It was simple. Nothing we adults would think was too amazing nor have thought twice about but for this 11 year old boy it was a moment to remark on and to be delighted about.

How often do we quell the first time discoveries our children have, brush it off as something that’s not really interesting enough or worthy enough of our attention?

I have been guilty too many times

These curious and wondering children.

When did we lose our innocent delight in the simple things?

Do we live lives that are too rushed? Too busy that we are unable to enter into their joys with them?

Or do we stop for that brief moment in time, in that moment of childhood when all is wonder and a source of discovery?

We know what the right choice should be but do we let the urgent take priority over the important? Maybe we’re in the middle of fixing a meal or some other such task and we miss a moment to tie strings of fellowship with our children.

But happily it doesn’t have to end there.

Children are forgiving and will be ready to welcome us into their circle with their next discovery or experience.

All we need is a willing heart and a few of our moments.

Thanks goes to my son, Justus and niece, Abigail for being willing subjects for my post here in Illinois where we are visiting my parents and their grandparents.

Sometimes we may get discouraged because we feel we’re dropping the ball in our children’s education.

We read the writings of Charlotte Mason or another modern day guru on education and feel the wash of failure sweep over us.

We wonder, we wish and we think desperately what we might be doing wrong because our homeschool doesn’t look like what others describe.

But I want to challenge us today to consider what it would be if we didn’t have an ideal to strive for.

Lofty thoughts, ideals and a vision of something bigger than ourselves are what gives us inspiration to keep trying. It’s what  makes us give a little more effort,

Where there is no vision, the people perish… Proverbs 29:18

Homeschooling our children while running the household is a very taxing job. We have to wear so many hats in one day that it can be difficult to stay on top of everything.

But if we keep in our minds the picture of what we hope to achieve, it can give us the impetus to keep working towards that vision.

Be encouraged

Ordinary things done consistently produce extraordinary results.

But wait.

Should your little one really be starting school?

Yes and no.

What is school anyways?

From Dictionary.com 

an institution where instruction is given,

Children have a natural curiosity from almost the time they are born. They love to explore, examine, feel, taste, touch almost everything they come in contact with. And the curiosity continues as they get older. What 5-year-old child do you know that is ever bored? It just doesn’t happen unless parents have raised them on videos and television, then I grant that it’s a possibility. But as a whole they are too busy living to ever consider that the moment they are living in is boring.

Curiosity is a wonderful thing because it’s natural and built-in by our Creator. If a child has curiosity, they want to learn and know. That’s why you may be asked so many questions on how things work and why does this happen and why does that happen.

What happens when our children turn 5 or 6? We feel the need to do something, as if they can not learn unless they are in an official setting. Why do we feel this pressure to get all formal with our kids’ education?

• Maybe it’s because your neighbor or your friend’s child is going to school, so we think we have to do the same with ours
• Maybe it’s because we think they are so ready
• Maybe because the child is asking and wanting to “do school”
• Maybe because schooling experts think this is the right age to begin
• Maybe because…. you fill in the blank

If our children do not sit for X amount of hours at their desk, does this mean he/she has not or is not learning?

And conversely…

Does sitting at a desk constitute learning?

Learning happens in a lot of places and at any time. Think about how you learn most of the time.

• Talking to people
• Reading (and it’s probably not sitting at a desk and you most usually don’t pick up a textbook if you really want to learn a subject)
• Actually doing whatever it is you want to learn

There are times we must discipline ourselves and take time to really delve into subjects with a depth that we normally don’t practice.

But my point is this. For children do they really have to sit at a desk, or have a prepared curriculum to actually learn?

Going back to our definition of school, it says, “an institution where instruction is given”. Mom’s we’ve got this. We are always giving instruction. We know how to do it. We are, dare I say(?), experts at this. Don’t get doubtful at this point and think you can’t teach your own children for a few more years without formal instruction or without buying an entire set of boxed curricula.

You can do it.

There are so many things your child can be taught without having to sit at a desk for several hours a day and soon I hope to share a post with you of some of the wonderful things your young child can learn.

I’m not saying that your child should only learn when and where he wants but I’m advocating teaching them in a more natural way than sitting at a desk for several hours — being flexible and not rigid. A framework in which to learn is good but being inflexible is not.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with my position?

“Homeschooling?  What is that?”

Homeschooling was not talked about much until the 80’s, although there were already articles and books being written on the problems of traditional education in the 60’s and 70’s from a few notables such as John Holt and Dr. Raymond Moore.  Dr. Dobson even had a program with Dr. Moore back in 1979 but it wasn’t until the 80’s that homeschooling really started to become a movement.

So homeschooling in the way that we know it today really hasn’t been around a very long time.  Many battles have been fought to give us this right to teach our children the way we feel best and using the materials that best suit our beliefs and educational philosophy.

So why are parents turning back and sending their kids back into the public school system? Or putting their kids in K12 or some other type of government funded cyber school?  Why are we now turning back to something we felt was wrong all those years ago when we first began homeschooling?  What really has changed?

I don’t purport to know all the reasons but here are some I have heard.

1. They feel they cannot give their kids a proper education and conversely the school system can do it better.

2. They don’t have the patience.

3. They cannot stay consistent.

4. They don’t want their whole day taken up. They want “me” time.

I ask you,

Has public education improved?

Is it really a more wholesome environment for our children?

If you can answer yes to both of those questions then I grant that public school may be the way to go.  But if you answer no to one or both of these questions then why do we think with longing of what it would be like to send our children into that situation?

Our children’s childhoods are precious.  Don’t get caught up in thinking that your situation would be so much better if they were at school.

Let’s take each of the objections I have heard used when parents choose to send their kids away from home and see if we can look at our situation a little differently.

1. They feel they cannot give their kids a proper education and conversely the school system can do it better. – I’m going to step out on a limb and say no school can do a better job of teaching your child.  The school system is built around one type of learner and if you’re not that type, school can become quite a struggle and drudge.  A one-on-one environment is just what children need when they have a problem.  A teacher does not have the time to focus on children individually and therefore, a child may be quite far behind before a problem is recognized.

For example, my son has had a difficult time memorizing his times tables but you would never know it because he tries to figure out the problem in other ways.  This kind of scenario could happen in any subject -not just math.

There is a tremendous amount of material available to the homeschooler that is excellent and able to help those that struggle. Yes, it does take time on your part to find the material that fits your child, and time with the child to help them through these humps of learning but you can do it.

This might become your life verse.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13

2. Some mom’s might feel they don’t have the patience.  If you were to ask around I’m sure you would find that most mom’s don’t feel they have limitless patience.  Anything can try your patience if it happens repeatedly and trust me, homeschooling your child can test, stretch and challenge you.  But where’s that verse again? Oh yes, Phillipans 4:13

 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13

3. What if you feel you cannot be consistent?  Take a look at the schedule you have going with your family.  How many days of the week are you home?  Do you need to cut back and say, “No” to some extracurricular activities?

In order to homeschool, you will need to be available to actually do just that.

Also look over your school schedule.  Maybe you need to trim things back a little so that the schedule you have set before you each day does not daunt you and cause you to avoid it.

4. And then there are mom’s who really have no interest in homeschooling because they would rather spend time on their own interests/hobbies. I can’t say that if you homeschool you will have lots of time to pursue your interests but I can tell you that if you get your kids in a routine, you will have more free time than if you are constantly having to remind them or following up on what they have and are doing.

It’s very similar to child training.  In the beginning it can take the majority of your time as you teach your child proper behavior but after you have taught them what behavior is acceptable or not, you make for yourself much more pleasant days and your time spent correcting those behaviors is less.

Some Suggestions for the Homeschooling Mother Who Really Would Like to Quit

Remember we have all felt like giving up at some point.  Homeschooling is not always easy but remember why you started in the beginning.  Write it out (when you’re feeling positive) and during those time of stress go back to that written statement and reread it.

Build some quiet time into your day where the children do not interrupt you. During their quiet time, they can read or draw while they are in their rooms but they are not to interrupt you. Use that time to recharge.

Be sure your schedule is doable and not overcrowded with too many outings.

Read Dr. Raymond Moore’s books.  Dr. Moore was a firm believer in not pushing children in the early years.  He and his wife had tremendous wisdom in regards to homeschooling and even the rearing of children.  They have both passed on but their educational philosophy is still gold.  Reading their books will help you realize that homeschooling does not have to be the following of textbooks nor a mini public school.

Go to a good homeschool convention.  Ours here in Arizona is tremendous.  If you must choose between going to the curriculum hall and hearing the speakers, I suggest skipping the curriculum hall.  Many of the early homeschoolers, before there was such a plethora of homeschooling curriculum, had only their library to depend upon for good books and the student didn’t seem to suffer. Again, read Dr. Moore’s books if you’re feeling unsure of yourself and if you feel the education you’re giving your child is not up to par.

Listen to or read books from motivating speakers on the subject of homeschooling and parenting.

Ask God for patience, wisdom and strength for the journey.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:19

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man… Ephesians 3:16

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9

Press on!

Be a Winston Churchill.

“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense”

Our homeschool journey.

As we plan, work, cry, learn and journey together, sometimes it seems as if it will go on forever but it really doesn’t.  It’s just a few short years we have with these children who are God’s own special delight – a blessing He in His infinite wisdom sends us.

I’m a flawed woman. So many flaws.  But He says, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” And that’s what I hold onto.  His Word and what He say’s about me.  Not what I see but what He says and believes about me.

I have made it through all these years of homeschooling because He says that, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

It wasn’t always easy. I’ve cried, been discouraged and yes, even angry when things were not going like I thought they should. But whose life ever stays in its well-ordered rut and never gets jostled about occasionally?

So here I am again getting ready to graduate my third son from high school and the reflection, as I start to gather pictures for a slide show, begins. The years have went by so quickly.

I look into his special memories box and I see an old, torn and tattered phonics book. A book filled in with the awkward handwriting of a 7 year old. A boy just learning to read and now a boy that can never stop reading.

Have I done him justice, dear God? Have I taught him the ways of the Lord like Hannah did Samuel?  Have I shown him the same grace that God in his great mercy extended to me?

I feel like maybe I haven’t done enough.  But then, I have never been enough.  He alone is enough. My trust is in Him.

“For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth.” Psalm 71:5

If you’re in the middle of your own homeschooling journey or just beginning, enjoy the moments for they are here today and gone tomorrow. Treasure the everyday.

Whether we are able to articulate it or not we are all operating from some premise of thought of what we think education for our children should look like.

The decisions we make about their schooling move us along in that vision.

As you may know, I love the writings of Charlotte Mason, an 18th century educator who had an incredible understanding and appreciation of children.  Many of her thoughts you will find mingled with my writing but I would encourage you to read her books for yourself.

The scope of the various types of education people can give their child is too large for me to write about here in this post.  There are many thoughts and ideas out there.  The main category that most people fall into is that of Traditional Education.

What does a Traditional Education look like?  A Traditional Education typically involves school desks, textbooks, and graded tests. There is usually no varying off-course since the books must be finished by a certain time. If the family goes on vacation, there’s the catching up one has to do, if the child has an interest besides what’s presented to them, there’s not much room for changing directions.  The books have to be done!  It is as if all decisions become not ours but the choice of the curriculum publisher.

 

 

 

 

“If we send to any publisher for his catalogue of school books, we find that it is accepted as the nature of a school-book that it be drained dry of living though.  It may bear the name of a thinker, but then it is the abridgment of an abridgment, and all that is left for the unhappy scholar is the dry bones of his subject denuded of soft flesh and living color, of the stir of life and power of moving.  Nothing is left but what Oliver Wendell Holmes call the ‘mere brute fact.’” CM

What Kinds of Books Do You Read?

Let me ask you.  When you choose to read a book is one of your first choices a children’s or adult textbook?  Are they what you search out when you go to garage sales, library sales or wherever else you might find them?

I would guess “No” for 100% of you.  What you do choose to read are books that excite you, that stir the imagination, that engage you. Now the type of book you read in this area may be considered twaddle but that discussion is not for now.   The point is you probably do not pick up a textbook to read either for learning or pleasure.

Why then do we think this is the best way for our children to learn?

What is your goal in your children’s education? What vision do you have for what they should be like when they have finished their 12 years of schooling?  Why do we educate our children anyways?

“It cannot be too often said that information is not education.  You may answer an examination question about the position of the Seychelles and the Comoro Islands without having been anywise nourished by the fact of these island groups existing in such and such latitudes and longitudes; but if you follow Bullen in The Cruise of the Cachelot the names excite that little mental stir which indicates the reception of real knowledge.” CM

I know none of us probably would desire to have our children read their history, their science book, et cetera and then forget it just as quickly.  We want them to be engaged or to engage with what they’re reading.

“Education is the Science of Relations…” “…we must train him upon physical exercise, nature handicrafts, science and art, and upon many living books; for we know that our business is, not to teach him all about anything, but to help make valid, as many as may be of ‘Those first born affinities, that fit our new existence to existing things.’” CM

In other words we cannot and do not need to teach our children everything there is to know about everything, but we want to inspire them and help them to be interested in the world around them.

“The question is not, –how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education—but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care?” CM

If we know that the dry textbooks of today and the system of learning that is in place in most schools do not work to engage the children in their learning, why do we not stop and consider change?

If something’s broke why do we keep using it?