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Homeschooling with KONOS (part 1)Since this is technically a "homeschool blog", I thought I'd share something that actually pertains to homeschooling today. How's that for a change? We use a curriculum called KONOS. I remember thinking, "Konos? What in the world does that mean?" Well, it's actually a Greek word, which translates into the word "cone". If you look at a cone shape that has been inverted, you'll see that there is a point at the top and a wide circle at the base. The base is symbolic of our lives and everything we do, and the top of the cone represents God. Konos uses this analogy to show that our hearts and minds should seek to do God's will in everything we do, including educating our children. I loved this idea. It only makes sense to me to teach my children the attributes of God first, and let the other subjects fall into place around them. I've been amazed at how much there is to learn... about Attentiveness, for example. Attentiveness is the first unit in Konos Volume I. My children learned about what it means to be attentive, and how God is attentive to their needs every moment of the day. They also learned about different characters in the Bible who displayed great attentiveness, such as Samuel when he heard God calling for him. And, they learned how God has made them to be attentive, with their five senses. We studied all the parts of the ear and the eye, and how they all work. We even built a big model of an ear that the children were able to crawl through and explain how the things inside worked. The children loved learning about Helen Keller and were amazed when we read her biography. Honestly, I was enthralled as well and found myself reading about her even when the kids were not around! I never learned all this when I was in school. We even took it a step further and had a taste of what it would be like to be blind. I tied blindfolds on the children and took them on an excursion to see if they could guess where we'd end up. They did pretty well, but decided they much preferred being able to see for themselves. Another part of the Attentiveness unit was a section on the Frontiersmen and tracking and trapping. We had some great field trips to the park for that unit. They loved learning about Lewis and Clark and Sacagewea. They still go back to our big wall map occasionally and run their finger along the trail that we marked, showing the path that the explorers took when they ended up at the Pacific Ocean. They made their own coonskin hats, just like Davy Crockett's. And, we went out in the woods to track animals and make molds of the prints that we found. We also made journals of the tracks and where they were found, and collected leaves and anything else interesting that we saw along the way. They learned that being out in the "wild", especially back in the days of Lewis and Clark, requires a great deal of attentiveness - just to survive! I know they will never forget that unit because they got out and DID it themselves. They were not sitting in a classroom or reading it in a book - they experienced it. Now they KNOW it. (To be continued....) In the meantime, check out the KONOS website. It's chock full of excellent information about the Konos curriculum, and just homeschooling in general. You'll be glad you did! 4:47 PM - Feb. 24, 2007 - post comment
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Description Home For Heaven's Sake is a blog about one family's adventures in homeschooling. From lesson plans to field trips to ordinary, everyday life, this blog tells our story. Home User Profile Archives Recent Entries - Mid-July...already? - June 2008 - At A Glance - Wordless Wednesday - Elephant Rock - The Finish Line is in sight! - Teacher Appreciation Week 
 
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I wanted to give a plug for the curriculum we've been using, and tell you why we 
it.