Reading Matters

Reading matters a lot in our family. It’s important because reading is the center of many precious family memories of times spent together. My daughter Susie (14) and I devour books, at least one per week. My husband and son Westin (17) struggle with reading, but both have worked hard to develop their ability to the point where they can enjoy independent reading at their own level, as well as the stories our family shares together.

My favorite moments associated with reading are of the times I spent (and still spend) reading to my children. I was fortunate to be able to stay home with my children when they were young, and we have always made weekly trips to the library. The kids would choose some interesting books, and I’d always choose “educational” books with numbers, alphabet, rhymes or other intellectual concepts. We would bring these home and read them throughout the day, and especially at bedtime. Once they were old enough to attend to chapter books, around age 5, we began reading those at bedtime. We read through Roald Dahl’s The BFG, the Little House on the Prairie series, Pippi Longstocking series, and others. These are precious memories of snuggling on the couch or under the covers with my kids, sharing stories together.

As they got older, our shared reading has changed. Our family enjoys listening to audiobooks as we travel during the summer. Favorites include any of the adventure stories by Gary Paulsen, humorous downhome narratives of Richard Peck, Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn adventures, and the entire Harry Potter series. We have recently started the Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix, which is just as exciting as the HP series. Just finished book 1 of 7, Mister Monday.

When Westin was 11, he wanted to read the Narnia series by C. S. Lewis, which was beyond his independent reading level. So he and I took turns reading pages through the first 3 books, until he felt confident enough to tackle the remainder of the series on his own. He has since found other Science Fiction series that he enjoys: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, Septimus Heap by Angie Sage, Lord of the Rings by Tolkein, which he can read independently. He also likes listening to audiobooks and following along in the text. His favorite repeater is a murder-mystery, The Westing Game.

Susie likes to have me read the books that she’s reading so we can discuss them. Problem is, she now reads MUCH too fast for me to keep up, so she just fills me in on the gist of the story and we discuss the themes (totalitarian government in Haddox’s Shadow Children series; synesthesia in A Mango Shaped Space; the afterlife in Elsewhere). For an idea of a "few" of the books Susie has read recently, check out her bookshelf on her blog:
http://shoodalways.blogspot.com/

Of course this is just for her independent reading. I also assign her “classic” novels which I have taught at the high school level and which we discuss: To Kill A Mockingbird, Animal Farm, Grapes of Wrath, Fahrenheit 451, Old Man and the Sea.

Besides my SJSU texts, these are books I'm reading right now:

The Tightwad Gazette III, by Amy Dacyczyn
(I'm always looking for more ways to be frugal.)

The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
(Gotta read it before we watch the movie.)

Busier Than Ever, by Darrah, Freeman, & English-Lueck
(Jan English-Lueck is an SJSU Prof whose daughter who was in Susie's Girl Scout troop. And yes, the topic seems applicable.)

Parenting with Purpose, by Reasoner & Lane
(This is a new book by Marilyn Lane, whom I served with on the CAG Board for 4 years. Geared for parents of younger kids, but Marilyn sent me a copy so I'll read it.)

Bay Area Homeschool Field Trips

This is an article I wrote for the August '05 issue of California HomeSchooler magazine, the bimonthly publication of the Homeschool Association of California.

"When my children were small, before the possibility of homeschooling had even occured to us, I was a stay-at-home mom who was rarely home.We frequented libraries for storytimes and to borrow our weekly quota of books. We attended park days with a neighborhood playgroup. We visited zoos, children's museums, community theater performances, and the beach.

"Although my children are both now in middle school things haven't changed all that much with respect to us being out and about. In fact these days I'm sometimes introduced as "the field trip mom" because I run Bay Area Homeschool Field Trips (BAHFT), a yahoogroup for homeschool families in the San Francisco Bay Area who enjoy attending field trips, concerts, classes, workshops, seminars, tours, conferences, and other adventures with fellow homeschoolers. BAHFT membership is open to anyone regardless of homeschooling philosophy, methodology, or affiliation. Our 530+ member families represent the full spectrum of those who would consider themselves homeschoolers. Most BAHFT members also belong to at least one other homeschool group. For example, our family belongs to a public ISP and our church support group. Even though we attend field trips with both these groups, belonging to a large and diverse field trip group is useful because it increases our options for participating in interesting activities and making new friends.

"BAHFT was started in February 2003 by another homeschool mom who often found it difficult to pull together enough people from here local support group to do a particular field trip. In the beginning all the BAHFT trips (two per month) were organized by her. We had just begun our homeschooling journey the previous month when we stumbled across BAHFT in our internet search for homeschool information and Bay Area connections. In that first year we attended a hands-on lab at the Intel Museum in Santa Clara, tours of the Rosecrucian Museum and Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, and a zoo education class at the Oakland Zoo. My daughter wants to be a veterinarian, so I entered into the field trip planning business by booking a class on the Responsibilities of Pet Ownership at a local animal shelter, followed by a tour.

"When our BAHFT founder moved out of state in May 2004, she asked if I'd take over as listmom. I agreed. Since then I've organized over 20 field trips for the group; many other members have stepped up to plan trips, classes, and activities as well. Our membership has more than tripled in the past 18 months, so now, whatever their children's ages or interests, San Francisco Bay Area homeschoolers can find eager companions for just about any activity using the BAHFT list.

"Some of my personal recent favorite trips include a lecture/tasting/tour of the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory in Berkeley, a performance by San Jose Flamenco Society, and the historic Bernal Gulnac Ranch where we toured a restored ranch house from the Californio period, learned about San Jose's agricultural past, and played games from the 1800s. My 14-year-old son has most enjoyed our three planetarium trips and the New United Motors (NUMMI) factory tour in Fremont, where we rode a tram down the assembly line watching the manufacture of Toyota Corollas and Tacomas (our family owns one of each!). The tidepool hike, Children's Musical Theater's "Seussical" performance, and a tour of the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield topped the list for my 11-year-old daughter, along with a visit to San Rafael's Guide Dogs Training Facility.

"Bay Area Homeschool Field Trips has expanded in both membership and scope since its inception. It has grown from one mom's desire to provide quality field trips for her son and a few dozen other homeschool families into a networking tool used by hundreds of homechoolers to attend activites organized by dozens of planners. BAHFT has evolved to include announcements about homeschool days at museums, aquariums, and amusement parks. You'll also find posts about homeschool sports, band, used curriculum sales, square dancing, Lego Logo, chess club, and science classes. You'll be notified of the upcoming HSC, CHN, and CHEA conferences, and our own Diane Keith's Homeschool 101 seminars.

"The San Francisco Bay Area region abounds with opportunities for learning outside AND inside the home, and it is the mission of Bay Area Homeschool Field Trips to let homeschool families in our area know about them!"


[As of today, 1/28/08, BAHFT has 1144 member familes. -SH]

ABCs of 2007

Here's a brief rundown of some highlights for the Hood family in 2007:

A - Alcatraz Island Tour in December, Awana Ministry (Andy & Westin are the Game Directors; Stephanie & Susie are theStore Managers).

B - Blogging for Stephanie, Bicycling for Andy, Bowling for Westin, Babysitting for Susie.

C - Cindy, our orange & black tortie cat.

D - Day 7, South Hills Community Church Youth Group.

E - Exercising more regularly at Right Stuff.

F - Families' Annual Snow Trip to Pinecrest in February with 10 other families.

G - Grandma & Grandpa Brown lived with us for 3 months while Grandma recovered from knee replacement surgery.

H - Homeschooling high schoolers! 4H Projects include Hiking, Scrapbooking, and Candy-Making.

I - IBM, Andy completed his tenth year as an IBM employee.

J - Jazmine the Light Brahma, our first hen, had to find a new home. She couldn't defend herself against the hen-pecking of our Barred Rock, Chloe.

K - Kansas, our Golden Seabright bantam hen, is practicing with Susie for the Hollister Poultry Show this Saturday.

L - Libraries, we love them!

M - Mount Madonna Camping Trip in August with friends, Math class co-op, Mystery Spot tour in January.

N - New chicks to raise and add to the coop in the backyard which Andy & the kids built during the summer.

O - October Trip to Disneyworld Florida. An exhausting week of total family fun and togetherness!

P - Piano lessons continue for Westin.

Q - Quinton and Michelle (Stephanie's bro & sis) spend Christmas Eve & Christmas Day with us.

R - Riflery 4H Project. Westin earns Junior Marksmanship pin. River Raft Float Trip with AWL Homeschooled teens group in June.

S - Shakespeare plays: Shady Shakes's Macbeth, SF Shake's Midsummer Nights Dream, Theatreworks's Twelfth Night.

T - Towncats Shelter, where Susie volunteers every Saturday for adoption day. She also cares for the cats 3 days per week at Petco who are awaiting a new home.

U - Using our resources, gifts, and talents to serve others.

V - Victory Sports League, a weekly homeschooled recreation co-op.

W - Westin turned 16; Susie turned 13.

X - Xmas presents included a Yamaha keyboard for Westin, a Yamaha guitar for Susie, Mythbusters DVDs for Andy, and a Farberware knifeset for me. My sister Michelle also gave me an ipod shuffle!

Y - Yellow Rock & Rollers is the Youth Square Dance club we dance with every Friday Night.

Z - Zucchini, green beans, peas, lettuce, spinach, and tomatoes from our garden...Yum!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Despedidos Y Saludos (Farewells & Greetings)

On the way to our cars last night after Bible Study, my Argentine friend Silvia threw me a friendly “Adios, Senora.” Rather than respond with a friendly "Ciao," I was tongue-tied, caught off-guard by the Spanish (or Castillano) that used to come so easily for me. Although not my native language, as a young adult I had become somewhat fluent, having completed a minor in Spanish at SJSU. My favorite profesora had also been from Argentina; and when I first met Silvia, I recognized the accent and felt an immediate affinity for my new friend.

By the early 1980s I would even dream in Spanish. I was teaching Spanish at Valley Christian Junior High. I even served as group translator for short-term mission teams from our church who traveled to Mexico to hold Vacation Bible Schools; to Argentina to build a seminary for Harvest Evangelism; again to Argentina as part of a worship (singing) team for a week of citywide crusades; to Colombia with New Tribes Mission to build a teacher’s home and classrooms at a boarding school for the children of linguists working to transcribe the languages of indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforests.

I had lofty plans that we would raise our kids to be fluent in both languages: I would speak Spanish to them; Andy would speak English. Once Westin was born, however, the demands of parenting a newborn overshadowed my bilingual ambition. I quickly reverted to my native English for daily conversation.

Our last trip to South America included one-year-old Westin, who snuggled contentedly in the baby backpack while we traveled to local schools and churches performing “Bullfrogs & Butterflies,” an evangelistic puppet show for kids and families. Our smiling toddler loved the musical puppets and the children’s attention after performances. That was in 1992, and since then I’ve never been called upon to translate or to even think in my second language. Well, that’s not exactly true. In 1993 I taught a weekly Spanish class to four homeschooled kids. And before we began homeschooling 5 years ago, Westin & Susie attended a school where roughly 80% of the students came from Spanish-speaking homes. In order to converse with other moms, I was forced to pull out my by-then-rusty Spanish. However, the North American Spanish of my new friends was much more difficult to understand than the European or Argentine dialect I had used over a decade earlier.

Since we began homeschooling, my own kids (now 13 and 16) have dabbled in learning Spanish using a textbook, Standard Deviants DVDs, and Rosetta Stone CD-ROMs. But I am no longer the competent native speaker who can provide them that immersive experience in a foreign language. They’ve also completed a Beginning Sign Language Course on 16 VHS tapes, and taken a six-week American Sign Language class with other homeschoolers taught by a deaf instructor. Susie seems interested in continuing in ASL.

Bilingualism is a big plus living here in California where people whose grandparents spoke English are fast approaching the minority. Being able to speak more than one language opens up wider opportunities for employment and friendships. I do regret not having made more of an effort to pass on my love for and acquired skill in the Spanish language.

Silvia's casual comment, and my lack of response, got me thinking about how much has changed in my life. In college I majored in English. I loved to read. I wrote well and daydreamed of writing articles which would be read by people other than my professors. While the reading has continued as a hobby, I almost never write. Then I thought of Stephanie Iles and Tammy Takahashi, two homeschool moms I know who blog. So now I've decided to become one, too.

[Stephanie - did you notice my semicolons?]