I've told the boys to fortify themselves for the new regime - effort required on a daily basis - the joys of having to try hard, etc, etc and then some. They looked a bit bewildered, poor loves. I feel a bit bewildered myself. I really hope I'm up to it, especially tackling the education system, which I can see is going to be crucial but which I know I'm not cut out for by nature. Fortification all round.
Go BK! Step by step you'll get there. 'Hard is Good!'
In the begining you can 'cheat' by guiding them through the process of finding something interesting to study, as a case study in problem solving. You might like Susan Wienbrenner's teaching gifted children in the regular classroom, because it teaches a process for finding interesting problems. Or you can all leaf through the cataloge of
www.teach12.com for topics of interest. (They may not be ready to get the info directly from the CDs and DVDs, but it may be just what you need to get excited about learning and stay one step ahead of them.)
Or you could take the opposite approach and sign them up for online Math, and let Aleks.com do the heavy lifting while you coach from the sidelines.
Eitherway, since you are as new to this as they are, the good news is that you can model the process of setting out on a journey and expecting bumps in the road, making course corrections on the way.
I heard somewhere that pilots are off course 90% of the time, but get there by making course corrections. Maybe a unit on Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families is a good place to start. ((LOL - don't get me started))
Then there is the advice from Joseph Campbell "Follow you bliss" - now that you've taken the time to remember that you never got excited by school, see if you can remember what did interest you. Due to genetics, there is a pretty good chance that if you enjoyed a topic, your kids will too. ((Hint: Lots of kids love things that go 'Boom' - as in Myth Busters, or programs from the nearest Universities' Chemistry Department))
Yippee!
Grinity
