'Farewell to the Master'

We had a good discussion of "Farewell to the Master" today at book club.

We talked about the technobabble story mechanism found in science fiction, in which the kids made connections to other science fiction we've read or seen. We also had a good discussion of the predictions of science fiction and how far off they can get; and as we delved into the story, it seemed like not only was everyone on board with following the story, but understanding some of the deeper currents in the fiction.

The story for next week is Isaac Asimov's "Nightfall."

If you enjoyed "Farewell to the Master," you might enjoy the science fiction movie that was based on it, "The Day the Earth Stood Still." (There are two versions of it, but the original black-and-white movie specifically was based on the story.)

Homeschooling, 'Peanuts' style

There are risks, of course, to letting older children help with the education of their siblings.



Taken from the animated "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."

The Flying Monkey

My daughter told me she wants to start a newspaper as a homeschool project.

Outsize dreams come easily to my daughter. When she was studying pirates seven years ago, she decided to build a pirate ship out of popsicle sticks, complete with a mast and rigging. A little over two years ago, when she was accepted into the sixth-grade class of a college preparatory school, she decided to bake and sell cookies to raise the $26,000 a year tuition. Like those, this one stumped as impractical and unrealistic, until late Tuesday night.

And so, allow me to present "The Flying Monkey."

As our latest initiative in student-led learning, "The Flying Monkey" is going to give my daughter an opportunity to practice writing, it will familiarize her with the geography of New Jersey, and it will teach her some basic HTML and promotional skills. On top of that, it will be a way for her to earn a little money.

Here's how it works.

I've been getting audition notices for the past year from several community theaters in Middlesex, Somerset and Mercer counties. Some time ago, as I started adding Facebook friends from shows I had been in, I started posting these notices on Facebook. I quit Facebook back before Christmas, but I believe theaters still benefit from their notices being reposted -- and other people benefit if these notices are all put in one place.

I've been using Blogger for something on the order of a decade. It's got an easy interface, but it also gives knowledgable users the option of coding their own HTML. That's a chance for my daughter to think along the lines of design, and in a computer language. That's a plus.

When theaters send audition notices, or other announcements, they do so in a first-person. We'll be posting them on a third-party web site, requiring some rewriting. I've already explained to my daughter the nature of the Associated Press stylebook and its rules for grammar, spelling, and on and on. This will engage both her writing and her editing skills, while instilling in her a style of correct grammar and punctuation. Another plus.

Already my daughter has been in three shows with me: "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" at Villagers Theatre, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at Brook Arts Center, and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" at Kelsey Theatre. This represents an opportunity for her to become more familiar with the community theater scene in our area. As she becomes more familiar to directors and theaters in the area, she may even get cast more regularly. Greater socialization, greater memorization, greater familiarity with literature. More pluses.

And, if she gets her way, at some point we'll start adding reviews of the plays we see. Doing that will mean seeing more shows. Another plus.

Already my daughter has begun thinking about ways to promote the web site so it draws more traffic and we can justify asking theaters for complimentary tickets to review their shows. That's strategy at work, and critical thinking. She realizes it's going to take work to make the site succeed, and at this point, she's willing to put in the effort. A huge plus.

Best of all, this webzine is essentially her idea, and it's something she wants to do. As far as education goes, that's the biggest plus of all.

Sci-fi book club: January picks

The book club is taking a brief hiatus for the holidays, but will resume Jan. 7.

After a lot of delays and setbacks, we finally have finished "Have Space Suit -- Will Travel." If your child enjoyed that book, there are a number of other books by Robert Heinlein that are appropriate for teens and preteens. (Be warned that a number of his books are aimed at a more mature readership.) The Heinlein juveniles, as they're called, include books like "Starship Troopers," "Tunnel in the Sky" and "Starman Jones." You might also enjoy his short story "The Man Who Sold the Moon."

Because a lot of the truly great science fiction has been written in short story format, I want to spend January looking at some of the great science fiction stories. Here's the schedule:

1. Jan. 7 -- "Farewell to the Master," by Harry Bates. This story served as the inspiration for the original "The Day the Earth Stood Still."
2. Jan. 14 -- "Nightfall," by Isaac Asimov
3. Jan. 21 -- "The Sound of Thunder," by Ray Bradbury 
4. Jan. 28 -- "The Ugly Little Boy," by Isaac Asimov

All four stories have been anthologized extensively, but they also may be available online as free ebooks or on somebody's web site. In the case of "Nightfall" and "The Ugly Little Boy," there are full-length novel forms of the story, written by Robert Silverberg. They're quite good, but we'll be focusing on the original short stories.

The book club meets from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m  Mondays at the New Brunswick Free Public Library. It's generally aimed at readers who are in their early teens or older, but any homeschooler who can read the material and who wants to attend the discussions is welcome to join us.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

New Years Resolutions

Today is January 1, and that means one thing: time for New Years resolutions.

New Years Day is a perfect time for taking stock of what has worked, what hasn't, and for starting over with a crisp new sheet of paper. Every homeschooling parent has some things that have worked very well this past year, and others that have not worked as well. Part of the idea behind resolutions is to can carry forward into the new year the good practices we already have, and to adopt the good practices we've been searching for.

1.  When I see another parent doing it wrong, I will keep my mouth shut. One of the great things about homeschooling is that we realize all our kids learn differently, not just from one family to the next but even within the same family. And the beauty of homeschooling is its affirmation that individual parents know what's best for their children, better than some other well-intentioned adult.
   
2. When I see another parent doing something I don't get, I will listen. That parent who's doing it totally wrong? She just might have an amazing idea that never occurred to me. If I listen, I might discover something new that my own daughter will appreciate and benefit from.
   
3. Keep it fun, even if it’s just for fifteen minutes. I can't speak for other homeschooling parents, but there are times I am keenly aware of the pressure that comes from assuming full responsibility for my child's education, especially when she's at the tail end of middle school. Is she reading challenging enough books? Is she reading the right books? Is she doing enough to learn another language? Is she grasping the important scientific and mathematical principles? It's too easy to make my kid feel that pressure too, and rob her of the joy of learning. And yet the most educational moments in life come when we're not consciously learning. My daughter is 13 -- past the age when she's going to dance to Jimmy Buffett on the kitchen floor with me. But we can have fun together, creating imaginary worlds, making things together with our hands, and even dancing to Jimmy Buffett on the kitchen floor with her little sister. As James Kirk once said, "The more advanced the civilization, the more basic the need for play." Anything to break the monotony.
    
4. I will take a few minutes for myself every day. Maybe it will be to read the news, maybe it will be to write a blog entry. Maybe it will be to read a chapter in a book I'm working on, or maybe It might be a chance to catch up on your favorite blog, or finish a craft; it might be the opportunity to read a chapter in a book I'm enjoying. Exactly what it is, doesn't really matter. We all need something to rejuvenate us, and we all need to dedicate at least a few minutes every day to it. It will make you a better parent and a better teacher all at once.
    
5. I will  read to my kids at least once a week. Once kids can read for themselves, especially once they advance into complicated chapter books, it’s easy to forget that they need to be read to too.Every kid, however, can benefit from hearing mom or dad read aloud. Not only do they get to spend time with a parent, they also get to hear the characters speak, hear the intonation and inflection, and grow a better sense of how the story all hangs together.
   
6. Kids first, then the chores. The house is a royal mess. It's embarrassing. It will be there tomorrow, but today won't. Better to get the kids up, start them learning, and stick through it all with them. I'll clean the mess up in bits and pieces as we go, and get the kids to help.