|
|
|
| Home | Legal | About Us | Link To Us | Bookmark Us | Recommend Us | Suggest a Link | Search | Feedback | Contact | |
| |
|
|
|
Homeschooling On The Move by Theresa Willingham |
|
DAY 1: Daddy calls to ask how we feel about moving to Tampa. Mommy says, "Huh?" and after a little more info -- including the tantalizing tidbit that Daddy's been offered a much more lucrative job across the state and the somewhat unsettling piece of knowledge that if he accepts the job he'd start in just three weeks -- hangs up in a quandary.
Facts: We've lived in our present home for more than 11 years and it's the only home our children have ever known. We all have something of a "homebody" gene and like the quiet stability and routine of our lives. Yet it's foolish not to rise to the occasion, and we DO need a bigger place and there sure are a lot of opportunities for the kids in Tampa: museums galore, four colleges, theatres and a rich, diverse history that would certainly flesh out our Florida studies. Today's Lesson: Life is full of quandaries, pleasant and otherwise. Sometimes opportunities arise that shake us from our quiet reverie and force us to act, to make a decision, to reevaluate our lives, to change our course in midstream. Subjects studied: Geography -- "Gee, Tampa's right across from us." Math -- "What's 50% more than Daddy's making now?" Science - "The Gulf of Mexico area is rich in the stuff we like best: fossils, wildlife, and fishing." Life skills: Decisions are hard to make and sometimes there are a lot of issues to consider. Adults have as difficult a time making decisions as kids do, so you have to be patient with them. DAY 12: After much discussion, Daddy accepts the job and heads to Tampa to scout for temporary living quarters. Unfortunately, at just about the same time, we discover there's a hurricane en route. A really BIG one. Daddy comes rushing back from Tampa, having found an adequate apartment that he will be moving into in just a week. However, right now he must help us put up the hurricane shutters. Hurricane Floyd is a Category 4 hurricane and we're none too pleased to see it heading toward us. On the other hand, it might solve the problem of selling the house… Facts: Hurricane Floyd is ENORMOUS. It's packing winds of 150 miles an hour. We have to evacuate. Fortunately, the storm veers away. But the experience is an indelible one. Today's Lesson (and tomorrow's too): Cooperation and preparedness in an emergency situation goes enormous lengths towards prompt and efficient safety. Lifetime Floridians, we have the routine down pat: the hurricane box is stocked, the gas tanks are full, the shutters are up and we're doing the prudent thing and leaving town to stay with relatives inland. Subjects studied: math: If you put the entire population of the Florida east coast on every available road heading west, you cannot drive faster than 15 miles an hour. At that rate, how long will it take you to get to Orlando, sixty miles away? (Answer: Four really long hours.) Science: Hurricanes are living math and science projects, from wind speeds, predicted trajectories, the movement of wind and clouds that varies according to the storm's location at any given moment, wave action and tide changes. Geography: The hurricane is moving north and there are a lot of geographical places in the way. Philosophy: No matter how much we know, it's not enough. Nature is fabulous in its ambiguity, wondrous in its unpredictability. There is a certain beauty in the chaos of nature, which is only an order we don't understand. It is certifiably humbling. DAYS 18 through 25: We spend a week or so in Tampa, getting aquainted. It's just one big field trip! Facts: We toured the town, learned its history, visited two huge waterfront parks and sanctuaries, the Florida Aquarium, downtown Tampa and more. We house-hunted, swam everyday in the pool, and studied the wildlife in our "wetlands" themed apartment complex that was replete with crawdads in the parking lot and anhingas in the lakes. The week's lesson: Wherever you go, there you are! Every place, every thing, every conversation, every view is a lesson. Subjects studied: science, math, geography, geology, social studies, civics, philosophy and physical education (all that swimming had to count for something!) DAY 52: Spent today and the last couple of days as well, interviewing realtors and movers. Yuck. Facts: Interviewing realtors and movers is yucky. But it also illustrates the value of careful consumerism. Today's Lesson: You rarely have to make an immediate decision about anything and those who rush you to do so are often in a hurry for you to make a mistake. Patience and thoughtfulness are the order of the day. Subjects studied: social studies, consumer science, math and living skills. Day 60: Today we said good bye to one of our neighbors -- a friend now -- for the last 11 years, whose neighborliness we'll miss. She gave us espresso, chatted with us in her lovely Italian accent, murmured soft sadnesses and shook her head over and over at the thought that we would not be there to chat across the fence with her. My Mediterranean Wilson! How I'll miss her. Facts: Few things in life are harder than leaving those we love. Today's lesson: It's still better to love than not! DAY 61: We said goodbye to another friend today. Facts: Friends are lined up like mourners, throwing flowers as we pass. It's a sad feeling, and a heartwarming one. I hate to leave them. But I'm glad they love us as much as we love them. The children played for hours with their special friend. At one point, they were doing multiplication tables "for fun." Only homeschooled kids… Today's Lesson: Everytime we think our hearts are filled to overflowing with love, we find there is still room for more. There is no end to the love we can have for people, no end to the love we can give back. There is no name for this subject, and I think it's only mentioned superficially in "regular" schools, if at all. But it seems to be a core subject here, right at the heart of our education. DAY 62: A heron caught a snake in our yard this morning. We watched for about 10 minutes while the drama of nature at its purest and most uncensored unfolded before us. Then we went in to work on our Leonids project; our last educational hurrah in our old backyard. Facts: I will never, in my whole life, forget this night. The memory of cuddling together in lawn chairs, bundled in a blanket against the gentle chill of the predawn air, gazing at the starry silent sky with my children will be etched in my mind forever. They were quiet, reverent --even my rowdy six-year-old. The stars revolved overhead as the early morning hours wore on. Now and again, a blaze of color would graze the sky and the children would murmur some soft appreciation. I kept expecting to hear the crackle of fireworks after each fiery exclamation of meteor, but it never came . All was quiet, oh so quiet. Was this the same sky that hosted a whirling tempest just a few weeks ago? It was a murky cauldron of clouds then. Now it was an enchanting crystal bowl, overturned above us, its starry facets glinting in red and gold and blue, now and again shot through with an arc of light. Today's lesson: Life is magnificent, if only we look into the heavens often enough and with awe. How can we possibly wake up each morning and NOT learn something?! Subjects studied: science, from ecology to astronomy, math, philosophy and that vague, undefinable subject that keeps cropping up with delightful frequency. And so it goes. While I've been too busy to "formally" homeschool, life unfolding around us at its own ordinary, yet magical pace has offered living lessons with real time, on hands life labs I could never have planned out half as well. If you go into each day open, aware, conscious and alive, both you and your children can't fail to learn something. Every day the paper holds forth on some miracle -- new dinosaur species or some genome study advance -- that we share with the children. Every day, some ordinary aspect of moving evokes conversations about human history, social studies, cultural geography or philosophy. Every day, some creature holds forth in the yard -- a cicada trilling on the screen, a strange beetle we have to identify, a cat rolling on the driveway or a very large spider in a packing box -- and we learn something new about insects or skeletal structure or some other aspect of biology. Every day as I sift through belongings we discuss materialism, comparative religion, community service, feng shui… In between packing duties, we've read good books and magazines, watched good movies, and talked about everything under the sun. The long and the short of it is, of course, that one can NEVER be too busy to homeschool! Whatever you do, wherever you go, there you are -- learning! © 2001 Theresa Willingham. All rights reserved. Re-printed with permission. |
||
Theresa Willingham is a freelance writer living in Tampa, FL with her husband Steve, and their three children, who have been homeschooled from birth. For the past 13 years, Theresa has written for a variety of publications, including Home Education Magazine, trade journals and for the Gannet newspaper, Florida Today. Her first, The Food Allergy Field Guide: A Lifestyle Manual for Families (Savory Palate, Inc.) was released last fall. This article previously appeared in HUUmans at Home, the newsletter of the national support group, UU (Unitarian Universalist) Homeschoolers. | ||
Would you like to contribute an article on a homeschooling topic? Contact us.
| Site Terms of Use | Advertise | FAQ | Privacy |
