Personal Interests and Learning

One of the most amazing things about children, well, about humans in general, is that we are all so different. And we all have so many different interests that are always changing. Some of those interests-they stick with us for a long time.

If we really tune into those individual interests that we have, we will find out a lot about ourselves and the world around us. As a young child, I had an intense interest in horses. Unfortunately, I didn't receive guidance deeper into learning about them, so I never learned more than what I read in some of my books. And my interest died after a few years of looking at pictures and playing with horse toys, but maybe one day l'll pick it back up... I also had my own business with my brother when I was 9. It was called Sticky Stickers. (We went door to door trying to sell our sticker collection.) I loved art as a child and as I grew older I loved writing also. I wrote books and poems unceasingly. I studies poets like Poe, who was my favorite. I spent endless hours trying to learn his style and everything about him. I was always researching topics such as alchemy, which was sparked by a friend. I studied many other things all on my own, simply because I wanted to know. I wonder, had I had more free time to expand my mind, just how far I would have taken my interests?

S has really grown into a Beautiful young lady who has had no trouble finding herself. She has so many interests and has been able to explore each of those with few restrictions, if any.

S looks forward to gymnastics all week. She goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour each time and still can't get enough. She has become very dedicated to gym, so we decided to reward her with a trampoline to practice on throughout the Summer and on days she has no class. S will play on that trampoline from sun up to sun down, barring it is above freezing outside. She practices her swivel hips, "seat, doggy, smash," and all kinds of other flips and tricks. The trampoline gives her confidence to practice without a group watching and to try new things without a time limit or being told what to do. She has really improved in class and is moving up to intermediate come Fall. I wonder how far up she will decide to go? 

S really loves Legos too! Well, really she loves any building materials. We use Legos, blocks, Tinker Toys, Mable Rollercoaster pieces-with gears, paper, cotton swabs, bobby pins, popsicle sticks....There are endless materials and endless opportunities! When we build, her mind is constantly working and problem solving. She is experimenting to see what looks best where. And why doesn't that fit? What would? Build, Build, Build. She could do it for hours. The more she builds and older she gets, the more intricate her designs are. We often use Minecraft as a resource. It is in fact not as mindless and most parents think. Even virtual building is building. And you have infinite materials-in Creative Mode that is. She can experiment with different colors and decide whether she wants wood or stone. Should she build a lake or lava pit beside her new house? Are those creepers? Ah! Oh, the possibilities.

Building is a form of art and S is also an artist like I was. We can't keep stuff off the walls! We empty the refrigerator one day. The next day it is full of new creations! She is bursting with ideas. Sometimes she makes simple pictures. Other times she makes signs for the doors. (Each bathroom in our house now has its own male/female sign.) Other days she drags out all her stuff from the closet and sees what she can do. (She enjoys making 1st Place ribbons from coffer filters.) We have homemade necklaces, still life drawings, paintings, pastel art...She really enjoys using her professional art kit, complete with full size easel to see what she can make. Art is a way for her to experiment with color, space, and scenes of any kind.

S is also a writer. She loves to write books, comics, and songs. She just began spelling on her own fluently. (She still needs my help on words, but she can spell most simple words on her own.) Any who, it makes her feel a million times more confident that she can do most if it without help. So she just writes away. Her comics are always written with elaborate drawings and minimal dialogue. Books are filled with a plethora of words AND pictures. Then we write the songs as something to do together, complete with music notes!

Speaking of music, S also loves classical music, always has, and has expressed an interest in playing the piano. Right now we are keeping it at one activity, gymnastics, on top of CHEA-which has several extras we attend: play dates, field trips, parties, nature group...not to mention volunteering at two places, weekly trips to the library, etc. She needs down time for exploring outside, getting together with friends that aren't in CHEA, and following other interests, such as the most recent interest in starting a lemonade stand business....I digress. Classical music expands the mind, so I will always encourage it. We will see where this love takes her and go from there as she gets older.

Well, that's my S. She is a tree climbing, nature and animal loving, active, artist, little girl. I'm taking in every minute of her once in a lifetime childhood and trying to encourage every bit I can...afford. ;)

What is Gifted Anyway?

For 13 years I kept my eye on the gold. For 13 years I strove to be the best, no matter what it took. Sometimes with success. Sometimes to no avail. Failure, however, was no option. That is, failing my teachers, my school, and my family. At any cost, I would reach the goal that had been set for me since birth. What about my goals for me? Did I even have any or were these just the goals I thought I wanted to reach. I am green with envy for those "rebels" who fought for what they knew THEY wanted. I digress.

I was labeled gifted at the earliest age they could "test." Placed in gifted classes, a class that set me apart from the whole school, set special expectations for me, and made me feel, well-superior. I liked it. I was "smart" and I knew it. What is smart anyway?

I graduated early, in 2009, in the top 5% of my class-with honors, and with a baby to boot! I reached the line I had been racing for since I was 5 years old. I still felt-superior, to be perfectly honest, but the satisfaction in that was really less than anticipated. Now what?

The next step was seemingly obvious. College. But somehow college didn't give me that fulfillment I was looking for. I was running in circles, doing the same stuff I had done the last 13 years. Is there any end to this? We as humans, are on a never ending quest, for knowledge, but was this knowledge? I was a duck with an injured foot, trying to swim in water, but not getting anywhere. I wanted real knowledge. I wanted more than what you could find in your text book. So...I quit. WHAT??!!! "BLASPHEMY!" They said.

I am not a student. But without a college education, I am a writer. I am a speaker. I am a counselor. I am a researcher. A gardener. A cook. A Mom. And an amazing teacher.

And I learned all this by myself and with the gentle guidance of others. I learned it without any special labels or being made to feel superior or inferior. I made my own goals and my own time frames. I didn't have a set of gifted curriculum. I simply did things...my way. I reached where I wanted to be and I either kept going, delving deeper into my studies or I got what I needed-and stopped.

And I realize now, labels are nothing. Labels are based off a test or by our learning styles. What we are labeled is for some crazy, messed up reason, sets the course for our lives. It dictates our self worth. Our goals. And even our outcomes.

So what is gifted anyway? It isn't really a title we take with us when we leave school. In fact, it never benefited me at all after graduation. If anything, it was the reason I felt like such a failure when I left college. Or when I made a B. Or messed up. But I'm gifted. How could this be? Gifted didn't mean invincible, but I had been molded to think it did...

So what do we do with this information? I think we drop the human standards that we hold ourselves up to and look in the mirror. Find out what we want for ourselves? What did God plan for us to become? We could think on that for awhile...

So in the famous words of author David H. Albert, just do these things..."Have Fun. Learn Stuff. Grow."

Pictures From Farm-Last Post

Oops. Will post VDay Party later. They aren't on my phone anymore.

Farm Trip

You know those moments, those little things you do that you think are no big deal but could possibly be a turning point in your life? Well, I do. I recently picked up a local magazine called "Taste Buds" while on a date with Hubby. It had a chicken on the cover and I thought, "How cute! I love my chickens!" Knowing that I might recycle it without reading, I picked it up anyway, and in just a matter of days it turned our homeschool upside down. It contained a list of local farms to buy from and volunteer at. We must have researched and contacted 100 different farms in the next 2 days. We learned so much-just over the phone, about permaculture, how to buy a cow, what constitutes a truly organic grass fed meat, questions to ask, etc. etc. It wasn't long before we decided we needed to visit a few farms, so we did. Last Thursday we visited 2 farms, a local restaurant at a farm, and a farmer's market. Sam had a BLAST! She gathered eggs, fed some baby lambs, pet some goats and llamas, identified different types of chickens, toured a ranch,  stood in the same field close to steer, listened to discussions about meat, fertilizing land, USDA processing facilities vs non USDA, ate grass fed beef, bought locally, and tried raw milk, which in turn lead us to look up the benefits and "risks of," which lead us to make "the switch!" Whew! What a day it was, and that was half of it!

Sam was so intruiged! The next step is volunteering. We found a farm we will be visiting come Spring that follows the principles of permaculture. Interesting method if you have time to research, very natural. Nice people. Said, "Come on out whenever!" It is 30 miles one way, so right now Sam will volunteer once a month. She will learn about plant placement, companion planting, care of plants and also animals, weather, and SO MUCH MORE! And then here at home we will work on building our "back yard farm" of chicken and goats, and continue to buy 90% of our food locally! What an experience just because of one small, local health magazine. THIS is what unschool is ALL ABOUT! Digging in to your community and all the education and relationships it has to offer.

We have been working on many things. Her Geography project is almost finished. Math. Slow going. Who wants to memorize facts? Reading has really taken off. For the first time since Fall when I stopped trying to force her to read, I heard her say, "Mommy, I love reading! Reading is FUN!"

The garden is slow going because the crazy weather lately. Gym is going great for her! They are working on some more advanced skills. She is mastering caring for dogs. And Legos-our newest focus. :) Day in and day out the last few weeks she has really been focusing on building her own stuff, following directions to build stuff in the booklets. Problem solving, correcting herself, symmetry, etc. So. Much. Learning!!!

Anyway, that is my update for her journal.

Also, some pics from her Valentine party I never posted! (The party itself went okay. She says she had fun, but it was crowded at the rink-almost 100 CHEA families showed up. And she was over tired from a having her friend, Kailah, spend the night. Kailah is also in CHEA....She skated with friends and ate snacks, handed out her Valentines and got a box full from the others. She passed out on the way home. CHEA gatherings always wear her out.)

PS I finally found the courage to chuck the lesson plan book! Life does not always fall directly under the categories of "Reading, Math, Science, Social Studies." There is gym, art, building, real life applications, Bible, combinations of everything. And the value of our learning cannot be described in little one liners. We will build a portfolio and I will keep pictures and descriptions of some of our on going projects, but anyone who knows my child knows she is learning all the time, plus she stays active and involved. No need to "fake it" or "force it." :)

Unschool Encouragement

Sometimes, as an unschool mom I need a little encouragement, a small reminder that says, "You are doing the best for YOUR child."

Seeing my daughter progress and learn on her own terms and love learning too, that is usually enough for me, but the days when I am really bummed and really wondering, "What if?" (Usually the days I go into my little brother's school and see all the "work" they do...) those are the days I need gentle little reminders that my child WILL thrive. She will flourish in whatever God has called her to do. She will be just fine!

Here are some quotes and encouragement I have found helpful. And in a few years, as I continue to see her flourish, I hope that I will not need these anymore. But for those of us who are still struggling to swim up stream, trying to unschool ourselves while we unschool our children, well, maybe this will help.

"Too much of what is being considered education in America is keeping busy for the sake of being busy. Monotony does not equal creativity. Repetition does not equal knowledge, and being busy doesn't always mean being productive." -Unknown

"There is no difference between living and learning... it is impossible and misleading and harmful to think of them as being separate.” ~ John Holt

"All I am saying...can be summed up in two words: Trust Children. Nothing could be more simple, or more difficult. Difficult because to trust children we must first learn to trust ourselves, and most of us were taught as children that we are not to be trusted." -Johl Holt

And lastly, 

"Birds don't go to flight school." -Linda Dobson

Also, just a quote on bedtime for those of us who extend our unschooling lifestyle into the bedtime realm. 

"I can't help noting that no cultures in the word that I have ever heard of make such a fuss about children's bedtimes, and no cultures have so many adults who find it so hard either to go to sleep or wake up. Could these social facts be connected? I strongly suspect they are." -Sandra Dodd

Lately we have been enjoying the fresh, warm outdoor weather. Samantha will not take the word "no" when it comes to going outside on a pretty day, and I can't say I blame her. I don't remember the last time I told her she couldn't when she asked. We have been enjoying her trampoline. It has provided the whole family with hours of fun and I expect that it will continue to. It has also provided her lots of gymnastics practice, which is what is important to her right now. We have also been focusing on our Geography Fair project about Oceans, which she enjoys. Other than that, we are just doing our own thing-most things on the trampoline like playing board games, reading Little House in the Big Woods aloud, and drawing pictures of nature as it peeks through in these ending days of February. All the while she is flourishing in everything she does. Not just in each "academic" area, but in everything she does. She is learning to read and understanding measurements and money better without any formal sitting down. We just measure things for fun and for things like cooking or cutting. We shop, look at prices, calculate totals, and pay for items. She is practicing her gymnastics so much she is mastering many skills in a short amount of time. She is learning to be a better friend when she sees her friends. She is being curious about God's world and trying to figure out the answers to her own questions. She is baking and cooking dinner with minimal supervision-of course, this is when she isn't outside. She is free to be her, and I like the her that is free. Such a joy to be around. 

 

Picture Post Experiments

Volcano Experiment

Making Spaghetti Noodles

Making Stickers

Geography Project

Don't Break the Ice Spelling

Nature Journal

Stall Bars

Our New Chicken, Buddy

Oceans Report

Valentine Box

Ooze!

Fizz Bath

Baking Cookies

Snow Cream

Sled

Valentines

Making a Comic

Pen Pal Letter

Pen Pal

Just a few reasons this "school year" is shaping up to be a great year....

Sam is exploding with her reading abilities. She is reading signs, books, any kind of text. All the time! Words I didn't even know she knew! After we took a little break from reading in December, we never went back. I couldn't force her to read books she didn't like and possibly make her hate reading. I decided to let her read on her time, and she did. We dabbled in reading. Read some play scripts and cookbooks. Wrote in a journal. Sounded out random words we saw. And now...it us just all coming to her.
Speaking of reading, we are almost done with Trumpet if the Swan. Then on to Wizard of Oz, or more Little House. Her choice.

She is getting fast at her subtraction facts. She has already mastered her single digit addition. She didn't like the change from addition to subtraction at first. It confused her. But she has really improved. I recently found out that she is an auditory learner, so together we decided it would be best for me to shout out the math facts in the car or while we are cooking dinner. That way she can HEAR them rather than see them on the computer games. I have seen a real improvement in her attitude toward subtraction since we started doing this.

She is a Mad Scientist! We do experiments every day. From Ocean experiments to making our own Bouncy Balls. She is making educated guesses and explaining why or why not something worked. It's amazing the concepts children are able to understand.
Sam has also been using her professional paints to paint in her Nature Journal. I am hoping this Spring will bring some fresh new ideas.

Living books have been a real joy to dive into and learn from too! "The Trumpet of the Swan"  has so much Science and Geography! We have taken several trips to McKays lately and bought some Classic Literature, New Berry Medal Winners, Poetry by Whitman, Frost, Poe, and Dickenson. We even got some reference books. Sam loves Eye Witness Books about anything and everything: Oceans, Horses, Electricity, Weather.
She also got some comics, her newest interest.
She is improving on Geography too. She knows all her Oceans, Continents, and States by shape and location. What a year it has been!

Aside from "academics," gymnastics is going well. They are learning so many new things! She mastered a handstand on the first day! Her teacher says she has great form! She isn't even afraid of the stall bars anymore. She loves them now! I have seen her pike ups and tuck ups on those things! You have to have serious ab control to do those!

Here are some things we are looking forward to the next month or so:

Valentine Party February 14th: As mentioned before, Coolest Party Ever. We will be having it at the Skating Rink. Most of her CHEA friends will be there. Over 100 people have signed up. They will be doing a Valentines swap games, food, and skating.

Pen Pal: Sam has really improved on her reading, spelling, and writing, as I stated before. I thought having a pen pal might encourage that and make it fun! So I got online and found her a pen pal.
The woman who replied to my post has a 5 year old girl. They are a Christian family. And her daughter has a lot of the same interests as Sam, camping, swimming, music, dancing, art. Of course they also have some differences. Which is good too.
This with be a great learning experience for her. She will read, write, spell, learn format. And hear about another state. They can write letters, draw pictures, make each other small items. And I definitely want to do the "13 Ounces or Less"activities around the holidays. The best part is she will gain a friend!
An added bonus is I now have an email pal. Another homeschool Mom to talk to when we struggle. Send pictures and updates to. And even give advice to myself when they struggle.

Geography Fair March: Slow going. We are taking our time, but having fun studying the globe, drawing on the tri board, conducting experiments, and looking for ideas for our big project.

I think the rest of today we are going to write her pen pal, finish some Valentines, play Math Mat, read "Trumpet of the Swan," and dump out her giant basket of books to see what we will discover!

Some other things we have done lately: Valentines and Valentine Box-She made a turtle with hearts on its shell. Her idea. She loves the ocean. We have done Ocean experiments. Made Ooze. Had a Fizz Paint Bath. Played in the snow. Made Snow Cream.  Baked cookies and made noodles and tortillas from scratch. She wrote a super cute comic for my little brother. Complete with a title pages, cartoon boxes, and talking bubbles. We got a new chicken and she cares for it daily, along with her other chores. And so much more!

I am going to do another post-pictures only. The Blogger app keeps freezing when I load pictures on posts and then I lose everything. Big pain.