Life Science

One of the nice things about belonging to a homeschool group, is that there are times when someone else provides a day of learning for my children.  Yesterday was one such day.  One of the moms in our group is a self-proclaimed Science Geek, and she offered to do a Science Day for the kids.  She set up our usual First Friday meeting room as a lab, complete with equipment and experiments.  She somehow managed to provide four experiments each, for four separate age groups of kids (31 kids total!), which kept them busy and learning for the better part of two hours.  They mixed and built, tasted, smelled and logged, magnetized, melted and exploded.  It was awesome.

I was wearing Genevieve on me in the carrier the whole time, three full hours by the time we got home.  She had slept all that time, so she was starving when we walked in the door.  I had the boys make their own sandwiches and eat while I nursed her, which left me famished.  The older boys had served morning Mass, it had been a long day already, and I didn't have it in me to make my lunch while still holding Genevieve.  I held her out to Blake, "Here honey, could you please take her, just for a few minutes?  I have got to eat something."  He took her, and as I walked out of the room, I heard my thirteen-year-old boy say:  "I haven't held you all day!  I don't think I've even seen you."  I looked up at the clock - it was 1:00.  If he went to school outside our home, he'd never see her before 4:00, and it certainly wouldn't be noteworthy that he hadn't held her during the day.  He cradled her and talked to her while I ate in peace, and I couldn't help but think that he's experiencing something that most teenaged boys never will.
 

Homeschooling isn't perfect, and it isn't for everybody.  Some days are so hard they leave me in tears, others have me questioning my very sanity.  But there is good in this life we're living.  There are relationships and time and love, and I pray these things outshine the struggles, when we all come out the other end and look back.

The Plan

Well, it's that time of year again.  All of us homeschooling moms are flipping through catalogs, clicking away on the internet, and chatting up our friends on one topic:  CURRICULUM.  Everything that didn't work last year is fresh in our minds, and all those beautifully enticing books are calling our names.  We have big plans to catch up in areas we feel we've lost ground, and look forward to new endeavors and a fresh start.

It feels so good to let go of those old books.  We've looked at them for too long, and their tattered covers and marked up pages are signs of a year well spent.  But a new year is coming soon, and the possibilities are endless.

As Catholic homeschoolers, we have so many options to choose from, of curricula that bring the goodness of our Faith and strong academics into our homes.  This is such a blessing, but it can also be a curse.  It's so easy to doubt what we're doing, to fall victim to the "grass is greener" mentality.  In reality, living our Faith comes from our hearts and our actions, not our school books, and that's what is most important in our children's lives.  The fact is, I could choose to teach my children from any of these good Catholic curriculum providers, and it would be fruitful.  If we're teaching and living our Faith, and keeping our academic standards high, if we're instilling a strong moral compass in their hearts, and letting them be kids, then we're doing our job, no matter where we order our books from.

So this year, instead of spending hours on websites and blogs, cleverly piecing together the perfect combination of materials for my children, I decided to go back to my roots:  Seton.

It's where we started in this homeschool journey, and it works for us.  And if it's not broken, why am I always trying to fix it?  We're doing straight-up full enrollment for the oldest three:  Blake - 7th grade, Owen - 4th grade, Peyton - 2nd grade.  I'll be piecing together Kindergarten for Oliver, with the materials I have, including the Catholic Children's Treasure Box series.

I can't express how good I feel about this decision.  How right it feels to take some of the pressure off of myself, and let go just a little.  I think we beat ourselves up too much on the idea that there's always something that might be better than what we're doing.  It might be more creative, more fun, more reverent, cheaper, easier... maybe so, but what am I losing in the process of chasing it down?

I have the utmost respect for those mothers who are able to wrap their brains around the grand scope that is each child's educational needs, and put together a year's worth of studies to meet them.  I've just accepted that I am not one of those mothers, and my time is better spent elsewhere, while Seton does the planning for me.  It's good to accept my limitations and feel good in my own homeschooling skin!

Oobleck

Today we made Oobleck!

 

It had been a few years since we did this last, so most of the kids didn't really remember it.  They all had so much fun playing with it and handling it different ways for different effects.

 

It kept them busy for the better part of 2 hours...

 

...and anytime one of my children uses a term like "non-Newtonian liquid" and actually understands what it means...I'd say that's time well spent. 

 

It really is such cool stuff.  Every time I put my hands into it I had a hard time walking away.  Brings out the kid in everyone, I'm sure.

 

Worth noting:  Contrary to how these photos probably appear, clean up was not bad at all.  The dry stuff flakes off and sweeps easily, and a wet rag does the rest.