Blog of the day

Alison really hit the hammer on the nail today with her blog post that answers the question alot of homeschoolers get from non-homeschoolers. Everything that is hard won is so worth it! ;)

One Mom's Thoughts on Homeschooling...

Brenda over at The Family Revised has posted one of the SWEETEST blog posts I have seen on homeschooling in a while. We all have our own reasons for homeschooling. I know that many look at us and think, WHY, but it is so hard to express it at times.

I love how close I am to my children. Now, when you say this, other moms get in a hussy. They think that by saying this that you think they are not close to their children. But what I mean by this is that in my life I find that I am closer to MY own children because of homeschooling. I am closer to them in a way I wouldn't be IF I sent them to school somewhere else. I know how they learn best, I don't need someone else to tell me how to get them reading better, I already know what works based on my time with them. I have bombed in the things that didn't work, and I have rejoiced at the read alouds that make us laugh and cry as we snuggle on the couch.

I know what they are learning. I don't have to ask the teacher or the child! I will never forget riding with a friend to pick up her child at school (she now homeschools) and she asked the child what he did that day. He shrugged his cute little shoulders and went on. This drove her nuts! And rightly so! My children and I spend the day learning together. I aid them in finding the answers and we are amazed at those answers when we find them. It is so FUN!

And just like Brenda I love that we can bring God into our school as we please. I love that my children know what I believe and believe me something comes up about once a day that shows my convictions or reaffirms a character trait I want to instill in them. This does not mean that I think my mama friends with children in school are missing this with their children. I just mean that I think to myself at 11am during history lessons and a BIG God moment in that lesson, that had they been in school with some other person, learning something else that I wouldn't hear about, that WE wouldn't have had that WOW moment together. I was there! We grew closer in that moment. I saw the understanding in their eyes. I saw the worldview grow within them. I saw the history become real to them.

I hate being on someone else's time schedule. My husband and I both have skills that can earn us a living that do not fit into a "normal" work day schedule. And while some may think you need to be on the 9-5 work schedule in school to be able to be on such a work schedule later, I have to disagree. Who knows what my children will do and they will have college to zap them into shape, they will have to be on time to get that degree. I think the key for my family is that my children are learning responsibility for self. That to reach a certain goal, they must meet the requirements, and work to do it in a timely manner. And if they need money and they work at Walmart one day, they WILL work in a timely manner in the time lot provided or LOSE THE JOB. But the neat thing about homeschooling is that it helps to make a more self-disciplined person. My children have learned very quickly that they must keep to it in order to get to the end. I keep them on task to a certain extent, but much of the time I leave them to complete something with their own steam. But again...this is one of those homeschool moments that one has to SEE to understand what I mean. HEE HEE. I must also say that the more I back away and watch, the more responsibility they take on their own. When I was right over them and making them stay on task each second of the day, the more they needed me. ;)

My children have been very blessed with being able to read something and understand it. They have a few things they run into that requires more focus and brain power, but they just practice, and they get it. They aren't afraid of it. They just feel they are able to figure it out at some point. They don't stress! I don't have letters coming to my house that tell me that my child will not learn what they need at that moment. The learning is not stressful. What this has done for them is neat to watch. Remy had issues with something in math. What we were doing was not working. I brain stormed and I gave him the things I knew would help him to help himself. He used the tools and after 2 days of schooling in this matter for about 10 minutes each time he had it conquered and we moved on to the next new concept. This technique has my children working on and above grade level. The lack of stress to learn something combined with the different tools to meet their different learning styles has made them a success. It is just so darned neat.

I just really love homeschooling. And I guess it takes living this life of learning with your children to grasp it, really. I also see children in school that I love and adore and they have parents that make sure the school is working for them. I see that. But I also see the things I have been able to make better for my children with homeschooling.

What a blessing the whole thing is to our family. :)

What Homeschooling Does for the Parent

I read this in the Home Education Magazine, which was published in the May-June 2009 issue, and the authors are Larry and Susan Kaseman. It really stayed with me as it is something I TRY to get across to those who ask me about homeschooling, but I fail to convey. ;) Enjoy.

"Hanging On to What Makes Homeschooling Distinctive"

As homeschoolers, we are part of a small minority that is, in a sense, in direct competition with conventional schooling, one of the largest, most powerful, and most pervasive institutions in our society. There are fundamental differences between homeschooling and conventional schooling. If we want to be able to take responsibility for our lives and homeschool in ways that will work well for our family, we need to be aware of these differences and act in ways that will maintain these differences and act in ways that will maintain these differences and prevent homeschooling from being reduced to schooling by becoming a small, insignificant part of conventional schooling.

[But] even more important, we become stronger people as we homeschool. Some of our new-found strength comes from life skills we learn by working with our children. As they grow, we catch glimpses of children as they were meant to be: funny, adventurous, challenging, full of life, compassionate. As we interact with them, we begin peeling back the layers that we developed in school: layers we wrapped around ourselves because we discovered that we needed to repeat what someone else said was right, whether we agreed with it or not; layers to protect ourselves from the humiliation of being wrong or stupid or not knowing and answer; layers we developed to survive peer group interactions.

Underneath these layers, we parents find our selves and are surprised at our strengths and abilities. From our children we learn to use common sense, to observe the world around us, to learn what we need to know, make our own decisions that will work, to stop worrying about whether someone else thinks we have the right answer, to stop wondering if we have to know something for a test or what grade we will get. One of the most important secrets of homeschooling is that it's never too late to start, even for those of us who were thoroughly schooled in our youth. We become like the homeschooling father who decided to retire early rather than move to a different state, a decision that was good for his family but reduced his income. He observed that he would not have had the courage to make such a decision if homeschooling had not given him experience in taking responsibility for life decisions.

I can so see the effect of homeschooling on my own life. I started out on this journey to give my children a sound education in God, academics, and in family. I am still pleasantly surprised on some days when I am made aware of how much they have taught me while they have homeschooled. I really cherish this time with my children. I am so blessed that the Lord led me to this path. :)