I used to say that homeschooling was our lifestyle but now I say our lifestyle is our homeschool!
Lifestyle Homeschool is about discipling our children; about character training, about everyday life giving learning opportunities, about Bible study and practical skills. Your lifestyle will provide the experiences that will give your children a rich education.
I recently answered this question over at The Homeschool Lounge. Thought it would be good to post it here too.
Question: How do you decide what to have your children learn? What does relaxed mean to you? Has the definition changed as your children have grown older? Easier to be relaxed when they are 5 than when they are 15?
My Answer:
Relaxed to me means that we aren’t pushed into a mould, that we aren’t rushed to perform and that we aren’t copying someone else’s model. We may glean from other models but we are free to take on what suits our family.
How do I decide what my children learn?
We have written a scope and sequence that covers their whole life development.At the beginning of the year, or whenever I feel things are lagging, I review these aspects and consider the gaps or opportunities that I can see in each child’s life.I then plan towards finding resources to help in that area.
Just to give you a brief overview of that scope and sequence:
Relationships – God and Man
Responsibilities
Intrapersonal – personal skills
Talents
Academics – Basic skills
Academics – General Knowledge(History, Science, Geography)
The scope and sequence link gives more details of what gets studied under each category.Many of these topics happen during everyday life.Recognising these has been an aspect of us becoming relaxed homeschoolers.
I probably prefer the term discipleship homeshooler though that is not as widely understood or recognized as Relaxed HS.The definition has changed for me as my desire to disciple rather than educate has become clearer and stronger.
I had a “freak out” moment when my son reached 8. I suddenly realized that this was serious and that I had to buckle down and do this properly. I remember saying, “No more sandpit time for him during school time!” This lasted for about 1 month.Then I set about to discover if we could have a relationship based approach, a living life approach with the older children. We are still conscientious over studies but not at the cost of our family life, or relationships. Is it easier older or younger?I think once you’ve made the switch in your own understanding of what and why of being relaxed/discipleship then it is the same – looks different (15yo Josh no longer plays in the sandpit! LOL) but the famiy dynamics are the same.
Nov. 28, 2008 - Christmas Gifts - a Parent's Opportunity
If and when we choose the gifts we give to our children wisely, we can enhance their creativity, and in-built passions, talents and abilities. Read more...
We need to teach our children manners, not only the what to do but more importantly the why.
I recently saw a book which listed 365 Manners - what a huge task to teach all those to our children. I believe there to be 10 significant manners that when established in our heart will guide is is most social situations. Manners do Matter
Oral Presentations – Show ‘n Tell for the younger kids, Report or Speech for the older ones.
Character Instruction – we divide into two groups to focus on a concept and then come together to learn a poem about the applications of the trait.
One hour where the kids either experience or learn something –sometimes in age-based groups, sometimes all together.
My favourite part of the co-op is the conversation I get to have with the older group as we discuss the Character trait.I use questions to prompt discussions and scenarios, often they suggest, to help them see the point of my lesson.
This month our character trait was self control, and my lesson was on the need for self control when we feel angry.I wanted them to know two main points
There is no grading scale for anger – you can kick and slam the door or you can say sharp words in frustration – it is all an expression of anger.
Anger doesn’t solve anything – though we can use it to recognize there is a problem
It is important to have a purpose for writing and an audience to appreicate your effort. Here is a list of family-friendly, naturally created audiences.
Would you like to see your thoughts on a web page - Lifestyle Homeschool has an opportunity for Guest Writers to share the things that are on their hearts, the things that have worked for you, as you disciple your children. Write your article and I'll create a web page for you at Lifestyle Homeschool.
In response to a question emailed to me I have listed some of the things that we have done to encourage nature journals, even when there has been some resistance. Read Nature Journals for the Reluctant
Has Nature Journaling been hard to get started in your family? Both Kerry and I would love to hear how you tackled this. Read Nature Journals not happening and share things that you have done.
This is a flexible model that makes room for where my children are at with the 3R's, for their personal learning style, for their interests as well as for the required subjects/topics that Peter and I want our children to learn.
This is a reprint from an article I wrote over a year ago but I have made it a permanent page on my website.
Laughter is a key ingredient for family life. It maintains perspective and lightens the load. It creates memories and builds relationships. Is laughter happening in your home? Read more...
Communication is a two way thing; with a speaker & a listener. Both parties have an important role to play if there is to be understanding. Listening is a vital aspect of homeschool / family life. Read 10 Tips for the Listener
These are the activities that have helped us focus on relationship as we learn about discipleship homeschooling and cope with busy days. You may well be surprised how much your children develop and grow with these activities alone. Read More
After making the decision to homeschool, the next decision most families want to make is "What curriculum do I use?" There are several things we need to consider though before we go out and buy. Read more
I haven’t put any updates here for my Websitefor a while so I thought I’d give a quick overview of some of the new additions that maybe of interest to my blog readers:
Character education notes to help your family be intentional and deliberate with training your children in Character / Virtues, such as, Sincerity, & how that can be taught in everyday conversations.
Does Dad teach in your homeschool? Maybe maybe not. When you look at homeschooling another way you will see Dad, regardless of his work schedule, has a lot to offer your education efforts.
I've been asked many times, how to start Notebooking? In this Workshop I share not only the simplicity of notebooking but also some of the purpose behind writing (or notebooking).
I have recently awarded 10 of my top blog reads with the award E is for Excellent. Though I don't get a lot of time to read blogs these 10 are varied and really do encourage me along in my life. So if you want a good blog browse visit my list
Preparing our children's hearts so that they love the Lord with all their hearts is one of our prime responsibilities. One of the practices that help build a relationship with Jesus is spending time with Him daily - our personal, daily Devotions or Quiet Times. Of course, we aren't and neither are our children, saved by such practices, but they are the backbone of a strong Chrisitan life. We want to train our children in such things. Read more about teaching our children to have their own Personal Devotions.
When we take on being a homeschool family, the first thing we think about is the academic studies – we want our children to achieve well academically, we want there to be no gaps, we want to prove that homeschool is on par with any other educational option. But is this the way to determine our children's academic studies?
A place to share the things that happen in my family. The longer I homeschool the quicker I realise that these are not just everyday family happenings - they are the experiences that are educating my children.
Learning Happens
Journal entries to remind myself that learning takes place in regular family life
Lifestyle Homeschool
Articles to encourage the why and how of discipleship education.
Be a Deliberate Parent
We need to know where we want to take our family, and how we are going to get there. We need to be very deliberate in our training of our children.
Homemaking
In amongst the parenting, the training, the homeschooling I must remember that I am also a homemaker.
Just my Thoughts
A mix-match of ideas as they come to me - covering all my hats - wife, mum, homemaker, homeschooler, friend etc...
Walking with God
The occasional devotional thought
Family
About us
Blog Carnivals & Memes
Blog Carnivals and Memes are a great way to connect with like minded, like hearted folk
Goals & Reviews
Smart Goals need to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and have a timeline.
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