A very long overdue post

It's been months and months since I've blogged. We switched things up a little last year with the kiddos going to a Montessori school a couple of days a week. It was a good fit for them, but it caused a real time crunch for me, trying to cram five days of lessons into three days. I felt like I didn't have time to do anything extra, so the blog got put on the back burner. I regret not having blogged much last year because I really enjoy going back through my old posts from the first couple of years and seeing what we did.  It's a homeschool diary.

Today was a beautiful day here in OK so we headed out to the nature preserve this afternoon. It's one of our favorite local places to hike, and every time we go there, I wonder why we don't go more often.

While we were hiking around, 

looking for letters in nature for art projects for the kids' rooms, 

enjoying having our pictures taken,

and watching butterflies do their thing, 

I had a moment of clarity. 

Lately, I've been feeling like I'm at a crossroads with this whole Otherwise Educating thing. This is our fourth year, and I've loved it. I haven't loved everything about it. There have been days when I have not loved it at all. But overall, it has been a wonderful experience for me and for my children. I wouldn't care if they hadn't learned anything (they have), I would not trade the time I have had with them for all the money in the world. However, we are quickly approaching the high school years with Thing 3, and Thing 4 has been telling me she wants to go back to school. She doesn't want to go back to any school. She thinks she might want to go back to public school. You know, that place from which I rescued her over three years ago. 

I've had many conversations in my head, with my husband, with my neighbor and favorite homeschool mom about whether or not to continue on this path. I wonder if my children would be learning more in school.  Would they be better off socially? I have doubts about my ability to homeschool high school.  It's one thing to homeschool elementary school kids. Anyone can teach state capitals and multiplication tables. But how will I teach geometry, chemistry, writing? Can I do this for the long term? Do I even want to? Should I have done this at all?

And then, as she often does, Thing 4 said something that brought me back to the moment. She has been learning about food chains and food webs. Before we headed out today, we covered (for the third time) the various parts of the food chain...producers, consumers, scavengers, decomposers. As we walked past a log that had been eaten by termites, I casually mentioned, "Oh look. Termites have been eating that log. Where do you suppose termites fall in the food chain?" She looked at me, looked at the log, thought for a minute and shouted, "Decomposers! They're decomposers. And look, Mom! You can see how they're breaking down this log. It's turning back into soil." Then, "Wow. You know, it's one thing to read about decomposers, but when I can actually see and touch what they've done, I really get it." 

And that's why I do what I do. I'm doing it again tomorrow. After that, who knows? For now, I'm just going to enjoy the moment.

Nature Study and Nature Journaling

It was beautiful today and it's supposed to rain for the next two days, so we cut our school day short and took a quick trip to the nature center. We even took our expensive purple plastic binoculars.

We saw this sign in the visitor center. While these are the words of an adult, I think they describe the nature of most children perfectly. How wonderful it is for my children to have the time to wonder why.

We took a little time to do some nature journaling. Nature journaling is such a great way to get kids to pay attention to the details of nature. We don't do this nearly enough, and every time we do it, I think we should do it more often.

Here are photos of just a few things the kiddos noticed today on our walk. Much to the relief of Thing 3, we did not encounter any snakes or bears on the trail. Whew.

Recess And The Outdoor Classroom

I am so fortunate that my good friend and neighbor also Otherwise Educates her children. We do lots of activities together, including recess. If we didn't have her children for my children to play with, my children would be even weirder and less socialized than they already are.

Friday was beautiful here in windy OK. It was much too pretty to be inside, especially given that we have been cooped up for months thanks to an unusually cold, wet winter. It also happened to be Thing 4's 8th birthday, and who wants to do school work on their birthday? So, the kiddos headed outside for a longer-than-normal recess and some outdoor learning.

(By now you know that she dresses herself, yet I still feel compelled to publish a disclaimer.)

While I believe that children need adult directed teaching, I also think that children need time to be children and to do what children are created to do...that is, to learn by doing. Children's lives today are much too scheduled, structured and adult-led. I love to see them doing their thing without parents interfering.

Kids learn a lot when they play with each other and adults leave them alone.

For example, on Friday, these boys learned that if you're having a RipStik competition and the little sister of one of the competitors is the judge:

...chances are she is going to award, at her discretion, a bonus point for "politeness" and her brother will win the competition. Very important life lesson, doncha think?