I live in a largely blue-collar town. There are no mansions or super affluent people that make up our community. The families that choose to be "traditional", with the daddy as the breadwinner, struggle. Lots of homeschooling families that I know here have had trouble even affording a computer.
In a community like ours, virtual schooling where the government sends a family a computer, pays for internet use, and supplies all sorts of glossy, colorful curricula and even science and craft supplies, is just too much of a temptation.
When our state first began to offer such programs, I can remember the glowing reports of all of the "goodies" that were sent--it was like Christmas! Everything needed was provided, including scissors and craft paper, and seeds for growing things. Mothers who before had been wringing their hands wondering how they were going to afford the Saxon Math series were now almost care-free.
But there was a catch.
Someone has said that nothing in life is truly "free". With all of the goodies and the ease of knowing someone else was in charge came a large price. Instead of worries over buying supplies and curricula, now the mothers had a heavy burden placed on them every day. They had to coerce and nag and bite their fingernails over getting the work done that was required--a whole boat-load of extra fact-cramming and busy-work that made it almost impossible for anyone to have a good life, especially for the mother who had even 3-4 children on different levels. Instead of having their lives simplified, they were complicated beyond comprehension, and their children were being harmed in the process and turned into drones who hated anything to do with "learning".
The most unfortunate thing of all was that most mothers were convinced that this sort of government-sponsored slavery was what homeschooling was all about! Many who were already feeling overwhelmed about teaching their own children became convinced, after allowing the state to muck with things, that homeschooling was impossible and horrid. So, they gave up.
But learning is not a super-complicated thing that only professionals know how to do!
Our children were born to us completely helpless--they could not even hold their own heads up! Somehow, with our encouragement, they learned to walk and talk and feed themselves. Children, even in some of the most impoverished conditions, learn to do these things, unless they are ill or haven't any food to eat.
Why do children learn these things? Is it because they are constantly nagged, or they have been through the right "programs"? No. Children learn these things because they want to and they need to. The parents are there to facilitate and encourage.
Now here is the secret that those who run teaching colleges and publish curricula and make their living on the supposition of universal idiocy do not want you to know:
TEACHING CHILDREN IS NOT DFFICULT--THEY ALREADY WANT TO LEARN!
I once checked out a magazine published for teachers from the library, thinking I could glean something of value for my own family. An article was written therein about teaching composition to middle-school students. I could not believe the amount of verbage it took--paragraph upon paragraph of evidence and studies and then the methodology that took pages to explain. What a waste!
Writing is just an extension of language, another form of communication. When it is taught in this context, it no longer seems mystical or complex. Good writing is learned by reading the good writing of others--with reading aloud, discussion, and application.
The same goes for the other subjects. Math is a sort of communication, it is the communication of the Creator to His creation--that there is order and care. Science is best described as the "thinking of God's thoughts after Him". The wonder of this planet and the universe is the only catalyst needed. Once the appetite has been whetted, a parent need only to watch a child take off like a rocket-ship (and be willing to enjoy the adventure).
Of course, you can't enjoy the wonderful adventure of discovery with your child if every day is prescribed and written down. The time and energy you would normally have to explore and discover is all taken up by the reading of droll, dumbed-down texts, numerous questions to be answered by rote understanding, canned experiments and the like.
Yes, there are times when a little rote learning can be valuable, but not as an all-encompassing program. The teaching of facts should be likened to handing out tools that a skilled craftsman, the child, can use to create and discover further. Rote learning should never become the end, but the means. We should not be so much concerned with turning out children who can win at Trivial Pursuit as much as we should be concerned with raising children who can take the information in any situation, analyze it, and come up with wise conclusions and solutions.
I do not write theory here; I myself have seen the proven examples, and not just among my own children.
But the public schooling industry, and it is a great part of our economy, does not want you and I to know just how simple teaching and learning really is. Just think of how many meetings and conferences would have to be canceled. Whole political commmitees would have to be disbanded. We would see a lot of educational phd's flipping burgers, and whole educational supply industries woud go belly-up.
Besides all of this, those who desire power over our population would be the saddest of all, because people of America would once again, as in the crazy times of our inception, realize just how many choices they have, and would develop the intestinal fortitude to pursue those choices. I personally believe that it would allow Chrisitanity to return once again as the underlying foundation of our Republic, as parents would be allowed to pass on their Judeo-Christain values in a personal way to the next generation.
But you won't read this in the leaflets sent out to entice you. They will act as your friend, and say how they understand that you feel unsure and intimidated. But they are not friendly. They only wish to use your own fears to convince you that you can not do it on your own.
But, with God's grace and help,
YOU CAN!!!!!!
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Dec. 3, 2008
Homeschool Memoirs #16: Candy
Posted By ~christa~ in Homeschool Memoirs
This week it’s seriously going to be just fun. This week share your favourite candies. I know from being on the HSBA Post team that Sprittibee and Dawn love gummy-bears, and maybe Bunny too. Have fun with this… and you’re welcome to post a photo of YOU eating your favourite candy. Haha! God’s Word is also like sweetness to our souls. His sweet love, forgiveness, comfort, peace, and more is what makes our lives seem a little more bearable when things get rough. Whenever you eat your sweet piece of goodness remember that God loves you and will always be there when life seems sour. My favorite candy is probably Starburst. I like chocolate and all, but I like the fruitiness of the starburst. |
Dec. 3, 2008
The Trap of Virtual/Charter Schools
Posted By Kim Wolf<>< in Homeschool
OH MY WORD!! I just read one of the best blog posts on the trap of Virtual/Charter schools that I've read in a long time (and didn't write myself! HAHA!!). This came from http://ladyofvirtue.blogspot.com. She is the mother of 14 w/#15 on the way and has homeschooled them all. I HIGHLY recommend her blog - full of wisdom and grace. I'm posting her entry about Virtual/Charter schools below and request that not only YOU read it, but link it to your own blog, or copy/paste it onto your own blog (and give her the credit, of course) and tell everyone you can to read this. It's excellent! Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<>< Virtual Schooling tuesday, dec. 2, 2008 |
Dec. 2, 2008
Homeschooling Through High School - Getting the Most from the Season: Flexibility
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in Homeschooling Through High School
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I have to admit that ours was a bit bumpy with stomach flu going through the house, and celebrating on Friday instead of Thursday. My poor husband was so disappointed that the feast had to be postponed. "It's the biggest feast of the year," he said. BUT, it tasted just as good the following day and I'm happy to report that we are all on the mend. That being said, not only did we have to show some flexibility with regards to our Thanksgiving plans this year, but I was reminded again, that flexibility with our homeschool schedule is also possible AND important. Those of us who are homeschooling high school students, realize that with the end of the year approaching, we are quickly approaching the end of the semester as well. For me, this is always a good time to stop, observe and adjust. Recently, I realized that we had gotten ahead on some subjects and needed to put some extra time into some other subjects in order to stay on schedule. Thus, our daily schedule of "classes" and assignments were adjusted. Flexibility! YEA! In addition, with the approach of Thanksgiving I realized that we had some holes and some foggy memory regarding some of the specifics of the Thanksgiving season and the holiday itself. (Don't tell anyone!) Once I realized this, we flexed again, and went online, found some resources to help us, and revamped and adjusted our approach to history leading up to Thanksgiving. Once again, I was reminded that it is important to always keep the desired "end result" in mind. To have those desires written down so that I can refer to those goals frequently and be reminded of where we are on track and where we may be missing the mark and need to adjust in order to reach our goal. As an example, part of the result John and I desire, is that our children really understand the spiritual heritage they have in America's founding. Knowing that, when we realized that there was some confusion on the specifics of Thanksgiving, we felt it absolutely necessary to use the ideal time of Thanksgiving week to focus on reinforcing those specifics and meeting that goal. At the beginning of this semester, I spent several weeks talking about "beginning with the end in mind" and how to set goals for your child and for your school year. However, it's hard to hit a goal if you forget what your goals are. I used to hear someone say quite often, "If you don't know where you are going, you will end up where you are headed." In other words, you better know your desired destination and keep focused on it, or you will get caught in a bunch of U-turns and deadends. May God keep the goals clearly fixed in our minds and may WE stay flexible enough to adjust to meet those goals. For more on this subject, please be sure to listen to my recent blogtalk radio interview with Diana Waring of Diana Waring Presents/History Alive. She spoke about this in many areas of our homeschool lifestyles and philosophies and I know it would be a great encouragement to you. Just visit: www.blogtalkradio.com/theendinmind Faith and Courage, Lori Lane Lori is married to the love of her life John and together they have four sons ranging in age from 22 down to 10. She is the author of “Beginning With The End In Mind”, a frequent speaker on home education, family and the arts, as well as serving as the Executive Director of The Artios Academies. (www.artiosacademies.com) You can see some of the pictures of their home in the central Colorado Rockies by visiting Lori’s website at www.theendinmind.net where you will receive encouragement for the journey. |
Dec. 2, 2008
Christmas Tree Lane
Posted By Donna
Don’t you just love looking at Christmas lights?
We used to go out every evening, with mugs of hot cocoa and drive around neighborhoods “oohing” and “ahhing” over all the lights.
In
It was a walking night. No cars were allowed, they do this twice. What a delightful evening we had strolling along the two mile route (4 miles round trip) looking at all the houses, all the lights, all those decorations, all those people out enjoying the same! It was a grand start to the Christmas season! The cousins all enjoyed hot cocoa or caramel apple cider as they strolled along choosing their favorites.
We will be going back on a drive night later this month, after
Here are a few tidbits about
I forgot to clear the memory on |
Dec. 2, 2008
Home Where They Belong ~ Kindergarteners - A Whole School Load of Them
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in homewheretheybelong
A public school dedicated to just kindergarten. The idea of kindergarten being vitally important to every child's educational career is growing. Along with that idea is that the state is the one who needs to be in control, making sure every five year old is up to their academic standard before they head off to 1st grade. Then, when they don't accomplish that goal, they will set up all kinds of remedial helps that wind up tearing a child down when all they needed was just a little more time, a little more patience, and a whole lot less pressure. Keep them home, where they belong. |
Dec. 2, 2008
The Actual Schoolroom!
Posted By Julie in Homeschooling
For many months I've been meaning to take photos of the schoolroom to show you guys but it just never seems to happen so when I snapped a few photos of the kids the other day I figured, "Perfect time to give them a glimpse at least."
We are blessed to have a basement in our house. I grew up with a basement and love them. We live on a sloping lot so our basement actually has windows and is light, not dark and dingy. We also have two outside doors which help provide light. Our schoolroom in in the basement. This particular room has been a bedroom, then it was the schoolroom, then a bedroom again and now it's ,again, the schoolroom. We love it. Each kid has a desk. We have the computer in there. And there's a bathroom attached which makes for very short bathroom breaks! It's great! So here's the couple of shots from the other day! These were taken from my desk.   That's all for now! IN HIM, |
Dec. 2, 2008
It Must Be December....
Posted By Heather in WI in Homekeeping
as seed catalogs have started to arrive! {grin} I've received the Vermont Bean Seed Company and Totally Tomatoes catalog so far and can't wait to see what else trickles in through the mail!
Is it too early to dream about next year's vegetable garden? I don't think so! With the economy the way it is, I think next year's garden may be even more important than this year's. I learned so much about gardening this year. I learned about what not to plant (watermelons -- they take up too much room; potatoes -- too hard to store properly), and what I'd like more of (tomatoes, raspberries, and pickling cucumbers -- we didn't can nearly enough!). I learned not to plant broccoli and cauliflower too early because they either bolt to seed or don't form a head at all. I learned that peas are a lot of work for little reward. That there is nothing like home grown radishes. That an organic garden IS possible. That there are a ton of different things that I'd like to try and grow next year! So for now, I'm going to ignore the wind and 6 inches of snow and curl up with a seed catalog and a hot cup of coffee and dream about spring. :-) |
Dec. 2, 2008
Christmas Gifts
Posted By Donna
Normally, each of our kids receives three gifts from us for Christmas. Three wise men for This year our Christmas is going to be even simpler. The kids don’t need anything, we are moving again in a few short months, and I don’t want a lot of “stuff”- things to dust and cause clutter. We all want to go and visit our Aussie friends that are living in This year the kids drew names with their cousins. So, they only have to buy one gift besides the ones for their siblings. It has been so pleasant not to run around and grab a ton of gifts, spend a lot of money and … they are all finished, everything is wrapped and under the tree. Since our Christmas letters are finished, addressed and ready to mail out and our gifts are all bought and wrapped, we get to spend the next month just enjoying the season! It is a very peaceful heart that isn’t rushing to and fro frantically trying to buy this or choose that, wondering how we will pay the credit card bills… and isn’t a peaceful heart the very bestest gift of all?! Off to frost some Christmas cookies to snack on while we enjoy a movie.... |
Dec. 2, 2008
Ornament Collections
Posted By Donna
Each year we give the kids a special ornament that will be a part of their collections to take with them once they start their own families. I always try to pick an ornament that is reflective of that year- something they were really into, something they loved, or somewhere that we went. They each enjoy looking at their collections as they hang them on the tree. 2008 ornaments were fun to choose:
Addi and I have been enjoying our mother/daughter dates and since
Devon’s could have been a few too- but with I pray that in all their years to come they will put each one on their tree and smile as they remember fondly those time past. We love this tradition!
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Dec. 2, 2008
O Christmas tree... O Christmas tree
Posted By Donna
The boys have been so busy with play rehearsals that our evenings are just gone before we know it. Last night it was 11:30 by the time they got home! YIKES! Much too late to decorate the Christmas tree…
So… today we woke up and had a nice leisurely morning at home. I kept Addi home from choir just so we could enjoy this morning at home. It was delightful.
With our Christmas music playing, our hot cider warming our hands, the fireplace making us toasty… we finally decorated our Christmas tree!
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