Friday, September 12, 2008

Why Do We Homeschool?

This is a question we are often asked. Here are some of our thoughts...

  • Time is a huge reason. Life is so busy and we always have so much to do. I understand that sad reality. But, I also want the kids to practice being still and quiet. We don't spend as much time in "school" because we have less students. It frees up time for other things, like dance class, swim lessons, playdates, and contemplation. I want to encourage them to be still and hear God in the midst of life. I feel i am giving them this opportunity.
  • I enjoy teaching the kids. (Most days...) I wasted high school and never went to college. Learning with kids is fun because they are little sponges.
  • We have so many valuable and free resources in STL and this allows us to connect the dots between books and real life. For example, we can study trees in our textbook, visit the Botanical gardens to see a tree exhibit, and then we can head over to Forest Park to locate them on our own.
  • I can tailor their education in a way that a teacher cannot. We can speed up on some subjects and slow down on others. We avoid spending time with discipline issues for 20 kids.
  • I can teach holistically. They have the opportunity to learn how to do laundry, garden, wash dishes, cook, care for pets/babies, help neighbors, clean. And all the while, we can incorporate math, science, home economics, social studies, language, history, music and P.E.
  • We have the flexibilty to be spontaneous. We can go for a mid-morning bike ride on a cool fall day. We can break in the afternoon for a metro-link ride. We can walk to the zoo and spend a wintery day in the warm, fragrant, and tropical butterfly house.

We will homeschool as long as we are able. I may be useless to Tullaia pretty soon. But that is where the virtual school will be helpful. http://www.connectionsacademy.com/


An Afternoon Zoo Walk

Jasper and Tullaia rode their bikes over. After going to the zoo for 6 years of her life, several times a week, Tullaia said she didn't want to go. What a lovely thing to have the option of denying!
But, it was a gorgeous day and it is worth going if only to see the plants. They do a wonderful job keeping everything beautiful. Here is hibiscus at the entrance.
Here is Avery right before he crawled into the giraffes home. He crawled under the fence over and over and over and over. We finally had to leave. Please note how filthy he is. This is him after bath number 2 for the day.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Crawdaddy


We camped at Hawn State Park this weekend.
Poor crawdads never had a chance for peace! The kids (and adults) had buckets of them, made homes for them, and held them like puppies.

Litzinger Ecology Center

Today, we spent a cool, misty morning on a field trip with Tower Grove Homeschool.
The Ecology Center is a secretive parcel of land in the middle of Ladue.
It is part of the Botanical Gardens, but not open to the public.
We had a lovely time discovering new things, most especially Jelly Ear Fungus!