A Science Adventure: Giving My Son The Lead In Learning

I am super excited to share what we did at home for our Science subject. Just a bit of background: my husband and I are homeschooling our son. We started when he was in pre-school, stopped temporarily when he was in kindergarten, and then resumed again for Prep and now, Grade One. So far, I am loving the results: a curious boy who loves to move (gymnastics, fencing), solves problems (math) and plays music (violin) and prays with me every night (well, almost every night).

I just recently read a reassuring free ebook from SimpleHomeschool.net (or Jamie C. Martin. Just visit her site and you'll see a link to her free ebook) which includes an entry on the bare minimum for homeschooling: some math and a whole lot of reading. And not only that, she made me see that having my kids take the lead in terms of the curriculum is a great thing. We don't have to stick to a fixed schedule for him to learn...and love learning. The latter part is really important to me.

So, that made me relax. :-)

Amusement Park Physics

We are working on a long-term project right now for Science. He's building an amusement park on Minecraft (Pocket Edition) and he promises me that he'll make a map of it. He already has the tickets ready. I'm really excited to see his park. Anyway, just sharing the site that we used to research amusement parks and the simple physics behind the rides: http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/. It's absolutely awesome and it has some interactive pages where the learner gets to design his or her own roller coaster. This came about after a trip to Enchanted Kingdom.

Do-It-Yourself Labs

In the meantime, we were playing with a new free app that we downloaded called Piig Labs (we use AppsGoneFree to find out what apps are free every day). The volcano project was presented using a virtual environment. Badger was really excited to do it in real life. I was really happy to see him excited!

So, we did a bit of research. I didn't know that it was really easy to research! We did it before when we made a whirlpool from scratch (just two bottles and some electric tape). He loved repeating the experiment to get the same results.

So, here's the link where we got the volcano experiment: http://video.about.com/chemistry/Erupting-Volcano.htm. It's really easy to follow. Plus, the basics are: a plastic bottle, some newspapers (ideally, you should use clay or dough), baking soda, dishwashing liquid, and vinegar. That's it!

We had so much fun! Badger wanted to do it again. The enthusiasm that I see in his face when he learns about something that he is curious about is really fantastic.

I look forward to more adventures. And this time, I want him to continuously take the lead.

Prepositions With Piggy For Our Preschooler

by Justine C. Tajonera

If her Yaya were to judge, she'd say I was playing favorites by always talking about Badger. So, this time, I'll talk about Clea. We're not formally homeschooling her yet because both Vier and I believe that preschool is all about play. We're not at all worried because at two years and six months she's already speaking in sentences. When Badger was her age, he was just babbling without making any sense. We enrolled him in occupational therapy and later on speech therapy but apparently, we didn't have to worry because he was just a late bloomer (and now we can't stop him for talking and talking and talking...). Clea talked early and I love that she shows great interest in books. 

Prepositions With Piggy

Now, given all of that, it's still fun to make up some games for Clea because she's so cooperative. So, we had a fun session that revolved around prepositions. We have these little monoblock chairs and they sparked an idea for me. I put the blue one on a low table and I grabbed one of her favorite stuffed toys, a little pink pig. "Clea, can you do something for me?" She nods excitedly. "Can you put piggy under the chair?" She excitedly gets piggy and puts her under the chair. We do this for "on top" and "beside." She got a little confused with "beside" but she quickly picked it up. "On the right side" and "on the left side" also needed some repetition. But all in all, a lot of high fives were going around. 

Counting Candies

At the end of our prepositions with piggy, we had a round of counting candy. I put a small dish on the table and we did a modified counting Jelly Belly beans but this time we used Gingerbon candies. I asked her to put one, two, three, four or five candies in the dish and found out that Clea can understand the concept of up to two but needs prompting for three, four and five. It's either one, two, or all for her. Very interesting. Not rushing her but it's good to know where she's at. The best part? A candy treat after breakfast. She could actually take the spiciness! 

Having fun and discovering something new is not as easy as it looks. However, it's the most natural way for kids to actually learn. So, I'm glad to get some playtime with Clea and I'm so blessed to have such a sweet daughter. But don't let the sweetness fool you. Between Badger and Clea, it's Clea who's the bossy one. Haha! She loves giving orders to other people, even to an imaginary audience. It's also been fun discovering Clea and all her interests (ranging from fashionista issues--she does multiple outfit changes in a day--and keeping the Yakult away from her (she's addicted) and Hello Kitty (her current favorite character)...and cleaning up after her pencil masterpieces directly drawn on the floor. I'm looking forward to more adventures with her. 

Creatively Centering A Homeschool Lesson Around Badger's Interest in Dreadnoughts

by Justine C. Tajonera

This morning started with a mini-fight. I wanted Badger to continue progress on his Filipino workbook (Ang Diyos at Ako) but he just refused to do it. This is a familiar scene. I say something, he wants something else. I cite "obedience" and he breaks down and cries. At this point, I think I'm a failure as a teacher and I think about the coming start of the school year with dread.

But all was not lost. After taking a deep (deep, deep, deep) breath, I ask him, "Okay, so what do you want to do?" Still sniffling, he says, "I want to draw a battleship." Here we go again. I know he loves battleships. It's just that...I was running out of ways to incorporate battleships into our lessons. But that's not Badger's problem...it's actually mine as his parent and teacher.

Planning Around a Dreadnought

So, I wrapped my head around what we wanted to tackle for the day: tiyak na pangngalan or proper nouns. Since we were going to deal with battleships this morning...I would need to switch to English grammar and tackle proper nouns, instead. "What kind of battleship do you want to draw today? A regular battleship or a dreadnought?" He chose dreadnought. So I did some quick research.

Apparently, dreadnoughts were the dominant type of battleship during the early twentieth century and they figured in World War 1.  They had two distinct features: "big gun" armament or an unprecedented use of heavy-calibre guns and steam turbine propulsion. The first Dreadnought (or HMS Dreadnought of the Royal Navy of Great Britain) in 1906 could be referred to as a proper noun but soon after, the term dreadnought could be used as a common noun because it was used in reference to a type of battleship with the same features, thereafter.

I had fun explaining the parts of the ship to Badger and Badger, in turn, had fun drawing the dreadnought and naming the dominant parts that made this kind of ship a dreadnought. There's also a mistake in the drawing. Instead of a steam engine... we should have called it a steam turbine. Oh well. We can still make another drawing later on. After explaining to him that dreadnought is a common noun and that he had to name the ship with a proper noun...he very patriotically drew a Philippine flag on top of the dreadnought and promptly named it HSS Tajonera. HMS actually stands for His/Her Majesty's Ship while USS stands for United States Ship. Technically, we should have called it BRP (Barka ng Republika ng Pilipinas...ex. BRP Gregorio del Pilar) but ended up with His Supremo's Ship instead (HSS). Hilarious. I have to tell him about the naming conventions of ships later today. I also don't know why he chose the number 91. I'll have to ask him about it.

A Little Bit of Everything

Instead of a frustrating lesson that could have ended in total chaos and tears...we ended up with a fun exploration of dreadnoughts, a little bit of history, a little bit of science, a little bit of nouns and a little bit of drawing (I used what I learned from my Design lessons in the course I'm taking from the University of Pennsylvania via Coursera.org and had Badger do the sketch outline in pencil, then finish it off with a marker...he naturally centered the drawing, something that's also taught in my Design course. Plus points, Badger!).

One of the reasons why I love homeschooling is the lessons I learn as a teacher, a mom and a human being. Instead of pushing my way and bulldozing my son into the lesson I want him to learn...I learn to be creative and spark curiosity in a subject that interests him without necessarily throwing out my goals for the day. So, hooray for dreadnoughts and design and propulsion and proper nouns! They all come together when it concerns a little boy named Badger. At the end of the lesson, he gave me a bonus demonstration of "drag" (in the aerodynamic sense) by dropping a ball of paper and a sheet of paper. "Which one will fall first, Mama?" he asks. "The ball!" I say...and then we talk briefly about the concept of drag before I go off to work. Amazing!

An Update

We just watched Star Trek: Into Darkness and there is a dreadnought ship there called the USS Vengeance. Details here. I can't wait to discuss it with Badger!


   

Catching My Kids Doing Something Good

by Justine Camacho-Tajonera

It's been a while since I've written on this blog. But today, I have something to celebrate. I caught my eldest son, Badger, doing an act of kindness for his sister without being prompted last Sunday. Clea has new shoes and they require socks, you see. She was excited to put them on. I noticed that she was going around with her socks in her hands while everyone else was busy preparing to go on our swimming trip to Mamplasan, Laguna. Then, I saw Badger approach Clea. He asked her to sit down on the floor and he started putting her feet into her socks. When yaya noticed that they were having a bit of a problem, she told him to transfer Clea to a bench so he could have an easier time with putting on her socks and shoes. They transferred. Both of them were very quiet while this was going on. It was a wonderful moment for me. I snapped a photo right away.

Parenting can be so bewildering sometimes. I don't know if I'm doing it right most of the time. When I say, "Don't..." I catch myself and beat myself up over being negative. When I comfort my kids when they're crying I wonder if I'm babying them or just being a mom.

But last Sunday, I was fully aware that I was getting a glimpse of how parents feel when they see their kids do something good. I didn't say anything. I didn't ask him to do it. And yet, there he was helping his sister. My cup runneth over! I was overjoyed.

After he finished helping Clea, I called Badger over. "Badger, I just want to acknowledge what you did for your sister. No one asked you to do it. But you did it, anyway. That's being a kuya. I'm very proud of you." He smiled shyly and I hugged him and kissed him.

I recalled all the times that I would ask him to do things or not do things at the top of my voice. I recalled all the times I talked about obedience. These acts of kindness are blessings. They come unbidden but I know it is the fruit of kindness as well. Every time I am harsh and unthinking, I diminish that kindness. Every time I do what is more difficult: being firm without raising my voice, I know those are avenues for my kids to learn from me.

And now...I know that I have one more way of reinforcing great behavior in my kids: that's the task of catching them do something good. More often, I catch them doing something they're not supposed to do. That's where all the noes come from. But I know now that it's more important to catch them doing something great, like being of service to others or saying a kind word to another kid.

I say "catch" because those moments can be so fleeting. Don't wait another second. Kids grow up so fast. Catch it, acknowledge it and treasure it.

Our Hunt for a Play School for Badger

 

by Justine C. Tajonera

Recently, Vier and I decided that it was time to find a play school for Badger. We had done our best with our attempt at home school. However, I really feel that home school needs a mom's touch. While Vier has argued that he is all for unschooling, I still feel that a child's progress needs to be closely monitored and nurtured. If we aren't going to give him the quality time of 3 to 4 hours of learning in a day (not restricted to just the house but outside, in the open, or in a park or learning environment) then we might as well enroll him in a play school.

Lots of Choices

I was surprised that we actually have a lot of choices in our area (Ortigas Center, Pasig City), all of them walking distance from our condo. We reviewed them and they've been a mix of the progressive and traditional (more for the K2 classes) approaches. The great thing is they all offer trial classes so Badger has been having a blast. I didn't expect him to enjoy it so much.

Saying Goodbye Wasn't Hard

During one of the trial classes, we brought him into the classroom and watched him start to warm up to the other kids during their "free play time" session. He was starting to have so much fun that he didn't mind mommy and daddy saying goodbye at all. He just walked up to us and kissed us and said "Bye, Mommy, Bye Daddy!" What a miracle! No separation anxiety, no clinging, no crying. I was actually very proud of him. And while I had a twinge in my heart at saying goodbye, it wasn't so bad because I knew he was enjoying himself so much. Over the weekend, when we passed by one of the schools, he pointed at the building and said, "I want to go to school!" I had to explain to him that it was the weekend and that he could go to school on Monday.

More Verbal Interaction

Ever since he started his trial classes, I've also noticed that he's more verbal in his interactions. He used to refer to himself in the third person all the time but now I hear him say stuff like "I want water" or "I want Fita" more often. Yay! Apart from this, I hear him signify his curiosity too. "Daddy, what is this?" I heard him ask Vier the other night. He kept asking Vier to explain what different things were. It's amazing how quickly he's adapted to school. Because he was home schooled for a while, the teachers have told us that Badger is a bit advanced in some things like the alphabet, identifying letters, words, numbers and colors. However, I think the biggest plus has been his exposure to more and more play mates.

The Matter of Cost and Quality

The only thing that Vier and I have to decide on now is the balance between cost and quality. Badger has equally enjoyed his classes in the two schools that he's attended. We're just waiting for the other school to show us the prorated payments for enrolling Badger halfway through the school year. For me and Vier, it's not about the facilities or even how impressive the curriculum looks but rather the environment of learning and fun. As long as Badger is happy to play and explore, we know that he is definitely learning.

We're looking forward to one more trial period with a third school and then he'll start actual classes by September or October. With a new baby coming by November, hopefully, play school will give Badger a familiar haven outside of the changes at home. It's been an adventure, so far, for the three of us and I'm looking forward to more fun and learning in the coming months.