I'm not really expecting a following with this blog, but if you are here, you are welcome! I'm starting this new blog and I'm calling it Indie Teach because that is what I am about to do. Before I elaborate, I feel I should explain the sheep profile picture. The business I'm in is the world of fiber. I dye, spin, felt, weave, crochet and more. Wind Rose Fiber Studio is my creative home and I love my little sheep. Having said that, Indie Teach is not about fiber or sheep. This is a personal record that I have decided to keep. It's a journal in which I will share my experience teaching my son at home.
I have two sons actually, one is 11 and the other 8. I have been involved with their education from the start just like many good parents. I volunteer, chaperone, teach the parent led art program, manage the homework, participate in the parties and donate money and supplies. I'm sure this is sounding very familiar. It's also true that some years have been easier than others. There are the years when you make a wonderful connection to your teacher and feel that they really like and care about your child and then the years where that connection is not as present. Those years always feel longer and like more work. It's amazing how critical that student teacher relationship is and yet it's something that we have little to no control over. Always, we do our best to make the most of each year with the goal being a happily learning and progressing child.
With both of my sons there have been good years and more challenging ones, but it is my eight-year-old that I have decided to teach at home beginning after this holiday break. I promised myself that I would get personal with this blog because I know that I'm not alone, so my name is Jennifer. My friends call me Jenn and my son is Westen or Wes. The reason I have decided to teach Wes independently is because I really believe that it is the best way for him to learn while maintaining a love and curiosity for knowledge as well as his self esteem.
You see my older son has been more able to adapt to this testing/standards of learning world which education has become. He has very strong "listen and learn" skills which make him an ideal student for the way kids are taught today. Wes, however, learns more interactively. He is a child who has always absorbed information through all five of his senses. He learns by seeing, touching, smelling, tasting and listening; in that order. He is very creative and would rather spend his free time drawing than doing just about anything else. He processes information more internally and is very intuitive. Like many creative minds, he draws more motivation from the process than the end result.
Well now Wes has hit the third grade. More than ever the focus is on production and on testing. Every worksheet looks like a sample model of the standardized tests that the kids will be taking. Here they are called AIMS or Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards. Listen and do. Read and fill in the blanks. This is how the 8 and 9 year olds are expected to spend their academic time. If you ask them what their favorite subject is, most of them respond with recess or PE or lunch. For kids like my Wes who learn more through seeing and experiencing, the joy is taken out of the learning process. Now it's just work.
I know this is a long introduction, so I'm going to try not to go on too much more. The fact is, for years now, I have been trying to make schools and specifically my son's classrooms something they are not. I have been pleading with teachers to embrace all of the learning styles and teach to the individual needs of every student. I believe that all of the kids would benefit from this shift in focus, not just my own. There have been some years, including this one, when I have felt pretty defeated.
I think because I have so desparately wanted schools to change for the better, I have thought of homeschooling as a last resort. I don't feel that way now. Now I think it is the best choice for Wes. At home he is the inquisitive and enthusiastic child he has always been, but as school he is starting to shut down. He daydreams and openly says that he doesn't like school. Every morning I feel sick to my stomach wondering what kind of day he will have. Attempts at communicating with his teacher have fallen flat. It's time.
I've gone through and I'm still going through an intense mental preparation. The more I prepare, the better I feel about teaching Wes at home. Once I embraced the concept, the ideas starting flowing. I'm actually getting very excited about it now. I'm looking forward to giving him what I have always wanted for him. We are going to learn and we are going to have fun doing it. Wes and I are both very creative and love many of the same things. Of course as mother and son we share a deep connection and bond, but as a visual and kinesthetic learner myself, I understand his needs on a very personal level.
So this is the beginning. This is my teacher's log. I'll be writing at least a couple times a week. For me writing is part of the way I process, but I decided to keep this blog as a way to share the experience. You'll get to read about what we are learning and how. If you teach at home or have ever thought about it, I hope this blog will feel like a support. I imagine that there are times when homeschooling can feel kind of lonely, but I know I'm not alone. You know, as long as this post is, in truth it's a very condensed version of my thoughts and feelings. Over time I'll be sharing more and more.
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