Category: homeschool

In the paper this morning are a couple of articles regarding some parental opposition to occurrences in their local public school.  One article talks about parental involvement after a grade 5 teacher posted a rainbow ally sign in his classroom, signifying that the classroom is a safe haven to all students, including those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered. The second article, written about another public school here, caught my attention with this headline: “Mom Banned After Battle With School”.  It explains how a some parents have grouped together, going to the school trustees with the demand that the principal be removed.  There are allegations of bullying among student, sexually inappropriate incidents among students, lack of communication between parents & teachers and more.  There have been some internal discussions, but the only action taken seems to be banning a vocal parent from school grounds. 

I don’t mention either scenario to give an opinion on who’s right or who’s wrong.  Regardless, I found both of these articles very disturbing…and very motivating.  Disturbing because unless a parent is actually there, on site during the school hours, no one can fairly assess what’s going on.  People, both old and young, tend to have a funny way of relaying stories; with details twisted often in their favour, never mind how it may look or sound from another perspective.  Yet, I have to wonder how these arguing adults affect the students.  Will these students’ grades improve or decline because of the warring adults?  Is a child motivated to pick a career based on the examples set by these adults?  Do all students have proper supplies and a warm, filled tummies as a result of these scenarios?

Yet, these two scenarios are motivating to a homeschooling family.  I am with my young, impressionable children during their school hours.  I’m able to monitor what they’re exposed to and when, giving answers and explanations that are age-appropriate when they’re ready.  There aren’t any other families waiting with baited breath, watching for the moment I mess up.  No one is sitting in the shadows, with their running shoes on, ready to run to a higher authority to report my actions.  There is no fighting happening on the sidelines, distracting them from learning. 

Homeschooling: a great consumer of time.  I had no clue when I first started that my time would be distributed differently, yet again.  No one told me about this issue.  So, let me be sure to share it with you.

There was mention in numerous places that homeschooling kindergarten doesn’t need to take long.  Maybe a couple hours each day.  Enough to cover the basics–math, reading, writing.  Depending on the child, you could use more or less time.  And there’s a bit of time that goes into lesson planning, which varies with your curriculum choices.  That time usage was expected.  I’m talking about the time that’s left over in the day for the rest of life.  Or rather, what’s no longer left over.

I choose to sit with my daughter for the bulk of her lesson time.  She struggles a bit with starting immediately.  I don’t mean rushing through assignments.  Just that I’ll point out something for her to do, and then she usually focuses her attention elsewhere until I get after her enough times.  How many times does a girl need to drop her pencil off the table and work to acrobatically pick it up off the floor?  So, what I planned to only spend a short time doing takes double the amount with her antics.

By the time schooling is done, it’s lunch time.  Then come the big dilemmas–do I cook dinner or do I play with the kids?  Is there time to actually scrub the powder room baseboards or do I stick with my regular clean up?  Oh, is there time for me to grab a quick bite to eat?  What can fit on the back burner for bit and what needs my immediate attention?  Do I work endlessly from the moment I awake to the moment I collapse in bed or is it okay to take a mental break here and there during the day?

The trials and errors never stop during the homeschooling adventure.  The kids do help with some chores, but they also needs lots of fun time still.  They’re kids– I want them to enjoy this stage of life as they learn while growing.  I realize that this is only temporary.  My time won’t always be needed in this way forever.  As the girls grow and mature, they’ll soon be able to do their lessons more independently and I’ll be using my time differently, yet again.

I need to remember to make the most of what I have today.  Tomorrow is not guaranteed and I refuse to put regrets on the back burner for later.

Dutch Blitz as a math lesson?!  Yes–what a blast!  This is part of the joys of homeschooling.  There is room for creativity.

If you’re unfamiliar with Dutch Blitz, it’s a fast-moving card game where players make piles of cards in ascending order from 1-10.  It also requires you to be alert, watching not only what’s in your own piles to play, but what to add to the general game area as well.  In other words, it’s a fantastic brain workout too.

Jamayia knows her numbers and is very comfortable with their order.  She had watched the adults play this game at a family dinner recently, so she had a simple understanding of what should happen.  We went slow.  I helped her out a wee bit and she actually won both rounds.

It was neat to watch her little hands and eyes and mind at work.  Each time she’d flip over a card in her “wood pile”, she’s scan the “dutch piles” to see if there was a place for that card.  If not, she’d flip again and again until she found a card.  At the end, of the round, she would help sort out the cards and then she counted her own cards for scoring.

This girl loves math.  I’m trying to show her that math is used regularly, as a part of everyday life.  Playing games, cooking, telling time, and just about anything you can think of.

I’m aware that math won’t always be so enjoyable and that difficult concepts are looming in the future with algebra, trigonometry and the like.  My hope is that she’ll always remember the fun and the usefulness of math, so that these pleasant memories carry her through the rougher times.

Did I mention that homeschooling is good for the teacher too?  Not only is my young student learning, but so am I.  Let me tell you a little secret.  Ready?

I don’t know everything.  

In fact, there’s a lot of things I don’t remember.  I don’t remember the moment I first learned how to read or any of the tricks I was taught myself.  I don’t remember how basic math concepts stuck or how I started speaking french rather fluently in Kindergarten.  (I was a French immersion student.) And sometimes these forgotten memories are a good thing.  It means that my children get a fresh slate as I teach them.  I don’t find myself saying “well, I did it this way, so you must…” 

One of the biggest topics you learn is your child.  Yes, you’ve studied them quite well from the pre-natal days.  As they’ve grown day by day, you learn even more.  Yet, there’s another aspect to the learning path when you’re now involved in their academic learning.  As a teacher-parent, you’re now stretched as you look for ways to try and teach them new concepts.  Not just so they’ll complete worksheets and pass the grade level, but so that the concepts actually stick with them for life.

Now to figure out how to squeeze in a few lessons during our Christmas break.  The best part is that we’ll leave all books closed and get creative with whiteboards and counting and reading.  Things that she’ll remember and not begrudge.

We’re about 3 months into our first homeschooling experience.  How’s it going?

It’s good.  Really.  Honestly.  It’s going well.  And I’m not just saying it.

The people around us have been quite supportive.  Everyone from family to friends to our embracing internet “family”.  Friends, who are also parents, are asking me for my experience.  I’m excited to share with them and give them realistic encouragement.

Kindergarten is a good age and great school year to begin with.  When we first started, I worried that I’d mess up my child for life.  That she would be behind other non-homeschooled kids and consequently, treated as an outcast.  Fearful of making mistakes, I did some careful research.  Even after the year began, I continued browsing reviews, reading up on what amount of academics other seasoned homeschoolers were doing. 

It can be a double-edged sword sometimes.  In this day & age, having internet access and the feedback of the world right at your fingertips can be both a blessing and a setback.  When you’re wondering if what you’re feeling at a precise moment of your day is imaginary or not, the encouragement you find online is wonderful.  In fact, sometimes it’s overwhelming.  There is at least one other mom, another family who are going through or who have just come through the exact same situation.  They encourage without belittling.  It’s just enough motivation to continue. 

Yet, if you’re wondering if you’re doing enough, being creative enough, sometimes the internet world can get you discouraged.  If you don’t have any extra cash, or are lacking in artistic creativity, you can feel overwhelmed.  There are some super creative people out there, who seem to exude and exalt homeschooling to a special art form.  (Thank you kindly to those of you who so generously share your printables with the rest of us.  God bless you all!)  You can suddenly feel underwhelmed.  But don’t get stuck there.

Realize that you’re only responsible to your own family.  You maintain creative control.  You don’t need a lot of extras in order to teach your children.  Get to know your child and work from there.  When you see all those great-looking ideas, start thinking of ways to put your own spin on it.  Make it work for you.  Your child doesn’t know what’s fancy or not until you introduce it to them in your home.

When the school year first started, I was so nervous and worried that I acted like this Kindergarten year was an experiment.  I actually said, to other people, that this year is a safe one to attempt homeschooling.  If it doesn’t work out, then they shouldn’t be scarred for life. 

Dumb move on my part!  Talk about a motivation killer.

I’m now speaking positively from the get go.  Rather than assume bad, negative things, I presume and hope that things will go well and I am planning to continue next year as my young student head’s into Grade 1. 

We’re just under 2 months into the school year.  How’s it going?  It’s going well.  We’re enjoying it and this decision to homeschool is working out quite nicely for our family. 

In my newness, what hints can I share?

Start small.  If you’re able to, start with Kindergarten.  It’s a great way to ease into homeschooling.  Your child, at that level, only needs to start with the basics:  reading, writing, basic math concepts.  You can do more, but don’t stress out yourself or your child.  They pick up and retain info quite rapidly.  You will find homeschooling families where the young children seem to be able to recite the periodic table of elements.  If it works for them–great!  Bravo. 

But you’re not them.  Do what works best for you and your child/children. 

Turn every opportunity into a lesson.  This is the beauty of homeschooling–every moment is a teaching moment.  Not a high-pressure moment where you shove as much info into their brains as possible and quiz them after a cram session.  Follow your child’s cues.  When they ask questions (and you know they ask a gazillion in a day), don’t just give the short “yes” or “no” quick responses.  Think about their questions and see if there’s a piece of info that you can attach to your answer. 

A simple example:

“Mommy, can I have some fruit?”
“Sure.  Let’s wash it first though.”
“Why do we wash fruit?”
“Because it’s dirty.”
“From what?”
“It just is.”

What info was passed on here?  That fruit needs to be washed.  But, why?  Because Mommy said so.  That’s not the most valid of reasons.  Here’s an alternative example below:

“Mommy, can I have some fruit?”
“Sure.  Let’s wash it first though.”
“Why do we wash fruit?”
“Because the outside of the fruit is dirty.  It grew outside on a tree/plant/underground, under the open sky.  Then it was picked and handled.  In the store, they often spray to keep it moist/fresh.  Also, many people touch fruit to see how hard or soft it is, before buying, just like Mommy does.  Fruit has lots of germs on the outside.  So, we want to wash that off before we eat it.”
“Oh.  We wash off all the germs so that we don’t get sick, right Mommy?”
“That’s right.”

What info was passed on here?  That fruit needs to be washed.  We learned why and how we’re affected by washing or not washing.  We’ve also introduced basic hygiene among other lessons that we taught in that explanation.

Don’t underestimate yourself.  If you’re a Christian–prayer is key to your homeschooling experience.  I know that left up to me, I’d be floundering though every day.  However, I’ve asked God to lead and He always steps up and leads the way.

Enjoy!