urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:gallagher_gpa "Know Enough To Be Afraid" Gallagher Polygnostic Academy 2007-02-03T01:05:13Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:gallagher_gpa:3527 2007-02-03T01:05:13Z 2007-02-03T01:05:13Z Karl is currently teaching Maggie the basics of chess - the names of the pieces, how they're set up on the board, how they move. He's playing her first game of chess with her. <br /><br />Listening to this is so very sweet! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:gallagher_gpa:1604 2007-01-12T16:08:24Z 2007-01-12T16:08:41Z Since yesterday I've been thinking about general homeschooling thoughts, and poking around on websites. <br /><br />Texas homeschooling rules are very open and vague. I don't really need to worry about them yet, not until Maggie is six, but I should start thinking about it some. It doesn't sound like we need to register anywhere or anything. <br /><br />The only definite rule that I can find is<blockquote>Home schools need only have a written curriculum, conduct it in a bona fide manner and teach math, reading, spelling, grammar, and good citizenship.</blockquote><br />Well, that's pretty vague. I wonder what exactly constitutes "a written curriculum". I suppose we'll figure it out. <br /><br />Yesterday I was pondering the "good citizenship" bit, and wondering if teaching Maggie traffic laws counted. Then this morning I was discussing with Karl what we should do for Monday, when Jamie's school is closed for Martin Luther King Jr. day, and how we should teach the kids something about him - and he talked about how that's in keeping with how we celebrate many other holidays. Then I realized, right, we have been teaching her good citizenship stuff that way. Every 4th of July, we read out loud Patrick Henry's famous speech, and the Declaration of Independence, and watch 1776. For Memorial Day Karl reads the Gettysburg Address. For Veteran's Day we read In Flanders Field. Right. So we're already started on that one. <br /><br />I am at the moment really leaning towards Charlotte Mason style homeschooling. Here's a couple relevant links:<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Mason">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Mason</a><br /><a href="http://simplycharlottemason.com/home/">http://simplycharlottemason.com/home/</a><br /><br />Some of the hallmarks of that style that I particularly like are the idea of living books instead of textbooks, dictation, and copywork. <br /><br />Another webpage I came across, linked from the 2nd Charlotte Mason site, is this:<br /><a href="http://www.intentionalparents.com/index.html">http://www.intentionalparents.com/index.html</a><br /><br />It's phrased religiously, which is likely to upset some people I know, but oh well, it's still a really good way to look at parenting. Has 3 categories of parents - survival parents, who do whatever's easiest; default parents, who want to give their child whatever's popular; and intentional parents, who want to purposefully help their child develop. We work hard at being intentional parents. There are moments of survival parenthood, I will admit. I think we do a good job of avoiding default parenting, though.