7th grade. Check.

Today is officially our last day of 7th grade. Lu will still need a few more days to finish his final project - a compare/contrast essay about the American, French and Russian revolutions. But other than that, we are D O N E.

This was our sixth year homeschooling. Every year I seem to blog a little less. Our academic activities/projects are less and less photo-worthy, and they also take a lot longer, so there's not as much variety. It's a lot less taking nature walks, and a lot more trying to wrap our heads around algebra and chemistry. We also recently got chickens and started a vegetable garden, so our little farm is growing and giving us more work.

Tinich is undecided on the chickens.

And maybe a little jealous :)

But really, this year, I haven't written as much because it's been a difficult year. So difficult, I sent Lu to public school for a few months. Hormones and attitudes were raging, and it felt like I had to learn (in about one second) how to be the mother of a teenager who took the place of my baby boy from one day to the next. Well. It was a bumpy ride, but it was one of much growth. 

We've learned so much about love, patience, acceptance, respect, and communication.

These last months, since returning to homeschooling, our objectives have been more about creating harmony in our day-to-day, our home, our family, and ourselves. Academics took a backseat, but we still covered our 7th grade bases. 

We studied a little chemistry with different online resources like these videos - http://www.periodicvideos.com/ and this site - http://www.softschools.com/facts/periodic_table/

Lu completed this workbook that I found in an old box of books from when my mom was a teacher in the 80's, dated but clear and thorough, and something Lu could do on his own, while out with the goats.

We got halfway through our algebra course and then circled back to review. We'll do the other half next year.

(I had no idea how to do this a year ago. lol)

Lu mostly does art through the after-school program we run from our house two afternoons a week, but sometimes we do art on our own.

 Here's Lu with the other kids from the program, performing with the "diabolo" in their circus show.

We did lots of creative writing over the last couple of months. Lu remains very passionate about cooking and playing the guitar. We do yoga, go swimming, and dance regularly. We used this list of 100 words for spelling and vocab - http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/booksellers/press_release/100middle/ and got quick at finding words in an actual, for real dictionary. But WHY MOM? He argued that it was ridiculous when we have online dictionaries. I insisted, and he later actually confessed that he enjoyed looking up the words. Like, he really actually said it was "fun". So, see, you never know. 

Try it, it might work. 

(I need to go look up synonyms for "actual and actually" lol)

Besides our regular viewing of (lots of) history and science documentaries, we also watched movies about growing up, life and its difficulties, freedom, passion, compassion, love, loss... and I'm recording them as school activities because I think we learn a lot from the right movies at the right time. Here's the list, in the order we watched them:

Whale Rider

Ixcanul

Ratcatcher

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Outsiders

Earth to Echo

Rainman

The Color Purple

Awakenings

Little Big Man

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Juno

O Brother, Where Art Thou

Dead Poets Society

Les Miserables

So, it's vacation time :happydance: !!! And, despite goats, chickens and adolescence, we had a productive homeschool year.

See you in January, when we embark on our 8th grade adventure, and start preparing for high school!

***If you're struggling with a just-turned-teen, don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. Just remember to breathe and try not to take it personally (that's the hardest part). Good luck!

We're Back

It's been three months since my last post.

A lot has happened.

Lu and I needed a break from each other. We were having a hard time getting along. During a heated argument, it was decided he would go to the local public school. It was dreadful academically, but turned out to be a very beneficial experience for Lu, socially. 

After two and a half months of it, we're homeschooling again.

On the upside, he made friends and went from being that weird kid from up the hill who doesn't seem to go to school, to just another kid. When walking down the street, he is no longer harassed by his peers, but greeted. I don't have to worry about him getting beaten up when he goes out by himself anymore.

All of this made the experience well worth it. But, living by the school schedule, wearing a uniform (and keeping it clean), having to follow rules about hairstyles and piercings, and the insane amount of time-wasting that went on in the classroom proved to be too wearing of our patience to go through with the original plan of Lu finishing the school year (in October) there.

At the same time that all of this was happening, Lu went into anaphylactic shock from a scorpion sting. We all get stung by scorpions pretty regularly here, they're everywhere. But it had never been a problem. Now we have to carry life-saving medicine with us wherever Lu goes. Bees, ants and wasps can trigger the allergic reaction too, and we live in tropical countryside (lots of bugs), so... it really sucks. It was so scary in the beginning, but we're learning how to live with it.

Anyway. We took a three-week break after pulling Lu out of the school. Family was visiting, the sun was shining, and we needed a vacation. We swam, ate, enjoyed and rested. 

The last Sunday of our holiday I came down with Chikungunya (like Dengue fever). I couldn't do anything for a week, but Lu read, practiced guitar, and we watched documentaries. Even though I was feeling like death, I couldn't have been happier to be cuddled up on the day-bed with my kiddo again, listening to David Attenborough talking about an exotic jungle bird. 

 

By Friday, Lu was running the fever and suffering from the signature pain in the joints. A week later, he's still in bed. So. Lol. It hasn't been the best start to our back-to-homeschool, but we are back, and no matter how difficult it gets, I won't forget again. I won't forget how lucky we are to be able to homeschool, how much I love the lifestyle and the freedom that comes with it, and how much I love learning together. Homeschooling a teenager can be hard, but I know it's worth it.

2016 Homeschool Resolutions

 

After a fabulous holiday with family, friends, 

parties, wining and dining, 

we'll be starting our school year in a week or two. 

We're in middle school, but not any specific year. 

In a regular school, Lu would probably be placed in the 7th grade. 

He's 13 now and he's a very busy young man. 

He's got goats. 

He's got a girlfriend.

He's got ongoing (non-alcoholic) fermentation projects. 

And he's got occasional catering jobs.

It's going to be tricky fitting in our homeschool schedule with all of this. Goats and fermentation can be called Science Class, but there are still many things I want to cover: reading the classics, developing essay-writing skills, ALGEBRA, world history and Guatemalan history.... And there are things that Lu wants to cover: developing culinary skills (workshops, tutorials, recipe books, experimentation...), guitar, carpentry, photography...

There are only so many hours in the day, so we have a lot of planning and decision-making ahead. We're going to have to give and take, and negotiate, and come up with something that works for us.

 But before I sit down with Lu to do all of this, 

I want to commit to these 2016 Homeschool Resolutions:

I will give priority to Lu's interests.

I will be supportive of projects that Lu decides to undertake.

I will let go of conventional ideas like 

"Math HAS TO BE an every day class." 

I will trust in Lu's desire to learn.

If something isn't working, I won't try to force it.

A Cool Dude

For weeks now, I've been in a constant state of awe at how quickly my boy is growing. It still surprises me how these spurts come on. He's almost as tall as me, weighs only six pounds less than me, and wears shoes I could swim in. 

He's a big boy, but he's also still my baby.

He's 'getting' things. Subtle things. Life's nuances.

He's insightful. More thoughtful. More aware.

He's becoming a dude. A guy. You know?

And I run into this guy throughout the day and think:

Hey, he's a pretty cool dude.

 The other day, Dude got to go hang out in a coffee shop by himself

and drink a cappuccino while I was getting a massage.

He was feeling mighty cool.

 

Sometimes Cool Dude gets overtaken by Kid,

such is the see-saw of tweenhood,

and I find myself having more patience for Kid than ever before, 

 because I know he's not here for much longer.

 The thought of Lu's childhood ever coming to an end

brings about all kinds of emotions.

One very strong one is the gratitude I feel for being able to homeschool.

We started homeschooling in 2011, when Lu was eight.

In the beginning, I was overwhelmed with the feeling of being lost in a sea of possibilities as far as options and styles, now it's just our life. This is what we do. We read together, learn together, exercise together, eat together, take care of the house together... 

We do it our way. All of it.

AND I get to BE with my boy as he turns into a guy

who will one day turn into a man.

Homeschool rocks.

Trust

We're finishing up our fourth year homeschooling,
and I realized a couple of important things this week.

1. I am not worried about my son's education anymore.

That means I don't worry about "how" we homeschool, our grade level, what he "should" be learning, "if" he's learning, if it's "enough", or if we're homeschooling the "right" way.

2. We don't fight anymore.

Where as we always used to fight about something or other, and have daily homeschool drama about this or that, Lu and I hardly ever have school-related arguments now. And I think I know why.

Here's Lu and Cha replacing the roof over my windows:

I have learned to trust 

in Lu's natural desire to learn.

Here's Lu making tortillas with his Mayan language teacher:

When I learned to trust in this, everything flowed SO much better.

For instance, we took yoga for a month because Lu was interested.

 But now he wants to do some strength training instead.

I'm interested in him learning about his body,

enjoying exercise, and getting into healthy habits.

And he is!

And letting him be in charge of "how" to do it,

makes all the difference in his motivation.

We *do* set goals and commitments though.

So, if he chooses something after trying it,

he needs to commit to a certain time - 

usually a month, or a semester.

And I won't say that I never do any pushing.

I do. A little. When needed. Like a coach.

Or a cheerleader.

But it's SO much easier now that all of these

decisions are made together.

Instead of typing, Lu asked to have weekly times for chess.

I want him to type. And he will type.

But sure, we can interchange typing and chess sometimes.

Chess is great too, 

even though I don't know how to play,

and don't want to learn.

I have a thing against Monopoly too.

War and capitalism themes, not really my cup of tea.

But Lu likes chess, and it's good for his brain.

He LIKES it and it makes him happy.

And the more we fill our days with things we truly enjoy,

the happier we all are. Obviously.

  

So, there is definitely a connection between my two realizations.

I don't worry anymore, and we don't fight anymore.

Worrying made me inflexible, and inflexibility made us fight.

It all boils down to trusting that we all WANT to learn,

especially those things that fascinate us, are fun,

or help us get to where we want to go.

Trust.

There are things that are very important to *me* that we cover,

but I am forcing myself to narrow them down 

to no more than three per year.

No more than two hours a day.

Math, Science, and History have been, and will continue to be

my priorities in our education, but the rest will be up to Lu.

And if one of the subjects I choose is as unattractive to Lu

as chess is to me, we can skip it.

Even if it were math.

And I hope Lu doesn't read this post, 

because he's got a really good math head...

but I also TRUST that he will choose to continue

his math learning.

Lu's math skills are already better than mine were 

four years ago when I started relearning them with him.

So...

Who knows where Lu's interests might take him.

The options are infinite.

 

Designing Our Days

One of the things I love most about homeschooling is being able to design our days according to what we want and/or need to do. Our schedule is different each day to fit in all the different stuff we have chosen together - develop skills, gain knowledge, exercise, enjoy nature, cook, make music, dance, walk our dogs... These are the things that make us happy, and that we want to make sure to do.

Lu got absolutely into the guitar last year.

Even though it is only on our schedule from 8-8:30am every morning, guitar practice happens all throughout the day. He even has the guitar near when we're watching a movie, so he can play whenever we pause for bathroom or snack breaks. He also has a private lesson with a teacher each week.

 

Math is daily at our house. Sometimes even twice a day.

Lu sometimes sits down to do two hours of math and not even notice.

But that's not every day. Some days 30 minutes is too much.

Science is officially 3 times weekly,

but we often end up watching science videos 

and documentaries during breaks or with lunch. 

Lu is always up for doing experiments, he'll do them just for fun.

History is pretty much daily, between reading and watching documentaries, we do something history related almost every day. This is my favorite subject and Lu enjoys it most of the time, except when he has to write a lot. This definitely isn't a year of enthusiastic writing, but that's okay. He's written a lot in past years, so I'm not pushing and just hoping that he will find his own writing inspiration in his own time.

Wednesdays are lake days.

We try to make it each week, after all, that's why we live here.

 Slowly but surely, Lu's clubhouse is moving forward.

Whenever there's a chance,

 Lu will go bang in some nails or sand some boards.

 

 Cooking, like music, has a place on the schedule,

but also happens all the time, throughout the week.

Jewelry-making has taken a backseat

to cooking and guitar, so it's not on the schedule,

but occasionally happens when Lu's in the mood.

Geography happens twice a week.

This year's focus is on regions and landmarks.

Language arts is not one of Lu's favorites, and I have come to accept and respect this. We still do a little English spelling and some Spanish grammar, but it's very minimal. I used to insist on more, but I'd rather he used the extra time for what he's truly passionate about.

Lu specifically asked for basketball this year, so every Friday morning, at 7am (before the public school's P.E. classes take over the court) Lu goes to play for an hour, and comes back sweaty-faced and red-cheeked. I should go take some pictures of him playing one of these days, but this is sacred empty-house coffee time for mama :)

 

  On Thursday afternoons 30 other kids come to our house/center for arts classes.

 And since the volunteer teachers live on site with us,

Lu often has the chance to get some one-on-one with them.

As Lu gets older, my role shifts more and more from working side-by-side with him, to making sure we have lots of interesting resources, organizing our subject matter so that it fits in the year, and trying to put it all together in a way that flows nicely for us, in a flexible schedule that molds itself to our needs.

When it all comes together, we finish a day satisfied with having completed the work we'd planned on doing AND having time for art, exercise, hobbies, research, new interests, exploration, naps, outings... This is a perfect day.

I feel that this year we've really whittled down our academic plans to what is important for him to learn for the life he desires. This gives us much more time for all the other stuff we want to do. And yes, I push for certain things (like spelling and grammar), but I do it with a strong argument, and it only goes if I can manage to convince Lu. If in the end he really doesn't want to do something, then he won't. He has his own reasons for studying science, math, and history. He has real interest for learning where things are in the world, who invented what and when, what black holes are, how dogs' brains work... If I force my own ideas about what is important to learn, I'm taking time away from him following his true interests.

So, maybe we won't be reading Shakespeare together in high school like I had envisioned, but there will be engineering, and culinary arts, and maybe a rock band, and a bunch of other stuff that I never envisioned because they weren't my interests. But I LOVE my son's interests, just because they're HIS. His very own. 

And when he is engaged in what he's doing, he glows. He shines. 

He is REALLY learning. And that is what it's all about.