So.... planning.  It's something my son covets dearly.  HE LOVES to know what is going on so he can plan his life out around mine.  Do you have a child like that in your home?

ONCE he knows what is going on, he's content.   He will frequently double check as the day goes along... but overall, once he knows he's content.    It's been a work in progress and I CANNOT tell you for sure if this system will even work for him.    What he wants is a scratch paper write out, but I find when I do that, then either I put too much on the paper (cause I write everything down we want to do) or I forget things and the lad gets stressed because I'll say "OH, I forgot about "X"" OR I just don't get the list written.  Which means tons of questions all day long.

I am hoping that this method works better than that the one I was hoping to do this year (Mama Planner) and is less labour intensive than this paper method I tried.

Mama Planner was a no go... one lad thought it was too much writing and looked like way too much work to do when I wrote it out in columns.. and when I asked if he could write out what he needed to do generated looks of horror and being backed up by dad.  :)

The paper method kinda worked.  Really it did.  It went through several metamorphoses...but the checking things off and getting confused about meals and stuff... it was WAY more work that what either of us wanted.

This calendar method is rather simple and works around my needs and around the lads.  :)  It follows mostly the schedule we've been hashing out for the last month and a half.  He's happy with routine, but is pleased to switch it out if it benefits him.  :)  For instance sometimes we don't do art because well.. yard work or a museum/field trip awaits or sunny weather let's go pokemon going!!! happens.  :)

You may be able to see that I colour coded it.   Grey for the dailies, Pink for astonomy, blue for veritas press, green for math and such like.   We've needed to work things out.. like astronomy and German only happen three days a week.

Because Friday are our co-op days having our Fridays be a do it differently day works best for us, means no change in routine for a routine oriented lad, all that changes in location.  :)   We do almost everything different on Fridays except the lad likes to do his Veritas Press studies every day.  :)

I don't write down specific lessons since one thing simply follows the next.  Do one lesson, then do the next, it's just how life goes.  If you don't understand something in the next lesson, then go back and do the last lesson again until you know where you misunderstand things, or remember to ask questions, and then proceed on to the next thing.   The lad knows I or Dad are always available for the asking of questions so no excuses for not being able to get help.  :)

But I digress.   I just used a $10 calendar from Costco.  not too expensive, easily dumped if doesn't work, but I genuinely think that this will give him a good overview without causing stress, and letting him know what to expect for the next day. 

Hopefully all hearts will be happy.  :)

Tell me though...just in case it doesn't... what do you non-organized type of mammas do with your routine oriented children to keep the household sane?   More ideas are always good.  :)

Don't you just hate it when you are looking for a pen or pencil and you just can't fine one?  Or if you have a child constantly saying, "MOM, do you have jar I can use to  do _______?  Do we have any wood in the house mom??"  or "HUN!  I need tape! Where is it?!?!"  All these questions....repeated constantly....with the needful demand behind them, and sometimes I felt like I couldn't keep up. 

UGH!!!!   It drives me crazy, so over the years I decided to create a full proof system.. and it's WORKING!!!  Even hubby can find pens and tape when he needs them.  :)

So what is my system?   It's a bin organized system.  Lots of bins.  :)  Mostly see-through which is a very good thing, as it means anyone can see what's inside without having to open bins you don't really want to waste time opening.  :)

Pencils and erasers in one drawer.
Scissors in another.  
On top.. our cardstock... useful in the making of minecraft figures, and other papercraft items.   Useful to for making unit study/modified colour lap books.

Pencil crayons and pens.. all in one spot.  Markers and compass kits.   Sorted and easy to locate. 

And our Lego.. not the neatest right now and my giveaway pile of books is sitting in the way, but when it is organized we have room for lego creations to sit on top, and pieces are sorted by type and size.  Makes it SO easy to build lego which makes me happy.

I used to scrapbook.  I don't do it anymore, but I still have my scrapbooking drawers.  :)   Some of them still hold the remnants of my scrapbooking, which unsurprisingly, are useful with creative children.

I've added two rolls of tape drawers, and a paper cutting drawer.  oh.. and I think I have stencils drawer in there somewhere too.

The sticker and paper drawers remain (though their supplies are getting reduced).  I do not consider that a bad thing.

Between the table and the window I have my large storage bins.  When you have a child who can and will make items out of anything, having "stuff" to make it from comes in handy.   :)   It goes up and down in the amount of materials available as I regularly purge it (or bring it along to craft based co-op days), it works...and keeps it all contained.  A good thing that eh?

The thing I like about plastic drawers is they are portable, it's easy enough to move them from room to room, it's easy to shift drawers around as you don't then have to shift everything from one drawer to another.. you just move it!  :)

So tell me.. how do you store things such as legos, pens, pencils and what not.   What have you done to ease the craziness?

More in this series:
Part One, Organized Chaos - Science Materials.

The Canadian Homeschooler is doing a blog round up this month on Tech.   Tech in the Classroom. Share anything related to tech: apps, websites, minecraft, netflix, youtube, etc.)  I am sitting here thinking... WHAT DO I WRITE ON!?!?!   Why is this stressing me out so much???    Since I didn't know what to write, I thought I'd just start talking and see where the post takes me.

You see...we like computers in this household.  The lad has a tablet, I have a laptop, we have a couple of desktops (one slow as molasses, the other faster and easier to work with), hubby also has a laptop, tablet (2) and some other gizmo which looks like a cross between a tablet and laptop.   Cell phones are rather constant..

And yet... sometimes it feels like we don't have enough.... like hubby's stuff is his and we don't touch it (work stuff and all that, understand?)... so when the lad is working on the laptop (because the desktop is slower than molasses) then I can't work on it.   The tablets can't do all the laptop does...and the phones are great for email, texting and research, but suck in the writing things down department.....

and since we firmly think that ...

When my son has a quick question about something (since we have a no tablet policy during school hours) he'll come grab my phone... and it's like "ACK!!!  I was using that!!"  (even if I didn't actively have it in my hand at the time..)

Ergo....on days where life is like that I just think... it would be SO much easier if we had one more laptop...and then you look at prices and say well.. perhaps NOT!!!  :)

So what do we do.. we learn to talk more.

"Mom, can I use your phone, I want to look something up".
"Sweetheart, the computers are being a problem, how can we problem solve around the slow as molasses one?"
"Son, do you think you can do your ____________ first while I work on this _________.   It should take me half an hour to finish".

Anyways, you get the point right?  :)

Computers which can so easily erode conversation in a household (the actual words talking) and at least for now in our household...promoting more conversation, helping to teach patience and understanding, sticking to timelines, and more.

They are teaching a boy how to formulate good requests into google, and we're teaching him discernment, as not everything on google is accurate...being accurate matters, finding new ways to say it,  words, words and more words ..it's good eh?

But in the meantime... we continue learning.

What has tech done in your house?

By the by, the link up goes live on Wednesday, you can find it here.

Kinda combining two posts in one today.  :)     Tips for Homeschooling Parents and Kate's Word on Friday.   Kate's word for today is Decide.

Kate's Five Minute Friday linky is supposed to only take five minutes to write, but I may cheat a little or write super dooper fast.. we'll see how it goes eh? 

It's 331  GO
You have to make decisions in your homeschooling journey, just like you have to in the rest of your life.

Decisions to
1. What method of education will be your primary type - books, hands on, montessori, charlotte mason, eclectic, textbooks, living books etc.  
2. What your end goal is: university, college, people of faith,
3. What materials or lack thereof you will use - unschooler?  Books?   Computer based?
4. What your budget will be?   Focused on free?  Frugal?  Sky's the limit?
5. Will you join a co-op?
6. What curricula will you use?   Everything laid out?  Make your own?   Combination?
7. What planner will you use to keep sane or will you just fore-go this?

Having to DECIDE will surround your life.
People will challenge your decisions.
You'll see what others are doing and question them yourself.

It's part of the lifestyle.. and don't kid yourself, homeschooling does become part of your lifestyle and that's okay.

You need to realize that if you are making decisions for the good of your family as a whole, it will all work out in the end.   Because in the end of it all.. your children have decisions THEY need to make as well.. it's not all on you.  You do the best you can, leave the rest to God and to the ability of your children to make decisions.

Now DECIDE will you be okay with whatever decisions you make?

Okay.. honesty here.. I went one minute over!!!!!  Not too bad was it?   :)

Other Posts In The Tips for Homeschooling Families:
The Importance of Family.
Working and the Homeschool Life. 
Tips: Knowing when to take a break.
Tips: Handling Curve Balls

You can click the image to the left to read what other crew members have to say, or you can start by following the links below:

Melissa @ Grace Christian School
Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
Missica @ Through the Open Window
Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling
Rebekah @ There Will Be A $5 Charge For Whining
Renita @ Krazy Kuehner Days
Sarah @ Renaissance Mama
Sasha @ Such a Time as This
Tawnee @ Adventures in Homeschooling
Tiffany @ The Crafty Home
Tina @ Desperate Homeschoolers

FIVE minute Friday Rules
Get the word.  Write for Five Minutes. Link up.   MOST IMPORTANT: encourage others in the linky.  This is real important and the heart of our community.  :)

Day four of Tips for Homeschooling Parents.  Today's Topic: Dealing with Curve Balls.

What might you ask inspired me to come up with this topic?

See this wee beastie?

Yup.  It's a possum.   Biggest one I have ever seen. 

This opossum was our curve ball today.  You do know what a curve ball is?   A ball that looks like it's coming straight for you, but it swerves away unexpectedly?   We didn't see this beastie coming, but we took advantage of him when he did.

THAT beastie was our curve ball today.   It was a moment to take some time to learn about possums, to do some research, to figure out how to remove him from our property in order to keep him away and to see if he was our mystery predator.  

Possums are actually good for the environment in that they clean up dead stock really well.   BUT they are NOT good to have around small stock.  They'll eat mice, grubs, garbage, insects, rats, other small mammals and what not.

Based on the size of this fellow I'm guessing he's the one who killed some of our young bunnies and one of my son's tanks of mice.

My Lad, instead of doing his science or his math today, had a chance to give this fellow a good look over.   First thing he noticed was  "HE STINKS".

And he did... I have to admit.. this opossum, STANK.   I don't know if it was his natural body odour or if it was his "smell defense" that possums can do.  The Virginia Opossum (Didelphis Virginiana),is not native to Ontario, they came as visitors and decided to stick around.   The stink of him made us keep our distance from him. 

Notice was made of the long tail, the mouthful of teeth and the loud hissing noises directed our way.   This fellow was large one so we took the risk of moving this territorial fellow.  He discovered, far from our home, a LOVELY forest in which to now dwell....he left rather eagerly hissing at us as he left.  

Curve balls are just that you know opportunities to learn in a different way.  Whether it's the unexpected one like illness that changes what our week looks like, dastardly predators caught, accidents or the like.   OR if they are planned curve balls like planned surgery dates (coming up in April), co-op times, or whatever... Curve balls can be viewed with suspicion or dismay, or as an opportunity to do things differently and to learn something new.

How you handle those curve balls is up to you, but I do suggest that you get ready for them, because you will always find they come your way.

Other Posts In This Series
The Importance of Family.
Working and the Homeschool Life. 
Tips: Knowing when to take a break.

Others from the Crew are taking part in this five day blog hop as well.   You can find the whole list here, but below I've listed a few people just to get you started.

Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
Latonya @ Joy in the Ordinary
Laura @ Day by Day in Our World
Leah @ As We Walk Along the Road
Lisa @ Farm Fresh Adventures
Lori @ At Home: where life happens
Meg @ Adventures with Jude
Megan @ My Full Heart
Melanie (Wren) @ finchnwren
Melissa @ Mom’s Plans

Day Three of Tips for Homeschooling Parents.

As I write this post I have a pounding headache and a drippy nose.   Fun isn't it?  NOT.
I have a boy avoiding me (who has had this same cold) and a hubby being kind to both of us as he finishes up the cold he managed to bring into the house last week.

So as I bleariedly eyed my computer screen thinking what I can I write on, I thought of a conversation I had with my lad over breakfast.

Me "Son, we really should try to get some schooling done today"
Son "No, mom, no no"
M: OH?
S: "Just no mom, we can do other things today".

This is so NOT my son.  Usually he'll say "I can do my Veritas press and my science and my......" and then can we think about if I have to do anything else?

This lad LOVES his on-line schooling.   Everything else he could toss out the window (what child couldn't) but his on-line stuff I never really have to even ask.

AND THEN the clincher.. He disappeared.
Like totally.  

ALSO not like my boy child to do.

What do I hear coming from upstairs.. Cough cough, hack, sneeze, cough cough....

Think perhaps that's a hint that today we should let our colds get the best of us?

Sometimes as parents we need to do that.

Just as if my lad had a bad cold I wouldn't send him off to a public school, just because we are at home schooling, doesn't mean I need to push schooling just because he's home and I can.

I need to.
YOU need to.
Read your children well.

My lad has had flus, colds, not feeling well days where doing school was totally not an issue.    But when he's acting out of character... that's when I find I need to simply listen.   Don't you find it the same in your school?

Time for me to get off this beast and take a break... Sleep sounds good... 

Other Posts In This Series
The Importance of Family.
Working and the Homeschool Life. 

Others from the Crew are taking part in this five day blog hop as well.   You can find the whole list here, but below I've listed a few people just to get you started.
Jeniffer @ Thou Shall Not Whine
Jennifer @ A Peace of Mind
Jennifer @ Faithful Homestead
Joelle @ homeschooling for His Glory
Joesette @ Learning Curve
Kari @ Random Acts of Boyhood
Katie @ Katie’s Daily Life
Kemi @ Homemaking Organized
Kim @ Homestead Acres
Kylie @ Our Worldwide Classroom

Today is day two in the five day blog hop.  And I have to admit I really waffled on what to write about today.   Music?  Faith?   Life happens?   Work?

I finally settled on work.

I touched yesterday on the fact that my hubby is a pastor.   We are part of a small congregation in central Ontario.  We do okay, but not as great as we'd like financially so due to my love of critters I have a small business running a rabbitry.

It's called AT Home Pets.   I raise and sell rabbits and guinea pigs.   It's a lot of work to care for them.  I help my son raise mice.

I am also in the process of learning to make worksheets and curriculum.   I made my first  this week.  The goal is to hone my skills and eventually start to sell them.  I was talking with my lad about this last night about how I am going to hire him to help me create graphics for this endeavor.   He thought that was a great idea.  :)

The question is of course, since you might be thinking, so what.. you have a business, big yip.  What does that have to do with homeschooling?  

I mention all this because like may people in the world it is sometimes a struggle to make ends meet.   To purchase curriculum, to buy supplies, and clothe children.    My hubbies work provides for necessities in life like shelter, food, medical issues, gas and such things.

My business stuff provides for curricula, clothes for me and the lad, treats "just because" and so forth.   Without my income it would be a LOT more difficult to manage the other necessities in life.. like food... we like eat.  :)

Working with animals as a business has provided me with
1. opportunities to teach my son good animal husbandry skills.   Healthy animals make for easier to care for critters, easier to find them homes, better food sources for animals that need them.. remember he raises mice.. his biggest buyer is the local raptor rescue.  He gives them a discount because they help birds of prey get healthy after running into trouble.   He's had to help me think through the type of bedding we use, housing issues, what colours to pursue and such like.
2. opportunities to learn good customer service.    How to be nice with people, friendly, help them discover the joys of owning a pet mouse, to figure out what size of mouse their snake can eat, and so forth.   To write good animal care sheets for the rabbits and guinea pigs and to continually learn so that one can properly educate people when they ask questions.
3. opportunities to do real life math.  If 10 mice cost "X" amount and the guy asks for a deal, what are you willing to do?   Are you going to ask him to buy two more and throw one in for free?   Will you say no?   What if they want free delivery on top of that?     He's learning that good customer service doesn't mean saying yes to every request.    I thought I would need to teach him to save for a rainy day... but this boy is a natural money saver.   He weighs out his purchases carefully which is really nice to see.  He hates that I make him pay part of the mouse food bill but it's part of having them right?  He gets the income, shouldn't he bear part of the price or raising them?
4. opportunities to deal with the less than polite people.  Granted I've shielded him from most of this, but he sees how some people react to the selling of rabbits and guinea pigs (and to a certain extent the mice).   Animal Rights Activists aren't the funnest people to deal with, and he's seen how I've learned to be protective of where I live and how we do things.
5. Opportunities to teach others about animals we know and love.  It amazes me how often people will leap into something without first doing their research.     Selling animals allows us to interact with people, teaching them how to care for their animal, what should and shouldn't be done and guiding them to good sources for information.   There is so much misinformation out there about how to care for animals it's great to guide people to reliable sources.
6. Opportunities to learn time management.   It's not always easy.   Currently I am dealing with a person who wants to buy an animal on Sunday afternoon.   I don't do business on Sundays until after 6 p.m.  This individual is struggling to work around that and it's hard to stand firm.. but family and God is important you know?   It's hard to work around homeschooling needs, family needs, faith issues  in a "we want what we want when we want it NOW" society.   Sometimes it means lost sales which used to be upsetting until we learned this.. the instant gratification people won't have done their research and do we really want our animals going to people who are like that?   Teaching that long term perspective has been eye-opening for my lad.
7. Opportunities to learn new skills. Whether it's learning how to put together worksheets or curricula, or finding out the latest research on mites in guinea pigs, or how to deal with malocclusion in rabbits, finding out what threatens birds of prey... there are always ways to think and improve and do what needs to be done.  Right now we are dealing with a rat problem which with the help of the internet, friends, neighbours and other business people we WILL tackle and keep our animals safe from harm.  We are happy to live and let live, but causing harm has repercussions.
8. Opportunity to be your own boss.  I HATE, yes indeed I will freely admit it.  I hate to be ordered around.   I love being able to be responsible for my own decisions and the running of my own business.  Being told what I can and cannot do irritates me to no end.   So working a job for someone else gives me added stress (which if I have to I deal with) but the freedom of choosing what I feed, how I care, and such like.. I love that freedom.   I disliked working a 9-5 job and dealing with the politics and rivalries you get in a workplace.  Here... the rabbits don't argue with me.. they may stomp their feet for "FOOD NOW!  ME FIRST!!" but they don't talk back or jockey for importance.  Most customers are easy to work with and doing this is a joy.

For my other posts in this five days of tips for homeschool parents see below
The Importance of Family.

You will find other members of the TOS crew participating in this five day blog hop.   The whole list can be found here, or you can start with the folks listed below.

Today I started reading a book about William Cowper.   I chose this book to read because, as you know my dear readers, I like to do hymn studies and I recognized his name as a hymn writer.  I thought it would be neat to get to know more about him.

The first thing I learned was that he was an advocate for home education.

To that end he wrote a poem called the Tirocinium.

Doing a search on-line I found a copy of it as well.  :)   You can find it HERE.    It is a very long poem so I will be taking excerpts from it for you to enjoy.      I do encourage you to go back and read the whole poem through though.   Perhaps like me, you will find in it encouragement to continue your journey as one who keeps their child at home.  :)

Review of Schools by William Cowper.

It is not from his form, in which we trace
Strength join'd with beauty, dignity with grace,
That man, the master of this globe, derives
His right of empire over all that lives.
That form, indeed, the associate of a mind
Vast in its powers, ethereal in its kind,
That form, the labour of Almighty skill,
Framed for the service of a freeborn will,
Asserts precedence, and bespeaks control,
.......
For her the memory fills her ample page
With truths pour’d down from every distant age;
For her amasses an unbounded store,
The wisdom of great nations, now no more;
Though laden, not encumber’d with her spoil;
Laborious, yet unconscious of her toil;
When copiously supplied, then most enlarged;
Still to be fed, and not to be surcharged.
.......
For her the Judgment, umpire in the strife
That Grace and Nature have to wage through life,
Quick-sighted arbiter of good and ill,
Appointed sage preceptor to the Will,
Condemns, approves, and, with a faithful voice,
Guides the decision of a doubtful choice.
.......

Look where he will, the wonders God has wrought,
The wildest scorner of his Maker’s laws
Finds in a sober moment time to pause,
To press the important question on his heart,
“Why form’d at all, and wherefore as thou art?”
If man be what he seems, this hour a slave,
The next mere dust and ashes in the grave;
Endued with reason only to descry
His crimes and follies with an aching eye;
With passions, just that he may prove, with pain,
The force he spends against their fury vain;
And if, soon after having burnt, by turns,
......
Truths that the learn’d pursue with eager thought
Are not important always as dear-bought,
Proving at last, though told in pompous strains,
A childish waste of philosophic pains;
But truths on which depends our main concern,
That ‘tis our shame and misery not to learn,
Shine by the side of every path we tread
With such a lustre, he that runs may read.
......
Were all that Heaven required of human kind,
And all the plan their destiny design’d,
What none could reverence all might justly blame,
And man would breathe but for his Maker’s shame.
But reason heard, and nature well perused,
At once the dreaming mind is disabused.
If all we find possessing earth, sea, air,
Reflect His attributes who placed them there,
Fulfil the purpose, and appear design’d
Proofs of the wisdom of the all-seeing mind,
‘Tis plain the creature, whom he chose to invest
With kingship and dominion o’er the rest,
......
This once believed, ‘twere logic misapplied
To prove a consequence by none denied,
That we are bound to cast the minds of youth
Betimes into the mould of heavenly truth,
That taught of God they may indeed be wise,
Nor ignorantly wandering miss the skies.
In early days the conscience has in most
.....
What friends we sort with, or what books we read,
Our parents yet exert a prudent care
To feed our infant minds with proper fare;
And wisely store the nursery by degrees
With wholesome learning, yet acquired with ease.
Neatly secured from being soil’d or torn
Beneath a pane of thin translucent horn,
A book (to please us at a tender age
‘Tis call’d a book, though but a single page)
Presents the prayer the Saviour deign’d to teach,
Which children use, and parsons—when they preach.
Lisping our syllables, we scramble next
Through moral narrative, or sacred text;
And learn with wonder how this world began,
Who made, who marr’d, and who has ransom’d man:
Points which, unless the Scripture made them plain,
The wisest heads might agitate in vain.
......
Ingenious dreamer, in whose well-told tale
Sweet fiction and sweet truth alike prevail;
Whose humorous vein, strong sense, and simple style,
May teach the gayest, make the gravest smile;
Witty, and well employ’d, and, like thy Lord,
Speaking in parables his slighted word;
I name thee not, lest so despised a name
Should move a sneer at thy deserved fame;
......
And guides the Progress of the soul to God.
‘Twere well with most, if books that could engage
Their childhood pleased them at a riper age;
The man, approving what had charm’d the boy,
Would die at last in comfort, peace, and joy,
And not with curses on his heart, who stole
The gem of truth from his unguarded soul.
The stamp of artless piety impress’d
By kind tuition on his yielding breast,
The youth, now bearded and yet pert and raw,
Regards with scorn, though once received with awe;
And, warp’d into the labyrinth of lies,
That babblers, call’d philosophers, devise,
Blasphemes his creed, as founded on a plan
Replete with dreams, unworthy of a man.
Touch but his nature in its ailing part,
Assert the native evil of his heart,
His pride resents the charge, although the proof
Rise in his forehead, and seem rank enough:
Point to the cure, describe a Saviour’s cross
As God’s expedient to retrieve his loss,
......
Prayer to the winds, and caution to the waves;
Religion makes the free by nature slaves.
Priests have invented, and the world admired
What knavish priests promulgate as inspired;
Till Reason, now no longer overawed,
Resumes her powers, and spurns the clumsy fraud;
And, common sense diffusing real day,
The meteor of the Gospel dies away.
Such rhapsodies our shrewd discerning youth
Learn from expert inquirers after truth;
Whose only care, might truth presume to speak,
Is not to find what they profess to seek.
And thus, well tutor’d only while we share
A mother’s lectures and a nurse’s care;
And taught at schools much mythologic stuff,
But sound religion sparingly enough;
Our early notices of truth disgraced,
Soon lose their credit, and are all effaced.
Would you your son should be a sot or dunce,
Lascivious, headstrong, or all these at once;
That in good time the stripling’s finish’d taste
For loose expense and fashionable waste
Should prove your ruin, and his own at last;
Train him in public with a mob of boys,
Childish in mischief only and in noise,
Else of a mannish growth, and five in ten
In infidelity and lewdness men.
There shall he learn, ere sixteen winters old,
That authors are most useful pawn’d or sold;
That pedantry is all that schools impart,
......
And, as maturity of years comes on,
Made just the adept that you design’d your son;
......
Yes—ye are conscious; and on all the shelves
Your pupils strike upon have struck yourselves.
Or if, by nature sober, ye had then,
Boys as ye were, the gravity of men,
Ye knew at least, by constant proofs address’d
To ears and eyes, the vices of the rest.
But ye connive at what ye cannot cure,
And evils not to be endured endure,
Lest power exerted, but without success,
Should make the little ye retain still less.
Ye once were justly famed for bringing forth
Undoubted scholarship and genuine worth;
And in the firmament of fame still shines
A glory, bright as that of all the signs,
Of poets raised by you, and statesmen, and divines.
Peace to them all! those brilliant times are fled,
And no such lights are kindling in their stead.
Our striplings shine indeed, but with such rays
As set the midnight riot in a blaze;
......
Say, muse (for education made the song,
No muse can hesitate, or linger long),
What causes move us, knowing, as we must,
That these mémenageries all fail their trust,
To send our sons to scout and scamper there,
While colts and puppies cost us so much care?
Be it a weakness, it deserves some praise,
.......
As happy as we once, to kneel and draw
The chalky ring, and knuckle down at taw;
To pitch the ball into the grounded hat,
Or drive it devious with a dexterous pat;
The pleasing spectacle at once excites
Such recollection of our own delights,
That, viewing it, we seem almost to obtain
Our innocent sweet simple years again.
This fond attachment to the well-known place,
Whence first we started into life’s long race,
Maintains its hold with such unfailing sway,
We feel it e’en in age, and at our latest day.
Hark! how the sire of chits, whose future share
Of classic food begins to be his care,
With his own likeness placed on either knee,
Indulges all a father’s heartfelt glee;
And tells them, as he strokes their silver locks,
That they must soon learn Latin, and to box;
Then turning, he regales his listening wife
With all the adventures of his early life;
His skill in coachmanship, or driving chaise,
In bilking tavern-bills, and spouting plays;
What shifts he used, detected in a scrape,
How he was flogg’d, or had the luck to escape;
What sums he lost at play, and how he sold
Watch, seals, and all—till all his pranks are told.
Retracing thus his frolics (‘tis a name
That palliates deeds of folly and of shame),
He gives the local bias all its sway;
Resolves that where he play’d his sons shall play,
And destines their bright genius to be shown
Just in the scene where he display’d his own.
The meek and bashful boy will soon be taught
To be as bold and forward as he ought;
The rude will scuffle through with ease enough,
Great schools suit best the sturdy and the rough.
Ah, happy designation, prudent choice,
The event is sure; expect it, and rejoice!
Soon see your wish fulfill’d in either child,
The pert made perter, and the tame made wild.
The great indeed, by titles, riches, birth,
Excused the incumbrance of more solid worth,
.........
But families of less illustrious fame,
Whose chief distinction is their spotless name,
Whose heirs, their honours none, their income small,
Must shine by true desert, or not at all,
What dream they of, that, with so little care
They risk their hopes, their dearest treasure, there?
They dream of little Charles or William graced
With wig prolix, down flowing to his waist;
They see the attentive crowds his talents draw,
They hear him speak—the oracle of law.
The father, who designs his babe a priest,
Dreams him episcopally such at least;
And, while the playful jockey scours the room
Briskly, astride upon the parlour broom,
In fancy sees him more superbly ride
In coach with purple lined, and mitres on its side.
Events improbable and strange as these,
Which only a parental eye foresees,
A public school shall bring to pass with ease.
But how? resides such virtue in that air,
As must create an appetite for prayer?
And will it breathe into him all the zeal
That candidates for such a prize should feel,
To take the lead and be the foremost still
In all true worth and literary skill?
“Ah, blind to bright futurity, untaught
The knowledge of the World, and dull of thought!
Church-ladders are not always mounted best
By learned clerks and Latinists profess’d.
..........
A friend, whate’er he studies or neglects,
Shall give him consequence, heal all defects.
His intercourse with peers and sons of peers--
.......
What need of Homer’s verse or Tully’s prose,
Sweet interjections! if he learn but those?
Let reverend churls his ignorance rebuke,
.....
Depend not much upon your golden dream;
For Providence, that seems concern’d to exempt
The hallow’d bench from absolute contempt,
In spite of all the wrigglers into place,
Still keeps a seat or two for worth and grace;
And therefore ‘tis, that, though the sight be rare,
We sometimes see a Lowth or Bagot there.
Besides, school friendships are not always found,
Though fair in promise, permanent and sound;
The most disinterested and virtuous minds,
In early years connected, time unbinds,
New situations give a different cast
Of habit, inclination, temper, taste;
And he, that seem’d our counterpart at first,
Soon shows the strong similitude reversed.
......
A boyish friendship may so soon decline,
‘Twere wiser sure to inspire a little heart
With just abhorrence of so mean a part,
Than set your son to work at a vile trade
For wages so unlikely to be paid.
........
Boys, once on fire with that contentious zeal,
Feel all the rage that female rivals feel;
The prize of beauty in a woman’s eyes
Not brighter than in theirs the scholar’s prize.
The spirit of that competition burns
With all varieties of ill by turns;
Each vainly magnifies his own success,
Resents his fellow’s, wishes it were less,
Exults in his miscarriage if he fail,
Deems his reward too great if he prevail,
And labours to surpass him day and night,
.......
And you are staunch indeed in learning’s cause,
If you can crown a discipline, that draws
Such mischiefs after it, with much applause.
Connexion form’d for interest, and endear’d
.......
Great schools rejected then, as those that swell
Beyond a size that can be managed well,
Shall royal institutions miss the bays,
And small academies win all the praise?
Force not my drift beyond its just intent,
I praise a school as Pope a government;
So take my judgment in his language dress’d,
“Whate’er is best administer’d is best.”
Few boys are born with talents that excel,
But all are capable of living well;
Then ask not, whether limited or large;
But, watch they strictly, or neglect their charge?
If anxious only that their boys may learn,
While morals languish, a despised concern,
The great and small deserve one common blame,
Different in size, but in effect the same.
.......
Your son come forth a prodigy of skill;
As, wheresoever taught, so form’d, he will;
The pedagogue, with self-complacent air,
Claims more than half the praise as his due share.
But if, with all his genius, he betray,
Not more intelligent than loose and gay,
Such vicious habits as disgrace his name,
Threaten his health, his fortune, and his fame;
Though want of due restraint alone have bred
The symptoms that you see with so much dread;
Unenvied there, he may sustain alone
The whole reproach, the fault was all his own.
Oh! ‘tis a sight to be with joy perused,
By all whom sentiment has not abused;
......
A father blest with an ingenuous son,
Father, and friend, and tutor, all in one.
.....
Then why resign into a stranger’s hand
A task as much within your own command,
That God and nature, and your interest too,
Seem with one voice to delegate to you?
......
But though the joys he hopes beneath your roof
Bid fair enough to answer in the proof,
Harmless, and safe, and natural, as they are,
........
Of filial frankness lost, and love grown faint,
Which, oft neglected, in life’s waning years
A parent pours into regardless ears.
Like caterpillars, dangling under trees
By slender threads, and swinging in the breeze,
.........
The mind and heart of every sprightly boy;
Imaginations noxious and perverse,
Which admonition can alone disperse.
The encroaching nuisance asks a faithful hand,
Patient, affectionate, of high command,
To check the procreation of a breed
......
Watch his emotions, and control their tide;
And levying thus, and with an easy sway,
A tax of profit from his very play,
To impress a value, not to be erased,
.....
And is he well content his son should find
No nourishment to feed his growing mind,
But conjugated verbs and nouns declined?
......
Perhaps a father, blest with any brains,
Would deem it no abuse, or waste of pains,
To improve this diet, at no great expense,
With savoury truth and wholesome common sense;
To lead his son, for prospects of delight,
To some not steep, though philosophic, height,
Thence to exhibit to his wondering eyes
.......
To show him in an insect or a flower
Such microscopic proof of skill and power
As, hid from ages past, God now displays
.......
To teach his heart to glow with generous flame,
Caught from the deeds of men of ancient fame;
And, more than all, with commendation due,
To set some living worthy in his view,
Whose fair example may at once inspire
A wish to copy what he must admire.
Such knowledge, gain’d betimes, and which appears,
Though solid, not too weighty for his years,
Sweet in itself, and not forbidding sport,
.......
Art thou a man professionally tied,
With all thy faculties elsewhere applied,
Too busy to intend a meaner care
Than how to enrich thyself, and next thine heir;
Or art thou (as, though rich, perhaps thou art)
.......
His mind inform’d, his morals undefiled.
Safe under such a wing, the boy shall show
......
So sure to spoil him, and so near at hand;
A point secured, if once he be supplied
With some such Mentor always at his side.
Are such men rare? perhaps they would abound
Were occupation easier to be found,
Were education, else so sure to fail,
Conducted on a manageable scale,
And schools, that have outlived all just esteem,
Exchanged for the secure domestic scheme.--
But, having found him, be thou duke or earl,
Show thou hast sense enough to prize the pearl,
And, as thou wouldst the advancement of thine heir
In all good faculties beneath his care,
Respect, as is but rational and just,
A man deem’d worthy of so dear a trust.
.......
But recollect that he has sense, and feels
And that, possessor of a soul refined,
An upright heart, and cultivated mind,
His post not mean, his talents not unknown,
He deems it hard to vegetate alone.
And, if admitted at thy board he sit,
Account him no just mark for idle wit;
Offend not him, whom modesty restrains
From repartee, with jokes that he disdains;
Much less transfix his feelings with an oath;
Nor frown, unless he vanish with the cloth.--
And, trust me, his utility may reach
To more than he is hired or bound to teach;
Much trash unutter’d, and some ills undone,
Through reverence of the censor of thy son.
......
The world accounts an honourable man,
Because forsooth thy courage has been tried,
And stood the test, perhaps on the wrong side;
Though thou hadst never grace enough to prove
That any thing but vice could win thy love;--
Or hast thou a polite, card-playing wife,
......
Here Nature plead, show mercy to thy son.
Saved from his home, where every day brings forth
Some mischief fatal to his future worth,
Find him a better in a distant spot,
Within some pious pastor’s humble cot,
.......
Where all the attention of his faithful host,
Discreetly limited to two at most,
May raise such fruits as shall reward his care,
And not at last evaporate in air:
Where, stillness aiding study, and his mind
Serene, and to his duties much inclined,
Not occupied in day dreams, as at home,
Of pleasures past, or follies yet to come,
His virtuous toil may terminate at last
In settled habit and decided taste.--
.......
Forgetful that the foot may crush the trust;
And, while on public nurseries they rely,
......
Yet make their progeny their dearest care
(Whose hearts will ache, once told what ills may reach
Their offspring, left upon so wild a beach),
......
Whose character yet undebauch’d, retains
Two-thirds of all the virtue that remains,
Who, wise yourselves, desire your sons should learn
Your wisdom and your ways—to you I turn.
....
Prove, rather than impeach, the just remark:
As here and there a twinkling star descried
Serves but to show how black is all beside.
Now look on him, whose very voice in tone
Just echoes thine, whose features are thine own,
And stroke his polish’d cheek of purest red,
And lay thine hand upon his flaxen head,
And say, My boy, the unwelcome hour is come,
When thou, transplanted from thy genial home,
Must find a colder soil and bleaker air,
And trust for safety to a stranger’s care;
What character, what turn thou wilt assume
From constant converse with I know not whom;
Who there will court thy friendship, with what views,
And, artless as thou art, whom thou wilt choose;
Though much depends on what thy choice shall be,
....
Of natural pity, send him not to school.
No—guard him better. Is he not thine own,
Thyself in miniature, thy flesh, thy bone?
And hopest thou not (‘tis every father’s hope)
That, since thy strength must with thy years elope,
And thou wilt need some comfort to assuage
Health’s last farewell, a staff of thine old age,
That then, in recompence of all thy cares,
Thy child shall show respect to thy grey hairs,
Befriend thee, of all other friends bereft,
And give thy life its only cordial left?
Aware then how much danger intervenes,
To compass that good end, forecast the means.
His heart, now passive, yields to thy command;
Secure it thine, its key is in thine hand;
.....,
One comfort yet shall cheer thine aged heart,
Howe’er he slight thee, thou hast done thy part.
Oh, barbarous! wouldst thou with a Gothic hand
.....
Survey our schools and colleges, and see
A sight not much unlike my simile.
From education, as the leading cause,
The public character its colour draws;
Thence the prevailing manners take their cast,
Extravagant or sober, loose or chaste.
And though I would not advertise them yet,
Nor write on each— This Building to be Let ,
Unless the world were all prepared to embrace
A plan well worthy to supply their place;
Yet, backward as they are, and long have been,
To cultivate and keep the morals clean
(Forgive the crime), I wish them, I confess,
Or better managed, or encouraged less.

William Cowper

Lisa, over at Canadian Homeschooling has issued a challenge.  Can we take 20 days to organize our homeschooling?

Week one: Supplies!  

I thought it would be fun to do a post walking you through how I organize our homeschooling.  Week by week.

The picture below shows how I USED TO organize our supplies.  I still use the same containers but I've switched things around a bit.  I used to put them up on a cupboard behind our table but two weeks before Christmas we started to renovate our living/dining room area so while hubby painted I worked on the bookroom so as to make room for dining room rejects and I actually get my CURIO cupboard OUT of the bookroom.  Took a lot of doing.  :)

Needless to say our pens/markers etc drawers needed to make a move.  :)

So, anyways, that's where I had them last year.   Now that I've moved them they are next to his table/computer.   Immediately to the right of this is his table.    If he turns his chair around he is sitting next to me at the big table where we do our joint work.  

These drawers hold our rulers scissors, pencils, erasers, shapeners etc.
Our papers on top are cardstock which my son uses to make his many papercraft figures, we also use the cardstock for doing unit studies and lapbook type studies.

Stencils, markers, special crayons for our daily activities board.   Pens and pencil crayons next door.

Tape and crafting blades are on the opposite side of room.  I've had the tape in these drawers for a VERY long time and it amazes me that my boys repeatedly ask "where's the tape?"     Does make me smile and shake my head at them.  Smiles are good right?  :)

I am thrilled that I've managed to contain our glue into one container.   The fact that I often have to track down the drawer is a completely different story.     Glue gun sticks and a crafty boy means the drawer travels.  Currently residing in my lad's room.  :)

So come join the challenge.   It's up on Facebook HERE.   If you are Canadian you can join in on the challenge and enter a draw HERE.

If you have organized your writing supplies... and tape and rulers and what not... let me know.  Link up in the comments and I'll come visit and tell you want a marvellous job you have done.  Deal?   :)  

I don't know about the circles that you run in, but in mine... many homeschool teachers have a subject that isn't so easy to teach OR simply isn't received well.

For me... teaching art is a challenge.
For my son... doing math is WAY on the bottom of his list.

What is THAT subject for you?   What about for your child/student?

As teachers, if we have a problem area, an area that is harder to teach we have all sorts of options available to us for teaching it.
1. If not a core subject we can drop it.   Let it be something that a child can pursue when they mature and are interested enough to pursue it on their own.
2. Source it out.   Get someone else to teach it.  
3. Research and find materials to help you teach it.

Seven different steps to take.

What we can do as teachers, teaching a difficult subject is to
1. Back off a bit.    Figure out what the issue is.  Wording, mental block, terminology, difficulty level,
2. Change it up a bit.   If doing worksheets is causing a mental block, watch a video, do some practical work
3. SHORT sessions.  Seriously.   Right now my boy is trying to understand Commutative properties in basic algebra.   I don't get mom.  Doesn't make sense to me.   I could get all stressed about it, but what I've learned to do is the following: Watch a video....twice.  And then stop. Walk away from it.  Two days later (so tomorrow) I'll read about it with him.  AND thats it.  I won't try to explain it.   I will just let it set with him for a couple more days.  Then next week Tuesday we'll watch the video again.  By then the stress of figuring it out will have eased, and some of the wording will have sunk in and we can look at it with clearer heads again.
4. Give permission to fail.   Remember this: It doesn't matter how long it takes to learn a concept as long as it's eventually learned.
5. Back up a page if you need to.    If a new concept is too hard, just back up to something a bit easier or break it down into smaller parts.
6. Slow and steady wins the course.   In a culture of immediacy it's hard to remember that taking time is not a bad thing.  Cementing the learning in a steady way is a good thing.
7. Ask questions to help gain additional learning.   Don't be afraid to ask questions or even to answer them.  

What steps to you take to help yourself or your children learn THAT subject that just causes you problems?    Share please.  :)

This post is part of a blog hop with a group of delightful women.
Here is a partial list to get you started.

Rebecca @ Raventhreads
Karen @ Tots and Me...Growing Up Together
Rebekah @ There Will Be A $5 Charge For Whining
April @ ElCloud Homeschool
Brenda @ Counting Pinecones
Tara @This Sweet Life
Tara @ Embark on the Journey
Jennifer @ Chestnut Grove Academy
Annette @ In All You Do
Lisa @Farm Fresh Adventures
Tauna @ Proverbial Homemaker

For the entire list, check out this post.