Joyful Noise: a Review

I picked up this book at the library, knowing nothing about it, but wanting poetry and appreciating the fact that it was written for 'two voices.' I thought choral reading would be a fun activity to do with the kids: one that would enable us to simultaneously enjoy the beauty of poems and the act of reading aloud together. Joyful Noise (by Paul Fleischman) did not disappoint.

The poems in Joyful Noise are all about insects. "Insects?!" you might ask incredulously. Yes, but the topic of insects is portrayed here with creative, humorous, and sometimes even poignant language and themes. For example, one poem is about moths ... and their detrimental but inevitable love affairs with lights. "Porch light, hear my plight! I drink your light like nectar/ Dream of you by day/ Gaze in your eyes all night/ Porch light!"

Another is about the digger wasp, and how the mother provides for and 'loves' her babies even though they never get to meet her. "I will never see my children, they will never gaze on me. I'll have died when they're emerging next July. So it must be. Yet, when they behold the home I'm digging now for their protection, safe and snug far underground, they'll recognize my deep affection."

The imagery in Fleischman's poetry is reason enough to read this book. But the fact that he wrote it for two voices to 'sing' together is just as good a reason! The lines are arranged in a variety of ways. Some poems use the unison lines to add emphasis and unity (as in a mated couple of book lice who love each other despite their different taste in literature); others use simultaneous lines to provide comparison (for example, a worker bee and queen bee giving opposite opinions of "a bee's life"). When reading these aloud with my 10- and 11-year-olds, I often felt like I was singing a duet with them. The language and rhythm were lyrical and clever, a joy to the ear!

I can not recommend Joyful Noise highly enough. My children, who have not been exposed to much poetry yet (to my shame), were captivated, as was I. Let me close with a few lines about the firefly: "Fireflies gleaming/ glowing/ Insect calligraphers/ practicing penmanship/ copying sentences/ Six-legged scribblers of vanishing messages, fleeting graffiti/ Fine artists in flight/ adding dabs of light/ bright brush strokes/ Signing the June nights as if they were paintings."

Daffodils

The kids and I have been memorizing poetry together this school year. Our repertoire so far has been “The Caterpillar” by Christina Rosetti, “Dreams” by Langston Hughes, “Ducks’ Ditty” by Kenneth Grahame, “Silverly” by Dennis Lee, and a few short ones by authors unknown. My language arts book includes poetry memorization, but after using a few of the selected ones in the curriculum, I decided I’d rather choose our own poems.

We were just ready to begin a new poem when Spring came in all its glory. I was inspired and chose “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth for our next poem. I had memorized it as a fifth grader and still had snatches of it in my heart. It seemed fitting to learn it as Oxford’s own daffodils bloomed.

Now a few weeks later, we have learned the last line. It has been hard work, but also such a joy to say these beautiful verses together. It was a delight to hear Josiah say, “The last line is my favorite.” Yes, he actually gets excited about poetry!

“And then my heart with pleasure fills

And dances with the daffodils!”

December Day with the Gertzes

December 7, 2009

Believe it or not, Ethan is still not completely weaned. He'll be three in 2 weeks, but this morning wanted to nurse in my bed. For the past year, I've been torn, not knowing whether I should be glad or annoyed that he loves nursing so much. Nursing a pre-schooler is so unusual that my biggest fear was what others thought of me if they found out. Most people probably don't even know though.

In the last month, he's begun to taper off, and at times I even thought we were through. So I think the end is in sight. But this morning, I enjoyed cuddling with him in my warm bed.

I heard that the other kids were up so hauled myself out of bed at about 8. In an effort for more breakfast diversity (we'd eaten cold cereal for the past few days), I made oatmeal and flavored it with maple. Yum! We had no trouble finishing the entire pot! Following breakfast, we spent some time cleaning up the living room and entryway, particularly vacuuming. It was long overdue.

As my Christmas concert is just 6 days away, and my last regular rehearsal was to be tonight, I decided to spend some concentrated time on trouble spots in my music. Josiah was working on his Arabic, using the Rosetta Stone computer program. He's on a lesson about the numbers 1-10. Naomi colored in a new coloring book. After 20 minutes, I had them switch. Steve also contributed today with a 15 minute lesson on the first few letters of the Arabic alphabet.

It really helped me to go over my music. I'd gotten a piano keyboard a few weeks ago from someone on Freecycle, but didn't yet have the correct power supply for it. I finally found one at a charity shop last Saturday, so was able to bang out the notes that have been giving me a hard time.

After Arabic, the kids and I read from our "One Year Bible for Kids." We're just at the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua. Today we read Moses' song of praise to God, as well as God's words to Joshua in Joshua 1. What a great way to start the day!

Then we did spelling. We use a spelling curriculum called "Spelling by Sound and Structure," and today we began a review unit. The kids and I looked at the past 5 weeks' worth of words, reminded ourselves of the various structure patterns, and focused on the tricky words (head, said, front, son, catch and wash). Josiah loves spelling. Later in the day, he opened his workbook to a future lesson and began doing it just for fun!

After spelling came math. The key principle of "Math-U-See" is that kids should "build, write, and say" as they learn their facts. It's a hands-on approach, using colored blocks, and today the kids used the blocks to show me their "+2" facts. Ethan was at the table, too, drawing while we did spelling and playing with the blocks while we did math.

I made pasta and chicken for lunch, and then we read some books. Though our new furnished flat included 2 black faux-leather love seats, we also decided to keep a couch that friends had given us. It is long, soft and perfect for winter reading. All of us cuddle together on it and try to ward off the cold. Reading is our favorite thing to do together!

Ethan went down for his nap, I washed dishes and did some more music practice. My intention was to do more school with the kids, particularly beginning a book called "Sarah Whitcher's Story," but I got too sleepy. I sent the kids to various rooms to do quiet activities and fell asleep on the couch.

Naomi and Josiah have apparently just realized how close Christmas is. They got super-excited today and spent half of the afternoon making and wrapping gifts for family members. I have no idea what they made. Guess I'll have to wait until December 25! But the presents look gorgeous, nicely wrapped, complete with bows and labels. Very cute...

I lazily made frozen fish, chips, and peas for dinner, but did make homemade applesauce for dessert. I got ready for choir while the kids were clearing the dirty dishes and emptying the dish drain. This meant collecting my music, bike helmet, bike lights, gloves, reflective shoulder strap, check for my choir fees, and debit card to use later at the grocery store.

It takes me just over 10 minutes to get to choir rehearsal, but I also add in time on both ends for getting through locked gates and dealing with my bike. I cycle through our tiny village of Iffley, then onto busy Iffley Road which leads straight into city centre. Though many bicycles travel that road and technically there is a cycle lane, the road is narrow and it can be a little scary to share it with buses and rush-hour traffic. Still it's better than bussing or walking!

Choir rehearsal was fun. It's great to be this close to the concert and hear how far we've come in just the past few weeks. I'm getting to know another new choir member (a fellow Californian!) and tonight we had a good bit of time to chat. After rehearsal (over at 9:30), I cycled to Tesco Metro on Cowley Road. I wanted to get a few things necessary for making Christmas cookies and eggnog. I used the self-checkout line and packed my groceries in my backpack.

I got back home by 10:20 and have been cleaning the kitchen or on the computer ever since! Another day in the life...

Just an Average Day

Today we got off to a pretty good start. I'm still trying to figure out what the best routine is for our family. It's sometimes hard to know how to balance teaching both Naomi and Josiah, with keeping Ethan occupied, happy, and learning himself.

In contrast to last week, when I taught N & J together for hours each day, today I tried teaching N & J together just for a little over an hour, and then split them up, giving each of them time with Ethan while I taught the other. I did Bible, spelling, history and science with both of them. Then Josiah and Ethan played together, jumping onto sofa cushions and laughing hard, while I did reading, language, math and handwriting with Naomi. Later we switched and I did the same with Josiah.

While it felt a little less efficient (in my head), it's fair to say that things worked out more smoothly this way. I also could focus more on each child. I'll keep trying it this week and see how things go.

A nice surprise was my neighbor Sarah knocking on my door mid-morning, asking if we wanted to join her and her girls at the new playground nearby. This didn't fit in with my "schedule," but I'm still glad we did it!

Sarah's 2 1/2 year old Amy and my 2 1/2 year old Ethan get along famously. It's so fun to watch them play together! And Sarah is my closest friend here, so I always enjoy chances to talk with her. Josiah and Naomi particularly like the pond area that is part of the new park. We all had a good time. It was great to get out in fresh air, brisk though it was. Autumn is on its way!

Following a crackers-and-cheese lunch back at home, I walked with the kids to "The Cowley." Cowley Road is a major thoroughfare in Oxford, beginning close to City Centre (at a roundabout called "The Plains") and extending through East Oxford and Cowley, as far as the ring road. Nicknamed "The Cowley," it has a high number of shops and restaurants in the part closest to town.

Since East Oxford is quite an ethnically diverse area and home to the only mosque in town, many of the shops feel like they belong in a different country. I've been able to find all kinds of African foods, Pakistani, Indian, Chinese, etc. It's amazing! There are also many charity shops (thrift stores), bicycle shops, discount shops, and my favorite, Tesco Metro (small grocery store, huge grocery chain).

When Steve is at home, I often try to do my shopping sans children. But seeing as he's gone for a whole month, I bit the bullet today and took 3 kids with me for my errands. First we did a little bit of grocery shopping at Tesco. Then we bought bubbles at a stationer's (for a home-education event tomorrow involving bubble-blowing). We went to a cycle shop to buy a bike tire pump. I visited Boots Pharmacy for a medical item.

I also discovered a new (to me) charity shop and had to pop in. Josiah found a huge plastic T-Rex he loved, Naomi found a tiny plastic pony, and I found 3 fun kid videos (Tom & Jerry being the highlight). Since the dinosaur cost 2 pounds, Josiah's not playing with it yet, but looking forward to buying it from me in 6 weeks. Naomi's pony is also in storage, but she'll get hers in just one week!

[I began giving the kids "pocket money" (allowance) some months ago in order to help them begin to understand money better. I don't give them very much, so they have seen what it means to save for something special. Because they're usually interested in buying something from a charity shop, and we're never sure when we'll next return and if their coveted item will still be there, I've occassionally bought the said item and kept it in storage (at home) until the full price has accumulated in the child's savings. I find this works really well. ]

We also popped in to another charity shop and found a pair of sneakers for Ethan. Both boys really need something warm for their feet now that summer is ending. I was tickled to find shoes that seem to fit Ethan (and that light up -- what a bonus!) for only 1 pound. Another 2 videos and a Hello Kitty hand-held fan for Naomi, and we were homeward bound.

On our way to the Cowley, Ethan had been riding his scooter (2 wheels at age 2 -- can you believe it??) and was always way ahead of us. But on the way home, he was smitten with his new shoes and walked slowly behind us. It was so cute to see how proud he was.

Back at home, my kids played for a while with the neighbor kids, particularly Anna. Most kids on our street attend the (very) local primary school called St. Michael's. But Anna goes to a Catholic school and so has bonded with Naomi, who also does not attend St. Michael's. Really all 4 of the kids that age, in our row of houses, get along great together. But it *is* nice to not be the only one who is different.

We splurged and ate our "tea" (supper) while watching Tom & Jerry. It was so fun to laugh with my kids. Even Ethan was hysterical at times! Bubble bath, reading books about vehicles, Squanto and Columbus, then songs and bed. I've spent my entire evening catching up on e-mails, facebook, and blogs. I'm so grateful for the internet!

So that's a day in the life of the Gertzes. Just in case you were wondering ;-)

School Starts Tomorrow

I'm starting our home-school year tomorrow. Today was a bank holiday in England, and though tomorrow is also a day off for students (while teachers resume work), I decided we needed to make a start!

The kids helped me today as I created some materials we'll need this week (and year). They watched in fascination as I made a "Decimal Street" poster for math, and eagerly helped me decorate the box that now contains our math manipulatives. They picked the colors of paper for our history timeline and colored in their outlined names to glue to the front of their all-subject binders. Naomi finally admitted that school might just be fun, after all.

My curriculum suggests getting off to a slow start, gradually introducing handwriting practice, foreign language, and English. So tomorrow we're doing Bible, spelling, history, math and art. I'm excited and feel almost like this is my first year of true home education. It's the first time I've bought a curriculum and the first time I've felt serious about what we're doing.

My prayer is that I'll be a patient and loving parent as well as an effective teacher. And that my children will grow in respect, love and obedience, drawing closer to God each day and deepening their awe of his created world.

Teaching "Tots"

As I'm thinking more about how to teach my kids next year, I'm exploring various blogs and websites, and have found the following one to be especially helpful. This mom not only teaches her older son, but includes intentional "teaching" time for her 3 year old. Go to her site for terrific ideas. I'm inspired!!!

Homeschooling Quandries...

I can not figure out what direction to take our homeschooling. I've written to friends, asking for their recommendations. I've looked online. I've thought about pros and cons of various styles, philosophies, and methods. But nothing is clicking for me. The pieces are not falling into place, revealing the best answer for my own family.

I should probably spend some time journaling, heart-searching, praying, listing. I should probably also ease up a bit. I tend to be an "all-or-nothing" sort of person, therefore thinking that I need to have this all figured out by next school year and that there is one BEST way eluding me which I need to find. But as my friend pointed out, there isn't an "only" way. My kids will learn, whether I use the classical method or unit studies. And if I try something next year, and it doesn't work the way I'd hoped, I can always change for the following year (or sooner!)

No Pencils in Math?

What if math education used no writing for the first few years? What if all sorting, arithmetic, geometry and algebra problems were done with movement and objects? Chocolate-bar fractions and M&M probability. Area and perimeter using square tiles and real rulers. Graphing using footsteps and string. "Solving equations" using a scale and bags of goodies.

I wonder how much of people's math difficulties and fears stem from premature writing, and too few hands-on activities. "Manipulatives" is a current buzz-word, but if they're only tossed in as an extra now and then, are they enough? When I tutor math students and they're struggling with a particular concept, I always try to show them in a hands-on manner what is going on. But why should I wait until they're struggling? Why can't math be kinesthetic all along?

My kids are (almost) 6 and 4 1/2 and they've both been doing kindergarten this year. I have done no worksheets about numbers and counting, but we talk about numbers all the time. We spent all Fall doing math activities concentrating on classifying, directions, and quantities. Numbers were something I brought up every now and then. Now my kids bring up numbers themselves and are continually telling me things like, "Mom, 2 and 3 make 5!" My older child has tried writing equations on her own because she's becoming enamored with writing in general. But I wonder if I wouldn't be better off saving the writing for later.

I think I would have more fun teaching and I know the kids would have more fun learning, if math were taught this way. And maybe, as a small side benefit, our next generation would not be so math illiterate.

Flexible Teaching

Homeschooling is going great. One of my frustrations when I taught public school (sixth grade) was that I had short amounts of time with each class and I had to cover exactly what the school district told me to. It made it pretty difficult to do anything creative or exploratory. And one of the few times that I did let the kids explore, I got yelled at by the vice-principal.

I had taken my class downstairs to the sidewalk and let them draw large circles using chalk and string. Then I had them measure the circumferences and diameters of their circles using string, and write down their figures on paper. We had quite a few pairs of numbers from all the various circles we’d drawn, and I asked them to use a calculator and find the ratio of circumference to diameter. Everyone had an answer very close to 3.

My 11- and 12-year-olds had just discovered “pi” for themselves. If I simply taught the formula “circumference = pi times diameter” everyone (remotely engaged) would ask “What’s pi? Where did it come from?” But by having them make their own circles and their own measurements and their own calculations, I (hopefully) showed them that pi is a number that just is. It is the beautiful true ratio occurring naturally in every circle.

Our vice-principal came outside just then, though, and was quite cross with me (in front of my class) for putting chalk on the sidewalk (we all know how horrible that is!) We spent the last rushed minutes of class-time ferrying water back and forth from the bathrooms to wash off our offensive circles.

Anyway, all to say that I love teaching at home, where I can be flexible and innovative without anyone’s permission. I can spend as much time as I like on a phonics game or a sawdust exploration time. We can learn measuring skills through real cooking instead of word problems in a mathbook. We can read “There’s an Alligator Under My Bed” five days in a row and make “alligator bait” (cookies) or jump around the room on pillows to keep safe from the “dangerous alligator in the water” (8-month-old Ethan). At least for kindergarten, this is the right choice for us!

Kindergarten!

Naomi had her first day of kindergarten two Fridays ago! She loved it so much that she wanted to do more school the next day, and couldn't understand why we take Saturdays off ("I know we don't do school on Sundays because we go to church," she said.)

I have the aim of reading through Mark with the kids, so that first day, they learned about John the Baptist. Then they both did a coloring/listening activity to learn about Vivaldi. They heard a little about the man and a little about Venice while listening to "Spring" and coloring a picture of Venice. Then we danced to the music, imagining different "Spring" pictures to go with the music. I'd like to make that a weekly part of school.

Then we did an alphabet game where the kids walked around the room, stepping on letter squares, until they heard the music stop. They called out to me the name of the letter they were standing on (or the sound that it makes) and then we kept going.

For math, we're just doing free exploration for a while so the kids get used to describing things and learning about various characteristics. Our first activity was making playdough and playing with it. (Although we also read a picture book that involved counting.)

Later with Naomi, I did the first lesson in a learning-how-to-read book, and an art lesson from "Drawing with Children."

I'm feeling very overwhelmed -- not with how much I NEED to teach, because I have no doubt that my kids will learn what they're expected to -- but with how many great ideas are out there. I've checked out a bunch of books from the library, and want to do everything! My next task is to pare it down to just a couple books and then go with those, so I don't drown myself in ideas!

I'm trying to find a support group in the area to join, so Naomi has kids to see regularly. And I'm also trying to find more information about various teaching methods and philosophies so I can have a long-term framework to work within.

Ethan (8 months) has five teeth now. He's also holding onto our push-train and walking around while pushing it. I can't believe it. The kid seems to be born on his feet. Will he walk before he's a year old?