Homeschooled: How American Homeschoolers Measure Up.
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Failure to Launch  Starting when my daughter was only two years old, we got pressure from friends and family to get her into nursery school. Dutifully, we paid for a very expensive one-day-a-week program in our synagogue. It couldn't have been more baby-friendly. It was two hours of play with other children and sweet teachers. There was only one problem: my daughter didn't want to go. She cried every time I left her and continued to cry while I was gone. Everyone told me to be patient, "she'll get used to it, she'll be fine, it's good for her." We had the same experience in Kindergarten. In 1st Grade it turned into my daughter needing to be picked up at school several times per week. In 2nd Grade, it became daily torture to get her out the door and pushed into the classroom. This only escalated as she got older. It wasn't until my daughter was in 5th Grade that I started to question the societal pressure to keep sending her away. Why was I constantly trying to push her out of the nest? It's what looks "right" or "well-adjusted." We all know the stigma of the adult child living in the basement of their parents' house. What a loser! This is the image we automatically conjure up. The first year we homeschooled, my daughter joined 4-H. It was through her involvement over the last several years that we have come to know a few adults who are 4-H graduates. They are involved, in adult roles now, and offer such a great model for the kids and teens that look up to them. The interesting thing about them, is their unique relationships with their parents. Their parents are still there supporting them in really active ways. When my daughter is showing her animals and taking care of them at hot, dusty fair grounds, I'm helping take care of her. I help her with her supplies, get her water, and in general support her. Well, these parents of adult 4-H volunteers do exactly the same thing! I see them toting cages and books and food while their grown-up children work with the kids. Their relationships outside 4-H is the same, supportive and they are just as close as when they were young. At first, I had the typical societal reaction to this. I judged them as being a little sheltered or immature. But then, I watched these families interact and I started to see the beauty in it. It's not weird, it's wonderful. The relationships we have with our children are the most important and influential ones we have. Why should that change as they get older? Why should we push them away? I worry because we homeschool, that my daughter doesn't have as many opportunities to experience typical teenager relationships. Recently, we were talking about friendship. I was telling her that I always had a best friend growing up to talk to about anything. Someone I could rely on to always be there for me during tough times. She said, "just like us." Well, I don't care what anyone thinks... I don't know what could be better than that. This is the kind of thing that most parents can only dream of. I'm proud to be my daughter's best friend and I will go on supporting her no matter how old either of us are! Even if she wants to live in the basement. If you'd like to explore ideas for creative lessons designed just for your child and their interests, come visit me at www.blossomlearning.weebly.com. The Library... a Homeschooler's Best FREE Friend.  When I was a new homeschooling parent, I would take trips to the Library with an agenda like a research student. I had this fantasy that I would sit with a wise Librarian who would know just the right books I would need for every subject I was teaching. The reality was, it was more like a guy standing behind a counter looking through key word searches online in the Library system... just like I could do at home!
Soon after we started homeschooling, a new building went in next to our local Library. The parking lot was cut down to five spaces, two of which were marked Handicapped. So, we were forced out. We took our first trip to the neighborhood brand close to our home. I had previously written this branch off because of it's small size. I figured it wouldn't have as much to offer. I'm happy to say that I was proved wrong. As soon as we walked in, a kind woman asked what we were looking for. We told her and she proceeded to spend the next 45 minutes sitting with us, talking and asking questions, searching and mulling over just the right books to put on hold. It turns out she was a research Librarian for a University in her previous job and she LOVES research. This wonderful Librarian asked me if I had an Educator's card. A what? It turns out, that if you show written proof that you homeschool, you can apply for a special Library account that offers all kinds of great benefits. In our county, my Educator's card allows me to have no late fees, longer check outs, and endless holds from other Libraries. Every county is different, so I recommend asking your local branch. The other thing this amazing Librarian introduced me to, are all of the great online learning resources that are offered to us for free through my account. Here are just a few: InfoTrac Student Edition This periodical database is designed for high school students, with access to a variety of indexed and full-text magazines, newspapers and reference books. Novelist Plus Novelist will help you find a good book. The database provides readers’ advisory, read-alikes, and "What to Read Next?" information covering over 100,000 titles. Pronunciator Pronunciator is a language-learning service with 80 languages and 4,000 available courses. Learn how to speak a foreign language with the help of a variety of interactive techniques. Science in Context An in-depth, curriculum-oriented science database that provides a one-stop resource for all science-related research needs. The lesson to be learned? Search around for a great Librarian, not just a great Library, register for an Educator's Card, and start using all the FREE educational resources the Library offers. Oh, did I mention free Cultural Passes to Museums and Resources Centers? Okay, we're off to the Library now to pick up our books on the History of France. Later we'll do our French Lessons using the Pronunciator. As always, for homeschooling ideas go to Blossom Learning. Happy homeschooling!  Four Lessons in Learning to the Homeschooling Parent of a Special Needs Child. 1. Focus on your child’s strengths and interests. As parents of children with Special Needs or Learning Disabilities, we hear a lot about what our children can’t do. Although it is important that we are aware of their difficulties, it is essential that we not dwell in the “problem.” Children with Special Needs are not the problem: the problem is that traditional education is not flexible enough to embrace the strengths of these children to allow them to flourish. With homeschooling you have the luxury of customizing your child’s curriculum to their exact needs and interests. If your child loves learning about Space and is obsessed with NASA, center their subjects around that topic. Reading, Math, Spelling, Writing, and History can all revolve around the topic of Space and not just Science. If you have a child with a learning challenge that makes it difficult to read; use videos, games, documentaries, audiobooks, and field trips to bring subjects to life. You do not have to recreate the traditional school structure at home. Leave that behind, think out of the box… because I would bet, that’s what your child is doing! 2. Show your child’s progress, not their progress compared to other children. School is set up to judge children’s progress based on their grade and how they compare to each other. Homeschooling is all about your child and their progress, alone. When setting academic goals, try to erase what you know of traditional school. Really focus on your child and the goals that are meaningful to your family. Each skill can be treated as a discreate object. For example: your child may be an avid reader and fly through a novel in one day, but at the same time can struggle with the most basic math skills. Progress in reading could be to take basic technical reading to the next level and focus on comprehending complex themes and expressing original ideas based on the material. For Math it may be a real accomplishment to learn how to use a calculator as a useful tool instead of drilling memorization. Or for your child: progress might be getting through one afternoon without an outburst or setting a record by sitting for 20 minutes at the table for school. The most important thing to remember is your child should only be compared to themselves, NOT others. 3. Give your child the tools they will need to be successful. If they can’t hold math facts, don’t keep hitting them over the head with flashcards: hand them a calculator. Parents worry how their children with special needs will function well in the world as adults. We as adults function better every day with the use of computers. Make that tool your child’s friend by teaching them how to use it most effectively. If they experience anxiety or stress in social situations, safe online communities might be a great way for them to make friends remotely. Give your child the gift of life skills. Instead of stressing academic facts, engage your child with real-life activities that will help prepare them for their future. Think about starting a local Facebook group to attract other homeschoolers that would like to participate in some fun life skills meet-ups. Get a group of kids together to plan a meal. Give them a budget and have them make shopping lists. Taking a group of kids to the grocery store and then making a meal together can be a great learning experience and a wonderful opportunity to make new friends. 4. When in conflict, choose the relationship over academic gains. Trust is the key! Reach out to your child by entering their world. I had a client whose son was Autistic and struggling with sensory over-load from a recent school experience. During his de-schooling phase, he retreated to a large refrigerator box where he had created a small, safe world for himself. I suggested his mom get into his box with him and just hang out. The results were amazing. He made a special comfy space for her to snuggle with him in his box. They spent time in it together chatting and laughing. Soon he was telling her stories from his time at school and sharing some hurts he had experienced. After that, he trusted her enough to enter her world a bit. A safe learning space she was creating just for him. He learned that his mom was a kind and patient teacher who would listen to his needs and bring lessons to him in a way that worked just for him. I can’t say enough about the value of the relationship between parent and homeschooling child. It’s the difference between constant arguments and successful, joyful learning. At the end of a long homeschooling day the true accomplishment is the love between you and your child. Blossom Learning -coaching for the homeschooling parent and child. If you'd like to explore ideas for creative lessons designed just for your child and their interests, come visit me at www.blossomlearning.weebly.com.  My daughter and I are reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by, Maya Angelou together. We're loving it so much I though I'd throw in some poetry by Maya as well. I love A Brave and Startling Truth for it's anthem-like call. It reveals the ugly truths of human kind but then cushions the blows with the beauty and love that people can show to each other. Even though it was written in 1995 it's amazing how absolutely relevant it is today! Here is a wonderful recording of Angelou reciting A Brave and Startling Truth to the United Nations. A Brave and Startling Truth - Poem by Maya Angelou We, this people, on a small and lonely planet Traveling through casual space Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns To a destination where all signs tell us It is possible and imperative that we learn A brave and startling truth And when we come to it To the day of peacemaking When we release our fingers From fists of hostility And allow the pure air to cool our palms When we come to it When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate And faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean When battlefields and coliseum No longer rake our unique and particular sons and daughters Up with the bruised and bloody grass To lie in identical plots in foreign soil When the rapacious storming of the churches The screaming racket in the temples have ceased When the pennants are waving gaily When the banners of the world tremble Stoutly in the good, clean breeze When we come to it When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders And children dress their dolls in flags of truce When land mines of death have been removed And the aged can walk into evenings of peace When religious ritual is not perfumed By the incense of burning flesh And childhood dreams are not kicked awake By nightmares of abuse When we come to it Then we will confess that not the Pyramids With their stones set in mysterious perfection Nor the Gardens of Babylon Hanging as eternal beauty In our collective memory Not the Grand Canyon Kindled into delicious color By Western sunsets Nor the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe Not the sacred peak of Mount Fuji Stretching to the Rising Sun Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor, Nurture all creatures in the depths and on the shores These are not the only wonders of the world When we come to it We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace We, this people on this mote of matter In whose mouths abide cankerous words Which challenge our very existence Yet out of those same mouths Come songs of such exquisite sweetness That the heart falters in its labor And the body is quieted into awe We, this people, on this small and drifting planet Whose hands can strike with such abandon That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness That the haughty neck is happy to bow And the proud back is glad to bend Out of such chaos, of such contradiction We learn that we are neither devils nor divines When we come to it We, this people, on this wayward, floating body Created on this earth, of this earth Have the power to fashion for this earth A climate where every man and every woman Can live freely without sanctimonious piety Without crippling fear When we come to it We must confess that we are the possible We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world That is when, and only when We come to it. If you'd like to explore ideas for creative lessons designed just for your child and their interests, come visit me at www.blossomlearning.weebly.com.  I'm working on a Biology themed lesson that includes a great Lab that was shared with me by another homeschooling Mom on Facebook. It's an experiment that actually extracts DNA from a banana! I always like to include a poem in a lesson plan but thought this might be a bit of a stretch, but I think I actually found a DNA- related poem!
Robert Frost (1874–1963) “Design” (1936) I found a dimpled spider, fat and white, On a white heal-all, holding up a moth Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth-- Assorted characters of death and blight Mixed ready to begin the morning right, Like the ingredients of a witches’ broth-- A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth, And dead wings carried like a paper kite. What had that flower to do with being white, The wayside blue and innocent heal-all? What brought the kindred spider to that height, Then steered the white moth thither in the night? What but design of darkness to appall?-- If design govern in a thing so small. As always, for homeschooling ideas go to Blossom Learning. Happy homeschooling!  Schedule for the week of January 14, 2019
MONDAY
Welcome to Blossom Learning -coaching for the homeschooling parent and child. Let me show you how EASY homeschooling can be with support from an experienced homeschool educator. January  January William Carlos Williams, 1883 - 1963 Again I reply to the triple winds running chromatic fifths of derision outside my window: Play louder. You will not succeed. I am bound more to my sentences the more you batter at me to follow you. And the wind, as before, fingers perfectly its derisive music. Welcome to Blossom Learning -coaching for the homeschooling parent and child. Let me show you how EASY homeschooling can be with support from an experienced homeschool educator. Another attempt to make science exciting...  This year we're tackling High School Biology. As always, I started off with a Holt textbook only to find long, boring content that I couldn't understand let alone explain. So, again... I'm trying to find an engaging way to teach a difficult subject. I find that Khan Academy offers an entire Biology course! Great. We start off with the first video hosted by Sal; well, my daughter deems it annoying and too fast-paced.
Okay. Back to the drawing board. I ordered a Quick Study guide from BarCharts, Inc. on Biology and made a list of the topics covered. One of which is Evolution and Natural Selection. So, we've spent the last few weeks reading articles and watching videos on just that. Here is one that I came across that drew a lot of interest for by budding scientist! How natural selection acted on one penguin species over the past quarter century. Date: September 24, 2016 Source: University of Washington Summary: Biologists combed through 28 years' worth of data on Magellanic penguins to search for signs that natural selection -- one of the main drivers of evolution -- may be acting on certain penguin traits. Biologists of all stripes attest to evolution, but have debated its details since Darwin's day. Since changes arise and take hold slowly over many generations, it is daunting to track this process in real time for long-lived creatures. "We know that evolution occurs -- that species change," said Dee Boersma, a University of Washington professor of biology. "But to see this process in long-lived animals you have to look at generations of individuals, track how traits are inherited and detect selection at work." Boersma studies one particularly intriguing long-lived species, the Magellanic penguins of South America. She has spent 34 years gathering information about their lifespan, reproduction and behavior at Punta Tombo, a stretch of Argentine coast that serves as their largest breeding site. Boersma and her colleagues combed through 28 years' worth of penguin data to search for signs that natural selection -- one of the main drivers of evolution -- may be acting on certain penguin traits. As they report in a paper published Sept. 21 in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, selection is indeed at work at Punta Tombo. "This is the first decades-long study to measure selection in penguins, and only the second one for birds overall," said lead author Laura Koehn, a graduate student in the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences who worked with Boersma as an undergraduate. Like all penguins, the Magellanic variety are natural swimmers, where they feed on the bounty of the oceans. But once a year they return to the Argentine and Chilean coasts to mate and molt. Their "serial monogamy" -- fidelity to one partner per breeding season -- as well as a nagging preference to breed in the same general location each year make it possible to track individual birds over time, Koehn said. Boersma began the project, which is ongoing, in 1982. To keep track of individuals amid a colony that at its height held 500,000 birds, Boersma and her team attached unique metal bands to the flipper of each penguin they studied. Each breeding season, the scientists would search for tagged penguins that made it back to Punta Tombo, measure basic physical characteristics and tag new chicks to add to their tracking duties. "We chose characteristics that might be important to the success of individual penguins, like body size and bill depth," said Boersma. "And once we had generations of trackable data for individuals and their descendants, we could ask: do these traits change over time?" Through natural selection, individuals with traits that allow them to adapt and thrive in their environment can pass their favorable traits to their offspring. "Our question was simple: for these traits, do offspring resemble their parents?" said Koehn. By measuring an entire population -- like the Magellanic penguins at Punta Tombo -- Boersma's team could see if individuals with certain characteristics, for example a large body, were more successful at breeding over the years. Koehn and co-authors searched for signs of selection across 28 years of Boersma's data. She could detect selection in seven of the 28 years for both males and females. Selection is likely acting on these traits every year, but the highly variable conditions at Punta Tombo mean that the "direction" of selection on each trait may fluctuate too much to see over just 28 years, said Boersma. As the study continues, researchers may divine signatures of natural selection over additional years. For the seven years the researchers could detect natural selection in males, there was a clear trend. Larger males held an edge in lean years when resources are fewer. In females, they detected selection acting on traits such as foot size, bill depth and body size. But unlike males, they saw no clear trend on how selection was shaping the females of the species over time. "Those traits appear to be important for survival," said Boersma. "But if environmental conditions change rapidly then selection also constantly changes, and it's harder to see a clear trend over time." This is only the second time natural selection has been observed over 20 years or more for a bird species. Evolutionary biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant spent more than 20 years cataloguing traits in seed-eating finches on the Galapagos island of Daphne Major. These are some of the same Galapagos finches that inspired a young Darwin to come up with his theory of evolution by natural selection in the 19th century. The Grants detected signatures of natural selection at work on this island, correlating the changes with the influence of El Niño conditions. "Now we've been able to track natural selection in a second bird species thanks to these decades of observations at Punta Tombo," said Boersma. Encouraged by her team's findings with Magellanic penguins, Boersma intends to continue collecting data -- tracking traits and survival for even more generations and repeating this analysis. "This is only the beginning," she concluded. Story Source: Materials provided by University of Washington. Original written by James Urton. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. As always, for homeschooling ideas go to Blossom Learning. Happy homeschooling!  After Apple-Picking By Robert Frost My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree Toward heaven still, And there's a barrel that I didn't fill Beside it, and there may be two or three Apples I didn't pick upon some bough. But I am done with apple-picking now. Essence of winter sleep is on the night, The scent of apples: I am drowsing off. I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight I got from looking through a pane of glass I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough And held against the world of hoary grass. It melted, and I let it fall and break. But I was well Upon my way to sleep before it fell, And I could tell What form my dreaming was about to take. Magnified apples appear and disappear, Stem end and blossom end, And every fleck of russet showing clear. My instep arch not only keeps the ache, It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round. I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend. And I keep hearing from the cellar bin The rumbling sound Of load on load of apples coming in. For I have had too much Of apple-picking: I am overtired Of the great harvest I myself desired. There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch, Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall. For all That struck the earth, No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble, Went surely to the cider-apple heap As of no worth. One can see what will trouble This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is. Were he not gone, The woodchuck could say whether it's like his Long sleep, as I describe its coming on, Or just some human sleep. This is what we're learning this week... Schedule for the week of December 3, 2018 MONDAY
https://www.brainpop.com/science/cellularlifeandgenetics/naturalselection/ https://www.brainpop.com/science/ecologyandbehavior/humanevolution/
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
NOTES FOR NEXT WEEK Plan museum trip. Start French and Indian War reading. As always, for homeschooling ideas go to Blossom Learning. Happy homeschooling! A not so boring science activity...  Transforming Boring Textbooks into Exciting Adventures in Taxonomy
Ever find yourself yawning through another dull textbook chapter? I certainly did today while slogging through the section on taxonomy for Biology. We were using our Holt textbook, and it offered absolutely nothing to spark the imagination. Here I am, with a kid who’s absolutely wild about animals—she devours books on chicken and pigeon breeds for fun at bedtime! There had to be a more thrilling way to tackle this topic, right? Determined to breathe life into our lesson, I took to the internet for inspiration. And guess what? I stumbled upon an incredible resource that’s perfect for curious minds: Mensa for Kids! They’ve got a treasure trove of exciting ideas and lessons across a wide range of subjects. Next week, we’re diving into their lesson on Classifying Animals, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s packed with engaging activities that will transform our study of taxonomy into an adventure through the Animal Kingdom. Whether your child is an animal enthusiast or just loves a good hands-on project, this lesson promises to turn a dry topic into an unforgettable experience. Can't wait to see where this adventure takes us! As always, for homeschooling ideas go to Blossom Learning. Happy homeschooling!  When reading a new piece of poetry, I like to read it out loud without any knowledge of the poet or meanings of new vocabulary. Then, after a read-through, you can slowly unpeel the onion of understanding. First, get to the know the poet. This often gives a whole new perspective on the piece. Then, break down any new language to get further meaning. After all of that, have a little discussion about it to explore individual feelings and ideas.
This is such a great way for students to develop communication, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills. If you want to get really fancy, you could encourage your student to start their own poetry journal. They can add new poems you read together along with some art, and maybe even some poetry of their own. Here's a new poem to explore. Find information about the poet by clicking on their name to read a full biography. After a read-through try some of the following questions with your student to expand their prospective. When the Frost is on the Punkin By James Whitcomb Riley When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock, And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin’ turkey-cock, And the clackin’ of the guineys, and the cluckin’ of the hens, And the rooster’s hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence; O, it’s then’s the times a feller is a-feelin’ at his best, With the risin’ sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest, As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock, When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock. They’s something kindo’ harty-like about the atmusfere When the heat of summer’s over and the coolin’ fall is here-- Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossums on the trees, And the mumble of the hummin’-birds and buzzin’ of the bees; But the air’s so appetizin’; and the landscape through the haze Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days Is a pictur’ that no painter has the colorin’ to mock-- When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock. The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn, And the raspin’ of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn; The stubble in the furries—kindo’ lonesome-like, but still A-preachin’ sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill; The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed; The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover over-head!-- O, it sets my hart a-clickin’ like the tickin’ of a clock, When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock! Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps Is poured around the celler-floor in red and yeller heaps; And your cider-makin’ ’s over, and your wimmern-folks is through With their mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and saussage, too! ... I don’t know how to tell it—but ef sich a thing could be As the Angels wantin’ boardin’, and they’d call around on me-- I’d want to ’commodate ’em—all the whole-indurin’ flock-- When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock! As always, for homeschooling ideas go to Blossom Learning. Happy homeschooling!
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