The teacher must derive not only the capacity, but the desire, to observe natural phenomena. In our system, she must become a passive, much more than an active, influence, and her passivity shall be composed of anxious scientific curiosity and of absolute respect for the phenomenon which she wishes to observe. The teacher must understand and feel her position of observer: the activity must lie in the phenomenon.- Maria Montessori

I just returned from a wonderful visit to The School of the Woods in Houston, a mystical, somewhat Utopian land of learning. This school is a place where children learn in a natural, home-like environment...where children decide when and how they are going to complete certain learning tasks...where children are active, engaged and self-directed most of the day. In fact, except for the sheer number of students in each class, the classrooms at School of the Woods looked a lot like many of our homeschoolers' learning environments.

School of the Woods is a K-12 private Montessori school, one of the few such schools available for secondary students. It has been in business for over 50 years, and the expertise of the staff and the vision of the school reflect those years of dedication. Within the walls of the large rambling classrooms, you will see no desks in rows or large whiteboards. Kids rarely gather as a whole group, and when they do it's for student-led "community meetings" which happen twice a day. Teachers will give a few students a small group lesson when it's noticed that these children are ready for a new concept. Teachers will also give a lesson if the child asks for one. Other than those instances, children are working alone or with other kids to complete an individualized weekly learning plan. They meet with their teacher regularly to collaborate about progress and check mastery of new concepts.

The most striking thing that I noticed during my visit is the complete respect by all staff (and other students!) for the child and his/her ability to learn. This respect was evident in the way the classroom was set up to allow for students to do different things at the same time, as well as the understanding that a great deal of the learning will come from sources OTHER than the teacher. The Montessori teacher is truly a "guide on the side." In the classroom, you don't hear lavish praise for students from the teacher. Instead of praise (which is one type of external reward like stickers or grades), the teacher is more likely to ask the child, "How do you feel about what you accomplished? I can see by your smile you're happy. What makes you happy? What are you most proud of?" Etc.

Three of my staff and I had an extremely productive two day visit at the site, which will help us as we develop and expand our very popular Montessori program both in Murrieta and other parts of Riverside County.

This link gives a great summary of the key components of Montessori education. Make sure to scroll! It's worth a look. Happy reading!

OK, I blew it! In the recent RSCS newsletter article, which you should have just received, I attributed the quote "The unexamined life is not worth living" to Rene Descartes instead of the rightful philosopher, Socrates. One of our knowledgeable homeschooling moms drew my attention to this error. My thanks to her for her quick feedback so I could get the correction made. I apologize for my sloppiness.

That said, Rene Descartes actually said a bunch of interesting things. Here's the quote that I was thinking of when I made this mistake: I think; therefore I am.

Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician and physicist in the early 1600s. According to Wikipedia, "..he has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy' and much of subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings..."

Here are some other great quotes by Descartes:
*An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?
*Except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power.
*In order to improve the mind, we ought less to learn, than to contemplate.
*Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.

And finally, particularly apropros for me,
*I am indeed amazed when I consider how weak my mind is and how prone to error.

Today some of the leadership team and I met with our WASC chairman to discuss our upcoming accreditation visit. Becoming accredited through WASC is a process which ensures that academic standards are high and the school is focused on continuously improving the learning of their students. Accreditation is particularly important for high school programs because other educational institutions (colleges, universities, high schools) look for this "seal of approval" when accepting new students and/or credits. Every few years, the school must go through this process. This year is an accreditation year for our school. Dr Garry Schneider, the chair of our WASC visiting committee this year, was very intrigued by our unique school and excited about working with us. The visiting team will come to review our self-study findings in late March.

The WASC process leads all staff, students and parents in a formal quest to discover the strengths and weaknesses of the school and devise a plan to improve learning. All of you will be asked to participate by reading updates, attending town hall meetings and other school events, answering surveys and discussing topics with your ESes. We're counting on you to give us accurate information so we can make the best "Action Plan" ever.

Learn more about how we're preparing for WASC by attending our town hall meeting on Wednesday, October 14th (6PM at 8775 Magnolia Avenue in Riverside). I hope to see you all there!

One day when my oldest daughter was 18 months old, I sat on the couch reading every new mother's favorite book: What to Expect the Toddler Years. At the beginning of the chapter on "18 month olds" the book read, "Your child should be able to...walk backward." I laughed and thought, "Where do they get this random, weird information?" Then I looked up to find my daughter walking backward. (I kid you not.)

When I was studying to teach a Psycholinguistics graduate class several years ago, I was surprised to see charts listing the sounds children are able to pronounce correctly month by month. The most amazing thing about these charts and lists is that most (but not all!) children develop according to the chart. Of course, we are all unique individuals, but we need to keep in mind that most children develop certain skills and abilities within the usual, proscribed parameters.

Last week River Springs Charter School celebrated its 6th education conference focusing on personalizing learning. Over 450 parents and homeschool ESes attended the event in Temecula. We had wonderful workshops and terrific networking. So many parents shared their success stories with me! One mom told me, "Ever since I began homeschooling my child three years ago, I spent hundreds of hours researching and designing the "perfect" course of study for my son. Some choices I made worked great, and some were a struggle. Last year, with a new baby in the house, I decided to choose River Springs' pre-packaged boxed set and follow the school's pacing guides. I was happy (and surprised) to find that he thrived with this approach."

Our conference keynote speaker, Andrew Pudewa, suggested that parents simplify schooling into three components: Character, Knowledge and Skills. Character and Knowledge are the content you or your child chooses to study and discuss, such as biology, ethics or art history. These two components can easily be personalized to meet the interests and values of each family. The skills component is more rigid. Children need to be able to read and analyze, write well for a variety of purposes, compute and problem solve. Most children are easily capable of following the suggested developmental timeline for learning these skills. (For a grade by grade list of skills, you can refer to our Key Skills at this link.)

Do we mandate that these skills be taught/mastered in each grade? No.
Do we suggest that these skills be taught/mastered in each grade? Yes.
Our school recognizes that there are many methods and routes to producing an educated citizen. We know that some children don't develop on the same timeline as the average child. However, we believe that core learning skills should be taught in a systematic way, and we recommend using our key skills by grade level, much as a doctor might recommend vitamins or antibiotics.

Thanks to all of the parents and staff who made our Curriculum Conference a wonderful event. Please email me with your success stories. I love to hear them, and so do your fellow homeschool parents! We're doing difficult, important work and we all need real-life examples to inspire and teach us. Happy teaching!

The school year is almost over. This is a great time to take a hard look at your homeschool program and ask, is it working for us? Do we want to continue each component of our homeschooling day the same way next year or make some changes?

I suggest beginning this important analysis by popping in a movie for the kids (OK, an educational movie), making a pot of coffee and sitting down with a pad of paper and a pen to jot down a series of lists:
What is my homeschooling mission statement? (What do we hope to gain by homeschooling?)
What do I like best about our homeschool program?
What do I dislike most about our homeschool program?
What does my child like most/worst?
What subject area(s) is my child excelling in? Which areas are a struggle?
What are the pros and cons of each curricula?
What obstacles get in the way of total homeschooling success?

After you complete these lists, you may want to post them on the kitchen cabinets and ask your family to comment. Many times, teachers hate a particular segment of their school day, such as timed math facts review or spelling time, and are shocked to find that the kids love that part of the day. Feedback can help you see all perspectives.

After you've had a week or two to let these ideas marinate, but BEFORE the school year is over, create an action plan for the next school year. What steps are you going to take to improve your program? My advise is to stick with 3 to 5 changes. If you shoot for too many, you'll wind up frustrated and disappointed and so will your kids. Remember, kids are creatures of routine, so making too many changes can backfire big time. Some parents are ever seeking that "magic curriculum" that will solve all their child's issues in a particular subject. I'm here to tell you that there are no magic textbooks. Before you abandon a curriculum that you dislike, please discuss the decision with your ES. Our ESes are aware of many, many different programs and can help you find the right fit for you and your family.

Parents, what changes have you made to your homeschooling program to improve things this year? Also, anyone with a great mission or vision statement for their homeschool program please share. I look forward to hearing from you.