Doing better

"Enslaved people" vs "slaves"

A few years ago I learned this seemingly-small tweak in language, and now that I’ve been using it for a while, I can tell the difference it has made. People are not property. It having been acceptable or legal in the past does not mean it has ever been

Fun stuff

Shaving Cream Day

Today was SHAVING CREAM DAY! I can highly recommend buying twelve cans of shaving cream (make sure its the foam kind, not the gel kind) and 10'x20' of plastic and transforming your living room for a day. This was a blast. We got some learning in: we

History

She Made History

One of our local San Francisco homeschool community families has this wonderful, years-long project to explore the stories and contributions of Black women in history. The Facebook page is She Made History [https://www.facebook.com/shemadehistory1/], and the full website of profiles is here: http://shemadehistory.com/ 💬Join the

Language arts

Sentence analysis

The Michael Clay Thompson language arts curriculum comes with a big ol’ book of 100 sentences to practice grammar analysis. Each sentence is analyzed in four ways: 1) each word’s part of speech (noun, adjective, conjunction, etc.), 2) identify the parts of the sentence (subject, action or linking predicate,

Sex ed

Sex education

I’ve always been pretty here’s-the-facts about human bodies and reproduction, enough that one day when Wanda was six, we were driving somewhere, and she said “you know, thinking about how bodies with a penis also have sperm... and bodies with vulvas have eggs... and eggs and sperm are

Civics

Current events

Hoo boy. For the big, zesty, "we're living in historic times" stuff, there's no replacement for just talking things through with her directly, and tailoring things to Wanda's emotional and educational needs in the moment. The whiteboard often gets a workout, and

Language arts

Michael Clay Thompson

This is the language arts curriculum that's given us the best learning: Michael Clay Thompson. Pictured is the first level, "Island." This curriculum works quite differently from our other language arts curriculum, Logic of English, and I'm finding it to be a much better

Media recommendations

Table Top Shakespeare

If you could use a distraction over the next few days, consider brushing up your Shakespeare with this fun “Table Top Shakespeare [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emYGXzCQa0o&list=PL-blz3DjyJIyhGeDEPROuy6WqwDd6mTKO] ” series on YouTube. A talented storyteller tells the plot of the play in plain but engaging English, using

History

Sacagawea

A quick post for Indigenous Peoples' Day: Recently, in the space of one week, Wanda and I encountered two instances (one in a kids' book, the other in a kids' movie) of Sacagawea being used as a joke about her name being hard to pronounce. We both

Language arts

Phonics curriculum: Logic of English Foundations

In my last post, I mentioned that I'm using a few different pieces for language arts [https://homeschool.humuhumu.com/language-arts/]. Here's some of the promised detail, this time about the curriculum we're using from Logic of English, called Foundations. This is our phonics

Language arts

Language arts

This one has not been a smooth road, lots of figuring things out as I go along, lots of experimenting and course correction. I read through alllll the California state standards for language arts at each grade level, and I can pretty well figure out where my kid sits on

Science

Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding

Here's my biggest-bang-for-the-buck curriculum: Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. The name may not be catchy, but it's accurate—it does what it says on the tin. In homeschooling circles it's commonly shortened to BFSU. I love this book, because it truly does step you

Fun stuff

Irresponsible Day!

Last night Wanda thought of a new holiday, and we celebrated it today. IRRESPONSIBLE DAY! Enjoy it as it unfolded, starting with its creation yesterday: (Not pictured: we didn’t get dressed today, we learned NOTHING [that’s a lie of course, we accidentally learned some stuff, whoops], and we

Media recommendations

Class Dismissed

I'll have been homeschooling Wanda for one year next week, and only just tonight got around to watching Class Dismissed [https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B01DCHJXXM/], a documentary about homeschooling. If you're at all curious what homeschooling is like these days (some people'

Civics

The Pledge of Allegiance

My very bright moment of sun during an otherwise deeply demoralizing week: > "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." This week, Wanda was

Language arts

Passive voice

We happened to have a language arts lesson on passive vs. active voice yesterday. Wanda didn’t understand why it was a big deal when it was talking about a cabin being destroyed by a storm. When I switched up the lesson to use current events instead, she understood the

Doing better

Talking to kids about race

Lots of folks are asking how to talk to their kids about race. One of the simplest and most effective tools I use is to ask, “who is missing here?” It’s a simple question that I ask her often, mainly when we’re reading or watching shows or movies.

Methods

Abilities ebb and flow

If some days are duds [https://homeschool.humuhumu.com/some-days-are-duds/], some are great, and I’ve learned I need to remember that a high-water mark is not at all a reasonable everyday expectation. Just because I’ve seen she’s capable of a level of ability, understanding, or discussion on

Methods

Some days are duds

We have good days and bad days. No different from anyone else on the planet, but when you’re feeling someone’s entire educational fate on your shoulders, it’s important to remember that expecting to be magically immune from good days/bad days is folly. Sometimes the gears are

Fun stuff

Looking forward to special days

We keep a whiteboard calendar with holidays marked, and special shake-up-the-routine school stuff happens on those days. When there aren’t enough holidays, we make up our own. Recently it was Bird Day, an excuse to lump together a bunch of bird-related learning I’ve been meaning to get to,

Methods

Breaks as needed

Kids need a lot of breaks, to rest and reset their brains, and to move their bodies. Exercise isn’t just about getting the ants out of her pants: it provides a near-term mental boost for learning new concepts, and in the long run it plays a role in brain

Methods

What I Want to Learn

We start every Monday morning with Wanda telling me what she wants to learn this week. It’s not the meat of her learning, maybe one day it will be. We tackle the items she comes up with through the week, or sometimes in future weeks, usually in the afternoons.

Methods

School bell

Each day starts and ends with the ringing of a sweet-sounding vintage brass bell in the shape of an apple. Wanda comes running up with a big smile and a giant hug, and I tell her, “Good morning, Quercus Prep!” or “Thank you for another wonderful day, Quercus Prep!” Maybe

Methods

Branding

When we were first starting with homeschooling, I knew that I needed to get and keep earning Wanda’s buy-in. Doesn’t matter if a kid is at a traditional school or homeschool, refusal will eventually come. Wanda’s been into homeschool since the beginning (she begged me to start

Methods

Keeping family connected to school with Seesaw

Buy-in from the people who care about Wanda is pretty important, since a potential weak point for homeschooling is the question of accountability. (But then, accountability and education in any setting is a big question, and the ways our educational system has tried to answer that question—focus on standardized