I rang the school this week. The organisers of Cass's choir were coming over & she wanted to join the grade 7 class for that period. No problem. We occassionally participate in things & they have generally been worth upsetting our schedule for. The staff are great about including her & the kids are used to her although they mostly seem to think she does no work. So I get given a time & we duitifully trot up to find they've screwed the times & the whole thing is just wrapping up but we sit down for the last 20 minutes or so prepared to enjoy what we can.
Forget it. The kids are behaving like a bag of monkeys on speed. Cass eyes got bigger & bigger (& they are pretty big to start with!) Apparently the rather nice chappie we've been working with for several months is a minor t.v celebrity ~ the kids all knew him off some show we've never watched & were swarming him like fleas. One very ADD boy was hitting him! Very few of the children would sit still & quiet to hear what he wanted to say. I could practically hear the cogs churning over in Cass' brain. My very silent child clutched her flute & eyed the pandemonioum with disbelief.
I thought of this wonderful lady directing her choir of 50 odd kiddies, one of whom is just 5, who behave so very proffessionally Cass doesn't look like an oddity & wondered how we got to the point where children have lost their innate respect for adult authority.
When I offered to drive them back to the boat Cass came too although she had a flute class about to start. Our famous friend shut the door with relief, turned to me & said from the bottom of his heart, 'Good call on the homeschooling.' Yeah, well I knew that. He then turned to Cass & gave her a pep talk about the 'bigger world' she will eventually move into where she will find like minded people to share her enthusiasims with. I appreciated the kindness of his intent but Cass is a hardy soul & she is savvy enough to know that there are some things that bigger world cannot give her: enough of nature's beauty to drown in, the sense of community, the love & closeness of family, a love of God. I know Cass sometimes feels deprived because she hasn't had the whole school experience but there are some things it's just as well to pass on ~ & for us school is now one of them. Honestly, if the kids behave that way at school, what are they like at home? And how on earth do their parents cope?
Friday, August 31, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Running the Race.
We had a guest speaker on Sunday. This particular lady is excellent; her focus is mission to our schools, our kids. She likes to get her audience fired up. I don't fire well. Firstly I expect the world to behave like the world & tend to just roll my eyes. Secondly when I get asked what gets me fired up it's not the world. It's Christians acting like the world! I can feel a rant coming on so I will stop there.
However! ... amongst the exhortations to outreach she made a point that has stayed with me & it's stayed with me because I've got runners. Dino, Theo & Liddy are/were all long distance runners & regularly made up the bulk of the tag~team for the relay. Long time past, I was a sprinter. I usually ran last. I can't believe I was ever that fast! My kids have been running circles round me for years...but I digress.
The Point? Yes, there is one & I'm getting there! Christianity is like a relay. The faith has been handed on from generation to generation but for us, if you believe as I do, that we have entered into the end times, the stakes are considerably higher. We are the anchor leg, the last runners. We have to be the strongest & fastest to cover lost ground. We can't afford to 'drop the baton', to be distracted or jog along comfortably. We must run our hearts out. God is counting on us to finish the race strongly. I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. Thank goodness I don't have to do it in my own strength or we'd be going nowhere fast!
However! ... amongst the exhortations to outreach she made a point that has stayed with me & it's stayed with me because I've got runners. Dino, Theo & Liddy are/were all long distance runners & regularly made up the bulk of the tag~team for the relay. Long time past, I was a sprinter. I usually ran last. I can't believe I was ever that fast! My kids have been running circles round me for years...but I digress.
The Point? Yes, there is one & I'm getting there! Christianity is like a relay. The faith has been handed on from generation to generation but for us, if you believe as I do, that we have entered into the end times, the stakes are considerably higher. We are the anchor leg, the last runners. We have to be the strongest & fastest to cover lost ground. We can't afford to 'drop the baton', to be distracted or jog along comfortably. We must run our hearts out. God is counting on us to finish the race strongly. I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. Thank goodness I don't have to do it in my own strength or we'd be going nowhere fast!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Standardized Testing.
I hate standardized tests. What's more my ditzy Cass plays silly sods with them. I watched her do it (I was helping supervise) & there was nothing I could do because it's a test, you know. sighs!
Math paper. I looked through this one & freaked. I couldn't have done most of it to save my life. We haven't done most of the work in over 2 years ~ since the last test! Then there was the pre Algerba question! We have done NO pre~algerba. Hands were going up all over the room. Kids couldn't make head or tail of that question. NOT Cass' hand so I sneaked a look later. I think she aced that question! Mind you if she performs to usual she will ace the difficult questions & flunk all the easy stuff.
So yesterday was the English paper. I'd been pre~warned the written part was at high school level but I was hardly going to try & teach that 2 days prior to testing. Compare & contrast frogs & toads. So I'm watching Cass out of the cornor of my eye. I know this is her Waterloo. Unfazed. Totally. She starts writing. She keeps her writing neat & clear & writes steadily for 15 minutes. I'm madly impressed. Then she stops. She's done maybe 3/4 of a page. Everyone else is still writing like mad & is on their 2nd page. Cass is drawing a picture of a frog catching a fly. It was a great picture. Frogs aren't easy to draw. So I have a look at what she's written while the kids are on break. One short paragraph telling how frogs & toads are similiar, using & spelling correctly the word amphibian. A short paragraph on frogs. An even shorter paragraph on toads. I'm still laughing. Cass did the bare minimum, far too intelligent to waste her time on this nonsense & so obviously not interested. If I thought she was as dumb as her test results I would be seriously worried but knowing Cass I can pick every moment she just lost interest. Spelling; first half all correct, even the difficult words; second half all wrong but spelt phonetically & unusually ~ try possetions. Ouch! I think she's seriously playing with my head space. I distinctly remember teaching 'tion' says 'shon'.
Worse, the teacher confessed he'd 'taught to the test' for the past fortnight, revising what would be on the papers. Not in our house we didn't & I wouldn't have bothered even if I'd had any idea what was in the papers. Apart from comprehension where Cass usually scores well above the average, we are not one of those homeschooling families who blitz the test scores. You have to have an academic child for that & I don't. Do I care? Obviously not. I failed every math test I ever sat but I have effeciently managed my household finances for 40 odd years, & much better than my maths wizz of a husband!
On the other hand I am passionate about learning & seeing my child, who spends her days actively engaging even when she doesn't much like what we're doing, sitting in a classroom with her eyes glazing over & her effervesence flattened did not make me a happy mummy. Some things are too important to risk in a classroom. Train up a child is about more than just teaching a child to know & love God. It is about finding out how God made that child, the purpose He has in mind for that child & then helping them achieve their God given purpose. Thank God that should be the last of these silly tests we have to take.
Math paper. I looked through this one & freaked. I couldn't have done most of it to save my life. We haven't done most of the work in over 2 years ~ since the last test! Then there was the pre Algerba question! We have done NO pre~algerba. Hands were going up all over the room. Kids couldn't make head or tail of that question. NOT Cass' hand so I sneaked a look later. I think she aced that question! Mind you if she performs to usual she will ace the difficult questions & flunk all the easy stuff.
So yesterday was the English paper. I'd been pre~warned the written part was at high school level but I was hardly going to try & teach that 2 days prior to testing. Compare & contrast frogs & toads. So I'm watching Cass out of the cornor of my eye. I know this is her Waterloo. Unfazed. Totally. She starts writing. She keeps her writing neat & clear & writes steadily for 15 minutes. I'm madly impressed. Then she stops. She's done maybe 3/4 of a page. Everyone else is still writing like mad & is on their 2nd page. Cass is drawing a picture of a frog catching a fly. It was a great picture. Frogs aren't easy to draw. So I have a look at what she's written while the kids are on break. One short paragraph telling how frogs & toads are similiar, using & spelling correctly the word amphibian. A short paragraph on frogs. An even shorter paragraph on toads. I'm still laughing. Cass did the bare minimum, far too intelligent to waste her time on this nonsense & so obviously not interested. If I thought she was as dumb as her test results I would be seriously worried but knowing Cass I can pick every moment she just lost interest. Spelling; first half all correct, even the difficult words; second half all wrong but spelt phonetically & unusually ~ try possetions. Ouch! I think she's seriously playing with my head space. I distinctly remember teaching 'tion' says 'shon'.
Worse, the teacher confessed he'd 'taught to the test' for the past fortnight, revising what would be on the papers. Not in our house we didn't & I wouldn't have bothered even if I'd had any idea what was in the papers. Apart from comprehension where Cass usually scores well above the average, we are not one of those homeschooling families who blitz the test scores. You have to have an academic child for that & I don't. Do I care? Obviously not. I failed every math test I ever sat but I have effeciently managed my household finances for 40 odd years, & much better than my maths wizz of a husband!
On the other hand I am passionate about learning & seeing my child, who spends her days actively engaging even when she doesn't much like what we're doing, sitting in a classroom with her eyes glazing over & her effervesence flattened did not make me a happy mummy. Some things are too important to risk in a classroom. Train up a child is about more than just teaching a child to know & love God. It is about finding out how God made that child, the purpose He has in mind for that child & then helping them achieve their God given purpose. Thank God that should be the last of these silly tests we have to take.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
The curriculum has arrived! (Yay!) Cass promptly retired into a cornor with the origami paper & instructions; her mother started reading the books! There is something wrong with this picture. Hm. Eventually I surfaced long enough to investigate the instruction manual. (As my mother would always say while rolling her eyes at those of us for whom the instructions were a last resort; when all else fails, read the instructions!) Manual MUCH easier than I had been lead to believe. Cass will struggle with the grammar but its about time she got a handle on this so mother is smirking & the books are lovely. I am sooo happy & pleased I made the change. I am going to go ahead & order our history this way too. It will work much, much better for us. Unfortunately that will have to wait until I have sorted out science & math. I can't believe Cass cleaned up the math in just 3 weeks but I guess it means we can afford to concentrate on something else for a while. This is being a really scrappy term for everthing except music. I do so wish people would recognise music is an intelligence too & it requires even more discipline & perseverance than straightforward academics does. We are upping practise times ready for next year & I am doing the pre~preparation for music exams. I know nothing about any of this & am shaking in my boots but Cass isn't batting an eyelash. Why would she? She has unbounded confidence in herself.
Meanwhile we have the state testing to deal with. This means two wasted days up at the primary school & I have no idea how much of the state curriculum we have actually covered ~ & care less. I just hope Cass isn't having one of her 'off with the fairies' days on test days. Can't think where she gets that from.
And I have been preparing Daniel in the Lion's Den for adults. How this ever got to be a children's story I do not know. Well, I do, but you have to dilute it so much it's a tad scarey. I am feeling a tad fraught. Can you tell? I work hard on my preparation if I am preaching but I am not a retired pensioner with oodles of time at my disposal There I was trying to explain Israleli history at the time of the Babylonian exile with a child alternately bleating on about plankton, nekton & blenthos or singing the nonsence words from Sarah Hopkins' music. I wrote some interesting sentences & a heavy edit was required.
Meanwhile we have the state testing to deal with. This means two wasted days up at the primary school & I have no idea how much of the state curriculum we have actually covered ~ & care less. I just hope Cass isn't having one of her 'off with the fairies' days on test days. Can't think where she gets that from.
And I have been preparing Daniel in the Lion's Den for adults. How this ever got to be a children's story I do not know. Well, I do, but you have to dilute it so much it's a tad scarey. I am feeling a tad fraught. Can you tell? I work hard on my preparation if I am preaching but I am not a retired pensioner with oodles of time at my disposal There I was trying to explain Israleli history at the time of the Babylonian exile with a child alternately bleating on about plankton, nekton & blenthos or singing the nonsence words from Sarah Hopkins' music. I wrote some interesting sentences & a heavy edit was required.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
My life is a soap opera...
Before we begin; yes, the flute has arrived. The express post curriculum has not. I hit the panic button & manned the e~mail. I mean, it should have been here overnight & we have been operating for 3 weeks with no curriculum. They say it is on it's way now. Hmmm....
Meanwhile who invented unnavigatiable web pages & where are the directions for idiots like me who can't make head or tail of what should be glaringly obvious? I am looking for the music boards examination critea but I don't speak goobly~dook. Nor do I recognise any of the music listed apart from Greensleeves & if Cass has to practise that again on yet another instrument I think she will have a massive meltdown.
And while we're at it, who brought the sniffles into my house that have laid 2/3 of it low meaning I am spending half my days on the phone explaining why we aren't going to be somewhere we should be?
To say nothing of the child who bought herself a copy of Harry Potter & woke the next morning to find her brother had 'borrowed' it & it had gone to work with him!!! Our lovely librarian reserved us 3 copies so now everyone can read it in peace.
I am running a temperature & have a splitting headache but is it the wog or is it my life?
Meanwhile who invented unnavigatiable web pages & where are the directions for idiots like me who can't make head or tail of what should be glaringly obvious? I am looking for the music boards examination critea but I don't speak goobly~dook. Nor do I recognise any of the music listed apart from Greensleeves & if Cass has to practise that again on yet another instrument I think she will have a massive meltdown.
And while we're at it, who brought the sniffles into my house that have laid 2/3 of it low meaning I am spending half my days on the phone explaining why we aren't going to be somewhere we should be?
To say nothing of the child who bought herself a copy of Harry Potter & woke the next morning to find her brother had 'borrowed' it & it had gone to work with him!!! Our lovely librarian reserved us 3 copies so now everyone can read it in peace.
I am running a temperature & have a splitting headache but is it the wog or is it my life?
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Ongoing saga of... THE FLUTE!
God works in mysterious ways. For those of you who read the beginning of this tale it has been 22 days & still no flute. Dearest, who has all the patience of a hungry shark, was starting to make, 'ring those people' noises. I deal with homeschool suppliers who run home business while homeschooling & have waited longer than 22 days for supplies. I hadn't even begun to panic though it did seem a little odd. After all they are a big, reputable company. No homeschoolers here.
So we trotted off to band today still with our hired instrument & Cass lamenting she would not be home to get the post; she has taken to haunting the letterbox waiting on 'her' parcel. I should also point out Dearest NEVER, & I do mean NEVER, answers the phone. His sons complain bitterly about that fact. So I was shocked to find that he did answer the phone today. He got the paranoid salesman who had been away for 2 weeks with his band & returned to work today to find our cheque taped to his computer screen & that they had SOLD OUR FLUTE!!!! First day back at work & he had to ring us with that news, poor man. He was expecting to be abused all over the shop I am quite sure but Dearest is much cagier than that & much better in these situations than I am. I would have been too stunned to do more than murmmer,' that's ok, no problem; We'll wait till you get another one in.' Not so Dearest. Having done the, 'these things happen' number he asked what sort of a deal the man could do him on a new flute. Nothing delights Dearest's heart so much as a good haggle & an even better bargain. An extra 100 bucks & Cass gets a brand, spanking new flute of our brand of choice. And it's being sent express post at their cost! Don't try & tell me that's not God!
So we trotted off to band today still with our hired instrument & Cass lamenting she would not be home to get the post; she has taken to haunting the letterbox waiting on 'her' parcel. I should also point out Dearest NEVER, & I do mean NEVER, answers the phone. His sons complain bitterly about that fact. So I was shocked to find that he did answer the phone today. He got the paranoid salesman who had been away for 2 weeks with his band & returned to work today to find our cheque taped to his computer screen & that they had SOLD OUR FLUTE!!!! First day back at work & he had to ring us with that news, poor man. He was expecting to be abused all over the shop I am quite sure but Dearest is much cagier than that & much better in these situations than I am. I would have been too stunned to do more than murmmer,' that's ok, no problem; We'll wait till you get another one in.' Not so Dearest. Having done the, 'these things happen' number he asked what sort of a deal the man could do him on a new flute. Nothing delights Dearest's heart so much as a good haggle & an even better bargain. An extra 100 bucks & Cass gets a brand, spanking new flute of our brand of choice. And it's being sent express post at their cost! Don't try & tell me that's not God!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Proud mummy moment.
Cass, bless her little cotton socks, has just cleaned up at the art show! There was only one overall winner & she is it. I believe there is a monetary reward~ which we didn't know when we entered. I promise I will try & post pictures when we get her art work back; I assume we are getting it back. The funny thing is I liked her abstracts & I adored her picture of wood ducks but the painting that clinched it is the one I actively dislike though I admit the idea is good. Cass did an outline of our island but painted it using the Aboriginal technique of dots (migraine making I think) then painted one hand red & one white & handprinted the island. The theme was our heritage so the idea was particularly good; it's just I really don't like the actual painting ~ but then I don't have to do I. I thought she'd be rather chuffed but we missed the award announcements due to choir rehearsals & truth be told, Cass never looks back, only ahead & is no longer all that interested.
But hey! I am chuffed for her. I am chuffed for me too. I looked at all the kids' paintings & most of them were same/same; not an original idea or design amongst them ~ Cass being the notable exception. Had no~one to copy off did she? She had to think it out for herself. And this folks is why homeschooling can still rock my boat. When the going gets tough & my sanity takes a vacation these are 'minties moments' & I know why I do what I do.
But hey! I am chuffed for her. I am chuffed for me too. I looked at all the kids' paintings & most of them were same/same; not an original idea or design amongst them ~ Cass being the notable exception. Had no~one to copy off did she? She had to think it out for herself. And this folks is why homeschooling can still rock my boat. When the going gets tough & my sanity takes a vacation these are 'minties moments' & I know why I do what I do.
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