Homeschool planning: the Compass

"Each binder should include the student's past and current compass - a six month list of everything they want to study, learn and do."

- from Leadership Education The Phases of Learning

You are going to like the Compass.

You will like it, because you are already thinking about next year's school year, aren't you.  You are turning things over in your mind. Making notes. Perusing resources.  Reading.  Some plans are no-brainers, you think, because they are just a continuation from this year. You've already made some decisions.

But.

I would like to encourage you to back up just a bit and ask yourself this question: 

 To what extent have I thoroughly considered my child's strengths, weaknesses, skills and knowledge, and most importantly, their genius and mission 'leanings' in their life? 

This is where the Compass is most helpful in your planning journey.  It provides a highly individualized big-picture vision, a spine for the learning pathway; a nice road-map to revisit on a weekly basis and to re-evaluate about every six months.  It helps provide clarity of thought of where you are at, and where your child is at.  I'm in the process right now, with myself and each of my children (except the 1yr old!).  Remember, one of the 7 Keys of Great Teaching is 'You, not Them'.  This means, you don't ignore yourself and your own education in the process :).

Everyone practising Leadership Education has their own way of implementation, and not a lot of "detail" is provided in the book about what the Compass specifically looks like.  I like that fact, because I can make it into something that works for me; you can do the same.  The Compass is  a six month list of everything the child wants to study, learn and do - a very vague definition and feels unschooly to me.  However, after reading an excellent post on the Compass by wonderful TJEd blogger Celeste, I am implementing an outline based on hers. Thank you, Celeste!

Spend some time with each child discussing and then writing down whatever appeals to you in the following:

1. Strengths - we've all got 'em! Think beyond just academics.  Think character, hobbies and interests, etc.

- What are my favorite things to do?

- What do I excel at?

- What am I really confident in?

- What would my family/friends say I'm good at?

- What virtues are most prominent in me right now?

2. Top Personal Classics 

- make a list of the top classics that have really impacted your life; this is a list you will add to

- maybe you phrase it as the 'best 10 books you've ever read'

- beside each book, make a note as to the general theme or how it impacted you

3. Areas to Strengthen - we've all got these too!

- What needs work?

- Where am I weaker academically?  

- What life-skills do I need to work on?

- What would my family/friends say I can improve upon?

- What virtues do I need to cultivate most right now?

4. Objectives - these should be a natural fall-out from the above.  As a parent, you may be nudging your child in one direction or another

- What books do I want to read in the next six months?  - if 'kindness' is a virtue that needs building upon, maybe the chosen classics or stories revolve around this theme.   

- What part of my Core Book (eg the Bible) do I want to spend time on in the next six months? - for my core kids, we are spending time Bible storybooks that outline salvation history - like a Jesse Tree in storybook form

- How can I go deeper into my favorite things and my passions? - I notice how Dawson loves to work with building things and creating things with his hands, so I'm thinking how I might extend and build upon this love of his - so we bought a kids sandbox kit and he's responsible to build it

- What skills do I want to/need to work on?  For example, my daughter makes the same meal every two weeks - so that she gets really good at it - its my requirement but she gets to pick the meal we work on; the first school year it was roast chicken dinner every other Monday.  

- What academic area(s) do I want to or need to study? - when you answer this question with your kids, it becomes a clear signal where to focus your prep time; child weak in reading? then must find a way to  inspire reading via games, books, experiences, etc

- Are there any other things I want to learn, see or do?

- What is my mission and purpose? - don't be afraid of this one. Of course its not written in stone. But if there are any tendencies at all, even if its very general in nature, write it down. As an example, one of my children said whatever her mission, she wanted to inspire others.

The Compass exercise is not something to whip up in a half-hour, so do spend some time on it and enjoy the process.  Keep a copy of each child's Compass in both your own and each child's binder.  And if you have a child approaching or in Scholar phase, I would encourage you to use "The Real You" exercise in A Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens, as it goes even deeper than the Compass.  It also includes a Teen Top 100 Booklist to work through, if desired.

This week, I'm working on Compasses for the binders.  Join me?

May God grant you all the blessings of an abundant week and an abundant life :)!!

Jumping into core phase

from Leadership Education, regarding the "lessons" that most, if not all, children learn in school:

"The most important thing I can learn right now is skills (displaces the more crucial moral childhood lessons of good-bad, right-wrong, true-false)."


Would you agree that there ARE crucial moral childhood lessons?  If so, what are they?  Have you ever really thought about it?

This is what a TJEd "core phase" of learning is really all about.  And whether you are five years old or fifty, you never really leave this phase of learning but you do build upon it.  Or maybe you never really had a complete core ...

I have 3 little girls in "core phase."  Yet I continue to reinforce core-phase lessons with the rest.  This is the spine that guides you:

good-bad

right-wrong

true-false

informed by your "Core Book"

practiced through Work and Play 

by You First, then Them

As parents we pass a culture to our kids.  One of the very first things our family teaches our babies is manners.  Please? Thank-you! Oh, thank-you Katie!  Katie want a snack? Please?  Here you go. Thank-you!  This is typical momspeak in our house and it never stops.  I commend my other little girls every time they use good manners.  As the kids get older, we teach things like shaking hands when you meet a friend of your mom and dad, and introducing yourself, making eye contact.  We teach the kids to answer the phone by identifying who they are.  The manners and social conduct and graces we teach our kids are part of any good core phase of learning.  Building upon those simple manners, we begin to teach our kids right and wrong in very basic ways.  Its wrong to hit your sister.  Its right to share and be generous.  Its wrong to mouth off to your mom.  Its right to show ready-obedience to your parents. And I love how all of this core learning takes place naturally within a family, by experience and feel.  As they grow, they learn the reality of good and bad, that both do exist.  Think of early fables and tales and how they all sought to instill this concept; and that good prevails.  

I think most parents of small children really do make an effort to provide some sort of boundaries and guidance in good/bad, right and wrong.  Does it stop here?  

What about ... the true-false?  

That must be one of the biggest challenges we face in our morally relativist society and school-system; one that promotes "many truths" all on equal footing and all equally "true."  Where does that leave our children?  Everybody cannot ALL be correct.  So what is the core truth YOU are teaching?  What are YOUR core truths?  Where did you get them from?  What drives your faith and morals? Anything? 

And this is where the "Core Book(s)/Works" comes in.  As a Catholic family, our Core Works include the Bible, and the Catechism.  It informs all of our moral decision-making and behaviours. Our Catholicism is the glue that binds our family together and creates our family and homeschooling culture.  

Here are some ways I am implementing core phase concepts in my home. It has to apply to me personally as well as my children.

Study of the Core Book

* me: study of the Bible and modelling the habit; scripture memory work (see Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience for wonderful inspiration on memorywork!).  And ... I really need to make more effort to refer to the Catechism on a more regular basis.

* the littles: playing with the Bible - by this I mean Bible storytelling, Bible felt storyboards, read-alouds of Bible stories including little board books, Bible stories on audio (Jim Weiss is great), any kind of manipulatives like a Noah's Ark toy, nativity toys, etc.  We "play" with Scripture memorization via the Suppertime Scripture. I remember my friend telling me the one thing he remembers from his childhood was that his mom told him Bible stories, and it gave him a deep love of Scripture.  Make an effort to have a family devotion time every day!  If you are flying by the seat of your pants, and if you're Catholic, you always have the Daily Mass readings at your internet fingertips. Baby steps!

* the bigs: daily interaction with the Bible and with our faith issues. On most days, the minimum is family gathering for the daily readings.  I have fallen short in encouraging private personal Bible study but ... no homeschool is perfect!  

Prayer - a Core Value

* me: prayer. Morning prayer always. The kids see me pray my Rosary every day.  I have downloaded a monthly breviary to my handy-dandy kindle and I try to pray with it ... when I can ... no mommy is perfect! But I'm definitely always in a dialogue with God.

* all kids: morning prayers (but we forget sometimes); Grace before meals always; weekly family Rosary, evening prayers with littles (bigs are on their own).

Family Work 

* we have always always always done chores and flylady weekly houseblessings, ten-minute-tidy-ups, and so on.  One thing to distinguish in a TJEd core phase model, is little kids should be working alongside you and not getting assigned a chore to go off and complete.  Is there really a difference?  Yes. I originally assigned Alexa (5) the emptying and sorting of the cutlery from the dishwasher to do on her own.  The novelty wore off quickly (expected!). But as soon as I switched to doing it side-by-side with her, it became less of a chore.  Consider then, incorporating side-by-side family work into your day.  The idea is that the lesson of "hard work" begins to be learned from a young age; that when they are older and faced with the "hard work" of scholarly activity they will have already formed a strong work ethic.  This is why, with TJEd/Leadership Education, you can't just jump into say, the scholarly phase, because you aren't really equipped with the skills and values to do it justice.  Another benefit of family work is the kids will learn systems from you that work in home organization and maintenance, not just the how-to of cleaning a bathroom.  Do you have good systems in place to keep your home running?  No?  That is part of your adult core phase.  I can tell you I did NOT learn the true core lessons of self-discipline and doing a complete and thorough job when it came to housekeeping until  .... uhm ... very late in life.  But I have an impeccable model in my own mother whose behaviour I try to emulate here.  Modelling is crucial.

Family Play

* core kids play. Their play is the way they test out "life." They play house and they play family, they practice-play everything they see in their immediate world and I find anything they read or I read to them comes out in their play.  It is so very essential.  Hop in there if you can and make it a family affair, at least some of the time.  I really enjoy being outside with them and just observing all the kids, its quite joyful actually!  

Family Read-Alouds

* there is nothing better than sharing the experience of a great story, a great book. Really. It is foundational in our homeschool.  Even if nothing else occurs in the day, I can guarantee you there will be a story or two read and chatted about.  In addition to the classics, don't be afraid to choose books that reinforce your family's core values, even little storybooks.  Currently, we are reading lots of Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel, and its all about friendship and kindness!  Funny, I then switched to a math reader where Hare and Rabbit Divide an Apple and they fight over the food every time.  Alexa recognized that "Frog and Toad would never act like that."  So never underestimate the impact of good storybooks, and look for the themes to draw attention to with your kiddos.  They will help solidify the right/wrong, good/bad, true/false for your children.   

You will notice

* that the core phase does not place a strong emphasis on skills like reading, writing and other academics. Not that you *can't* incorporate them, but they are NOT the priority.  And that brings me to the quote I began with - the "crucial moral childhood lessons."  

There is a lot more to study and learn about core phase.  Maybe you want to venture along with me? 

Leadership education

Good morning and what a glorious day! A new day is always such a gift from God, since its coming is never guaranteed!!  I have wonderful plans in mind for the week! For organizing and getting systems in place for our learning; for planning and dreaming; for reading and studying, and yes, even a little bit of sewing!!

Anyway, they are all in my mind so far.

But they are BIG plans!!  And I can't wait to share with you!!  It will have to wait though.  Right now:

I am so incredibly struck by the following excerpt from Leadership Education The Phases of Learning by Oliver and Rachel DeMille, 


because the statements so eloquently confirm what I believe to be true!


"Childhood is when a child's assumptions of basic truths are formed and acquired - not through pedagogy, but through experience. ... here is what many, if not most, children learn:


1. Learning is what I am forced to do by others when I'd rather be enjoying what I discover myself.


2. I will not learn unless I am subject to being put on the spot and made to feel stressed, annoyed, stupid or at least vulnerable because I am out of my comfort zone.


3. Learning is so complicated that full-time teachers are needed to walk me through it (or a homeschool equivalent: Mom has to neglect the younger children/house/personal grooming, etc. and give me her full attention and line-by-line directions or I am incapable of learning).


4. I do not know anything unless someone certifies to me that I do.


5. I am probably wrong about a lot of the stuff I think I know.


6. I have to master this stuff now or I will be behind for the rest of my life.


7. The things I am really interested in are not very important.


8. Learning is one thing and what I feel and experience is another.


9. When I am a Mom/Dad I will worry and "beat myself up" about what I am not doing and wonder if I should be doing what I am doing.


10. When I am a Mom/Dad I will say I know something is the "right" thing and then constantly second-guess my decisions."


And on the flip side, the DeMilles suggest that even if children don't have a negative experience with early academics, it can still be harmful if they become negatively scripted on the hearts of children:

"1. I am really great because I know how to read (subtle lesson: self-worth and comparison evaluation is based on academic achievement and timing rather than truth, right choices, service, repentence, etc.).


2. ______ is dumb because he/she cannot read.


3. I'm cooler than ______ because I am reading before him/her.


4. We work hard on my reading/math/??? because Mom and Dad want to prove to Grandma/neighbor/etc. that they are "good" parents.


5. The most important thing I can learn right now is skills (displaces the more crucial moral childhood lessons of good-bad, right-wrong, true-false).


6. The faster I grow up, the better (this is a huge one, overlooked by most educational analysts with long-lasting implications and impact on young lives)."


the list goes on you will have to grab a copy of the book download it to your handy dandy kindle you won't be able to put it down i highly recommend it




Embrace the day and God bless your week!!

Pink Fig's Vintage Jane - Love!!!

I am just having so much fun.  You should really join me over at Elizabeth's as we share what we are sewing and reading.


This week, I tried a pattern designed by Chelsea Andersen over at Pink Fig, the Vintage Jane peasant top and dress.  This is the top.  Isn't it adorable???

Many of Chelsea's designs challenge you to s-t-r-e-t-c-h out of your sewing comfort zone and try something new!  Think scalloped ruffles, shirring, rouching; the list goes on!  But, nothing ventured nothing gained, I always say :).  This particular pattern however, was fairly easy to sew so its a good one to start with if you like her style!

What's in your toybox?

Once again, I feel overwhelmed with toys in our house.  I'm ready to do another complete overhaul.  So I'm thinking more deeply this time, about what I am willing to live with and what  must go.

Bottom line? We have too much.  We have too much!!

Everytime I do a complete purge of low-use items in the entire house, my life becomes so much simpler and less stressful.  I haven't done this in a while, so I need to get busy.  I need to start with the perpetual toybox.  Because the kids won't really miss most of the stuff anyway, when its gone.

What do you think is reasonable to have on hand for toys? And ... gadgets?  Hmmm.

I love anything that fosters imaginative play, especially classic toys and games.  Lego, Playmobil, cars and trucks, dress-up, dolls and kitchens.  Lifeless things that your children must actively animate using mind and body.  Therefore, electronic devices, computers, video games, and TV time do not rate in my books, though we do have them in our home.  Too much of this stuff means too little time spent on worthy passtimes such as books, outdoor time, hobbies, imaginative play, spending time with your family.  It has always been our instinct to limit electronics, but I could never fully articulate why, beyond them being a time-sucker and time-waster. Gotta make the most of the time!

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil."  Ephesians 5:15-16 (RSV)

Then I downloaded a Core Phase TJEd talk by Keri Tibbetts.  I certainly don't agree with everything she says, but how she expressed her opinions on choosing toys and devices really resonated with me!  I will paraphrase her ideas here, but consider downloading the audio for yourself.

Low-effort, big thrill.

Get that?

Low-effort in exchange for high thrill toys and games represent a cultural message rampant in today's world.  The message?  Entertain me.  I have the right to be entertained.  This entertainment should come easily.  Passively.  Shouldn't have to work for it.   Wouldn't want to use my brain. Why work for a thrill when its so readily available and attainable.  Life is all about fun.  Once kids get a taste of low-input, high-thrill toys, its hard to go back.  And, once kids get a taste of low-input, high-thrill, they begin to lose the drive and ability to work hard for something.  Does it limit the ability to experience the wonderful high from a job well done, purely for the sake of a job well done?

Electronic toys and gaming devices are not the only culprits. What's in your craft closet?

Have you ever bought your little ones glitter glue or some other fancy product, and in one sitting they squeezed the entire tube out in globs onto paper, with no real rhyme or reason or element of creativity?  I have witnessed this first hand; my kids have done just that!  In other words, they used the product for the thrill of using the product, consumed it haphazardly, and then - done.  Dollars wasted.

On the other hand, really good art supplies like quality paints and good paper, treated with respect, can be the window through which our children can imagine and create!  Do you get the difference?  Some things we buy, kids just consume them for the thrill of consuming. Other items are used for the sake of creating.  THAT's what we're going for!!

We want high-effort/input, high-reward experiences! 

What about this.  Do your kids go through reams of white paper (such as printer paper) just drawing scribbles and then do you end up shoving them in the recycle bin?  Ahem, we do.  Never thought much of it, because we do recycle so you think its all good.  But what if we gave our children special sketch pads and modeled their use as something reserved for their very best efforts?  What would happen then? What message would we send?

On our recent trip to AZ, I decided to buy the little girls Leapsters.  Thought it would be nice to have something for them to do during the long drive.  They can be thought of as somewhat 'educational.' (Although from what I saw when I played it with the girls, the educational value was pretty pathetic). And while it did provide some "peace" along the way, we really did pay for it.  Maria got completely addicted and couldn't get it off her mind - she is so stubborn and persistent at the best of times - she kept asking and asking and crying and whining to play.  And asking and crying.  Sure, I believe in moderation; kids will have to learn self-restraint and so on, but I did not like the power the Leapster had over her in particular.  And if I'm really honest with myself, the purpose of the Leapster was not with their best interest at heart, but mine, for the sake of some quiet mommy time. Ouch.  What did we do before DVDs in the vehicles and handheld devices?  Well, maybe we were a bit bored, so we had to play travel games, listen to audio stories, converse, or just daydream.

Next time you think about toys and other playthings, ask yourself where the creative process occurs.  Did the creative process already happen when the toy was made?  So, did the designer think of absolutely everything and then package it up?  If so, chances are the toy will be played with for a short time and then abandoned, because there is nothing left for the child to discover.  For example, craft kits might fit in this category, because they are scripted.  An electronic train that just goes around and around might fit here, too.

Alternately, does the creative process happen when your child receives the toy?  A plain baby doll or dress-up clothes can be played with over and over again, with the child providing the scenario each time.  And in doing so, the imagination is strengthened over and over again. I love that!

Why is a strong imagination important?  Consider this excerpt from The Power of Imagination:

Imagination is a creative power that is necessary for inventing an instrument, designing a dress or a building, painting a picture or writing a book.  The creative power of imagination has an important role in the achievement of success in any field ... It gives the ability to look at any situation from a different point of view, and enables one to mentally explore the past and the future.

So.
I'm going through the toybox and listening to Kerri again. Join me?

What's your homeschooling culture?

So, tell me. How exactly do you homeschool?  I mean, how do you put it all together and do it? Could I have a copy of your schedule? Your lesson plans? Your reading list? Your educational plan? Your typical routine?

Remember back to when you first started homeschooling.  Were these questions ever burning inside of you?  Maybe you didn't come out and ask other homeschooling moms, maybe you did, maybe you asked your mentor and she emailed you entire pdf documents with her year-plans, schedules, booklists, and projected purchases for the upcoming year ... I'm just sayin.   'Cause there comes a point when you have made the decision to home-educate, you've perhaps alligned with a particular philosophy or method, you've even bought curriculum, but then ...

The question of how to do it is particularly poignant when it comes to Leadership Education.  Its based on principles and not on methodology, no how-to manual; precisely because it is not based on a "conveyor-belt" model that characterizes how our schools deliver education today. 

The real question should be: How do I do it?

And whether your philosophy is TJEd, Charlotte Mason, Montessori, Classical, etc., ultimately you become the expert of your own homeschool.  You adopt bits of this and that, you feel out the routines and schedules that work for your family, you experiment here and there.  It becomes your personal homeschool culture and develops over time, and that is why no one homeschool looks the same as another.  The only commonalities among homeschoolers seem to be the core values of sanctity of children, and the primacy of the family.  Which is why homeschool culture and family culture go hand in hand.

I have been deeply pondering homeschool and family culture; they are so similar.  Webster's has several definitions for culture, two of them apply here:  "a set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices; also the characteristic features of everyday existence."

Applied, this becomes the way your family or homeschool forms itself - your rules, roles, habits, activities, beliefs, etc.   So ask yourself, what are your special values and beliefs?  How does your family have fun? Are you connected to a faith community? What are your family rules and traditions? How do you parent? What are your family's talents?  What is your family charism - for example do you all have a thing for music? hospitality? service? outdoor life? What about your homeschool?

We have some definite isms, our family.  Later in the evening, after the littles are in bed and the house is quiet, our olders will eventually make their way to hubby and I and we sit and we talk about everything and nothing.  Happens every night without fail.  Another ism, we always always always gather on Sunday evenings for a family Rosary.  Love that.  We should do it more often but I'm thankful for even the Sundays.  And in our homeschool?  We do our work in the mornings.  I protect mornings.  We value a little tea-time and snack on most days.  We value our games, and we value our read-aloud/discussion times.  We value our babies and little ones in the mix of the olders. We value our love of learning. It is our rhythm, our culture.

What about you?

You are so unique. And wonderful.  And an amazing reflection of our Creator. Your family, too, has its own beautiful culture, homeschooling or otherwise.  I want to tell you not to be afraid to step into it and embrace it more fully.  If you're homeschooling, I want to tell you: Have confidence. Be secure. Pray lots. And don't try to follow the crowd because it won't work for you.   

So, tell me. What's your family culture? What's your homeschooling culture?  I'd love to hear.

God bless your week!

Thomas Jefferson Education ... and me

About six years ago, I read A Thomas Jefferson Education and was completely astounded, mesmerized, blown away, all of that.  The philosophy was amazing and captivating to me.  It is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring education outside the box.

And I've continued to have a small love affair with TJEd aka Leadership Education ever since, but never quite implementing the entire philosophy, never quite going all the way with it.  I read and devour everything written about it, I download the talks and other goodies which are always inspiring, and I ponder. I dream.  I pray.  I implement only what I like.  But something always holds me back from jumping all in, and I think that's a good thing.  You should be able to trust your gut, your instincts when it comes to how you foster your children's education in your own home.  Right?

Yet, there is something to be said for this TJEd way of life and I do incorporate LOTS of elements.  Maybe the purist TJEders would be offended, I don't know.  Is it possible to adopt certain ways and parts of something into your homeschool without going whole hog?  That's a good question :).

Let me begin at the beginning with TJEd, just to give you a little background.  The cornerstone principles, as explained in the book linked above, are called the "Seven Keys of Great Teaching," and here they are:

1. Classics, Not Textbooks
2. Mentors, Not Professors
3. Inspire, Not Require
4. Structure Time, Not Content
5. Simplicity, Not Complexity
6. Quality, Not Conformity
7. You, Not Them

Some have added an eighth principal, that is "Secure, not Stressed."  THAT was a good idea, because implementing the principles in totality takes a great leap of faith!  

Lately, I have been VERY excited about principle #7, You, Not Them.  Essentially, you have to educate yourself before you can pass on any inspiration to others.  Ever read a classic? No? Then that's where you begin.  Ever discuss a classic with someone else? No? Then do that.  Need to inspire your kids to enjoy math? Then read a math classic and get excited about it, pass it on to your kids.  You see? Your education is really a key to your child's education.  If you are excited about something, they will want to know what all the fuss is about.  So, I continually work on my own education, and for me that has taken the form of reading classics.  I read for myself, but also with an eye to recommending it (or not) to my kids.

LOVE the Kindle for this.  Most of the classics are free downloads, so you really have a wonderful library right at your fingertips and not taking up space.  Here's a taste of what books I'm currently breathing:

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Miss B is also reading, we go to Starbucks every other Monday night to discuss the plot and characters, GREAT bonding time with my teen! This book is chalk full of tongue-in-cheek humor as it comments on charm versus virture in the Victorian era. An interesting romance! 

Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

I've just finished previewing this with kids in mind. Ms.L'Engle is one of the top ten banned authors in many Christian Schools.  Yet, the book has been critically acclaimed.  It keeps popping up as a classic and I think I would feel I was missing something by not reading. Its actually quite good!  I think it would make a great read-aloud and that way you could discuss the very few elements that might spur some questions regarding faith issues.

If Protestantism is True by Devin Rose

Hubby and I are reading/have read. This book is one of the very best Catholic apologetics books I've ever read.  Rather than bantering over this Scripture verse or that, (because you can always seem to find verses to support either viewpoint), Devin Rose uses logic and reasoning (my kinda language!) to answer common Protestant issues.  LOVE it.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

I'm reading with an eye for my 12 yo son, but its going to be a no-go.  The book is disturbing to me, full of mature themes that are unpleasant, and quite a bit of swearing. I found this book suggestion among a list of "50 books for boys and young men", on the blog "Art of Manliness" HERE.  Many of the recommended books do look good though.

You, Not Them.

Enjoy the journey!!