The Lament of a Retired Home School Teacher

The stores are filled to overflowing with boxes of new crayons just waiting in anticipation of the next masterpiece.

The aisles are packed with colorful notebooks filled with fresh pages of possibility.

The still unsharpened pencils dangle enticingly from their overstuffed hangers.

The pristine bottles of glue stand at attention in hopes of mixing it up with that sparkly bottle of glitter.

 A new school year is just around the corner.

And I am at loose ends.

I have always loved this time of year and for as long as I can remember, I was the one who became quite giddy at the prospect of starting a new school year. As a child, I loved school. My Mom would threaten me that I could not go to school unless I made my bed. Horrors. Strange child? Perhaps, but don't judge.

Then as the years passed, we were blessed with two pretty amazing kiddos and before I blinked twice, they were traipsing off to school. The gathering of school supplies was an adventure. 

Alas, the actual sending them off to school...not so much. 

The over 3 hours of commuting each day...not so much.

 So I became a substitute teacher every day and ran the reading program when DH did not require my assistance on the ranch until the good Lord pointed us in a new direction and we began to home school. The kids were 7 and 9 and adventure was just around the corner.

To say that home schooling was a great fit for us would be an understatement. Oh the fun we had! Yes, there were tears. Yes there were days when the books were slammed shut in frustration. But those days really were few and far between. 

Still I was frightened at taking control of their education. What if I did it wrong? What if I wasn't smart enough? My degree was in Animal Science. Was I qualified? What  about socialization? These questions and countless others swirled and collided in my head.

Then I realized that I wasn't in control anyway. God was. I often relay the story that I didn't want to homeschool, but He wanted us to. 

He tossed a pebble to get my attention and I brushed it aside. 

He threw a rock and I rubbed the sore spot.

He lobbed a brick and I wondered how the lump on my head got there.

He heaved a boulder and I listened.

And thus we began to homeschool. A dear friend, Amy held my hand and guided me through the murky waters. I will be forever grateful. The adventure was on! We scribbled letters that were insanely  long back and forth by snail mail. 

I read voraciously about learning styles and teaching styles and just HOW to homeschool the 'right' way. I quickly learned that the 'right' way for one family was not necessarily the 'right' way for ours and that I was learning as much as the kids were.

I eagerly made weekly lesson plans and I quickly learned to make them in pencil because life happens and on a ranch, the windmills and livestock and water gaps, and cow works need to be penciled in as well.

We did not 'do school' from 8 to 3:30. 'School' became a lifestyle. 

The kids practiced their skip counting with mesquite beans while I hoisted a block and tackle in place to help DH with a windmill. 

We used an old ranch rope to learn our spelling words while waiting on a cattle truck:

When the rains came, we rushed to the creek to indulge in the rushing waters and discovered all the stages of a frog and returned home to read and draw and write more.

I read aloud daily until I lost my voice because books like Summer of the Monkeys were too good to put down.

We wrote newsletters. I put together unit studies where we made disgusting Barley Cakes 

and wonderful butter. We made models of the ear and of the Nile River and we laughed when we ended up with a 'plague' of crickets which really was comprised of only one cricket.

Our tummies hurt from laughing when we looked up what a puffin sounds like. This new fangled thing called a computer had arrived on the ranch and we had this very cool interactive encyclopedia. :) The kids ran to call Daddy and when he heard it, he said, "It sounds like Mama when  she wakes up in the morning."

We learned about simple machines:

took part in amazing plays:

participated in community service projects:

presented  projects  for the Science Fair:

Turned work into field trips:

 And the blessings overflowed.

Then the kids grew up. Just like that. And they were off on new adventures which have brought me great joy and great sadness all at the same time. I did not teach them everything they needed to know, but I hope that I taught them how to learn the things I did not teach them on their own. They are lifetime learners.

My lesson plan book lies empty, but my heart is full.

I think I'm going to buy myself a new box of crayons. After all, new masterpieces will not draw themselves.  The kids are off creating their own and the possibilities are endless for all of us.

Homeschooling High School

Welcome back to Algebra and Chemistry class! If you can't stand the thought of re-living that, then I am here to post a warning...don't read on. In reality, I don't know where this post will meander. I am known for going off on tangents so proceed with caution...


Today we received a delivery from the UPS man. The Chemistry lab equipment I ordered for DS arrived and yes we are excited! DS took a very keen interest in the burner (maybe I should be worried) that came with the kit. He promptly unwrapped every item and examined it. I don't think he was very excited about Chemistry initially, but I think things are looking up! He'll really enjoy these experiments. For a kid like DS, the experiments are what make Chemistry click.




Hey, this is the kid that used to sleep with the Periodic Table when he was 5. I'm probably going to have to remind him of that when he balks about learning some of the elements. I WILL NOT ,however, make him learn the Atomic number for all of them. If he ever needs to know that the Atomic number for Yttrium is 39, I'm sure he'll know where to look. What the heck is Yttrium anyway?!


His weakness lies in writing. Oye! Getting this boy to write, is like pulling multiple teeth. We are working through Writing Strands and it is a daunting task that is adding to my collection of gray hair all too quickly. Then there is DD who writes pages and pages of amazing paragraphs, but ask her where Indonesia is and watch her blink. DS will be amazed that she is clueless when it comes to Geography and then she will spout off some large word that will cause him to furrow his brow. I'll tell you, there is never a dull moment around here.

I am in the process of getting DS's high school transcript in order and since DD is a freshman this year, I am working on hers as well. So I am floundering in a sea of transcript forms. We are also wading in a river of SAT and ACT books in preparation for that thrilling experience.


I have always read those homeschooling books that described the homeschooling environment in various families. All I can say is... they look nothing like that in my house! I always feel as if we are behind. Ask my kids. They are sick of hearing it. I always question myself. Are we doing enough grammar? Should I buy the Biology dissection kit? Did we cover the History of the Roman Empire enough? Which foreign language curriculum should we use? It was all so much easier when the kids were younger. We had so much fun with the hands on experiments for simple machines. The day we captured every stage of a tadpole in the creek and then came home to make a poster of it was awesome! The clay model of the ear was too cool. We still laugh when we recall the barley cakes we made during our extensive unit study on Egypt ~ they were disgusting! The hours upon hours curled up on the bed reading chapter after chapter of Summer of the Monkeys and countless other books are treasured still today.


Some days I feel as if I am doing this all wrong. Then I stop and listen to the conversations that take place around our dinner table. Grandpa asks questions such as, "Why do cars 10 miles away from the ocean rust if salt doesn't evaporate?" and we listen to DD give a very scientific explanation that includes density and evaporation and wind and erosion. I listen to DS explain the premise behind George Orwell's Animal Farm and I wonder how he learned so much about Soviet Russia. Then I breathe easy and realize that maybe we're doing an okay job and through the good, the bad, and the ugly (DO NOT EVEN bring up that movie! It is never ending and I don't like it although DH has the theme song for his ringtone and it makes me laugh out loud every time I hear it.) this is an amazing journey!


Please note that I am not campaigning against the school system and I know teachers that are absolutely amazing, but for us, this is the right choice. Our children actually attended school for a few years before we made this choice. I won't go into our reasons for homeschooling because the reasons are many and I, and you, would be here for a very long time. Actually, you would probably just hit that little red x at the top of the page.

In my experience, the most common misconception about homeschooling lies in the aspect of socialization. My parents were the first to voice their opposition to the choice we made. I can not speak for other children. All I can say is that the socialization argument completely ceases to exist when it comes to our children. Spend 20 minutes around either of them and I dare you to find them lacking in socialization skills. DS is quiet, but he's also the kid that just phoned the Senator's office last week and spoke with the Senator's aide for 45 minutes without my knowledge. When I asked him who he was speaking to and he told me, I was shocked and proud. DD has no problem discussing anything with anyone. She writes her own cowboy poetry and recites in front of large crowds without a care. A few years ago, both kids stood up in front of a roomful of my parents' friends (strangers to our kids) and spoke about my Dad. They visited one on one with these adults for 4 hours. My parents received over 40 cards commending them on how amazing their granchildren are. I thought that was so cool! See, Mom and Daddy, we are not raising heathens. Both have friends and are officers in 4-H and although DS would rather play his guitar than write a paper on anything and DD would rather be out riding her horse than working through yet another Algebra lesson, I'm fairly certain they are well socialized.


I will have to remind myself to re-read this post on those days when I feel like pulling out my hair.


Okay, sorry. Stepping down from my soapbox now and heading off to determine how to find the empirical formula for K2Cr2O7. Wish me luck!

Transitions

Transition: The process or an instance of changing from one form, state, activity, or place to another.

I like to think that I am flexible. That I handle change well and that I am good at transition.
Apparently that is not the case ~ at least not today.

I can, and have, on numerous occasions, willingly, dropped the day's plans and run off to help Gary with whatever ranch job was deemed urgent at the moment. Fix a windmill ~ turn off the stove. Repair a watergap ~ close the history book. Run a heifer to the vet ~ put the science experiment in the refrigerator. I love it all. I love being his partner and being there to help in whatever capacity I am able.

On the other hand, I did not weather the transition well when we moved from our beloved mountains in West Texas to our present flatlands.

I did not handle today well either and my children have not fallen far from the proverbial tree.

Today was a huge transition. I saw it coming. I knew it was on the horizen. How did I know? Well suffice it to say, history repeats itself.

We just finished 6 days of fall works. 6 days that we eagerly look forward to. 6 days that leave us utterly exhausted. So yesterday I made sure that everyone rested and honored the Sabboth as it was intended. We'll ignore the fact that I still had one dayworker here until midmorning or that I scrubbed the stove, washed the floors, scoured the kitchen, cleaned up the bunkhouse and washed the towels from over there. I still rested ~ I even took a nap! I had a wonderful week of lesson plans all laid out for the following day and I wanted my students to be well-rested.

These same students have no problem removing themselves from their warm nests at 4:30 a.m. when we work cattle, but they seem to have a problem with our current transition. For some reason, it is almost impossible for them to drag themselves out from under the covers at 6:30 or 7:00 on a school day. When I posed this question to my daughter, she answered, "But M...O...M! Working cattle is fun!" Aha! I see! So I get to resume my un-fun position as teacher and attempt to squeeze some education into my children.

Here is where I can very easily wander off onto another tangent and say that they receive huge amounts of education in their daily lives on the ranch. I will not argue with that. I believe it with all my heart, but I also believe that they need a balanced education and some of that must come from good books and math lessons. They both wish to attend college so a well-rounded education is a must. The fact that they will have learned a good work ethic will serve them well, but so will the ability to communicate through a well-structured paragraph. I refuse to make them diagram sentence after sentence, but I do want them to be able to write coherently and speak intelligentlly.

I agree that is difficult to transition from a funfilled day horseback, carousing with the crew to the drudgery of completing the Apologia study guide or wading through the next chapter on the Korean War. However, everything in life cannot be fun all the time. There are days where we've simply got to put our nose to the grindstone and make the best of it. Grumbling about what must be done will not make it easier. Falling to the floor in dismay will not make it go away. Making a very heartfelt diatribe on the woes of the day will not get it done~although I might be persuaded to count that as public speaking :)

Life is full of transitions. Some we will be quite adept at steering through and some will cause us to stumble. I want to give my children the tools to handle them all.

That tool can be summed up in one word: God. Look to Him in all things. He will guide your way. When life's transitions start barreling your way, cling to Him. He will not make them all disappear, but the path will be less rocky with him by your side. There are days that I need to remind myself of this too, afterall, I'm a work in progress.

I love homeschooling. But not today.

Kicking it into High Gear

Life at the end of the dirt road is quiet. And peaceful. And serene.

For the most part.

However, we do have times when things get crazy busy.

This is one of those times.

We are in the process of jumping into our Fall Works (Shipping). For any readers (not that I have any! =D) who are unaware of what that entails, let me give you a short description. Fall is one of the busiest times of the year on a ranch (and my favorite). The bunkhouse fills up with bedrolls and dufflebags; the lot between the house and the barn is crowded with various pickups and trailers, the pens accomodate strange horses, the tackroom houses an array of saddles, blankets and tack, the crew settles in for the duration of 1-2 weeks and the days begin at 3 or 4 a.m.. This is a time of year that is eagerly awaited on the ranch. Although we live in the desert, this year we have been blessed with amazing rain ~ last night we received another .9" here at the house. And yes, we measure every drop! So the cattle are fat and soggy, the pastures are thick with grass, the dirt tanks are full to overflowing and the men are happy. Add to that, the fact that beef prices are good and we can pretty much call it an awesome year.

In the fall, the crew gathers the pastures and sorts off the calves (weaning). We then sort off the steers and heifers. The steers are shipped off to buyers who will either put them in feedlots or out on wheat pasture. The heifers are sorted into keeper heifers and cull heifers. If we're working the Corrientes, the calves will also be branded. We run both Corriente and beef cattle here and next week we'll be working the Corrientes (we'll work the beef cattle in October).

My favorite thing to do when the crew is working is take pictures. I don't have the opportunity to do that very often as I am the designated cook and I seldom have time to clean up the kitchen after breakfast, drive to whichever set of pens they are working in that day, take pictures, drive back home, and make dinner. I hope to sneak out with my camera at least one day this year!

All of this doesn't begin to take place until Sunday, when the crew begins to arrive, but the previous week was kind of crazy as well.

This past week we had 10 hunters in for the weekend for the antelope hunt. 10 men. 1 bathroom. Huge amounts of barbeque. Beer. Old septic tank. Next to ancient trees with wandering roots. Need I go into detail? I think not. Sigh. Add to that the fact that we just had new floors installed in the bunkhouse last week. Sigh.

Enter my sweet husband who can fix anything. He was able to get things back in order, DK cleaned things up inside (dear man) and then we called to have it pumped out completely. The septic man showed up on Wednesday. Just after the man who arrived for an interview for the opening we have here at headquarters, but before the neat new couple we hired for a position we had at North Camp pulled in from Kansas that evening. They had 2 blowouts and ran into a rainstorm on their way here and yet they both had smiles on their faces when they arrived. We helped them unload their things, left them pizza and a few beers and gave them a few days to settle in. Never a dull moment around here I tell you.

So today I am planning my menu in order to feed a dozen ravenous men next week. The amount of food that will be consumed next week will be staggering. It's a lot of work, but I really do love it! A friend sent me a couple of new dessert recipes that I am eager to try ~ this bunch has an enormous sweet tooth ~ thanks Marquita! I am always looking for something new to add to my menu and any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

We are also planning to get in a full day of school. I hope to sneak in just a little bit this weekend too since we will be laying the schoolbooks aside for next week. It's a constant juggle to keep school balanced with ranch life, but the flexibility that homeschooling affords us is a huge blessing.

So, with that being said, I am off to direct my students in the general vicinity of their schoolbooks. One has recently been spotted hauling kitten chow and milk to the litter of kittens taking up residence in the chicken coop and the other can be heard playing his guitar from the dark recesses of his room.

Here's hoping that I will be successful in my crusade!