Dave Pommier
I am a homeschooling dad with a wife and two boys. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing, so I feel compelled to write it all down. In my spare time, I work as a manager for the local health district, drink too much coffee, and am an overenthusiastic martial artist.
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Categories
Tag Archives: flexibility
When its time to stop homeschooling
I was a bit saddened and a bit disappointed to hear that after a year and a half of homeschooling, a friend of mine is sending her kids back to school. Like the decision to start homeschooling, there are lots of … Continue reading
Posted in Life experiences, Teaching and learning
Tagged bloke, cost, flexibility, homeschool, parenting, planning, why homeschool
8 Comments
On the tools
We have been taking things pretty easy from a purely academic point of view lately. Even though our year runs to a general kind of plan, it is not rigidly fixed. We are actually ahead of schedule on the bits … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching and learning
Tagged bloke, confidence, flexibility, homeschool, learning in context, life experience, negotiation, play, safety, self determination
1 Comment
The vaka
Our usual routine was thrown into disorder this week when I stumbled onto the news that a fleet of Pacific Island ocean going canoes were due to arrive at the harbour. The Pacific Islands largely sit on the sidelines of … Continue reading
Posted in History, Life experiences
Tagged bloke, flexibility, homeschool, learning in context, ocean, ship
7 Comments
Dangerous toys
‘Take a look at this piece of wire. It’s a very heavy gauge, nearly as thick as your finger. It’s very strong. We can hardly bend it. But now look. If we put it into the bolt cutters and give … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching and learning
Tagged bloke, confidence, flexibility, homeschool, learning in context, life experience, negotiation, play, safety, self determination
6 Comments
Euclid’s Elements
My teaching style tends to rely quite a bit on the application of concepts first, and then filling in the details as we go. It seems to fit more naturally to the pattern of how people learn. I also try … Continue reading
Posted in Math
Tagged bloke, dragon box, easy complexity, flexibility, geometry, homeschool, math, play
10 Comments
Teddy bears picnic
I had never considered that a teddy bears picnic would be something I would be involved in with the boys. The other day, however, it surfaced that the two teddies, Hottie and Licorice Bone, were having a birthday. It was unclear … Continue reading
Posted in History, Nature
Tagged bloke, confidence, flexibility, homeschool, local history, nature, ocean, play
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Halted
I haven’t posted anything for a few weeks because for a while, we all just ran out of enthusiasm for the whole idea. We made it to the mid year break, and then just couldn’t summon the energy to start … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching and learning
Tagged bloke, flexibility, homeschool, learning in context, life experience, negotiation, philosophy, planning
8 Comments
Up the creek
My wife is planning a career change, and as part of this, she is studying to get her next degree online. She has set up a small room as a study, and often works from there. One of the things … Continue reading
Posted in Nature, Science
Tagged bloke, flexibility, homeschool, learning in context, nature, science, shells
2 Comments
Teaching themselves algebra
In purely practical terms, I have never actually had to know the adjusted speed of a 40 tonne submarine previously travelling at 50 km/hr through a friction-less ocean, having just discharged a 100 kg torpedo with a velocity of 80 … Continue reading
Posted in Math, Teaching and learning
Tagged algebra, bloke, dragon box, easy complexity, flexibility, homeschool, math, play
7 Comments
My first lesson
So it’s the start of the school year. If my oldest boy was not being homeschooled, he would be starting kindergarten. After several years of pushing the idea around, we decide to commit to it. We don’t send him to … Continue reading
Posted in Nature, Teaching and learning
Tagged bloke, drawing, flexibility, homeschool, math, negotiation, ocean, philosophy, self determination
7 Comments