Mom Remembers

We celebrated Carl's fourth birthday in Illinois with Scott's family.  In fact, Carl thought that his birthday was the whole reason for the trip!  I'm glad that he felt special, even though we didn't plan it that way at all. Here are some of the things we did to celebrate: 1. Very first, he opened some presents.  When my parents came to visit in July, they left presents for Carl's birthday, which have been hanging out in our living room ever since.  Because of their constant presence, Carl has been very excited to open them.  We packed them up in the car to take with us and he finally got to open them first thing in the morning on his big day.  There were 3 sets of finger puppets and books to go along with them!  He promptly went to play with them in Nan and Poppy's den. 2. When Nan woke up, we went to Krape Park.  There we met up with Aunt Rachel, Uncle Ash, and Maddy.  Scott pushed Carl on the swings for a long time. 3. At Krape Park, they have a 5

When Less is More: The Case for Teaching Less Math in School - This is the original article that got me thinking, there must be a better way to teach math! Doodling in Math Class: Connect the Dots  - This video also begs the question, why are we doing it this way?!? The Mathematician's Lament  - This is an absolutely beautiful  (albeit lengthy) article that I read much more recently.  It brought me right back were I started: thinking I should take a more laid-back approach to mathematics in the early years.  If you read anything, read this.  Although you might have already.  It apparently went viral on facebook. Why Math Instruction is Unnecessary - I love TED talks.  The title of this one is pretty provocative.  John Bennett recommends playing games instead of teaching higher mathematics.  I'm pretty convinced. Unschooling Tools: Math Play  - I love this mom's list of games and puzzles that explore mathematical ideas.  But of course I do; you can tell that she a

When Soren was a toddler and Carl just a wee babe, Scott emailed me an  article about math .  It's not a particularly scholarly article and I certainly don't think its conclusion is particularly sound, given the scope of the "research", but it was certainly provocative.  It's basic conclusion was that children didn't need to be formally taught mathematics in elementary school and could catch up (even surpass!) their peers very quickly at a later age.  Scott attached some comment indicating his frustration with the years he wasted hating  math in school. I emailed back: "It almost makes me want to homeschool our boys."  And thus our homeschooling journey began. Since then, I have thought long and hard about the best way to teach mathematics to our children.  It seems obvious to me that most public schools are not doing a good job and that something radically different is needed.  Here are some of the ideas that really speak to me: * playing game

I am so excited about homeschooling my boys. I am excited about the benefits to them: personalized pacing, one-on-one instruction, freedom from government indoctrination, a rich feast of subject material, a preserved love of learning, opportunities for hands-on experimentation, and more free time. I am excited about the benefits to our family: flexibility, friendship between siblings, preservation of parental authority, time to enjoy each other, and transmission our family and religious culture to the next generation. I am also excited for myself.  I am excited about the creative challenge of designing and leading my own homeschool. I have enjoyed daydreaming about homeschooling for the past few years.  I have explored lots of different ideas and peeked in on lots of other homeschooling families via blogs and the internet.  I have flirted with running a Waldorf-pure, simply Charlotte Mason, strictly classical, or wildly unschooled classroom and spent many happy hours imagining