Back to School
Posted on | August 31, 2010 | 4 Comments
As with most educational institutions, school has begun in our household. This is our third year homeschooling. What’s funny is, every now and then, when I start to lose confidence and question my goals, I always get some sort of sign that reminds me why Troy and I decided to homeschool. The last one was this excerpt from a book I’ve been reading …
“In our schools, grades K through 12, students are not so much educated as trained to perform well on standardized tests. They aren’t taught to think for themselves, question, or be curious. They’re encouraged to accept what they’re told without hesitation.”
- Poetry as Spiritual Practice by Robert McDowell
The book is about incorporating poetry into your daily life so it’s quite an unusual place to be reminded of why we lost faith in public schools.
Anyways, this year is a tough one because aside from teaching Mica, it’s the first time that Rinoa has a full formal curriculum. You can read about Mica’s subjects and her thoughts on homeschooling here. As for Rinoa (who’s only 5 years old), except for second-grade Math, all other subject she’s taking are first grade level. And she’s loving it! Her favorite subject is history! (Would you believe?!) She begs to have history if it’s not scheduled for the day. It’s making Mica, who hates history, crazy!
To keep me sane during school days, I’ve dedicated a 2-hour break in the middle of the day called “quiet time”. During this time, Mica and Rinoa can do whatever they want as long as they stay in their room. It works well for us – it keeps us refreshed and ready for afternoon lessons. It’s especially important since they now have gymnastics class almost every evening.
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Here are a few more glimpses of summer days as the last of them roll by.
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| Ok, this is the face of someone who’s having lots of fun and not wanting to leave a really awesome picnic. |
Summer Days
Posted on | July 19, 2010 | 5 Comments
I have been quiet, I know. Summer days have completely taken over me. My family and I have been basking in the glorious sunshine and hanging out with old and new friends. Usually I’m away exploring new territories in the summer but this year, since we’re still training Dexter, I’m simply enjoying being able to go out in my flip-flops, discovering how wonderful our backyard is (thanks to Dexter who needs to go out every 2 hours), and connecting with some amazing neighbors.
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| Scenes from our summer garden. |
In our garden, Troy is successfully growing some fresh, juicy produce with a homemade self-contained gardening system. Did I ever mention I was married to a geek? I’m sure I did. He still owes me a blog post about it {ahem ahem} so I won’t show what the system looks like. What I can show is some of what he’s been growing. Unlike our prize watermelon, these ones are delightful to the palate.
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In other news, Mica and Rinoa have been busy with their summer activities. Rinoa is taking a break from dance and is busy with gymnastics in the morning and swimming lessons in the evening while Mica is still ice skating but is also doing some off ice training this summer which includes ballet, dance performance, and jumps.
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| Here’s Rinoa in her tumbling class. It was taken in the second floor viewing deck behind a dust-filled glass. Before I got the right camera settings, she had moved to an obstructed location. So this is the best I can show for now. |
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| Last week, Mica skipped her off ice training to spend time with some friends. They spent their days swimming in a quiet, peaceful lake near her friend’s house. (Photos taken by Mica’s friend.) |
Alas, not all summer days are fun. For one thing, I have sun allergy – too much sun exposure and I get itchy, red rashes. I know I can’t win. In the winter, I’m blue and in the summer, I’m red – haha! And the past few days, Rinoa and I haven’t been feeling well. My nose is clogged, my eyes are watery, and my throat is sore – feels like I swallowed a large frog which got stuck on its way down! But I’m sure all these ill-health will pass soon.
How are you spending your summer days?
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© 2006-2010 Johwey Redington.
Please don't steal my text or images, it's disrespectful and you'll be subjet to karma! If you want to use any of the images, please email me for a written permission. Thank you.
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