For the record, here in the On Living By Learning Household, we are in full compliance with New York State regulations regarding home instruction.  Not only do we cover every subject that we’re supposed to cover, we go above and beyond.  It’s just not always on the typical school schedule.

Our Typical Home School Day

When Teen Daughter gets on the bus to go to Parker School, Tween Son starts reading in bed.  Sometimes he’ll read an assigned book, not usually something he would choose himself, and sometimes I let him read whatever he wants.  Depending on what we’ve got lined up for the day, reading in bed time can go on for 1-3 hours (and sometimes even longer!)

Next, Tween Son tackles his core school work: Math, Grammar, Spelling, Journal.  I set a  stack of books  on his desk with post-its indicating what needs to be done that day, and he chooses the order in which he will get it done.  Usually, he prefers to tackle the Math first as it is his least favorite subject, and the one that takes the longest, anywhere from thirty minutes to a couple of hours.

Math Is Not His Favorite Subject

Most days, his Math work is drawn from Singapore 4A, but sometimes I’ll assign other material that ties in with the current topic.  We start by looking at the textbook to figure out the lesson, and we work through the sample problems together.  Sometimes that’s all he needs to understand the topic, before going off to do the workbook exercises on his own.  Other times, I spend a lot of time going over the material in different ways, and we end up working through the workbook exercises together, one at a time, until he gets it.  Recently, I found that even with doing all the workbook exercises, supplementary material, lots of one on one coaching, chapter reviews, and end of unit test; I’m still not confident that he has mastered basic equivalent fraction concepts.  Thus, I’m still adding in fraction practice problems to his current daily workbook exercises in Geometry.

On some Fridays, Alex attends a Math Counts Club where he spends two hours working through a sheet of math problems, independently and with a group, until they discuss the solutions at the end.  He doesn’t do any other math work on those days.

Language Arts

After the dreaded Math, he likes to tackle the Language Arts work because he can zip through this quickly.

These days, we’re using the Harcourt Language textbook and workbook for Grammar; but Alex does not do assignments every day, as Grammar practice is incorporated into his other written work.  When he does explicit Grammar work, we start by reviewing a section of the textbook together, and then he goes off to do the textbook and/or workbook exercises.

Most days of the week, we work through Spelling Power together.  First, he fills out the Spelling Journal header with the date, level, and spelling rule of the day.  Then, I test him on the words he got wrong the previous day, before testing him on the new words.  As he writes each word, I check for accuracy, and those that are wrong are rewritten correctly.  Afterwards, he runs through a practice checklist with missed words that includes writing a sentence with each word.  Later, I check the sentences for spelling and grammatical accuracy.

Daily, Alex writes in his journal for at least ten minutes.  Some days, he writes whatever he wants to write; other days he completes an assignment such as a book review or expository essay.  Many of these are later input into his blog, sometimes directly, but other times after substantial revision where I comment and he edits and/or rewrites.

Social Studies, Science, and Everything Else

This is where the typical homeschool day no longer applies.  Most days, after completing the core, we try to include Social Studies and Science.  For the most part, we’re covering Social Studies chronologically, using the Story of the World as our guide; and we cover science subjects as independent units.  However, we sometimes go off on a learning tangent that turns into an unscheduled unit, such as our current exploration of Leonardo Da Vinci which combines all of these subjects.

Recently, this has led to assigning various readings about Da Vinci, as well as You Tube videos and other interactive features online.  I’ve also asked Alex to tackle art and invention projects.  Sadly, I have to admit that I’m more excited about Leonardo Da Vinci than my son.  I had hoped that he would want to recreate more of the inventions, but he doesn’t at this time.  At least, he’s been exposed to the ideas, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this reflected in future activities.

That’s how learning goes.  I lead by example and instruction, inspiring unforeseen endeavors, but I can’t control the results.  And I wouldn’t want to.

Homeschool Enrichment

Daily exercise is an important part of our lives, whether as part of school or not.  At a minimum, Alex walks the dog most days of the week.  We use this walk to break up the day between school assignments.

Additionally, Alex has weekly physical education classes, as well as seasonal activities.  Right now, these classes are not within typical school hours as he joins non-homeschooled students in evening and weekend classes such as fencing and horseback riding.

Today, we’re heading to Jiminy Peak for an afternoon of skiing as we join big sister at Parker School’s Winter Fridays Program.  We’ll alternate this with Math Club for six weeks.

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon traveling to Saratoga Springs for a Homeschool Indoor Games Event.

Tomorrow, on a Saturday, Alex will spend the morning observing a Homeschooler Spelling Bee, and the afternoon at the barn where he will receive a group horseback riding lesson.

On Sunday, he’ll meet with his team to do a post mortem of the First Lego League tournament, and to plan robotics activities for the rest of the year.  And, we’ll probably go skiing in the morning.

Next week, we’ve lined up a Science Class and Boy Scout Outdoor Event on Tuesday, Indoor Games on Thursday, Math Club and Cub Scouts Pack Meeting on Friday, and so on, and so on.

Unschooling or “No Schooling”

Due to core subject coverage, enrichment programs, and our family’s interests; our homeschool days spill out into evenings and weekends.  It does not leave as much time for unschooling as I would like.

What is Unschooling? (reprinted from www.unschooling.com)

Have you ever described ‘red’ to a person who is color blind? Sometimes, trying to define unschooling is like trying to define red. Ask 30 unschoolers to define the word and you’ll get thirty shades of red. They’ll all be red, but they’ll all be different. Generally, unschoolers are concerned with learning or becoming educated, not with ‘doing school.’ The focus is upon the choices made by each individual learner, and those choices can vary according to learning style and personality type. There is no one way to unschool. Click here for more definitions.

Unschooling is trusting in a child’s natural curiosity to teach them what they need to know. The parent is there to answer questions, talk, infect the kids by their own curiosity about life! (though curious about what you’re interested rather in what you think would be good for the kids to be interested in!), bring in cool resources (that the kids can feel free to ignore if it just isn’t the right moment for their interest to ignite).

I imagine that unschooling is child-led learning in its purest form, and I’d like to encourage this at home.  But, there is so much that I want to include in our learning plans, that I end up encroaching on self-directed initiatives.

Rarely, I let Alex have what he calls his Pajama Do Nothing Days where he does whatever he wants.  And, on the days that we don’t have other plans or visitors, he’s free to do whatever he wants after the assigned school work and chores are done.  Usually, I find him reading his books (right now that means he’s rereading some favorites such as The Phantom Tollbooth.)  And, it means that he spends a LOT of time in virtual worlds like Roblox, and now, Dungeon and Dragons.

Is his computer time unschooling or “no schooling?”  Personally, I think that he’s doing a lot of learning while playing games online.  Not only is he learning programing skills such as scripting to create video games, but he’s discovering important lessons about collaborative vs. combative engagement in the virtual worlds.  Most importantly, he comes up with the ideas that interest him, and the topics that he’s willing to research and pursue.

This is his self-directed learning.  I’m his mom and his instructor, so I keep an eye on what he’s doing and I suggest other directions, or refer him to his mentor, the Geek Expert, as needed.  Mostly, I’m hands off and don’t control this area of his life.  I believe that this is the best way at this time to allow him to learn about Technology, and to develop tech skills, but it is not “no-schooling.”

What does he know?

Anyway, all of this is a long-winded response to a comment by Montgomery County District Attorney James “Jed” Conboy regarding his prosecution of local New York homeschoolers for failing to turn in paperwork in what he described as “the no-schooling case.” (See bold text below, emphasis added for easy viewing.)

Editorial: What was home-school parents’ crime? (The Daily Gazette, Schnectady, NY, January 15, 2010)

If Richard and Margie Cressy, of Glen, had kept their four kids
chained in the basement for seven years, or otherwise subjected them
to serious harm, then they would have deserved to be arrested and
charged with endangering the welfare of children, as they were by the
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department in late December. But it looks
as if all they did was fail to comply with the state’s paperwork
requirements for home-schooling.

Criminal charges should never have been brought, even if the
authorities truly believed there was no education going on, which they
did not. But now that the family is in compliance, District Attorney
James Conboy should drop the case.

Parents have a right to home-school their children, as long as they
can demonstrate to the local school district that their curriculum is
substantially equivalent to what they would get in the public school.
The Cressys admittedly didn’t do that (in seven years of living here,
they contacted the school district about none of their four children),
but they maintain they were home-schooling the children all along and
can prove it.

They say they offered some evidence to the Child Protective Services
representative and Sheriff’s Department investigator who visited their
home after receiving an anonymous tip in November. But according to a
Sheriff’s Department spokesman, “it wasn’t enough to prove they were
not in violation of the law.”

The investigator gave the parents until Dec. 17 to file all the
necessary paperwork with the district, says their lawyer. He says they
did so on Dec. 12, and on Dec. 21 received a letter from
Fonda-Fultonville School Superintendent James Hoffman that they were
in compliance. Hoffman has since told the Albany Times Union, “They’re
very nice people and I’m confident that there was some teaching going
on. …. I see it as a case of best intentions gone awry.”

The Sheriff’s Department spokesman acknowledges that they knew about
Hoffman’s approval of the Cressy’s home-schooling plan, but a week
later, on Dec. 28, still chose to arrest and charge them with
endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor that can come with a
punishment of up to one year in jail and a fine of $1,000. The Cressys
were booked, had their fingerprints and mugshots taken, and were
issued an appearance ticket to show up in court. The court date is
Jan. 26.

In a phone conversation Wednesday, Conboy said he wasn’t told in
advance of the charges by the Sheriff’s Department, but plans to
pursue them now. As an indication of his attitude, when asked about
“the home-schooling case,” he said, “You mean the no-schooling case.”

He said that if the Cressys had produced any piece of paper or
anything to show they were educating their kids, “We wouldn’t be
having this conversation now.” Perhaps he should have another talk
with the Sheriff’s Department spokesman who acknowledged that some
proof was offered that the Cressys were educating the children, or the
investigator who concluded that they were “somewhat educated.”

When asked why the Penal Law was used in this case rather than
Education Law, which has a provision for bringing charges of
“educational neglect” in Family Court when parents of public school
students allow them to be chronically truant, or home-school parents
don’t do the job, Conboy replied, “I don’t practice in Family Court.”

Law enforcement officials have discretion and the Sheriff’s Department
should have exercised it in this case. Prosecutors also have it, and
Conboy should do the same. He says “the only thing we want to do is
make sure their kids are being educated.” It appears they were before,
and there is a plan and mechanism (through school district monitoring)
for making sure they are in the future. Drop this foolish case.

We Lean Toward School-At-Home, But Wish We Leaned More Toward Unschooling

Jennifer, Blogging ‘Bout Boys, asked:

“Wow, you have to do a lot of work in NY! I’m just curious how this works out in a day-to-day fashion. Do you have a typical routine/schedule? Where would you describe yourself on the school-at-home to unschooling continuum?”

I’m sorry to say, as much as I’d like to be closer to the unschooling continuum, allowing Alex to direct more of his learning, I’m way too close to the school-at-home continuum. 

Even though we don’t follow a typical 9-3 desk work schedule, we end up covering all the NY State Core Curriculum either during daily desk work or through various enrichment programs.  At least, since we are homeschooling, I’m able to differentiate the work to skip over material that he’s already discovered on his own.  This is particularly important when we cover Science, as he seems to have absorbed through osmosis all the information and skills that are expected through his grade level.

In Science, as in the other subjects, we cover more than is required in New York.  We also add subjects to our curriculum, such as Foreign Language, that are not required in this state.  And, we provide the school district with the link to Alex’s blog as an ongoing portfolio of his work, but this is NOT a requirement at all.

It’s just my nature to go above and beyond, and sometimes that’s not such a great quality.  For me, and for my children, the real challenge is finding balance, figuring out when to chill, and really, truly, DO NOTHING!

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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I must be doing something wrong, again.  While my friends’ offspring don’t ever want to leave home, my child -barely a teen at thirteen – can’t wait to move on.

She is already campaigning for a foreign exchange year, preferably next year.  Forget high school, she’s ready to jump straight from middle school to college.

MIT’s Splash Program

Recently, she got a little taste of the college life at MIT’s Splash weekend, two days jam-packed with back to back classes.  And it’s just whetted her appetite for more.

One weekend in November, thousands of students of all types flood to MIT just for ESP’s Splash program. From fractal fun to Hungarian history to aircraft analysis, Splash participants are introduced to a huge variety of topics by over 400 classes taught by teachers from the MIT community. Want to take a class on Egyptian mythology? And origami? And chemical sensors? All are possible. Students have 20 hours to take as many classes as they want!
 

It’s an intense weekend.  On Saturday morning, I accompanied Teen Daughter to registration and then walked her over to her first class at 9:00AM.  I didn’t see her again until 6:00 PM. (Note- High School students return after dinner for more classes!)  The next day, I dropped her off at the same time, but her classes didn’t finish until 7:00PM.  She was on her own, among strangers, the entire time.

It turns out that that was part of the appeal.  When asked what she liked about Splash, she answered, “The classes were really fun, and I liked being able to roam the campus on my own.”

MIT’s Splash Classes

With over 700 classes to choose from, it’s hard NOT to find fun classes.  My daughter didn’t even try to register on the first day (when an overload of students crashed the system), but she still found a plethora of interesting classes.  She didn’t get into the quickly filled Pen Spinning or Cheesecakeology classes, but she did get into:

• To Cube (Solving the the Rubik’s Cube)
• A Brief Conversation About the Baha’i Faith
• Why Do We Love?
• Teach anything! – How to fake a presentation
• The Mathematics of Juggling
• The Wonders of Recorded Audio
• How Scientists Solve the Mysteries Behind the Biology of Love
• 49 Reasons Why California Is Better Than Your State
• How to Open a Paper Fan
• The Sacred Art of Ski & Snowboard Tuning
• Advantage Gambling: the casino business model, the poker boom, and gambling teams
• How to be “One of the Guys” … Even if you Hate Football

Most of her instructors were young and entertaining, many of them students themselves.  One of the teachers was former child star Brittany Ashton Holmes, who played “Darla” in the 1994 film “Little Rascals.”  She taught “How to be “One of the Guys” … Even if you Hate Football.”  Another teacher flew in from Stanford, where college students also put on an annual Splash program.  (She didn’t teach “49 Reasons Why California Is Better Than Your State.”)

Splash alumni love the program so much that they’re starting  similar programs at universities around the country. This year, a new Splash program is being launched at Duke University in North Carolina. 

Splash is an exciting program that reflects the enthusiasm and passion of all involved.  Teen Daughter enjoyed it so much that, not only will she return next year; but she’s going to try to register for Spark, MIT’s one day program in the Spring.  We’re also going to look into signing up for the Splash program in New York City.

Planning Your Splash at MIT in Cambridge, MA Trip:

Hotel – We stayed at Le Meridien, located just two blocks from the MIT campus.  It’s luxurious, but with reasonably priced rooms (we found excellent room rates on Expedia.) And, it’s right next to a large, inexpensive parking lot and a grocery store.  Very convenient.

Breakfast – The Student Union offers a variety of dining options, from the full-serve convenience store to a Dunkin Donuts.  Perhaps the best deal are the yummy breakfast burritos at Anna’s Taqueria.  We ate there multiple times over the one weekend, and met Boston natives who frequent the establishment for their regular dinner take out.

Dinner – Royal East – We followed our friends, some of whom were celebrating with a CTY summer camp crowd, to this restaurant.  Smart kids.  The meals were reasonable, delicious, and just a short walk from Splash classes.

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It’s Not Just A Riding Lesson from Sandra Foyt on Vimeo.

I was trying to explain to my husband why I thought riding lessons were a good idea for our son.  But, I couldn’t express something that I just felt intuitively.

I tried to tell him that equine therapy has a long history of empowering and enabling students, even those with significant disabilities:

…the environment of the horse can provide more than just riding skills. The programs which offer the equine environment to people with disabilities can teach companionship, responsibility, leadership, vocational, educational skills as well as offer competition venues in the different horse disciplines. Riding a horse provides a unique and often profound recreational or leisure activity for many people. There are many sports which people who have disabilities can participate in for enhancing their lives which offer social and physical fitness as addressed in the Special Olympic programs for people with a cognitive disability. There are hundreds of programs around the world as well as many organizations dedicated to the various forms of horse riding or horse care which address many other disabilities and may not have a cognitive disability.

The student who interacts with their horse may extend this to others and to form meaningful relationships with people. Building a relationship with an animal is very rewarding in many aspects; for a person with an emotional, social or psychological disability, the trust and loyalty of an animal demonstrates to the student how important they are and then they may extend these attributes to personal relationships. Horses also help people feel in control of their situation because there is a direct correlation between action and reaction. To learn how to care for and ride a horse, a student must also be able to communicate efficiently with the horse and the instructor. In this way, riding is a very social activity, but is less daunting to people who are uncomfortable in social situations. However, the experience of riding a horse is very different. Riding helps to empower people and enables them to connect on a personal level. The sometimes unpredictable nature of animals and situations also creates a real-life environment in which students will be able to confront fears and make adjustments to situations beyond their control.

I also told him that we’d found an amazing instructor who really understands how to work with a young boy, and who clearly knows how to break down the mechanics of riding.  She is able to keep Alex motivated and working hard.  Both are no mean feats!

In the end, I decided that, instead of explaining, I’d just show him a riding lesson.  He can see for himself why Alex is learning so much more that just how to ride a horse.

Local Connection:

• Ride With Lisa

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I’m a normal, run-of-the-mill mom. I wasn’t born with any special powers, and I can’t say that I’ve ever knowingly played with Legos.

Nevertheless, here I am, coaching a FIRST Lego League team. 

I’ve never been to a Lego League tournament, and I have no clue how to program a Lego Mindstorm robot. 

The courage of fools, that’s what I have.  Oh, yeah, and I’ve taken bold leaps into the unknown before.

Odyssey of the Mind 

A few years ago, I coached not one, but two, Odyssey of the Mind teams simultaneously.  I’d never coached any kind of team, ZERO, NONE, NADA, before.  I’d never even been on a team, except a half-hearted intramural softball team in college, once.  Actually, I wasn’t on that team except when they invited me to a couple of games to round out the numbers.

Despite my ignorance, I tackled OotM with my usual enthusiasm, and somehow, the teams thrived.  One team even won the regional tournament, and went on to compete at the state level.  Pretty awesome for first timers.

Not that winning is the goal. 

Lego League Core Values

I’ve already warned the Brick Busters – that’s the team name – that it’s highly unlikely that we will bring home any trophies.  These upper elementary students are going to be competing against experienced middle schoolers.  Anyway, Lego League isn’t about winning, it’s about having fun. 

I shared the Lego League Core Values at the Informational Meeting, and also at the first team meeting.  I’ll probably end up saying it over, and over, again until we can all recite them by heart:

1. We are a team
2. We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors
3. We honor the spirit of friendly competition
4. What we discover is more important then what we win
5. We share our experiences with others
6. We display gracious professionalism in everything we do
7. Most important, WE HAVE FUN!!!

Let The Games Begin…

In keeping with this spirit of fun, we began the Brick Buster meeting with a Circle Name Game:

One person shared a fact about themselves at the center of the circle (ex. “I’m Sandra, and I have one dog.”)  Then, everyone who shared that trait left their spot in the circle, and tried to find another.  Whoever was last got to take a turn sharing.

Next, it was time for a Team Building Activity to help the kids become more comfortable working together.  Odyssey of the Mind Spontaneous Problems are a great resource for these kinds of activities.

I went with the classic Spaghetti Tower Challenge.  It’s easy.  It’s cheap.  It’s not too messy.  And, it doubles as a snack.  Don’t ask.

Both of these games provided a necessary ice breaker that made it a lot easier to launch into the brainstorming part of our 3 Hour Tour.

The Research Project

It turns out that the FIRST Lego League isn’t just about building Lego models.  In fact, it’s a lot like OotM in that you have a problem and solution that the team must present creatively.  This year, the Smart Move Challenge asks the teams to tackle transportation safety in a community.

It’s left to the team to define the community (which can be anywhere, even in Space) and the mode of transportation.  Reflecting current events, some teams are even tackling viruses as a transportation system.

In one hour, our team came up with a list of communities and of modes of transportation.  Then, they took a vote as to which communities interested them the most, and narrowed the list to just two.  Now, as a homework assignment, they will investigate the types of problems associated with their preferred community.  Next week, they’ll present their findings so that they can decide which one is worth pursuing further.

All in all, the research project is off to a good start.

Lego Robot Missions

This side of the challenge proved to be more problematic.  Although we have a Junior Coach who is an “expert” at building and programming Lego models, called “missions,” we didn’t take into account how difficult it would be to work with a team of 10 to build 8 different missions.

We learned on the job.  Next week, we’ll break up the team into sub-teams that will work independently to build the missions.  We’ll see how that goes.

Sharing Is Caring…

See, this is how the kids, and the adults, learn how to work together.  Sharing our triumphs, as well as our downfalls, is what FIRST Lego League likes to call “coopertition:”

Coopertition produces innovation. At FIRST, Coopertition is displaying unqualified kindness and respect in the face of fierce competition. Coopertition is founded on the concept and a philosophy that teams can and should help and cooperate with each other even as they compete.
Coopertition involves learning from teammates. It is teaching teammates. It is learning from mentors. And it is managing and being managed. Coopertition means competing always, but assisting and enabling others when you can.

More Team Building Games:

• Kids Who Think
• Odyssey of the Mind Spontaneous Problems
• Arizona Odyssey
• Wikipedia Resource List

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In the few weeks that we’ve been on our Read Across America Road Trip, my son has developed several life ambitions.   When he grows up, he wants to be a(n): architect, geologist, paleontologist, or cowboy.  That’s just from exploring a few book settings over three weeks.

If nothing else, this learning vacation has served to expand the boundaries of our imagination.

Exploring Tom Sawyer’s World

It’s a small town, and you could easily see every bit of it within a few hours, but then you’d miss discovering what it’s like to see this river town from the perspective of an imaginative child.

We could’ve gotten a cheap motel room for about $50, but we chose to set up our tent at the Injun Joe Campground, thinking this was part of the Tom Sawyer experience.

Lured by ads for go carts, batting cage, and go karts, the kids chose this campground over the Mark Twain Campground.  Well, we learned our lesson.  Although these rusty amenities were available, we never touched them.  It takes a LOT of imagination to call this a campground.  (My kids call it a trailer park.)

Setting up our tent, we were fairly happy with our new home.  We’d found a spot far from the RVs that looked like they’d long forgotten the feel of the open road, and with judicious placement of tents, we were able to ignore the litter on our site.  That first night, we relaxed in our fancy screened in room, and listened to Tom Sawyer on audiobook. 

On the first night, we woke to the sounds of torrential rains.  It poured, and continued to pour throughout the day and following night.  Our gear was saturated with Mississippi River mud that promises to be a reminder of our trip for a long time to come.

The second night, we managed to lock ourselves out of the car.

Discovering Mark Twain’s Hometown

Fortunately, the rest of the trip wasn’t nearly as eventful.

In Hannibal, MO we visited Mark Twain’s boyhood home, an interpretive center, and a children’s museum.  None of these took long to explore, but all were well worth the visit. 

Beware, the gift shop is well-stocked with the kind of items that appeal to mischievous children.

Some kids may learn lessons that we may prefer they never learn.  Here’s the “real” Tom Sawyer fence:

And another in the Children’s Museum:

We skipped one of the popular attractions, the steamboat ride, but we went in for a closer look at the Mississippi River:

Personally, I preferred the Mississippi Mud Malt at the Mark Twain Dinette, served with real southern fried chicken:

Afterwards, we worked off some of this rich food with a climb to the top of Cardiff Hill, and a view of where Tom Sawyer supposedly played at pirates.

Our favorite attraction was the Mark Twain Cave.  We’ve explored more geologically exciting caverns, but this one comes with a doozy of a story.  Not only do you get the full Tom Sawyer tour, but you learn about the real-life cave inhabitants, including Jesse James and the doctor who stored a dead child.

Alex was just mesmerized by the cave, and the prospect of treasure.  For that day, at least, he planned to grow up to be a geologist.  He donned his miner’s hat, and went in search of underground treasure.  Although he had to leave Injun Joe’s treasure on sight, he was thrilled to discover and keep piece of “pure” limestone.  It may look like glass to some, but to the imaginative mind this is a rare jewel.

There comes a time in every rightly-constructed boy’s life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure.  Mark Twain, Wit and Wisecracks.

Related:

Alex: Review of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn

Kayla: Tom Sawyer; Huck Finn 

Photos On Flickr: Read Across America Road Trip – Hannibal, MO

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By the time my daughter reached 4th Grade, I was spending a lot of energy researching Gifted Education, and Education in general.  I’d done everything I could to advocate for her special needs in school, and I’d realized that our school district didn’t have the resources (or desire) to fulfill her needs in school.

Our school district provided a pull-out Enrichment Program, very loosely modeled on Renzulli’s Schoolwide Enrichment Model, that gave Kayla a break from class for three hours, once a week.  During this time, she competed in Math Olympiad, and prepared to compete in Odyssey of the Mind.  Additionally, her classroom teacher was charged with differentiating the curriculum.  In practice, she wasn’t challenged or engaged most of the time, and she was far from working to her potential.

Bottom line, I had to enrich and supplement her education at home.

Enrichment At Home

Now, enriching her education wasn’t much of a stretch.  Our family loves to learn and travel, so enriching family activities and trips are just par for the course.  Outside of school, Kayla signed up for all kinds of classes and camps: dance, theater, science camp, zoo camp, cooking lessons, harp lessons, swim team, softball team, computer club, running club, etc., etc.  I’ve lost track of all the enrichment activities that Kayla has tried over the years!

Kayla also benefited from Girl Scout activities and trips that were thematically linked to the curriculum.  For example, when the girls were learning about New York in school, we organized field trips to local historical museums and to the State Capitol, and we encouraged them to work on relevant patch programs.  It just made sense to link academics and extracurricular activities.

Afterschool Home School

Supplementing her education was more of a challenge as I had to investigate what was available, and believe me, there is a staggering amount of educational material and resources available, even without looking at homeschool curriculum.

Soon, I was pawing through the Education bookshelves at Barnes & Noble and the Columbia University Bookstore, and following every lead in books like Karen B. Rogers’ Re-Forming Gifted Education: How Parents and Teachers Can Match the Program to the Child. (See Rogers on Gifted domains.)

I might have gone a little bonkers trying out new material.  That year, we supplemented with the following (but not all at the same time!)

Afterschool History

• I discovered The Well Trained Mind and our lives have never been the same.  My daughter LOVED the affiliated Story of the World series, even though I asked her to write about the readings.
• We also looked into the Student Research Awards sponsored by the New York State Archives.  Kayla wanted to do a project, but we couldn’t find the time outside of school, and there was no support for this in school.
• She did enter, and win, an essay contest about the American flag sponsored by Fort Crailo.
• Kayla visited the 4th Grade class taught by a family friend in southern California.  To prepare for the visit, she created a project on the Iroquois to share with the students who were displaying projects about Native Americans.

Afterschool Math

• Kumon Math – It seemed like a good idea at the time.  Just 10 minutes a day, and your child will be a math wiz!  Confessions of a Kuman Mom
• In school, Kayla was bored to tears with the spiraling Houghton Mifflin Math.  As far as she could tell, it seemed that they kept going over the same math taught in previous years.  At that time, I had no idea what spiraling was, but I had the bright idea to compare math textbooks by testing out the math textbook being used by friends in both a local elite private school, and the very highly regarded public schools in Montgomery County, MD. You guessed it, they were using the quintessential spiraling math curriculum of Everyday Math.  That was a short-lived venture as I couldn’t make heads or tails of the materials, and if it didn’t make sense to me, I certainly couldn’t expect it to inspire a love of math in my daughter!
• Highline Advanced Math Program – Kayla seemed to enjoy Math Olympiad, so I tried to help her prepare for the competition tests by reviewing this math enrichment program.  It was alright, but it certainly didn’t light a fire in her belly.
• Hey Math! – I paid for the online subscription because the program promised to “ignite young minds” with the interactive math program favored by Singapore Math students.  No, it did not ignite my daughter’s mind, but that was early in its development.

Afterschool Language Arts

• Inspired by Lucy Calkins’ The Art of Teaching Writing,  I tried to implement elements of the Writer’s Workshop. Since my daughter spent most of her waking hours outside the house, this wasn’t as successful as I would’ve liked.
• One of Kayla’s favorite teachers, who taught her in 2nd grade, “volunteered” to give her private writing lessons.  Actually, this teacher was not immune to Kayla’s big blue eyes, and the sweetness of her request, as my daughter visited her classroom and begged to be given writing lessons.  There wasn’t time for too many lessons, but they were much appreciated.
• Great Source Education Group publishes great textbooks.  Write Source: A Book For Writing, Thinking, and Learning is a great reference for scholarly writing at the elementary level.  Also, the series, Daybook of Critical Reading and Writing is a great way to introduce students to the mechanics of reading.
• Mother Daughter Book Club – This has been a source of joy, camaraderie, and even some learning since we started the group in third grade.
• Junior Great Books Program – I tried, and failed, to start this reading program which promotes critical thinking through an emphasis on Shared Inquiry at our school.  Our school library had all the materials, and the librarian has been trained to implement them.  However, it is apparent that she doesn’t really care for the reading materials.  In fact, she had several complaints. Of course, I went ahead and purchased the materials to use the program at home, and found that it’s better for a group setting where you can have book discussion.  One on one, it’s just not as much fun.
• That summer, I enrolled Kayla in an online writing program given by Stanford’s Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY.) The writing class was excellent, and Kayla was excited to share it with students from around the world, but she wasn’t too thrilled to have to do class work in the summer, especially when we went to visit friends.

My Poor Child, The Guinea Pig

Over the course of that 4th Grade year, my daughter did a lot of extracurricular class work.  Too much.  Mostly, I’ve learned my lesson, and don’t ask her to do much at all.

Nowadays, she’s s-l-o-w-l-y working through Danica McKellar’s Math Doesn’t Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail.  She’s also barreling through Painless Vocabulary at the breakneck speed of a glacier. No, she isn’t breaking any academic productivity records.

However, she is an avid reader, and she is challenged and engaged at school.  That’s more than good enough.

Making The Cut Into Our Homeschool Curriculum

Eventually, through all my research into Gifted Education, I came across a list, based on a survey of gifted students, that described their learning requirements, and I was struck by two items in particular:

• Gifted students want to study things that interest them and go beyond basics
• Work with abstract concepts that require more than simple thinking – such as creative, reflective, and analytical ideas

I’ve kept that in mind as I decided what would make the cut into my son’s Fourth Grade Homeschool Curriculum.

Homeschool History

• Story of the World worked out well with both of my children, and provides the framework for our homeschool curriculum.
• Now that he’s old enough, I will encourage my son to try to create a project for the Student Research Awards.

Homeschool Math

• None of the math programs that Kayla used in 4th Grade made the cut, but we may revisit the new and improved Hey Math! as a supplement to Singapore Math, which has worked out well for my son.

Homeschool Language Arts

• I continue to be inspired by Lucy Calkins’ The Art of Teaching Writing and the Writer’s Workshop, and we’re still reading through Ralph Fletcher’s books for young writers that is also in this same vein.
• This year we’ll finally use the Great Source material as more than a reference guide.  Alex will be working through the Write Source writing projects, and the reflections in the Daybook of Critical Reading and Writing.
• Book Club – It’s not the Mother Daughter Book Club, but Alex will continue to participate in a couple of book clubs.  One is a Homeschool Kids Book Club that seems to prefer Fantasy books.  The other is a very small group that is working through the material in Deconstructing Penguins: Parents, Kids, and the Bond of Reading

Is That All?

No, there’s more.  A lot more.  I’ve been collecting books and resources for years.  And, there are a lot of opportunities, such as the local Math Counts Homeschool Group, that open up to older students.  It won’t be easy to cull through all the materials to formulate our Fourth Grade IHIP, but the real issue will be to see what resonates with Alex, ’cause “It Don’t Mean a Thing, (If It Ain’t Got That Swing!)”

What am I missing?  Can you think of any programs or resources that I should include in our plans for next year?  Please comment!

My 21st Century Education Plan Series:

• How Should We Educate 21st Century Students?
• Who’s Minding The Gap In Your Child’s Education?
• Moving Beyond Learning Standards

Related Articles:

• Does your school value the Gifted and Talented? – Lists learning needs of gifted students.
• One Step Ahead of the Train Wreck – One dad’s experience supplementing spiraling Everyday Math with Singapore at home.

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Some of you might think it’s too early to start thinking about college.  After all, my oldest is just in 7th Grade.  Some of you; however, may be of the opinion that college planning should start at birth.

In our family, college planning started long before we even had any children.  This is THE big issue that my husband and I have been discussing since our Pre-Cana counseling days.

My husband, a product of a prestigious prep school and the full Ivy League package, has been touting the traditional path from the get go. 

I, on the other hand, the product of an education rich in scenic routes, well, let’s just say that I’ve been open to alternatives.

Together, we’re forging a middle path.  We encourage our children to explore interests and learning for its own sake, as opposed to doing so to produce a college-worthy curriculum vitae.  At the same time, I’m not above keeping an eye out for programs that might help my children develop skills needed for college admissions.

Traditional Path To College

You may be wondering what I mean when I mention the traditional path to college.  By traditional, I’m merely referring to my husband’s educational path where you attend the best school your parents can afford, get the highest grades possible, choose extracurricular activities that look good on college applications, and take as many college prep classes as you can.

Hyper Path To College

Nowadays, many parents worry that even the traditional path isn’t good enough to get their kids into choice colleges.  As a result, you’ll find kids signed up for extracurricular academic programs as soon as they’re out of diapers.

We’re guilty of that as well, although it wasn’t because we were worried about college. 

For example, in Confessions of a Kumon Mom, I talk about how I signed up my kids for this math program because I feared that they might be left behind by other students who are getting rigorous math instruction. 

Eventually, I realized that by signing them up for this program, I was squelching any chance that they might actually like math enough to want to pursue the subject at all.

There is a fine line between enabling learners, or overwhelming them with parental enthusiasm.

Our Middle Ground

Just this week, I found out about a new test, the RediStep, that the College Board will offer Eight Graders to discover if they are on track for college. 

Also, this week, we saw the launch of yet another online college prep program, Brightstorm.  This startup, with it’s very appealing multimedia classes, has received a $6 million investment from Korea’s KTB Ventures, and looks to be a worthy contender to Megastudy, the biggest of Korea’s many “cram schools.”

Looking at this information, I might be tempted to sign up my child right away for Brightstorm classes.  And, if I were pushing my child on the Hyper Path to college, I would not hesitate.

However, I hope I’ve learned my lesson with the whole Kumon Math experience.  Now, I’ll show my kids the program, and if they want to take a class they can, but if they don’t want to, they don’t have to.

As long as they are learning, and enjoying learning, then I know that they are “on track” to accomplish whatever they can dream up.

Alternative Path

How do I know that my kids are “on track?”  Well, I don’t know exactly, but I do know that none of us really know what the future holds.

When we attended college, twenty years ago,  global health wasn’t one of the most popular subjects as it is now.  And, this interest is likely to be further fueled by Google.org’s announcment that it would put $14 million toward the goal of preventing the next global pandemic. 

College paths and career markets have changed dramatically in the short time since we were in school, and it will continue to do so.

Additionally, who’s to know where an interest will lead?  Even a love of video games can lead to a rewarding career.  An “E-Gaming” major is now offered at some college, and while some advocates are pushing to get more girls into the video game industry, one super star, Jade Raymond, has already blazed a trail.

Our best bet is to raise kids who love to learn, and who enjoy life.  We want them to be “confident thinkers” who are able to make to make their own decisions about what is important to them.

What do you think?

Have you started thinking about college for your young child?  Or, are you a veteran of the college admissions process?  What do you think?  What college prep choices are you making?

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On school field trips, students are usually told to leave the electronics at home.  As a home school educator, I take a different approach.

It’s not that I tell my kids that they have to bring their electronic gadgets; well, I do remind them to pack their cameras.  I’ve found that electronics are usually an asset on field trips.

On long car trips, digital media – including Ipods and GameBoys -entertains, amuses, and even educates.

At our destination, digital media often allows us to extend and enrich field trip lessons.  Digital learning can enhance the experience before, during, and after a field trip.

Digital Photography on Home School Field Trips

A digital camera is the one essential item on our field trips. 

During a field trip, a camera-related project can enliven any visit. Sometimes we take our cameras an a planned hunt, such as a Zoo Shutterbug Safari, and other times we photograph whatever captures our fancy.

A camera is also a handy research tool.  We use it to photograph exhibit captions so that we can remember all the information without having to take copious notes.

Afterwards, the photos can be used to inform and illustrate a written assignment such as a blog post, journal, poster, or essay.

Alternatively, consider using an inexpensive camcorder on field trips, like the Flip Video Alex used at  Coral World.

Digital Audio On Home School Field Trips

Reading On The Road with an audio-book can turn a long road trip into an opportunity to share and discuss a complex novel such as Animal Farm.

Select a book related to your field trip destination, and it can be an excellent way to provide background, spark interest, or inspire questions.

At a museum or historical site, an Audio Guide – especially the Family version – can help children understand what they are seeing. 

On our recent visit to the Greek Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum, Alex followed the trail in the Animals All Around Family Guide Brochure and he listened to the Audio Guide when he reached each exhibit.

The family guide brochure gave us a framework for tackling what could’ve been an overwhelming amount of Greek Art, and the Audio Tour provided insights with kid-appeal.  Both contributed to an enjoyable art museum visit, even though this is not my son’s favorite field trip destination.

Digital Video On Home School Field Trips

By chance, our first stop on on a recent visit to the American Museum of Natural History, was at the IMAX film, Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure.

Afterwards, it made sense to look for the fossilized remains of prehistoric marine inhabitants as we toured the museum. 

In the Lizards & Snakes: Alive! exhibit we found a marine monster within the largest order of  reptiles, Squamata.  Later, we found even larger specimens on the Dinosaur Floor.

Once again, digital media helped us discover interesting exhibit items while giving us the story behind the visual display.

Digital Learning Field Trip Resource List -

Many field trip destinations maintain a website with resources for Educators and Families; however, you don’t have to limit your search to the specific place that you intend to visit.

Often, you can find fabulous ideas and resources on the websites of similar destinations in other parts of the country.

For a real, or virtual, trip to the art museum:

NGA Classroom – From the National Gallery, this amazing resource connects art and curriculum by offering a database that can be searched by Curriculum Subjects, Topics, or Artists.  Example: online interactive unit on Art & Ecology.

Explore and Learn – Downloadable publications for educators, online activities, and fun projects from the Metropolitan Museum.  These will enrich any study of ancient through modern history.  Example: Visit The Tomb of Perneb when studying Ancient Egypt.

The Huntington – Art lesson plans, images, and other resources for learning about art.  Some of these art-related lessons can be used at any art museum, while the online materials could be used anywhere. Example: PDF lesson plan on The Poetry of Art.

 NGA Kids – Printable family guides to exhibits at the National Gallery and a beautifully vivid Art Zone where you can make interactive art online.

Cell Phone Tour -  Listen to architect I.M. Pei  discuss the importance of sculpture in relation to his architecture.

For a real, or virtual, trip to a science museum:

Resources For Learning from the American Museum of Natural History – Educator’s Guides, Online Games, and a database of science topics, that can be searched by sub-topic, grade level, or resource type.  Example: Check out the Special Collections on The Horse, Snakes & Lizards Alive!, and Water.

National Geographic On Sea Monsters – Videos, Fun Activities, Lesson Plans, Wallpapers, and Photos.  You can find more science resources from National Geographic on National Geographic Kids and the Home Page.

Think Science! Pathways – Lesson plans on Space, Light and Sound, and Test Flight from the California Science Center.

Teacher Resources, with curriculum connections, and Resources For Students, with online games and science fair resources, from the Ontario Science Center with a link to great General Science Web Links.

For a real, or virtual, trip to the zoo:

Shutterbugs On Safari – Downloadable camera-based exploration program that can be used at any zoo or animal park.

San Diego Zoo Education – Curriculum, Classroom Kits, and Activities that can be used in, and out, of the zoo.

Bronx Zoo Educator Resources – Lesson Plans, Interactive Online Activities, and Zoo Activities.

National Zoo Activity Sheets – Although these activity sheets were created to be used at the National Zoo, they can be used at any zoo, or for an online scavenger hunt.

Related articles:

Journals and the Flip Video on Travel Learning: The Art of Observation.

Find more science links on Love Bugs: Learning About The Natural World.

Links to free audio books on Wired On The Road.

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It was 10 o’clock at night, after a full day of touring New York City, and I worried  that my youngest child would fall asleep during the production of Dream, an adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Instead, he was on the edge of his seat guffawing with laughter.

Actually, we were all laughing at that point.  The young cast of this Downtown Art production, under the direction of Ryan Gilliam, had put on a delightful performance.

This comedic tale of romance and parental disobedience has been “infused with Celtic tales of mischief and magic.”  Irish fairies snatch babies and use magic potions to redirect love and turn a man into a donkey.  The talented teens drew us right into the story, and kept us completely engaged throughout.

Our kids loved the show, even 8-year-old Alex. 

This was his first time seeing a full production of a Shakespearean play and I was concerned that he wouldn’t understand or enjoy the show.  A couple of times, Alex had to ask for the definition of words like “woo.” And the language was difficult to follow: a Shakespearean English delivered with an Irish accent.  Mostly, I was mistakenly thinking that Shakespeare is only for older children and adults.

In truth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is perhaps the most accessible Shakespearean play for children.  This particular production was an excellent introduction to theatre and the Bard’s work.

I’m glad Alex had a chance to just enjoy the magic and wonder of Shakespeare, long before it is a sometimes dreaded required topic in high school.

Of course, this successful introduction is just part of an ongoing learning campaign. 

Introduction

Alex’s first introduction to Shakespeare was in Preschool as one of a group of Elizabethan dancers.  For the past six years, Sean Fagan has put on an annual extravaganza that brings the entire Robert C. Parker school community into an amazing performance of Shakespearean theatrics.  This year, Alex returned to Parker as a member of the audience watching his sister in an excerpt from The Taming of the Shrew.

The Globe

Another exposure was on our European vacation in 2005, when we took a guided tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.  We weren’t able to get show tickets, and didn’t really want to tackle a crowded, standing-room only, performance with a 5-year-old.  However, the tour provided fascinating insight into Shakespeare’s world.  Also, the shop had a wonderfully comprehensive collection of books on everything and anything to do with Shakespeare.

My kids picked up a book on Shakespearean insults that has remained a treasured source of their wit.

Our Books on Shakespeare Collection

Shakespeare: The Basics by Sean McEvoy is a good way to quickly pick up an overview and essential information on any of the Shakespearean plays.  I keep it as a reference to jumpstart my faulty memory.

Shakespeare: The Bard’s Guide to Abuses and Affronts – This is my kids’ treasured resource on Shakespearean insults.

Ten Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb. – These short story versions of the plays are a good way to share the story before seeing one of these plays.  It includes: The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, King Lear, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Othello.

Welcome to the Globe!: The Story of Shakespeare’s Theater (DK Readers: Level 4) is a a colorful, well-illustrated introduction to Shakespeare’s world.

Shakespeare’s Globe: The Guidebook contains all the details on this historic theatre.

William Shakespeare & The Globe by Aliki – The story of the Globe is told as if it were a play that is illustrated as if it were a beautiful comic book.

Mr. William Shakespeare’s Plays presented by Marcia Williams is a cartoon retelling of the following plays: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar, and The Tempest.

Other Resources

Shakespeare Movies For The Family – A guide to movie versions of Shakespeare’s plays that are appropriate for children.

The Globe’s Online Learning includes a virtual tour of The Globe and the opportunity to follow an actor through a season.

Folger Shakespeare Library – Online games, challenges, and educational resources.

Shakespeare Are Kids – Do Your Own Shakespeare allows kids to virtually participate in a play and a teacher’s section with tips for K-8 educators.

Surfing the Net with Kids: William Shakespeare – Lots of kid-friendly fun and educational links.

Future Exposure

We plan to continue finding opportunities to enjoy Shakespeare’s plays, and perhaps pick up a few pointers on creating stories that can stand the test of time.

I can’t wait for the Shakespeare in the Park Series!

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