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Dec. 14, 2005 - How can a homeschooled child do homework???
My
oldest son is 10, and he's in fourth grade. He's always been
homeschooled, so you'd think his mother would have it all down pat by
now. If only! The last few years have seen us trying this
curriculum or that, making our own, reading more books than you can
imagine, and spending too much money, all in the hopes of finding the
perfect method that truly justifies our homeschooling venture.
We've settled on a love of literature, best seen in the writings of
Ruth Beechick and Charlotte Mason. We prefer living books, books
that spark the imagination and encourage a lifelong love of
learning. We prefer a gentle, relaxed approach to learning.
But we're discovering there is more than one way to skin a cat.
For instance, our son has never had homework. Not until
yesterday, that is. We're using A Beka's fourth grade history
textbook as our "spine" and adding in "living books" from Sonlight's
catalog. Yesterday the teacher's manual for A Beka recommended
that the student answer the questions on pages 47-49, the questions at
the end of the chapter.
I was revolted. How boring! How trivial! Was it my
goal to teach my son to parrot historical facts from a textbook?
Or did I want him to internalize the big picture of American history by
getting to know real characters and real authors and real issues from
those time periods (in the pages of real books, of course)?
Yet I gave my son this homework assignment. I followed it to the letter. I was amazed at the result.
Arik asked me, "Mom, when should I do my homework? Do you want me
to do it right now?" Good question. After all, for a
homeschooled child, when is school really over for the day so that
homework time can begin?
"I don't care when you do it, Arik, as long as it's done before lunch tomorrow." (We usually do history after lunch.)
"Well, when do you want me to do it, Mom?" He was lost. He'd never had this kind of choice before.
"You could do it now, you could do it after supper, you could do it as
soon as you wake up in the morning, or even right after breakfast," I
replied. "As long as it's done before lunch, I don't care."
Perplexed, he went to talk to his younger brother and sister. "Andrew," he asked, "When do you think I should do it?"
Andrew and Kaitlyn discussed this new thing called "homework" for
several minutes. Finally, Andrew (age 5) wisely turned to his
older brother and said, "Arik, I think you should do it right away and
get it done!" And that's what Arik did!
I smiled. This was a successful homeschooling day! My son learned initiative and planning and how not to procrastinate. Yes, he reviewed facts, but we've added plenty of great books to our plan (like Sign of the Beaver and The Courage of Sarah Noble)
to ensure that his imagination will be stirred. On the other
hand, I am confident that he'll not only be inspired but that he'll
also have solid facts in his mind on which he can hang his inspiration.
Homework for a homeschooled child? Maybe it needs a better
name. Meanwhile, in our house, this old-fashioned idea is here to
stay!
~Anne
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Posted by 
I use a lot of living books along with our eclectic/
text curriculum. My son thrives on "homework".
He like the challenge and accomplishment of
doing something on paper. My daughter on the other hand,
would rather do all of her work reading aloud or with hands-on
activities. God wired them up so differently. So I give him his assignments and let
him do it independently while I work with her in our school room doing that
kind of learning that works for her! We do all the survey subjects together though.
That's where the reading aloud and great discussions come in. My favorite times! :))