Begin at the beginning , Back to the fundamentals

 

Every year, as a school teacher, I spent the first week just going over the basics - classroom rules, learning their names, handing out books, practicing the rules, and sharing my expectations of them. There were several expectations that seemed obvious, but if I didn't state them and have them posted in the classroom, the students would claim that they didn't know.

 

John Wooden, the basketball coach from UCLA, did the same thing, but to the extreme. At the beginning of the season, all the new players received a lesson for Coach Wooden of how to prep their socks - turn them inside out and remove all the balled up cotton that forms near the toes. These are college students, for goodness sake! And Wooden took the time to show them how to put on their socks. Why? Because he knew that if they didn't take the time to remove the balled fuzz from inside their socks, they would build up painful blisters during practice. Those blisters would slow them down and keep them from performing at their peak.

 

What are the basics in our house?  As a homeschooling family, it would seem that once the basics are covered, I would never have to re-teach. But that, sadly, is not the case. With children always growing up and becoming capable of taking on more responsibility, the basics change. Where a five-year-old can help dry the dishes and fold and sort laundry, a six-year-old can  add vacuuming and sweeping to the list. Each new responsibility takes time to teach, but once it is, that job is no longer mine. That freedom from the little jobs gives me more time for lesson planning, writing, exercise, and one-on-one time with the children. It's not all about me - I do know that. The satisfaction my children earn from being an active part of maintaining the household is all about them.

 

The Basics in school are reviewed often as well. What time we start school, where we should work, where we put our things when we are finished, how we show mom that we are actually working toward a goal - these are all the expectations of any student, but these basic ideas need to be reviewed and changed if necessary in order to make the goal of homeschooling work.

 

Prior to beginning to homeschool or, if you have already started, a good idea to revisit is the WHY? behind this adventure? Are you homeschooling to provide an excellent education? Is the public school a little too worldly for your tastes? Has your child been bullied in the past? Is the hope of bringing your child up as a faithful Christian the purpose behind this choice? Whatever your purpose, write it down and keep it in your heart. That purpose will level the mountains that are in your future and will fill the valleys that are certain to come.

 

Perhaps your questions are less purpose-driven: Are you getting into homeschooling not feeling entirely certain you can do this? Are your children less than receptive to the idea?

 

Believe it or not, you are not alone in these fears. Even that mom with those homeschooled kids who are so polite and can each play four different instruments and each speaks a different language - even that mom has these fears. That mom even has days that when the school bus drives by, she imagines herself running all her kids out there, loading them onboard and having a free day.

 

The fears will be there. Don't give them any power. The purpose will be forgotten. Give your purpose more power.

 

 

 The Beginning of Education

Why You Need to Think About It and Why We Don't

 

 

The beginning of education is The Question. Children come by this naturally with the every present "Why?" It's the beginning of thinking about and exploring the world in our thoughts, but also with our hands and feet.

 

That question - Why? - is the foundation of all learning. It embraces humility; that we don't know the answer to something and are asking someone we admire to help us understand our world. As young children, we ask this question freely, to the point that it becomes known as an age - the 'Why?' age - synonymous with being three-years-old.

 

Asking Why? is more than just curiosity, it's hunger. We seek food to fill empty stomachs, or sometimes we just eat because it tastes good. Learning is the same. Questions indicate there is something lacking in our understanding or perhaps we simply enjoy a particular subject or mentor and seek more time with them.

 

Sadly, the questioning doesn't last. Most children stop asking questions in middle school. Why? :-) Peer pressure. It could be that they have been teased for asking a silly question or, as it was with me, teased that I didn't know the answer to my question. (I believe the exact wording was, "Oh my gosh! I can't believe you don't know that. What's wrong with you?") Maybe they should already know the answer and are just too shy to admit that they don't. Perhaps the teacher snapped at them for not paying attention and now every question in their mind dies before it reaches their lips.

 

The remedy to all of these is for the teacher/parent to create a safe environment. There is the common saying that there is no such thing as a stupid question. While that can sometimes be argued, it's basically true. Sometimes we have forgotten the answer to a question and just need a reminder. Perhaps the question has never even occurred to us and it takes us a while to put our answer into words. Maybe the entire experience is foreign and there are too many questions rushing to our minds confusing us with where to begin. No matter what the situation, it's important for the adult in charge to show respect to the students and answer the questions with grace.

 

A better solution is witnessed within the Classical Education world, where there are no wrong answers, just unsupported answers. To define Classical Education fully takes books and much time. It's been done by others who know much more than I. If you are interested, I recommend anything by Susan Wise Bauer, Oliver DeMille (The Thomas Jefferson Education), and Adam and Missy Andrews (The Center for Lit.). In its most basic terms, teaching a child classically isn't really teaching them at all. Instead, children practice the art of asking questions. Not to find the yes/no or right/wrong answer, but to determine if an idea is true or a fallacy. Learning how to think doesn't come to fruition on a multiple choice test, but in a discussion (or in writing an essay) about a topic.

 

Classical Education naturally lends itself to creating that safe environment where ideas are discussed and shared, weighed and found to be worthy of future study or not.

 

Why don't we think about learning? Probably for the same reason we don't focus on our next breath. We just know it will happen. What if, however, there was a limited supply of oxygen in the room. In that circumstance, our next breath would be of great concern. Learning, according to test scores and high school drop-out rates, is in limited supply. It's time to think about thinking and to learn about learning. As all three of the Classical Education resources I listed above suggest, if you were not trained in a classical environment, don't wait! Get started now! It's never too late to learn. This old dog can learn new tricks. Plus, it's fun. I am a product of a public school education and it served me well to become an employee and to think a certain way. I am, however, not a robot and have rejected that conveyer belt education (as Oliver DeMille coins the process of a public education). I am homeschooling myself, training myself - through excellent literature - to be a thinker and a life-long learner. What better example can I provide for my children?

 

 

So, Now What?

 

I'm going to guess at what you are thinking now...

 

I like the encouragement here, but this chick clearly doesn't know about my short-comings.

               

Sure I do. I might not know you personally, but I have short-comings, too. One of them is being, well, short. I don't have this all figured out and you don't need to either. Start with a plan. Have the dining room table cleared off every morning for school. Make a weekly trip to the library for fresh books. Read aloud a chapter a day to your children. That's enough of a plan to start homeschooling.

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Every family comes to the idea of homeschooling with a different focus, need, and purpose. Know why you are homeschooling. Write that 'Why' on the bathroom mirror with a dry-erase marker or type it out and frame it. Read it every morning to keep the mission behind your daily actions fresh in your mind. If the first month of homeschooling is spend reading books and exploring nature, that's perfect! The time spent together, getting to know each other, learning new things about the world of literature and the natural world will never be forgotten. 

 

Okay. I think I can do this. Do I jump right in?

 

As you start to feel comfortable with reading, look into a math program. We use Saxon Math and we love it.  It begins with a mental warm-up and a page of math facts. Then the lesson is presented. I purchase the DVDs for this so I'm not spending my day teaching three different levels of math. That, and my older two are taking Geometry and Algebra. I just can't remember enough from high school to effectively teach that. Following the lesson, there are a handful of practice problems, but the core of the work is doing 25-30 math problems that are all different. The constant review assures that the lessons are truly learned.

               

After giving the addition of math into your daily schedule some time to settle, add science. We use the Apologia Curriculum. It reads aloud beautifully and everything is explained fully.

               

Before you add a new subject, take a day to celebrate what you've been doing. Go to a museum. Have a picnic. Watch a documentary.

 

You can add history. We don't use a history curriculum, but use actual books written on specific topics in history. At times we include these books in our read aloud times, but mostly the kids just read them as a part of their independent reading. Have a world map easily visible in the room to point out where events took place and make a time line notebook (www.rainbowresource.com has several to choose from) and keep an ongoing documentation of what you are learning. A good time line will last the entire K-12 education.

 

Other subjects to consider include and suggested programs:

• Foreign language (Rosetta Stone, Mango)

• Physical Education (a homeschool Co-op, a park, a membership to the YMCA)

• English & Grammar (for fellow Catholics, I highly recommend Seton Homestudy English books. Sorry, that's all we use, so my recommendations here are few.)

 

Will there be difficult days?

               

Oh, yes. It's just the truth. The bad days will jump out at you unexpectedly. Sometimes you won't feel like doing school, sometimes it will be the kids. There will be days when it's beautiful outside and you'd rather play. Go play. What about that opportunity to visit a friend or a family member? Go! You will know when you need to stay home, but on the days you take those detours from schooling, plug into the school on wheels. Bring books on tape or a CD to listen to. Hand the children the map with the route highlighted and have them tell you where to go - and take the turns they suggest. There is no better teacher than a wrong turn.

 

Subjects and lessons can be difficult and frustrations will run high. When the tears threaten to surface (either in your eyes or your child's), take a break. Pray. God has your back and prayer will reveal the issue. Pick up a favorite book and read together. Go to the kitchen and make a new recipe. Go for a walk and see what's new in the neighborhood. A change of scenery will change the scene of the problem.

 

Speaking personally, the difficult days mostly rear up when I'm too focused on 'The Plan' and not listening to the needs of my children. And by 'not listening', I don't mean that I'm ignoring what they say, they sometimes aren't saying anything at all - which should scream a warning. I have to listen for bad attitudes and watch for signs that something is amiss.

 

If I do choose to homeschool, will my children be different?

 

Mine are and I love it. They listen to different music. They can talk to adults as easily as peers. While other students are dressing for school in the trend of the day, mine are having discussions about what book they are reading while sitting around the breakfast table in our pj's. My children will never need to take a Home Economics class because they have helped with breakfast, lunch and dinner for years. They can also do their own laundry and clean the house on their own. We are learning higher math skills, which includes budgeting money by buying with cash only and building a savings account.

 

Homeschooled children, typically, are not burdened by the pressures of school (clothing, dating, not liking the teacher) and are able to focus on learning within a safe and familiar environment.

 

Note: my children don't always 'like' their teacher, but they will always love me. The same goes for me: I don't always like my students, but I will always love them.

 

What about finances? How do you live on one income?

 

Very carefully and with giant servings of who-cares-about-the-Jones's? Apologies to all those out there named Jones! We are not striving to drive the latest cars or to have the Parade of Home house. I would like to have those things, but they are not essential to my greater purpose - the education and character formation of my children. See? That purpose comes back and rescues you!

 

We are very careful with our finances and we do pay cash for everything. I mean everything. Just this month we had to replace our truck. We knew our budget and paid cash for a used minivan. No payments, cheaper insurance, and the dents are already added to the van, so I don't have to worry about the 'antiquing' we will add.

 

I buy groceries in bulk and on sale. I make my meal plan around what is in season and on sale. I make my own yogurt (which is crazy easy!) and buy bread at the wholesale store. We all shop at consignment stores and love it. We do buy new socks and underwear - I do have limits on used items.

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Larger items we would like to purchase are given an envelope in the family safe. As we save money, earn money, or are given gifts of money, we slip a little into that envelope until we have enough to buy it outright. The current envelope is almost empty because we used it to buy the minivan, but next is a full sized cello for our middle daughter, then a newer lawn mower.

 

Whatever your financial resources, we can always do with less despite the fact that we all want more. I don't intend on spending my days pinching pennies and shopping sales, but for now, we are still in the process of working toward a debt-free life. If, through example, I can instill valuable spending habits in my children, then I will do that.

 

 

Is That It? Is This All I Need To Know About Homeschooling?

 

Um, no. There is much more. But if you start with a purpose, make a plan, and find the right attitude and frame of mind, you can do this. If you still aren't sure, ask yourself: What will my children lose by going to a public or private school? What will they gain by being homeschooled?

 

If you still aren't sure, talk to the kids. Ask them their opinion. Make a charts of 'Pros' and 'Cons'. Pray together for wisdom and patience and a healthy dose of understanding. 

 

When we first decided to start homeschooling, I committed to one year. I had a basic plan and an overall goal, but nothing more than that. At the end of the year, I sat down with my husband (who fully supports our homeschool, but doesn't teach any formal lessons) and we talked through the good, the bad, and the ugly. There was no finger pointing, no blame, just honest reflection over what went well and where our homeschool could improve. 

 

We continue this pattern still. 2017 marks the thirteenth year of homeschooling and we are still taking it year-by-year.