Zoo Trip

We went to the zoo this week. It is funny how taking pictures seems so unimportant once you have 3 children, where it was all I did when I only had 1. The last time we went to the zoo, M was a year old, and I was pregnant with R. We snapped two rolls of film that day.

On Monday, we didn't even think about taking the camera until we were petting the goats, and I remembered all the pictures I took of M, hugging and kissing goats and lambs. Now, I won't have any of R or K for my scrapbook. Well, I am hoping that we'll go again in the fall when it is cooler. That way we can actually finish the zoo as we only did half of it before everyone was too tired and cranky and hot to continue.

My husband TJ wanted to see the wolves. He has a wild streak a mile wide, and being a scientist, he has studied much about wolves and their behaviors.

And I wanted to see the elephants. I am an elephant girl. I have collected elephant figurines for years, and I love the playfulness I see in elephants. It describes me very well. I was also fascinated with the manatees. They were so big! They used their fins to crawl along the bottom of their pool like they were arms.

R liked the monkeys. My schooling efforts with R are focused on storytelling and language skills. Both are necessary for preparation for reading, so I used the zoo as a means to encourage her to talk to me at the end of the day. I asked her what she remembered about her day at the zoo, and she told me how much she loved the little monkey. "She was so cute," she said, in her little exuberant voice.

I asked her to draw me a picture, but she felt too self-conscious. She said, "I don't think I could do it." I recounted all the wonderful pictures she has drawn over the last few weeks, and she smiled but still did not want to draw the monkey. "I want it to be perfect," she said.

I have heard that from her a lot lately. I wonder if she feels too much pressure is put on her performance. I took my cue to leave it alone, and instead of dwelling on a picture of a monkey, I tucked her and kissed her goodnight.

In the morning, she showed up in the kitchen with the cutest little monkey with a bow in its hair. I was pleased with this, and she was so proud of herself. And that pleased me even more.

M loved the zoo too. She was excited to see the tortoise. Ever since we told her that we used to call her Little Turtle when she was a baby (her car seat had a little green shield that reminded us of a turtle shell), she has settled on turtles as being her special animal. However, M has a real love for anything that is an animal. Our most interesting science projects are centered around animals and their behaviors, and she loves to read anything about any animal.

K is too young to fully appreciate a zoo trip, but she was happy to be out. Much of our day was spent keeping track of her and reining in that avid curiosity. I know that all toddlers get into things, and I have been through it with the older two girls. However, imagine taking that mischievous curiosity and magnifying it a hundred fold, and that's our K. She keeps us on our toes.

Despite the heat and all the walking and the struggle to handle 3 inquisitive children, it was a wonderful day. I'll be happy to do it again . . . in the fall.

Eternity of Childhood

I remember how time seemed to stop when I was a kid. Summer days would blend together into something that felt much like eternity. We would play in the dirt for hours, with nothing pressing on our minds but enjoying the hot summer air. I wonder if that is what heaven is like, the wonderment of childhood and the joy of doing nothing.

Here I am, a working mom who is also homeschooling and involved in so many activities that I don't know how I make it from day to day. And then for a moment, I sit and watch my kids play, and that feeling of eternity comes rushing back to me.

I used to work in the garden while they played in the dirt beside me. They would spend hours just moving dirt from one bucket to another. It is amazing to me how that would fascinate them. Now the neighborhood kids come to play in our yard because we have a plastic jungle gym that they love to play on. While the other kids our sitting around on the jungle gym, my kids are collecting bugs.

M comes running up to the three boys, visiting one evening. "I have three slugs," she says, excitedly.

"Why does she keep getting slugs?" one boy asks another.

And I am grinning from ear to ear because I know I have accomplished something wonderful: I have taught them to explore and not to be afraid of the dirt. I haven't overmanaged them, and thus I have the most inquisitive, most ingenuitive, most explorative girls I have ever met.

My 3 princesses wear nothing but dresses because that is what they like, but even then, they don't worry about getting dirty. They still climb, run, play, dig, capture bugs, and dance like ballerinas. R tells me that she is going to be a "superhero princess" when she grows up, and I tell her that she does not have to wait. She can be one now.

I am pleased.

Yes, I am pleased to be part of this eternal world that homeschooling has given us to share with our children. This is what life should be.

Computer Art

ArtRage 2.5 from Ambient Design is another great computer tool for home schooling. For $25, you get a paint, chalk, crayon, glitter, marker, and colored pencil program without the mess. Did I mention without the mess? And oh yeah, without the clutter too....well, until they figure out how to print their creations.

The paint feature really works like paint. If you put down a layer of blue paint and then swipe green paint across it, the green will pick up tinges of blue briefly. And the paint brush runs out of paint just like a real paint brush does. Then you can use the smear feature and spread your paint around. The effect looks like real paint. Can I say that enough? It looks real. The other art mediums also seem very life like, from the grainy texture of crayon to the glossy appearance of marker.

Our girls love this program. We get requests 20 times a day (all right, I am in Exaggeration Mode today) to make something on the computer, and I have been impressed by their results. Yes, it is a lot of abstract art, but the visual effects of this art seems pretty outstanding to me. I have posted some of my favorite pieces on my Webb Art blog. Take a look. Then go have some fun!

Computer Music

We plan to enroll M & R into piano or violin lessons this fall, but in the meantime, I have exposed them to music using some computer programs, particularly Apple Garageband (Mac only) and Finale Songwriter 2007 (Windows and Mac).

The user interface for Finale Songwriter 2007 contains empty music sheets. After selecting musical instruments, you can point and click to add notes and then play your music to hear what it sounds like. This exposes children to the musical staff, notes, and the sounds of instruments. M composed her first piano piece at the age of 5. All right, before you start thinking I'm bragging about my child protege, she really was just pointing and clicking randomly, but the random notes actually sounded pretty good. This was a learning experience for her and preparation for future music lessons.

Apple Garageband contains a mini keyboard. As you play the keyboard, the song is recorded. It is certainly a different perspective, but one that is easier for younger children. The mouse movements require less dexterity, and the keyboard method allows a child to hear the music as they play. This allows a child to familiarize themselves with a piano and with musical sounds at an early age.

What is also great about these programs is that they not only teach children about music, they familiarize the child with a computer (program navigation and mouse control). Furthermore, children learn something about creating and innovating. Art is not just about appreciation; it is about experiencing and creating something new. You don't have to be 40 to create something great.

Never Let Criticism Affect Your Home Schooling Style

Every mistake I made in home schooling came when I allowed criticisms to affect me. Criticism often leads to one of two behaviors: (1) overreaction or (2) stubborn refusal to change. For me, it is usually overreaction, which isn't good for me or the kids.

One well-meaning friend (or maybe not so well meaning) related a story about an acquaintance whose children failed the achievement tests because the parents had always provided the answers in their home school. I then got ultra paranoid that if I give the kids the answers they'll never learn, but you have to give them the answers before they can be expected to know the answers.

My in-laws said that parents cannot effectively discipline their own children, and I felt the need to prove to myself that I was a good disciplinarian. I ended up being too rough on the kids, especially the whining which only led to more whining.

A stranger said I would never be able to provide the amount of time that children need to learn. Two hours? Not enough time. Three hours? Four hours? Five hours? If I gave 3 hours of dedicated home schooling and my husband also gave that much time, it still would not be enough for the kids to learn what they would need to learn. This attitude only leads to burn out.

Then there is the usual criticism: socialization. Let's just stop there. Paying any attention to this criticism only leads to paranoia and dysfunctional children. Children are naturally better at socializing than we are as adults.

So I encourage you to ignore criticisms. Even better yet, don't put yourself into a position to be criticized. Other people's opinions should just be kept to themselves.