What To Expect From On Living By Learning In 2010

Got my motor running, my brain is on fire thinking about everything I want to accomplish this year.  Number one on the list is letting you know what you can expect from On Living By Learning this year.

As I mentioned before, I’m planning to retool On Living By Learning to focus on Enrichment, but from the feedback I received, it’s clear that there is a demand for other topics that interest me, as well as personal reflections.

The 2010 On Living By Learning Plan

Plans are inevitably the kiss of death for me.  There is something about a plan that makes me want to rebel, but I know that I need to set some limits.  Otherwise, I end up scatterbrained, jumping from deadline to deadline, unable to focus long enough to finish a project.  Living in crisis management mode ain’t pretty.

Instead, I’m setting realistic blog objectives, that are reasonably attainable.  If I end up with time to spare, who knows, I can always “head out on the highway looking for adventure.”

1. Blog Aesthetics – Although I like the highly customizable Thesis theme for this blog, I’m not crazy about the current look, and I still haven’t found the logo of my dreams.  As I work on the blog’s appearance, I also want to focus on function: revamping pages, editing categories, organizing posts. Overall, I want to ensure that the blog’s form follows the function of enabling readers to easily find subject content.  I’ll post occasional updates on the blog remodel for aspiring and/or experienced blogging friends.

2. Blog Content – There may come a day when I am moved to write a poem or share a recipe.  It’s highly unlikely seeing as how I don’t cook, and I’m no poet.  Nevertheless, I reserve the right to write about whatever moves me, even odes to my Chocolate Lab, Yoohoo.  For the most part, however, I’m going to stick to writing about the following subjects:

Publishing Quest:

I said it before, and I’ll say it again.  I will get published in 2010.  To fulfill this quest, I will be following advice to do all kinds of weird and wacky things like: writing, mapping goals, writing, organizing contacts, writing, developing a social media platform, writing, oh yeah, and writing some more.  Periodically, I’ll share resources that I uncover, and I’ll post updates on my progress.

Enrichment:

• School Enrichment – I’m going to write a series of articles based on my past experience volunteering at a suburban elementary public school.  Over the years, I helped develop programs that are well worth replicating; however, this information rarely gets passed on from one academic year to the next, much less between schools.  I intend to create a sustainable resource for parent volunteers and/or Enrichment Coordinators.
• Family Enrichment – I’ve written a few articles about enrichment activities that we do as a family, most notably through digital learning, service learning, and travel learning.  I plan to organize these posts into an archive that can be accessed in the On Living By Learning’s pages, while adding posts on current and past adventures.  Believe it not, I’ve barely begun to share our Reading Across America Road Trip!
• Girl Scouts – Expect to see articles about Girl Scouts.  As a Girl Scout leader, I advise a troop of Teen Cadettes who are working on earning their Silver Awards (the highest award at the middle school level given for an outstanding service project.)  I’m also creating an online presence for my Girl Scout Service Unit, as well as a better way to communicate the leadership development model.  Again, I’ll share our experience so that other adult volunteers can learn from my experience (and maybe those who’ve been there can comment with their tips as well!)
• Cub Scouts – My son’s Webelo Den of fourth graders is becoming more independent, and capable of taking on more ambitious projects.  It’s exciting to see what they are doing, and where they are going.  Of course, I’m going to share this with you.
• First Lego League – Our young team has cleared the rookie year hurdle, and is looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish now that they know what to expect.  Personally, I’m eager to report on next year’s challenge, “Body Forward,”  in which:

children will be asked to explore the cutting-edge world of biomedical engineering to discover innovative ways to repair injuries, overcome genetic predispositions, and maximize the body’s potential, with the intended purpose of leading happier and healthier lives.

• Enrichment Links – There is a veritable cornucopia of enrichment opportunities, too many to try personally.  I plan to post a weekly roundup of the most promising options that you can use, or discard, at will.  I hope to benefit my readers while creating a searchable database so that I can find these programs when they may be of interest in the future.

Digital Learning Conflict:

Personally, and as a parent of teens and tweens, I’ve been struggling with the pros and cons of digital learning for years.  While I tend to embrace technology, I strive to do so mindfully.

This year, I will review a couple of books that are worth comparing, discussing, and debating.  I hope you’ll join me in reading: iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind by Gary Small, M.D. and Gigi Vorgan; and Born Digital: Understanding The First Generation of Digital Natives by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser.

In an upcoming post, I’ll set up a topic schedule derived from these books covering hotly debated subjects like technology addiction, privacy, and overload.  I’ll also invite comments from experts, parents and educators, and we’ll see what we can learn together.  Stay tuned for more!

Homeschool NY:

Well, yes, I am homeschooling my son the rest of this fourth grade year, and most likely through fifth grade as well.  I will continue to post our homeschool records on this blog, as well as reflective articles.  Day to day, however, I’m not chronicling our homeschooling.  If you would like to follow more of our homeschool adventures, please visit my son’s blog at Leperdy.com.

High School Transition and the Global Student:

In June, Teen Daughter will be graduating from the small, private school that she currently attends, and transitioning to a public high school that is bursting at the seams with over 1,000 students.  Already, I’ve had to attend a parent orientation in which I discovered that she will have to take a battery of qualifying tests for entry into Honors classes.

Truly, the American high school experience is an obstacle course whose goal is college entrance.  Unfortunately, successfully traversing this gauntlet does not ensure that the high school graduate is college ready.

Fortunately, there are alternatives beyond what Maya Frost, author of The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education, labels the “four by four plan” (4 years high school, 4 years college.)  I will investigate and report on our options and choices, and you can see what Teen Daughter has to say on Elferkid.com.

Post Frequency:

I’d like to commit to daily blog posts, but that’s unrealistic.  I tried it once, during NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month in November, 2008,) but once was enough.  Many of my days are spent running around, chauffeuring kids or running meetings, with no time to write until late at night.  Although I’m a night bird, and actually enjoy staying up late to write, I can’t keep up the late nights when I have to rise early to tend my flock.  Some nights I have to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

Bottom line, don’t expect daily posts from On Living By Learning, but do expect to see new articles 3-4 times per week.

In the immortal words of Steppenwolf, “Yeah, darling, Gonna make it happen…”*  2010, it’s a new decade, a time for bold feats of daring and perseverance.  Are you with me?

*Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf

Get your motor running
Head out on the highway
Looking for adventure
In whatever comes our way
Yeah, darling
Gonna make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once and
Explode into space
I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racing in the wind
And the feeling that I’m under
Yeah, darling
Gonna make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once and
Explode into space
Like a true nature child
We were born
Born to be wild
We have climbed so high
Never want to die
Born to be wild
Born to be wild

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Tagged as: cub scouts, Digital Learning, enrichment, girl scouts, homeschool NY, Thesis