In response to my recent post titled Traditional Education – Is it Really the Best Way to Teach our Children?, Lily left a comment saying… “Very Interesting!  I understand that all children are gifted in different areas, but for those who bulk at the basics at an early age, in spite of following Charlotte Mason style principles, what should one do?  Should you keep trying different approaches, for example Dianne Craft’s techniques until something clicks?  Up to this point, when one of my students has had difficulties, I have tried a dozen different curriculum choices, different learning style approaches, and lots of praying until I found something that worked or at least made it easier for the child.  Is that the best approach?” I thought…

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Remember the post where I wrote about Mr. John Taylor Gatto?  Mr. Gatto taught in the New York public school system for over 29 years before quitting.  Following is the article John Gatto submitted to the Wall Street Journal titled “I Quit, I Think”.  It was published in July, 1991 when Mr. Gatto finally did quit. One week after this article was printed, John Gatto had received invitations to speak at NASA Space Center, Nashville Center for the Arts, Apple Computer and many other prestigous places.  You will find “I Quit, I Think” to be more food for thought as you go along in your homeschooling journey. Government schooling is the most radical adventure in history. It kills the family by monopolizing the best times…

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I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about my approach to high school.  I have 6 children with my first 3 being boys, one already graduated and my second having his graduation party in August.  Zachary (my second son) changed all my thinking about high school when he began several years ago.  You see, he wasn’t like my first son, Seth.  Seth was very faithful and diligent in his bookwork – following conscientiously his mothers high school plan for him, graduating and then going on to enter college for almost a year and doing very well on his entrance exam as well as his classes.  In short, he was a model student. Zachary, on the other hand, did not enjoy sitting at his desk for hours on…

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This post was originally written February 25, 2008. Recitation or Interpretive Reading achieves several things.  It helps you to learn to read aloud with feeling and meaning, clarity and volume and to practice making good eye contact when speaking. Each term my children have one poet they study and each week they are given a new poem to practice.  They are to read this poem aloud with feeling, practicing clarity as well.  Then once a week we get together and have Poetry Tea.  Julie at Brave Writer gave me this idea. I make a few snacks along with some tea, of course, and that’s it.  It’s not fancy, although a few times I went out of my way to do something extra special.  My kids enjoy it; they get to eat…

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In Part I of Starting to Homeschool Your Young Child, we discussed the negative effects of starting schoolwork too young and instead approaching learning in a more informal fashion. Today, I would like to offer you a few more ideas as to other ways a child can learn at this young age (3-6 years).  These are only a few suggestions; there are probably many more out there and I’d love to hear your contributions. Children love to help their mommy’s when they are so very little.  Do not discourage them.  Yes, you could do the job faster and better than your small child but this is a tremendous learning time that pays big dividends for you in later years.  Teach them to iron simple items like…

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Are you thinking to begin homeschooling your child and he/she is only 3 or 4?  May I give you a few cautions and some suggestions? I have met many moms who believe they should start their child at age 3 or 4 because their child is READY.   Their child already knows the alphabet and maybe can even count to 100.  They are so smart.  They are READY to learn.  I agree that these children are ready to learn but not in the way most parents want to teach.  In our society we have been trained to think the public way of education is the only way – sit at a desk and complete your work. So they purchase some cute little preschool program for their child and then require them…

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