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This blog is a place to chronicle our family's adventures in homeschooling, special needs, adoption, child training, and life in general.

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Jun. 16, 2008

Homeschool Intro and Q&A - Part 1

Posted in Creekwood Academy

My Homeschool Background

A friend of mine emailed me recently and asked me about homeschooling. She and her husband plan to begin homeschooling their three sons this fall and she wanted to learn more about my experiences. I modified the emails slightly in order to create posts for my blog. This is the first of a series of posts on homeschooling, attempting to answer some questions from my friend as she and her husband embark on this adventure with their sons.

First a little background: I was homeschooled for junior & senior high school back in the 1980’s. My six younger siblings were homeschooled from grade school to graduation, the younger ones never having been enrolled in “traditional school”. Before homeschooling, we attended a local Christian school.

Now I am married, and my husband and I have been blessed with two children (both age four). We have been educating them since they joined our family, but are beginning to start introducing more “formal” education (otherwise known as “school work”). Our son has multiple developmental delays (from living in an orphanage for 2.5 years prior to his adoption into our family), so he receives several different kinds of therapy to help him catch up with his peers. The need for therapy will diminish with time and hopefully, within a year or so, he will no longer need this extra help.

This is my homeschooling background in a nutshell. We have barely got our feet wet as far as teaching our children is concerned, but I hope my experiences will prove helpful, none the less.

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Questions 1:

[We] are planning to homeschool next year! I am so excited. [We] have prayed about this for 3 years and know without a doubt that God has directed us in this way.

My question is: What curriculum did your mom use and which one would you recommend?

I am going to an A Beka conference next week and I have many others sending me information on theirs but I wanted to ask someone who doesn't live near me about it. I LOVE the idea of homeschooling! I have all their music, swimming lessons set up for the daytime next fall. I'm really excited! We want to raise godly men more than we want them to be influenced by this school system.

The boys are:
- [Son1] age 11, Sept 08, grade 6
- [Son2] age 9, Sept 08, grade 4
- [Son3] age 5, Sept 08, grade 1

I am still heavily in the process of compiling information and have quite a hefty folder put together so far with homeschooling info. I would definitely want to keep my supplier in Canada (cost etc). I want to be "overly" prepared by the time I tell friends etc.

Have you started teaching [your children]?

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Answer: Part 1

[Dear Friend] I am so excited that you and your husband will be homeschooling your boys next year. It's a big step, but when God leads, the best place to be is right where He puts you.

Before you choose a curriculum, there are a few questions you need to ask yourselves. First, you need to be clear about WHY you want to homeschool and what your end goals for your children are. For example, a family who chooses to homeschool primarily because they want their children to be academically advanced and gain entrance into ivy-league caliber universities will choose different curriculum and methods than perhaps the family who desires their children to develop godly character or master a trade, rather than just "book smarts". You said, “We want to raise godly men more than we want them to be influenced by this school system.” That vision for your son’s will greatly impact what curriculum you select and the methods you use to teach them.

I have a few recommendations before I jump in. I highly recommend that you get a subscription to a quality homeschool magazine. My two favorites are The Old Schoolhouse magazine and Homeschooling Today . I believe both offer subscriptions to Canada. If you only choose one, I suggest TOS. I also suggest that you find a local homeschooling group and talk with the members. Other homeschoolers are a great resource. I also recommend you look into a membership with the Homeschool Legal Defense Association of Canada (for those in the USA go to HSLDA - HomeSchool Legal Defense Association).

Q – What curriculum did your mom use?

There are several homeschooling styles out there that were not around when my mom was homeschooling. My mom used a few textbooks from here and there, but at the time that was all that was available. I remember she used some A Beka (it was also predominately the choice for local Christian schools), Bob Jones and Saxon math. These and other big publishers like them would be considered a "traditional approach" to education.

The traditional approach usually consists of a "boxed curriculum" for all subjects. For students who love textbooks/workbooks and following a set course of study, this may be the way to go. Many new homeschoolers choose this as their starting point because the boxed curriculum covers all standard subjects for a given grade level and is most like the traditional school method they are familiar with. However, everything at the same level and structured the same way will not always work for every child. If you choose this approach, don't be afraid to tweak it to fit your child.

Being able to tailor your children's education to fit their needs, interests, strengths and weaknesses is one of the major benefits of homeschooling. If you haven't already, take note of your sons interests and learning styles (how they take in and process information). This will enable you to choose curriculum and teaching methods that will work for each of them. The advantage for you is that no one knows your children better - regular schools can't operate that way.

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I'll pause here for now and continue in another post. Stay tuned.

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Jun. 16, 2008

Homeschool Intro and Q&A - Part 1

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