Homeschooling His Way - Encouragement for a Fellow Homeschool Mom

Jan. 2, 2009

Encouragement for a Fellow Homeschool Mom

Forhimigiveall at the Kuhn Family Blog posted on Dec. 5 about some difficulties she was facing with her ds13. I was going to leave this as a comment, but the more I typed the bigger it got so I decided to just post it here and give her the link. Maybe something I have said will help or encourage her, but many of you out there may have some great insight or suggestions to share with her as well. Please do follow the link to read her post and leave her a comment of encouragement if you can.

My response to her post:

I'm making the assumption this is his first year out of public school (sorry if that's incorrect). Our oldest went to ps for 1 year and the next year he constantly made comparisons to ps (mainly he reminded me that his teacher didn't do it this way). It took a lot of time for him to adjust. We have all learned together as the years have passed (7 years now), and I've had to learn to make adjustments as we've gone. As I was reading your post I thought about what we homeschoolers often do when we first begin...we try to make education at home look just like school. It took me a long time to realize that the goal was not to make the education of my children look exactly like it would in school, but to give them the opportunity and encouragement to learn. Yes we need some structure, but we also have to have some flexibility. I've found that my children learn more when they are curious about something and investigate it. For example my ds13 has been interested in the Titanic for about 2 years now (don't ask what started this because I truly don't know). We've found books and videos at the library and bookstores that he has spent a lot of time pouring over because of his interest. He even built a model of the Titanic (without assistance), which I never would have dreamed he could accomplish at his age. He has learned more from these things than I could have ever taught him because he's listened to those who are informed in these areas, he's studied blueprints of the ship, read about it's boilers and engines, etc.

When we turned off the TV (except for educational programming), made a time for reading (individually and as a family...I read to the kids almost nightly), and began encouraging them to develop their own interests and pursue them our children have really began to learn. We help them discover what they love by introducing them to different topics, then encourage them to pursue what they find interesting by helping them find the appropriate resources. We have "school" each day by following our curriculum (which is heavy on reading and light on textbooks - http://www.mfwbooks.com), then we try to allow for time to pursue their individual interests. The most recent interest for all of them are the Jonathon Park audios (see them at http://www.visionforum.com). It's fun, adventure, and science all rolled into one. The kids don't realize how much they have learned because they are having so much fun listening to the audios.

So, my suggestion is to keep plugging away with school (keep lessons short), but also try to encourage the development and pursuit of interests - animals, carpentry, robotics, history, gardening/farming, etc. Boys this age have lots of energy and need an outlet for it. One project my ds13 took on last spring was composting for the vegetable garden. It gave him an opportunity to get outside and do some manual labor and it has been a great benefit to our family.

If you are struggling with getting him to do his work try eliminating all privileges and set up a system where he must apply himself diligently to his work to earn a privilege back. I would suggest a couple of books such as "Created for Work" and "Boyhood and Beyond" by Bob Schultz (available on http://www.Amazon.com). I would also suggest an audio from http://www.behemoth.com called "What to Expect from a Twelve Year Old" by S.M. Davis. This is a difficult time for a young man. He's no longer a child, but also not an adult either. I'm learning they need lots of guidance at this time in their lives even though they may not want to admit it. Blessings in your homeschool journey.

Missy

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Comments

Mar. 13, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by bbullard

I saw that you were online and was just checking to see what sound wisdom is here. This is an exceptional post, and I wish you'd been around with this one during our first year of homeschooling. I totally underestimated the experience our oldest would have when we first pulled her out of private school, even though she had only completed 2nd grade. Perhaps the best advice I got was that it takes a year for children to "de-school." This helped me tremedously as I did exactly as you stated--plugged away and held fast to what I believed God had told me to do. Thanks for this post.

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Mar. 18, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by diamondsintherough

Hi Missy,
What a small world. I was just coming over here to comment about Teaching Textbooks after seeing your comment at Belinda Bullard's, and I see this entry posted for my friend IRL, Forhimigiveall. :o) And it's a good one, too!

We have used/are using TT pre-algebra, Algebra I and Algebra II. I would say, too, that it is maybe a bit behind grade level, however my girls are getting a good solid foundation with it. It's understandable to them. I read somewhere that if you continue with TT, the student does have all the material covered that is normally covered by the time he graduates.

At first this bothered me, but the longer I homeschool, the more I am getting away from what "grade level" is, and just teaching my children where they are. :o) We love TT!
Sally

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