real world

Why homeschooling?

About 9 years ago I thought that people who are homeschooling their kids are somewhat overprotective, overambitious and certainly they don’t live in a real world. Oh, and their kids have no clue about the reality, you know, the real world out there. I thought that I will never do this to my kids. I wanted them to be go-getters, high-achievers, born-to-become-leaders and relevant to the surroundings.

And how could you be all that if your teacher is your own mother?

I couldn’t understand how sitting at home with your nose in a book could be better than the real experience of well presented concepts and explained academics at the school. Done by professionally prepared, well educated, child-minded individuals who just can’t wait to teach my little ones about the most complex and most beautiful things in the universe. And I would be the best cheerer-upper for those professionals with the hearts of gold.

Our oldest, Teah, went to the kindergarten in Doha, Qatar. The school was fabulous. Founded by a wife of the Emir. British system of education. The facilities reminded me of some college campus, not an elementary kids school. The teachers came from all over the world. The classes were small, 16 kids or so, 2 teachers per class. The program was impressive. The school days were just right, 4 h a day. But after sometime I realized that she learned more at home then there. The school was a social place rather than anything else.

After coming to the USA I gave a thought to the crazy fantasy called homeschooling. I must mention a family (I bow down before the Balassi perfect clan) that encouraged me a lot, had 5 home-schooled kids and looking fabulously well educated. Not only that, but the kids behavior was close to the perfect, they were engaged in everything under the sun (sports, arts, service) and the parents looked like they knew what they were doing. That was the turn for me to look into homeschooling not only as a way of education, but a way of life, chosen very consciously, not only because we don’t have finances to send our kids to the best private schools in the neighborhood.

I researched the Internet almost daily for the next few months, learning about the history, philosophy, forms, ideas, examples of homeschooling out there. At the same time I was going through a kindergarten program with my oldest child, having another pre-K son and a baby. That was something else…

Today, 5 year later (that sounds like I am someone who knows what to do, but at times I really don’t), I think it is the best way for our missionary-oriented family to approach education. The choice remains the same, for how long I don’t know. Thinking about homeschooling for the next 10 years or so is rather scary. So I think about it one year at a time, one day at a time.

Homeschooling mothers – I know how you feel now.

want to know something about my country, Poland?

have a look into my patriotic thoughts HERE. Then share your patriotic thoughts with me.

Mam patriotyczny dzien

Grow butterflies in your home

A good friend of mine send us a butterfly bungalow to grow our own butterflies:

Coooool. It comes from INSECT LORE. Our caterpillars will arrive soon and then we will watch with anticipation how they evolve from tiny crawlies to flying beauties.  

Thank You, Lois.

scatology * ekskrementologia

Our 4-H group visited the Burr Oaks Woods Conservation Nature Center in Blue Springs, MO. The program is called Riddle of the Woods. It teaches the kids to find clues to animals living there.

Excitement was in the air…

…from the very beginning.

Very nice presentation. Introduction to the animal’s scat and other interesting possible findings (tracks, homes etc.)

Let’s go.

Wow. First scat. You need to decide if the animal who left it here was a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore.

Close up. Of the scat.

Big turkey walked down this way.

So, girls… let’s talk about …

Is there anything else here to do? Let’s listen to the birds.

What’s that?

Fun on the way.

Real Missouri snake.

Now you have our attention.

Butterflies from around the state.

This picture is here so you can see me.

Interesting.

Tarantula exoskeleton.

No need to mention this one again.

Sophie touching the snake.

We also heard frogs, kingfisher, other birds. We saw a dead vole (almost like a mole), stepped on hundreds of moles tunnels, followed tons of deer’s and racoon’s tracks, observed termite’s habitat, listened to the moles digging their homes. But you will not see the pictures, bc my American husband took the camera and made some videos with it, which we will possibly never see in our lifetimes.

These are the animals you can meet if take a walk in the forest nearby.

Kids loved it. Surely they will appreciate scat much more from now on.

tea freaks

herbata by agnieska

for Joyce

I have one friend who is crazy about tea, tea parties, tea sets, tea bags, tea ceremonies, tea cards. Since tea is still the most popular drink in Eastern Europe ( I think), here you go, all of you tea freaks. The best “tea stuff” from Poland.

The most known Polish custom and hand made, hand decorated ceramics come from Boleslawiec. They make very well known and popular tea sets plus other stoneware. Explore this site above to see the patterns, painting techniques and galleries.

Just to let you know. When I grew up, we drank tea like people drink water in USA. (There is a Camomile tea even for babies. And yes, they love it.) And we drank hot tea in glasses, without handles (picture above). Go figure. Few cups a day. Many people like it with lemon. Very few people are fond of tea with milk.

Tea party by juuust

I can’t believe I am writing about tea. I’d rather write about Teah.

Next time I will tell you about tea in Russia.

pathetic prophetic

Kevin came to me yesterday looking quite happy and proud, and said:

-Daddy told me, that I am pathetic.

He had a huge grin on his face. I was puzzled. Somehow I couldn’t believe that my American husband would describe his own son with such disgraceful epithets.

-Pathetic?

-Yep.

He stood even straighter and obviously waited for my response. My brain was searching for a good line. Suddenly I had a revelation, sort of.

-Maybe daddy said, that you are prophetic.

Kevin, my right brained, slightly dyslectic son, answered:

-That’s what I just said, didn’t I?

Conclusion:

When you talk to Kevin, make sure you are hearing his heart and thoughts more clearly then the words. The words might be slightly mispronounced.

I will write more about “prophetic pathetic” later on. I like the subject

For the record. American husband said: prophetic.

Easter traditions in Poland

Easter Triduum

The whole week before Easter is very special. Every houshold should get a major spring cleaning before this week starts and be done by Great Thursday the latest.

Great Thursday

Celebration of the Last Supper, Passover. The only one joyful day during the week. Service at the church.

Great Friday

Day of fasting. At 3pm you should stop everything and pray.

Service of the Stations of the cross in the church:

Remembering His suffering:

1. Jesus is condemned to death
2. Jesus receives the cross
3. Jesus falls the first time
4. Jesus meets His Mother
5. Simon of Cyrene carries the cross
6. Veronica wipes Jesus’ face with her veil
7. Jesus falls the second time
8. Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem
9. Jesus falls the third time
10. Jesus is stripped of His garments
11. Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus’ body is removed from the cross (Pieta)
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb and covered in incense.

Afterwords there is usually cross adoration. People are meditating upon the passion of Christ in silence.

Great Saturday

Dyeing eggs (pisanki). Since the 10th century we make pisanki in Poland for Easter. They symbolize new life.

ale jaja by hsi_nao

This is how your pisanki will look if you boil them with the yellow onion pills. Just throw some to the water while you boil eggs, they get this golden-yellow-brown color. The more the pills, the stronger color.

    ja-ja-ja      by KASIACZEK

The other way of naturally dyeing you eggs is to boil them with the beet roots pills. You get burgundy color as a result.

These below are made by first dyeing them with the natural dies and then scratching off with a special sharp tool (actually a thick needle will do)

Polish eggs by abac077       our own pisanki

Preparing Easter basket (swieconka).

After pisanki are done, we prepare swieconka (click to read an explanation of the symbolism of different foods), which is Polish Easter basket.

We take swieconka to the church to be blessed:

2007-04-07_15-Krakow.jpg by ilvic

Saturday midnight. Celebration of resurrection. Liturgy of fire starts outside the church. Joyful Hallelujah. Procession around the church.

The paschal candle has five nails (for five wounds on Jesus’ body) and letters alpha & omega. It symbolizes Christ, light of the world.

Paschal Candle by Danny McL

Easter Sunday

Sunday morning. Instead of Good Morning you should say: Christ has risen! And the response is: He has truly risen!

Easter breakfast includes food from swieconka. We share the eggs (like breaking bread) and say wishes to each other. We pray.

The tablecloth is white, symbol of resurrection. It might be decorated with the first spring flowers. There should be a lamb, symbolizing Christ. The whole family eats together. It is a very special time.

2007-04-08_2-Pasen2007.jpg by ilvic  

Special cakes called mazurek (Easter pies):

Mazurki by rodia 

   mazurkowe szaleństwo by mimiczoko  

Easter Monday (Wet Monday)

Smigus dyngus (dousing other people with water which, at one time, had been holy water blessed the day before at Easter Sunday Mass and carried home to bless the house and food). Basically you get wet if you go outside.

SMIGUS-DYNGUS W POLSCE W LANY PONIEDZIALEK by youmakehistory  

This is it. No more for today. Send me your family/country traditional Christian celebrations about Easter.

Rejoice.

[Digg]

what goes around

click to supersize:

Palm Sunday

uploaded by Karmor         	    uploaded by P.J.S.

Here are the examples of what palms look like in Poland when we go to church on Palm Sunday. As a child I would take one to church every year. Some congregations have a procession around the church buildings or on the streets after the end of the service.

Palm Sunday is celebrated in Poland since the Middle ages.

did I say:spring?

Originally uploaded by ewen and donabel

It was snowing today!!!

So we went to the library to make some crafts.

The end.

chronological studies

schedules

I like to make them. I try to keep up with the plans, but their purpose is to organize, not to control. I don’t make the lesson plans for the whole year in advance. I just know that we want to finish given subject/book/curriculum for the particular year. Some things might be done in May, some in June.

It is so hot and humid in MO during summer, that during the last two summers kids were so bored, they ASKED to “do school”. In the spring time, which is April/May and during the early fall, which is September/October we are trying to be outside as much as possible. That’s why our “school breaks” are scattered throughout the year.

chronological studies

Our approach is rather eclectic, although we will follow a history – chronological model, with a Charlotte Mason, classical approach, literature based. If you ask me about what would be the best comprehensive curriculum based on these choices, I would say: Tapestry of Grace. It is my dream to be able to purchase and start to implement it into our studies.

As for the chronological order, so far we’ve studied: (additions to “normal” core subjects)

2005/06: Old Testament; Ancient World

2006/07: The Gospels; Medevial Ages, Renaissance; Astronomy;

2007/08: Acts of the Apostles, Epistles, Revelation; US Early History, History of Poland; Botany

Based on these choices we form our literature picks also.

This is the shortest possible explanation of the year by year studies we do.

bats and bananas

We have studied pollination lately. Did you know that not only bees and butterflies are the pollinators? Moths, hummingbirds, flies and bats are pollinators to.

 

If not for bats, you would not eat bananas, guavas and mangoes. And flies pollinate flowers which produce rotten smell. Uggh…

Here is an excellent site for kids to study pollinators.

signs of the spring

Finally… after very loooong winter ( it snowed twenty something times, few ice storms, several snow blizzards, one hail storm) we have the first signs of the spring. We took the walk around our backyard and took these pictures:

W koncu…po bardzo dlugiej zimie (snieg spadl ponad dwadziescia kilka razy, mielismy tez pare burz lodowych, kilka zamieci snieznych i jedno gradobicie) pojawily sie pierwsze oznaki wiosny. Zdjecia z przechadzki po naszym ogrodku:

new bunny

We got a new bunny. Another Polish dwarf, we hope (don’t know much about bunnies…). This time a girl, black with white neck and front paws and a stripe on her head. She is cute.

After a long debate we picked a name: Elisabeth. The other names considered were: Domino, Kropka, Oreo, Panda. Sophie was the ‘last word” person to name our new pet, because she never had a chance before to name a pet just as she wants.

The other bunny we have, we bought thinking it was a girl. Well, it wasn’t. (either the pet shop seller did not know bunnies well enough or just wanted to get rid of a boy bunny; not mentioning Keith who forgot to look under the beasts tail before he bought him; not even making any comments on the whole family who had a boy bunny for good 6 mo or so thinking it’s a girl; is that good homeschooling or what?) Teah named him (her) Szarusia, which in Polish means Grayish. When we learned that it was a boy, we had to change the name into Szarus, because in Polish we have genders for everything, so that’s why the name has a different ending. (by the way, I’ve heard that Polish is the second hardest language to learn by English speakers; after Chinese; that’s why Poles REALLY do appreciate if someone makes an attempt to learn it)

Why bunnies? They are: cute, friendly, playful, easy to keep, cuddly, cheap to take care of.

to remember

this blog should contain our adventures in learning, like a scrapbook. For a long time I was thinking about keeping not only the records and the pictures of what, where and how we do, but add a little feeling to it and make it memorable. So many wonderful days pass by, when so many little precious things are lost, like what the kids say, how they react in certain situations. So many interesting conversations are taking place. After few days we don’t remember them. Maybe this will be the way to remember. To keep and share with others also.