Yup, I'm solo dadding again.
Mama is in China, looking after Laolao, who is in hospital having her pacemaker battery changed.
And I have got an extra daughter at the moment (a teenager, too!), as we have a homestay girl for a couple of months while her family is also in China.
The hardest thing is having to get up at 7 am every morning to get breakfast/lunch organised before our teen leaves for school. It would be much better if she homeschooled!
Friday, 11 August 2017
Sunday, 30 July 2017
More books
'Tis the season of book fairs.
Yesterday, there was the one at Devonport Holy Trinity Church. They have an unusual system of charging by weight -- $4 per kg I think.
I picked up 53 books for $44. About 20 of those books are good for Mulan and Miya now, while the rest are either for me or for their future. I see that Mulan has already started on the new Enid Blyton books.
And two weeks ago we had the annual Rotary book fair at Northcote College. I paid $33 for probably a similar number of books.
Our books shelves are once again bulging. Do I need to buy yet another bookcase?!
Yesterday, there was the one at Devonport Holy Trinity Church. They have an unusual system of charging by weight -- $4 per kg I think.
I picked up 53 books for $44. About 20 of those books are good for Mulan and Miya now, while the rest are either for me or for their future. I see that Mulan has already started on the new Enid Blyton books.
And two weeks ago we had the annual Rotary book fair at Northcote College. I paid $33 for probably a similar number of books.
Our books shelves are once again bulging. Do I need to buy yet another bookcase?!
(PS, these are just the English chapter books. We've got another five bookcases for English picture books and Chinese books.)
Monday, 17 July 2017
Reluctantly following the school year
It's school holiday time.
That shouldn't make a difference to us homeschoolers, but it does. In a big way.
The thing is, like it or not (and Mulan does not like it!), homeschoolers mostly follow the school term system, stopping and starting their activities at the same time as the schools.
Sometimes it's because we do the same after-school activities as the schoolers, such as:
Nonetheless, despite all this social pressure to stop and start our schooling, my attitude is that learning is a life-long activity that should happen all-year round, day by day, in a gradual way. To me, learning is no different from eating, sleeping or exercising, as an everyday (mostly) enjoyable activity that continues us along that winding path of self-improvement.
So, here at home, in our little family, completely oblivious to the school holidays around us, we are continuing to do our usual schooling activities. These include:
That shouldn't make a difference to us homeschoolers, but it does. In a big way.
The thing is, like it or not (and Mulan does not like it!), homeschoolers mostly follow the school term system, stopping and starting their activities at the same time as the schools.
Sometimes it's because we do the same after-school activities as the schoolers, such as:
- Ballet -- during term-time, Mulan has two classes each week and Miya has one class.
- Music -- during term-time, Mulan has recorder and flute classes, while Miya has recorder and violin classes.
- Swimming -- during term-time, both girls have a class each week.
- Basketball -- during term-time Mulan has a team game (playing for the homeschool team, against school teams).
- Netball -- during winter term-time Mulan has a team game (playing for the homeschool team, against school teams).
- Gymnastics -- during term-time, both girls have a class each week.
- Basketball -- during term-time, Mulan has a skills class and each week.
- Sewing -- both girls have sewing lessons with Nainai and the cousins.
Nonetheless, despite all this social pressure to stop and start our schooling, my attitude is that learning is a life-long activity that should happen all-year round, day by day, in a gradual way. To me, learning is no different from eating, sleeping or exercising, as an everyday (mostly) enjoyable activity that continues us along that winding path of self-improvement.
So, here at home, in our little family, completely oblivious to the school holidays around us, we are continuing to do our usual schooling activities. These include:
- Maths -- both girls work on Khan Academy every day.
- Silent reading -- both girls read every day (Mulan reads at least an hour or two every day).
- I read aloud to both girls most days.
- Social studies -- most days as a family we watch and discuss history/geography YouTube videos (eg Geography Now and Khan Academy).
- Chinese -- Mama does lessons with the girls every couple of days.
- Ukulele -- Yeye gives lessons once a week.
- Tennis -- the girls and I play once a week.
- And heaps of the usual family discussions (and play) that are hard to label but grow the critical thinking skills and general knowledge.
Saturday, 10 June 2017
Congratulations Miya
Miya is now independently reading chapter books.
A few weeks ago, I started reading the Animal Ark Pets series of books to Miya and Mulan. I read the first book, Puppy Puzzle, and got halfway through the second book, Kitten Crowd.
But about a week or so ago, Miya couldn't wait to hear the rest of the story, and so she took the book and finished it by herself. She then continued on to the next book, Rabbit Race, and beyond.
She also picked up our Nook e-reader, which has the Magic Tree House series on it, and has continued reading those by herself. (I had previously read up to number 13 in that series to her.)
I think I can safely say that our project to get Miya reading, which we started 15 months ago, has been a success. (I blogged about it in August last year, with an update this April.)
A few weeks ago, I started reading the Animal Ark Pets series of books to Miya and Mulan. I read the first book, Puppy Puzzle, and got halfway through the second book, Kitten Crowd.
But about a week or so ago, Miya couldn't wait to hear the rest of the story, and so she took the book and finished it by herself. She then continued on to the next book, Rabbit Race, and beyond.
She also picked up our Nook e-reader, which has the Magic Tree House series on it, and has continued reading those by herself. (I had previously read up to number 13 in that series to her.)
I think I can safely say that our project to get Miya reading, which we started 15 months ago, has been a success. (I blogged about it in August last year, with an update this April.)
Sunday, 4 June 2017
Congratulations Mulan
Yesterday, Mulan finished her US 6th Grade maths at Khan Academy.
She is now working on 7th Grade, and as of today has finished 24%. (There is some overlap between grades, so some skills mastered in 6th Grade are counted as mastered in 7th Grade.)
Miya is also doing very well, and has completed 70% of 3rd Grade.
I last wrote about the girls' maths work in January. Since writing that, we have slowed down a little with regards to introducing new skills. The girls are still doing some Khan Academy every day, but on many days they are consolidating skills by repeating already "mastered" "practices", rather than continuing on with introducing new skills.
My general rule of thumb with how much new stuff to introduce to them is that it is okay if they can't do the work completely independently, but of the bits of the problem that I talk with them about, they need to be able to understand my explanations and do the steps of calculations themselves.
She is now working on 7th Grade, and as of today has finished 24%. (There is some overlap between grades, so some skills mastered in 6th Grade are counted as mastered in 7th Grade.)
Miya is also doing very well, and has completed 70% of 3rd Grade.
I last wrote about the girls' maths work in January. Since writing that, we have slowed down a little with regards to introducing new skills. The girls are still doing some Khan Academy every day, but on many days they are consolidating skills by repeating already "mastered" "practices", rather than continuing on with introducing new skills.
My general rule of thumb with how much new stuff to introduce to them is that it is okay if they can't do the work completely independently, but of the bits of the problem that I talk with them about, they need to be able to understand my explanations and do the steps of calculations themselves.
Friday, 26 May 2017
Continuing the theme
I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression that this is an obsession of mine. I really almost never think about it.
But in my inbox this morning was an ad for ballet lessons for homeschoolers in our local area. Part of it went as follows:
Well, obviously not. Obviously the boys have simply been overlooked as possible ballet students, and the teacher has forgotten to mention the boys' uniform in her ad.
No harm done, no big deal, right?
Well, sort of. But much like my previous post about casual sexism with homeschooling dads, these sorts of public writings both show and reinforce gender stereotypes of what is socially acceptable for boys and men to do. This ad shows that the teacher's vision of her class didn't include boys. And when parents read the ad those with boys will be less likely to consider signing their sons up.
Fortunately, we attend a ballet school (Rowe Dance) in which boys are very welcome. About half of the students in Mulan's ballet class are boys, and the teacher also teaches separate boys-only ballet classes.
For this reason alone we would support attending Meaghan Rowe's classes, but on top of that she is a great teacher and also her classes are cheaper than this homeschooling one.
But in my inbox this morning was an ad for ballet lessons for homeschoolers in our local area. Part of it went as follows:
Dress Code:
A pink leotard is ideal but any color leotard or swimming costume is fine. Alternatively leggings with a fitted t' shirt will suffice.
Well, obviously not. Obviously the boys have simply been overlooked as possible ballet students, and the teacher has forgotten to mention the boys' uniform in her ad.
No harm done, no big deal, right?
Well, sort of. But much like my previous post about casual sexism with homeschooling dads, these sorts of public writings both show and reinforce gender stereotypes of what is socially acceptable for boys and men to do. This ad shows that the teacher's vision of her class didn't include boys. And when parents read the ad those with boys will be less likely to consider signing their sons up.
Fortunately, we attend a ballet school (Rowe Dance) in which boys are very welcome. About half of the students in Mulan's ballet class are boys, and the teacher also teaches separate boys-only ballet classes.
For this reason alone we would support attending Meaghan Rowe's classes, but on top of that she is a great teacher and also her classes are cheaper than this homeschooling one.
Monday, 8 May 2017
Casual sexism?
The AHE (Auckland Home Educators) conference is happening in a couple of weeks.
I know this because they've been advertising on a few of the Facebook homeschooling groups I am subscribed to. One repeated ad went as follows:
My question was ignored, though the poster of the ad sent me a private message to say that she is friends with a homeschooling dad. I guess this means that none of these conference panelists are the main homeschooling parent. (I'd be very happy to be corrected if I am wrong.)
Let's put that aside for a moment.
Suppose there was a medical conference. And suppose that at that medical conference there was a panel discussion called "Women's Panel", which asked the question of what role women play in hospitals. Now, it would seem a little odd (at least to me) if all the panelists at that discussion were receptionists, cleaners and part-time junior staff. Moreover, it would seem a little odd (at least to me) if, in reply to a question about whether any of the women there were doctors or nurses, one were privately messaged by someone saying that they are friends with a woman doctor.
But let's return to the topic of the homeschooling conference. And at the risk of being boringly pedantic, I'll spell out my thoughts more directly.
As we know, in almost all of the homeschooling families the dad is the main money-earner while the mum is the main day-to-day educator. That is, the dad is part of the essential support (like receptionists, cleaners and part-time junior staff in hospitals), without which the institution would probably very soon collapse. But his role is not to be full-time involved in the core function of the institution (medicine for a hospital; education for a homeschooler).
With this in mind, it is understandable that, at a practically-focused homeschooling conference, the emphasis should rightly be on giving advice/information on how main-money-earning dads can also get involved, in a part-time way, in the educational side of things. So, it makes sense that a majority of panelists on a "Dad's Panel" should be experienced "support staff", rather than main homeschooling parents themselves.
But is it right that all of the panelists are support staff, not main homeschooling parents?
I say no.
Firstly, there are some of us dads who are the main educators, and we may be interested in hearing the wisdom of other, more experienced, dads-as-main-educators.
But secondly, and more importantly, this is an issue of gender roles and casual sexism. Just as in the early days of feminism (and sadly sometimes still today) we needed to go that extra distance to acknowledge and promote women's inclusion in male-dominated professions, so too do we now need to acknowledge and promote the possibility of men as full-time stay-at-home homeschooling parents. Having one full-time homeschooling dad on the panel would raise the possibility in people's minds that such a thing is possible, and hopefully take that little step towards reducing gender-role prejudices.
Consequently, I say, on these sorts of panels and at these sorts of conferences we should have at least one dad who is the main homeschooling parent.
If you think I am overreacting, underneath some of the Facebook ads for the "Dad's Panel" was this picture:
Sigh! Really?!
I mean, in other contexts it is kinda funny and cute.
But used to advertise a panel discussion at a conference where they are discussing the role of homeschool dads?
It just reinforces those sexist notions that the dad could never, gasp, actually be the kid's teacher. That his role is, dare I say it, one of sexual titillation and amusement.
I have a sudden urge to burn my g-string.
I know this because they've been advertising on a few of the Facebook homeschooling groups I am subscribed to. One repeated ad went as follows:
So what DO Dads do? What role do they play? What’s their perspective?
Don’t miss out on the “Dad’s Panel” at the AHE conference in two weeks time. A bunch of experienced homeschool fathers will share how they are involved in the home-schooling journey and respond to your questions.
The panel includes [five names].In all seriousness (to get an idea if it was worth me going to the conference), I replied to one of the more actively commented ads, asking whether any of the dads were the main homeschool parent.
My question was ignored, though the poster of the ad sent me a private message to say that she is friends with a homeschooling dad. I guess this means that none of these conference panelists are the main homeschooling parent. (I'd be very happy to be corrected if I am wrong.)
Let's put that aside for a moment.
Suppose there was a medical conference. And suppose that at that medical conference there was a panel discussion called "Women's Panel", which asked the question of what role women play in hospitals. Now, it would seem a little odd (at least to me) if all the panelists at that discussion were receptionists, cleaners and part-time junior staff. Moreover, it would seem a little odd (at least to me) if, in reply to a question about whether any of the women there were doctors or nurses, one were privately messaged by someone saying that they are friends with a woman doctor.
But let's return to the topic of the homeschooling conference. And at the risk of being boringly pedantic, I'll spell out my thoughts more directly.
As we know, in almost all of the homeschooling families the dad is the main money-earner while the mum is the main day-to-day educator. That is, the dad is part of the essential support (like receptionists, cleaners and part-time junior staff in hospitals), without which the institution would probably very soon collapse. But his role is not to be full-time involved in the core function of the institution (medicine for a hospital; education for a homeschooler).
With this in mind, it is understandable that, at a practically-focused homeschooling conference, the emphasis should rightly be on giving advice/information on how main-money-earning dads can also get involved, in a part-time way, in the educational side of things. So, it makes sense that a majority of panelists on a "Dad's Panel" should be experienced "support staff", rather than main homeschooling parents themselves.
But is it right that all of the panelists are support staff, not main homeschooling parents?
I say no.
Firstly, there are some of us dads who are the main educators, and we may be interested in hearing the wisdom of other, more experienced, dads-as-main-educators.
But secondly, and more importantly, this is an issue of gender roles and casual sexism. Just as in the early days of feminism (and sadly sometimes still today) we needed to go that extra distance to acknowledge and promote women's inclusion in male-dominated professions, so too do we now need to acknowledge and promote the possibility of men as full-time stay-at-home homeschooling parents. Having one full-time homeschooling dad on the panel would raise the possibility in people's minds that such a thing is possible, and hopefully take that little step towards reducing gender-role prejudices.
Consequently, I say, on these sorts of panels and at these sorts of conferences we should have at least one dad who is the main homeschooling parent.
If you think I am overreacting, underneath some of the Facebook ads for the "Dad's Panel" was this picture:
Sigh! Really?!
I mean, in other contexts it is kinda funny and cute.
But used to advertise a panel discussion at a conference where they are discussing the role of homeschool dads?
It just reinforces those sexist notions that the dad could never, gasp, actually be the kid's teacher. That his role is, dare I say it, one of sexual titillation and amusement.
I have a sudden urge to burn my g-string.
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