This is our homeschooling page. Maybe you wonder why do we homeschool? Maybe you wonder what materials we use. Maybe you're curious as to which method we subscribe. Perhaps you just wonder if we're crazy and if we are the only radical people out there teaching our kids at home? If you wonder these things and more, this page was created with you in mind. This will hopefully answer each question and more. Perhaps it will ease your doubts. Perhaps it will educate you. Perhaps, just perhaps, it will inspire you...
Why do we Home school?
There is no better education than the education a parent is able to provide at home. Wow! That's a pretty hefty statement. Perhaps I am overconfident. Or, just maybe, I've read something you haven't! See my links page for the corresponding article. There are 1.6 - 2.0 MILLION kids being home schooled right now. In the next couple of years, that figure is expected to grow to over 2.5 million. The average home schooled child is 1-4 grades above his public and private schooled peers. Please peek at the article. Most of these amazing moms do not have a college degree. They are on limited funds FAR less than the public or private school budgets. And yet, they are surpassing the test scores of public AND private schools with absolutely astounding numbers and this is a RECENT study! Is it the fault of the teachers? Hardly. There is no other time in history when teachers have been prevailed upon to teach so much to so many. Once upon a time they had just as many students... However, they were able to concentrate on TEACHING rather than administrative and disciplinary actions. The average classroom is approximately 25 students per teacher and climbing in some states. In the days of old, children were well disciplined by their parents. They came into a classroom ready to learn... Many did not have the discipline issues they have now. Most came from stable, two parent homes. These days teachers have to spend a large portion of their time on disciplinary and administrative duties. Despite their time being more precious, they are actually expected to teach MORE, not less. How crazy is that? Once upon a time, teachers taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and history. These days, teachers have to teach about political correctness, tolerance, feelings, hygiene, sex education, and more! Oh, and they are supposed to teach the three R's, but really, who has time? Yet, politicians are quick to blame our teachers. If it's not the teachers' faults, then who? Surely it is the condition of our school buildings! Ya'all, kids can learn in a cardboard box. I wholeheartedly agree that our schools are in a deplorable state, however, changing the building without changing the underlying issues is going to spend a lot of money and change nothing. The fault lies squarely on the parents and administrators. We need to go back to only teaching the basics SOLIDLY. Let Mom and Dad handle how to brush your teeth. And, in all honesty, I do NOT want my daughter learning about "safe sex" in the public school system. yes, Mothers, your children are learning to put condoms on bananas in one of the Iowa School Districts in High School. Does that make you proud? The schools can only work with that which they are given. Don't blame them for not succeeding where parents have previously failed or refuse to take responsibility.
We, and many others, stand strong on the claim that home school is the best school. Public or private schools cannot compete with our small class size, our individualized curriculum, our limitless time frame, our ability to cull students. They cannot discipline nor disciple. They cannot pray with their students. They cannot tailor a class to a student who is falling behind or gifted. Schools are not parents. Yes, schools have been around for 100 or so years. But, how do you think they educated their children even BEFORE that? America was never intended to have a public school system as it does now.
What Materials Do We Use? What method do we follow?
We choose our materials based upon the methods we believe. Our little home school would best be described as Classical Eclectic with a Charlotte Mason twist. WHAT?! That may not make much sense! So, before I get to what materials we are using this year, and have used in the past, let me explain what Charlotte Mason, Eclectic, and Classical Methods mean.
Charlotte Mason Method - from Ambleside (see Links)
Charlotte Mason was an unmarried English school teacher. She spent her entire life "for the children's sakes". She lived almost her entire life in Ambleside, England. She believed that children need to read "living books", not "twaddle", so to speak. She believed that Quality is always to be chosen over Quantity. She believed that the knowledge of God, as found in the Bible, is the primary knowledge and the most important. She believed in little children reading and hearing REAL literature. This is why you'll see Shakespeare (for children) on Briana's reading list.
Classical Education - from The Well Trained Mind (see Links)
Classical education is ancient education. It depends on a three-part training of the mind. Children go through the "grammar" stage, the "logic" stage, and the "rhetoric" stage. Children naturally pass through these stages... The Classical Education model simply takes advantage of the child's developmental phase! Classical education teaches to each of these stages. It is language focused and trains the mind to THINK... a novel idea in this period of time. Classical education is relevant even at Briana's young age. Teaching during the "grammar" stage gives her the resources, the language, to draw upon in later stages. Classical education is probably the most rigorous of home schooling methods. Classical education teaches appreciation of the arts, Latin, memorization, recitation, narration... these beyond the basic reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Eclectic Education - from the Eclectic Homeschooling on the Web (see Links)
Eclectic, by definition, means "selecting and using that which seems best from various sources, systems, or schools of thought." Beverly Krueger asks, "When you pick out a box of candy, do you prefer the assorted ones?" If you answer yes, then you can see how eclectic home schooling works. I've studied different methods. Some, like unschooling, are just *not* for us! However, I've found bits and pieces of different curriculums, books, and schools of thought that are very attractive. We incorporate what best fits our family, my teaching style, and Briana's learning style.
For Our Family
We get the best of all worlds. We are able to achieve that which no schoolroom ever could. Briana's curriculum is formulated just for her. This is why she excels. I do believe she is gifted, what mother doesn't believe her child is extraordinary? However, I believe that she does well in school because we are able to teach things in a way she is able to absorb. There are many, many different learning styles. In Kindergarten we attempted to use Saxon Math... I hated it. In First Grade, we attempted English for the Thoughtful Child, we both disliked it. We are learning our styles. School is enjoyable. Why is this important? School is learning...or at least it should be. It should not be the quick memorization of facts, just long enough to pass a test. It should not be forgotten a moment after it is used. Learning is a lifestyle. I want Briana, Christian, and Elizabeth to be lifelong learners. I want them to love and enjoy learning. I want them to ache to read a new book, or just to find comfort in an old one.
Let's get off track for a second. What if you have a special needs child? What if your child doesn't learn easily? Well, I can say this. Perhaps homeschooling is not for you. However, the classroom cannot easily modify its' pace to fit all students. The classroom must fit the majority of the students. Unfortunately, that usually bores the gifted children and leaves the children with delayed learning capabilities behind. Dobson has a great chapter in his book, Dare to Discipline. He discusses how often little boys are a bit slow to mature. However, rather than being given an extra year or two, they are pushed forward because of age level, rather than ability level. So, Little John is just not quite ready when Teacher goes over phonics in school. Oh, he can definitely learn. It just takes a little longer. It takes a little more repetition. It takes some more one on one time. Unfortunately, the teacher moves along just when Johnny thinks he's getting it... oops. They are moving onto the next concept before he has mastered or achieved the first. He is continually left behind, until he cannot even try to keep up. Oftentimes, he gives up and becomes apathetic or a discipline problem. He is made fun of by the other children because he is "different". He is in the slow reading group. He's labeled a dummy. And who believes that most? Johnny. Could Johnny have succeeded? He may never have been in the top 10% of his class, but yes, he probably could have. He'd need a lot of one on one time. He'd need special curriculum to match his learning style. He'd need a classroom that goes at his pace. That cannot be accomplished in a classroom of 25 children. It just can't. It makes me sad. The teachers are not failing Johnny. They just can't do it all.
Then, of course, have you ever been in a confined room with a five year old little boy? How about for eight hours? They just weren't meant to sit still like that! Little boys are the most amazing creatures. They are balls of energy that bounce from wall to wall at astronomical speeds. A typical classroom is not the place for an active, curious little boy!
Now, back to our original topic, lol! Curriculum! I've looked over this last year and we have carefully chosen the curriculum for next year. I wish I had specific goals for Briana. It's so simple to just follow the Public School's scope and sequence. However, it just isn't for us. I want Briana to have a love of books that simply fills her to the top with an appreciation for words. I want her to seek that one perfectly chosen word for her writing piece. I want her to know the value of the written word. I want her spaces filled with books and her time filled with words. Those are my goals. Yes, I have others. However, if she is a lover of books my secondary goals will have been accomplished. Secondary? Ah, yes, secondary. My primary goal for my children is to know and love God. I want them to seek His perfect will and His all encompassing love throughout their lives. I want them to yearn for His will in their lives more than their own. I'd like to see them follow the path He has set out for them no matter how long, nor how winding the road. If my children know and love the Lord, my life goals both for myself and for them will have been accomplished.
Well, this is all well and good, but how does one actually accomplish this?
This is my list of "curriculum". This is what we've decided will work for us. I'd recommend taking a peek. There is a chance you will like what you see! I have supplied links to all my curriculum so that you may purchase or just poke about researching.
Bible - We are using the Bible of course! We read from Catherine Vos' The Children's Story Bible at night. Briana and Christian both enjoy the story format. It is my intention to purchase a King James Version of the Bible. It is said that it is intellectually stimulating for children to absorb the thicker language of the KJV. Perhaps if she grows accustomed to the language she will not fight owning one as I have for the past three years. We will continue to do scripture memorization both through AWANAS and on our own. We are excited to have Keepers of the Faith for Briana to work on for the next several years. I hope that she strives to be a Titus 2 woman all her life. It is my duty to give her those skills which she will need to fulfill her obligations as a godly young woman. For Christian and for Briana, we will begin soon studying for Instructions in Righteousness. It is intended to guide children on the principles of righteous living. It helps them to see the value in living a life that is pleasing to God. We will also be listening to The Sugar Creek Gang and Adventures in Odyssey tapes for fun. That which they do not pick up in direct teaching can hopefully be absorbed by osmosis from the air around them! We are also incorporating The Pilgrims Progress into our read aloud time. I've not ever read this book, so it should be quite a treat!
Arithmetic - Rod and Staff Arithmetic 2 and 3 - We found this last year. It is is simple and straight forward. It has plenty of drill and memorization. We've begun Book 2 and Briana is doing well. Rather than experiment, we are sticking with that which works!
Language Arts - First Language Lessons by Susan Wise Bauer. This has taken a lot of thought. I still love LLATL, but really feel that it was more of a "complete" language arts system. I, instead, decided I wanted a book that would be highly intense on just grammar. I am covering the other language arts through very strong programs. I feel that FLL is one of the most sound second grade grammar curriculums out there. It works on principles of memorization which is very important to me. An update: Having worked with it for ten weeks now, I can honestly say, I'm thrilled! It is an amazing book. Briana has memorized her lists of linking and helping verbs with amazing ease because they are set to chants. There is very little written work, and they have introduced dictation already. I can't imagine a more thorough, enjoyable, grammar book. We'll begin Rod & Staff Grammar 3 next year! Oooh, diagramming!
Writing - Briana is just learning cursive. I hadn't intended on teaching cursive this year, but she's begged. She's very excited and her enthusiasm has definitely shown in her work. I'm not using curriculum.. for goodness' sakes, I've been writing in cursive since I was in second grade! She'll be doing copywork in cursive from various literature sources. Any of E.B. White's books provides fantastic sentences for copywork. She will be doing dictation in manuscript.
History - What are we using this year? Wow, that was the big question wasn't it? I've switched curriculums a couple of times. Originally, I intended on writing my own curriculum using only living books. However, considering our life and all of our children, the time needed to write my own curriculum... well, being honest, it just wasn't going to happen! So, I broke down. I bought Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World and Activity Guide. I do so love it. The activities are not weak or dumbed down. Briana was thrilled when she found out I was buying it again this year. That's a good sign I suppose. I'm intending on supplementing with real, live books! We've bought Castle and Cathedral by David Macauley. We've bought several historical fiction books that take place in the Middle Ages and will read them in order of historical time. We are intending on reading children's versions of Shakespeare, Beowulf, Pilgrim's Progress, and more. We also found a rather novel website... The Homeschool Source is offering a lending library. They have a plethora of old, historical, living books. I'm eagerly anticipating the arrival of G.A. Henty books, Living Principles audio cassettes, D'Aulaire books, and more! We are going to learn history by living it through books... not by reading stale, dry textbooks. She will be doing narration and notebook pages throughout the reading of all materials.
We are not scheduled to do American History for a while. However, Briana is in love with American History lately. We have copies of the Living Principles of America series. They are unbelievable dramatizations from history. There are thirty-six tapes and we will work our way through each several times, I'm sure!
Geography - We study and color maps that are time period correct. Since studying Ancient Egypt, Bri can tell you that Mesopotamia was situated between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. She has memorized the location of the fifty US States on her own... with some bribery from Mom! We have purchased Twin Sister's Capitals memorization tape and she'll do that at her own pace. I'd only recommend these things at the child's interest. Briana chose to learn these things. This is why you allow them to have the option of a nap, reading, or GeoSafari! What child would ever pick a nap? Briana's GeoSafari was a gift from her last birthday. It is so neat! It is not flashy. It doesn't talk or read. It is not animated. This is probably why I like it so much. It was originally created to help children study for the National Geography Bee. Well, it has worked beautifully for us! One word of caution, buy it on Ebay. Used GeoSafaris are a fraction of the cost of new.
Science - We've ordered Living Learning Books again. As with history, I really wanted to write my own curriculum. This is the next best thing. We will be using LLB - Earth Sciences, level two. They have all of the experiments, activities, coloring pages, etc. in their study guide much like Story of the World. They are also linked to Classical Education methodology. We have bought several books with amazing pictures to help round out our science program. They are not children's books, but are adult books bought through the Discovery Channel. The pictures will add so much to our curriculum.
Feel free to peek through my science links!
Latin - We are not following a set curriculum for Latin. She is at the introduction stage. We are simply memorizing Latin and Greek roots through a game called Rummy Roots. It is so neat! The Pre-Roots game is similar to Go Fish. She loves it! Next year I am leaning towards Prima Latina... but we'll see. I have more research to do and who knows what will come out in one year's time.
Music - Those of you who know us well, know that Briana received a keyboard for her birthday. She is in the process of taking lessons... from Mom. This should be a hoot as I've not played a day in my life. Maybe I'll learn to play too! She is also learning about the great composers. We listen to Classical music several times a day... often because she puts it in. Her favorite is Bach, however, she's developed a taste for Beethoven as she knows it drives me nuts. We also adore our tapes and cds from Classical Kids. These are fictionalized biographies from composers' lives. They also include excerpts of their compositions.
Art - Briana has shown a talent for drawing. It is altogether possible that I am biased a bit. We are simply supplying her with needed materials right now. I cannot tell you how lovely Prismacolor pencils are. Every child who enjoys to draw should own these! They are absolutely brilliant in color and a joy to draw with. Again, buy them from Ebay... they are simply too expensive to pay full price. We've bought two of the Draw Write Now books. We are hoping she will enjoy studying the "How To" lessons in these simple books. We are also looking at purchasing Drawing with Children. Art fascinates her. Although, I could care less (my artwork is pathetic) it is important to her.
Our Read Aloud List
The Pilgrim's Progress - A Dangerous Journey
Child's Garden of Verses
Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Blue Fairy Book
Children's Book of Virtues
Children's Book of Family and Home
Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
When We Were Young
Now We are Six
Beowulf
A Midwife's Apprentice
Catherine Called Birdy
Tales of King Arthur
So are we crazy? Maybe. Or maybe we're just crazy parents who want to see our babies not grow up so fast in a world that runs a million miles per hour. Maybe we believe that it's okay for them to be little kids for a while rather than miniature adults. Maybe we think it is just too much for a child to attend eight hours of school, come home and do two hours of homework, and only have an hour or two to spend with Mom and Dad. Maybe we beleive that the Bible is true. Just maybe these children are ours to train up... not the responsibility of society or the schools. Many people say that the thing wrong with kids is that there is no prayer in schools. We say they are WRONG! The problem is not no prayer in schools, it's no prayer at HOME. Why do we expect teachers to teach our kids morals? Why should they teach principles? Why should they teach sex education? If the schools and the government teach everything, just what exactly are the parents' responsibilities? Are we only to produce children en masse and turn them over for others to raise? People say, "Well, what about socialization?" I've heard this said once, and I cannot tell you who said it. It was said that she was more concerned about vertical socialization than horizontal socialization. She wanted her children to be able to socialize with young children, adults, and seniors. She couldn't care less if her child was only capable of socializing well with thirty other seven year olds. How true is that? Do we really want our daughter spending fifty hours per week with kids of only her own age? What positive things about life could she possible absorb from them?
Do the Math! We have twenty four hours in a day. In that day a child is in school eight hours. They sleep approximately ten hours. The commute probably adds up to approximately an hour. This leaves you with six hours. Dinner is an hour. Homework is an hour. If you work, you probably arrive home two hours after them. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you have two solid hours to spend with your child every single night. This would be no outside commitments, no television, no phone calls, etc. Does that really happen? Who do we really expect to influence our kids? Society has them for at least ten hours per day... IF you don't let television or the media invade your home. We have their undivided attention for two hours.
We are constantly defending our reasons for home schooling. It is a never ending battle. We defend home schooling to family, friends, doctors, and strangers in the grocery store. We have to be prepared with statistics, facts, and trivia. We have to prove to the world that we can measure up to the public school system. We are attacked for lack of socialization, lack of ability, lack of materials, lack of knowledge, lack of expertise, lack of college diploma, and so on and so forth.
I love to discuss home schooling. However, if you insist on feeling the need to attack home schooling, please refrain from the conversation. I'm exhausted from the constant defense. Honestly, I'm getting a little touchy about being attacked by people who know little or nothing about home schooling and yet feel the need to criticize our informed decision. If you are genuinely interested, please, ask away. If you do feel the need to "debate", please refrain. And if you insist, be prepared to defend *your* decision to take the side of a system that cannot educate children. Defend a system that cannot protect children. Defend a system that spends millions of dollars and yet we fail miserably when compared with every industrialized nation and many third world countries.
Please *do* ask me questions about home schooling. Please show a genuine interest in our hard work and efforts. However, please show respect for our wise decision to home educate our little family. Above all, no matter whether you homeschool or public school, walk with your children. Get to really know them. Don't just respond to them... really get to know them. They're actually whole people, with personalities and opinions. They have thoughts, feelings, loves just like a grown-up... but in a littler body. They are truly amazing. Love them, laugh with them, encourage them, teach them, disciple them, be with them. Don't debate quantity time over quality time... BOTH are important. When you are doing something, THINK! Is there something better you could be doing? Are you watching a tv show when you could be playing a game with your child? Are you doing something "more important" than reading a book to one of your children? Are you just "too busy" to take a second to listen to his needs, wants, or dreams? We're all guilty of it. However, we also need to hold ourselves accountable. There will never be anything more important in your lives than your children and what you take the time to teach them... or what you don't teach them.
Love your children. Love is not just an emotion. It's an action.
