Well, we're hanging onto the last few days of September. Fall is definitely in the air here in Michigan. The leaves are starting to turn, the morning air is heavy with fog and dew... the days have been sunny and summer-like while the nights are cold and crisp.

My boys and I have been enjoying spending our afternoons outside in nature. This is my favorite season to homeschool! Our free time has been peppered with trips to the apple orchard and walks through the woods. Learning can certainly be fun! I hope you've been taking advantage of the nice weather in your homeschool day as well.

In This Issue:

1. Adjusting your School Schedule
2. Boys and Handwriting
3. Mozart, the great Mathematician???

1 - Adjusting your School Schedule

Whether you homeschool all year or only during the regular school year, this is a great time to take stock of how your son's studies are progressing. Schools have been in sessions for almost a month, giving plenty of time for us moms (and dads) to gage our typical day. Here are some great questions to ask ourselves:

As homeschoolers, we have the flexibility to observe what is going well and what isn't working for our sons - and we can change it at a moment's notice. Be sure to take advantage of this flexibility with your sons' schoolwork. Don't ever be afraid to get rid of a certain subject or publisher that isn't working out. You can always sell your unused or lightly used materials on Ebay!

2 - Boys and Handwriting

Recently, my sister called me in a panic. She was concerned because her son, who just turned 5 a week ago and is attending kindergarten in a public school, is unable to write his first name legibly. He can write the first couple of letters well, but the last several are unreadable at this point. She was worried that he was going to be way behind the other kids and that something might even be wrong with him.

I asked what her husband's handwriting looks like - and she said it was terrible. Then I asked what most doctors’ handwriting looks like - and she said it was illegible. I asked her if her husband and most doctors are intelligent and she said they were.

Men's handwriting is naturally less neat and tidy than is women's. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them or that they are less intelligent. Neat handwriting is not a strength that most men possess. So why do we expect our young sons to be able to write neatly?

I'm not saying that we shouldn't work with them on their handwriting. I'm saying that we need to be understanding if their writing isn't as neat as is their sisters’... or as yours! Just something to keep in mind as your sons are doing their schoolwork this year.

3 - Mozart, the great Mathematician???

My sons and I were just reading a book about Mozart as a child. The young music prodigy learned to play the piano at age 3 and was soon traveling around playing concerts with his sister. He also learned to play other instruments and was a young boy when we started composing exceptional music.

Was Mozart great at math? What about reading or science or spelling? We don't know how much he learned in these subjects. If his parents had insisted he learn everything he possibly could about history, grammar, and soccer, do you think he would have had the time or energy left to concentrate on music as he did? Would his balanced education have robbed the world of Mozart's masterpieces?

Again, I'm not advocating that we only teach our children one subject. I just started thinking about the way we teach kids in modern society. Are we raising "Jacks of all trades and masters of none"? Homeschoolers again have a unique opportunity to focus more intensely on certain subjects our children enjoy or for which they have a special aptitude.

Be sure to spend time on subjects your son would like to master - and not just on subjects with which your child struggles. Maybe he will never be a great mathematician... but maybe he will be a beautiful musician.

Thanks for reading this month's newsletter. I hope you enjoyed it! See you next month...

Michelle Caskey

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