After doing some more reading...well, I am starting to get it!
Waldorf/Steiner believes that not only should we be teaching by example, but in today's isolated world of separate homes, etc...homeschooling parents have to recreate the Village!! Use props, tell stories, make food, hunt, gather, spin, weave, grow, harvest, make goods, sell goods, reap all benefits and do it all while teaching the kids and rearing more...!
Sigh. We really need to live in a commune.....to quote the brilliant Spongebob Squarepants, "I I'm ready!'m ready!I'm ready!"
out!
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Search Begins
After the soul searching and the meditating...I have begun to search for homeschool curricula. Reminded of the fact that there is a Waldorf-based education system out there...I remembered that there is Oak Meadow curriculum as well as a host of others.
I am thinking that maybe we should start the boys on the preschool and 1st grade Oak Meadow lessons now and carry that through the summer. Then we bump G ahead, if he's ready, into Kindergarten when A is ready for 2nd grade. I bet we can get them back on track and "ahead" academically (where they used to be) in no time at all.
Of course, this isn't without a cost...! For the two of them to have at-home, Waldorf instruction is approximately $600, and it goes up every year. But when you compare that cost against the cost of attending the local Waldorf school (including the 20% discount for a sibiling in school) which is $25,000 for 10 months of education, then I think we're doing okay.
Have to go see Lava Monkeys...
I am thinking that maybe we should start the boys on the preschool and 1st grade Oak Meadow lessons now and carry that through the summer. Then we bump G ahead, if he's ready, into Kindergarten when A is ready for 2nd grade. I bet we can get them back on track and "ahead" academically (where they used to be) in no time at all.
Of course, this isn't without a cost...! For the two of them to have at-home, Waldorf instruction is approximately $600, and it goes up every year. But when you compare that cost against the cost of attending the local Waldorf school (including the 20% discount for a sibiling in school) which is $25,000 for 10 months of education, then I think we're doing okay.
Have to go see Lava Monkeys...
Thursday, March 20, 2008
180 degree turn
Oh so much going on. Back from the chiropractor who wants me to see the acupuncturist..to help the headaches. I'm game. I wrote my bachelor's thesis on Qi so this should be fun. And the added benefit of no headaches..? Excellent.
Thinking about homeschooling my boys instead of sending them to school. Saves money..always a benefit..and I get to ensure that they learn they way they learn best and at the rate they wish too, or that I wish them to learn at. A has totally stagnated at school and I am, well, ticked off. "He's doing fine. He's at or above grade level standards on everything." Yes, but are you letting him accelerate to beyond the grade level...nope! Plus, I hate that school is from 9-3:30 and that's it. Or then we get to scramble to add in all the extras that we want to learn. Whatever!
No, I think we're going to try at home. We get to accelerate beyond grade level standards and take classes that we want...much more like college. Only for 7 year olds.
I have also invited some of my artist friends to look at the children's story I am working on, to see if they want to illustrate it. So far one friend has asked to see it...and he's the one with a million things boiling away on the stove. Of course, this isn't a picture book, so maybe just a few beautiful pictures would be the difference between selling and not selling?
And then there's the idea of taking to heart what my MD and my chiro have suggested, which is to relax, take care of MYself, and be the person I want to be...novel idea, no? So I am trying. I want to be the hippie-mommie-writer-who makes her own bread and drinks coffee...hmm, guess I already am that! Perhaps I should just try to relax and see how the coat is already fitting instead of trying to tweak it all the time. <---Goal for today.
Thinking about homeschooling my boys instead of sending them to school. Saves money..always a benefit..and I get to ensure that they learn they way they learn best and at the rate they wish too, or that I wish them to learn at. A has totally stagnated at school and I am, well, ticked off. "He's doing fine. He's at or above grade level standards on everything." Yes, but are you letting him accelerate to beyond the grade level...nope! Plus, I hate that school is from 9-3:30 and that's it. Or then we get to scramble to add in all the extras that we want to learn. Whatever!
No, I think we're going to try at home. We get to accelerate beyond grade level standards and take classes that we want...much more like college. Only for 7 year olds.
I have also invited some of my artist friends to look at the children's story I am working on, to see if they want to illustrate it. So far one friend has asked to see it...and he's the one with a million things boiling away on the stove. Of course, this isn't a picture book, so maybe just a few beautiful pictures would be the difference between selling and not selling?
And then there's the idea of taking to heart what my MD and my chiro have suggested, which is to relax, take care of MYself, and be the person I want to be...novel idea, no? So I am trying. I want to be the hippie-mommie-writer-who makes her own bread and drinks coffee...hmm, guess I already am that! Perhaps I should just try to relax and see how the coat is already fitting instead of trying to tweak it all the time. <---Goal for today.
Vancouver BC
Back from an unexpected trip to Vancouver, BC. (Thanks C!) C "couldn't" use his Canucks tix due to unforeseen planning issues (he didn't get his birth cert or a passport) . So he passed them our way. The game was awesome. The boys loved it (G especially!) and the Canucks won! Whoo hoo! So need a team in Seattle. Canucks reported their 208 consecutive sellout...so much for even partial season tix...
As for the town, very hip and great fun. And completely child-friendly. I was particularly impressed how just about everyone in town had a smile for my rambunctious boys and many were quite fine to reach out and toussle their hair. The boys weren't sure what to make of it, but I was glad for the lowered personal space and confidence that children are meant to be enjoyed.
Will be writing an article for this and hoping to sell it. Vancouver is so family friendly and we only had about 36 hours to enjoy it...but that we did.
As for the town, very hip and great fun. And completely child-friendly. I was particularly impressed how just about everyone in town had a smile for my rambunctious boys and many were quite fine to reach out and toussle their hair. The boys weren't sure what to make of it, but I was glad for the lowered personal space and confidence that children are meant to be enjoyed.
Will be writing an article for this and hoping to sell it. Vancouver is so family friendly and we only had about 36 hours to enjoy it...but that we did.
The Great Test Debacle of 2008
Oh a little update...Kiddo 1 BOMBED his Advanced Placement test. He barely missed last year and this year his scores plummeted...which means he doesn't get into the Advanced class. I am ticked. He is quickly losing ground in his top-of-the-class status...and I am blaming his teacher for not calling out for help. She lets him slide thru the cracks because he doesn't demand attention. But he's also not doing all that he can...she treats him like a self starter (which he's not) and then chastises him when he doesn't complete work or its half-assed. Arrrgh! Couldn't she have brought his underachieving to our attention? She didn't...she sent home a note saying that the upcoming conferences are optional and that she has no reason to see us. I'm going to pop!
Going to start posting knitting on here too...while I'm thinking of it.
Going to start posting knitting on here too...while I'm thinking of it.
To Job or Not to Job?
Thinking about getting a job...yup. ending life as an at-home-mommie. Not sure if kids and family are ready for me to go back to work, but our finances have plateau-ed and with the recession we're in, I think it might be time...and yes, I am rationalizing here to convince myself that it COULD be the right thing to do.
I want to work where the work itself is engaging. I want to be excited about going back to the workforce and if I am going to put my kids in daycare or get a nanny, its going to be for good money and good ethics...and a place that won't make me dye my hair back..cuz right now (and hopefully for a long time) its got blue streaks in it.
We'll see...but this could be really good, because it would get the kids out of a rut, me out of a rut, and take pressure off me man.
Of course, selling my children's story would be JUST as good if not better than a job outside the home...
I want to work where the work itself is engaging. I want to be excited about going back to the workforce and if I am going to put my kids in daycare or get a nanny, its going to be for good money and good ethics...and a place that won't make me dye my hair back..cuz right now (and hopefully for a long time) its got blue streaks in it.
We'll see...but this could be really good, because it would get the kids out of a rut, me out of a rut, and take pressure off me man.
Of course, selling my children's story would be JUST as good if not better than a job outside the home...
Time Flies and Agents are Picky Picky Picky
Wow! where did the days go? I could have sworn that only 2 days had passed since i was last on here...ah well.
So I am getting ready to submit my first story. It's a children's chapter book and it is intended for 6-9 year olds. An early reader kind of thing. Something that might be offered in one of those take-home-and-order flyer things that kids get at school.
There is SO much fact checking to complete before choosing an agent! And most don't want anything to do with children's work..unless its akin to Harry Potter or The Golden Compass or its a picture book. But most things inbetween...good luck!! Few agents want to represent.
So I signed up for this SCBWI regional conference. And I paid my extra $35 to get a one-on-one meeting with an editor, agent, or book doctor/published author. I figured I had a captive audience, private time, and something to look at. Then I realized that they didn't want my genre (early readers/chapter books). Of course! Makes sense, since that was what I had written...grr.
So what's a girl to do? Change the story line! Turn it into a picture book! Take 3000 words out and add illustrations. Halfway through the script it was clear I was going to need a total of 2500 words to tell my story. At least 1000 words too many. Okay, back to drawing board, as it were.
Next I decided to turn it into a Middle Grade Novel. About 20,000. Now I just needed to add 15,000 words to my story. All right. That's fine. Write a synopsis for it, send in the first chapter (only allowed 1200 words anyway!), and call it a day. So I did.
Then my husband starts grilling me on the synopsis; telling me it doesn't make sense. "It doesn't need to make sense," I tell him. "Ignore the synopsis. I just want someone to look at my work. I don't care if they like the synopsis. At this point I just want a pat on the back or someone to tell me I have no talent." "But I don't understand xxxxx." Grrr. What is there to not understand? The story is essentially the same, but there are now more characters and an adventure that the kids need to go on to solve the puzzle. Is this my best work? No. It's not. But I only found out about the conference 4 days before the submission deadline for the one-on-one meetings. I had to rush and I'll just explain it to them. There's two versions of the story. One is detailed in the synopsis layout and one is detailed in the chapter. Again...I just want the pat on the back.
Maybe I have no talent for this and I should just let it go.
So, Hubby comes to me over the weekend and says, in front of a friend no less, that I should stop waiting for the conference (which is still 6 weeks away) and submit the effing story. Its good as is and my waiting around is just proof that I am afraid of success. WHAT?!? Where did that come from?
And as the stomach continues to turn, I have spent the day researching and fact checking agents to see if they represent my genre and I am working on the danged query letter. I will submit it this week, I told him. Do I go ahead with the conference anyway? Not sure.
In the meantime, my 3 year old is bored with me always writing and is DYING to have friends and school and he won't have that until September...I need to get him into school or get a babysitter so I can devote time to this shite, instead of ignoring him or getting up every 10 minutes to do something for him...but that takes money and I don't want to spend it.
ARRRGH!
So I am getting ready to submit my first story. It's a children's chapter book and it is intended for 6-9 year olds. An early reader kind of thing. Something that might be offered in one of those take-home-and-order flyer things that kids get at school.
There is SO much fact checking to complete before choosing an agent! And most don't want anything to do with children's work..unless its akin to Harry Potter or The Golden Compass or its a picture book. But most things inbetween...good luck!! Few agents want to represent.
So I signed up for this SCBWI regional conference. And I paid my extra $35 to get a one-on-one meeting with an editor, agent, or book doctor/published author. I figured I had a captive audience, private time, and something to look at. Then I realized that they didn't want my genre (early readers/chapter books). Of course! Makes sense, since that was what I had written...grr.
So what's a girl to do? Change the story line! Turn it into a picture book! Take 3000 words out and add illustrations. Halfway through the script it was clear I was going to need a total of 2500 words to tell my story. At least 1000 words too many. Okay, back to drawing board, as it were.
Next I decided to turn it into a Middle Grade Novel. About 20,000. Now I just needed to add 15,000 words to my story. All right. That's fine. Write a synopsis for it, send in the first chapter (only allowed 1200 words anyway!), and call it a day. So I did.
Then my husband starts grilling me on the synopsis; telling me it doesn't make sense. "It doesn't need to make sense," I tell him. "Ignore the synopsis. I just want someone to look at my work. I don't care if they like the synopsis. At this point I just want a pat on the back or someone to tell me I have no talent." "But I don't understand xxxxx." Grrr. What is there to not understand? The story is essentially the same, but there are now more characters and an adventure that the kids need to go on to solve the puzzle. Is this my best work? No. It's not. But I only found out about the conference 4 days before the submission deadline for the one-on-one meetings. I had to rush and I'll just explain it to them. There's two versions of the story. One is detailed in the synopsis layout and one is detailed in the chapter. Again...I just want the pat on the back.
Maybe I have no talent for this and I should just let it go.
So, Hubby comes to me over the weekend and says, in front of a friend no less, that I should stop waiting for the conference (which is still 6 weeks away) and submit the effing story. Its good as is and my waiting around is just proof that I am afraid of success. WHAT?!? Where did that come from?
And as the stomach continues to turn, I have spent the day researching and fact checking agents to see if they represent my genre and I am working on the danged query letter. I will submit it this week, I told him. Do I go ahead with the conference anyway? Not sure.
In the meantime, my 3 year old is bored with me always writing and is DYING to have friends and school and he won't have that until September...I need to get him into school or get a babysitter so I can devote time to this shite, instead of ignoring him or getting up every 10 minutes to do something for him...but that takes money and I don't want to spend it.
ARRRGH!
Is the Circus in Town? Cuz I'm Juggling!
Juggling writing with kids is tough, to say the least. Just when you get going, someone little needs juice or diaper changes. And how much can you let them watch tv or play video games or hit the computer. No matter how educational the game or the show, they need to use their own brains. This motherhood thing is a sacrifice for sure. And in some ways its getting harder right now. When they are babies, they don't care if you pay attention to them or not - they just sit next to you. Now that the youngling is a preschooler, he needs a constant playmate, except for when he doesn't. And because he doesn't want or need me in the same way, I have begun to have desires of my own...namely writing. But you can't give your own desires 100% concentration, because as soon as you hit "the zone" someone comes along and interrupts it. Sigh. Gotta go. Diaper change...
Writer's Conference!
I have signed up to attend my first-ever writer's conference and added on a manuscript consult, and then realised that my manuscript doesn't fit the accepted genres. What's a girl to do..? Alter the manuscript of course!
I have been writing nearly everyday for 2 weeks now. Huzzah! It's become habit. I stopped watching monk and decided to write instead. Stoopid DVR. It records all the shows I've been missing and then I sit there for hours trying to get caught up. I've replaced the behaviour nicely, thank you very much.
I did a tarot reading today and it said all kinds of discouraging things like how I get in my own way and how trying to accomplish that which I wish to complete is going to be difficult and probably not what I am intending as of this moment.
Whatever! I just want to get published again. Its like hearing the applause from the audience when you take a bow on stage. It is ever so sweet and very addicting. Gimme more! Oh yeah, and a large check would be nice too...
Fingers crossed, please. Apparently this year is going to be a trying one for our family. Between work and tarot readings and the mountain of laundry, we'll be lucky to keep our heads above water. Keep treading!
I have been writing nearly everyday for 2 weeks now. Huzzah! It's become habit. I stopped watching monk and decided to write instead. Stoopid DVR. It records all the shows I've been missing and then I sit there for hours trying to get caught up. I've replaced the behaviour nicely, thank you very much.
I did a tarot reading today and it said all kinds of discouraging things like how I get in my own way and how trying to accomplish that which I wish to complete is going to be difficult and probably not what I am intending as of this moment.
Whatever! I just want to get published again. Its like hearing the applause from the audience when you take a bow on stage. It is ever so sweet and very addicting. Gimme more! Oh yeah, and a large check would be nice too...
Fingers crossed, please. Apparently this year is going to be a trying one for our family. Between work and tarot readings and the mountain of laundry, we'll be lucky to keep our heads above water. Keep treading!
Writing but Not Cleaning
Been writing...finally. The house is a disaster. I haven't done laundry in days...all right, weeks. The dishes are piled high in the sink and there are Legos everywhere. But I am rather happy. I have been really enjoying being productive again....it took dying my hair and then adding in bits of blue. Somewhere along the line, I realised that I am most creative when my hair is blue (or at least parts of it are).
The other day a friend was talking about ritual and symbolism. He said that he believes we all have certain rituals that get us into the mindset we need to accomplish whatever the task is. For me, getting into the mindset for creating is dying my hair blue...interesting thought. I finally have my own ritual beyond bedtime! Whoo hoo!
The other day a friend was talking about ritual and symbolism. He said that he believes we all have certain rituals that get us into the mindset we need to accomplish whatever the task is. For me, getting into the mindset for creating is dying my hair blue...interesting thought. I finally have my own ritual beyond bedtime! Whoo hoo!
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