Kindergarten for E

E is doing more official work now. She is learning how to spell and write. She can read pretty well already, but still needs some practice. She is also doing some math. I only make her do one workbook page a day in a little workbook I found at Walgreens way back for 1st - 2nd grade math. That seems to be about all she can handle right now, and that's just fine.

We also desire to do some kind of science activities with her and almost-3-year-old L. It will be a fun thing we do now and then.

E seems to really like doing her school work. She works for about an hour and then plays on Starfall.com for a bit, then she just gets to play with her sister.

I wish I were in Kindergarten again. :)

It's summer, and public school at home is NOT homeschool.

I've been looking forward to this summer. I've got the next year of school mostly planned out, books ordered, etc. We are expecting little woo 4 in December, so I've dedicated this summer to relaxing, having fun and enjoying the summer and time with my kids. This momma needs it. So far we've been enjoying the wading pool and water squirters, the park, the mountains, some fishing, and riding bikes. We are looking forward to a road trip in August to visit grandparents. I'm laying low and have nothing planned, it should be great!

Onto another topic about homeschool in general. When I tell people we homeschool, often I get a question like the following, "What online school are you using?" I'm not sure this generation understands what homeschooling really and truly is. I really don't. Online schooling (more traditionally, public school at home) is NOT true homeschooling. Why should this bother me so much? Well, not that I care what people think in general, but a person likes to be recognized for how she truly lives her life. Homeschooling is our lifestyle. We do it all on our own. We choose and research our own education style and curriculum, and we pay for it all by ourselves without favors from the government. ALL of our resources are self-funded and no one tells us how to educate our kids, what they should be learning, where they should be, etc. It's hard work, and it's frustrating work sometimes. We don't get a free computer, we don't get to just put our kid in front of the computer and just be there in case they need help every day, while another person educates them. While at some point during overwhelming transitions in my life, the idea was tempting to me, ultimately our current philosophy comes with a lot more sacrifice. We are true homeschoolers, our kids' school is at home, NOT at the public, charter, or private school through an internet line. Capiche?

Physics

I am feeling excited,  because W is going to be studying physics for the school year 2015-2016. I discovered this science cirriculum that is not suggested in the current edition of The Well-Trained Mind called R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey.  They are a secular cirriculum, which means they don't teach creationism, and they also do not teach evolution, and they are completely unaligned with public schools. This is what I wanted because I really wanted to teach this aspect of science on my own. I have loved this cirriculum because it really makes science simple and fun with active demonstrations every week. I have found that even my younger kids want in on the fun sometimes.  When I tried to find their physics text last year, I was so dissapointed to find they did not have one. Today, upon researching if they're planning to come out with one, I found this:http://www.pandiapress.com/?page_id=25

So hopefully at the end of the summer I'll be able to get it and have time to look through it. I sure wish I could look through it much sooner, but I'm not complaining, just so happy they are coming out with it in time for our family's needs.

A word about pencils and the ones that sharpen them.

Why would I write a blog post about pencils? Because I think I've experienced enough to be quite the expert and thought it would be nice to share my wisdom with others.

#1. Money matters. Don't be cheap. Really. I'm generally a penny-pincher, I do not like buying something that costs more than I'm willing to spend on that item. When it comes to pencils, though, please know that it is worth a couple of extra dollars to not go cheap. 

#2. Dixon brand's Ticonderoga pencil. THE best pencil. That is all you need to know. The cheapy cute pencils that you might be tempted to put in your kid's Easter basket are not worth it. Don't even waste your money. They tend to jam up sharpeners, and sharpeners ruin them. They break easy, have terrible erasers, and don't write very smoothly. They're only good for their cuteness.

#3. Manual pencil sharpeners work the best. The first pencil sharpener (other than the little red one I had for my son's colored pencils) I bought was a battery powered one from Wal-Mart. I don't even remember the brand, but it was terrible. It ate up every pencil I tried to sharpen. So I went to Office Max and bought a mini version of that iPoint one that others rave about from Costco. It worked a little better, but I wasn't completely satisfied. Then I bought that little red apple shaped one you see in the top picture. If you are going for a battery powered auto pencil sharpener, this is a good one. It does a pretty good job if you have a good pencil, but it takes some getting use to. It STILL is rough on pencils, just as all the other auto sharpeners I've tried were (the former ones being worse). I don't particularly like the idea of one you plug in, so I've never tried those. Today we decided to go with a traditional classroom pencil sharpener. I installed it and started sharpening our newly bought Ticonderogas. I sharpened one in the auto sharpener, and the rest in the new manual one and if you look closely you can see the difference.

Very smooth and tight sharpen. This pencil will not break or have lead fall out.

Really shotty job here. This is a Ticonderga pencil! This is the best job this auto sharpener can do on a high quality #2 pencil, and after some general use, the pencil lead will probably break like a mechanical pencil lead. And I didn't even bother showing you the even worse job it does on the cheapy cute pencils.

I'm actually quite astonished it took me this long to realize this and convert to the old fashioned way of things. But I really hoped to have a nice quick way to sharpen pencils. We seem to need to sharpen pencils at least once or twice a day. But I let go of the ideal...

...

For anyone who follows this blog, I'd like to talk more about my homeschooling experience, I just don't know what to write. If you have any questions for me, just ask!

A little word for nay-thinkers: Being a light unto the world.

Through a LDS homeschooling group online it was made known to me that some people in the church believe that homeschoolers are disobeying God, so-to-speak, for keeping their child out of public school. These people believe putting our children in public school is obeying God by being a "light unto the world". They believe our children should be an example to others and that by keeping them out of public school there is no way they can be so. It has since been revealed to me that this is a truly common thought among members of the church. While this all-knowing knowledge was not directed at me personally, I take deep offense to it.

My first thought about this was that there certainly are ways my children get out, and will get out in their youth, to let their light so shine. Homeschoolers are certainly not prisoners, but that's an entirely different discussion. If you hold this ill-conceived thought about homeschoolers, perhaps you should actually speak to one homeschool family about what their child's weekly schedule is like. Then maybe you will end up feeling quite silly for thinking homeschooled kids can't possibly have influence on other children.

Now if my first thought didn't calm me enough (chalking it up to ignorance and letting it go), then why am I deeply offended over this notion? Let's consider how I feel about education. Most of my feelings about education stem from my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our knowledge and experiences we obtain on earth is the ONLY thing we can take with us after we die. This is something that I value immensely for my children. Their brains are very precious to me. I can't in good conscience send them to a public school where they will most certainly pick up bad habits, bad examples, where improper thought is not only encouraged but displayed, where educational standards and curriculum are not only sub-par, but experimental, in many cases false, misleading and harbor negativity. I can't send them to a place where administrators and beaurocrats believe they are stewards over my children's minds above parents who work with teachers. I can't send them to a place where they will be one mind in the background among 40 other minds, a statistic and piece of data. I can't send them to a place where their creativity is not just limited, but stifled, and freedom for thought and expression is basically non-existent because they're told exactly what they need to know and learn in order to pass tests that are exactly the same as all the other kids in the country. No child deserves that. All children deserve a learning environment where questions can be answered in great detail, where they can wonder and explore different paths so they can choose for themselves. My children need to be able to be taught the things they need to know in an environment where they can go at their own pace and really have everything sink in. When I think about the teachings of Jesus Christ, the things we learn in the temple, the things I read in the scriptures, and the words of the prophets, I know public school is wrong for my children. Am I to take risks with the minds and spirits of my children on the notion that they can't be an example in the world without attending a public school? No I will not! I have often felt like I have had a lot of support in my local community by members of the LDS Church. They applaud me and give me encouragement and offer resources, even if they choose to keep their children in public school. So when I read about this sentiment among other members of the church that homeschoolers were disobeying God, it surprised me so much. To people who hold this mindset I say: Please recognize the value of the education we obtain on this earth. As a member of the church, someone who knows the true gospel of Jesus Christ, we should appreciate and encourage those who take the education of their children so seriously. "Being an example to the world", is a commandment, yes. But it does not hinge AT ALL on attending a government school. These thoughts are considerably irrelevant to that commandment.

Feel free to leave your comments.

DISCLAIMER: It is not to be misinterpreted that I believe all children who attend public school will take on the bad habits and thoughts that are rampant in the public schools today and have it take over their entire character. It is also not to be misinterpreted that I believe kids cannot be supplemented with a good education at home if they are attending public school. In fact I believe this is something parents should do, be involved in their child's education no matter what. It is to be properly interpreted, however, that this is just not the risk we, the Woodruff parents, feel we should to take. Every family is different and basically I think it is a terrible thing for anyone to blanketly judge a persons righteousness based on which educational path they choose for their children. Let's think about who is making the grosser error here.