The Homeschool Journey

Update on Sierra Leone

A reader contacted me, having had some difficulties when she tried to donate to this very worthy cause. I contacted the Waldorf teacher from NYC who is working out at the Sierra Leone school about this. Her response follows (and by the way, I am tickled that she is from the Rudlf Steiner school in NYC - I went there from kindergarten through twelfth grade!):

If you would like to read more about my work and the school, you could have a look at my blog, which I try to update weekly (sporadic electricity and fussy Internet servers often play havoc with those intentions, however, so please don't worry if there isn't an update for over a week). The URL is http://goderichjournal.blogspot.com.In the U.S. the Rudolf Steiner Foundation receives donations on behalf of the Freunde der Erziehungskunst Rudolf Steiners in Berlin, which forwards the money to the school in Sierra Leone.  My blog has a link to the Rudolf Steiner Foundation website, where credit card donations can be made.  Donors should simply click on DONATE NOW.  Then from the drop-down list of recipients select FREUNDE DER ERZIEHUNGSKUNST. Finally on the checkout page type Goderich Waldorf School in the notes section.  Alternatively checks can be sent to RSF, with Goderich Waldorf School written in the memo.  They will forward the money on. 

Here you can read my original blog about this project.

A Computer for an 11 Year Old?

Here is a slightly reworked post from the Waldorf at Home discussion forum. The person who wrote in had an almost 11 year old son and her relatives were suggesting they buy him a laptop for his 11th birthday. What did I think about this?.... Read on!

 

You know what I'm going to say..... DON'T DO IT!!! It will completely change the dynamics in your house in terms of learning. He'll want to type things and not handwrite them.... he'll pester for Internet use...and pester and pester if he's anything at all like 99% of children on earth....all computers come with Encarta or similar so he'll want to use it to look up info for projects instead of books....and if it's a so-called educational thing it will come with so-called educational software which he will want to use....

And the Encarta/Wikipedia thing is a real problem, I can tell you - I (and my colleagues) have a lot of trouble in high school with my students limiting themselves solely to Wikipedia when doing reports. I think Wiki is great and I certainly use it all the time - but only as a key and a guide to deeper knowledge. It often helps me get started on my research and gives me ideas of what to do next - but it is a huge problem to get high school students to stretch and take things further. And I would say that it could be far worse if at 11 or 12 (how long will you hold out?!) a child starts to see Wiki etc as a source - THE source - of information.

There is PLENTY of time to learn all the skills he will need in high school. At the high school where I teach most of the kids enter 9th grade with no knowledge of computers either because their folks are back-to-the-land low tech types or Waldorf people (or both). Within days the kids have learned to set up MySpace things,  use Facebook, watch YouTube videos and can type and print out and e-mail....and use the internet. It takes no time at all to learn these things at that age. And in 3 or 4 years technology will have changed tremendously - the argument that "they need to learn when they're young" holds no water AT ALL in terms of computer technology. Never ever worry that you are holding your son back in terms of computer technology - he will learn easily when he needs to. He is of the computer age - and that is a wonderful thing. But not for children.

What he needs to learn is HOW to learn. How to be a thoughtful, creative, flexible person who has a large context of knowledge and experience so that when he hones things down and starts to specialize when he's older this will have a context. The broad knowledge from the Waldorf curriculum is one of THE best ways a child can learn to be a part of the world, with a historical context, with broad scientific and artistic knowledge, with an acquaintance with the myths, stories, history, literature, art and science of the world.... so that when he needs to find information on a computer and in his life when he's much older, he will know what to do with it and where it fits.

 

A lap top also brings special problems as it is transportable - many parents insist that a computer used by children be in a "public" space in the home. With a lap top it is both exhausitng and demoralizing - for both of you - to monitor where it is and how much a child is on it. We got our then 14 year old son a lap top when he started high school and the idea was that when he was at school all day he wouldn't be on it - he'd only have access to it for a couple of hours at home in the evening for homework. Well, he's returned to homeschooling - and there's the *%$$###!! lap top - in his room. Or there he is on the couch - on the lap top..... etc etc. We work hard at establishing limits for the computer - and that's ok, it's part of learning and our parenting of him. But I tell you, it gets exhausting. If the darn thing was a desk top in our home office, for instance, there would be nautral boundaries to its use which would make things easier!

 

And he's 14 - not just turned 11. Big difference! And life changes completely for a child once he gets one of these things. Do you really think he will let you rest if his friend is designing web pages as you say?

And because you know me,  Forum Member X, I have ranted here a bit without restraint - you know that I say this with passion but gently and with the knowledge that this is a tough choice for you to make - not easy at all. And if you do get the computer, well, there you go! That's your choice.

 

Here are a couple of wonderful articles about computers and children to read - and to print off and hand to friends and relatives worried that computerless children will somehow be at a disadvantage:

 

Fool's Gold

Meetings with a Snake

 

Then there's The Future Does Not Compute, a wonderful book by Steve Talbot of NetFuture , a e-mail newsletter dedicated to "addressing especially those deep levels at which we half-consciously shape technology and are shaped by it." According to Peter J. Denning of the New York Times it is a largely "undiscovered national treasure." The book is available to read online.

Help with Physics - Middle Years and High School

I know it's only April, but if you're like me, you're already thinking about next year's homeschooling adventures! And judging by the number of first grade syllabuses and other things we're selling at the moment, there are a lot of you who are in the "plan ahead" camp!

 

Right now I'm thinking about not just next Fall for my will-be 10th grader, but also about how the next years of his high school education might unfold. There are two other Waldorf homeschooled students of about his age here where we live - and we will probably do a number of things together (we already do). Some subjects are easy (for me at least) to teach and organize - others are a bit more difficult. Science is one of the topics which, though I love it, does not thrill my son. It is also incredibly hard to find resources which lend themselves to being used by people struggling to keep at least a bit of a Waldorf approach to science intact!

 

And the same is true for those of you figuring out how to work with science in the middle years. Eventually we will have a wealth of materials which will spell it all out - but we're not there yet and some of you have 6th, 7th and 8th graders next year and need some help.

 

At the moment I just want to talk about physics - the only area of science which fills me with horror! It just does not go in! I love the color experiments in 6th grade and fiddling about with sending sound through a garden hose, but pulling it all together is well, rather a challenge. And to be honest, as brilliant as Roberto Trostli's Physics is Fun book is (this is a highly recommended book written by a Waldorf teacher) it just doesn't really, really convert 100% to the home situation.

 

So for those of you with middle grades students next year, I do recommend our Nature Stories to Natural Science to help you understand the flow of the Waldorf science curriculum and, specifically, what happens in 6th, 7th and 8th grade. There are many book reviews and practical ideas. I also think that getting Eric Fairman's Path of Discovery books (from www.waldorfbooks.org)  for those grades is a must - he does a great job with science - though again.... it's not quite translatable to one parent teacher and one student at home. But they'll definitely help.

 

So I've been gloomily looking through physics websites trying to figure out what might be helpful in my situation. I'm banking on one of the other students'dads doing a lot of mechanics type physics with them.... but that might not happen. My son is interested in astronomy - and he'd like to understand theoretical physics - I can handle that. So we might spend more time than recommended in Waldorf schools reading than doing... but sometimes that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

 

Anyway, here's a physics teacher's website which is somewhat helpful. I like it for a variety of reasons - the positive is that there are some really wonderful lesson plans here which, even if you don't use them as they are (because a) they're for groups and b) they are not Waldorf at all) can be useful in helping one think through various physics concepts and/or inspire you for more Waldorf projects and ideas. The negative reason is that by reading through all the silly, inane and ridiculous lesson plans, I can feel better about what I'm doing, reassured that in public schools they spend an awful lot of time doing things that really are not worthy of the time.

 

The lesson plans on this site range from k through 12th grade.

 

Then there's a funky looking free astronomy and Newtonian physics e-book which I found. The author's credentials look impressive - the material looks great at a cursory glance.... But I don't vouch for it until I look it over before my son and I use it!

 

Lastly, I think I will order a programmable robot kit for Gabriel for this Fall. There are some really sophisticated  (and expensive) kits which use both engineering and computer programming skills to create robots which perform a variety of tasks. You can get these kits from www.homesciencetools.com. Once we get the robot and use it, I will report here how it went!

Daddy Central

Here's a post from my old yahoo group on a popular question : how to cope with the chaos that Daddy's daily arrival home wrecks on the peaceful pre-bedtime routine?! How to honor Dad's need to see his children - and their need for him - whilst still preserving critical rhythms which support the children's healthy early bedtime and the parents need for couple time?

 

Of course it has to be "Daddy Central" when your husband come home, Member X! What an exciting time of day - sounds just great - because it's not just centered around the girls - it's centered around the important daily celebration of Dad coming home.I don't know how old your children are but something to think about in all this is that at some point in the evening while they are still up, it could be good for them to see that you and he need a few quiet minutes to talk together. Here is a point where they experience that though they are important, you and your husband's relationship is important too - that Daddy is as special to you (and you to him) as they are to the both of you.

 

Once he gets in the door and everyone jumps on him etc, organize things so that he then helps you quite them down. You need to talk this through with him so that you and he are on the same page - on this and  everything else to do with parenting, hopefully! This can be tricky! Dad might want to play and unwind as much as the children do! One possible cue (that you and Dad have worked out together in advance)could be like this:  At just the right moment you say, "Daddy and I need to check in for a few minutes and then we'll be back to you".

 

They can play in another room - and really, at first maybe for only 5 minutes so you and he can talk for a moment - and it will take time and perseverance to do this - they are not going to be willing at first! And obviously, if he gets home late and they are very little, then this is not realistic - this can be saved for a weekend perhaps. As Member X mentioned in her post the other day, it is vital for parents to maintain and cherish their bond together - absolutely, absolutely!! And isn't it important for our children to witness that?It may be that this few minutes of checking in between you and your partner takes place during dinner - that after everyone has had a chance to share their news that you say to the children, "OK - now it's time for me and Daddy to talk for a bit - you may listen". It is good for us to model conversation for our children. This is not aboutVictorian 'children shall be seen and not heard' - it's practical Child Rearing 101! How can they learn if they never get to experience how adults talk and listen and share? And if life is not centered on them but rather includes them, then they need to see how we talk with another adult. It is important for them to listen in to all that interesting grown up stuff (within limits) and soak it all up and to see that they are not the only important ones. How much easier it is for a little person to relax into life when she or he isn't center stage all the time!

 

Another important consideration here, though, is time. What time is it when Daddy gets home? If it's not until after 6 or even 7, it may well be that eating together is a laudable but impossible goal. Obviously it is ideal if a family can eat together - but work schedules do not always allow for this. And though some people will try to simply adjust the children's sleep schedule to accommodate this (late to bed and late to rise) this will not work for everyone. There are a significant number of  children whose body rhythms dictate that they are tired by early evening and that they rise not long after the sun. This is a really healthy thing - do you really want to mess with it? The human body, like every other living thing, has real and discernible rhythms - and rhythms are a key to good health.

 

And is it really worth it if your children are cranky, whiny and miserable because they are utterly exhausted? It is unfair to expect them to behave well under such circumstances. What benefit is it to anyone in the family to sit through excruciating meals with horribly tired children?

Again - not all children are like this. Some adapt well to having their internal clocks moved to suit adult schedules. You will know - if the children are miserable and unpleasant to be with, it is likely that they simply cannot adjust. Have a look whether they truly are able to sleep late in the morning as well - children under 4 need about 12 hours of sleep; 4 - 6 about 10 hours; 7 and up around 9 hours. (And teens also need about 9 hours of sleep - they also get cranky and horrible - but that's another story!!)

 

If this is the case in your family, can you try to feed the children first and get them bathed and in their jammies before Dad gets home? Then when Daddy arrives there is 5 minutes of rough housing. Don't let this go too long as it can become impossible to calm the children down again. And, unfortunately, there are a significant number of children who simply cannot handle pre bed time exuberance, no matter how brief. They spiral out of control and cannot then get to sleep. They need Daddy t arrive home peacefully and quietly - quite an exercise in self control for a husband to take on!

 

Assuming the children can handle some "Daddy Central" time, Daddy needs to be aware that he is responsible for transitioning to quiet time and to bed. Once play time is over,  he can start to quietly hum a soft song whilst "putting the house to sleep" - closing curtains, dimming lights and then quietly taking the children to their bedrooms (or to the family bed). He reads or tells a story, says a verse or a prayer and sits with them for 10 minutes while they fall to sleep.

 

In the meantime, Mom cooks dinner for herself and her husband.For many couples, this solves it all - children see Dad, children get to bed at a decent time and get the sleep they need, dad gets to have a special time with the children, and parents have precious couple time.

 

Advice on Music Instuction

We have a new section devoted to music on our website. Here you'll find information about choosing musical instruments and instructors for your child as well as what we at Christopherus recommend.