Book Review: Leadership Education- The Phases of Learning

Cool homeschooling book!


I picked up Thomas Jefferson Education (which is the introductory book to the approach the authors call Thomas Jefferson or Leadership Education) at a homeschool conference a two years ago, read it, nodded my head along with each chapter, but it didn't really have any impact on my homeschooling endeavours. I liked the idea of stages of learning (that is the developmental psychologist in me) and I really liked the TJed version of the stages as opposed to the classical education model. I also liked the emphasis on reading the classics, really reading and studying them in depth and the idea of being a mentor who inspires learning rather than a drill sergeant who requires it. But that was as much as I got out of it.


Really there are so many different homeschooling philosophies out there with books, websites, and catalogs abounding, that this seemed like just another repackaged version of something I'd already read.


But lately I have been revisiting my underlying goals of homeschooling and I thought I would revisit some of these various homeschooling methods. And I must say that I am quite glad there are so many homeschooling books out there, because homeschooling really is one of those "burn-out" occupations, so it is nice to be able to blow some fresh air on it from time to time.


To that end, I ordered Leadership Education- The Phases of Learning and it is just jam packed with ideas that are at least hitting me from a different angle. The first section introduces the idea of Leadership Education versus conveyor belt learning (essentially raising children to be independent thinkers on a personal mission rather than productive workers who conform to the institutional system) and overviews the educational philosophies of several big names: Dewey, Vygotsky, Erikson and Piaget. Then it goes into much more depth about all the phases of learning all the way through grandparenting. And it contains 55 "ingredients" to make your home a perfect environment for Core and Love of learning stages.


There is a lot to consider in this book, but a few ideas really jumped out at me.

• "Inspire not require." This is one of the 7 keys of great teaching listed in the book and perhaps the one I need to improve on the most. I recently started teaching a weekly science class for our homeschool group and one of the many enlightening things I have gained from the experience thus far is the insight into how inspiring I can be and how B-O-R-I-N-G I have become when teaching my own children. I think "inspire not require" might just have to be my new motto for 2009.

• Core and Love of learning are necessary precursors to a rigorous Scholar phase that occurs in high school. I've been pondering the question of academic rigor and specifically how much to require and how much to expect. Reading about the phases of learning in TJed was a good reminder that my kids are still young. In TJed the Core phase(ages birth to 8) has the following lessons: right and wrong, good and bad, true and false, relationships, family values and family identity. Core is followed by Love of learning (ages 8-12) where the major goal is to develop a love of learning and personal responsibility. These two stages are so foundational that they need to be experienced before moving on to the educational phases. I really have to fight the temptation to skip the foundation and push my kids to achieve before they are developmentally ready.

• Plan in weeks, not days, months, semesters or years. This is a great point! I've been agonizing over the best time frame for lesson planning, now I have it spelled out for me, and I think weekly plans make the most sense based on my experience anyway.

• Declutter every 6 months. Maybe this will be my motto for 2009: less is more! I have been on a huge decluttering streak lately, and it does make for a more educational, nurturing, and peaceful home.

• Hold weekly interviews with each child to discuss what they are learning, what they want to learn, or even just to talk. I like this idea a lot, but have a feeling its not going to happen weekly around here. I suppose its good to have something to work towards.

As I said there is a lot more to the book and I am so excited to learn more that I went ahead and ordered The Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion, which promises to provide even more practical details about implementing this method.

So here's what they got...

Isn't the day after Christmas the best day? The kids were busy all day playing with all their goodies. Here are just a few of the gifts they received:

Mary got this ballet paper doll set. It comes with a book that explains the ballet steps and lots of glitter, ribbons and sequins to decorate the dancers. She is loving it so far, she colors the dancer and practices the step. She says I can color one too! Jameson got this ball maze that stick to the fridge. His brothers showed him how to use it and he made this maze all by himself. He is having fun rearranging the parts.

Avery and Reagan got lots and lots of Legos! These are some of Avery's:

All the kids like playing with this tree that hangs on the wall. They put their WebKinz and Beanie Babies in it. My mom actualyl made it for my sister and I when we were little, so now it is making a comeback!

Jameson got a huge bucket of playdough!

And here is Reagan with one of his Lego sets:

Our house looks like a tornado went through it, but they are having fun.

And I am having fun documenting it all with my new camera :-)

Christmas Morning

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas morning...

And notice how much clearer this last picture is?

It was taken with my NEW digital camera! Things are going to look a bit more focused around here. I may have to vacuum before I take the pictures for the blog.

Shhhh!

The ever-inspiring Theresa at LaPaz Farm posted pictures of these great felt play mats she made for her grandsons.

My kids love the toob animals, so I just had to attempt this project! I made this felt version of an African Savannah:

And rather than craft a box to keep it in myself, I bought an unfinished box, paints, brushes, stencils, and animal embellishments so that the kids can have fun decorating the box themselves.

I bought two new toobs of animals to go with the set, a play set and craft kit in one!

And the best part is I actually finished and wrapped it before Christmas Eve. I am shocked.

Thanks Theresa for the inspiration!

Snowy Day

We got MORE snow today. It just keeps coming. I spent the day doing some major decluttering and organizing, must be the nesting urge kicking in! Isn't this a beautiful sight? Just a few of the bags to be donated, leaving behind wonderfully organized and streamlined closets and cabinets all over the house. I always think Advent is such a great time to declutter, just before the Christmas onslaught. While I was busy putting things in little plastic containers, the kids went outside and made some snow forts.

Desperately Seeking Baby Names

As you may know we are blessed to be expecting a baby boy in early March. I must say that expecting a baby does not get any less exciting the fifth time, in fact it is just the opposite. I think after having four children it is just easier to relax and appreciate the experience. There is one aspect however, that is giving us trouble and seems to get worse and worse with each pregnancy: we are running out of baby names!
My book shelf is full of those What Should We Name the Baby? books, their spines taunting with me with titles such as 4000 Names for Baby, 3000 Unusual Baby Names, and 35,000 Baby Names. I'm not hyperbolizing on that last one, that really is the name of the book. You would think with 35,000 plus names at our disposal my husband and I would be able to pick just one or two that we both like. But you would be wrong. Our desperation has sunk to new levels, on our road trip to New York we resorted to getting name ideas off of street signs. We might end up with a kid named after Ashtabula, Ohio or the Major Deegan Expressway.
Now I am turning to the internet for help. Please help us name our child. He is a baby boy, last name is Gray. We like a more unusual first name coupled with a traditional middle name, preferably a saint's name. The name must go with the names of our other sons: Reagan, Avery and Jameson. As I mentioned, we are getting desperate. Two months to go and we've got NOTHING. Here are some ultrasound photos for visual inspiration:

Christmas is coming...

Christmas is coming! The kids have been counting down the days, with GREAT excitement. I can't believe it is almost that time of year again, Advent really flew by, perhaps because of our Thanksgiving trip to New York. Here are some photos from our annual trip (along with Nonnie, Poppa, Grammies and Aunt Francine) to the poinsettia and train display at Olbrich Gardens and the Christmas tree at the capitol. And of course some scenes from another seasonal tradition- baking Christmas cookies!

Philadelphia

Here are some photos from the day trip to Philadelphia. Ryan and the kids visited the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Ben Franklin museum and the Mint. They got to see where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed and much more! Notice Jameson having a two-year-old moment in the Liberty Bell picture.

Week in Review 12/8-12/12

Monday was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Avery has decided that feast days should be celebrated with cake, so he baked one! It was delicious! Here is a picture of Reagan adding some frosting:
On Tuesday it snowed. The boys have been having fun playing outside even Jameson goes out with them. They have fun throwing snowballs, collecting icicles, tracking squirrels, and sledding down the snow pile at the end of the driveway.Inspired by our trip to New York we have been studying bridges using a K'nex bridges set with a study guide. The boys experimented making different types of structures out of paper and testing how much load they would hold.
We talked about shapes and materials used in building bridges and loads and forces that affect bridge structures.Reagan built a bascule bridge from the K'nex.Jameson had fun revisiting his Montessori shelves, after two weeks away. I presented him with the circle drawer, the blue circle puzzle in the picture below, as a follow-up to the circle art project and story we did before we left. He is getting pretty good at these sorts of puzzles, he only mixed up the smallest two circles.

Mary learned about the letter J in her workbook, we jumped up and down and talked about things that start with J, like jelly beans! Maybe I'll remember to pick some up at the grocery store. She had a cold this week and was a bit under the weather.

Reagan did some activities from his Have Fun with the Presidents book. He made "Lucy's Lemonade" inspired by the wife of Rutherford B. Hayes and we read the biography of the 19th president. Next he wants to make Ronald Reagan's jelly bean jar.

He also read through the book Robots: From Everyday to Out of this World and talked about it with me.

Avery wanted to make a robotic arm so he had me read to him the chapter from How to Build Your Own Prize Winning Robot on that topic. He was disappointed that rather than giving specific directions the books gave suggestions for brainstorming your own plans to build from. He ended up deciding that was too difficult.

Math was uneventful for both boys this week, Reagan is learning fractions and decimals, Avery covered money and addition up to 20.

Avery is chugging along, somewhat grudgingly with is reading, we started short o words this week.

Reagan is reading The Chronicles of Narnia, he just finished The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We are going to watch the movie tonight for movie night!