Jul. 11, 2006
Old Schoolhouse Magazine Interview with Cindy Downes
I am SO HONORED that The Old Schoolhouse magazine chose to interview me and place the interview in the summer issue (available in July on newstands). Thank you, TOS!
You can read my interview on page 64. Those of you who read my blog MUST subscribe to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine now, unless of course, you already have! In addition to the interview, this issue is chock full of great reading that will inform, comfort, and inspire you in your homeschool walk. Here's a sampling:
First, an article by TOS publisher, Jenefer Igarashi, "What to Do When You Think You've Lost Them," really spoke to me. Jenefer relates her mother's grief when Jenefer, as a young adult, rejected her family's faith and lifestyle. I, personally, have gone (and still going) through some of this with my children. This article is a comfort to those of us who are going through this and it gives us hope! Thanks Jenefer for sharing this.
Then, there's an article by Deborah Wuehler on how to homeschool the rebel. Another great article for those of you with "little challenges!"
And for the other side, there's an interview with Alex and Brett Harris, two young men who started a "rebelution." Alex says, "the "rebelution" is a widespread teenage rebellion against the low expectations of our society." Read how these two young men are affecting the youth of today. Their blog was voted the best homeschool teen blog on the internet! You'll be encouraged with this interview as well as the one with Cindy Rushton on "Approaching the Finish Line in Homeschooling."
You'll also want to bookmark this issue for the coming school year as there is a complete unit on trains included as well as a glossary of railroading terms, a timetable of railroad history, and a drawing lesson.
I could go on and on about the other great articles, interviews, curriculum reviews, and resources, but I have to stop and fix my hubbie's dinner! Let me know what you think of the magazine! Cindy Downes
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Oct. 4, 2005
How I Started Homeschooling
I began to homeschool back in 1981 when
my children were 4 and 5 years old and continued until they graduated
from high school. Here's the way my homeschool adventures began:
I had become a Christian in 1980. Since I had been raised in the public
school and had no church background, I did not want my children to be
as ignorant of God as I was. Therefore, I sent my 4 year old to a local
Christian school for PreK. The school was using a curriculum that
forced phonics on the students beginning at age 4. That year was
stressful, but not unbearable.
The following year, my son
went into Kindergarten and my daughter into the PreK class. She
did fine; but, by the middle of the year, my son was so stressed that
we knew something had to be done.
My husband and
I did not know what to do; but, since we were new Christians, we did
what new Christians do - we prayed about it. Shortly after, we saw an
interview with Dorothy and Raymond Moore on TV. I sent off for their
book, Home Grown Kids, and read it from cover to cover. One chapter
described my son exactly.
Although, we knew of no one who
homeschooled, it was illegal to homeschool, all our Christian friends
were against it, and my own family was against it, we made the decision
to homeschool. We pulled them out mid-year, got copies of the books
they were using, and continued to school at home just as it was done at
the school. That was the next problem!
Finally, after weeks of
tears and frustration, I turned to the back of the book where I found
the telephone number of the Moore's. I dialed and God is merciful,
Dorothy Moore answered the phone! After explaining my frustration, she
said, "Cindy, put those books in a closet and just read to them." So
that's what I did.
For the next couple of years, I read to
them. I read history books, science books, literature, anything that
looked interesting. It didn't matter whether it was a child's book or a
classic. We read it. My daughter taught herself to read in the middle
of all this. My son, however, still did not read at age 9. But we
didn't give up in spite of the fact that we were wondering if we were
doing the right thing.
Finally, at age 9-1/2, it seemed
as if a light bulb went on and my son began to read. Age age 12, he was
doing algebra and at age 15, he was accepted into a local college for
college classes. My daughter graduated a year early and was offered
paid tuition to college. Yes, homeschooling does work!
Although we started homeschooling for educational reasons, over the
years, my reasons changed. We found that we had more time to be with
our kids than other families did. We started a family ministry and
traveled the eastern part of the US while our children were young. Our
children got involved in internships and started their careers early,
or, as in my daughter's case, eliminated what they didn't want to do!
By the time our children were in high school, homeschooling was such a
part of our lives that we couldn't see any way of changing what we were
doing. It worked for us to teach all the way through. Maybe it will for
you, too!
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