Archive for November, 2011

Homeschool College Applications

Posted on: by Jamie McMillin

Tis the season for college applications – is anyone else overwhelmed with the number of documents and forms required? It’s especially tough for homeschooling families because we first have to write our own transcripts, with course descriptions, and figure out GPA, credit hours, etc.  It’s not too bad if you have been keeping good records all along, but even then it takes some time to assemble everything in a professional looking format.  I used the book Homeschooling High School: Planning Ahead for College Admission by Jeanne Gowen Dennis for help with these details.

Once your transcript is complete, you still need to be the Academic Advisor and help your student keep track of all the different requirements for each of the schools her or she is applying to. Having gone through this twice so far, here are a few organizational tips:

  1. Start a folder for each school you are applying to, and insert the application checklist along with hard copies of your essays and other materials specific to that school. There is no need to make copies of materials submitted online in the common application. This is where you store any correspondence and financial aid information for that school as well.
  2. Prepare another reference folder with a copy of your prepared transcript, course descriptions, and homeschool description (if necessary). Your student will probably need to enter this information in a variety of online forms so it helps to have everything in one place.
  3. Prepare a simple spreadsheet with a list of your colleges on top, and a list of requirements along the left side. See my example below:

Example of College Application Spreadsheet

 

Note that I didn’t fill in all the data for this spreadsheet yet – it’s just an example. But you can see how useful it would be to keep track of what has been submitted and what is still missing. Your student might have other requirements too like an audition or portfolio submission. You can customize this however you want. I did this in Microsoft Excel, but Google Documents has a spreadsheet feature that works very well, for free.

My kids filled out all of the necessary forms online, but I checked everything for accuracy and to fill out the information for household income and parents’ education/employment. They wrote drafts of their essays and personal statements on Google Documents so that my husband and I could read them and offer suggestions as needed. Once the drafts were as good as they could be, they just copy/pasted them into the online applications.

The nice thing about online applications is that you can work a little bit at a time, saving as you go, and then when everything is perfect, hit “submit” and hand over your credit card number.

This year, my son and I will be keeping track of scholarship applications the same way, but first things first. We gotta get these things done! I’ll let you know how it goes.

Thanksgiving Traditions – Ohana Style

Posted on: by Jamie McMillin

I’ve never been a big fan of construction paper turkeys or pilgrim motifs. But I understand the urge to decorate for holidays and special occasions. When I lived in an old farmhouse in Connecticut, every day was like a Norman Rockwell illustration. Thanksgiving was always the time to rake leaves from the giant maple in the front yard. We’d put the whole family to work piling leaves on a giant tarp and drag it off to the leaf pile at the edge of the woods. When the pile got big enough, my husband would toss the kids into the pile again and again, until he got too tired to lift his arms (the kids were never tired). In those days, it made sense to decorate with gourds, pressed leaves, and branch bouquets. My kids and I made cute little owls by gluing googly eyes and felt wings onto pinecones. We hung them from the chandelier. We had a “nature table” on one shelf of our corner hutch where we composed our latest nature walk finds of feathers, rocks, bones, seedpods, snake skins, etc…

Then we moved to Hawaii, and all my previous conceptions of Autumn, Halloween, and Thanksgiving were turned upside down. There were no maple trees, but plenty of plumeria, palms, and banana trees. Gourds, pumpkins and pilgrim centerpieces were shipped in from the mainland so we could all pretend to be in New England. But it was very weird. We could go to the beach in the morning, come home and eat the traditional turkey dinner, then the kids would run out barefoot to play with the neighborhood kids. I know it sounds like paradise – and it was – but I missed the familiar sights and smells of New England. I missed our family and friends. But after a year had gone by, we made more friends, and gradually Thanksgiving became something different.

People in Hawaii know all about feasting with family and friends – they do it every weekend! Just drive to any beach and you will see a makeshift family compound of tents, tarps, picnic tables, coolers, portable grills, and surfboards. The elders will be sitting in the shade “talking story;” the dads will all be grilling teriyaki burgers with beer in hand; the moms will scold children and laugh with each other while shooing flies off the picnic tables; and the children all play in the waves until they get hungry or thirsty enough to come in. Hawaiians don’t just have a typical family day at the beach. They have F-A-M-I-L-Y days at the beach, which means everyone in their entire extended family and a dozen friends as well. This is what the Hawaiians call ohana. It really is heartwarming, in the same way that those Norman Rockwell paintings of Thanksgiving are heartwarming.

Even though we never had relatives visit us at Thanksgiving, we started gathering with our friends every year. And every year our circle of friends seemed to grow bigger and bigger. Our last Thanksgiving in Hawaii was spent at our friends’ little house near Kailua Beach Park. Everyone went either kite surfing or jogging in the morning, then we rinsed the sand off and started cooking together. Later, more friends showed up with food and wine to share. We “talked story” and laughed, and went around the long table saying something we were each thankful for. It was wonderful. Can you tell I miss them?

The idea of designating an official day of Thanksgiving may have sprung from our colonial pilgrim history, but it’s really a tradition that spans all cultures. The idea of feasting with friends and family, and remembering our blessings, can be celebrated any number of ways. Turkeys and pilgrims are not necessary. For me, in Hawaii, setting out my placemats with little squirrels and acorns seemed ridiculous. Instead I grew to appreciate the special decor that island dwellers know best: a pile of “slippers” outside the front door from all the ohana within.

Cozy Children’s Books for November

Posted on: by Jamie McMillin

Can I just say right now that I am a sucker for children’s books? Any kind of books really, but especially children’s books. And it KILLS me that my kids are too old for these! It almost makes me anxious for grandchildren just so I can have somebody to read them to . . . almost.

I think I’ll just find somebody else’s children to read aloud to. In the meantime, here’s a short list of my favorites for this time of year. I listed them as Amazon links because it’s an easy way to show the covers, but I’m not trying to twist your arm into buying these. In fact, I recommend finding these at your local library instead, unless you fall in love with them and absolutely must have your own copy. This happens.

I really love detailed illustrations that fill the whole page. Every time you read the story, there’s more to see and more to appreciate. My kids would hold the page down with their hands to stop me from turning the page too soon.

Illustrated children’s books are like poems; stories and moments pared down to the most essential perfect words, but embedded in a vision that tells the rest of the story.

Do you have any favorite cozy books for November? If so, I’d love to hear about them, please share in the comments below.

How Studying Nature is Like Appreciating Football

Posted on: by Jamie McMillin

Years ago, when my husband still watched football, he wanted me to enjoy watching with him. I didn’t mind as long as I was cleaning up or working on a craft project or something, because the sound of the game was enjoyable. Listening to the cheering crowds and announcers is just part of everything that is “Autumn” to me, along with changing leaves, crisp sunny days, apples, and the smell of woodsmoke. But I couldn’t focus on football games at all because all of the running, tackling, yards and penalties didn’t mean much to me. I would watch the screen, only to discover that I hadn’t really been watching, and was only daydreaming. My husband patiently explained the fundamentals and I watched the replays with some interest, but it wasn’t until he started telling me about the players that I really paid attention. It wasn’t until I felt like I knew the people wearing those uniforms that their play really became interesting. This isn’t just a male/female difference either, because obviously my husband already knew the stories about the players. He knew about the coaches, the rivalries, and the histories of his favorite teams.

Learning begins with attention, and attention begins with connection. When we make connections with people, they become more interesting. The same goes for anything really – cars, buildings, gardens, animals – you name it. That’s one of the reasons that reading a great book can launch an interest that you never had before. I was never interested in slime mold until I read The Way Life Works by Mahlon Hoagland and Bert Dodsen, but now I can hardly wait to see a slime mold.

Little kids seem capable of forming personal connections with anything. They will watch, touch, smell, and play with everything they can get their hands on. This of course is why they are such excellent learners. Turn them loose in a field and they will find all kinds of things. “Nature study” comes naturally to them. Nature girl

The problem is when kids get a little older, and maybe they have lost their genius for connections. Point them to a field and they might say,”Why? There’s nothing out there.” It may be pretty to look at or a good place to play a game, but other than that, why bother? It’s like me watching a football game. We need to know who is playing. What’s at stake? Where are the rivalries? What amazing skills and quirks are there to see? Once we’ve made those connections, interest tends to follow.

So if we want kids to get outside and appreciate nature, it really helps to have someone who is knowledgeable and enthusiastic tell us stories about the players. Every tree, spider, salamander, and stinging nettle has a story to tell. Volunteers and guides from Nature Centers can be wonderful resources. My daughter took a weekly class last year that met every Monday at a mountain lake. The guides took them on nice slow walks looking for animal tracks, identifying plants, and learning about wilderness orientation and survival. My daughter LOVED it, as did most of the other kids.

In the absence of real live guides, there are always books to captivate interest. Some of our favorites are the books by Jim Arnosky, especially his “Crinkleroot’s Guides.”

Unfortunately, I think these guides are out-of-print but you might be able to find them used or at the library. You will probably find A LOT of books at the library though about various nature topics. Just let your kids pick out whatever appeals to them.

If you would like to brush up on activities and background stories yourself before heading out on nature walks with the kids, try the classic “Handbook of Nature Study” by Anna Comstock. Hold out for an original version though – don’t get a cheap reprint. I found mine at a wonderful used book store. This delightful (and heavy) book is not necessarily meant to read to kids, but for YOU to read so you will have some understanding of what hidden stories lurk under rocks and forest pools.

I also used a neat series of books by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac that used Native American stories to help kids find connections with plants, animals, rocks, and water.

Another great resource these days is videos. Have you ever seen “The Secret Life of Plants” or “Life in the Undergrowth?” Seriously, those movies will pull the rug out from everything you thought you knew about plants and insects. Check out what is available in your library and online.

Whatever resources you use to find the stories behind nature, be sure to get outside with your kids to make discoveries on your own. Take your time. If your kids want to race around and climb trees, that’s fine. Wait until they are tired out before settling in to really look at things. Let them do the discovering, but be prepared to look at everything they will want to show you, and perhaps answer a few questions. But don’t turn it into a science lesson. Think of it as storytelling, and getting to know our wild neighbors. Even your most jaded, non-nature loving kids will find it hard to resist a hermit crab after reading “Pagoo” by Holling C. Holling; just like I found it hard to resist watching football after hearing all about Brett Favre, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and the rest.

It’s all about making personal connections, and feeling some empathy or kinship with whatever it is we are trying to learn.

Helping Kids to Find their Passion

Posted on: by Jamie McMillin

I wrote a guest post over at the Bliss Habits blog about helping your kids find their passion. You can check it out here.

My daughter Emma has so many interests, she can't pick which one to follow, but there's no hurry.

Reviewed in Booklist!

Posted on: by Jamie McMillin

I just found out that the American Library Association reviewed my book in the Oct. 15th issue of “Booklist” magazine!!

I don’t think I’m allowed to copy the review here since “Booklist” is for subscribers only, but here’s the first sentence:

“By exploring the lives of famous people who were homeschooled or self-educated, McMillin looks beyond the typical objective of getting children into college to developing creativity for a lifetime.” – Booklist

The reviewer went on to describe the content and my message, and called it “an interesting perspective.” :)

 

Who Controls Your Homeschool?

Posted on: by Jamie McMillin

There is an old adage that warns: “The more you use your power the less you have.” Seems like a reasonable  statement, doesn’t it? Thomas Jefferson applied that principle to government power. Leadership experts apply it to business management. I’m going to apply it to homeschooling.

No one has more power than a parent.

In the natural order of things, we do need a lot of authority to provide for and protect our children. Humans are quite helpless at birth, and instinctively cling to adults for care and guidance. But over time, children have to start doing more and more for themselves. The tricky thing is figuring out when and how. We’re not like birds who somehow know the exact right time to push that fledgling out of the nest or stop supplementing their offspring’s feeble hunting attempts.

Humans are more complicated than that, and I suspect that every situation is different. But the one thing I’m certain of is that we all learn better when we have some control over it. Learning is an inherently personal activity, like dreaming or thinking or believing. We adults will naturally pass along some of our own thoughts and beliefs, and we will naturally teach our kids a great many things about how to live in this world. But for active, purposeful learning, it is best for the student to direct his or her own education.

I know that sounds really bizarre to some people. How can kids know what they are supposed to learn? They are so young and inexperienced. But the real question should be: why is a kid supposed to learn a certain thing at a certain time? Maybe it makes sense in a public school where administrators must try to educate a lot of students at once. Here, curriculum becomes an issue of management and efficiency. Of course schools want their students to learn a lot and be successful in life. They are generally run by very good and dedicated people. Unfortunately, the best way to learn for kids is not the most efficient way to teach for teachers. It’s a lot of work supporting a child-directed curriculum. Every child is completely different, with different strengths and interests. Who has time for that? Parents do.

That’s the greatest benefit of homeschooling – a curriculum custom-made for each child. But if you want to take homeschooling to the next level, let your child choose their own way and what of learning. Let them have control.

This doesn’t mean you need to let them have control over everything. None of us have carte blanche to do as we will. There are always chores and obligations that we would rather not take care of, but we do, and kids should too.

But learning is different. As Leonardo Da Vinci put it: “Just as eating against one’s will is injurious to health, so studying without a liking for it spoils the memory, and it retains nothing it takes in.” We cannot make somebody learn something. We can make them take a test or fill out a worksheet, but we can’t make them remember the material. We can try to control what goes in kids’ heads, but we are only fooling ourselves to think it works. So stop wasting everybody’s time and just enjoy the true process of learning.

Where do you start?

Start where your child is. Ignore your own wishes and hopes. Pretend you don’t have any. Start where your child is. It’s easier if your child is young because they haven’t forgotten curiosity or their natural drive to learn. Just support what they are doing or what they want to know. Take them places, check out books from the library, play games, read aloud, have fun, go outside. If your child is older and more suspicious, my advice is the same. Start where he is. Does he like playing video games? Let him teach you and play with him. Does she only want to read fantasy novels by the woodstove? Let her! If you back off and don’t pressure your kids to “be productive,” eventually they will. They can’t help it. The only way they could resist the urge to learn is if they believe someone else is making them.

If you have always kept close control over your child’s education, they may wonder why you have suddenly backed off. Go ahead and tell them. But explain that just because you are not going to control their education doesn’t mean you are not interested. You are still there to help them find resources or mentors or outside activities. You will still be there to answer questions, talk, and . . . teach, if they want you to. You will still need to keep records of what they are doing. When schools or colleges ask for a transcript it will be your signature at the bottom of the page. But if your kids want to go to college, it is up to them to plan a college prep curriculum. You can certainly help, as an “academic advisor,” to find out what they will need to reach their goals. But the great thing about self-directed education is that once a kid is used to being in control, they take control. They will study the things that are boring in order to achieve a greater goal. They don’t see themselves in the passive “receive” mode of education; they see themselves as the active creator of their education.

A student who has been told too much what to do, and resents it, may comply in action but not in spirit. They may even rebel. The more power we try to use, the less we have.

If you would like to learn more about how successful people such as Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, John Muir, and others controlled their own education, check out my book!