WHY.....Learning at home is best

The most obvious reasons are ones that most parents can agree with:

• Kids can't be bullied by other kids
• No problems with dress codes ( children can learn in pajamas)
• Schedules are flexible
• Curriculums can be customized to the child's needs
• You don't have to worry about in-school drug and /or sexual abuse

Some of the less obvious ones missed by most people who are 'anti-homeschool' are:

• Children that are homeschooled are by and large more emotionally mature -I believe this is because they spend more one on one time with at least one parent and usually take part in day to day responsibilities.
• Depending on your teaching style, competition can be minimized and the child can learn without being 'put on the spot' at his or her natural rate. This allows the child to spend more time on a subject or to experiment with what 'works' or doesn't. Students can totally immerse themselves in a particular subject of interest and follow it until their interest wanes. It is not uncommon for homeschooled children to become 'expert' in a particular subject because it captured their interest.
• Bonding-you have REAL time with your children and can instill your faith and values into them. You have time time to hug, to talk, to encourage and to instruct.
• Mom and Dad learn too! Homeschooling is a great way to get that rusty brain oiled up again so you can help teach someone else!

As a Christian mother, I can say that it is a great blessing to study God's Word together as a family and to bow our heads together in prayer. I also believe that home instruction is more than just a 'choice' . I believe this is what God intended for His people to do.

Consider the following scriptures :

Pro 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

Pro 4:1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Deu 31:12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

Deu 31:13 And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

Psa 34:11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Eph 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Over and over, we can fnd where the Lord gave us an example of children learning at the feet of their father and his responsibility to God to educate them.

We live in a world that tends to seperate families rather than to keep them closer together. Homeschooling can reverse that if we take time to realize that our children are a top priority. The family should be the nucleus from which all learning begins and the parents role is of great value whether the child is 4 or 14.

Fathers need to teach their sons to provide for the family by the sweat of their brow. He must understand that a father's job is to help build character in his son and hard, honest work will teach him responsiblity and ready him for life as a husband and father himself.

Mothers should teach their daughters homemaking and practical childrearing by allowing the older ones to care for the younger ones. Mothers need to instruct ther daughters on issues of modesty and purity and the value of a godly woman to her husband and to the Lord.

This is the core of Christian homeschooling .

TESTING....TESTING.....123:

I have developed a philosophy over the last few years as I have experimented with different teaching styles.

In the first few years of my homeschooling 'career' , I tried to emulate the public school philosophy of specific times for specific studies, tests and subjects. I lived in fear of failing my children and was continuously insecure about my abilities as a 'teacher'. The more that I studied and read volume after volume of books and articles aimed at homeschooling moms like myself, I realized that the reason I wanted to homeschool was to teach them what my husband and I felt was lacking in the school system.

Little by little, I realized that our values were of the utmost importance and not someone else's opinion on what is important.

In this way, I was able to pare down to the most important subjects and keep what was left over as something I may or may not ever use.

Testing is something that I rarely do. As a homeschooling mother, there is no need for me to 'test' as I am well aware of how my child is progressing.

Grading is something I feel is unneccessary-although I sometimes write E for excellent, S for satisfactory and N for needs improvement. This is more for the children's sake as they have a tendency to be competitive against themselves, wantng to strive for better next time.

I feel that the most mportant subjects for any age are:

Bible

Reading

Writing

Math

History

Geography

I do not exclude science, however, I feel that it can be incorporated into all the above subjects in one form or another. There is enough science in the Bible alone to keep you busy for a looooong time. Sometimes we will do a Unit study where a particular topic can be explored and can be incorporated into different subjects as well.

Any other subjects above and beyond these can be added as the child's interest dictates. By the way, I don't teach all these subjects in one day but try to do only 2 or 3 with Bible always being the beginning point.

I incorporate the internet, textbooks, hands-on study and independent research at times. The main focus is always to push a little but to always be aware of the child's interest. There is no sense in forcing something on a student when you can be creative and find other ways to reach them. Many times a child is simply NOT READY to learn something that seems too difficult for them . They will be bored, frustrated and in the end...... apathetic. Sometimes it is better to wait to teach Suzy how to read at age 8 rather than age 4 or 5 like Mary down the street. It may not be that your child is deficent in any way if a particular concept is difficult for them to grasp. It may be that they just are not emotionally and mentally READY YET!

I'll be back to add on some links and to share information on what I've learned over the years as a homechooling mom.

Here are some links :

Sam Blumenfeld's Original Alpha Phonics Home Page-I've used this to help teach most of my chldren how to read. Great book!

Eclectic Homeschool Online - A Creative Homeschool Community-I love ths site! Lot's of great resources.

Education and homeschooling news and commentary - EducationalFreedom.com-News, action items and more resources.

Table of Contents - NHEN-This offers lots of links and information.

April 1, 2005

WHY I DON'T STICK TO ONE CURRICULUM:

The beauty of homeschooling is in it's flexibility. Some parents choose only one main curriculum to work from. They may add a book or other media from time to time, but basically it is one curriculum that very often times is graded by a third party (distance schools) or some that come with answer keys so that mom or dad can grade them.

I have chosen, after working with only one main curriculum for a couple of years, to mix it up! The reason is, if I use only one main curriculum, I am in fact 'brainwashing' my children by allowing the authors of the material to feed them their views without any other input. I would much rather open up several books, websites or videos to contrast the information. In this way, it also helps to capture the interest of the child and gives them an opportunity to explore different ideas or facts pertaining to a subject.

For instance, with my older children, WebQuests, can be a way to stray from the ordinary 'nose-in-the-book' for information. I try to find material that is interesting, colorful and that delves into areas which are less mainstream. For example, my daughter was working on a study about the Renaissance and the Middle Ages. She incorporated articles from websites which explored the influence of Romanism, the effects of the Black Plague, recipes from medievel recipe books and the influence of the arts during the Renaissance. I allowed her to work at her own pace and I would give her a quiz to see how much she retained. Some of the articles really fascinated her so I KNOW she learned!

This is just one example of using an 'un-curriculum'. I do feel that certain subjects need more structure. You can't tackle Algebra without learning basic Math. You cannot teach a child to read without teaching them their ABC's. You can however, find different ways to teach those subjects by finding out how best your child can learn.

NO INDIVIDUALITY:

The one thing I truly dislike about the public school system is that it purports a 'herd mentality'. After all, Johnny and Jane cannot be good, little taxpayers unless they can all be herded into a school system, a particular thought process and into a social and political system that allows things to go ever so smoothly.....as long as they are dumbed down, drugged up and made into good, little U.S. citizens.....(meaning," think like we say or else!") In public school, you are one of the many masses, a part of the collective......a BORG!

Homeschooling can be a great vehicle for individuality. Each child learns in different ways. Some like the 'hands-on' approach, some would rather sit quietly and read or do a workbook. Discussions on history, current events or on a subject read out of the Bible get the wheels of interest rolling and everyone can have a voice. As years go by, you can see the small child maturing and growing into a young man or woman with ideas and opinions and it's all right there in front of the parents' eyes in the sanctity of the home. What a blessing!