A morning in our homeschool life…in educationese

9:15-11am: Hands-on Multidisciplinary Activity

This activity engages youth of multiple ages and is facilitated by the teacher-mentor. This activity emphasizes both fine and gross motor skills and is adapted to the abilities of the individual learner

Math skills and concepts utilized included: understanding the difference between quantity and volume; estimating length; understanding fractions (1/3, 1/2, 1); estimating diameter and circumference.

Science skills and concepts utilized include: (biology) classification based on leaves and woody stems; (physics) spatial reasoning.

Social learning skills practiced during this session include: cooperation; bargaining; taking turns; following directions; problem solving (individual and group); focused time on task; taking satisfaction in completed tasks.

Social studies concepts utilized include: (philosophy) the reasoning behind individual preferences; (government) comparative government forms and their practical applications; (community life) the roles of community workers.

What our homeschool morning was like in everyday language:

9:15-11am yard work

We were eliminating a few bushes that had mistakenly assumed our yard was accepting all comers. Not true. We were also trimming other bushes to make them…pretty. This involved recognizing what we wanted and what we didn’t and only trimming away what we didn’t want. There was some talk about what a random distinction that is. We discuss that this is a kingdom, not a democracy, so even if they have pretty pink flowers…gone because the Queen has declared it so. We also talked about what kind of Queen would be out working with the peasants in the heat and itchy branches. We discussed different governments and how good leaders can function within them.

We were also making bundles to be taken away by the magic bundle removal people. We discussed who exactly comes to take the bundles, what kind of truck they have and how they want the material.

For whatever reason I was asked approximately 34 times whether what they were holding was half a bundle or a third or if they were done. They also wanted to know why some bundles only had 20 sticks and others had 30-40. The bundles needed to be less than 3ft in length and about 1 foot in diameter.

Wrapping and stacking the bundles was hilarious as the precarious attempts to go for height were eventually balanced by the desire to just get the job done.

There was some discussion on why some people like their bushes shaped like…shapes and why some people prefer bush looking bushes. This led to a discussion on why some people take care of their lawns and some don’t and all of the different ways to do so.

I love chore bargaining. No matter how thoughtfully I assign chores, they negotiate help or compromise or cooperate or trade or beg and switch things around. Some children just have natural talents in different areas and the children figure out how to encourage that. Tying the bundles was challenging for some of the younger children. I love watching them figure out how long the twine needed to be and become expert guestimators.

Some branches could be bent or broken into length, while some needed to be cut. Watching them figure out the diameter and strength of branch they could each bend or break was fabulous problem solving.

The behavioral issues. (MOOOOMMM! She’s sweeping for longer than I am, raking isn’t as fun as sweeping, how many bundles do I have to do? She did less than I did. Are we done yet? Why is she done? Why do I have to wear shoes? Can I go play with the kitty? Are we done?) Blessedly I am not in a school environment and I can just remind them that whiny workers clearly need more practice working so they learn to work without whining. And I can make that happen! I have all sorts of ideas.

I don’t normally analyze every day to day task in educationese. It just occurred to me that we talk a lot in education about hands-on, tactile learning, catering to different learning styles, involving the senses, active learning, using manipulatives and practical learning. Yet when you find out this activity is yard work…does it change the real education gained? It doesn’t look as educational as plastic manipulatives and desks and assigned groups.

Learning at Home

Learning at Home
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I have been chided before for having my children out doing such an educational activity on a school day, during school time. It is about a once a week occurrence, though not always on a school day. Is the education gained less valuable? Do any of us really think…gee I wish children knew less about hard work? Or wouldn’t a worksheet be better than practical application? What is the best balance between application and book learning? I don’t totally know the answer to those questions. I know I can write this out in educationese, but do I or others really value the learning involved in such a mundane activity?

I do value being able to see that the job is done instead of getting a random letter grade. There is a sense of understanding and unity when we can look together on something we have done well together. I know the satisfaction connected to effort is wonderful and enforces the learning in a very distinct way.

About Britt Kelly
Britt grew up in a family of six brothers and one sister and gained a bonus sister later. She camped in the High Sierras, canoed down the Colorado, and played volleyball at Brigham Young University. She then served a mission to South Africa. With all of her time in the gym and the mountains and South Africa, she was totally prepared to become the mother of 2 sons and soon to be 9 daughters. By totally prepared she means willing to love them and muddle through everything else in a partially sleepless state. She is mostly successful at figuring out how to keep the baby clothed, or at least diapered, though her current toddler is challenging this skill. She feels children naturally love to learn and didn’t want to disrupt childhood curiosity with worksheets and school bells. She loves to play in the dirt, read books, go on adventures, watch her children discover new things, and mentor her children. Her oldest child is currently at a community college and her oldest son is going to high school at a public school. She loves to follow her children in their unique paths and interests. She loves to write because, unlike the laundry and the dishes, writing stays done. Whenever someone asks her how she does it all she wonders what in the world they think she’s doing.

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