The Sequoia Breeze

Rebecca: Welcome to the Sequoia Breeze Podcast, a breath of fresh air for your homeschool. I am your host, Rebecca LaSavio and I've got a treat for you today. So stick around because I have got three amazing ladies sitting here with me who are going to share years of their wealth of experience and wisdom and I'm going to let them introduce themselves because I'll make a mess of it otherwise. Real quick, let's introduce this is going to be our first podcast with several different voices. So hopefully we can keep this straight as we go along. But I am really excited for you to meet Seren and Tracy and Nancy and we are going to talk about the I CAN statements. What are they? Why do we have them? Should we be tied to them as we're homeschooling? What is their purpose? So first of all, let's go ahead and start with sarah is right here on my right.

Seren: Hi everybody, I'm Seren Stewart. I'm an Instructional Team Advisor for the Folsom to Shingle Springs kind of 50 corridor area. And what that means, that big title just means that I support all of our homeschool teachers and all of the families on their caseload, so all the students on their roster. I just enjoy working so much with our local families and families through our family of schools. I had the pleasure of homeschooling my own daughter. We were a Montessori family first and then it was just kind of our calling to step out and home school. So grades 6th through twelveTH grade. And that was so much fun, just really diving in and lots of the old classics and an amazing, beautiful experience for our family. I did have one of each. I also have a son that's two years older than her and now both are launching. She's a senior, so she's going to be turning 23 here in a bit. And my son 25 is out of state. So it was really fun to watch both of their paths. And that's just a little background as we come to the table today to talk to all of you. I've been here, I guess with our school since the very beginning. I was some of the first little handful that came to our original school. So this is the 8th year that I've been serving families in the area. I do have a good roster of families that I've had the whole time and many have graduated and I look forward to graduating a couple more this year. So it's just been really a pleasure to watch my littles grow into these beautiful homeschooled people and go do all the amazing things.

Rebecca: Awesome. Thank you Seren. Tracy, would you introduce yourself?

Tracy: Yes, I am Tracy Pipkin. I am an HST and I have families on the 50 corridor and I have see, I've been here I think this is our fifth year at the Sequoia Grove schools and I was at our previous charter for twelve years before that. So a number of years working with charters, and then I have four kids from 22 to 30, and I homeschooled them K through twelve. Not everyone all the way through, but pretty much hit all those grade levels in between. And I have two grandchildren, and our oldest grandchild will actually be able to be on my caseload next year. We're starting the next generation of homeschooling.

Rebecca: Yay. Nancy, would you introduce yourself?

Nancy: Sure.

Nancy: I'm Nancy Christensen, and I have been working as an HST here with Clarksville for five years. And before that, I was about 17 years at a different local charter. I love partnering with families and serving them. During that time, I homeschooled. I have four kids, my oldest three, I homeschooled from kindergarten through 8th grade. And then they transferred to our local high school. And then we had a bonus at the end. Our youngest son and I homeschooled him through fifth grade, and then he transitioned to a local school where he continues to attend. He's a junior, and we are fortunate to have two little granddaughters. And our biggest one just said that she wanted to start doing school. I got to talk with her about what that means. It was very cute. She wants to learn her letters.

Tracy: Yes.

Rebecca: So I invited you ladies here today to talk about the I CAN statements because I have heard families say things like, we're going to be working all summer to get through the I CAN statements, or talking to families who feel very, very tied to the I CAN statements, what they're going to choose, how they're going to do it. Everything has been dictated by that and others that may or may not even be that aware of the I CAN statements and whether or not they're important. And so today I'd like to cover this topic that can be a little emotional at times, as odd as that sounds, because they're just sort of goals, educational goals. And yet for a group of people who want a lot of freedom and what they choose for their families and how they're going to educate them, these can feel constraining or it can feel like a challenge for a parent who's feeling insecure about the job that they're doing with their kids. So let's just back up and go with what are the I CAN statements? Let's talk a little bit about where did they come know? Did Sequoia grove invent them? Why do we have them? So what are the I CAN statements, nancy, do you want to talk to us about that?

Nancy: So the I CAN statements are family friendly language of educational standards that are put out by the state of California. And so you could look up on the internet, like state standards for fourth grade language arts. Right. And they're stated in a way that is very educationally, professional, but not always super easy to look at it and go, I know exactly what that means. And so the I CAN statements are. I actually prefer them because even as a teacher, I look at them and I go, I know what that means, or I can understand the direction of that particular goal. So that's kind of what the I can statements are. I like your idea of talking about them as a goal. I've talked about with my families before that the standards are like a destination, right? Like, if we're all trying to go to Lake Tahoe, you could go up highway 50. We are here in El Dorado Hills, and that's easy, right? But there's many ways to get to Lake Tahoe. And in the same way that there's many ways to take a path to Lake Tahoe, there are many ways to meet standards.

Rebecca: And you don't have to go to Lake Tahoe tomorrow, right. You could go in six months. Correct.

Nancy: So it's kind of a funny analogy, but it's sort of freeing to think that there's a lot of ways that we can get to meeting the standards.

Rebecca: So Tracy, what's the purpose of the I CAN statements? Why do we need these as a school?

Tracy: Well, we need them as a school because even though we're homeschooling families, we are part of a charter school. So that's that public piece of it. So we're accountable to the state for those educational standards. And again, these are then that family friendly version for us. And I do too, like to look at them as goals. If you're setting a goal for graduating fourth grade, you kind of need to know what those steps are to get there. And that's what these are meant to do.

Rebecca: So a month into fourth grade, it's not expected that they know all of those fourth grade things.

Tracy: No, those standards are set for the year, and we spread them out over the year, and this is the goal that we're working towards.

Rebecca: So Saran, would you agree or disagree with that parent that says we're going to have to work all summer to get through the I CAN statements?

Seren: That makes me just a tiny bit sad for sure, because we never want a family to feel a burden about exactly working towards their goals and being right where they are. Yes, sometimes we need additional supports, and it's good to have one eyed open on our goals. As a K One teacher, I was a kindergarten teacher for many, many years, over a decade, and I loved knowing where the kids were heading. And that's really how we can utilize this as a tool because they're fun. We make it easy. You could read ahead and you can see their speaking standards. So they start in kindergarten with their adorable selves, and they're sharing a story on your lap, and then they're giving their first little presentations to you, knowing that it's going to help meet a goal of in fourth grade that they can speak clearly. Things like I used to tell my parents at our parent education nights that you come in and you have it's so cute when you're in kindergarten. You know everything you need to know, you learned in kindergarten, right? So you come in and you look forward to these goals. They're not intimidating because they're simple things like my child's going to get teeth and we get to track how many teeth are going to grow. And it's horrible.

Rebecca: The first grader still hasn't lost any.

Seren: It's a really big deal that these teeth are going to fully come in and fully come out. And so it's just an obsession, just like tying a shoe. And I know I'm simplifying things, but if we come to the table with that joy and that grace for our students, knowing that these are joyous benchmarks that we're aiming for, and just knowing what's coming is so calming. So just like we know that a child is going to be developing some of these skills, we want to help facilitate and foster. And there's nothing you can do. I mean, you could tie that tooth to the door and close it, but sometimes without that tooth being wiggly, it's not happening yet. So we wait. And it's much like that as an emergent reader, some of our students are reading early on, some of our students develop much later, and what can we do to celebrate those benchmarks along the way? And that's truly what we would want for any family. So how you're learning during the summer is still a beautiful process. And you might be able to check off some of those benchmarks when you revisit them, but never in a way where you're feeling any kind of stress or again, hesitation for your skills in following your child in their learning.

Rebecca: So if their goals and they're closer to reaching that goal by the end of the year than they were at the beginning of the year, they've accomplished something. And we can't discard that accomplishment even if they aren't quite meeting that goal.

Seren: For sure.

Nancy: I like to think about it like learning how to ride a bike. And so when kids are starting, they like another little tricycle, right? They're beginners, they're just learning how to pedal and how to steer, and then they upgrade, right? They have a bike that has training wheels and they're learning how to push the brakes and do different things. And so they're both riding a bike, but neither one has mastered riding a bike yet. And it's not until those training wheels come off that the kid has mastered riding the bike. And so I think that learning the standards is similar, right, that there's a progression and there's growth all along the way, and it's important for us to notice the growth and celebrate it. And not every kid is doing tricks on their bike the first day of bike school.

Rebecca: Well, you could even take that analogy further. That just because a kid can stay on a two wheeled bike without falling over doesn't mean that they're ready to ride the bike down the street to their friends because they may not have the awareness of what's going on around them yet or have be able to think on their feet if a problem arises. And so there's still another level of maturity that can come even after that skill is sort of there. There's a mastery of the maturity that comes with a lot of it.

Tracy: I think there's a benefit, too, in that our school promotes that personal choice of curriculum. And I think the I CAN standards actually make it easier for families to have that personal choice because you can take those I CAN standards and match them to a number of different types of curriculum. And so it allows them to have that freedom to learn in a way that they want to learn and still be able to meet those standards and not have a set curriculum that you have to follow.

Rebecca: Okay, so that was one of my other questions, is what if the curriculum that a parent chooses doesn't line up exactly with the I CAN statements? Because California standards are really specific and following sort of a certain path in a certain order, and there's plenty of solid curriculum out there that will continue to help your children grow and learn, but maybe in the same order that California standards is asking, so what then?

Tracy: I think that's where both Nancy and I have looked at that, is that's our job is to help you take what you're learning and what you're using and making that work with the standards. I think you'd be surprised when you look at the curriculum out there. Like you said, there's so many strong ones out there that you can easily meet the standards, whatever you're choosing. And then if you're not, then you have those standards to be able to go, well, look, we might have a gap in this area, so let's maybe find a unit study or find something else that we can use to fill on that gap.

Rebecca: How often would you guys be encouraging families to look at the I CAN statements? Is that something they should be checking every week? Once a year, I try to check.

Nancy: In with my families a couple times a semester on the I CAN standards, and I really only emphasize the language arts and math standards with them because I feel like those are skill areas and they're progressive. So you can't move into third grade math if you haven't mastered first and second grade math. So those are the ones I really encourage my families to be kind of checking, and we talk about them. There's a little more flexibility for things like social studies because if we're learning California History in fourth grade or we're learning it in 6th grade, the point is we're learning it probably not going to mess you up for life if you learn California History in 6th grade instead of fourth grade.

Rebecca: You might even remember more of might.

Nancy: You might. But it is going to mess you up if you're not consistently making progress in language arts and math because that's going to limit your access to content areas like history and science. Like your mathematics will hold you back in science, or your inability to comprehend nonfiction text is going to hinder you in history. So you really want to make sure those skill subjects are consistent and strong.

Rebecca: So parents don't necessarily need to be using the I CAN statements on grade level in choosing curriculum for history and science. Is that a safe statement?

Seren: Oh, absolutely.

Tracy: Yeah, definitely.

Seren: This is just again, it's just this umbrella so that you can help translate what this education pattern kind of looks like. Because not everybody has a background in teaching and education and they are just all these home school parents and family members that are supporting their students are just doing an incredible service to their students and we want to encourage them. So this is something that we can do that you can easily read and it makes sense and it doesn't really scare you. It's bite sized bits so that you know where you're headed. And it can be very encouraging because I bet you could check off way more than you thought you could when you do kind of take a minute to read through those.

Rebecca: So I should back up and say that you can find the I CAN statements on the homeschool helper. It's really easy to find them there if you don't know where the homeschool helper is. Find it now in bookmark it because you need that website frequently also in your parent planner that your HST gave you at the beginning of the year. It's in the beginning of that book and I'm looking at it now. So for an example of what an I CAN statement might be, the first one listed for fourth grade English Language Arts is, I can show what I have learned about letters, sounds and words in my reading. In other words, you can put a word together and read it. So if your child even at that point is doing really simple words, they've still met that standard, haven't they?

Nancy: I do think that that is correct and I think it's also informative to look at the grade level below and the grade level above because that helps you get an idea of what does that mean for a fourth grader to have met those standards. So it's useful to look at those surrounding standards because you can look 3.1 in Language Arts is going to be similar, like they build on each other and 5.1 would be the next step. So it's good to even pay attention to the numbers a little bit. It helps you to track them.

Rebecca: And this year they are kind of divided up into sections. So Language arts is divided up in a unit. They're all divided up unit one through eight, I believe, and progressively getting more difficult throughout the year.

Nancy: Correct, correct. And it's my understanding that the team that put those together, they built that progression based on what's common in a lot of different curricula so that it wouldn't be very hard for people to see how their curriculum is matching the standard.

Rebecca: So in unit eight for fourth grade Language Arts, I can read and understand fourth grade stories, plays, and poems independently. So obviously that's beyond just I can put words together. But that's an entire school year's difference. So there's a lot of space and time for some growth in there. Right.

Nancy: And I think that it's really nice when you look at the standards because sometimes oh, yeah, I forgot about plays.

Rebecca: Yes.

Nancy: Right. And so they're helpful reminders. Oh, yeah, I meant to talk about shades of meaning. There's a standard in second or third grade language arts about I can tell the difference between words like wide fat, like different progressions, like shades of meaning.

Rebecca: Right.

Nancy: I'm not thinking of a good example right now.

Rebecca: Do you mean a little bit of being able to understand what an author means even if it's not explicitly what they said?

Nancy: Yes. And the subtleties of difference between synonyms. There is a reason why an author might choose the word fat instead of thick, or they might. So there's a little bit of difference and nuance to those words. So kids are maturing and they're learning some of that nuance.

Rebecca: I know one of the standards I was sort of surprised to see in there was about public speaking, and I feel like that's kind of on our radar at our house. But at the same time, I was like, oh, that's an actual standard. And my kids have sort of the desire and ability to do that in differing way, differing degrees. And so some of them need a little more prompting, a little more practice, a little more opportunity than the others.

Seren: And that's where an HST can really come in because we do this naturally, whether the parents are checking off and I can we come in and we love our students to recite the poem that they've drafted or memorized. We come in and they play that piano piece for us. We come in and they show and demonstrate their learning and their joy and their passions all the time. And whether or not the parent is checking these off, the HST is prepared and knows that student growth is happening and being measured. And it's just a really we're teaming up with our families. And so that's important to remember. And if that helps parents feel a little more at ease, that regardless of if they have their eyes on this, their HST does too. And so that's sometimes what will come into a question or an HST might enjoy a family meeting and ask about some of the deeper learning that's happening. And it's a big part of how we can serve our families to take a little bit of that uneasiness out of it for a parent who just wants to know that they're doing this great job with their kiddos.

Rebecca: I guess in your example, what I heard too was let's not forget that the standards mostly are covering sort of basic things. It looks like an awful lot of words, but it's not covering art and music and some of those things that make your education more rich. But those piano lessons and the ability to play for somebody that comes to your home could potentially I mean, there is some level of like I have an ability to explain what I've learned and I have an ability to tell somebody and to perform something. And those kinds of things can fall into some of these categories, can't they?

Tracy: Absolutely.

Seren: I do that all the time. All the time. Because that's where their passions are. I have students that are going to build huge yes, yes. Everyone knows my love for Legos. It's no, you know, they've done this project and they can know that. They went to San Diego, they saw this ship, they came home, they built it out of Legos, and they tell me all about it. Sometimes they have a report, sometimes they have a board they put together, sometimes they have pictures, but they are sharing. And that absolutely is the magic of all that learning that's been taking place.

Rebecca: So there's no Legos in the I CAN statements, but what you're saying is they've.

Seren: Checked off multiple you have to read between the lines. Yes, it's actually a standard for all of my students.

Rebecca: But you as the HST, can look at that and check off several different I CAN statements on their ability to synthesize all of the information absolutely. Into a project, into telling you about it, into articulating.

Seren: That is my favorite part of the job is it's my job to make sure that those standards have been translated to what the student is already doing. We do not want to ask a family to do anything beyond their amazing work to try to check these things off to the best of our ability. I mean, if we find a little gap, we're going to talk about it.

Rebecca: Okay, so let's talk about the flip side. The flip side is sometimes families need a little push. Yes, sometimes maybe they're focusing on some bigger experience and not some of the building blocks to things as that's where it doesn't translate.

Seren: Sometimes, and I like to use the word encourage, for sure. If a family decides that they want to call it a kick in the pants, then that's totally fine too. I think it comes down to how know those are just some of those early on things that families are learning. Like how much time do we spend on this subject, what does the rhythm of our day look like? And one of I know Nancy and Tracy's passions is that family style of homeschooling. So it is going to look different for a family of five and a family that's serving one student. How much time do we spend on these? I get that all the time. And I think that that becomes almost that twist from how do we demonstrate learning from an AWR, which is just really that assignment work record. It's truly just that we've assigned these standards to our students because of the school year that they're in, even though developmentally, they could have a broader range. And we just want to celebrate the growth. And then the kick in the pants, the encouragement, the push, is when our students are not finding their joy. I come down to the philosophical piece behind that, because I like to help my students and my family. So if we're not loving something, what can we do to tweak that? And are we spending enough time in it, or are we avoiding it? So that's where the kick in the pants comes in, because you can't run away from something you don't love. And I really don't want to pick on math. I'm sorry, but there are just some students that just really don't love their math, and they will avoid it, and it will be a thing. And so those are candid conversations that we have to address, regardless of if we're looking at I CAN statements or not.

Rebecca: Tracy and Nancy, do you have anything to add to that?

Nancy: I just think that when you have those families or those students that are struggling to get something done I love my students, and I love my families, and I would be doing a disservice if I saw that there was some kind of gap or lack happening and I didn't say something. That doesn't mean that I'm coming in with a bullhorn and bossing people around. It means that maybe I'm asking some questions, like, why is the math not happening? Maybe math is not happening because mom needs to teach the math lessons, and mom is pregnant and has morning sickness, and she just can't. And so it's figuring out what is the root of the issue. Maybe it's a kid that's avoiding their math, and they've been hiding from mom that they're not doing their math. So a lot of times it's just doing a little bit of investigating and then figuring out, how can I encourage and support this family and help set them up to be successful? That's a piece of the conversation. And so maybe for a time, they.

Rebecca: Need a different math curriculum while mom correct until mom is more able to teach those lessons. Right.

Nancy: And sometimes it's not changing the math curriculum. Sometimes the math curriculum is right, and the lesson is learning how to do something. That's not your first choice.

Seren: And sometimes it's writing practice every day, because writing once a week isn't going to show you the rewards that you're looking for.

Nancy: Right.

Tracy: I think the I CAN standards, especially, like at our meetings, are just great conversation pieces. It's a chance for you to check in with those parents, but not make it a grind. It's never something that I want them to have to sit there and check off the list. I want to be able to have conversations with them and again, make those adjustments as needed.

Nancy: Not a gotcha. Oops, you didn't do that one?

Tracy: No.

Nancy: That's never the heart of that. It's nice for us to do a little bit of, I don't know, like a 10,000ft view. Like, let's fly over your home school and look at these standards away from looking at the daily grind of it all. How's it going? Let's examine the progress and see where you're at and see how we can help. Is that curriculum helping you meet your goals? Is it hindering you somehow?

Rebecca: Can I can statement. I think probably 99% of homeschoolers are not interested in teaching to the test when it comes to the CASP tests at the end of the year and all of that, but I can statements will help students be prepared for that. Correct.

Tracy: I have a lot of families for science that like to do things in groups. And so for us, we had four kids and so English and math, you kind of have to stick in your own lane. Science and history is much more fun when you guys can do it together and have the whole group. And Nancy and I did a lot of that together with our families. But you have a fifth grade science test, and if you've been going out of grade level, it's kind of nice to have the I CAN standards right there for parents to go and look at, hey, look, we've covered all these. I think we're going to be fine. Not that they're teaching to the test, but just to make sure that their kids feel comfortable when they walk into it, that, oh, my gosh, we didn't touch any of these.

Rebecca: Right? Or the other flip side of that being maybe they didn't perform all that well on the CASP test. But if you can go back to the I CAN statements and know, I know they knew this, the test just kind of freaked them out, or they weren't really sure what to do with the format, then you can rest assured, despite what the test says, we know what we're doing. Not we knew what we're doing. Like, Mom's got it all under control, but the child is where they need to be.

Nancy: Right. And sometimes you can also use those standards, like I was mentioning earlier, how you can trace them. Right. You can look at, like, the 3.1, and I'm just throwing out a number. You can look at 3.1 and 4.1 and 5.1, and so if you're like, I thought that they had this, but they don't. It can be useful to look back and go, oh. Here's where the wheels kind of fell off. Let's go back and do some reteaching of these earlier levels of standards and build that more solidly this time.

Rebecca: Okay, so I want to go back to family learning because that's just a super cool topic, and I find a lot of times new homeschoolers, maybe families that have pulled their kids out of other schools and they've got multiple ages. It can take a little while to wrap your head around the fact that I don't have to buy a separate curriculum at separate levels for each of my kids. This, to me is one of the coolest things about homeschooling, is that you can combine a lot, even when it comes to language arts. Like sometimes the read aloud or some of the maybe you can do the same writing program but require different things, different what they produce should look a little bit different. There's a lot of ways to combine. So let's talk more about that. Even if we go off of the I can statements a little bit, this is, I think, a really cool topic.

Nancy: I think it's one of the things that makes homeschooling the most fun is that you have this opportunity to have a shared experience in your family, maybe about reading a certain read aloud together, even if your kids are or a novel that you've assigned. I have four kids, and I have three big ones, and then I have our bonus. And it's hysterical because I picked a lot of the same curriculum for number four as I did for one, Two, and three, and he will gripe to them about me. And mom made me read that book, too. And it's like this shared community experience that my four kids have together or they have things that they loved and all of them read it and they'll talk about it. Even now I have adult kids and an almost adult kid, and they have this neat shared history of things that they experienced in our home, and that's a big part of our family history and our family bond, and I'm grateful for it, and I love encouraging that in the families that I'm supporting.

Rebecca: Would you ever have gotten around to four different science experiments?

Nancy: I think I would have died. I think I would have died.

Rebecca: And what about teaching history as a group? First of all, I think science together, like you said, that's just straight up more fun. Like it's so much more interesting to do it together and to watch the experiment together. And how's one kid supposed to sit and do their writing assignment while somebody else is doing a volcano in the kitchen doesn't seem fair. No, not at all. Talk about history.

Tracy: Some in the history we did the same way, we did the same topics, but we just do it at a different level for those kids. So what's expected for your first grader is different than what's expected for your 8th grader, but you can still be reading the same great books and the same great read aloud and still share those experiences with them. I think especially for new homeschool families, it's hard if you're not used to this, to have to do a separate curriculum for every single subject for every single kid is just going to kill a family. And it's our job to help make things easier for them. And that's how you do it. You pull your families together for the same topics for science and history. Do it together, enjoy the learning together, have fun.

Nancy: And I think that if you're taking a more topic based approach to your history and your science, it's so easy. There's wonderful literature out there that you can find, like if you have if you're learning about the human body, for example, there's amazing books like the kindergarten, first grade, second grade, Little readers, the let's Read and Find Out About the Human Body or What Happens to a Hamburger or different books like that that are great. And then there's other books that are more sophisticated for your older kids. So you all can be reading and learning about the same topic, but at an age appropriate kind of level. But then when you come around to doing the science experiment or the science demonstration, everybody can participate.

Rebecca: And same with our family. Right now, everybody's doing American History this year. So obviously what my 10th grader needs to know about American History, what my first grader needs to know about American History are not the same thing.

Seren: I think it's also really fantastic because the younger always wants to copy the older students and this gives them that time with their siblings too. It bonds you and your family in a very unique way and it's an opportunity that you want to take advantage of so that's not lost on anyone and your teacher is definitely there to support that. So for sure be encouraging your kiddos to just immerse themselves together.

Rebecca: And I know for me, one of my top homeschooling goals is that our family feels well connected. And so this is a way to.

Tracy: Have your 10th grader reading to your first grader. Engage them together.

Rebecca: I know one thing that gets kind of thrown around at park days or can be talked about a little bit on Facebook and different things, and that isn't always super clear for parents is when we're turning in. I'm going back to the I CAN statements now. So when we're turning in samples, do samples have to very explicitly match I CAN statements? And do we have to go in order of the units that they've been divided up in through the year?

Seren: Absolutely not. It is in your best interest to be providing authentic work to your teacher and sharing exactly what it is that you're working on. It's up to the teacher to make sure that those ICANN statements can get checked off behind the scenes. It is not a parent's job to be checking those off, going in order, or even having to consider that it's just one more thing, and they don't need to be focused on that. There's so many more important things that you could be focused on with your students learning.

Rebecca: So in that vein, what if a child we touched on this a little bit, but as you're thinking about samples, as you're thinking about where your kid is in the I CAN statements, and chances are, realistically, they're a little bit all over the place. We've talked about in other podcast episodes that kids don't learn according to the schedule of the California State Standards.

Nancy: Right.

Rebecca: They learn Asynchronously and some subjects, they might be ahead of their grade level, and others they might be behind. What consideration does that have as far as samples and as parents are looking at I CAN statements, is that a problem?

Nancy: Are you speaking, like, to maybe a student that's struggling?

Rebecca: Well, I'm just saying if a parent is turning in a sample or they're looking at the I CAN statements and they're thinking, my fourth grader is only at the third grade level when it comes to writing, but they're doing fifth grade math, is that a problem?

Nancy: No.

Rebecca: Okay.

Nancy: That's really where that kid is at. Right? We would be doing a disservice to pretend like everything's they're all doing fourth grade work in all their subjects. They're like on bubble. And if that's not really where the kid is at, then that's really not where the kid is at.

Rebecca: So they don't need to print off a fourth grade worksheet no. And suffer through trying to do this thing to prove that they are in fourth grade?

Nancy: No. Okay.

Rebecca: They can be forthright with where they.

Nancy: Are because, again, we're not really going to be able to be helpful to the family if they aren't being forthright about where they're actually at.

Rebecca: So even for a sample?

Nancy: Even for a sample.

Rebecca: Okay. They can be honest.

Nancy: Yes.

Rebecca: Okay.

Nancy: I will push back sometimes in high school because there is a minimalist attitude that sometimes happens in high school with students where they don't want to write full sentences or maybe submit their best work. So there are times that I will push back when I know the student.

Rebecca: Nancy, what were you going to say?

Tracy: I was going to say back to the I CAN standards for that because, you know, kids are working out of grade level. I find a lot of my families, it's encouraging for them to be able to look at those I CAN standards and have the span. Right. So you can like Nancy said, you can look at the third, you can look at the fifth. But it gives them that. I think sometimes it makes them feel a little bit better about themselves to say that, look, we are meeting some of the fourth grade standards even though we're doing a third grade curriculum, and we're filling in those foundational gaps that we need to fill in, but we are still able to meet some of those standards at the same time. So it actually makes them feel a little bit better about themselves and their student and where they're at.

Rebecca: Well, and let's back up too and talk a little bit. Sometimes the parents that are the most nervous about this are the Tk and K parents because it's brand new and because they're excited, but they're also terrified. And we know that TKK first graders, their sort of learning speed is just all over the map. There is no one road for all four year olds. So let's talk a little bit specifically to the parents of the little people and how they can not be tied down and freaked out by the I CAN statements.

Seren: Well, the I CAN statements at that age range are to help you not feel lost. I think that those actually benefit you because sometimes you'll feel overwhelmed and the world is a really big place and there's lots of important decisions that you're trying to make and you're still trying to find a good fit. So it can help narrow things down a little bit in your focus of what it is that you're learning can take shape. But then after that, so you've read through them, you have the information, utilize that, you have that information, and then you can deep dive into what is nourishing your family so that it becomes eventful. I mean, there's no reason to dive into a curriculum when you could be out exploring. There's no book on pumpkins that's going to be as exciting until you've taken them to go see the pumpkins in the patch. So our littles are such experiential learners and that is huge, really huge.

Rebecca: You can learn almost everything that's in a kindergarten math book just by watching out the window in the car, talking about what you see, identifying the shapes in the grocery store, the colors.

Nancy: And I think that that is a piece of the mindset that happens when you have little kids is that so many times the parents have this mindset of they picture a kindergarten classroom, they picture the little tables and the little worksheets, and they have this very classroom centered kind of idea for how learning happens for little kids. Right? And so we have to point out to them how much learning happens at the pumpkin patch and how much learning happens at the grocery store that they're already doing. They're just not completely aware that, oh, that counts as school too, right?

Rebecca: Does a kindergarten parent need to be worried if their child is not reading yet?

Tracy: No, everyone learns at a different pace at that age. And no, as long as you're showing growth throughout the year, they'll get there.

Nancy: I think it's a little bit like the teeth example that we talked about early, earlier. You can't make that kid read, right? So you just keep gently working and presenting the instruction and encouraging them and making things about reading delightful, right? Like, we read lots of stories together and we talk about what we've been reading and we talk about the beginning and the middle and the end and the fairy tale and those kinds of experiences are part of learning how to read too. That if we always make reading that lesson and that's the only experience our kids have with reading and it's hard for them, they're not going to think that learning how to read is a worthwhile goal.

Rebecca: Well, even paying attention as we read the book, to which direction do we turn the pages? Can you find the periods on this page? Can you find me a capital letter or do you see an A on here? Or all of those kinds of like there's lots of ways that you can incorporate some of those skills and there's.

Nancy: Lots of ways that you can play with letters when you're out places like you're driving somewhere. Can you find an S?

Rebecca: Oh, yes.

Nancy: There's one on the stop sign. That's one of the first words that lots of kids know how to read because they recognize it from driving.

Seren: There's also so many wonderful hands on activities. It's just don't underestimate how important it is to get the shaving cream and the sandbox and the colored rice and the colored noodles and make those sensory ways to hold and investigate objects that start with the sounds and teach phonemic awareness. And I could go on and on. Of course, I have a Montessori background.

Rebecca: Too, so forget your movable.

Seren: Alphabet very important and your sandpaper letters. But it's huge how these things build and what it means for those sounds to be constructed is such a fun thing, whether you're hammering it into your pumpkin that you got at the pumpkin patch, you might just be putting in your initial. And I love watching a home school family learn how to even write their name. There's kids that learn how to do this depending on the length of their name, too, at all different ages because they're not writing on worksheets and it's a really big deal for them when they have mastered even their own name.

Rebecca: It was probably my girl, so it was the beginning of things. But it was like, you're kind of old to not know how to write your last name, aren't you? I never really needed to. Whoops. Let's back up and fix that.

Seren: I cannot tell you how many families practice because we collect samples. That is really their number one skill that they're learning.

Nancy: I do think I often encourage my families that have TKRs and Kindergartners and even first graders that they're running in two tracks in that age level, is that they're not just learning about this delightful world and learning about letters and numbers, but they're also learning kind of how to do school. And so there is a piece where maybe even you have a wiggly kid, but you want them to learn how to sit and work on an activity for five or ten minutes. And that's a skill too. Yeah, right. And so trying to help them not be frustrated by their wiggly little kids because their little kids are learning how to master their bodies at different times and how to have self control.

Seren: I cannot tell you how fun it is. And this is my favorite part of the job I have literally taken. Okay, I'm obsessed with pumpkins right now because it's pumpkin season, but I have taken little pumpkins and that is the most beautiful math lesson. So I wanted to work with a family and we were learning OD and even. You take the pumpkin, they get their wiggles out. By the time they have cleaned the seeds out of this pumpkin, the wiggles are gone and you can focus on OD even. OD even. Pair, no pair. Pair, no pair. Very simple. Takes five minutes. And what a really fun math lesson. So please don't ever forget to just get creative. Definitely have fun. Because if it's fun and interesting and new for you, it's going to be ten times more for your kiddos.

Rebecca: Is there anything else you guys want families to know about the ICANN statements? Any parting words for parents who are either sort of against them or afraid of them?

Seren: I would say my parting word would be to read them because a lot of people maybe shy away and just sort of tuck that journal and calendar away. Go ahead and take a look at them. I would encourage you to peruse them just so you have it on your radar. And then be comfortable talking to your home school teacher about the direction of how your curriculum is working for your family and any concerns that you might have. Like you want to use your teacher to support you. And that would be a missed opportunity. So don't sweat the I CANS at all. They don't need to be something on your plate. Give that plate to your HST, but allow them to help support you so that you have someone in your corner and have that communication. Because sometimes the communication piece can be really impactful.

Tracy: I think along the same lines, I never want my families to look at that as a checklist like I have to. We talked about goals and they may not meet that goal this year. They may meet it middle of next year. And that's okay as long as we're making growth throughout. And just again, be aware, but don't make it a have to.

Rebecca: Growth is the key.

Tracy: Growth is the key. We want our kids to show growth, and it may be a little bit of growth this year, and it may be a lot of growth next year, just as long as there's growth.

Nancy: And I think it's important to remember that we need to not lose track of the child that's sitting in front of us. We're serving the child. We're not serving the standards. And so if we keep that in proper perspective, the standards can help us serve the child. But like, if a child is struggling or if they're accelerated, those kids might need some adjustments along the way and we need to be aware they're a tool.

Rebecca: I think we're serving the child and not the standard, is a pretty good place to end. Thank you ladies so much for being here, for conquering your nerves and sharing with us. I have really, really appreciated this conversation.

Seren: Thank you for having us, listeners.

Rebecca: I hope that listening in on this conversation has helped to clear away any confusion that you might have felt about the I CAN statements and their purpose and how they can be used to inform and support our homeschool. If you have any questions or concerns about the I CAN statements and what that looks like for your family, please have a really open conversation with your HST guys. This is our last episode of season four and I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the many conversations and topics that I have been able to share with you. It's been a real joy to record those and we're going to be taking a break for a bit. We'll be sure to put out a trailer for season five when it's time. And if you haven't had a chance to hear all of the episodes, and you might have missed the one with Pam Barnhill about plan your year, or you missed the one about how to help our siblings. Love one. Another better while we're together most days, all day. Or the highly informative episodes with HR mom helping us to teach our kids better life skills and self management skills. Or if you haven't had a chance to sit down, and really digest and listen to the episode that we were able to do about how to keep your family safer. Please spend some time and listen to those. And then if you would do me a couple of favors, I'd be so grateful. One, rate this podcast. Give it a review wherever you listen to it. It helps families find it and helps us know how we're doing. And two, I really, truly would love to hear some feedback. What did you love? What hit you wrong? What episodes would you love to hear in the future as we're planning for the next season? I would really love to hear from you. There's two ways to contact me pretty easily. One is by email podcasts@sequoiagrove.org, or you can go to any of the school websites, for example Clarksvillecharter.org, and find the resource page and the podcast page from there. And there is a little button that just says Record. And you can record a message to me that I will hear directly. And I would just love to hear from you. It's really encouraging to me. When I'm able to get some feedback, give me a shout out. And don't forget to rate this podcast. And I hope that these episodes have helped bring some extra peace to your home school. This has been the Sequoia Breeze podcast. I am your host, Rebecca LaSavio. It has been a real pleasure to be with you this season, and I hope that it has been a breath of fresh air for your homeschool.