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.

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.

Three Times Around The Sun

 Rainy season has started again, 

which means a lot more inside time.

Science in the kitchen.

Cozy reading.

Time slows down.

Lots of cuddles. But that's every season.

Trying to get the needle to stand up straight....

over and over and over again.

Mastermind. Oh boy, are we playing Mastermind.

Multi-media resesearch and graphic note-taking

on our scientist of the week: Charles Darwin.

Drawing tutorials are all the rage here these days.

And some garden work when the sun is out.

I'm loving it. All of it. Every day. Every week.

Through the seasons. Three times around the sun now.

Watching my boy grow in so many ways,

and find himself, is a most awesome thing.

Learning together about the world,  and the universe,

and our history, and how to communicate our ideas

about it all... it's a wonderful thing.

The Oceanographers

Almost two weeks since my last post, but as you can see -
we've been very busy with... um... oceanography!
 

Oh yes! And there was much socialization! Very important indeed. 
We make great efforts to ensure that socialization happens.

It was a most educational experience.

The Stuff I Can't Get With My Camera

Lu sometimes complains about how much I put the camera in his face. I try to always have it handy to capture the moments I want to write about and share here. 

I love sharing pictures because, when I first started homeschooling, seeing what real homeschoolers looked like when they were doing their thing was especially helpful.

But, I can't always have the camera handy, and there are things that just aren't photographically possible, like:

- how carefully Lu walked the two miles back down the mountain so as not to dizzy the tadpoles (being transported in a yogurt container) that he caught in the pond. And, subsequently, the independent research he did on WHAT to feed them and HOW to care for them.

- the way we lean against each other when we're sitting on the bench, working together at my computer.

- the amazing day he had with my friend's son who came to visit, and the games they played, and how special it was to see Lu with a like-minded kid who also likes to play make-believe. Why can't there be more of them?

-  when he reaches out for a hug in the middle of a math problem, and I know that a part of him is just trying to delay dealing with long division, but a part of him really does want a hug.

- the spontaneous nap we took, cuddled up together on the day bed, after eating lunch with an episode of BBC's Blue Planet.

 - how well he's been translating for his theater group's teacher who doesn't speak much Spanish, and realizing that it's giving him some awesome training in facilitation. He REALLY wants to be a workshop teacher in our arts programs, so this is fantastic practice.

- all the little comments that Lu makes throughout the day that reassure me that he not only IS learning from our classes, but is retaining A LOT more than I am. lol. 

- the impromptu dramatic account of Julius Caesar's life that turned into a one-man theatrical performance, where Lu was playing both Caesar and all the members of the senate stabbing him to death!

- that our home was much more relaxed this week because Cha and I made the decision to try to not nag Lu as much, to not expect so much from him, and to remember that - even though we know he's capable of all the things we ask of him - sometimes it's nice to just let go and let him figure out for himself if and how he is going to contribute to the household chores, if he's going to remember to pick up his clothes, or brush his teeth, or wash the dishes, or be ready to start schoolwork at 8am... before we have to ask him to. It's an experiment. But the reduction in arguing and negotiating has been lovely - even though there were dirty socks and sweatshirts strewn throughout the house.

Whiteboards and Tadpoles

On Mondays and Thursdays, amongst the eggs, chilli sauce, and random other stuff, Lu has to try to squeeze in a math worksheet before Youth Group (performing & visual art classes with other kids) begins at 8am. 

Half of it gets done while Cha is making breakfast.  

(I'm upstairs getting my morning exercise) 

The other half gets done after breakfast and before washing dishes. 

If Lu is lucky, Cha has a little time to help him out before he runs out the door to one of his sites. 

We have a whiteboard in the kitchen used mostly for shopping lists. As Cha goes to the big town once a week for building materials and our groceries, if anything is forgotten, we have to wait a whole week for him to go again.

 

But lately the whiteboard has been used for these mini math classes on the days that Cha has time, and Lu likes it so much that he even uses it by himself now, instead of working out the problems in a notebook

He was like: "It's really great seeing the math clearly on the whiteboard."

And then I had one of those horrifying homeschool-parent moments,

(like the one I had when I realized that I'd forgotten to teach Lu the order of the months): 

"OMG. We've never used a board. Everyone uses a board for math!!! 

How did I not think to use a board?!"

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Lu's finishing up several projects:

Human Anatomy

(I will post the complete work soon) 

I quote:

Mom, it's really cool to study anatomy,

because as you read about it,

it's actually happening inside of you!

History

Today Lu put all the historical events he learned about in his studies of Ancient Rome together on one single 1,200-year timeline. We have one more documentary to watch, make a poster, and we'll be done with Rome for now.

I'm kind of glad to be done with the blood and the gore, 

and the crazy emperors.

Geography

Lu is getting ready for a geography test where he will label 

all the countries of the Americas, Europe, Asia, Middle East, 

and Africa on blank outline maps. 

He's learned with this FUN and free geography site.

It's a great site, and he really has learned all the countries

in just over a year, 15 minutes a few times a week.

There's also been Scrabble-playing.

crepe-making,

tadpole-catching,

and rock-climbing.

Life is good.

If you're thinking about homeschooling your child/ren...

DO IT!