We moved on to studying ancient Greece, and one of my first activities for Neil was learning Greek roots. On the first day, Neil asked me if “acro-” was the prefix for high, what was the prefix for low? I had no idea, and the list I had (in a simple kids’ activity book on…
Category: Education
The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
Since the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum is in San Jose, we happen to visit it just about every year. But this was the first year we went there after a course of study on ancient Egypt. Needless to say, we noticed and absorbed more than we had on other visits. For one thing, after taking the…
The Tapestry of Arts Festival
On Saturday morning, Peter took us all to see the Tapestry of Arts festival which had appeared overnight on the streets of downtown San Jose. The last time we went to see it was 11 years ago when I was pregnant with Neil, and I remember it being big, but also awfully hot. In short,…
Kelly Starts Kindergarten
Kelly had her kindergarten orientation this morning, while the older classes had their first day of school, and Peter and I are still ambivalent about sending her off. There was a lot to look forward to with being at a neighborhood school instead of at the science magnet where Neil went. The school is only…
Why Homeschoolers Do Summer Vacation Like Everyone Else in the Entire Universe
When I started hanging out with homeschoolers last summer, I wondered openly why so many of them took their family vacations during the summer time, when everyone else in the universe does. Travelling in the summer means having to pay top dollar, face crowded attractions, and compete for lodging: so if you’re not bound to…
Generational Attitudes Toward Homeschooling
Peter and I briefly toyed with describing the next few years of Neil’s education as “a classical education at home” or “going to a very exclusive private school.” We just wanted to separate ourselves from the unfortunate conception of homeschooling as forcing our child to be cloistered away from all society with only a Bible…
San Jose’s Downtown Library: Great Art and Bad Bums
There’s a lot to be said about San Jose’s relatively new library downtown, but I’ll focus this on one of the best, and the very worst. Just as context, the 8-story library located on the border between downtown San Jose and San Jose State, is a collaboration that combines both a city library and a…
Kelly Can Count!
I love having children who love to learn, and that Neil is particularly eager to encourage Kelly towards that end. A few months ago, he used his own hard-earned money to buy an arcade game featuring her favorite character, Snoopy. Neil told Kelly he’d give it to her when she could count to 20 all…
The Sex Ed Preview
Unlike some parents, I don’t object to sex education in the schools. Sex and religion are both sensitive topics, best taught in the home. But you can’t always dance around or avoid the subjects in education, and some parents are so queasy about either or both, they never teach them at home either. So they…
Neil’s Science Project
For his school’s open house, Neil, like the other fifth graders, had to do a science project. It was pretty challenging. I don’t remember ever doing a science project, and just coming up with a project that a) wasn’t a known science project template, b) involved month-long study and observation, and c) could be carried…