Ancient Africa via East Texas

I did not post yesterday because the night slipped away from me. We went out to eat with friends from church and by the time we got home, said, "night-night" and dispensed the usual number of spankings to keep all of the little people in bed - it was too late.

We had a good day of homeschooling yesterday. My friend, Christi, brought her kiddos over because we have decided to get together every other week for History Project Day. I'm not sure that it is really that official, like with a name and everything, but that's what we're doing. Anyway, we decided, that since we were discussing ancient Africa that we should ask her friend, Halema, from Nigeria, to come over and actually tell some of the folk tales that I would've been reading to them with my best, Southern W.A.S.P. accent.

She did a great job and the kids enjoyed her a lot. I think that it is good for them to have contact with as many different people, races and cultures as possible. I really want them to embrace and love other people & cultures. I want them to develop a global "eye".

After that, we made "Anansi the Spider" out of styro foam balls, paint, google eyes and pipe cleaners. They really had a great time.

After everyone left, and the babies were asleep, Abby and I sat down at the table and she worked on her math, language arts, took a spelling test and did some copy work on a poem the she is memorizing, "Days of The Week." (It's the one that says, Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace...) Then she had a little friend from school come over and play for a bit. Now, after all of that, I still felt like, "Maybe we didn't do enough." Let me explain....

It is because it just doesn't take very long with one child. I mean, it would've taken the entire day...the whole 8 hours...if I had had 15 other kids here. It's always making me question, "Am I doing enough?" I think that eventually the girls will benefit from being in an environment where they can have some "back & forth" discussion about issues that are relevant to culture and life...but for me, that started about 5 years ago, really. I mean, I was thinking about high school the other day and I honestly do not remember, and I tried very hard too, one truly engaging, thoughtful discussion that I had in the classroom setting. I mean, it really is a pool of ignorance. Maybe that's part of growing up in our society...but does it have to be? I do remember Jamie Bethea wearing his solar system t-shirt that said, "Where Farts Come From..." and ha, ha...you guessed it, Uranus was highlighted. Our teacher was very sweet and passionate, she was actually the best teacher that I had all through school, and she commented on how impressed she was that, "Mr. Bethea had worn a T-shirt with the 'heavens' illustrated." That is my English memory. Now, college was different because I was in classes with individuals spanning several generations, and from all over the country. I know that my children are very social and that they love the interaction with their friends -but they still see them weekly. I mean, we didn't move to Vermont. (Abby did ask me if "She would still be homeschooled in college?" I said, "No, you'll be in a dorm far, far away.")

One thing that I am really enjoying is this History Study. (Story of the World) I really think that it is the back bone of the Classical Approach. I know that they say Latin is, and we will get to that, but I "feel" like this is. I like that Abby is beginning history at 5000 B.C. and not with Texas or the U.S.. I LOVE that she is beginning to see herself as part of a bigger "Story". Man. I LOVE THIS!!

Today, Abby's grammer was a review of "ing/ang/ong" endings. It was cool though, because her related reading was a story called "Ella Sings Jazz". So we downloaded some songs on iTunes from Ella Fitzgerald, read her bio together and talked about it. Then we listened to some of her contemporaries, that were mentioned in the bio. (Chick Webb, the Father of Swing & Louise Armstrong) It was a cool study. She asked about Armstrong's voice and about Ella's be-bop. She said "that it didn't really sound much like the jazz we hear today." It was fun.

NOW, I am going to Sleepy Town.