Homeschool Dialogues Review

Paul and Gena have hit another homerun! What a fabulous resource! I am not a big fan of E-books so I printed the whole document out and put it in a folder so I could read it at my leisure! 

I read it in the laundry room between loads of laundry. I read it in the evening when the rest of my family watched a movie or TV show. I read it in bed at night after my devotions. I read it when I woke up in the morning. I read it in between giving spelling words to my children. I read whenever our family was going anywhere in the car (only when my husband was driving, of course! I am not THAT good at multi-tasking!) I read it on a ferry ride home from Seattle! I could barely put it down. 

Since I have read it, I have found myself quoting John Taylor Gatto’s words:

It is absurd and anti-life to be part of a system that compels you to listen to a stranger reading poetry when you want to learn to construct buildings, or to sit with a stranger discussing the construction of buildings when you want to read poetry.

Have you ever thought of it that way? Moreover, this from a celebrated public educator! This thought alone has shaped the way I react to the sometimes-rising panic that I am not equipped to teach my own children. Not only am I able and qualified to teach my own children…  who BETTER to discover their individual strengths and weaknesses and tailor their educational plan to meet their real life needs instead of a pre-determined scope and sequence for the one-size fits all variety of curriculum.

In the article about David Kupelian about Desensitization, not only did I learn that we as a nation have been lied to and duped, but that industry and politics as a whole has knowingly and laughingly planned to keep America’s in ignorance. How convenient for them! How tragic for us! How revealing and convicting… we really need to focus on training our children to think, reason and understand! I know these truths have already affected several discussions I have had with my children.

Josh Mc Dowell’s article inspired Christmas gifts in our home this year! I bought More Than a Carpenter (the audio book) for my 12-year-old son and Evidence That Demands a Verdict for my husband. By the way, they both LOVED those gifts and have been using them daily for the past two weeks since Christmas!

What a delight to focus on learning and examining the truths of God in our day-to-day life!

I have listened to John MacArthur on the radio since I was a young girl and I am sure (especially after reading this article) that his emphasis on teaching doctrine and a Christian Worldview has been a big part of the reason that I have desired to home educate my children in the first place. Where else can they learn what REALLY matters?

I first heard of Dr. Raymond Moore when I was newly homeschooling my oldest child. His lessons did not really sink in at the time. I was still very much of the mindset that homeschool = school at home. I have since embraced the joyful truth that homeschool can be so much more of all that is good about teaching and learning and so much less of what is wrong with the public school system and its unfortunate limitations. I have a 14 year old who hated to read or write up until two years ago. Now just you try to pry her away from either of those most beloved activities. I have a 12 year old child with Asperger’s Syndrome who we learned flourishes at home and flounders in public school…  after just two months in public school (last year, for the first and more than likely LAST time) I had a school psychologist telling me that this type of child can NEVER be properly taught at home and our only solution was to medicate him! Yet, he is now writing, reading, and memorizing like an old pro! He just needed TIME! I also have an 11 year old who just 3 months ago was more than 2 years below grade level and just due to TIME and natural maturation now is the first of my five children to finish all of his school work each day and has been doing extra work to get caught up to “grade level”. (Although, I de-emphasize that concept as much as humanly possible!) Dr. Moore’s reading has encouraged me on many a less-than-perfect day!

My favorite quote from the interview with Lisa Welchel was one directed to newbie homeschool moms, but is a lesson I am still trying to le

Lisa: Relax! You are ultimately going to teach your child more in 30 good minutes at home than all day in school, so don’t stress yourself.

With my Type A personality, I need reminders like this! And I am learning that it is MORE than true!

Karen Andreola’s writings on Charlotte Mason’s style of education have been on my book shelves and in my heart for many years now.  I love that whole aspect of the Charlotte Mason mindset. I love the concepts of short lessons, narration, and living books! The only problem is I become overwhelmed in trying to do ALL of these wonderful things and learning to choose a few things to focus on at one time.

I am very thankful that since I tend to see all of the things I am NOT accomplishing in this wonderful style that there are writers like Teri Maxwell that remind me to be patient and gentle with myself and my children!  As she so beautifully put it:

After all, we homeschooling moms should be the most joyful, victorious moms there are. That is what I want, and I believe that is what other homeschooling moms want as well. We have a heart’s desire not only to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord but also to have our personal lives be a testimony of God’s faithfulness, grace, and love.

Douglas Gresham was not a name I was previously familiar with, but am so glad that I have been “introduced” to him through this interview. Besides the enormously interesting ties that he has to C.S. Lewis (a favorite author of so many), I fully agree with his ascertion that God’s structure for children is FAMILY! I share his concern that we are all too quick to assume that children are best off to being trained (academically and religiously) by strangers than by the family into which God placed them. Why are we second-guessing God? 

The interview with Veggie Tales’ stars, Bob and Larry, had me in stitches! These names have been household favorites since my children were babies! I am “jealous” of Amelia Harper’s amazing opportunity to meet them! They know more about making truth a joy than any other produce I have ever known of!

Bruce Shortt’s belief that understanding The Harsh Truth About Public Schools will cure homeschool families of burn-out in a hurry is well-taken.  After giving public education a shot at some of my children last year I learned that, many of my beliefs and concerns were not only totally founded, but things are much WORSE than I had originally thought and that was just elementary school. I cannot even imagine how much worse middle school and high school would be.

I was not yet fully familiar with Richard “Little Bear” Wheeler, but I can tell you now that I know that my children are going to LOVE his style of story telling! This article inspired the addition of several books and DVDs to our family “wish list” and maybe an Outdoor Adventure Camp will be in the future family vacation plans! Sounds like a wonderful way to enjoy what is best about learning and growing together in God’s wonderful world! What a talented man!

Chapters 12 and 14 were my two very favorites because they were written by two wonderful women who, though I have not met them, are truly dear friends to me! Through their ministries to homeschooling families, they have breathed a renewing breath of life into so many homes including mine. Gena and Jen have a way of saying it like it is, but in a way that is inspiring instead of discouraging. They bring a smile to my face and hope to my heart! 

As a whole, this book exhorted, encouraged, inspired, and rekindled my heart’s fire for home education! I will definitely be recommending this book to every homeschool family I know!  

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