Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

Well...there it is in a nutshell.  Why I school the way I do.  Oh, I know, I know, you probably want to know more about the way I set that in motion.  But the way I set that in motion could change from year to year, but that verse as my guide will probably never change.  It is my very favorite verse on teaching.  My second favorite is the one about putting away the elementary principles of the world. 

I'm writing this blog for two purposes--to think out loud and figure out some blurry-ness in my day to day reasons why I do what I do, and secondly to have an open house into what our homeschooling is like to anyone curious, and to family who care.

I have listed my blog under Charlotte Mason because it comes the closest to what I look for, but I'm not a full blown Charlotte Masoner.  I just like her approach.  I actually like and dislike bits and peices of every approach I have read.  I'm sure most of you out there are like this.  I'm actually pretty Eclectic in my approach, but when I read that on other's blogs, it doesn't tell me much about what their homeschool is like, so I just picked the closest one. 

I'll break my 'views' down into catagories to make it simpler:

• Public/Private Schools vs. Homeschooling
• The School room (or where to do schooling)/Environment
• What Curriculum/books
• What to Teach/How to Teach/Priorities

Public/Private Schools vs. Homeschooling:

Simply put, I think that there are some awsome teachers in a very flawed system.  But there is no way that one teacher to twenty-something students under the pressures of regulations from our government can do anywhere near as great a job as a parent with one to eight students in a home environment with near unlimited choices for what and how they teach their children. 

Another big issue, that could partly be taken care of with private schools, is the philosophies that seep in with each teacher (whether that teacher be a person, book or actor).  How many teachers will your child have in his/her life?  What books will they learn from?  What will influence the life your child chooses?  And how many different philosophies of the world are being taught to your child?  Are all of them Christian?  What do they believe?  Do you really think what they believe will be hidden from your child?  Why do you think there are Godly parents out there questioning why their children go astray.  It's because there are other philosophies seeping into their lives from the outside world.  Can I totally prevent that by homeschooling?  Absolutely not!!  Otherwise, I would be also instilling a philosophy of fear within my child.  But I also don't have to wander about the people that are influencing my children's lives while I am unaware.  (Don't want to get on a soap box here, but homeschoolers have to be extra careful of the influence coming though the tube).  I do not chose to protect my child from everything out there, I just chose to protect them from the influence they have.  If they see a child hitting another child on tv, I will not turn off tv forever, I will just make sure that they understand why that is wrong--and if it starts to influence farther (I see them hitting, etc.), than I do turn it off.  I want my child to be sheltered but not imprisoned.  

So, does that mean that parents who chose to send their children to public school are doomed to have bad, worldly kids?  No.  My parents did a very good job of weeding the world out of me.  The lines of communication were always open, they asked us about our day, God blessed me with some very wise Christian teachers, and my role models were Christian.  But I am not brave enough to take that kind of chance!  If your children are deep in the world 3/4 of their days and at home with Godly parents the other 1/4 of the time, you better be on your toes to instill God's word and ways into your child's heart. 

School room/Environment:

This is a big one for me, actually.  Why, if schools are trying to be more homey, should we try to be more schooly?  That seems rediculous to me.  My home is HOME, not school--I just do school here, if you could even call it that.  I think my children need desks, just like I need a desk.  But just like a Mom would not choose a cubical for her home office, I would not choose an old public school desk for my children.  My children have their own mini-office for things like crafts and handwriting, or whatever they want to do in there.  The home is their classroom, though, not that little room.  We read on the living room couch, we do math at the kitchen table, we do science in the bathroom or kitchen or outside, etc.  Learning should be part of life, forever--so we make it as natural and comfortable as possible.  (Do you as an adult still learn?  Do you go to your office to do it every time, or do you sit on the couch and read an informative book?)  When someone comes into my home, the only way they can tell I homeschool, are the massive amounts of books I love to acumulate on different subjects and the homeschooling record books that are on my desk nearly every day. 

Another part of the environment is the lack of grade level.  I learned pretty quickly that this would either be a sense of control over us, or we would have to get rid of it.  So, out the window it flew!  My children will only vaugely know where they are in comparison to other children.  I want them to challenge themselves, not compete with the kids around them.  It's also just too hard to keep track of.  My 5 year old little girl already ranges vastly in where she is, from being in preK material in once book to being in second grade material in another.  But fortunately, her math is the only book that has a grade attached to it. 

Curriculum/books:

Oh, how I LOVE books!!!  I would love to have wall to wall bookshelves filling my house.  On the other extreme, I hate textbooks.  The only thing I use them for is a big, detailed list.  Math is about the only subject where I might succumb to using a textbook.  I love living, real books with one author on one subject.  Even science can be half way taught this way, with just a simple activity book on the side.  Pick any topic in the world, and you can find a living book on it.  (I know there are probably exceptions--learning a launguage, maybe).  But if I can find a real, well written, twaddle-free book on it, I would take that over a textbook or workbook any day. 

Worksheets are busywork most of the time, and only make good tests to see what they may have missed.  Even in math, I rarely do worksheets.  I teach a topic until I feel it is well understood, and then give her some worksheets to see if I forgot to teach her anything.  Most the time, she will do absolutely no worksheets for two or three weeks straight, and than, Bam, she does nighteen math worksheets one after another, until she wants to stop.  I jot down things I see are missing in her understanding, and fix it. 

What to teach/How to teach/Priorities:

Essential--Bible, Reading, Writing and Basic Math

The essentials I teach everyday, with few exceptions.  I really believe in teaching precept upon precept, and so until they thouroughly understand one level, they don't go onto another.  Sometimes I even back up a bit if I didn't think of something I missed.  These are more controlled, in that I require them to sit down and write something or practice reading or go through a math drill with me, etc.  Even though these are not an option for them, they rarely complain because of the habit they are in of doing these things. 

(Life Skills and Physical education are also essential, but like any other parent, these are taught through every day exposure.  Day after day, we brush our teeth, not read a book on it.  We cook, we clean, we go outside and play.  They will do the same thing we do, whether or not we intend on teaching them these things.  So, in these, I more work on training myself than in training them.)

Important--History, Geography, Civility, Science, Literature, Poetry, Music and Art, etc.

I believe it is vital that they have heavy exposure to these subjects but not that they memorize a large portion of facts.  These are where heavy doses of living books come in.  I would rather they read several biographies of the Presidents, for example, than to know by memory a list of the names and dates of Presidents.  They can always find that information out in about 5 minutes on the internet.  I want the depth of the ocean to inspire their curiousity of how life can live under that pressure, not be able to tell me the deepest point of each ocean.  If they have a real interest in any topic within these subjects, that is when we will dig deeper and longer, until their curiousity is satisfied.  These are subjects of exposure in my opinion, and not subjects of memorization and expertese.  

Maybe your views are vastly different from mine, or maybe they are similar.  But one thing I know--God chose which family children were raised in!  I think the final responsibility as to what is best for each child belongs to the parents God gave them, not to the government or anyone elses opinion.  If you know God wants your children to be in private or public school, and you are homeschooling them, than you are just as wrong as I would be for putting my children in public school when I know for certain that God has called me to this ministry of teaching my own children.

Thanks for listening to my babbling!  And keep praying for me and other homeschool families out there.  And pray for those families who have children in public school, that they may have the kind of Godly teachers I had in my life.

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

Well...there it is in a nutshell.  Why I school the way I do.  Oh, I know, I know, you probably want to know more about the way I set that in motion.  But the way I set that in motion could change from year to year, but that verse as my guide will probably never change.  It is my very favorite verse on teaching.  My second favorite is the one about putting away the elementary principles of the world. 

I'm writing this blog for two purposes--to think out loud and figure out some blurry-ness in my day to day reasons why I do what I do, and secondly to have an open house into what our homeschooling is like to anyone curious, and to family who care.

I have listed my blog under Charlotte Mason because it comes the closest to what I look for, but I'm not a full blown Charlotte Masoner.  I just like her approach.  I actually like and dislike bits and peices of every approach I have read.  I'm sure most of you out there are like this.  I'm actually pretty Eclectic in my approach, but when I read that on other's blogs, it doesn't tell me much about what their homeschool is like, so I just picked the closest one. 

I'll break my 'views' down into catagories to make it simpler:

• Public/Private Schools vs. Homeschooling
• The School room (or where to do schooling)/Environment
• What Curriculum/books
• What to Teach/How to Teach/Priorities

Public/Private Schools vs. Homeschooling:

Simply put, I think that there are some awsome teachers in a very flawed system.  But there is no way that one teacher to twenty-something students under the pressures of regulations from our government can do anywhere near as great a job as a parent with one to eight students in a home environment with near unlimited choices for what and how they teach their children. 

Another big issue, that could partly be taken care of with private schools, is the philosophies that seep in with each teacher (whether that teacher be a person, book or actor).  How many teachers will your child have in his/her life?  What books will they learn from?  What will influence the life your child chooses?  And how many different philosophies of the world are being taught to your child?  Are all of them Christian?  What do they believe?  Do you really think what they believe will be hidden from your child?  Why do you think there are Godly parents out there questioning why their children go astray.  It's because there are other philosophies seeping into their lives from the outside world.  Can I totally prevent that by homeschooling?  Absolutely not!!  Otherwise, I would be also instilling a philosophy of fear within my child.  But I also don't have to wander about the people that are influencing my children's lives while I am unaware.  (Don't want to get on a soap box here, but homeschoolers have to be extra careful of the influence coming though the tube).  I do not chose to protect my child from everything out there, I just chose to protect them from the influence they have.  If they see a child hitting another child on tv, I will not turn off tv forever, I will just make sure that they understand why that is wrong--and if it starts to influence farther (I see them hitting, etc.), than I do turn it off.  I want my child to be sheltered but not imprisoned.  

So, does that mean that parents who chose to send their children to public school are doomed to have bad, worldly kids?  No.  My parents did a very good job of weeding the world out of me.  The lines of communication were always open, they asked us about our day, God blessed me with some very wise Christian teachers, and my role models were Christian.  But I am not brave enough to take that kind of chance!  If your children are deep in the world 3/4 of their days and at home with Godly parents the other 1/4 of the time, you better be on your toes to instill God's word and ways into your child's heart. 

School room/Environment:

This is a big one for me, actually.  Why, if schools are trying to be more homey, should we try to be more schooly?  That seems rediculous to me.  My home is HOME, not school--I just do school here, if you could even call it that.  I think my children need desks, just like I need a desk.  But just like a Mom would not choose a cubical for her home office, I would not choose an old public school desk for my children.  My children have their own mini-office for things like crafts and handwriting, or whatever they want to do in there.  The home is their classroom, though, not that little room.  We read on the living room couch, we do math at the kitchen table, we do science in the bathroom or kitchen or outside, etc.  Learning should be part of life, forever--so we make it as natural and comfortable as possible.  (Do you as an adult still learn?  Do you go to your office to do it every time, or do you sit on the couch and read an informative book?)  When someone comes into my home, the only way they can tell I homeschool, are the massive amounts of books I love to acumulate on different subjects and the homeschooling record books that are on my desk nearly every day. 

Another part of the environment is the lack of grade level.  I learned pretty quickly that this would either be a sense of control over us, or we would have to get rid of it.  So, out the window it flew!  My children will only vaugely know where they are in comparison to other children.  I want them to challenge themselves, not compete with the kids around them.  It's also just too hard to keep track of.  My 5 year old little girl already ranges vastly in where she is, from being in preK material in once book to being in second grade material in another.  But fortunately, her math is the only book that has a grade attached to it. 

Curriculum/books:

Oh, how I LOVE books!!!  I would love to have wall to wall bookshelves filling my house.  On the other extreme, I hate textbooks.  The only thing I use them for is a big, detailed list.  Math is about the only subject where I might succumb to using a textbook.  I love living, real books with one author on one subject.  Even science can be half way taught this way, with just a simple activity book on the side.  Pick any topic in the world, and you can find a living book on it.  (I know there are probably exceptions--learning a launguage, maybe).  But if I can find a real, well written, twaddle-free book on it, I would take that over a textbook or workbook any day. 

Worksheets are busywork most of the time, and only make good tests to see what they may have missed.  Even in math, I rarely do worksheets.  I teach a topic until I feel it is well understood, and then give her some worksheets to see if I forgot to teach her anything.  Most the time, she will do absolutely no worksheets for two or three weeks straight, and than, Bam, she does nighteen math worksheets one after another, until she wants to stop.  I jot down things I see are missing in her understanding, and fix it. 

What to teach/How to teach/Priorities:

Essential--Bible, Reading, Writing and Basic Math

The essentials I teach everyday, with few exceptions.  I really believe in teaching precept upon precept, and so until they thouroughly understand one level, they don't go onto another.  Sometimes I even back up a bit if I didn't think of something I missed.  These are more controlled, in that I require them to sit down and write something or practice reading or go through a math drill with me, etc.  Even though these are not an option for them, they rarely complain because of the habit they are in of doing these things. 

(Life Skills and Physical education are also essential, but like any other parent, these are taught through every day exposure.  Day after day, we brush our teeth, not read a book on it.  We cook, we clean, we go outside and play.  They will do the same thing we do, whether or not we intend on teaching them these things.  So, in these, I more work on training myself than in training them.)

Important--History, Geography, Civility, Science, Literature, Poetry, Music and Art, etc.

I believe it is vital that they have heavy exposure to these subjects but not that they memorize a large portion of facts.  These are where heavy doses of living books come in.  I would rather they read several biographies of the Presidents, for example, than to know by memory a list of the names and dates of Presidents.  They can always find that information out in about 5 minutes on the internet.  I want the depth of the ocean to inspire their curiousity of how life can live under that pressure, not be able to tell me the deepest point of each ocean.  If they have a real interest in any topic within these subjects, that is when we will dig deeper and longer, until their curiousity is satisfied.  These are subjects of exposure in my opinion, and not subjects of memorization and expertese.  

Maybe your views are vastly different from mine, or maybe they are similar.  But one thing I know--God chose which family children were raised in!  I think the final responsibility as to what is best for each child belongs to the parents God gave them, not to the government or anyone elses opinion.  If you know God wants your children to be in private or public school, and you are homeschooling them, than you are just as wrong as I would be for putting my children in public school when I know for certain that God has called me to this ministry of teaching my own children.

Thanks for listening to my babbling!  And keep praying for me and other homeschool families out there.  And pray for those families who have children in public school, that they may have the kind of Godly teachers I had in my life.