Homeschool Field Trips: Necessary or Not?

I am going to start by answering that question.  Are homeschool field trips necessary or not?  I think not; however, they can add so much fun to the journey.  I think the trick is in choosing your field trips wisely and not overwhelming yourself with too much on your plate.  Many times I have let that happen because I did not want to miss some event.  You have to choose what is truly worth your efforts and if it is truly worth your effort you might need to scale back some school assignments during that time frame to avoid becoming overwhelmed.

Another thing that I like to do is if I we are having a field trip venture I like to plan it later in the afternoon if it is close by so that we can get some lessons in beforehand.  I just feel accomplished if the kids get some lessons in and we can relax more on our field trip.  And if we are going to be out and it is a short event I try to squeeze in more than one event into the trip.  Recently, we went on a spur of the moment field trip to a pumpkin patch at a local farm (about 30 minutes away from our house).  We purposefully planned it for 3:PM, so we could do lessons early in the day.  And since we were already out and about I kept my eye open for other things we could do as we were travelling down the road.  I noticed a park (because if all else fails kids always love a park), a pottery shop (did not have time for that one that day), a small pond with a watermill (but it was on private property), and a sign that said "Rock Shop" in front of an old building that did not even really look opened.  After our pumpkin adventure I decided to pull into the rock shop.  I left the kids in the van (right by the entrance to the store) and darted inside to take a quick peak.  What looked like nothing from the outside turned out to be a hidden treasure and I had the kids unload and we toured the rock shop. 

Just from those two events that day we learned a lot.  It sounds like we just goofed off at a pumpkin patch and a rock shop for a little while, but it was much more than that.  There was so many levels of learning involved and so many topics of learning.  At the pumpkin patch we were able to learn about many varieties of pumpkins (10 or more), observe old farm implements (hand push plows), harvest sunflowers (at a bargain of 25 cents a piece), interact with an elderly gentleman (yes, there is much to learn this way), learn about gourds and the proper harvest time, observe an old crank operated corn shucker and bring home our own Indian corn, and the list does on.  At the rock shop we were able to have a brief geography lesson and we plan to go back to that little shop for more teachable moments as we study geography.  And again we were also able to interact with another elderly gentleman that owned the store.  The older generation has so much to share with us if we take time to listen to them. 

Another great way to experience field trips in on the WEEKEND, so it does not interefere with lessons at all.  I love these because Daddy gets to tag along.  Often, Daddy is less than enthusiastic, but it good for us all none the less.  Daddy likes to be on the go, so slowing down to observe little details sometimes gets him antsy.  He likes to whiz through much of the stuff that we could all spend hours at.  Recently, we dragged him to a little historic site while we were out running an errand.  He learned to sllllooooowww down.  It is hard for him sometimes, but good for him.  They all posed for pictures on the porch of an old homesite and then, we meandered around and found a few pecans that Cody and I cracked and nibbled at while the kids played.  The kids go to be put in jail in a little replica jail.  And the weekend before that we dragged him to a Heritage Festival.  We could have spent the whole day, but we settled for a couple of hours.  And in those two hours we learned so much.  Field trips can be a fun way to learn without the kids realizing they are learning at all.  There was weaving and tanning hides, blacksmithing, a potter spinning pottery on a leg powered wheel, spinning wheels, basket weaver, musicians playing their music, Hawaiian dancers demonstrating many styles of dancing, a museum of old wagons and their purposes detailed out, Native American Indians showing their crafts, pioneer clothing and so many things I could never list it all.  There is much to learn this way. 

Occassionally, there is a really special trip that Cody will take off work for.  A few weeks back we went to a One Room Schoolhouse.  Now, that sounds like something you would tour like a museum and be done, but no this was much more.  We were there for four hours.  We dressed in pioneer clothing and actually had school in the schoolhouse for a few hours.  The kids did real lessons the way they would have if they had attended that school in the late 1800s.  After that they had time in the museum that was spent with the teacher teaching them and showing them items.  Afterwards, they went outside for recess and games and drinking from the water pump. I think it was the best field trip ever... or pretty close.  We have done some great ones. 

 **** That is all the pics you get... sorry.  My computer is tired or I am making the internet tired... ****

So, we love our field trips.  It is not for everybody, but I don't really enjoy "classroom teaching" so the field trips are great for us.  One last thing is I like to change them up.  I don't want to see the same thing over and over in most cases and if I do I like to skip a year or two between the things that we repeat or see what the interests are of my current age grouping.  We love live theater and are blessed to get to see Snow White in ballet annually, but last year we skipped do take a break from it.  Seussical the Musical on the other hand is something we do EVERY year and do not like to miss at all.  Actually, we just saw that one last week and it was awesome, as usual. 

****I wrote this post a few weeks back and did not post it because I wanted to take another look at it before posting.  I am so thankful that I had loaded the pictures in this post because I thought I had lost them forever.  I destroyed my camera and possible all my pictures that were on the memory stick while on vacation.  God knows my heart's desires and I was really sad that I did not have these fall pumpkin patch pictures.  I may not have them all, but these few make my heart rejoice!****

Are My Kids Missing Out?!

Sometimes as homeschool mothers we want to know if we are making the right choice. Skip on over to one bloggers post where she questions this, then come back her and read my comment:

My take is a bit different for this topic.

First of all we are starting our third year homeschooling. My kids grade levels this year are 4th, 1st, along with two toddlers. My oldest went to public school for Pre-K, K, 1st, two months of 2nd. My other one went to Pre-K for just two months. After a hurricane evacuation and a temporary school closing we decided to TRY homeschooling on a trial basis because my oldest was begging to homeschool.

My younger that only went a couple months of Pre-K has been VERY easy to teach. She does not have the pre-set idea of school that my oldest has. My oldest fights me all the way and it causes us to miss out on a lot of fun. Much of it is due to public school. She did have fun and had lots of parties, but it is just not have you fantasize it to be. For instance, a party at school is not like a party at your house. At home kids are walking around playing during a party. At school they all had to sit at their desk, then snacks and drinks were passed out. Occassionally, the kids would have a few songs they would gather in a circle to sing for the parents or something of that nature. They gather their stuff and party over! It is really not much fun, but they do usually get a little (or HUGE) bag of excessive party favor junk to take home to clutter up your house. By the way, you usually have to pay for this junk. ;) ... or make cookies... or buy an assigned snack.... or purchase and bring these favors.

Another thing is waiting in line... I would spend 30 minutes waiting in line to drop off my kids and another 45 minutes waiting to pick them up. And that doesn't count the Pre-Ker. I had to actually carry in two babies for walk-up pick-up (for safety). Not to mention the time your child spends waiting in line... ALL.... DAY.... LONG.

Next issue... SOCIALIZATION.... now this is a big one because we all want our kids to have friends, but we don't really think about some of the details. At lunch as they sit across the table from their friends they are not allowed to talk to them. And what friends they make this year are just "disposable", because the next year they get a whole new class with mostly different kids and their old friends move on to a different class and they rarely see them. I think this is training our kids that their "friends" are disposable. The same is true of their beloved teachers. Kids get very attached to their teachers, but next year they have to "move on". When the kids are free to play outside freely for recess it is poorly supervised. My daughter was put in a headlock by a schoolmate when she was in K. The teacher was so far away she did not even see it or know about it. My daughter had to fend for herself. I went to visit the school another time during recess and witnessed a boy putting a girl in a headlock. I went to the girl's aid and told the little boy to keep his hands off of her. There were NO teachers around.
School supplies.... ahhh, the joy. The joy of searching and purchasing things they often will never use. ;) A great example is this cool little tap-n-go glue cap for bottled glue. You have to go to an office supply store to get it and it is almost $2.... for a CAP! They NEVER used it nor did we get it back at the end of the year. Some stuff you do get back that they never use, so at least you can sometimes find a use for that stuff.

Snacks for younger kids... older kids are not allowed snacks even if they are hungry. For younger ones you have to supply snacks for the whole class. For me I would normally choose non-prepacakaged snacks for my kids, but when you have to supply for a group of kids you are usually required to bring individually packaged snacks for the kids. It gets pricey. Also, when my oldest was in the 1st grade they could bring their own snack; however, if some child did not have a snack they would all sit there eating in front of the ones that did without. Now that is teaching them something!

Lastly, the wasted time.... waiting in line already got mentioned. Waiting for one on one time when they do not understand something.... or when they do understand, but others in class do not... your child will have to wait. Simply put 1/2 day Pre-K is 4 hours. I can teach Pre-K at home for 30 minutes - an hour and learn as much. Oh and we can take the day off when we want and they still can learn better because they have one on one time with us. And our life....it's on OUR SCHEDULE. That's all for now. ;) Hope this helps some.

{This the brief version of my answer. I also have a conviction about homeschooling now. This post is just to discuss a bit regarding "What Are My Kids Missing Out On?".... There are many more reasons to homeschool than what I listed above and there are some great things about public schools, also.}

Letting the FUN Happen

Sometimes it is so hard to just let life be lived. Sometimes we just have to let the fun happen. Some of the most burden relieving advice I get it is when a homeschool mother says not to worry about teaching your kids a thing for now. I am fortunate enough to have a wonderful neighbor who has five children (four of them or grown and gone on) and she tells me all the time that you really do not have to teach your kids until around nine or older. Just let them play and read to them and play games with them and enjoy them. Her four older grown and gone children are successful. I am not sure all of what they do, but one just got his law degree a year ago. So, they are not lacking in their education.

Another friend has advised me to "do the opposite of what you think you should do".

Today I was visiting with a friend that has five children with her oldest being fourteen and she said that you really do not need to teach them grammar until they are older. We discussed that earlier in the year my husband (the public school English teacher) comment on my 3rd graders Grammar work being the same as what he uses for his 7th grade students. So, they spend four years repeating the same thing. Now, I do realize repetition drills it in the heads, but I have a feeling that they teach it for four plus years is more about the fact they are not given one on one teaching. My 3rd grader gets it and it is not that she is a genius. Anyway, today my friend was saying that really she thinks it is not necessary to teach Grammar/English until probably 7th grade.

And I hear that there is a book called "Better Late Than Early", although I have never read it. I hear that it is wonderful. Maybe one day I will read it. Maybe you will have the time to do it sooner than I and you can learn from it.

I am so struck by how intelligent these children are! Do we really need to rush them.

The lady I was talking to today said that the best thing you can do is focus on character while they are young. Amazing to talk to her about this because that has been what has been on my heart this past week. All the academics in the world is going to be worthless if they have poor character. A very wise comment she made was that it is much harder to shape their character when they are older and it is just so important to do that part while they are young. Another thing that she was talking about was teaching your children to serve their daddy and to make him feel special when he is home.

We let the fun happen today..... after their playtime with friends I usually try to do their school with them before Daddy gets home... and some while he is there sometimes. Today I let them play while I rocked the baby and did a few things. When their daddy got home they played together. Wii have a Wii, you see ;) ... but my kids rarely get to play it. It was a gift from grandparents and they probably get to play it less than once per month. I know... no fun.... so, today they played the Wii with Daddy while I watched them from the kitchen doing my cooking and laundry. It was nice to just let them play today... and to see their daddy come home and just get to play with them without the stress of "what to do next".

I have a hard time with this... feeling like I am not giving them what they need... like I am not preparing them for life... yet, I know it is better to prepare them non-academically.... to mold their character and their spirituality.

Today the kids played with other homeschool buddies... went in their new secret wooded clubhouse... jumped on the trampoline.... climbed trees.... got stuck in trees ;) .... watched TV.... played with their siblings... played the Wii with Daddy.... made a new friend played with her.... drank hot chocolate even though it is not cold at all... We just let the fun happen!

And you know what? We are doing it again tomorrow! Crazy huh?! We are going to homeschool co-op, then to the park. We might run an important errand.... and I doubt we will do very little of our "school work" ... and that will put us behind.... again... but that's okay because we have friends coming over on Saturday and we are going to let some more fun happen. ;)

Just posting this to say.... RELAX and ENJOY your kids. What is life really about if we don't enjoy this. God gave them to us to enjoy them!

Hospitality vs. Judgement

Hospitality..... I love that Rossie and Tara seem to have this on their hearts lately to share. I grew up in a home where my mom never wanted company unless it was in "her plan"... which meant we were always missing out on enjoying company. I have always welcomed company in our little home and now in our bigger home. I must say that in hindsight I can see that I was a terrible host because I never really offered much more than an open door and fellowship. I wish I had realized I needed to be serving them up some drinks and snacks or dinner.... We do now, but I still am probably too laid back about it. I have a "make yourself at home" policy.. if you want a drink feel free to get a drink, etc., but I should be better at offering before waiting until I realize they are thirsting to death. LOL!

The last year has been different though... I have been trying very hard to figure out why... besides the fact that my house is always a mess lately. Our home is "lived" in and I am okay with that, so why do I not want company? I am one of those people that thinks everything has a place and needs to be in it... most of the time. I don't thrive well in chaos, yet chaos is all around me. I want to be calm and cool and collected, but I look around and I can't breath in all the clutter. I want the shelves dusted, but I can't seem to get it done along with all my other "jobs"..... and I could seriously go on forever here about "why" I don't want company like usual, but I think I have finally figured it out. It's not the mess and our chaos.... I have decided to put our kids and homeschooling them first, so the mess and chaos are gonna have to be here awhile... or, at least, until we work out the kinks in the system. My conclusion is....

...judgement...

I just don't want the judgement. I just don't want someone looking at all of it around me and judging me... and I am not just talking about our my mess and dust. I am talking about my decisions.... my decision to homeschool... my decision to limit TV time... my decision to cut back my kid's teen level cartoon consumption... my decision to stand up even against the grandparents for foul language... my decision to not feed more materialism into my kids than they already naturally have (via Santa, via birthdays.. and yes, we still celebrate, but I am trying to lower the expectation)... my decision to turn a "living room" into a room of learning chaos complete with everything we feel like acquiring for the cause.

So, that is it! It's the judgement that I have been avoiding... from everyone... even the friends.... because I am not doing things the way they do things... and not that they say it, but come on... they think we are crazy... or they do it, too; but they do it different... or their kids "do not do that"... We have been TOLD we are trying to "protect our kids from the world"... maybe so, but that is not why we homeschool them. We were trying to protect them before that decision. Every parent tries to protect their children. That is a natural part of parenting. We simply made the decision to spend our TIME with them. The conviction to continue homeschooling came AFTER the process began for us. Now we are under the constant watchful eye of JUDGEMENT. Are our kids well behaved enough? Are they socially traumatized by homeschool? Are we turning "Pentecostal"? (My brother asked that one)... They are all watching for us to BE WEIRD. Yet, ironically my brother-in-law made a comment when he was visiting from California in comparison to the other cousins that our kids were much more enjoyable to be around and interact with because they are more relaxed and confident children. He did not realize the had even said something so important to me. I mean, he thinks we are crazy, too... but he has quit questioning us (at least, voicing it).

Hmmmm... so now that I have that figured out I need to get some cleaning done because this is SO CRAZY, but in figuring that out I think I also figured out that I am letting it be messy and chaotic on purpose! Yikes! If I have a good excuse... like not having time for company, then I don't have to entertain them and be judged by them.... Whoa! Mindblowing!!!

So, ladies... thanks for making me thinking deeper than I sometimes want to. I have been struggling lately with hospitality issues; however, as I have read your recent posts on your blogs about hospitality I have thought, "Okay, now I'm going to figure this out." I enjoyed them and they were GREAT, but I would leave thinking, "well, that part is not my problem, though. So, why do I not WANT people over lately?" You made me think deeper about what is going on with me. In doing so you have helped me get to the bottom of this issue (and I also have enjoyed all the tips, too!).

"Job Training" follow-up

I really did not know if I would do a follow-up to my last post, but I have been thinking about it all week. I do wish I had gotten the proper "job training" for this current position I now hold as a wife, mother, homeschooler, and Christian. I wish that there was a majority group of men and women that understood their roles Biblically... myself included. I wish that the world viewed homeschooling as just another one of the options that they do not question the value of. In fact, I wish the world could see homeschooling as the best option. As I pondered these thoughts and the thoughts in my last post I just had this thought come into my mind:

"We are taking it back."

Little by little we are taking it back. As time passes and more of us come into homeschooling we are slowly, but very certainly, taking it back to the way God intended it to be. As more and more of those people like myself decide that homeschooling is NOT as ridiculous of an idea as it may seem and more and more people realize that they are capable of teaching their children we are taking it back. I think the two biggest issues for parents that hear about homeschooling are: socialization and feeling capable.

I can say this about the socialization (and that was a huge concern to me)... Do I really want my kid to have and increased chance of early sexual activity? Do I really think that my kids are not going to be tempted to do the other things that their peers are doing if that is what they see all around them everyday and it is seen as normal? Do I really want to let someone I do not know be their teachers and not even know what that persons beliefs are?... and that teacher WILL be a great influence in their lives! Do I really want to leave that to chance? Do you want to let your kids dodge bullies all day? Do you want one of their peers telling them about the "birds and the bees"? Do you want your child to hear the harsh words and foul language from others and think that it must be acceptable if MY PARENTS are sending me here for the majority of my time? Do you really think that your child having a whole new set of teachers and friends each year is going to teach them how to form lasting relationships? Or could it be that we are training our children to NOT know how to form relationships and therefore, not know how to socialize? What about training them to talk to people that are not their age? How is your eight year old going to have a chance to get to know her newborn sister, if she misses out on spending most of the day with her?

And I can say this about feeling capable: It really is true that "God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called." I remember thinking that there is no way I have the ability to teach my children what they need to know, but I have found that I do know how to teach them when I just TRY. I know how to form letters and spell phonetically.... I can do addition and subtraction, mulitiplication and division, tell time, and much more advanced math, too. I am capable of learning what I do not know. God gave me a mind that is capable of learning teaching techniques. Much of it I know already, but have just never used it or even realized that I could use it. It is there... it is just being left unused. And one of the biggest things I have come to realize is that once you teach your child to read you have given them the ability to learn anything they want to learn (or you want them to learn). They can learn most things with you simply being alongside to guide them. When we stop allowing ourselves to believe what the world is telling us and that we really can do this job (and do it better) we will find our own self-confidence growing. I know that I am deeply lacking in the area of self-confidence lately, but I can see that I am going to be confident in myself one day... because God is confident in me. He alone has made me capable of this job that He designed me for. We do need to take it back to His design... not the world's design.

School Spirit

Who says homeschoolers can't have school spirit?!!!!

We roar

for the our local Tiger team!

Look at these unsocialized homeschoolers! This was great for me (even though I would not have guessed it would be). It was great for me to see my kids and how social they really are. It just reaffirms to me that my kids can be homeschoolers and be social. Ironically, we are probably more social. We are not that family that just sits there in the bleachers staring at the field. We are constantly talking to others that we all know. Part of that is because I grew up in this town and went to school here. Part of that is that my kids are naturally social and talk easily to others. And the other part of it is that my husband is the very famous Mr. S (Middle School Teacher) in our town. His students scream with glee when they see him! Weird... I told him yesterday, "You do realize how odd that is don't you. Usually, students will run in the other direction when they see their teacher in public!" His students love him and it shows when we are in public.

Sahara is watching all the action. Caden is being a tiger.... Rrrrroooooarrr! As we were running out the door I thougth to paint their faces with little paw prints and such. They got all the special painting like they would at school (without having to sit in a desk all day).

Savannah wanted a tiger face with black nose and whiskers.... Meow! Sierra got little paw prints on her hand and face. She was so proud of her cool paws. Doesn't Cody look proud to be there with all his little munchkins gathered around?! We had a great time and the Tiger team beat the socks off their opponent!!! 53 to 13, I think... I don't really watch too much of the game. I was quite suprised to realize I had a little cousin on the field... Whooo-hoooo!!! I have a big extended family. Seriously, you just don't know much about their lives unless you are "in the know" (translation = gossip circle). I am so not "in the know". Anyway, at half-time I realized it was 9:30 !@!@!@! .... half-time!@!@! Oh my gosh, we got the kids in bed late that night. Speaking of half-time the Tiger group was awesome. My comment was that they must be working those kiddos way to hard this early in the season. I was impressed.

A great night for us unsocialized homeschoolers... (insert giggle)... I want to make shirts that say, "Homeschoolers have team spirit, too!"... but my husband gave me "the look".... maybe we will just get some that do not have the campus names... something with just a tiger and maroon and white. Or whatever.... So, do any of you out there go to any school events and show your spirit?