The Autodidact

Sometimes things are too close to your heart to be able to speak of them. They can be pondered, but when it comes to words on paper, nothing seems to be able to describe how you feel. One day, recently, I discovered a Cardinal's nest right under my kitchen window. The babies had just hatched, and were fuzzy lumps with mouths opening wide whenever they thought food was near. They were so helpless and tiny, but mom and dad were always nearby to feed and protect, ready to die, if necessary, for their babies. The kids and I took such joy in watching them! Every morning we would check their progress, and day by day, they grew bigger and stronger and more feathers. It seemed they would be little forever. We thought we would have more time with them. But one morning, the 8 year old breathlessly came running to me to announce that one of the babies was out of the nest. It's too soon, I thought. Maybe it fell out, and we should put it back in, I thought. But no, mom a...

So your wife wants to homeschool, but you're not so sure. You're full of questions and doubts and you want what's best for your child. Maybe you don't know any other homeschooling dads or their kids to see first hand how it all works. And you are likely a guy who wants to see proof, the bottom line, a flow chart or a graph- something tangible and, preferably involving numbers, that demonstrates just how well your child is doing. And so you, being the man of the house, and taking your responsibility as such seriously, express your misgivings to your wife. You may have given her a set amount of time to prove herself, or you have allowed her to go ahead, but you are open about your doubts. Maybe you are ready to pull the plug and make your wife put your child in school. Or, she is asking you- begging you- to let her homeschool. And you are not on board with that. I'd like you to imagine something for a minute. Imagine having worked hard at your company for 5-6 year...

Women's Day is a thing now, I guess. The culture says I need to abstain from paid or unpaid labor and spend no money. I am being asked to only spend money in small businesses owned by women or people of color. I am asked to wear red. (Although this puzzles me. If I'm not going anywhere, who will know what I am wearing?) Let me tell you how I will spend my day. I will awaken, probably with my 5 year old snuggled up to me and sound asleep. She draws such comfort from being as close to me as she can. So, I will allow someone else to use my body. And I will relish it. I will get out of bed, and be thankful for another day. I will make breakfast for myself, as my husband gets up earlier than I to eat and watch the news. After I eat, I will whip up a batch of French Toast. The kids will come down and eat and be so happy! I will work to please others, they will be thankful, and I will draw pleasure from it. Then, I will organize the kids to pack up some books to take with us a...

Now that I've graduated two and have a junior, and have used several levels of Saxon Math, I have a few things to share with those of you who want to use it, but are overwhelmed. I have older editions, so I'm not sure what the newer ones tell the parents how to use the books. My versions instruct the parents that to be successful, and have any hope at all of making it in the world, the student MUST complete EVERY problem in the book. In each and every book. Good grief. I about put my oldest in the hospital with that approach. I make all my mistakes on her, poor thing. Even bright math geeks need a good chunk of time per day to accomplish this, and I have noticed that many curricula of various subjects expect the same amount of work for the child to have a shot at a good life after high school. I have come up with a more sane and realistic approach. One that will work on most kids, and allows them to work at their own pace. One that will allow the child time for other subjec...

The last two months have been filled with doctor's appointments and lots of time in waiting rooms. I have to take the younger 4 with me as I just don't quite trust them at home alone and the 14 year old is not really ready for that kind or responsibility.  I've watched all my grand plans for this year fall by the wayside in order for one of my kids to get the medical interventions she needs. Some weeks, nothing happens; other weeks, we manage to do something "school-ish" for a couple of days. I can't recall the last time we were home and did school every day of one whole week.  I still have to grocery shop, do laundry, manage my kitchen and keep house. Oh yes, and my oldest son is getting married in the Spring. I've been feeling like a failure and a slacker. The kids take school work with them, but waiting rooms are a bit distracting, so little gets done. Oddly enough, the one who is spending all the time being cared for by a variety of medi...

I thought it was time for a change in the name of my blog. Why "The Autodidact"? I don't fancy myself as much as a self learner as my kids are. I wish I were half as resourceful as they are. But since this blog is about them and about mothering and homeschooling, I thought the title apt. I am amazed at what those kids learn when I am not meddling in their lives. And not just stuff out of books (and that accounts for much!), but stuff they learn to make and think, or how to figure things out for themselves. Adventures they have all by themselves or just with a sibling or two. It's not that I am absentee parenting- we are with each other for much of the day, or at least in close proximity. But they do wander off and amuse themselves with "play" but what they are really doing is teaching themselves. Most of the time, they don't even realize it. And so, I dedicate my new blog name to my kids- amazing autodidacts!

Electronics. Video games. TV shows. Ipads. PCs. Phones. They are everywhere and seemingly in the hands of most kids- and very young ones at that. I have older kids who never had those things because they weren't nearly as ubiquitous as they are today. I have young children who don't have them because the older ones turned out fine and perfectly normal without being plugged in to something. Honestly, it looks really weird to me to see kids as young as 8 or 9 engrossed in a device. Like they are unaware of their surroundings- in fact bored with them. Even though it's a common sight, it somehow seems as though they are enslaved. Enslaved to an object many times smaller than they are, but many times more powerful. It's just so sad, almost abusive, in fact. But parenting seems so much easier when a little device is placed in a child's hands. But is it? Often I hear moms wonder how to limit them in the home or how to wean the kids off or take a break. They seem helple...