Phases of Learning-TJed

Through the different research I have done, it seems like the TJed (Thomas Jefferson Education) will be the best fit for my family.  My husband and I have always been passionate about how much you can learn from reading the classics.  Since TJed is centered around this idea, it just seems like it will work for us.  The problem is that I don't have any idea how to implement it!

In one of my previous posts, I gave a little review on the Thomas Jefferson Education.  It gave a good overview, but nothing concrete.  I was a bit discouraged that it didn't have more information in it.  I joined the TJed group on Facebook to learn more, and discovered that there was a book that went further in depth.  I finally decided to buy The Phases of Learning knowing that I would probably want to reread it quite a few times.  I settled on the Kindle edition so that I could read it on my tablet in bed.

Right now I am about 20 percent through with the book, and I feel even more clueless than when I started!  I am trying to locate families in Ohio that use this approach, so that I can see firsthand how they do it in their families.  I am more of a visual learner, so this would help me.

Anyway, there are a lot of things discussed that I wasn't expecting.  I didn't expect to be told to do a purge every 6 months.  It makes sense, but it seems odd to be in this book.  I started it today.  I can't do much because of the contractions happening, but I had my son help me go through his toys.  I do feel better about the majority of his toys going elsewhere.  It will help me so much!  I can see how this can be an important step.

I also wasn't expecting to be told to "just say no".  They encourage mothers to make a list every six months of everything they do.  Then cross half of it off.  This helps them not be so frustrated.  Right now I am not doing much, so it doesn't apply to me.  I can see how it can apply to many mothers out there.

In fact, I started reading a second book today called The Burnout Cure.  It was a book that I bought a few months ago, but never started to read.  It is geared towards LDS women, but can be applied to any religion.  It is supposed to help women understand how to avoid the burnout we all experience, and therefore help us with depression/anxiety issues.  Since I suffer with depression, I wanted to read the book.  As it turns out, it will fit in perfectly with what I read with the Phases of Learning.  She basically said that same thing in the introduction.  We need to start saying no.

I hope that the two books will fit well together.  If they don't, that is ok too.  I often have multiple books going at a time.  In any case, I hope the further I read into the Phases of Learning will bring more clarity to me.  I want TJed to work, but I don't want to be frustrated.  If I think it will be frustrating, I will just move to a different approach.

If you apply TJed philosophy in your homeschool, feel free to contact me!  I would love any insight!

New Beginning

The past few months have been quite difficult for us.  Preschool just didn't stand a chance against hyperemesis.  TV has become a constant in our house, and that has been all my son has done for months.  I have felt incredibly guilty not being able to do the things I wish I could with him to begin his education.  I have watched his behavior drastically change from the amounts of TV, and I was tired of all the tantrums that have resulted from it.  Everything started to be a struggle, so I wanted a change.

This past week the hyperemesis has started to lighten up (in exchange for constant contractions), so I decided to start reading to him.  I ordered a copy of Charlotte's Web off of Amazon to read to him.  I didn't have any idea how it would go over with him, but I needed to try.  It turned out much better than expected!
The first day we read Charlotte's Web, we ended up reading 55 pages, and then he brought armfuls of other books for me to read to him!

I was quite surprised at his selection of books that he wanted read to him.  Many of them had pigs in them.  One even went into detail about what a runt is.  It wasn't a fluke because I watched him scan his pile to pick out the precise books he wanted read.  It's nice to know that a 3 year old can still follow along with a chapter book.

 My son sure did surprise me.  He loves reading "Charlotte's Spider Web Book".  Every few paragraphs he would steal the book from me to read the letters at the top of the page, and then tell me the page number we were on.

Today is the second day I have limited TV.  Yesterday he didn't watch anything.  Today I am letting him watch Happy Feet.  His behavior has greatly improved, but it does need to be tested.  The real test will come when we take him to a store.

Even though he is allowed to watch a movie, reading has been his priority.  We read a few pages in Charlotte's Web, and then he took a laundry basket to his room.  He then pushed this huge basket of books down the hall for today's reading.  He fully expects Mommy to read them all to him today.

Today has been a good day.  It started by going through his toys to pick out what we can give to other kids.  I expected a lot of push back from him.  Instead he enjoyed helping!  I want to get him down to things like legos, trains, blocks, and a few cars.  Everything else I want gone.  It just takes too much space, and requires too much cleaning.

Hopefully I can continue this to a certain extent.

I Have A Hypothesis!

Well, my desire to begin homeschooling efforts has completely failed.  Not for lack of desire, but for health reasons (If interested you can read more here under the tag hyperemesis).  I finally came to terms that I can only do what I can do.  My son is still young (3), so I know that he doesn't need formal teaching.  I just wanted to start heading in that direction.

It just makes me sad because he is watching a lot more television that I would like.  At least he finds educational shows.  He really likes documentaries!  I am amazed at the stuff he can find himself on Roku.

A lot of his education right now is surrounded by mommy's medical visits.  He has learned a lot from those.  My doctors are great because they include him in the appointments.  He loves being able to stand on a chair, squirt goo on Mommy's belly, and then use the doppler to find baby sister's heartbeat.  He really gets spoiled by my OB.  (If you are in the Dayton area, Miami Valley Women's Health is highly recommended!)

Anyway, the whole point of this story was to record a fun conversation my husband and I had with our son yesterday before I forget.  For a little background, my son loves dinosaurs and trains.  Therefore, his favorite show is Dinosaur Train.  Buddy the T-Rex always has a hypothesis he tries out.  Here it goes:

Son:  "I have a hypothesis (pronounced hypoxis)!  It's a great idea you can test!"
Dad:  "What's your hypothesis?"
Son:  "That Mommy likes flowers and cake!"  (they had tested this out on Saturday by bringing me flowers and cake)
Dad:  "We already tested that hypothesis.  How about a new hypothesis?"
Son:  "Ummmmm.....I know!  Stegasaurus!"
Dad"  What about Stegasaurus?  What can we test?"
Son:  "I have a hypothesis that they have 17 plates!"
Dad:  "Ok, how do we test that?  I don't know where to find a Stegasaurus."
Son:  "At the Zoo!  We can count the plates at the Zoo!"

Yes, we do in fact have Stegasaurus at the Columbus Zoo until November 2, 2014.  Looks like we will be making a trip there this weekend to count the plates.  I have no idea where he comes up with these things, but I was so proud!

So, I guess even though he spends practically all day every day watching TV at least I know he is learning from it!

This weeks adventures.

Homeschooling has not begun like I expected.  Does it ever?  We spread out Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear for 2 weeks.  Little man didn't mind because he liked the book.  Here are some pictures from our efforts.

This picture shows Isaac working on basic writing skills.  Writing left to right, and following the line.  This wasn't his favorite activity.  His favorite activity was counting.  

Little man wanted Mommy to make snow so he could make a Snowlof (Olaf).  Obviously I can't do that, so I did the next best thing.  I microwaved a bar of soap, and then had him paint it.  

The brown are the arms and legs.  The purple is Anna.  The blue is Elsa.  

This past week was my birthday, and my husband surprised us with a trip up to Canada to visit family.

We went to Marineland.  Little man has taken a particular interest in killer whales, so even though it was expensive we really wanted to do it.

They had a little nursery for beluga whales.  We loved seeing the nursing whale.  It helped little man understand a bit more about how mommy is going to feed baby.  

Marineland gives kids lots of opportunities to feed the animals.  We fed bears, deer, fish, bison, and could have fed the beluga whales.  

 The area surrounding Niagara Falls, in Ontario, is rich with historic teaching opportunities.  We wanted to make sure Little Man got to see the locks.  He got to watch them load cargo onto the boats, and then see the bridge raise to let the boat go by.  Later on he watched the boat travel across Lake Erie.   

 No trip is complete without a visit to Niagara Falls.  His favorite part about the visit was watching the Maid of the Mist.

I am lucky to have such a good little boy.  My hyperemesis is back in full swing.  I have spent most of the past week in bed.  Luckily my son just likes to bring me books to read to him.  I just wish I could do more.  Luckily, he won't remember this part.  I keep reminding myself that he doesn't need to be learning anything in particular right now.  As long as he is playing he can learn.  

A Thomas Jefferson Education

As part of my research phase to find the right fit for my family, I checked A Thomas Jefferson Education out of the library.  This book is behind the TJed movement.  It focuses on using the classics to educate your children, and yourself, just like Thomas Jefferson did.  

I was very pleased with how this book was written.  It was very positive, and easy to read.  It is a book that I will probably read many times.  It is a book that I recommend everyone read because we all can learn from it.  Reading/learning from the classics really resonates with my husband and I.  We will end up implementing a lot of the concepts in our lifestyle.   

There wasn't a lot of guidance in how someone should approach implementing the ideas, but that is where the website and discussion boards become useful.  There are plenty of forums to help you with ideas, and lots of book lists.  I am a little unsure of how the math would be taught, but I guess that will come as we go.  

Here are a few of the quotes that I really liked from the book:

"Teaching, not education, should be our focus because great teaching inspires students to educate themselves." -Oliver DeMille

I believe this quote to be quite powerful.  I have had some great inspiring teachers (oddly enough they were literature teachers) that have left a lasting impression with me.  These teachers are the ones that kindled my love of learning.  

"If the purpose is to train leaders, it's important not to force the young person through their learning experiences.  Force in learning kills the spirit, dampens the passion and destroys the zest and life learning.  Force trains followers, not leaders."  -Oliver DeMille

I believe that everyone has had an experience where they are forced to learn something.  It doesn't foster a love of learning, and it kills it.  There are other avenues to try if something doesn't work.  One should never be forced to learn something.  Granter, there are times when things have to be learned, but it should never be forced.  

"Question, probe, ponder, think, discuss, write, apply."  -Oliver DeMille 

A lot of the TJed philosophy deals with the idea of mentoring.  This is what this last quote refers to.  I like the way the process here is just laid out.  

"To achieve truly excellent education, keep it simple:  Read, Write, do Projects and Discuss."  -Oliver DeMille

I like this quote because it makes me remember that education does not need to be complicated.  I think people think that it needs to be a complicated curriculum in order to educate a child.  Yet that just isn't the case.  There are many different approaches to gaining an education.  This philosophy will help to create leaders and thinkers.  It's also important to remember that learning never ceases.  Just because you are done with school doesn't mean you are done learning.  

Music ideas

I have seen quite a few posts in the past few weeks on the homeschooling boards with questions about what to do for music.  I wanted to share a little of what I have been using.  Granted, my son is 3, so it may be too young for your children. However, it does work for some older children as well.

Most parents know the author Sandra Boynton from her wonderful board books.  What most parents don't know is that she also composes songs.  Some of these songs even go along with her books!  She publishes these songs in a book with great illustrations.  It comes with a CD with the songs sung by different celebrities.   What I like the best is that some of the CD's have a karaoke version after the regular version of the songs. This gives the kids to sing the songs themselves.   There is sheet music in the back of the book for parents, or kids, to play the songs.  Here are the books that I own, but there are more.

My son likes to sit on my lap while we go through the cd/songs page by page.  Sometimes he will get out some pans and spoons to drum along with it.  Other times he will play his harmonica to the music.  Then of coarse there is always lots of singing!

 There is also this book by Ben Kingsley.  The book goes through different instruments, some music history, and brief overview of a variety of composers.  It comes with a CD as well, but we haven't listened to it yet.  It is above where my son is at, so we are holding off on this.

I know it's not much, but I thought I would put this out there for those of you who are searching for where to start with your kids.  This is easy, and non threatening.  I also encourage you to look into community centers to see what is offered.  I know that there is a lot offered here in Columbus, Ohio.  Music doesn't have to be too involved at first.

The First Week

I had originally planned to begin preschool with my son last Wednesday since that was the day that all of his friends were starting school.  We sort of started on Tuesday because he kept begging for school to start.  I have learned a lot in this first week.

The first that I learned is that Isaac knows a lot more than I could even fathom!  That first day I made a concentrated effort to read to him.  He didn't want the reading to stop!  In any case, through this reading binge I found out how much he knows about dinosaurs.  We had a discussion about why dinosaurs are not lizards, and he listed off all the different kinds of dinosaurs (correctly) shown in the book.

What surprised me the most was when he stopped me mid-sentence to say, "That's a triceratops.  It's a triceratops because it has three horns."  I am assuming that I can thank Dinosaur Train for that one.  This is the book that he loves.  There isn't a picture of the book, so here is a picture for you.  It is an older book, but it is a good one.

Feel free to check out my Goodreads profile for more books here.  

I will admit that this week has consisted of a lot of TV watching.  The last few days have been difficult in my pregnancy, so it's what I have to resort to.  However, my son has decided that he loves the Leap Frog movies on Netflix.  He has been watching that or Magic School Bus this week.  He seems to be learning from it.  He has always been good at differentiating what letter is which, but didn't know the sounds very well.  

Up until this morning I didn't know he knew the corresponding sounds at all.  Last night I had finally got around to laminating the worksheets for this week.  These are two examples.  Isaac was able to get a majority of them correctly.  Didn't expect him to do that well at all!  

These worksheets go to Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear and can be found here.

Before Five in a Row has been interesting.  This week was Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear.  It is a cute book.  I think the most important thing my son has learned from the book was how important it is to have a clean room (I stressed that while looking at the pictures).  The first day that we read the book, we lasted 20 minutes.  I didn't have any worksheets for him yet, so that was all that we did.  Now that we have our worksheets we can last a few hours.

Today I got the water color paints out.  My son is a bit different.  He HATES getting his hands dirty (unless it is mud).  Regular paints he has always detested, and refused to do anything with them.  However, he loved his water color paints!  He painted for about an hour, and still wants to paint more this afternoon.

 This weekend we went to the Ohio Historical Society.  We had never been there, but they were having a food truck festival there.  With the festival (which only cost $6 for parking) came free admission to both the museum, and the historical village.  I wasn't doing well pregnancy wise, so we didn't explore the village much.  My son seemed to enjoy the museum.  He found a trolley to play on, and he loved the skeleton of the Mastodon.

I have learned that my son is capable of learning from me.  Up until this point, if I asked him a question he wouldn't answer me.  Now I know that he is willing to answer me in the right conditions.  He much prefers reading while sitting on my lap, and activities while sitting at the table.

I have also learned that I need to find a way to fill our days better.  I don't want television to be the filler, but that's what it is.  If anyone has any ideas for easy, unsupervised activities for a 3 year old please let me know!  I just can't handle much with this pregnancy.

Something I want to work on is our eating.  I need to find a way to eat healthy.  That is the difficult part.  I would just stick something in the crockpot, but the smell would just make me sick all day.  Lately, Isaac's lunch is fruit, crackers, cheese, and lots of snacks.  No smell ;).  I really want to start doing little cooking lessons with him, but it just isn't possible at this point.  Perhaps in another 4 months.