No Magical Formula for Joyful, Sparkly Learning

Parents and teachers are always looking for a Magical Formula to nurture our children's growth.  

I used to believe that I could figure it out if I just thought about it long enough; if I just read enough books by smarter people than I.

After a master's degree in education, teaching students from pre-K to graduate school, 14 years of parenting, and a small fortune to Amazon.com for parenting and homeschooling books, I can tell you the magic formula does not exist.

The boys and I on a hike at
Charlie Elliott over
Christmas break.

It is our challenge as parents and teachers to find a way to meet each of our children's unique needs and maintain a joyful, sparkly environment for learning.

Sometimes the secret is to put down my books and lesson plans and ask the boys individually, "What do you want to explore?"

The answer may not be "Algebra," but whatever they want to learn, they will tackle with enthusiasm . . and that's how our lives stay joyful and sparkly.  

Denver enjoys some pumpkin chunkin'
at the cabin.

Spencer enjoys playing Minecraft with his brother
on the server he designed.

Like Bringing a Sword to a Gunfight

Mr. Smarty Pants cuts me down to size.

Denver received two new video games for Christmas. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get either of them to work. Denver worked on them periodically for the past two days.  He declined any offers of assistance from me.

Today, I insisted that I be allowed to help.  He looked at me and sighed.  "Okay, Mom; but letting an adult help with video games is like bringing a sword to a gunfight.  It's just not that useful."

Where does he get this stuff?!  My eyes must have registered shock before I turned away and started laughing.  

Turns out, he was right.  I punched buttons for thirty minutes, checked cords, turned things off and on.  Video games still not working.  I guess I should just retire my sword.  :-)    

A Merry Little Christmas

Needing nothing, we can enjoy everything: being together, giving both gifts and hugs. 

The Georgia Degonias had a fine Christmas-- simple and satisfying.  We stayed home, spent time with our family, ate good food, and counted our blessings.
Merry Christmas.

A Most Important Birthday

Me and my Dad.

 Christmas Eve.  A child was born.  Who?  No.  Not Him.  I'm talking  about my Dad.  

 My best buddy throughout my  childhood.  He taught me to love  running, hiking, biking, and exercise  in all its many forms.

 A patient voice throughout my  tumultuous teenage years.

 A constant source of support and  calm all my life.

 A wonderful Papa.  Still the gold  standard by which all the other men  in my life are measured.

My mom and dad with Jibby.

 I love you, Dad.

A Little Christmas Getaway

An early Christmas Gift: we escaped to the north Georgia mountains this weekend.  Hiking, waterfalls, lakes, foggy clouds settling over our cozy cabin on the hill as our woodstove crackled with heat.

Our Cozy Mountain Retreat

The boys raced around the house and up and down the mountain in an endless Nerf battle.  At night, they challenged one another to games of chess and ate chocolate chip cookies.

John and his new puppy, renamed
Maximus Von Nip-U.

Happiness.  What more could we want for Christmas?  Okay . . . the boys can think of a few things . . . but I really can't.

The Excellent Teachers at Montessori Middle School-- No, not Me.

Many years ago, my yoga teacher told me that everyone I meet will be my teacher.  Not a new idea, but one I often forget.





Some of my most powerful teachers work for free at the Montessori School of Covington.

If you asked, they would say I am their writing teacher.  Not true. They teach me.

This fall, the students decided to create a student newsletter to share with other classes.  This was something they volunteered to do for fun in addition to their graded work.  They chose different projects-- writing poems, creating a Dear Abby type column, mystery stories, an environmental information corner, recipe ideas for kids, and a fun fake advertisement section.  Out of all of our writing workshop activities, the newsletter is the only one that everyone has managed to turn in their work on time-- or close to it.

The newsletter took shape with nothing required by me except deadlines and a willingness to find a printer with color ink.  One boy offered to be the editor, and has spent hours scanning in articles and photos, writing his own work, arranging everyone's work, and creating a beautiful product that the kids do not want to sell.  They want to give it away.  So we do.

What a great lesson.

The Scene of the Crime

Who maimed the Snowman while I was at work?  The dogs are taking the Fifth.

Sometimes friends and family sigh and say, "Three boys?  Three dogs?  Four part-time jobs and homeschooling?  I don't know how you do it."

I smile to myself.  Simple, I think.  After a morning or evening of sitting in court, it is a blessing and relief to know that so far in my life, this is the closest thing we have to a crime scene in our home.

If Your Child Loves School, You Don't Need to Read this Post

There is a parent I know who is struggling.  She is struggling because her child is struggling and miserable in school.  They changed schools.  They hired a tutor.  They stay up late working on the child's "deficiencies."  

At the same time, this parent adores her son and wants the best for him.  She sees him as bright and curious.  She sees the current Common Core curriculum as confusing and overwhelming.

And yet. . . she is afraid to take him out of school.  Perhaps she views homeschool as giving up.  She insists her son must "dig in."

Taking a child out of a bad situation isn't giving up.  It might be saving the child years of unhappiness and destroyed self esteem.

Fear holds us back.  

It held me back for years until my son was vomiting before school, suffering headaches and continual nausea, and praying to God for the teachers to stop screaming.  

I've never met a homeschool parent who said, "I wish I'd kept my child in school longer."

The public schools will still be there if you change your mind.

Thoughts to Consider:

What if being out of school freed your child of labels and allowed him to follow his curiosity wherever it led?

What if your family became closer and cozier and gigglier because of all the time you'll spend together?  What if you didn't have to worry much about bedtimes, so you could stay up late and watch that super cool documentary on space exploration?  

What if . . . when your child expressed an interest in computers or dinosaurs or sharks, you wouldn't have to tell him to wait.  You could go take a computer class or go to the science museum or to a science camp at Tybee Island and learn about sharks right away?  What if? 

A Hug from Spencer

Last week he hugged me and said, "Thank you, Mommy, for always knowing I can do it.  I'm so glad to be homeschooling."

So am I, Buddy.

The Good Life

Reading Jake a naptime story . . .
Looks like it worked!

With homeschool, we can slow down.  Read to the dog.  Talk about things we've seen or heard.  Ask questions.


Learning is not for the purpose of passing a test.  Learning is part of life.

John Robert does a little science,
a lot of YouTube, a little algebra,
a lot of YouTube . . . :-)

And life is good.

Enjoying an ice cream snowman recipe
tasting class at the Montessori school.

Audrey LOVES racing through her tunnel!

Loving These Boys

Spencer seems older today!

I know I'll look back soon and remember the silly times and the sunny picnics; and I'll be grateful for these homeschooling years. I'll barely recall the worrying, stressed out, "how am I going to get through this" moments.

Through even the worst moments, I find that I love this life; and I love my boys.

A Grouchy Gus Moment 

  

Sunny picnic in December!

One of these Things is Not Like the Others

A beautiful ten mile road and trail run this morning as the sun rose in a blue sky on this brisk November day.

Politely waiting for breakfast to be served.  Good Dogs!

Can you guess which dog ran with me and which dogs stayed home?

Abundance and Gratitude

A Thanksgiving Hike with Family and Friends

Abundant blue sky, falling leaves, hiking with my children and parents, the boys spending time with family and friends, my husband home-- Surprise!-- for Thanksgiving.

Abundant blessings surround us.


Nevermind that our labrador ate the smoked turkey we left out on the counter . . . Gratitude that he did not have to be taken to the emergency vet after eating ALL those bones!

How do you play Settlers of Cataan?

Making Ninja Bread Cookies with Friends.

Denver on a Wire at the obstacle course.

No, it's not a hearing aid :-)
Jibby enjoys his music!

The Chess Game

My Dad and Me

Me and my Mom!

John Robert gets Humbled by Papa Dale.

Homeschool on the Cutting Edge!

I smiled to myself today as I read how some schools now have therapy dogs for the classroom.  The author referred to these schools as "on the cutting edge of educational developments."  

The writer shared research findings showing that the loving presence of a soft, gentle pet calms anxious students, fosters feelings of safety, and increases emotional support for children. 

Also, because they do not judge or criticize, therapy dogs are a safe audience for reluctant readers.  We have experienced all of this in the Degonia homeschool.  Who knew that we were on the cutting edge of educational developments . . . even as we lounge around in our pajamas?

Spencer enjoys Jake's support during a math test.

Humble Pie

Perhaps there is nothing more humbling than the flu.  I can now appreciate how truly wonderful everything was when I had energy to do my teaching and legal work, train the dogs, care for my children, keep the woodstove blazing, and clean the house.  

Today I am a lump of fever and sniffles.  As we all know, but frequently forget, it's the simple things in life that make us happy-- the energy to do one's work, the scent of freshly baked bread, keeping an inviting home for one's family, and watching your children (okay, husband, too) playing with a new puppy.  

I can't wait to get off this couch!

Spencer washes dishes yesterday.

John LOVES his new puppy.

Peace for Me

This morning in our home we have three sleeping boys and three sleeping puppies (or nearly puppies).  This will not last much longer; it never does.  

I tend to the fire in the woodstove, drink my coffee, listen to the sounds of sleeping children and dogs, and sigh.  This is peace for me.

Maximus Minimus meets his brothers.

  

Teaching and Learning

Denver shows me a baby pinecone.

If, as part of our science curriculum, I told Denver to pay attention to the little pine branch with the baby pinecones, he most likely would have resented the instruction and asked how much longer until homeschool is over!

It's a whole different experience when he races inside, ruddy cheeked, and exclaims, "Look at this!  Audrey and I found a baby pinecone!  Not this big one, but these two little bitty ones right here."  

We "Oohed" and "Aahed" and took pictures.  I am endlessly gratified by how much my boys learn without being taught.  It seems to me-- and to many homeschooling parents-- that learning is as natural as breathing when the question of the day is "What do you want to learn?" instead of "What am I going to teach?"