Monday, June 22, 2009
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Time well spent
Ok, grammar, math, geography worksheets complete. Spelling lesson in progress. All in one hour. What do they DO in school all day?
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Empowered learning
From: http://www.mpnl.org/certificate_of_empowerment.htm
(If you like this and want to use it in some way, please include a link.)
Certificate of Empowerment
I here by grant you permission to homeschool in the manner which best suits the need of your child and your family.
You may look at life as your classroom and gather knowledge from any source including the world as your classroom, libraries, family, vacation, trips, walks in the woods ,TV, audio books, games, video games or what other means are pleasing to your family and include it in your educational review for homeschooling.
You are not required to finish every project you start and you have complete authority to skip sections of books, not complete every project or experiment you begin.
You may even skip a chapter or change the resources if it is not working for you.
You are empowered to make individual decisions for each child and are not required to use the same material or learning style for each child.
You may choose to live your life according to your life's desire, schedule and priorities.
You may make decisions that best suit your family and spiritual beliefs.
You are empowered to take vacations when you feel the need rather when school is out. You are empowered to learn while you are vacationing and use said knowledge in the documenting of your homeschooling.
You are empowered to relax, take time off and just hang out in your sleepwear just because, without explanation.
You may stay up late, sleep in, and you are not required to do formal studies during the hours of 8-3, you are not required to reproduce public school at home, you may have fun, take a mental health break and create your own learning environment.
You are not required to have a desk or set aside a part of your house for homeschooling, you may use your whole house, yard, neighborhood, city, state, country, world as your learning environment.
Most importantly you are in control of your life and learning.
If you should need help remembering your freedom don't hesitate to ask or print this Certificate of Empowerment off and place it where you may read it often until you are empowered.
Remember you are exercising your constitutional right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
This empowerment is transferable and you are authorized to extend these privileges to others. You are hereby given permission to bestow this advice and freedom to other families when ever possible.
(If you like this and want to use it in some way, please include a link.)
Certificate of Empowerment
I here by grant you permission to homeschool in the manner which best suits the need of your child and your family.
You may look at life as your classroom and gather knowledge from any source including the world as your classroom, libraries, family, vacation, trips, walks in the woods ,TV, audio books, games, video games or what other means are pleasing to your family and include it in your educational review for homeschooling.
You are not required to finish every project you start and you have complete authority to skip sections of books, not complete every project or experiment you begin.
You may even skip a chapter or change the resources if it is not working for you.
You are empowered to make individual decisions for each child and are not required to use the same material or learning style for each child.
You may choose to live your life according to your life's desire, schedule and priorities.
You may make decisions that best suit your family and spiritual beliefs.
You are empowered to take vacations when you feel the need rather when school is out. You are empowered to learn while you are vacationing and use said knowledge in the documenting of your homeschooling.
You are empowered to relax, take time off and just hang out in your sleepwear just because, without explanation.
You may stay up late, sleep in, and you are not required to do formal studies during the hours of 8-3, you are not required to reproduce public school at home, you may have fun, take a mental health break and create your own learning environment.
You are not required to have a desk or set aside a part of your house for homeschooling, you may use your whole house, yard, neighborhood, city, state, country, world as your learning environment.
Most importantly you are in control of your life and learning.
If you should need help remembering your freedom don't hesitate to ask or print this Certificate of Empowerment off and place it where you may read it often until you are empowered.
Remember you are exercising your constitutional right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
This empowerment is transferable and you are authorized to extend these privileges to others. You are hereby given permission to bestow this advice and freedom to other families when ever possible.
What are we teaching here?
Every parent has those moments when they have to choose which lesson she is teaching. Responsibility vs. compassion is a recurring theme. When are you being kind and when are you hamstringing a kid by doing too much for him?
When Will was at camp, he had to take a backpack with bug spray, insect repellent, a water bottle, a change of clothes, rain gear/poncho and an extra t-shirt for tie dying. This was in addition to his lunch everyday.
I got him a crappy water bottle because he was NOT taking the Sigg bottle to lose. Water bottle was lost the first day and replaced with cheap disposable. Water bottle was found and returned on the second day. Third day called for rain, and when Chris checked the backpack when he dropped him off…no poncho. I knew what had happened. When he got out his water bottle, he had unpacked and packed the whole thing and left the poncho somewhere. Now I had a dilemma.
If it rained, and he got soaked, he would be miserable. Group activities are NOT Will’s strong suit, and he loved camp. He is not a joiner, too much of an attention hoor. He is more of a one-on-one kid. Camp could have been a holy disaster, but every afternoon when I picked him up, he was BEAMING. He could not have had a better experience.
So….do I throw cold water on that joy and his first real positive experience with being in a large group to teach him that he is responsible for his poncho 24/7 and that people who don’t keep track of their stuff end up suffering?
I thought about what I would have wanted my mom to do when I was six. I would have wanted her to bail me out, and I was a pretty responsible kid. I would have wanted her to save my fun from being ruined. I thought about what I would expect someone do to for me as an adult. As an adult, I have the resources to bail MYSELF out. I can buy a new poncho. And if I look in my backpack and see that I have forgotten it, I could call Chris or someone and say, “Hey, I need a poncho; can you bring one to me?”
So I chose to take him one. It was one of the adult-sized ones that we had, not the child-sized one he lost. I was not going to buy a second one; he could live with having to manage extra yards of nylon. I drove back out to Conner Prairie and left it next to his lunch box, which was on the table.
I asked him if the poncho fairy had come. He said, “No.” “Did you not have a poncho left next to your lunch box?” “Oh, I just thought Dad did not look hard enough the first time.”
One sentence speaks VOLUMES.
When Will was at camp, he had to take a backpack with bug spray, insect repellent, a water bottle, a change of clothes, rain gear/poncho and an extra t-shirt for tie dying. This was in addition to his lunch everyday.
I got him a crappy water bottle because he was NOT taking the Sigg bottle to lose. Water bottle was lost the first day and replaced with cheap disposable. Water bottle was found and returned on the second day. Third day called for rain, and when Chris checked the backpack when he dropped him off…no poncho. I knew what had happened. When he got out his water bottle, he had unpacked and packed the whole thing and left the poncho somewhere. Now I had a dilemma.
If it rained, and he got soaked, he would be miserable. Group activities are NOT Will’s strong suit, and he loved camp. He is not a joiner, too much of an attention hoor. He is more of a one-on-one kid. Camp could have been a holy disaster, but every afternoon when I picked him up, he was BEAMING. He could not have had a better experience.
So….do I throw cold water on that joy and his first real positive experience with being in a large group to teach him that he is responsible for his poncho 24/7 and that people who don’t keep track of their stuff end up suffering?
I thought about what I would have wanted my mom to do when I was six. I would have wanted her to bail me out, and I was a pretty responsible kid. I would have wanted her to save my fun from being ruined. I thought about what I would expect someone do to for me as an adult. As an adult, I have the resources to bail MYSELF out. I can buy a new poncho. And if I look in my backpack and see that I have forgotten it, I could call Chris or someone and say, “Hey, I need a poncho; can you bring one to me?”
So I chose to take him one. It was one of the adult-sized ones that we had, not the child-sized one he lost. I was not going to buy a second one; he could live with having to manage extra yards of nylon. I drove back out to Conner Prairie and left it next to his lunch box, which was on the table.
I asked him if the poncho fairy had come. He said, “No.” “Did you not have a poncho left next to your lunch box?” “Oh, I just thought Dad did not look hard enough the first time.”
One sentence speaks VOLUMES.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Yes, I suck
Or we did not learn anything all summer. Either way, I am back.
I have some posts to edit and should have them up in a few days.
The golf camp letter was well-received. Max said he appreciated the input and that he shared the letter with the other staffers. They may think I am batshit crazy, but you know how much that upsets me.
Conner Prairie Camp was wonderful from beginning to end, and I have more on that later!
I have some posts to edit and should have them up in a few days.
The golf camp letter was well-received. Max said he appreciated the input and that he shared the letter with the other staffers. They may think I am batshit crazy, but you know how much that upsets me.
Conner Prairie Camp was wonderful from beginning to end, and I have more on that later!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Not happy with golf camp
I arrived at golf camp to find Will in tears. He was saying he was no good at the game. One of the guys was consoling him. I asked what happened, and guy said, "He got down on himself." He was very encouraging with Will, and Will is my child. If you are not good right away, blame yourself.
Then I found out that out of his age group, the three kids who got closest to the hole got candy bars. OK, not focusing the choice of reward but the idea of reward. I wrote the following letter. Keep in mind that my dad belongs to this club, worked for them for a while and I have known the owners for over 10 years:
Max and Brad:
I wanted to give you some feedback about Will’s golf camp experience yesterday and offer some suggestions.
Will was very upset that he did not win the candy bar for closest putt. While you are the golf experts, I would like to provide some insight into the minds and emotional maturity of little people. First, kids who are Will’s age do not need outside incentive. They are at golf camp by choice, and they want to excel. They have the internal desire to succeed and don’t need external rewards. While the prizes are nice, they throw off the dynamic of what you hope to accomplish with the kids. With a reward system for ability, practicing the short game becomes about the treat, not the love and respect of the golf itself.
Second, when you reward accomplishment, you in trade diminish appreciation for effort. If ten kids try and only one gets the candy bar, you have just told the other nine that their attempts are not good enough. They learn that adults only care if you succeed, and don’t care if you try. For this age group, the effort should be praised and encouraged, not the end result. Again, penalizing young learners for lack of skill will only lead them to abandon the game.
Third, golf is nothing if it is not a game of persistence and getting back on the tee after having a humiliating round. The kids will learn those positive traits if those traits are acknowledged and praised. They will not develop determination if they feel that they are not good enough. As a not-good-golfer who adores the game, I know the importance of learning not to bag the clubs when my putts are an embarrassment.
Because I cannot stand it when people point out problems, but offer no suggestions, I will offer some.
· Instead of reward for best performance, put the names of everyone who makes X number of attempts in a hat and draw for the prize.
· Praise the attempt AFTER the bad shot: “Wow, your previous shot was off, but you came back to try to improve it. Way to stick with it.”
· Use the sandwich approach for teaching. Compliment, critique, compliment and have the last compliment focus on effort, perseverance or enthusiasm. “You kept your head down, but you need to keep your left arm straight. That was a great try.”
I am under no illusions about Will’s frustration level. He does flip out sometimes if he is not good at something the first time he tries. That is entirely normal for his age group. By concentrating on what the kids put into it instead of their skill level, you have the chance to create some lifelong golfers.
See you Wednesday,
Anna Bergmann
Then I found out that out of his age group, the three kids who got closest to the hole got candy bars. OK, not focusing the choice of reward but the idea of reward. I wrote the following letter. Keep in mind that my dad belongs to this club, worked for them for a while and I have known the owners for over 10 years:
Max and Brad:
I wanted to give you some feedback about Will’s golf camp experience yesterday and offer some suggestions.
Will was very upset that he did not win the candy bar for closest putt. While you are the golf experts, I would like to provide some insight into the minds and emotional maturity of little people. First, kids who are Will’s age do not need outside incentive. They are at golf camp by choice, and they want to excel. They have the internal desire to succeed and don’t need external rewards. While the prizes are nice, they throw off the dynamic of what you hope to accomplish with the kids. With a reward system for ability, practicing the short game becomes about the treat, not the love and respect of the golf itself.
Second, when you reward accomplishment, you in trade diminish appreciation for effort. If ten kids try and only one gets the candy bar, you have just told the other nine that their attempts are not good enough. They learn that adults only care if you succeed, and don’t care if you try. For this age group, the effort should be praised and encouraged, not the end result. Again, penalizing young learners for lack of skill will only lead them to abandon the game.
Third, golf is nothing if it is not a game of persistence and getting back on the tee after having a humiliating round. The kids will learn those positive traits if those traits are acknowledged and praised. They will not develop determination if they feel that they are not good enough. As a not-good-golfer who adores the game, I know the importance of learning not to bag the clubs when my putts are an embarrassment.
Because I cannot stand it when people point out problems, but offer no suggestions, I will offer some.
· Instead of reward for best performance, put the names of everyone who makes X number of attempts in a hat and draw for the prize.
· Praise the attempt AFTER the bad shot: “Wow, your previous shot was off, but you came back to try to improve it. Way to stick with it.”
· Use the sandwich approach for teaching. Compliment, critique, compliment and have the last compliment focus on effort, perseverance or enthusiasm. “You kept your head down, but you need to keep your left arm straight. That was a great try.”
I am under no illusions about Will’s frustration level. He does flip out sometimes if he is not good at something the first time he tries. That is entirely normal for his age group. By concentrating on what the kids put into it instead of their skill level, you have the chance to create some lifelong golfers.
See you Wednesday,
Anna Bergmann
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Lessons in Democracy
I said to Will, "You have gone to the polls with me every election since you were born, are you coming?"
"Will there be candy?"
"I don't know." "
It's worth a try."
The candidates hand out voting material with candy outside the polling site, and that is what he remembers! I took him in with me, forgetting that
1) he can read
2) he CANNOT keep his mouth shut.
As soon as I had made my choice, he semi-yelled, "Hillary Clinton! Yeah!" I am sure my home will be bombed in the night. Of course, he got to go with DH after I got home, but I told DH only two more pieces of candy, and that was all.
Ah, a homeschool course in democracy....
Go vote---there may be candy.
"Will there be candy?"
"I don't know." "
It's worth a try."
The candidates hand out voting material with candy outside the polling site, and that is what he remembers! I took him in with me, forgetting that
1) he can read
2) he CANNOT keep his mouth shut.
As soon as I had made my choice, he semi-yelled, "Hillary Clinton! Yeah!" I am sure my home will be bombed in the night. Of course, he got to go with DH after I got home, but I told DH only two more pieces of candy, and that was all.
Ah, a homeschool course in democracy....
Go vote---there may be candy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
