Home School Co-op

Today we started at the Great Hollow Home School Co-op. It was fabulous. We have joined a group of home schooling families who created the Co-op perhaps a year ago. they meet once a week at a YMCA property in Connecticut (about 50-55 minutes from here). The teaching is done by a combination of parents and paid teachers.

M is in the 4-6 group and his classes are Little Chefs (today they made pizza), Play and Tumble - 'the best part mummy, once when we got to tell the teacher our favourite aminals and the children had to copy us...my favourite is the ephelant' - mine too! After lunch and an outside play he had story time then art and indoor play time.

W is in the 6-9 or 6-12 group depending on the class. He did Animal Biology where he got to look at and touch a whole bunch of dead birds suffed with cotton and three different live snapping turtles. Then, cartoon drawing which he really loved and continued to practice during J's gym class this eveing and at the restaurant waiting for dinner. After lunch he did Mad Science which was 'cool' and The Art and Science of cooking, where they made choc chip chocolate muffins, unfortunately we had to leave before they came out of the oven (to get back for M's Gym class at 4pm) so the teacher (a MOM) is going to freeze some for them for next week - I hope that she remembers.

J 9-12 or 6-12. She also did animal biology and aparently touched the birds too even though she had expressed concern before the class that she might have to touch something. Then she did beading, came away with a new necklace and pair of earings, a happy girl. After lunch she had an outdoor class called Winter Wonders in nature, she discovered racoon tracks, an owl in a tree and some if its pellets, which are very cool to disect so I am told. Then she also did The Art and Science of Cooking.

I helped out with lunch clean up, finding the children's classes and helping out with the little ones art class, they did painting and were all pretty much done within 15 minutes, the rest of the time I cleaned paint pots.

The other Mum's are all very nice, I had a couple of good chats about their home schooling experience. There are a couple of families who have practiced Un-Schooling. One of the Mum's who does this currently has a daughter in Smith College and a Son just accepted (early) for Hamshire. I don't know much about colleges but I do know that these two are 'selective' - this means you actually have to be pretty good to get it. Her daughter did not 'study' maths formally untill she decided which college she wanted to get into and she studied with a tutor and passed the required course to get into the college. This was interesting to me. The other interesting thing is that she never formally taught reading to her children and they all (3) pretty much taught themselves. By 8 they were fluent readers and clearly must be pretty good at reading, comprehension and written expresion in order to be in college.

Take a minute to imagine the stress we and our children would all be feeling if they did not read in K, 1st or 2nd grade. OMG, the fact that W told the teacher here that he could not read (even though he could) in 1st grade was enough to cause severe angst for all parties. Another teacher here told a first grade parent that her job was not to teach him to read, he should have managed that in Kindergarten. I have heard and read about many home schooled children not reading until they are 8 or even older. I acknowledge that this may limit some of the things they can do, but learning is not about rote and class rooms, I am becomming more convinced of this the more people I meet.

J has begun involvement in a mini-musical. She is staring in Seusical, though we don't find out her part until Saturday. She had the first rehearsal last weekend and only 8 more to go I think and then the performance on the 1st March. She has also signed up for a 'book club' aka 'Young Critics Club' to be held at the Library on Monday evenings, once a month. There are three scheduled so I am not sure if they will happen after that, but three is a good start. She got the book yesterday and was reading it as she walked out of the library. It starts at 7pm and goes for about an hour. I would never have dreamed of sigining her up for something at that time on a Monday night if she was going to school, I am not sure how the other children manage it.

Both W and J will be reading to a dog at the Library next Tuesday for 10 minutes, W has already decided that he will read something from The Magic Treehouse. He loves these books and can hardly put them down. The other night he was reading, did about 4 chapters and I suggested that we wait till the next day to see what happens next, he said 'no, no I won't wait' and read the rest of the book. I really wanted him to go to bed, but I am so happy about his new found love for and excitement in these books that I let him finish it. Luckily there are over 30 in the series, so he has loads to keep him going.

M is loving Gymnastics, W will join his class next semester, which will be interesting and will cut down the amount of time I am at the Gym from 3 to 2 hours and 2 to 1 day a week. This gives me time to do the grocery shopping too, perhaps with just J, oh luxury.

D is currently in Africa (flew via London - managed to see J and L for dinner)will be home some time between 18 and 25th depending on access to Somalia. What a nightmare that country is, and how's that silly fellow in Kenya. My dream for 2008 is that ONE African leader will surrender power when voted out of office, calmly, with dignity and allow the transfer of power to happen with out violence. What ever you think of individuals and parties in Australia the smooth and uncomplicated transfer of power at the last election is something to be proud of.

Speaking of Australia, I have seen it (the word) broken down in a few books lately, do we really say Aws, tray, yah! I did not think that I did, I am sure I clearly pronounce the lia at least.

To all of you diigently sending me stuff on Face Book, I think I have about 20 odd unanswered things on there - including those messages usually reserved for emails, previously called chain letters (I remember my mum getting a hand written one about 30 years ago and putting in in her bible where it probably still is today, in order to nullify its nasty message of doom should she not forward it to 10 or so people within 7 days...blah blah). Any way, those are appearing on face book now...God help us. So, sorry for not responding via face book, but if you really want to communicate with me, please use email, or even this blog. Cheers.