Friday

This morning we went to a local homeschooling park day - another town that is about 20 min from our home and has a huge homeschooling community. There were at least 14 families there! Mavster had a great time playing with several boys his age, and I truly enjoyed the adult conversation with other homeschooling moms! There was even one Dad there that walked through - talk about a group of protective Mama bears! When he first arrived all of the women watched him closely until they saw him sit down with one of the moms and we all relaxed. :)

Mavster said he learned that, "girls don't get very scared by dead bugs, but live ones make them scream!"

We are working on our methodology for "Friday Fun Day" for the Mavster after working hard all week. Today after lunch, he wanted to play some math games from school last year which was fine for me, and then I wanted to get a few school things done before the end of the day. We finished some artwork making our Shield of Faith, and then I asked him to do his 5 min of handwriting.

He was learning "d" today using Handwriting Without Tears, and he sometimes wanted to make an incorrect stroke which I tried to correct before he got too far, but he started to get pretty upset about it. "I hate cursive!" he said. I asked "Why?" and he got even madder. "I hate questions like that!" "Why?" I asked again and he had to take a moment to calm down. So we ended up having some philosophical discussions about schooling, and that I just want to help make cursive easier for him, and that as we reprogram his muscle memory it will get easier and easier. He also shared some more information about what he went through last year (and at the private school for K/1st) - lots and lots of erasing what wasn't good enough. His 3rd grade teacher was known for even making them start a whole page over and taking the (messed up) one and crumpling it up and throwing it away. Apparently she was also known for having a short fuse about things. So I told Mavster to let me know what things he didn't like so I could make me a "Mommy Don't Do" list. :)

So far, my list is:

1) Don't be mean
2) No erasing
3) No crumpling up work and throwing it away
4) No getting upset easily

Well, that's easy. I told him he could add to it and refer to it as necessary to remind me of my rules. Ah, perhaps I need to make a list of rules for him, too, now. :) We have been pretty clear that he needs to do what I ask, no video games during the day, and that he can disagree with something/suggest an alternative, but I have the final say.

I asked him what the best part of this week (other than our 3! playday outings) was - and he said when we looked at an example of the comics for Beast Academy (math curriculum) yesterday was the funniest part. Yesterday he was frustrated with Life of Fred. "It's not how I learn and it's confusing." It is a bit abstract - you have to actually think about the story and figure out the math yourself, although the solutions are right there if you need them. The reason I didn't get Beast Academy right away was because it is only for 3rd grade (so far) - which he just finished and I thought he would be past it. But what I'm finding is that right now he doesn't have a lot of confidence in his math skills. (Vent! Grrrr! He loved Math so much in K and the beginning of 1st!) So, I think this will be a fun and challenging way to improve that. We'll reinforce what he did learn last year, and take everything a step further. Beast Academy is not simple - and possibly a whole grade ahead of 3rd in some places. Yes, it is on it's way to arrive next week!

The other part that he enjoyed the most was "that chemical thing we did yesterday." Ah, yes, Chemistry, the Periodic Table. Yay! So, my instincts about what he would enjoy the most are pretty right on. We will plug through History/LA and follow Heart of Dakota there (he does appreciate learning about how history and the Bible work together), but there will be days where we follow our passions in Math and Science!

My favorite parts of the week were the play groups where our son was able to make real connections with other kids, and learn through experience with them. Living in the country, those play times have been somewhat limited to his sister and school. Last year, being advanced a year at school, those play times did not really happen as much as he probably needed developmentally. It just felt really good today to see him truly playing with other boys, enjoying himself, being free to experiment/learn with what was around him, and just generally learning the way kids should learn - outdoors. We do live in the country, but unlike my childhood, we don't live in a suburb with lots of other families/kids around where you could stay outside playing each evening. I am so glad to have found a way for him to have those same kinds of experiences with other kids!

My very favorite moment came at the end of our day today when we were talking about homeschooling and our goals, etc. I asked Mavster, "Why do you think we are homeschooling this year?" His answer: "Because you love me!"

AMEN!