Library Visit

We made a visit to the main county library last night. I don't go there very often because it is a bit of a drive for me, and there is a local library that is generally sufficient. Every once in a while, though, I like to go to the bigger location because they have such a wide selection. When I select movies for our viewing, I tend to drift through the stacks and pick up whatever appeals to my interests as I wander. The selection of movies is far better at the main branch. I drifted along and selected about 16 movies last night, only to find that the checkout limits have decreased to a maximum of ten movies at a time. I had to finagle to get a card for my husband so that I could bring home all the movies I had chosen. It's just easier that way. In the end, I brought home all the movies I had selected, so it was worth the extra hassle.

I talked to the library assistant for a bit about audio books last night because Kira adores The Magic Treehouse audio books. Unfortunately, there is a limit to just how many of those books there are and how many my library actually has. After a bit of discussion and browsing, I chose to bring home 4 new audio books.

     - Judy Moody Declares Independence
     - Cam Jansen and the Ghostly Mystery (Kira enjoyed the story, but I did not enjoy the narrator.)
     - Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the U.F.O.
     - Kit: An American Girl (Okay, I have to admit that I was prepared to dislike this. I have a natural aversion to History in just about any form. I decided to bring this home at the last minute even though I knew I would be seriously miserable having to listen to the story. Last night, in hopes of boring Kira to sleep, I put this in. Kira and I sat up until nearly 1:00 AM listening to Kit's story. Even after Kira was asleep, I continued to listen. I was absolutely captivated. The narration is engaging and the story is just amazing. I will definitely be finding more of these. )

Along with the four audio books, I also brought home several movies.

     - I Want to be a ... Firefighter: Explore a Career in Firefighting (I would really like to know where THIS movie was last year when Kira first became obsessed with fire. This movie would have saved me a ton of hassle and frustration.)
     - Savage Skies: Fire and Rain
     - Wetlands: Georgia's Vanishing Treasure
     - National Geographic: Ballad of the Irish Horse
     - Mister Rogers' Neighborhood: Going to School (I watched all of 5 minutes of this and turned it off. Did I really used to watch this show? )
     - National Geographic: Ocean Drifters
     - National Geographic: Dolphins, the Wild Side
     - National Geographic: Born of Fire
     - National Geographic: Killer Wave: The Power of the Tsunami
     - Life Science: All About Fish
     - National Geographic: Dinosaur Giants: FOUND
     - Eyewitness: Shark
     - Amazing Animals: Endangered Animals
     - National Geographic: Volcano!
     - Amazing Animals: Armored Animals
     - Eyewitness: Elephant
     - Eyewitness: Jungle

I also picked up one book - Real-Life Homeschooling by: Rhonda Barfield.

What Is Unschooling?

I've been explaining the concepts of Unschooling for the last week to various different people. My niece was amazed that I would allow the girls to do as they please without making them do any school work at all. My daughter's Sunday School teacher was intrigued by the concept and wanted to know more. My sister and I had a discussion about Montessori Schools and Unschooling. My best friend worries that the girls will be ill equipped for life in a college classroom after growing up with their education being dictated solely by them.

I need to get my book written. It would be so much easier to direct those who want answers to read a book than to try to give them a detailed explanation in the span of a short conversation.  The outline is written. The thoughts are there. I just have to sit down and force myself to type out the words that are already buried within my mind and heart. Then comes the process of getting published - which is just plain scary for me. Luckily, I have a friend who knows the industry and will be helpful in getting me on that road to being published.

Numbers and Words

Well, the last couple of days has been pretty impressive around the Schonder School House. Somewhere along the line, Kira picked up some pretty interesting information. She has learned to divide sets of things in half. She has started writing words all on her own. She made leaps and bounds with her connections of content.

Last night, Dad and I were playing Tekken on the Play Station. Kira started sounding out some words. We didn't really think much about it until she brought us a piece of paper that she had written the word "bat" on. She explained to us that this was the bat you use to hit balls with and not the bat you see flying in the sky at night. She asked for more paper and continued writing out words. (Just WOW!!!)

This morning, she crawls in bed for some snuggles. After a few minutes she tells me, "Mom, 5 has a middle person. Four has a middle hole, but not a middle person."

blink blink blink

Mind you, it was very early and I am NOT a morning person. I had to ask her what she was talking about.

So she holds up her hand - with 5 fingers up. Then she tells me again... "Five has a middle person - see... *wiggling her middle finger*. Four does not have a middle person. It has a middle hole. *putting her finger in the middle space*

again... blink blink blink

My foggy brain found the capacity to discuss odds and evens with her.

Then I asked her how she would divide the 5 so that her and Marisa would get the exact same amount.

Dad started to help her, until I told him to hush. (he isn't usually home on Fridays...)

After a bit of consideration, Kira decided that to divide the middle person she would need to use a knife to cut it in half --- but only by asking a grown up to help her.

I think this is so awesome!

Ignore This, Please

If you've been reading for a while, then you are aware that this blog is partially intended as a detail of records for our schooling. This post is for the purpose of records keeping, so while it may appear to be a bit odd... just nod and smile and say to yourself "Man, she's one smart Mom for covering her bases so thoroughly." and then come back to visit again when we talk about the next set of event. 

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Email Sent January 13, 2009 

Thank you again for contacting the Georgia Department of Education. This response has been provided by AskDOE, the Superintendent’s Helpdesk. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this response, please don’t hesitate to contact AskDOE at 404-656-2800 or 800-311-3627 and refer to Help Ticket number 00403717.


Email Received:

I have a question regarding the compulsory attendance regulations for home
schoolers.

My daughter will turn 6 years old on September 8th of this year. Her birthday
falls after the cut off date for entering the 1st grade.

I am aware of Georgia's laws. However, I am uncertain about when we will need
to begin reporting to our local DOE.

Do we begin reporting this year even though her birthday falls after the
September 1st cut off date?

Or are we exempt from the attendance regulations until the following year when
she will be 6 years old prior to the September 1st cut off date?

Please advise.

Sincerely,

Shaunalynn Schonder





 

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Response Received January 14, 2009 



Response from AskDOE:

S Schonder

Dear Ms. Schonder:

Your e-mail to State Superintendent Kathy Cox has been received and is being addressed by AskDOE, the Superintendent’s help desk. Thank you for this opportunity to assist you. I am responding on behalf of the Superintendent.

Because mandatory attendance is from ages 6 - 16, you will not need to report intent to home school. Kindergarten is not required in Georgia. However, when she reaches the age for grade 1, you will need to submit a Declaration of Intent and Monthly Attendance Reports to your local school district. Your child will be eligible for public school 1st grade when she is 6 and soon to be 7.

I wish you the best and thank you, again, for contacting the Georgia Department of Education. Please let me know if I can provide further assistance.

Sincerely,


(name deleted)
Education Administration Specialist

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** We do not need to begin reporting attendance for Kira until September of 2011.**

Africam

I've talked about Africam before over at The Art and Science of Parenting. As part of our zoo studies, we have been watching Africam for the past few hours. Kira and I sat up until midnight watching the sunrise at the Nkorho water hole. Unfortunately, we only saw a few birds last night. Today we have been a slight bit luckier. Right now there is a night safari group in the camera's range. The group has been busy taking pictures of some sort of large cat - probably a lion - that is barely visible to the camera. The light from the safari group keeps glaring so all we can see is the outline of the cat. The way it is laying in the grass, though, leads me to believe that it is most likely a lioness or bachelor lion. Kira and I are both hoping the lion will venture to the water's edge where the camera can get a good look.

Night has descended swiftly upon the plains, as is common in Africa. There is little transition between night and day. Unless the animals come closer to the water's edge where the infrared light can illuminate them, we will simply have to be content with their sounds. I can actually hear a slight bit of rumbling that sounds like it might be from a lion. It isn't exactly a roar - just chatter.

Africam is such a cool website and resource. I discovered it some years ago when Angel was finishing the 9th grade and embarking on her home school journey. We spent many nights sitting up (sprawled on the couch...) watching the goings on at the watering hole. We were both somewhat obsessed with the camera that watched over the African Plains. We wondered every day what beasts might present themselves for our viewing.

Now, Kira is becoming just as captivated with the camera over in Africa. She sits for extended lengths of time just watching the screen and chatting with me about what we might or might not see. It took a while for me to get her to understand that the camera was watching something that was going on right this moment. After all, the time there is not the same as it is here. Sunrise there finds us cloaked in darkness of night. Sunset there finds us in the midst of our day. It's a difficult concept for a child to comprehend. She's learning, though.

Texas School Board Suspends 4 Year Old Child for Long Hair?

Apparently I am behind on the times. Some few weeks ago, the principle of Floyd Elementary School in Dallas, Texas decided that it was appropriate to suspend - SUSPEND FROM SCHOOL - a 4 year old child. Now, was the child misbehaving? No. Was he being disruptive to the education of others? No. Was he being sexually inappropriate towards other students? No.

So you may wonder what infraction this child has committed that would call for such a harsh response from the schools. After all, the child is barely even old enough to attend school.

What horrible incident has caused the school to suspend the child? 

His hair is too long. 

That's right. The child's hair is too long and the parents refuse to cut his hair just because the principle of the school insists that his hair must abide by the school's code.

The parents refused to cut Taylor's hair. The school responded by suspending him. After a length of time, the school decided to allow Taylor to attend school - under in-school suspension. For the past few weeks, this 4 year old child has been sentenced to live out his days separated from all of his friends and all other children at the school. He is isolated in the library without the benefits of social interaction or play time, being taught by a teacher's aide.

The parents are currently engaged in a fight for their child's right to wear his hair as he pleases. I agree with their choice to fight the schools on this matter. In fact, I would need to point out that if his hair is too long then every girl in the class should also be forced to cut her hair or braid it daily as the Board has ruled their son can keep his long hair as long as he braids it every day.


Learn more Here .

Assessments

Kira is progressing fairly quickly with her reading. I have a friend who is an elementary school teacher - Jen. Jen has offered to assess Kira's reading level to help me determine what I need to do next to help Kira continue to progress with her reading skills. I'm really looking forward to that assessment.

The key part of home schooling is knowing where to go for information and/or assistance whenever you may need it. I've been trying to explain this to many of my friends. Home schooling does not mean that I am the only person who will ever provide educational instruction to my children. What it does mean is that I have a greater control over what my children are exposed to and how quickly they progress with information.

Either Wednesday or Thursday I will be visiting with Jen to let her spend some time with Kira. After that, Jen and I will work together to formulate a plan for what I need to do next to keep Kira moving forward with reading. I imagine she will tell me what I already know. (Kira is ahead of her "age" in her reading ability. Keep doing what I am already doing in order to continue our progress.) The reassurance is always a good thing.