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This is part two of a conversation I had with a friend recently.  Please read part one first so this makes sense!

"Do you find that because the kids are allowed to choose what interests them, their learning programme is biased toward that interest?  Like I mean if  "S" likes art n craft which she does I know, does she do more of that than other types of learning?"

L: "Probably. Yes.  But what's the problem with that?  Because she's interested, she learn all she needs to know about a subject, and retain that knowledge for a much longer time, then if I was simply to stuff boring facts into her brain.  That's not learning what they need to know for life, that's just stuffing useless (to them anyway) facts into their head and making the learning process something to be endured, not enjoyed."

"Don't you worry about the 'gaps' in the kids' education?"

L: "No.  Every single person in the whole world has educational gaps.  No one can retain every fact in the world, or every bit of knowledge about any given subject.  If the kids love to learn and know how to learn what they need to know, when they need to know it, then they will do just fine I reckon.  Having said that, of course we go back to the minimum requirements, like Math for instance.  To function in society, people should have a certain standard of mathematical knowedge, so I'll make sure my kids have at least that minimum requirement.  Same for language arts, Bible knowledge etc."

"I take it that making sure your kids are 'keeping up' with the Grade level of their age group isn't a priority for you?"

L: (Gentle, ladylike snort) "Hardly.  I have no idea where  "S" is compared to other kids in Grade 6 level or whatever.  It's not important."

"So really, you most definately learn in more of a 'Natural Learning' style."

L: "Well yes and no.  I think sometimes Natural Learning can be abused.  Yes I want the kids to learn what interests them but also there are minimum standards they  need to maintain.  I don't let them just run amuck and do whatever they please - not that I'm saying Natural Learners do that but some Natural Learning families do take the concept to the extreme."

"So you do a lot of responsible natural learning, I see you also like to favour the Charlotte Mason stuff, and unit studies too.  Sounds an awful lot like Leadership Education to me, which is designed to teach kids how to think for themselves and make responsible choices.  In other words how to lead in society, their peer group or whatever, not follow like senseless sheep."

L: "Is it?  Well that's nice.  I've never labelled it that, it's just my way of doing things.  We're all happy with it and it works."

Sounds good to me.  Just as a good proof of this, L's oldest son has just been accepted into a technical high school - his own choice to return to institutialised learning- for his senior qualifications.  It's a college with Science and Math majors where only the brightest students are accepted.  The college is not classroom type learning but very hands on, mentor led group learning where initiative, individual thinking and leadership are promoted.

Good job mum!

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I've presented L's information in a conversational format for ease and broken it into two entries so it's easier to read.  This isn't verbatim but is the 'gist' of our conversation.

L: "Firstly, I don't schedule the stuff my kids have to learn each day.  I do schedule a time block where learning should take place but not what they do in that time."

 "So you give them, say.....three hours a day, where they are expected to be engaged in some learning activity"

L: "Yes.  Sometimes it's less than that, sometimes more, depending on how interested the kids are in what they're doing."

 "So you mean they can learn whatever they want, do whatever subjects they want?'

L: "Yep"

"But do you have any 'required' subjects they must do each day"

L: "No not really.  But I do have a plan in my mind of what I would like the kids to have achieved by a certain time.  For instance I want them to have done at least 3 sessions of Math each week.  If days go by and the kids haven't done any of what I think should be done, I'll say for instance....right, you haven't done any Math for a while, today we are going to do Math. As a general rule though, as long as the kids can justify to me what they have done and why they have done it, okay.  Now take my youngest boy "A", the other day he spent four hours making a kite and trying to figure out how to make it fly.  In the end he was getting upset because no matter what he did, he couldn't make it work, so I stopped him at that point.  He was unhappy with what he'd achieved that day until his older brother told him that he hadn't spent four hours failing to learn anything. He'd spent four hours finding out all the ways and reasons why a kite will not fly!  He was much happier after that."

"But what if the kids decide that they're learning for today might be to sit and watch telly?"

L: "Not an option.  There are certain things that we have discussed and 'deemed' to be acceptable learning activities, and certain things which are not.  They've tried many different ways to describe playstation as a learning activity believe me!"

"Aha!  So you do have certain standards in your homeschool, certain minimum requirements that the kids must achieve?"

L: "Yes.  Doesn't everybody?"

"No.  What about books? Is it okay for them to read a book for the whole learning period?"

L: "Yes as long as it's a book that we've decided is a worthwhile book to read.  I have a certain area for books which we have decided would be good  for the kids to read.  They are free to choose any books from there.  Again, as long as they can justify to me what they have learned and why."

"What do you mean by 'justify?"

L: "Well I sit down with each of them at the end of each learning time and ask them what they have done, what they have learned, why did they want to do that today....that sort of thing."

"So you get the kids to narrate back what they've learned."

L: "Yes.  Sometimes in a very informal manner.  Like if "A" is reading a book I might ask him what he thought about the characters, about the story.  Sometimes I get my older boy to write it out but he's more mathematically inclined so language arts aren't a big thrill for him."

"Do you read-aloud any books with your kids?"

L: "No. Never done that. "

"Do you use any curriculum for different subjects?"

L: "Yes.  We use Math U See for Math, and a grammar programme.  Apologia Science is a great one for Science.  "N" as you know is a natural in Math & Science and he's found that series great."

"So whatever you've chosen for your 'core' subjects (I guess you could say the ones that you have a minimum work requirement for-however fluid that requirement is) is on the shelves with their other interest-led stuff, and the kids are free to decide when they will do those subjects?"

L: "Yep."

"Do you do any unit studies?"

L: "Yes.  Again according to the kids' interests.  My daughter "S" loves Geography and I reckon would spend all her time doing stuff like that if she could.  Often they'll come to me and say something like 'Hey mum, can we do something on Geography?'  I'll then prepare a Geography, History, whatever...unit for them and we all do it together.  If they want to study something in particular, they must give me sufficient warning so I have time to prepare it.  We tend not to use the internet much and go to the library frequently."

"So you drop everything when they display an interest in a subject and run to the library."

L: "No.  If I'm too busy I'll tell them to wait until the next time we go to the library."

More in next entry.

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Sometimes the most amazing things happen, seemingly by chance, but as a Christian, I know that it's not a co-incidence but a God-incidence!  If you've read any of my other blog entries, you'll know that I'm researching Leadership Education.  I was sitting with a group of home ed mums, nattering while our kids were in their home ed drama class and a good friend of mine -who I have known for eight years or so - said something that caught my attention. 

"Just exactly how do you learn in your homeschool?" I asked, realising that in all that time I had never gained a full understanding of what she does with her kids.  For the next hour I listened spellbound as she explained her learning processes.  They learn using a variation of the Leadership Education method.  She had never called it that specific term, had not known of that term or anything about it.  She just does things 'her way' and it is precisely what I understand LE to be about.  Amazing!  While I still have the conversation fresh in my mind, I am going to write down the 'gist' of what she said and put in on this blog.  Stay tuned!

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I've been reading and researching a great deal lately about a style of Eclectic Education called 'Leadership Education'.  I purchased a set of E-Books by Kerry Beck and have been pouring through them to gain my own understanding of what Leadership Education is and how it can be put into effect in our own homeschool.  Here are some things I have discovered.

Leadership Education is an eclectic style of education which uses teaching methods commonly employed in Charlotte Mason, Christian Classical and the Unit Study methods. 

There are three steps/phases in Leadership Education (LE)

1.  Model/Nurture  You must yourself model the behaviour & values you expect to grow in your children. This includes character traits, your walk with Christ, your desire to learn.  If your kids see you reading and learning and enjoying it, they will too!  If they see you neglecting your walk, your communion with God, they will too!  Every parent is a role model for their children.  Are we positive or negative role models?  It's never too late to start.

2.  Teach/Equip  As well as modelling attitudes, values and behaviours, we must teach them certain things for a productive life.  Life skills, Academics and Goal setting are important things we can teach them.

3.  Coach/develop.  We must learn to listen to our children and their ideas.  We should tailor a great deal of their studies to their own interests (Interest led Unit Studies) so that they learn to love learning and are interested in what they are doing.  As well as interest led studies, there should be a certain amount of 'Required' studies in our homeschool.  These studies are non-negotiable and should be decided upon my the parents as necessary for their family.  That may cover things like, Bible study, Math, Grammar etc.  We should develop a  plan for personal growth for our children, as well as modelling our own personal growth plan for ourselves.  Set goals for things we want to achieve and work toward them, and teach the kids to do the same.

There are certain steps to undertake in LE.

1.  Character development should come first.  Assess character traits in your child and work on the ones which need attention, before Academics.  Ways we can do this would be to focus on a Character trait for a specified time period, say one month.  Memorise relevant Bible passage/s for that trait.  Give practical application for that trait ie: if it's responsibility, give the child skill appropriate, responsible tasks.  Use a reward chart to reward when the child demonstrates this trait.  I think a reward system even works for Teens.  The rewards are just different than for little ones.  I know it works for our girl !

Academics should wait until the character traits have been addressed.  If the child is older then focus on the Character traits first and Academics after that each day.

There's lots more to be learned and written about this subject.  So more later.

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The Classical Approach

This revival of ancient Greek teaching methods and the medieval scholastic curriculum is often attributed to the writing of Dorothy Sayers' essay entitled "The Lost Tools of Learning".  All subjects are taught concurrently, but are divided into phases corresponding to the classical Trivium.  The Classical Approach encompasses the three formal subjects of the Trivium: Grammar (Latin and Greek).  The student is taught to carefully observe and memorize details.  Logic (also called Dialectic) (informal fallacies and formal symbolic logic) is the next phase.  In this the student is taught the rules of logic and reasoning, to explore the hows and whys of nature and history, learn the proofs of geometry, to become a discriminating reader and learn to think carefully when writing and speaking.  The final stage is the Rhetoric.  This is composition, oratory and debate.  Expression and presentation of the knowledge obtained and evaluated in the first two phases is developed.  These are the three formal tools which students then use to teach themselves.  The formal Classical Trivium is introduced at different levels.  Formal grammar is introducted at about age 10, formal logic at about age 13, formal rhetoric at about age 16.  As you may be aware, the traditional Classical Approach has its roots in Greek philosophy, a world view not in agreement with Christianity.  It has been adapted to suit the Christian worldview quite successfully.  The Bluedorn family have written and published extensively on this approach.

The earlier versus later formal academics debate.  There are some who believe we should introduce every child to formal-academic classroom-structured instruction from as early an age as possible, certainly by four years of age.  They believe time is wasted if we wait.  They believe the early years are academically very important.  Others believe we should delay formal academic instruction until eight to ten years of age.  Research indicated that if we start formal academics too early it causes developmental problems.  Stress is placed on the child's systems which are not yet fully developed, such as vision, hearing, nerves and coordination.  Early years are better spent in reading to children, doing fun projects, learning household management chores, doing service to others, training in proper behaviour and importantly, character development.  If we lay a good foundation of self-discipline and moral character, the academic instruction of later years will be more productive.

The Extensive Reading method.  In this method, basic reading and writing and math skills are taught separately.  Other subjects are studied by reading well chosen books that cover all areas of knowledge in a clear and interesting way.  For young children, the parent reads aloud and the child narrates back what he had heard.  A discussion of principles revealed in the reading follows.  Both the Charlotte Mason and Christian Classical styles employ elements of this method.

Programed courses.  Programed courses arrange information in a sequence of very small units which are easily mastered.  The student makes a response after each and receives immediate feedback about his answer.  In the past, such courses were available in books or in teaching machines.  Now programed learning is available in computer programs as well.  Such courses allow for structured independent study.  There are many available  such as Switched on Schoolhouse, EDUSS Maths and English software (Australia) and countless others.

Unshooling or Natural Learning method.  The unschooling approach is child-centered, rather than teacher directed.  Advocates believe that children can be trusted to direct their own learning and they do not require any study that the child doesn't choose.  However, parents do provide a rich environment of books, experiences and resources for facilitating learning and respond to their children's questions and interests.  Parents who accept God's commands to teach and train their children and the children to hear and obey their parents' instruction (Deut 6 & Proverbs 7:1-3) would need to adapt this method by supporting children's interest in the context of other instruction which the parent's greater wisdom deems is necessary.

The Montessori Method.  Employs sensory-rich environments and hands-on experiental techniques.  It teaches that young people learn best when engaged in purposeful activity rather than being force fed information.  The method draws upon an understanding of children's cognitive growth and development and respects individuality and fulfills the needs of the "whole child".  It nurtures children to become self motivated, independent and life-long learners.  This method is practiced worldwide through Montessori Schools and homeschools.

The Eclectic Method.  I have this one in large type because this is the one I use!   The eclectic method is very simply what the word means.  In home education terms, it means a gathering together of different elements from several methods of teaching to individualise a learning program for the student.  It takes into account the methods which work best for the family and the students gifts and interests.  There is no one electic method because for every person using it, there are different combinations of teaching and learning methods in use.  Some might choose, the textbooks method for math, living books approach for history, unit studies for Geography, natural learning for other subjects....  There is one style of eclectic learning which has been named "Leadership Education" and I will write about this in a separate category because this is the method I am currently pursuing for our own homeschool.  It combines elements of Charlotte Mason, Christian classical, Unit studies and interest directed education and really teaches the student how to think for themselves and discern with a Biblical worldview.  You'll have to read more on that in the other category.  As I learn and apply what it means to our family, I'll share it here on this blog.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was "if it's not working, change it.  God can work miracles even through our worst mistakes and He will bless our efforts, however bumbling, if we are truly seeking to train up our children to love and honour Him."

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There are a multitude of learning styles or methods of teaching out there.  The school room uses almost exclusively, the "Scope and Sequence" method.  I'm going to outline that, plus some others.

The Scope and Sequence is the most common method employed in the classroom.  Teacher directed study in which every child must learn an encyclopedia of information, divided over the 12 years of formal schooling.  Every child should perform roughly the same as their peer group.  In a classroom setting, this assumes that the child must be adapted to the programme, not the programme to the child.  Because parents are the teachers, we can adapt the programme to suit our child.  Textbooks and worktexts use this method.  Some Christian textbook and workbook publishers include A beka, Bob Jones, Rod and Staff, Accelerated Christian Education (ACE or ACA in Australia), Alpha and Omega, Christian Light Publications.  The Waldorf Steiner method also employes text books in the higher school years.

The Habilual Method  Seeks to instill the habits of self-discipline in children through daily routine, concentration, truthfulness, self-control, co-operation and unselfishness.  Children should be exposed to the best sources of knowledge, and be required to narrate the material back in order to develop attention, concentration, and understanding.  The Charlotte Mason philosophy best characterises this method.  Other styles also employ elements of the 'habiltual method' eg: Classical studies, unit studies etc.

The Environmental Method (John Holt) seeks to provide an unstructured and unguided environment of books and resources.  Parents 1) provide a model of interest in learning 2) involve their children in their own adult experiences 3) surround them with a rich environment of resources 4) make themselves available to answer questions and suggest things to help the children explore their own interests.

The thematic and interest-directed unit study approach Studying a particular topic or theme - examining it from the perspecitves of science, art, mathematics, language and literature.  All subjects are blended together around a common theme.  There are many different types of unit studies.   Studies created around personal character eg: Konos, Advanced Training Institute, studies created around scientific interests eg: Alta Vista. Studies created around history eg: Weaver and many others. Studies created around Christianity or christian principles, character etc eg: Heart of Wisdom.  Many parents enjoy creating their own unit studies to suit the needs & interests of their children.  A specialized form of the unit study is the Interest Directed Approach (Greg Harris) All subjects are centered around the child's interest.  If a child has an interest in guns, then design studies in the history of guns, the physics and chemistry of guns, the mathematics of guns, the language and literature of guns etc.

I'll put some more in my next post. 

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As a contact person for our local home education network, I am often contacted by parents who are just beginning their home education journey.  They don't know where to begin.  They want to be told where to begin and how to do it.  But what they really need is encouragement and information.  Encouragement that what they are doing is good for the children and will bring many blessings, and just the nitty gritty of where to get curriculum etc.  Home education is still fairly small in Australia, although the number of families now numbers in the thousands and growing.  The movement has (comparitively speaking) only a small number of businesses which service the needs of homeschoolers so they are not well known to those just starting out on the journey.

But more importantly, as I constantly re-evaluate our own learning journey I've discovered that everyone needs to start with the fundamentals.  Following a recent contact with a dear lady, here is what I wrote to her.

1.      Determine why you are home-schooling.  Write it down.  This helps to remind yourself about what’s important to you when times get tough and it all seems just too hard.  This is especially important for you if you are on your own, and you don’t have strong family support in your decision to home-school.  Often when grandparents see the positive results of home educating in their grandchildren, they backflip and become your greatest ally.  Sometimes they never do.  It becomes important then to surround yourself with like-minded, positive, encouraging people who will help you on your journey.  Joining a support group and email list is a good first step in that direction.  Don’t ever be afraid to ask for help.  Having your “Why I chose to home-school” document can also be handy to share with people who just don’t seem to understand why you are doing it.  Be careful of sharing this though because often nothing will change their minds and it just seems to re-enforce their mindset that you’ve ‘lost it’!  (This happened to me-it just made matters worse.  We ended up leaving our home church because of the negative attitude of our fellow ‘believers’ to home-school.)

2.      Decide what ‘education’ means to you.  This helps you to determine how you are going to educate your child.  To some, education means preparing the student to compete in the world with their peers for the job market.  Many of these people use a straightforward text book approach which is reproducing the school room at home.  They pass the standardized tests and are equipped for the job market. There is nothing wrong with this if that is what your philosophy of education is all about.  Other folks (like us) decide that we want our child to learn how to think for herself.  How to be a ‘leader’ in whatever situation God places her in.  By a leader I don’t mean the boss but just someone who can think and reason for themselves, based on their relationship to God.  Others feel that all learning should occur in as natural a way as possible.  Therefore they don’t do any ‘book’ learning at all but facilitate learning experiences from a wide variety of sources.  Field trips to museums, play experiences, toys & games, computer, involvement in community learning…all sorts of things.  In reality there are as many different ways to educate, as there are families educating!  This process for you will take a LOOOONG time.  I am still constantly re-adjusting my philosophy of educating after eight years.  Isn’t it good to know that even through our worst efforts, God can work wonders!  So never despair, but know that God can choose to bless your efforts to educate, even on days when you wish you never got out of bed.

As for the process you outlined in your original email, I believe you’ve hit the nail on the head and come to a conclusion that many long term home edders have never arrived at!  That is, that the most important things we can work on with our child are… 1. Their relationship with God  2. Developing their character in Christ THEN 3. academics.

I can give you some ideas for resources for the three steps, but please keep in mind that they are just my recommendations and you will no doubt determine for yourself, what works best for you.  Firstly though, there is a site you might find most helpful in sourcing second hand books etc.  It is the Australian Homeschool Classifieds board and can be found at http://homeschoolads.proboards51.com/  I recommend joining that because you can find a wealth of support, chat, answers to questions and best of all BOOKS & other resources.  I am not necessarily meaning that step one needs to be complete before you move on to step two & three etc but that’s how I feel a child’s learning each day needs to be prioritized.

1. Their relationship with God.

Always the Bible first.  Through daily read aloud from an easy to understand version, discussion, prayer together, bible based story books, Bible based multimedia etc.  I’m sure you have a pretty good idea about this part anyway but I would like to recommend one resource in particular which we found to be highly useful.  In fact our daughter came to invite Jesus into her heart through using this book.  It’s called “Leading Little Ones to God” by Marian Schoolland and published by Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

2. Character building helps.  There are actually many resources available in this area.  As you already know, our own business, http://www.ebenezerbooks.com  supplies character building books and my recommendation would be to simply source age and understanding appropriate books and resources which help to build Godly character in your child.  Also modeling of Godly character traits by a child's  mentors (my meaning of this is the adults that have the greatest influence on him ie: parents and grandparents if they are Christians, Church leaders etc) is of most importance.  I know this sounds odd but the TV is one of the most influential ‘mentors’ to many, impressionable children as I’m sure you’re no doubt aware.  A websearch for Christian character building material should bring up some relevant searches.  I carry a lot of titles from Pearables (http://www.pearables.com) and find them extremely practical.  I am about to make an order to include their new  ‘Lessons in Responsibility for Boys. .‘  Again at this stage, choosing books & resources which demonstrate Godly character and reading & discussing them with your child is a great start.  http://www.characterfirst.com has some great character building resources.  The website is from the parent company in the States, but they have an Australian branch & if you like any of their stuff, you can email them   Most of their products have been ‘secularised’ so they can market it to the wider community but they do have Christian content.

3.      Academics.  Well…where to start.  There are many businesses catering to the home educating market, many specializing in materials for certain learning styles.  Once you begin to put your educational philosophy into place, you will then have more of an idea of what learning style you would like use.  Then once you have determined which learning style, you source the curriculum.  I will give a brief overview of all the learning styles in a future post.

A really good question to ask yourself which will help you determine your educational philosophy is "what do I want the end product to be?"  What do you want your children to be like as they complete their education?  Do you want them to be able to rattle off a list of facts? lead others? a trade perhaps?  Someone who is able to walk in a mature relationship with God through Christ?  Influencing the world for the Gospel?  Someone with a biblical worldview and moral filter?  Only you can answer these questions for yourself.

A couple of other things I’d like to recommend to you are the Education Choices magazine.  It is Australia’s only nationally produced home education magazine and is very good.  The publisher is well known to me and is a great lady with five kids of her own.  The magazine is not striclty Christian in content but there are many Christian articles and contributors.  You can find out more by visiting their website http://www.educationchoices.com.au

Challenges and Victories newsletter is a free e-newsletter for Christian home educators in Brisbane.  It lists contacts for different groups, activities and contact names of people who ‘mentor’ others when they need support.  Go to http://www.cvaustralia.net  for more info.

Another great resource is Beverley Paine, a veteran home educator from South Australia who does a wonderful job of encouraging people in their home education.  Bev happily discusses your journey, no matter where you’re coming from.  One particular title of hers I highly recommend is “Getting started with home schooling”  Go to http://www.beverleypaine.com    Finally I can’t say enough good things about “The Old Schoolhouse” magazine http://www.theoldschoolhousemagazine.com

I subscribe to it and find it a wealth of information & encouragement, even though it’s from the States.  You will no doubt find many more resources as you journey through the home ed treasure house but hopefully this will help you a little as you begin.

In Christ,

 Liz

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Belle is one of our five dogs.  She is a "Smithfield" blue cattle dog.  They call them "Blue Heelers" because they are wonderful cattle dogs and nip at the feet of the poor cows.  They were originally bred from a Belgian shepherd, a Kelpie dog and.....a Dingo, Australia's wild native dog.  They have a reputation for  being tough, loyal, hard working, intelligent and strong.  Belle is all those things and more.  She's adorable, loving, gentle with us, playful and a good guard dog.  NO-ONE comes into our property when they see Belle and her brother Butch.

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