My Chronological History of the World; Unit Study for Secular Homeschoolers

This is our first-official year homeschooling our first-born son, in that I have to notify the state, since he will be turning 7yrs this school-year. We've been doing just the three-R's before now, 'unofficially'; but this is the first year I'm to be held accountable to my home state of Maine for my son's education.

I'm ready for the challenge.

We'll continue with our three-R's. But this fall I'll be adding a combination unit-study of history and science. I thought it would be easier for both my children, and myself, to just start at the very beginning, with how the Earth came to exist, and how land masses formed, and how life came to exist and evolve into life as we know it today.

I didn't realize what an undertaking it was going to be when I made the decision.

I had thought I would put the whole entire planetary time-line on one squidoo lens; that was silly. There's just so much to cover, and there are a surprising amount of free resources on-line to pull a program together! Obviously nothing beats good books, both fictional and non-fiction, but to fully flesh out the unit-study, you need to find resources somewhere to create activities, and projects, to ensure that that information gets embedded in those little brains for a life-time. You need printables, worksheets, graphics, pictures, diagrams, timelines, charts, visual aids--aargh! It's a lot of work! And sifting through the innumerable christian-based materials out there can be tedious.

But I've taken all the "leg-work" out of it, and put all of the quality links related to the chronological history of the earth, and incorporated science into a unit-study that will carry you, and me, through at least the next four years. I'm so pleased with it! This is the first in the series, as I mentioned, there's just so much to cover, and so many quality links to utilize, that I've decided to chunk the units into time-periods. I hate to divide them into periods of time defined by civilizations, because this is not meant to be a study of man-kind, but more an investigation into the Earth.

We Saw Moose at Little Austin Pond!

I feel it's incredibly important to create lasting memories for my children's childhoods. I will put myself through the great misery of sleeping on the hard earthen ground inside a tent with my boys and hubby--and the dog--in order to cement such lasting memories for them.

I say it that way, and all of that is true; but what is also true is that I actually enjoy being in the great outdoors, in the far-flung reaches of wilderness where nature's beauty and glory are everywhere if only you choose to look--to take the time to slow down and literally smell the flowers. Nature--the beauty of our Earth--inspires me continuously. In everything I do.

We went to Little Austin Pond, which is in an obscure part of north-central Maine, to camp overnight with friends. The kids enjoyed the beach--which was no where near our campsite, but still fun.

And best of all there were Mountains and Moose. In my mind, somehow, the one is synonymous with the other, and I love both with equal fervor. When I see mountains, no matter how large or how small, my heart sings with indescribable emotion, so strong and so powerful that it can not be ignored.

"MOUNTAINS!" I screeched as we were driving the to the pond.

I think Keith, who, despite our nearly-ten years of marriage, had not yet experienced my emotional outbursts over nature (particularly mountains and moose), was shocked and surprised.

"What?" he dared to ask as the kids echoed my screeches from the back seat.

"Mountains!" I cried exuberantly, reaching out the window to gesture at the looming form of the mountain beyond the dirt road and the trees and the marshes. "MOOOOUUUNTAAAIINS!"

I had to actually master my enthusiasm so that I could repeat myself more calmly over the joyful yells of the boys, so that Keith could finally understand what we were yelling about.

And to make the whole trip worthwhile this guy was hanging out in the marshes along the rutted dirt road that winds itself around Little Austin Pond. We'd visited the beach one last time before we had to make the drive back to civilization, and home--and showers!--and there he was waiting for me.

He didn't care that we stopped to gawk; he was too busy with his Brunch. And he was so beautiful. Keith can't understand why they're so gorgeous to me, and maybe many other people would echo his sentiments. But to me, they represent mountains and wilderness. They speak to me on a gut-level, and touch my heart because they represent the mountains that I call home.

Moose, like many other northern-hemisphere creatures, are at risk of extinction now, due to climate changes.

This knowledge gives me great pain.

To think that some day moose will have to be preserved in zoos, as Tigers, and Elephants have been, in order for the continued existence of their species wounds me deeply. And it only reaffirms my desire and motivation to do all I can in this world to prevent such sacrilege.

Forest Ecology Network

Discussing Climate Change

Lynx and Logging Share Interests

These are good articles discussing climate change and the animals in question. The Forest Ecology Network has plenty of articles, information, and links for you to check out.

I love moose, and mountains, and all the creatures great and small that make Maine home, like me; so I may be a leeeetle biased. Fortunately the internet is a wealth of resources, so you don't have to take my word for it. See for yourself.

The Importance of Nature

I don't know about my readers, by for myself, it is crucially important to me to feel connected to this world around me. I have to feel the wind, the water, and the soil on my skin. I have to touch the rough bark of the trees, and listen to the wind as it rustles their leaves. I like to smell the soil in my garden, to dig in the earth. It is part of me, and I am part of Earth.

I want my boys to have such a relationship with our home planet. We are all connected, and it is imperative that we remember that when we harm our Earth, we harm ourselves as well. So many people in cities, and suburbs, I fear, have lost touch with our Earth. It has been bred out of so many of us. Just to be satisfied with the status quo, and the mundane of every day life.

But not so for homeschoolers. My heart clings to the hope that we homeschoolers can lead our fellow man out of the darkness that has been imposed on the masses by the system. If we can help people to realize this connection between us all, we might yet have a chance to save my beloved Earth.

Homeschoolers spend time outside. They do nature studies. They realize the importance of conservation and recycling. Homeschooled children are not incarcerated all day, so they have time--and the inclination--to play outside, exploring, and discovering things about our world that you cannot learn in a book in a schoolhouse.

So many traditions from childhood have been all but lost. But homeschoolers keep them alive. Catching fire-flies. Watching turtles bask on a log in a bog. Inspecting the lichen on a tree. Building a fort in a brush pile. Attempting--and/or succeeding--in constructing a clubhouse.

The most simple--and free!--things in life are right outside our doors. The whole world is a homeschooler's playground, and it's waiting for us...

Find out more about homeschooling in nature, and encouraging your kids to get outside, at my squid-lens at: http://www.squidoo.com/naturalhomeschooling

We Study History Chronologically

I'm in the process of gearing up for the up-coming school year. Our first official year of homeschooling our first-born. I'm so excited!

We've been doing school-sessions for years now anyway, and already we study the three R's. William is probably reading at a first-grade level. He struggles with handwriting, but has made significant improvements. And he has a good grasp on adding and subtracting sums, the concept of time, and money.

Fortunately we're a very sciencey-sort of family, so that has come naturally, and largely through life's experiences (and maybe a little help from mom or the library). I have already a great program called REAL Science, Level One, that we started, and will likely take back up at the end of summer.

We will be taking up the subject of history soon, and so I find myself trying to pull together resources wherever I can get them, regarding the chronological history of the world from a strictly secular point of view.

NOT easy.

I'm trying to put everything together on a new lens at squidoo, I can't wait until it's finished. Until then you can check out my newest lens, regarding companion planting and my fav. ten allies in the battle against garden pests.
http://www.squidoo.com/toptencompanionplants

My Eyes are Open and I See a Garden Full of Weeds!

Okay, my garden is actually full of weeds; it's been raining here in Maine for practically two weeks. And with kids and homeschooling, and all, I haven't been able to spend much time out there pulling out the offensive plants. So my garden is full of weeds.

But mostly, this is all a metaphor for the way I feel now that I'm beginning to learn some of the history behind the education system, the politics of our government, and within society itself. I realize now how naiive I was, and I feel like my eyes are finally open to the reality of the world in which we live.

I see the system in effect all around me; every day in the most mundane actions of life--there it is before me, confronting me with the truth of it all. This knowledge has changed the way I perceive things. It has changed my opinions about so many things, that before I would have taken for granted. Now--I'm confused.... I wonder and speculate about everything; the motives driving people all around me, and especially those that are far away from me. Is there any truth to it all? Should I be worried about my safety or that of my family now that I know the secret? And I'm learning more--it fascinates me. I'm curious, I'm anxious, I want to change it, I want to avoid it; I want to scream with my frustration; I want to cry with the pain the knowledge brings me.

And what could I possibly do to cause some change to the system, which is, effectively, an elephant gone mad? Is it out of control? Do people actually control society from behind the scenes? It tickles my brain! This damnable need to know the truth of the matter!

And then Keith set me to searching the Freemasons and the Illuminati, which is another thread in this tangled web that was created to ensnare the population. The materials I've read through so far regarding the Freemasons merely supports what Gatto had described in his book The Underground History of American Education (which is also online free: The Underground History of American Education

So, despite the neglected appearance of my garden, I have been busy. Yet I remain confused, and I feel somewhat betrayed by my country, whom I have plenged my alleigance, and my heart; how could they take everything that was America, everything that made her great, and individual, and turn her into this theorized Utopia?! How could they do this to us?

I Fight for Education

I wonder how many people out there think very much about the global system of education we have. I wonder about it a lot, because I think a lot about the masses of children that are wasting their days locked up inside these institutions that teach next to nothing. I think of these children, who grow into these muddled, angry and hurt people; who just seem to have no idea what to do with themselves, or where to turn; and I feel so badly for our entire planet. I feel guilt and pain when I think about the masses, and what we've been reduced to. And to know that we had everything we wanted for a brief instant during the time of America's youth, and then it was snatched away from us.

For more info about how the system came to even exist in the first place, go to my Squidoo-Lens:
The Fight for Knowledge

They didn't know what they were doing. They thought they were creating the ultimate Utopia. This is supposed to be the society of the future. Us. Look where we are.... It's my personal belief that the recent market melt-down is directly related to the Industrial Revolution, and the creation of a system that would turn out predictable citizens they could manipulate as the economy demanded. They industrialized the education system the same way they industrialized all factories at the time, and began mass-producing a 'workforce'. It was funded, in the beginning, by the coal industry. And it was inspired by Prussia--pre-nazi Germany!
Anyway, if you're interested in learning about where the system came from, and how our own government used it's people for the purpose of capital gain, then follow my link, and read more.

But what this blog is really about is reforming that system to make it work properly--you know-so people actually learn during their incarceration? And maybe, just maybe, make it something other than a prison--but that would be a miracle, I think. To give the world back it's children; to go back to our grass-roots--to a civilization that prides itself on its society, not one who condemns humanity for what comes naturally--family and community.

I declare that our world governments have stolen our youth! Our childhoods have been stolen! We were imprisoned inside the institution and conditioned to suit their consumption-driven economy! And along with it, they've squashed (for most of us!) that creative instinct that drives human ingenuity. They snubbed out over the last three and four generations our imagination and independent thought through long-range social engineering, and it's primary target was entrepreneurialism in America! No more Benjamin Franklins or Thomas Eddison, they set a bad example.

So they set about abducting our children--and in the beginning no one wanted to hand their children over to a stranger to be molded by a stranger's ideals--that's why they had to make it compulsory. Gawd--I could go on and on in detail, but what I mainly wanted to say was that I feel that Obama's "drastic education reform" isn't nearly drastic enough in my opinion. I think they should completely do away with the compulsory nature of the school system. The system should not be standardized. And, while I think that the government should not be involved in the system, I also realize that the funding is necessary and needed; but I say instead of trying to extend the child's incarceration to a younger and younger age through head-start programs (especially since research has proven that starting children on serious studies later rather than earlier, proves more successful in the long-run.), put the money into the system where it's already so desperately needed, in the elementary schools and the junior-highschools. I think they should do away with high school, or maybe make them more 'vocational'; as 'adoescents' we're more than able to be a useful part of working society. Did you know that they extended childhood specifically to delay our working-lives?

So--there's my two-cents worth. I hope someone other than me finds it interesting.

Why I Homeschool

My husband and I decided to homeschool our children before they were even born, and I have never wavered from this. I feel so incredibly strongly that the public school system does NOT have the best interests of children at heart; so I keep them home with me, despite whatever controversy this brings to me--and it has already brought it's fair share, even though my boys are only 6 & 2!
So I have spent the last six years researching homeschooling, and teaching methods, learning styles, the people behind the homeschool movement, and the history of education--along with all of the other things I've taken an interest in along the way (ie: gardening, which led me to companion planting and bio-intensive gardening, writing, eco-action, and even an interest in current affairs and politics that has cropped up recently).
I feel that we've all become enslaved my the institution of School for the purpose of driving the economy for the rich and elite. Over the last one-hundred years our intellect and ingenuity have been slowly filtered out of us. Our children are locked away from the world and every day life under the guise of education, they learn nothing except to obey. Most people likely don't even know how to think; and I believe that most of us don't even realize it! I often wonder how easy it is to manipulate us through television and the media? I wonder what it looks like en-masse?
Anyway, I could go on and on about the downfalls of the school-system, but that's not what this post is about.
While my dissatisfaction with the system is by and large a major role player in why I refuse to put my children in the nearest public institution, the main reason why I keep my boys home with me twenty-four-seven is simply because I enjoy it! I LIKE learning new things; I LIKE to study, to do research, to explore new things I'm curious about, and to experience new things, places, and meet interesting people. There is a whole big world out there around us. I'd like to experience some of it; and be a part of it during this lifetime. Though I got a late start in life, I can give my children a good head-start, and, maybe, an advantage that some of the drones won't have. Maybe that will give them some sort of advantage. Maybe someday the homeschoolers will step forward, and lead the Bewildered out of the Institution and into the light of day to think for themselves. And Oh! What a world we could have!
If there are parents, mothers, teachers--ANYONE--out there who feels trapped by life and society--I encourage you to encourage others to step away from the institution and the path that is so easy to tred. Think for yourselves; learn new things; and encourage all to give their children the gift of a REAL education, the power of knowledge is real, and we only have to seek it to reap its rewards.