Minecraft Crazy vs 1000 Hours Outdoors

In the last month, we have really revved up our homeschooling schedule. We have had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of creating community for ourselves with other homeschoolers. While we have been a part of an awesome co-op, a number of women I hve grown to know in the past year have come together in a very intentional way to create a social group for ourselves and our children. Among one of our first endeavors was to challenge ourselves to get our kids outside All. The. Time. Everyday. With Spring finally here, we've barely been inside and Minecraft feels like a friend who has gone on sabbatical.

 

Many a family finds life upended by a child's absorption with computer games. You may find his behavior has deteriorated as he constantly negotiates for more screen time, neglects his chores, and speaks of nothing but the game. Know that it's normal for kids this age to fixate on things, and their obsessions are usually short-lived. Computer games can be addictive, however, so stick to your guns about gaming time limits. Explain that it's your job – no matter how unfair he thinks you're being – to make sure he's healthy. Too much computer time is as bad for him as eating candy for dinner every night. It may also help to figure out why he's so attracted to the game. Does he like to immerse himself in a fantasy world or get caught up in the competition? Or does he like it because his friends are playing it, too? Once you uncover the reason, you may be able to steer him to more productive ways to get the same payoff, like playing board games with you or reading sci-fi books together.

 babycenter.com Your 6-year-old now

I read this newsflash (hardly) back in the dark days of Winter and wondered if I would ever get James outside again. Now that Spring is here, we are doing Nature studies, watching birds, playing, tennis lessons...and more playing. In case you were wondering, for kids, play is learning. It's actually educational for them to go outside and play in the dirt. Jump in mud puddles. Run around like maniacs to their heart's content. For you readers that need to see the evidence-based reasons, here you go: 1000 Hours Outdoors. 

Many of us in our community group have boys. If you have ever seen a group of boys up close, you will come to the conclusion that they desperately need time outside to run around and play and pretend...and wrestle. I told the other moms last week that I was going to set up a wrestling ring in the backyard and invite everyone over for wrestle mania homeschool-style. They all laughed!! And no one said, "That's crazy!". They said, "When! Let me know! We'll come!!". Moms know. 

We are attempting 1000 hours outdoors!!!

I am not a Homeschool Superstar either

A homeschooling mom friend shared this article this morning on Facebook and as I read it, I thought, "Yes! She is speaking to me!". I am not the crafty, creative kind of mom. I loath the thought of doing complex science experiments in the kitchen. I mean, even when looking for a new recipe to try, I won't use one that has more than, like, 8-10 ingredients and takes all day to make. No way. And to be honest, my son is not inclined to do crafts either. He whines when I ask him to do a coloring page that I can put on the refrigerator. I like simple. Like vanilla ice cream. It's good just how it is. Throwing a bunch of stuff in it pretty much guarantees I won't even taste the vanilla ice cream. But I digress.

I do love the blogs of the Superstars. I do. I have been able to tweak some of their ideas to suit me. I have found great books to read and fun (and free) holiday lesson plans. But, I homeschool in a way that makes me a "peaceful and happy mommy". I do have so much "otherness" in my life. I work. I cook and clean. I run. I make sure we have lots of social opportunities. I sign us up for almost all the field trips that are offered. We sit and read books together. James is becoming an avid reader of all things Berenstain Bears and I could not be more pleased. And my husband thinks I am doing a great job with our son. That means so much to me. I make sure I have the basics covered: math, reading, writing, phonics. I throw in interesting tidbits there and there. I bought an inflatable globe. I signed James up for a Minecraft class that starts in January. We did a whole Thanksgiving study in November that was really interesting and involved a lot of reading books aloud...that I got from a mommy friend. We even listened to Rush Limbaugh's audio book Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims in the car. James loved it! After we had finished the book, we attended a special Native American celebration at the NC Museum of History where we saw NC native tribes dance. When James saw them, he turned to me and excitedly asked, "Is Samoset here!?! Is Freedom here?!?" Samoset was one of the Indians that befriended the pilgrims and William Bradford. Freedom was a character in Rush's book. She is native American.

So, I won't be one of the Superstars that, to me, are like the Martha Stewarts of homeschooling. Martha Stewart makes me tired! But I love their creativeness and ingenuity and I glean what I can and what I know will work in my home. Anything that keeps me a peaceful and happy mommy because that is good for my son. But, maybe, just maybe, we WILL make an igloo out of sugar cubes. ;)

Homeschool Superstars and why I am not one.

Bits and Pieces

There is so much going on right now and I want to document it all so today's post is is formatted in my ever-favorite bullet points. I'm sure not to forget anything when I can think within a list.

• James just completed the Math-U-See Primer. I am not sure if I want to go ahead and buy the Alpha level yet. Until I figure it out, I am printing out worksheets on www.education.com and using those to review and continue learning. James likes mazes so I am printing those plus worksheets for subtraction and telling time. If he progresses well, I will start looking for worksheets on money.
• I absolutely LOVE the All About Reading reading program! I had to buy the Level 1 since James completed the pre-reading level in February. He is continuing to learn the sounds of letters but when he reads them, he tried to guess the word without looking at the individual letters. He does the same thing with math. He tries to figure out the word based on his own knowledge instead of reading the word. He reminds me everyday to color in a star on his progress chart. :)
• Our co-op semester is coming to an end tomorrow. It's been a great year! James has made some really great friends...and so have I. It went by so fast this semester and we will miss seeing our friends every Friday.
• I have taken the bull by the horns and planned my first field trip. We are going to the Morehead Planetarium & Science Center next month. We will being seeing two Planetarium shows: Earth, Moon & Sun and Solar System Odyssey. During our co-op this semester, James was taking an Outerspace class and I thought this would be a great time to go. I still remember visiting the plantetarium when I was in school. This will be James' first trip to the Planetarium.
• No Tech Tuesdays are back!!!! Since discovering Minecraft, James has been obsessed with playing it and watching the Youtube videos of guys who SHOW you how to play it. He has actually spent more time watching the videos and learning about playing than actually playing it. Soooooo, he needed to take a real break from screens. This past Tuesday was our first one and it was the BEST day. We talked more, read more books and had a very nice day. I think it's very freeing to be without the entertainment of the computer, TV  phone and make your own entertainment. He wanted me to read to him ALL the Shutterfly vacation books I have made (there are 6 of them). He ran around the house pretending to be someone. I wasn't sure who exactly. He could have been a Transformer or a Minecraft character. But what I do know is that he was having fun!! He also says "I love you" more.
• The Action Bible is still a HUGE hit! James enjoys storytime every night with Daddy. He grabs his Action Bible and they read. They were reading about Sampson this week. I think James liked that story. The best part is that James is comprehending and remembering the stories. We reading a story last week and Passover was mentioned and I asked him if he remembered what Passover was and he responded, "It's when the Angel of Death came. The people put blood on their door so the Angel would not take their first born.". Wow!!! 
• Minecraft! Nana and Pop-Pop bought the Minecraft gift card as an Easter gift. He LOVED it! Now he is playing more than watching. I like that. Is Minecraft the Ultimate Education Tool?
• With our schedules being so hectic right  now, James is spending a lot of time with Chris at work. He goes with him to make deliveries. James loves being with his Dad. He also spends some time with MawMaw & DiDi each week as well. I don't know what we would do without my parents willingness to help us out on the super busy days. 
• We have made all sorts of friends this semester. Lots of play days at the park, birthday party invitations, and soccer is back in full swing too. We have field day to look forward to and trips to the beach. We get so busy with the day to day schedule that we are ALL looking forward to some family time away from the daily grind. 

Happy Springtime!!! It's here!