girls are doing it (in a parish that allows both genders the opportunity.)  Really, I've always felt it was important for boys to be up on the altar and had even resisted the possibility of having my daughter serve.  Upon reading this and sharing it with my husband, we've pulled our daughter from that activity.  No spoilers, sorry.  

So here is a list.  I assure you he offers many ways to counter these methods throughout the book:

• Method 1: Keep Your Children Indoors as Much as Possible (or They Used to Call It "Air")
• Method 2: Never Leave Children to Themselves (or If Only We Had a Committee)
• Method 3: Keep Children Away from Machines and Machinists (or All Unauthorized Personnel Prohibited)
• Method 4: Replace the Fairy Tale with Political Clichés and Fads (or Vote Early and Often)
• Method 5: Cast Aspersions upon the Heroic and Patriotic (or We Are All Traitors Now)
• Method 6: Cut All Heroes Down to Size (or Pottering with the Puny)
• Method 7: Reduce All Talk of Love to Narcissism and Sex (or Insert Tab A into Slot B)
• Method 8: Level Distinctions between Man and Woman (or Spay and Geld)
• Method 9: Distract the Child with the Shallow and Unreal (or The Kingdom of Noise)
• Method 10: Deny the Transcendent (or Fix Above the Heads of Men the Lowest Ceiling of All)

I was initially drawn to this book after reading Wall Street Journal editorial contrasting this book with a book written by Amy Chu, Battle Hymm of the Tiger Mother which I do not recommend if you  are looking to raise thinkers.  But perhaps it was more reviews like this that really drew me in:

"This book made me want to jump up (very high) and cheer, or run around (very far) and shout warnings. The best way I can think of to save Western culture, next to everyone deciding to become saints, would be for all educators to take this uncommonly commonsensical book to heart. A worthy successor to C. S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man." -- Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy, Boston College  

I started reading his book on Western Civilization while the kids were sick and LOVE IT.  I had no good education in history, so reading this book has  been both enlightening and entertaining.  I got my copy from the library, but the hubby insisted I buy a copy after reading a few selected sections.

When I get around to reading Dante, it is Esolen's translations I will seek.

2010-2011 Book Club for 5th - 8th Grade Boys

Medieval Book Club

 UPDATE:  We replaced The Mabinogion with Men of Iron by Howard Pyle.  The version of The Mabinogion we were going to use was to advanced (in more than one way) for this age group.  Men of Iron is an excellent replacement, or you could use Tales of the Mabinogion instead.










Join us as we immerse ourselves in medieval European legend with the stories of King Arthur and Robin Hood.  We will meet once a month.  We will use the Socratic method of literary analysis to discuss each book.  We welcome young men in 5^th – 8^th grade. 

Here is our reading schedule.  Please have the reading done BEFORE the meeting date:

Oct. - Read Favorite Medieval Tales by Mary Pope Osborne

Nov. - Read the Introduction, Translators Note and Chapters 1-5 of The Mabinogion by  Sioned Davies Oxford University Press

Dec. – Read Chapters 6-11 of The Mabinogion by  Sioned Davies Oxford University Press (Click to see the link on Amazon.com)

Jan. - Read the author’s note, Book 1 and Book 2 of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green

Feb. - Read Book 3 and Book 4 and the epilogue of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green

Mar. - Read the prologue and Chapters 1-15 of The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green

April - Read Chapters 16-24, plus the epilogue of The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green

2010-2011 Book Club for 9-12 year old girls

Little Women Book Club

Join us in reading the Little Women Trilogy by Louisa May Alcott.  We will meet once a month to discuss approximately 200 pages worth of reading.  We’ve included the schedule below.  Each book discussion will include a Socratic style literary analysis along with some stitching and snacking. 

Here’s our schedule:

Oct.  Preface and Chapters 1-15 of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Nov. Chapters 16-32 of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Dec. Chapters 33-47 and the Afterword of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Jan. Read the beginning through the chapter called Naughty Nan of Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

Feb. Read from Pranks and Plays through the chapter called Goldilocks Nan of Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

March Read from Damon and Pythias to the end of the book of Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

April Read Chapters 1-10 of Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott

May Read Chapters 11-22 of Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott

All the rage this Summer...

I found out about this on a Yahoo! group about Latin Centered Curriciulum.  Minimus is a Latin program written by Barbara Bell from England.  My kids are absolutely loving it.  We have two student guides and one CD.  The girls pair up and the oldest boy sit and listen to the CD and read the book.  It's a bit of a graphical novel (read Comic Book) about a mouse that lives in Roman Briton with a Roman family.  The story is based on historical artifacts found at a settlement called Vindolanda.  So, it's not only Latin, but a small unit study on Roman History in Britain.

I haven't used it as a text book.  I simply put the books and CD out on our school table, which is in our family room, and the kids found it on their own.  They are noticing on their own the differences in pronunciation from Prima Latina and pointing them out to me.  We talked about Ecclesiastical and Classical pronunciation. 

My seven year old will be using Song School Latin next year and now I am struggling with which pronunciation to use.  Song School Latin has both on the CD.  For those of you who have taught Latin before, what have you used?  I could use some help here.

I will now, most definitely be getting Minimus Secondus, if not for a Latin text, then just to leave out again for the kids to find and enjoy on their own.

In Search of Mark and Janice Vreeland of Family Learning

For those that attended my games workshop, I had promised to try and contact Mark and Janice Vreeland that had written that great workbook called "Games...Tools for Learning" that I had gotten at a one day workshop back in 2003. I have tried google searching them, tried their web site, email all to no avail. So, if anyone out there has a copy of "Games...Tools for Learning" that they would like to unload, I know some buyers. I'm happy to act as a go between.

For those interested in further information on a full games workshop that I provide, that would include a workbook and time to create games with other moms, please contact me. The talk I gave at the conference was based on my workshop. My workshop is not like Mark and Janice's. Their seminar was a full day. I do my seminar in 3 hours and you go home with a booklet of quick and easy games. Mark and Janice almost created curriculum out of their games. I don't go that far and I don't use many of their ideas. I have a very different approach and we will have LOTS of fun.


I love doing the workshop and I think it's important, more so for the mom than the kids. Games give moms as much of a needed break as it does for kids. Mom? When was the last time you could say you really had fun teaching a subject? Playing a game with your kids on the subjects they need to learn will help restore our "love of teaching" as much as the kids "love of learning."

I don't charge much for the workshop, just the cost for the workbooks and my travel costs.  My only request is that you have at least 5 people so the copy costs are reasonable.  I get a discount for bulk copying.  So, please let me know via the combox if you are interested.  It would be my pleasure to do the workshop for you.

Intellectual Friendships (Part 2 of 4)

for our Children

Children need more than just play friends, especially as they move into the tween/teen years. I hope my kids build intellectual friendships. It starts very basic for kids, though. My book clubs were designed with that purpose in mind. I wanted my kids to be able to have intellectual conversations with other kids about great books or other topics important to us, like Catholicism.

All to often, we want our kids to "go play" and they view their time studying and schooling as "work". I think that is because our misconception about learning. Kids have a natural Love of Learning that we spoil.

One of the ways we do that is to tell our little kids that want to help us with our "work" to go play. So, is it any surprise that when we want them to "work", they would rather play? Ask a two or three year old if cleaning the tub is fun and they will say yes. They also like to wash dishes. I did things any differently with my older kids. I could just get things faster and better. They have a lower interest in helping to clean. My little kids, however still want to wash, scrub, dust, vacuum and sweep. For this I am thankful.

As I stated in part one of this topic I came upon this while reading a lovely little book. In the book, Mark Henrie goes even further into some of the problems with teens/young adults (dare I say almost everyone) in America in A Student's Guide to the Core Curriculum.

...we (Americans) tend to understand leisure as the absence of work. The ancients, however, understood work as the absence of leisure. Leisure (otium, in Latin) was the substantial thing. and work the negation or absence of that (negotium). The ancients understood that human beings were made to enjoy their leisure seriously: the serious use of leisure is the cultivation of the mind, which is pleasant and good for its own sake. Americans, however, approach university studies as "work," as negotium, from which, once the work is done, they are "freed." Free time, such as time spent with friends, is thus kept clean of any trace of the learning of the classroom. This is no way to learn. It isn't even any real way to enjoy yourself.Our society is hung up on entertainment, not leisure. We look at education as "work" not "leisure."

The truly well educated use their free time to learn, not to be entertained. Or, perhaps you could say that the educated are entertained by learning. What do you do with your free time? Do you passively seek entertainment or do you seek to gain better understanding? Passive or Active?

The Ancient emperors used different forms of entertainment to pacify the urban masses, including chariot races, theatrical and musical performances, wild-beast hunts, mock sea battles, public executions, and gladiatorial combat. In the Colosseum, Rome's huge amphitheater, 50,000 Romans could watch the games. Look at our society now. TV and sports arenas are the Colosseums. The Internet, movie theaters, our TVs at home are the theatres. They serve to pacify (make us peaceful*) and we are passive (to suffer**) through it.

Education is an activity ( from L. actus "a doing" and actum "a thing done,") where entertainment is a passive event ( "to keep up, maintain,"). I'm not saying all entertainment is bad and I will tell you that I will used media in my education and that of my children. They do find it entertaining.

So, my goal is to help my tweeners to find intellectual friendships, not necessarily passing friendships where free time is frittered away in front of a TV or video game. This is a bigger challenge for my son than my daughter. I think boys are just drawn more to screen time. There are lots of studies to support my desire to limit the amount of time my boys, in particular, waste in front of a screen. One book, The Minds of Boys, states studies done using MRI technology while boys engaged in activities like reading, watching TV and playing computer games. Certain neural pathways were not engaged during activities that involved a screen. Our priest talks about how boys need to have real social relationships, not virtual relationships, like those found on Facebook or MySpace. I want them outside playing or discussing something while building Legos.

Perhaps if you are struggling with this, you can do what we have done by starting a book club or finding a Boy Scout organization or American Heritage Girls group. Both organizations help build character in children and they develop life long friendships. Perhaps an even more important aspect is having a mentor, someone other than a parent, that will guide them to the right books and activities, to develop them into a whole civilized person.

I challenge you to think about your kids' free time (and yours) and how you both use it.

* Pacify is from L. pacificus "peaceful, peace-making," from pax (gen. pacis) "peace"
** Passive is from L. passivus "capable of feeling or suffering," from pass-, pp. stem of pati "to suffer"

Intellectual Friendships (Part 1 of 4)

I'm reading through more of the ISI Student's Guides I had mentioned a year and a half ago in this post. I wrote the post about A Student's Guide to the Core Curriculum by Mark C. Henrie and promised I would write more about it. Here it is, very late.

As I was reading it yesterday, I realized there is a great discrepancy in my family with respect to Intellectual Friendships. I want to discuss the importance of Intellectual Friendship. We'll start off with what Intellectual Friendship is (part 1) and the need for our children (part 2), husbands (part 3) and us to have those types of friendships (part 4). Henrie discusses this in the section "A Core of One's Own."

Friendship is so important, Arisotle devoted two books of his Nicomachean Ethics to it - and only one book to Justice. One of the highest types of friendship is intellectual friendship....

In the everyday course of intellectual friendship, friends share with each other their moments of insight, present them to each other for testing. Such moments in turn require us to reconsider not just that discrete matter, but everything else in our view of the whole that touches upon the matter....As Socrates knew twenty-five centuries ago, the normal mean for penetrating further and synthesizing our knowledge is dialogue. Intelectual friendship consists in a great ocean of dialogue and discussion and those who have tasted it know it is among the highest human pleasures.

With whom do you dialogue? Do you have this kind of friendship? I do and I'm anxious to share more with you about it in Part 4.

New Idea - Good or Bad?

We just finished our boy's Science club. At the last session, my son did a presentation on how the pyramids were build using simple machines. We watched a Nova episode called "This Old Pyramid." The boys loved it and it sparked several great discussions. So, I thought it might be fun to do this with regularity.

Here's my rub. I would rather they be reading books than watching a video. Now, two of the four moms do these clubs for the social aspect more than anything else. So, I solicit your advice. Do I do a video club or not? Here's the plan. Let me know what you think:

Nova Science and History Workshops

Wright Brothers' Flying Machine (SCIENCE)

Lesson Plan:

Video:

Activity: See Lesson Plan – make paper airplane and observe effects of wing warping

Infinite Secrets (MATH)

Lesson Plan:

Video:

Activity: See Lesson Plan – Archimedes Recipe for pi

Lincoln's Secret Weapon (HISTORY/SCIENCE)

Lesson Plan:

Video:

Activity: See Lesson Plan: Dive! Dive! Dive!

Lost at Sea! (HISTORY/SCIENCE)

Lesson Plan:

Video: County Library

Activity: See Lesson Plan: Voyage Around the World

Medieval Siege (HISTORY/SCIENCE)

Lesson Plan:

Video: County Library

Activity: See Lesson Plan: FLING IT!

Book Clubs of the Past

Announcing

The Knights of Freedom

Book Club

Our Founding Fathers

First Fridays from 1:30 – 3:30

February - May

Mission: The mission of Knight of Freedom is to create lasting friendships with boys of high character, active minds and busy hands, to introduce moral leadership activities and opportunities, to bond and move through life together.

Membership is open to boys aged 7-12.

Elements:

1. Monthly Meetings, two hours in length: Each meeting begins with an opening ceremony that includes prayer or scripture and pledge of Allegiance.
2. Reading and discussion of biographies of great men: The boys read one biography per month from the Childhood of Famous Americans series. This meeting also includes a presentation by the advisor on the era in which the famous person lived. There may be an occasional guest speaker as the advisor deems necessary.
3. Leadership training and experience: This makes up the other part of the meeting. Basic parliamentary procedure is taught. The advisor gives a short lesson on leadership. Each boy then gives a 5-10 minute presentation on the topic of his choice. For example, cooking, volcanoes, airplanes, piano recitals, Johnny Appleseed, Big Foot, Legos. This helps him develop leadership skills while increasing the feeling of brotherhood in the club. Lessons on knighthood are given during the first meeting. The lesson will include details about armor, King Arthur’s round table, weapons, the code of honor and the “Armor of God”.
4. Tuition: $20 for supplies. Book cost is not included. There are MANY copies available through the Library system.

Meeting 1 - February

• Prayer
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure
• Lesson on Knighthood
• Discussion of George Washington – Childhood of Famous Americans Series
• What is a Patriot, Liber and Public Virtue?
• Activity Plywood Shield w/Leather Straps & Snack
• Time permitting – Optional PVC Swords w/Foam Padding (additional $3 for materials) and practice fencing

Meeting 2 - March

• Prayer
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Discussion of John Adams – Childhood of Famous Americans Series
• Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs for Kids
• Member Presentations
• Activity (Paint a duck decoy) & Snack
• Time Permitting – Duck Shooting w/Bow and Arrow
  
• (PVC Bows and dowel arrows optional – additional $3)

Meeting 3 - April

• Prayer
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Discussion of Thomas Jefferson – Childhood of Famous Americans Series
• History o f the U.S. Government
• Member Presentations
• Activity Jefferson Wheel Cypher & Snack
• Time Permitting – Secret Code Cracking

Meeting 4 - May

• Prayer
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Discussion of Ben Franklin – Childhood of Famous Americans Series
• How to debate
• Member Presentations
• Activity Build a Kite & Snack
  
• Time permitting - Kite Fighting after class at local park

Liberty Girls - Kirsten

Here's the girl's book club this year:
Announcing - Liberty Girls Book Club
Kirsten: A Minnesota Liberty Girl
Assorted Fridays from 1:30 – 4:00
September – December


Mission: Liberty Girls Book Club is a club offering young girls in grades 4-6, an exciting opportunity to learn about American History through historical fiction, narration, hands on creative and explorative experiences, mentors and social interaction with other homeschoolers.

Vision: Little girls want to grow up to be great women. To do this, they need models and inspiration. As young girls, they also want to try out the things they read about, to be able to understand how it was for other American Girls and how it was for girls living long ago. They want to get messy, dress up, go places, have adventures and form friendships that last. Liberty Girls offers an avenue to meet these needs through stories, activities, cooking, games, discussions, special guests and producing a play in a fun, relaxed atmosphere.

Registration: Club membership is for 4 months: $12. This will cover all of the expenses associated with the meeting activities. The cost of the books is not included. However, there are MANY copies available at the County Library.

Reading: We’ll use the American Girls Series: Kirsten, reading the six books in 3 months (2 books a month), with the last month meeting used for the play. Books are approximately 60 pages in length each. Kirsten is a fictitious girl living in 1854 in Minnesota. Each meeting has been designed to correspond to the books for that month allowing each girl to experience for themselves some of the things Kirsten did during that time. All members are required to read the book before the meeting.

What does Mom have to do? Just help your daughter finish the book each month, bring your daughter on time, pick her up at the end, help her prepare for a one time narration, and help with one meeting or the play. Costume for the play is white shirt, mid calf to ankle length skirt, nice shoes and optional shawl. If your daughter has a long dress she would like to wear instead, that would be fine.

Narrations: We remember a story better when we tell it to our friends. Each girl will get to give one narration to the book club members during the opening ceremony of each meeting. This should be a retelling of a part of the book featured that meeting that20she decides to share. She can dress up, act out, draw pictures, have props, rewrite it in her own words, put it into verse, sing a song, whatever she is excited about doing to express this part to her friends. A narration should take 5 minutes. We’ll have a sign up sheet at the first meeting.

Program Outline

September – Book: Meet Kirsten & Kirsten Learns a Lesson

Program overview for the girls
Narration sign up
Lesson and Discussion: We will trace Kirsten's route on a map and talk about health issues of Kirsten’s time. We will learn a few Swedish words. We will learn more about Singing Bird, her tribe and what her life was like.
Craft – Make a rag doll.
Snack – Swedish Coffee bread.
Play and Talent DESIGNATIONS (Play parts will be assigned by picking names out of a hat)
7 female roles

October – Book: Kirsten’s Surprise & Happy Birthday, Kirsten

4 Narrations
Lesson and Discussion: We will learn more about St. Lucia's Day and tornadoes.
Craft – small quilted potholder.
Snack – St. Lucia Buns.
Read through play. Have you memorized Act 1&2?

November – Book: Kirsten Saves the Day & Changes for Kirsten

3 Narrations
Lesson and Discussion: We will play games like they played on the Fourth of July. We will also learn about the black be ars in Minnesota, fur trading and bee keeping.
Craft – bees wax candle
Snack – Pepparkakor (Swedish Cookies)
Play practice. Do you have Act 3&4 memorized?

December – Play

Practice Play
Play Home is Where the Heart
Snack – Swedish cookies

Boy's Science Club

It's that time of year again and I start thinking of clubs for my Love of Learning aged kids. It's important at this age that they have the opportunity to learn with others and see how others think. I also want them to be comfortable participating in group activities.

This year, my son is doing a Science Club. Feel free to use this syllabus. I am using a curriculum that already exists and requires work on fine motor skills, something on which my son needs to work.

Boy’s Science Club

4^th – 6^th Grade Boys

The World of Tools and Technology

2^nd Friday of the Month

Open to 6 boys

$35.00 each, includes all supplies and lab materials

Using the GREAT SCIENCE ADVENTURES curriculum:

http://www.commonsensepress.com/GSA-sample_lesson/tools/lesson_tools-toc.htm

Class	Materials Covered	Homework due before class:	Labs and activities done during class:
Class 1	Lessons 1-4	· Create books 1-4 · Read each book	· Build a force meter to be used for other classes · Create a timeline book “Tools in Time” · Perform 5 labs · Create 4 graphic organizers · Take home assignment to be completed for next week (Experiences, Investigations and Research assignment)
Class 2	Lessons 5-10	· Create books 5-10 · Read each book · Complete take home assignment	· Update the timeline book “Tools in Time” · Perform 3 labs · Create 10 graphic organizers · Build a screw · Take home assignment to be completed for next week (Experiences, Investigations and Research assignment)
Class 3	Lessons 11-14	· Create books 11-14 · Read each book · Complete take home assignment	· Update the timeline book “Tools in Time” · Make 2 levers · Perform 5 labs · Create 5 graphic organizers · Take home assignment to be completed for next week (Experiences, Investigations and Research assignment)
Class 4	Lessons 15-19	· Create books 15-19 · Read each book · Complete take home assignment	· Update the timeline book “Tools in Time” · Make a wheel and axle and some pulleys · Perform 5 labs · Create 7 graphic organizers · Take home assignment to be completed for next week (Experiences, Investigations and Research assignment)
Class 5	Lessons 20-24	· Create books 20-24 · Read each book · Complete take home assignment	· Update the timeline book “Tools in Time” · Make gears · Perform 1 labs · Create 5 graphic organizers · Take home assignment to be completed for next week (Experiences, Investigations and Research assignment)