Tricotomania and more

One of the boxes which is lying around waiting for me to throw things into it is the knitting projects box. I’m not sure how much knitting time there will be. I’m the only driver so no knitting in the car. But campfire knitting is a distinct possibility. This raises issues about light and maybe washability. But maybe there will be other days when we both just want to relax and take it easy, which would mean good daylight hours that could be spent doing interesting knitting.

The Concert in the Park shawl is almost finished. And I now have someone to give it to so I will take that. The edging requires just enough attention that I can’t do it while watching TV but is boring enough to make it interminable. I’ve completed 69 repeats of 128. That halfway mark is somewhat satisfying.

I also have sock yarn. With the exception of toes and heels, socks are pretty mindless knitting unless you do something interesting with the stitch pattern. I suspect that at least one planned pair will have interesting texture. I’ve purchased some Regia Silk to knit a pair for my dad for Xmas. He made a point of telling me how nice that yarn was when I showed him the pair I knit for myself and I can take a hint. But that one is also charcoal grey, which isn’t a good match for bad light. I’ve thrown in some Lorna’s for me and some other bright self-striping stuff for Tigger.

For interesting knitting I’ve thrown in the Lunna scarf in cobweb J&S shetland. This was Ted’s suggestion and my first foray into knitting with yarn that fine. I might have to check that I have the right sort of needles.

The big question is whether to bring the Rowan sweater I started for Tigger. I’m designing that one on the fly (though I have the cable medallion charted) but then I have her with me so I can try it on her regularly to check fit and whatnot. I know she is eager for me to finish it and the weather is getting cooler.

I’m fortunate not to have too many space constraints. We’re in the car. It’s a station wagon. There are only 2 people. But we are driving past here on the way. And in addition to what is on their site, I know my mom bought some Fleece Artist…

I’m in full pre-departure panic mode now. I’ve started making piles of things to take with us and worrying about all the things I have not done that I should have done or that I’ll forget important things. Of course we are not leaving civilization so this fear is kind of irrational but I get this way before any trip.

This trip is one of those things that homeschooling made possible. Tigger read a lot of Acadian history and the history of New France last year (before and after we started homeschooling) and got very excited about the possibility of visiting sites in Nova Scotia, including Louisbourg. But she already had plans to go to the UK and to go to camp in the summer so without homeschooling, there wouldn’t have been time to do it this year.

But apart from that impetus and the decision that we didn’t need to cram in too much travel, there is plenty in Cape Breton to occupy is for a week or so, there hasn’t been a lot of planning. We are going to be flexible. If the weather is bad, we’ll do indoor things. If we get bored, we’ll leave and do a few other things on the way home. If we get excited about one area, we’ll skip some of the possibilities and do them the next time (whenever that is).

I have made a few plans in the past few days. I’ve decided we are leaving on Thursday morning. I’ve made arrangements with Andrea to meet her, the girls, and Ron in the apartment for lunch on Friday. I’ve booked a campsite for Friday evening (good thing since it is a long weekend) and one from Saturday onwards (not strictly necessary but nice to know exactly where we will be). And I have arranged a guide for a morning of birding on Monday.

There are trails in the park we are camping in, so I think we might spend Sunday exploring those and sitting around the campsite reading, knitting, chatting and generally not driving. After Monday’s birding adventure, we’ll have to make some decisions about the balance of museums and hiking and generally relaxing. We will see the Alexander Graham Bell museum. And we will go to the Fortress of Louisbourg. Apart from that we are being flexible.

People keep asking if this is a vacation but actually it is school. We have been collecting books and whatnot to take with us. Books about New Brunswick and Nova Scotia so we have a broad overview of the places we are travelling through. And a binder with dividers and lots of looseleaf (plain and lined) and some of those pocket things (not many were left) so we can write about what we do and learn on the way. Field guides. Binoculars. Magnifying glass. Compass.

And our grammar and math books. And the Gombrich, mainly because Becky told us about the CD and it would be good to have the book if we’ve been listening to it.

We’ve been doing some schoolish things whenever Tigger has been at home this summer (which isn’t much) and I’ve introduced a bit of structure to gently remind her how much she enjoys things like math. We have been spending about an hour after breakfast at the kitchen table doing a bit of math and grammar (the latter only happens once a week) and plan to continue while away. I really feel like this trip is a field trip to start the year.

And I’m hoping that it will get us both excited about learning. There will be activities related to things read last year. And there will be new topics introduced. And then we’ll see where it goes from there. When we get back we have scheduled activities starting — drama, violin lessons, basketball house league, swimming lessons. And friends have suggested we join the co-op they have been involved with so we’ll check that out, too.

But we also have grandparents visiting in late September through early October. And plans to spend a weekend with friends attending a local fibre festival and then dying fleece with goldenrod. And the list of crafts that Tigger wants to do is a bit daunting — sewing a dress and knitting socks are on that list. I’m feeling a bit like nothing in my life has much structure and I’ve made commitments (paid work, volunteer work, and mothering) that could overwhelm me at any moment. But mostly, it feels just fine.

I’m glad I don’t have anyone in my life seriously questioning why I’m doing this. And that I don’t have to document it all for the ‘authorities’. I’m also glad that I’ve found all of you (homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers alike). Your ideas and encouragement make this adventure so much easier. Thanks.

As you know I did a lot of thinking this summer about how we were going to work as we continued this homeschooling journey. One of my goals is “Watch More TV”. I know. Sounds a bit weird to some folks, but we hardly watch any. And in amongst all the trash (and there is a place for trashy TV in everyone’s life, too), there is some really excellent programming.

My first step to achieving this goal was to donate to TVOntario, our local public broadcaster. They have a lot of great documentaries and I figured I needed to show my support in some concrete way. At the same time I signed up for e-lerts about programming so I actually had some idea of what was on and could make a point of watching (or taping) things of interest.

Although Tigger is only 9 she loves documentaries and has no problem with “animal peril”, as I noticed they call it in the ratings guide, or other potentially difficult subjects so a lot of what is shown after her bedtime on TVO might actually be worthwhile. Like Masterworks, for example (though maybe not the program airing this week; we have taped an episode on Georgia O’Keefe to view with her, though).

So, one of those e-mails came today and I now have a line up for Monday to Wednesday this week at 7 p.m. Feels a little like going overboard but each option sounds potentially interesting and could either lead to new explorations or add to things already in the works as far as learning goes.

Tonight we have Shipwrecked, a historical documentary about great shipwrecks of the Great Lakes. You may well have heard of the Edmund Fitzgerald, due to the popularity of a song about it by Gordon Lightfoot. I’m looking forward to learning more. This might lead somewhere. Or it might not. But we have the song and Tigger has heard it so I bet she’ll be interested.

Tomorrow, it’ll be Canada: Undiscovered Land mostly because it is an episode about Atlantic Canada and will include sites we plan to visit on our trip (which starts Thursday!).

Wednesday, I was pleased to see a repeat of something we had talked about watching about a month ago but missed. Richard Attenborough talking about Amber. I lived in England long enough to associate Richard Attenborough’s voice with wildlife documentary. And his are always excellent. Tigger is also developing an interest in rocks so this particular documentary looks fascinating.

I think I might get Mat to tape all 3 episodes of Black Coffee which is airing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It looks fascinating. And as you can see from the Causes I Support list in the right sidebar, deals with a subject we both feel strongly about. Not sure if Tigger is ready for this but I’d like to introduce some political economy into her social studies even from this young age. Teacher Resources (suggested Grades 7-12) are available here and include suggestions for Business, Economics, World History, and World Politics.

It does look a bit intense this week. But it gets us thinking more about TV and what it has to offer to our learning adventure.

I’ve also started to make more concrete plans about our Road Trip (or maybe Study Tour). Stay tuned…

I really wanted to call this post “I love the Government of Canada”. But there are so many things I don’t love about it. And that title is not really informative if ever I (or you) come looking for this information in future. I am tingly all over about what I found. Which is probalby really scary.

But you need to check out the Atlas of Canada website. There are FABULOUS things on there. I mean that in the sense of wonderful, amazing and useful things.

So far I have printed out some outline maps for our trip east (look under Reference Maps in the left sidebar). But then I just explored some other categories and sent e-mails to friends about stuff they could use in their university teaching (though you could use it at other levels, too). For map junkies, like my partner, that Topographic Maps link sends you to a tool where you can print out topographic maps of anywhere in Canada at a bunch of different scales with options for satellite pictures and all sorts of stuff.

And then I checked out their Learning Resources and did a search for stuff on Nova Scotia in case there was something useful for the trip. There wasn’t but there is a whole lesson plan there on the Halifax Explosion. Tigger read a Canadian Girl book (or maybe a little series of books) on that at the beginning of the summer and was pretty interested so I think maybe we have to come back to this. I have not explored what else is in there but I think maybe more amazing stuff.

So there you are. I hate the current PM and everything he stands for but the government goes on and there is so much stuff they are doing that is wonderful. Am glad I was reminded of that.

Other things I’ve discovered that you might want to know: there is a password for access to more stats on the StatCan pages that you should be able to get from your school board. The thing you want is the E-Stat password. Then go hang out at StatCan and plan lessons on all kinds of stuff. I have to secure the password but discovered this much when following a rabit trail about why a lot of the characters in books about pioneers have dead babies and dead mothers. We’ll get back to infant and maternal mortality, I suspect.

And on a non-educational note, the NRCan website has energy efficiency ratings for cars and appliances and whatnot.

Okay, I’ll stop because I’m rambling on in my excitement. Have fun exploring that Atlas page.

Skimming the Globe and Mail headlines this morning and find that apparently there is a campaign to close down Status of Women Canada. The characterization of SoW as ‘radical feminists’ is kind of laughable but they are probably worth defending even if they aren’t radical enough for some of us.

Not sure what to do about it. Maybe ignore those crazy RealWomen and get on with living life. But I thought I’d warn those of my readers who would care about this.

I suppose the biggest surprise to me when I started reading homeschooling blogs is how many people study latin with their kids. I don’t but I don’t think it is necessarily a bad thing. My mother is of the age where latin was part of the school curriculum and she has a tendency to sing Mares Eat Oats in latin occasionally or decline things that shouldn’t be declined. So it makes you wonder.

But Franklin makes good use of his knowledge of latin to while away the time in meetings. (He also put a latin saying on a sweater once.) And this looks like the kind of thing that anyone would understand as a good reason learn latin.

Another Country Fair has been posted and there are some great posts in there. Including that one that translates a day down by the river into the language of ministry of education guidelines and some great thoughts on math and grammar teaching.

That’s a carnival. About nature stuff. Go check it out.

I don’t have anything in it this time but it is such a good idea. Thanks Dawn.

Melissa’s quote of the day the other day reminded me of the approach taken by John Mighton in The Myth of Ability. There is always plenty of discussion of math on the homeschooling blogs and since this book isn’t specifically about homeschooling, I thought maybe folks would find it useful to know more about Mighton’s arguments about teaching math.

Also, Ron suggested that this was the time of year when we all get asked awkward questions about homeschooling and I must say that one comment I have had from several people is about how math is the only thing that really builds from year to year. The implication is that it probably doesn’t matter what I teach as long as I keep Tigger on the right track in math. This assumes that my goal is to enable her to go back into the system smoothly at the drop of a hat (as opposed to us having some time to prepare for a return to public schooling if that is what we decide to do). But I think it is also problematic and possibly at the root of a lot of what is wrong with the teaching of math.

Basically, there is a firm belief in the school system that you can’t move on until you have mastered everything in the current curriculum because it builds. Mighton started a charity called JUMP which provides tutorial support for remedial students. He has had remarkable success and has learned some very interesting things about how to teach mathematics. Quite apart from the usefulness or otherwise of long division, Mighton suggests that a complete mastery of one topic is not required to move on to something harder. In fact, he argues that tackling and mastering a ‘harder’ skill (albeit with problems limited by the level of mastery of the former one) might act as a powerful motivator to go back and learn those ‘precursor’ skills.

Most programs for remedial students consist of endless drills in addition and multiplication. Because children in special classes are assumed to be intellectually challenged, they gradually lose all confidence and motivation, so that after several years of extra help in math they can scarcely retain even the simplest facts. Many of the students who enter the JUMP program have not, after five or six years of regular school, managed to learn even the three-times table. Based on four years of work with these students, I have come to believe the best way to motivate children who have fallen behind is to skip them ahead — to convince them they are capable of doing work beyond their grade level. (page 26)

But the really radical part of his approach is that he believes that all kids can succeed. I think this is where he has lots in common with homeschooling parents. We aren’t setting out to sort out the good students from the not so good ones. We are setting out to help our students learn as much as they can (or want to) about a range of subjects. We are focused on our children’s success. I’m going to quote another passage from Mighton that clearly explains the difference between this orientation and the orientation of schools.

As far as I am aware, no program in mathematics was ever developed with the expectation that every child in the program would excel. To most educators, the idea of an entire class doing well in any subject seems absurd. A teacher who gave out only As would soon be called before the principal. Even in the present curriculum, which demands relatively little of students, no one would believe such marks were legitimate.

. . . Before children are introduced to mathematical concepts, they must, above all, be confident they will not be allowed to fail. they must be attentive and excited about learning. (page 32)

The book has more detail on the philosophy and method that he uses in JUMP. It is a system for very small groups and thus well suited to homeschoolers. And several chapters of the manual for tutors are reproduced in the book, including chapters on fractions, multiplication and division (yes in that order), coordinate systems, ratios and percents, logic and systematic search, and finite state automata.

Lots for the homeschooling parent trying to work out how to teach mathematics to her kids.

And for those of you who lack confidence in your own mathematical ability, Mighton did, too. And then he got involved in tutoring and built his own confidence and went on and did a PhD in mathematics. There are some good stories about how he failed a bunch of tests at various stages of that journey but maintained his confidence and succeeded.

We have a tomatoe glut. 4 different kinds — Roma, beefsteak, red cherry (actually a bit bigger than cherry but small), and yellow grape.

Well there isn’t really a glut of beefsteak tomatoes, we can kind of keep up with those just by having sliced tomatoes for lunch every day. Unless you start thinking you should also eat the other kinds and then it gets out of hand.

This is what I picked today (with a bit of what was picked yesterday). The yellow bowl has romas. The beefsteaks are in with the red cherries. And yes that bigger white bowl is full of yellow grape tomatoes. And there are more almost ripe and green ones on the vines. So this problem isn’t going away.

The basket is a mixture of various varieties but all of the tomatoes in there have rotten spots. We have had a few rot on the vine so I’m trying to be vigilant. I’m assuming the basket is going to go to make some sort of tomato sauce to freeze. Mat found a great recipe in Antonio Carluccio’s “Vegetables” (which is a great cookbook by the way; as Mat says “always trust a fat Italian”).

Behind the basket of rotting tomatoes in the blue jug is homegrown celery. This tastes just wonderful. And that recipe requires celery which we have more of still in the garden. I figure the big bowl of Romas will also go that way.

So what do you suggest for the little red and yellow tomatoes. I can’t eat them all in the next two days. We’ve made some tomato tarts using a recipe from Sophie Grigson’s “Eat Your Greens” (another highly recommended cookbook) and frozen them. I suspect we could do more. They make great lunch or light dinner food and warm up nicely in the toaster oven.

But I figure some of you have other good ideas and I’d love to hear them. What do you think?

(BTW, we also have an eggplant/aubergine glut so I welcome ideas for those, too.)