Little Learning Elves

I walk downstairs at 6am and see things out of place: a Minecraft game guide, a book of Batty Riddles, an atlas. They are all in new locations. The Kindles are scattered around the house in easy-to-step-on places. A flurry of drawings have drifted like snowflakes to the floor around Spencer's seat. This is part of the mystery of learning happening after I go to bed.

Back when I used to enforce bedtimes, reading and drawing happened secretly in the bedroom with flashlights. Now the evidence lies open for inspection as I drink my morning coffee. Late night Learning. What and by whom I do not know; but learning all the same.

Little Learning Surprises

Look!  A Tiny Santa!
Denver insisted on making a soft landing in preparation for the real Santa.

The days are filled with little learning surprises.
For the past couple of weeks, Spencer has been doing most of his writing work on the computer. He really likes it, so I'm fine with his decision. It has been two years since I tried to teach him keyboarding skills. He became frustrated and stopped. I became accustomed to watching all three of the boys use the hunt and peck method. They're pretty quick.

This week, Spencer began asking me strange questions: "Where is the G? . . . Where is the M?" I walked closer and noticed he was holding his fingers on the keyboard the way I had once taught him. He held his eyes on the screen and was trying to memorize the location of the letters. He was making lots of mistakes, but didn't seem frustrated; just curious and persistent.
"Use your left index finger to find the G by sliding it over one key to the right. The M is a little trickier. Right index finger down one row and slightly right."
"Which one is the index finger again?"
"The pointing finger."
"Okay. Got it!"

That's been going on almost every day. Will he learn keyboarding that way? I don't know. But I am sure of one thing: he will learn that he CAN learn keyboarding. For right now, that is enough.

Spencer's concentration on keyboarding has led him to other questions: why was the keyboard designed this way? Why aren't the letters in alphabetical order? Is there a better design? We talked about the few things I knew, and he can learn more when and if he wants to.

Little learning surprises ... Every day.

What Happens when you Listen

Denver proudly displays his new spelling skills...
unaware of any errors.

Spencer and Denver were not doing their math and writing, at least not doing it very well. Instead, they were playing with my new phone and being silly. Surely, I should at least be getting them out of the house more, especially on this suddenly beautiful December day that felt almost like spring. I was listening to the voices of judgment in my head when . . .

. . . They ran into the kitchen with faces beaming. “Listen to this!,” the boys shouted. They had learned to use the recording device on the phone, and Denver recorded an impromptu song. “It’s a beautiful, peaceful morning . . . It’s a wonderful, wonderful day . . . The birds are singing . . . It is spring …” The song wandered on and on, Denver’s sweet seven year old voice praising everything about this day and this morning until . . . and this is why the boys wanted to share it . . . Denver ran out of things to say and began growling and barking into the recorder. They thought that was Hilarious!

So while I’m feeling that the day is being wasted, the boys are finding joy and silliness, as well as learning how to use new technology and enjoying singing and being together. And eventually . . . the boys did do their homeschool.

Getting in the Christmas Spirit



It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Denver and Spencer with their new
Christmas Penguin!

 

Cutting and decorating the Christmas tree, making ornaments and shopping lists, watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, pulling out winter coats and gloves, putting up Christmas decorations, and baking holiday treats for neighbors, co-workers, and friends. These are a few of the treats of the season.

The boys and I have been enjoying the Christmas season. Denver and Spencer were overjoyed to add an inflatable seven foot penguin to our (less than elegant) holiday decor as well as a four foot Santa. They even glow in the dark! Spencer was so delighted, he exclaimed, "Finally! We're one of those really Christmasy families!"

Yesterday we spent the entire afternoon baking Christmas treats with our friends, Michael, Jill, and Quinn. Okay, the boys didn't do much cooking; but of course, they did a lot of sampling for quality control!

The days zoom along as we work, read, play, and explore. Tonight we'll probably see Santa at the Christmas celebration at Chimney Park. Ho! Ho! Ho!

An Abundance of Learning

Discovery: Delightful moments of learning are not planned, but they are abundant.

For the past week, the boys have fallen sick like dominoes-- one right after the other. As a result, there wasn't much official homeschooling going on, and my teacher brain was making dire predictions. Needlessly.

Early yesterday morning, I sat by the fire rubbing Denver's back. It occurred to me that he might like to play a game I remembered from childhood. I whispered, "See if you can tell what I'm writing." I then drew a capital D on his back.

"D!" he said, smiling. I continued spelling out the word Denver. Then we tried some more. He decided it was his turn, and he wrote Batman and zombie on my back. We had fun. It probably only lasted 15 minutes. But the boy who says he "hates" homeschool had a smiling, giggly, snuggly time with Momma that we won't forget.

Later in the day, Spencer was playing Minecraft. Since he was clearly well enough to enjoy the game, I was strongly tempted to give him orders about work to do. Luckily, when he began asking me how to spell several words, I took the time to notice what he was doing. He was writing a book in his Minecraft world! It was a book of directions to tell others how to build certain things. I'm really glad I didn't ask him to stop writing in order to go learn something.



Two buddies showing off
their new footie pajamas.



Later in the day, John Robert and I played a game of dominoes. Denver wanted to play, too. I tried to include him, but the need to add numbers quickly and try to find multiples of five was a little too much for him. Instead, he drew dominoes for us out of the pile and watched intently as we talked about and played the game. I don't know what he learned, but I hope he saw that we were using numbers and counting to have fun. And it was fun. Even though I lost!

Finally, late last night Spencer and Denver and I settled down near the fire again. The boys were playing with pilgrim figurines while I read a Magic Treehouse book about the first Thanksgiving. We all loved it, and the boys stopped the story several times to ask questions and share their thoughts. I am still amazed at Denver's recent focus on listening. Last year, he could scarcely sit still while I read to him. But lately, he is riveted.

After the story, the boys watched a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving while I went to sleep. I woke up to find us all on the floor of the livingroom together under piles of blankets. Lady was on her bed in the foyer nearby-- snoring.

So much to be grateful for.

Growing in Gratitude



At church today, Judy stood before the congregation with her silver hair and big smile and sang with a voice like a songbird. She sang a song of gratitude to God; and tears found their way to my cheeks while goose bumps rose on my arms. You see, Judy and her husband recently lost their son. And still . . . she can stand up and praise God and see His blessings.

I love my boys with a fierceness that knows no limits. My children's health, happiness, and wellbeing are my greatest concerns. I cannot imagine lifting my voice in gratitude after such a loss. But Judy taught me today that it is possible.

My life is beautiful and I am so grateful. May you, too, feel the blessings upon you this Thanksgiving.

Creating Our Own Maps and Worlds

In the last few weeks, the boys have become fascinated with creating new worlds and maps on Minecraft. If you don't know what this is, that's because you don't have a tweenage boy living in your home.

The boys-- Denver, too!-- design not just buildings or cities, but whole worlds. They create maps for their new worlds and then invite each other to play on them. I watch and listen as they discuss strategies and ideas. I watch them use the internet as a resource to learn from others on youtube how to create and build.

This is all new learning for me. I cannot teach them and they do not ask for my help. Although it is tempting to dismiss this learning as simply "video games," I can't help but see that this is art, design, logical thinking and problem solving at its best.

This is one of the many things the boys do "after school." But they have been busy with many other learning adventures outside of their academic studies.

John Robert and friends go ziplining for Jibby's birthday!

Zippity Do Da!



Denver and friend explore the work of a blood bank lab technician
at the St. Louis Science Center.







Denver and Spencer get silly at the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts.





John and Quinn enjoy fine dining and especially dessert!



Owning our Work



John Robert in his "uniform"--
sweat pants, sweatshirt, and
swim team t-shirt.



When I was in graduate school earning a master's degree in teaching, there was a lot of talk about getting kids to take ownership of their work. When a student takes ownership of his work, I was told, the student is motivated to see a project through to completion, make his best possible effort, and learn far more than other students.



Nearly 20 years after graduate school, several teaching positions, and three children to homeschool, I agree that taking ownership of one's learning is key. However, convincing a child to take ownership and pride in work that he did not choose and has no choice to reject is a hard sell.

This fall, after a brief comment from John Robert about how he would like to learn some physics, I organized an entire year's worth of physics assignments and projects. Two weeks into the school year, I gently set the textbooks aside. They were not fun-- for anyone. Four months into the school year, we occasionally play with some of the project material, but no one has touched the textbooks. The curriculum was my idea, not the boys' idea. There was no ownership.

Last week, however, I downloaded an app called Simple Physics for the boys' Kindles. I didn't say anything about it or suggest that anyone had to play. But they did play. All three of them. My husband even spent a half hour with it. I gave it a try, too! The idea is to design structures-- bridges, roofs, treehouses-- that will withstand the pressure and weight of cars, snow, or the weight of six children playing on it. In the process of playing, we all discovered things we didn't know about engineering, pressure, weight, and design.



Simple Physics-- Build a Roof within a given budget
that will withstand heavy snowfall.



Last night, John Robert called excitedly to me. He had been trying to build a roof that would withstand a heavy snowfall. "Look at this," he shouted. "It says my design is one of the strongest possible!" Sure enough, his design ranked 16th in strength. He was extraordinarily proud of this unexpected accomplishment, and began explaining to me in great detail how he had decided to build this design.

I tried to listen, but mostly I noted the glittering eyes, the focused expression, and the excitement emanating from him. Ownership of his work? Yes. This was work (or was it play?) that he had chosen. No one told him he had to do this. He could just as easily have been watching cartoons or eating ice cream. But he chose this challenging game; it was his work, his learning, and his success.

Field Trips and Fractions

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer



Spencer runs from a Giant Pinocchio foot!



Were the boys too old to enjoy the premier of a Christmas puppet show? I didn't think so. However, when we arrived at the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts yesterday, I couldn't help but notice that most of the audience was pre-K and below! Even Denver looked like a giant in the crowd-- and John Robert? Well, he was taller than many of the parents!

Nevertheless, the boys and I really enjoyed the wonderful production! Afterward, the puppeteers came out (two women and four men), and showed how they did all the work with the different puppets. They did all the voices and singing live, and the special effects were very creative. They also designed and sewed all the puppets there at the studio! Unbelievable. They looked just like the characters from the old Rudolph Christmas TV shows.

I could see that Spencer and Denver loved the show. To my delight, even John Robert said that he really enjoyed the program. It was Nana's educational money well spent.



Spencer uses manipulatives to explore
fractions, decimals, and percents.



Just in case anyone is wondering whether we actually do any "work" anymore, the answer is YES. Spencer's free time is spent learning about ancient history and playing outside. He is still exploring decimals and fractions in math. He likes using items he can see when he thinks about fractions. He has also been enjoying (?) making his own math problems to practice rounding numbers.

Denver is beginning to do some emails on the computer-- most recently a thank you note to Uncle Rob and Aunt Melissa for birthday money! His reading skills are coming right along, though he prefers video games for reading practice.



Denver sends an email to Uncle Rob.



John Robert's essay writing skills are getting so much better that I breathe a sigh of relief just thinking about the benefits of spellcheck. However, he recently emailed a question to his algebra tutor, and I was shocked to see his "creative spelling"! When I sheepishly mentioned something to his math tutor about all the spelling errors yesterday, she just laughed and said,"He writes just like an engineer!" John Robert smiled at me triumphantly. I said no more.

We are enjoying the cool, fall weather and beautiful trees as we glide toward winter . . . and Christmas!

A Boy's Home is his Castle

For Halloween, he was a knight. And so began another intense fascination with history for Denver. The next day, Denver asked to go to the library and get books and movies about medieval times. I read a Jack and Annie book to him entitled, A Knight before Dawn. He loved it. From there, he asked Spencer to help him create a list of all the things they would need to have a Knights' Day.

Today is Monday in the rest of the world with all that word entails: school, work, a busy week ahead. Today in our kingdon is Knights' Day. And it's different.

Denver sat beside me this morning and explained all the things we must do today: drink from goblets, not plastic cups. No silverware, but a fancy feast. He must have a crown because he is both a king and a knight (like King Arthur). I am the queen of course. Denver picked out a purple glitter foam crown for me to wear as I conduct my royal duties around the castle. However, the royal servants are conspicuously absent from our castle!

Spencer and Denver created a castle made of quilts and chairs. We had a royal ceremony to crown Denver king. We held a royal feast complete with servant and court jester. For the last hour, those two have been outside battling for the kingdom-- slaying dragons; scaring the dog?

So this is how these boys love to learn: reading, watching, thinking, and acting it out. Today is Knights' Day. In planning and executing this rather simple event, Denver asked the following questions:


Queen Mama poses with his majesty,
The King.



Did they have doctors in medieval times?

What would they have done for asthma?

How did they decorate the inside of the castle?

How did they get persian rugs?

Did they have silverware?
What did they eat at a feast?
Did knights invent anything?
What languages did knights speak?

Did they read and write?

What did you have to do to become a knight?
What is a code of chivalry?
What did the kings do?

His Majesty on his most valiant steed.

If we call it school, it is history, p.e., and drama class. When we created our crowns, it was art. But it all has the exuberant joyful feeling of PLAY. :-)

Chasing the Boogeyman

There is another boogeyman in the house. He has been identified and chased out! There have been several since John and I became parents. One particularly scary boogeyman was "Homeschooled kids won't have social skills." Since beginning to homeschool, my kids are happier, friendlier, and have better friendships than ever. They are friendlier to people of all ages, and don't hesitate to befriend someone outside their "age group." So we threw that boogeyman out as soon as we found him.

A boogeyman we've lived with for a long time is the "screen time" boogeyman. If you let children play on computers or watch TV too much, something bad will happen. They'll turn into zombies, they won't talk to their parents or each other. They won't develop their social skills, and they'll never get into college!



Denver enjoys building things on Minecraft.

We now have two televisions, two computers, a Wii, and two Kindles in the house; and guess what? The boys are as loud, curious, happy, and talkative as ever! In fact, as I write this, Denver is asking me constant questions about what different animals eat (in order to feed his minecraft animals) and how many stripes the American flag has (because he is creating a flag to fly over his minecraft castle).

The boys still like to go outside. They still like to be active. They love being with friends. They do their homeschool. They still like to read and be read to!

Much to my surprise, the boys seem perfectly capable of identifying when they are ready for a break from a game; and they take that break without being told. Could it be that they have learned to recognize their needs instead of being told what their needs are?

Until just last year, we had a "screen time" daily limit. I see no need for it anymore. Sure, the boys love to spend time discovering new games and activities on our computers and Kindles. So do I! They also enjoy curling up in the living room for a movie with me in the evening. But the parental fears about "too much" screen time have not come to pass.

They love to talk to each other about the games they are playing. They like for me to watch, and they like to explain everything to me. I've found that even "non-educational" games invite a lot of learning.



We are delighted to cast out another boogeyman from the closet of parental fears. And just in time for Halloween, too!

Lucky 13

John Robert Degonia is thirteen today. He swam 4 1/2 miles before lunch, and then ate three lunches before mid-afternoon. It was his birthday, but he didn't ask to take a day off swim practice. He went straight from swim practice to a Saturday movie matinee with his daddy, Paw Paw, and brother, Spencer. When he got home, it was early evening, and he hadn't even opened his gifts. We sang Happy Birthday and then he politely opened his new Kindle and new book before going upstairs to read.

Polite and gentle to everyone, John Robert is growing into a fine young man. He is smart and capable. He has friends and a variety of interests. He loves his brothers and is kind and generous with them nearly always. He rarely loses his temper, and is usually calm and thoughtful. I adore him, and I feel so lucky to know him. He helps make me a better parent.

Thirteen years ago, he was this new little person I struggled to understand and care for. I still study him-- he is changing so much! And I still search for the best ways to meet his needs. I used to sing to him, rock him, and cuddle him. He doesn't want much of that anymore. He wants me to take him to play paintball and not hug him in public. Times have changed. But he is still my Little Jobert. It's just that he is six feet tall and his feet are HUGE.

Seven Happy Birthdays

Happy Birthday, Denver!

His Lordship is Seven years old today. The festivities began with gifts upon waking (which Denver had requested in advance!). After a yummy breakfast and a Happy Birthday phone call from Nana and Papa Dale, Denver left for a trip to the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts with good buddy Alex. They saw The Dragon King and made puppets.

Today was the first time Denver chose to spend time away from me on his birthday. It was a little sad to watch him ride away-- not even looking back-- already deep in conversation with his friend.

The rest of the day is a blur of happy activities-- loading games and books on Denver's new kindle (Thank you, Nana!), watching the boys enjoy their new Batman Wii game, taking care of the usual homeschool activities with Spencer and John Robert. Late in the afternoon, Denver had a surprise visit from our friend, Quinn. Bearing gifts of chocolate and a Batman figurine, Quinn and his family were well recieved by his majesty!

Alex and Denver show off their new dragon puppets.

In the evening, we enjoyed celebrating with Mimi and Paw Paw. Mimi made an Egyptian themed cake and gave Denver a wonderful gift-- a new Skylanders game! The boys had been hoping to get it for Christmas-- they were overjoyed when they realized their good fortune.





The best part of my day was hearing the answer to the question, "Denver, what did you wish for?"

Denver glanced up from his cake after having blown out his candles and smiled. "Nothing," he said. "I have everything."



The Dragon King puppet show.



Spencer and Denver show off

the new Kindle.







Snoopy . . . Denver's gift from Alex.



Denver is King for the Day.





 











Denver shows off both his new game
and the crown made for him by Spencer.







His Lordship closes in on Lucky Seven



Denver enjoys scary books as Halloween approaches!



In two days, my baby will be seven. He is opinionated, curious, and quite bossy. A friend and I refer to him privately as "His Lordship." :-) Denver cannot WAIT for his birthday which is only two days away. He has been counting down for over a hundred days! In fact, he is sitting close to me now, waiting for me to hurry up so we can go pick out his birthday cake. He doesn't want me to surprise him with a cake because it might not be "right".

Lately, Denver has become an Ancient Egypt enthusiast. Luckily, his brothers have been through this passion as well, so we have many books and activities on hand to share. This past week, we went to a museum and saw "real" mummies, shabtis, and many other fascinating relics from that time. When the other boys were ready to move on to another section, Denver became angry and insisted that I stay there with him until he decided to leave.



Denver . . . aka King Tut . . . has become fascinated
with ancient Egyptian gods.



Denver is reading more easily now. He breezes through his homeschool before lunch and dives right into whatever he is excited about that day. Like a lot of natural leaders, he is very easy to be around as long as your answer is "yes." Speaking of saying yes, it is time for his Lordship to pick out his cake. He set a timer giving me 30 minutes to be ready, and it's ringing.

Spiraling into Learning



Do you see the jack-o-lantern?  The witch?
The zombie?  The red gremlin?



When I slow down, I see more and differently.

How about you?





When I slow down, when my to-do list is shorter, I have time to see so much more deeply. With my boys, that often means seeing learning where I used to only see goofing off or relaxing.

This past weekend, Denver and I began playing with wooden tiles, and he/we created a Halloween picture. The next day, after watching him wear pants on his head and pretend to be an Egyptian pharoah, I offered to read a story to him about two children who discover they have inherited magical powers from ancient Egyptian gods. Denver loves it. Now he wants me to keep reading Rick Riordan's Red Pyramid. As I read to him, we discuss ancient mythology, word meanings, history, and lots of other fun stuff. We don't have to call it school or English or History. It's just a cuddly way to spend a morning.

The truth is my boys are curious, wonderful, and intelligent. They don't need to be motivated to learn. They are ready to follow their curiosity around the corner, out the door, and around the world. When I slow down, I can see their minds churning and thoughts developing. It doesn't look like school. It's better.



Spencer plays his Roman strategy game
while wearing his Roman helmet.

Denver's new airplane soars through
the sky.



When do we grow up?



Denver taught me how to take pictures
using the heat sensor feature on the ipad.


My poor mom . . . I remember her sighing deeply and saying, "Kim, when will you ever grow up?"

As a child, I thought of "growing up" as a sort of finish line. When you crossed it, you'd be complete . . . like a car rolling off the assembly line. Right?

I don't know. I'm 45 years old, but I don't yet feel grown up. It seems every day I make a new discovery or find some new idea to consider. I have three jobs, three children, a mortgage, a husband, an unruly dog, and lots of responsibilities, but I don't feel that I've crossed any sort of finish line yet. Okay, I've run a few races with finish lines. The weird thing about finish lines is that after you cross one, you start to think, "Okay, what's next?"

As I watch my children growing and changing, I see them becoming different people than they used to be. Talents bloom, interests rise and fall, their bodies change. Their needs change. This keeps me on my toes, always watching to see how best to respond.

I'm definitely not done learning. There is so much to know! I may be middle aged; but Mom, I'm not yet grown up!

I Feel Rich!



My Surfer Dude, Spencer, combs the beach.



Spencer looked at me as we left for the beach and smiled. "I feel rich!", he exclaimed to me. "The beach and cream soda!"

We had a wonderful week-- the whole family-- playing in the ocean, sea kayaking, riding bicycles, exploring the tiny town of Seaside, and walking on the beach. It was perfect family time.



John gets the boys ready to set sail

on their sea kayak.



The boys and I at Seaside, FL.

Denver enjoys hat shopping!

John and the boys catch waves on their boogie boards.












John and John Robert pose for

a picture while Denver races

to get in the shot (see arm!)

 



Jibby and Dadders enjoy
a game of catch.





We all enjoyed window shopping at the local toy store!



Playing on the beach.



Denver works on his castle.





Shiny smiling faces after a long day at the beach.