Homeschool Help: What Does a “Lifestyle of Learning” Look Like?

On the heels of Marilyn Boyer’s great suggestions in the last post about helping an unmotivated learner, this post reminds homeschooling parents that our freedom allows us benefits the classroom doesn’t. We should not feel bound to operate like a classroom, which can be very stifling to many children, suffocating their natural curiosity and love of learning.If your child thrives in a structured, class-room setting, by all means give it to him. But if he doesn’t, the world is his classroom; don’t deprive him.

We must remember that the school classroom functions as it does NOT because that has been found to be the superior method of education, but because that is the only option for mass-producing students. It contradicts, in fact, the evidence that children learn best in a realistic, life-like setting, with hands-on experience.

As John Taylor Gatto reminds:

“It is absurd and anti-life to move from cell to cell at the sound of a gong for every day of your natural youth in an institution that allows you no privacy and even follows you into the sanctuary of your home demanding that you do its ‘homework.’

‘How will they learn to read?’…When children are given whole lives instead of age-graded ones in cellblocks they learn to read, write, and do arithmetic with ease if those things make sense in the kind of life that unfolds around them.”  From Why Schools Don’t Educate

So, what does a “lifestyle of learning” look like from day to day? Different for every family. But, upon many requests, I thought I’d offer some practical ways to encourage your child to utilize his curiosity about his world. The ideas are really endless. I’d love to hear YOURS!

• Simply expose them. To books, to conversation, to places, to people, to animals, to cooking, to building, to nature. We simply cannot underestimate a child’s ability to take in, process and store information–something inherent at birth. This begins at birth and the fewer distractions like TV or phones, the better for motivating them to learn about their world.

• Listen and watch. A child learns things best in the context of what interests him. Find out what that is, give him experiences around his interests and then look to see the learning opportunities. For example, my 8-year-old son loves building things and he loves large machines. And by “love” I mean he’s obsessed. We have let him build a playhouse (with a little help from Sis), supervising his use of the saw and nail gun. It has taken quite a bit of thought about measurements and angles and my husband has been able to really show him the importance of “squaring” the frame, etc. It’s an excellent exercise in problem-solving. That geometry makes sense to him whereas if I handed him a geometry worksheet right now he wouldn’t have a clue.

• Bait the house with books. This is my favorite. I leave books on art, science, animals and other subjects lying around and sometimes an older child will pick it up and become absorbed and even begin to read and explain it to a younger one. Or when someone crawls up beside me, I open it and start reading. I just ordered a set of “Nature Friend” magazines from Ebay and I’m excited to see how they like those too.

• Let them learn from other people. Do you have friends or family who have a particular trade or skill? Would they mind some of your children hanging out to observe? If that isn’t an option, there are great videos that teach different skills for children who show interest.

• Build vocabulary naturally. Being intentional about the words we use with our children is the best way to build their vocabulary. Random words on a worksheet are much harder to memorize than if they learn the word in context of life and language. Conversation is the best way to improve communication skills. Something, in our technologically-filled lives, that takes deliberate attention.

• Focus on the traits that matter. Any time you research for “most important qualities of a successful person” or “qualities employers look for”, or something similar, the results that turn up always focus on character and NEVER include test scores or degrees. Do we take that to heart and intentionally teach and train character? Communication skills, problem-solving, and integrity rank at the top of almost every list.

LIVE. That’s the way to a superior education. Here is part of our check list, academically speaking:

1. Can they write well, speak well and convey their thoughts well? What are some activities that will facilitate these?
2. Are they numerate? Do they know how to handle numbers, do they understand fractions and how to work out number problems? As they get older, do they know how money works, do they understand debt and interest and budgeting? Very important.
3. Can they type?
4. Do they have a good grasp of history and the workings of the government? We especially want them to read biographies from great men and women of the past.
5. Are they exposed to art in a variety of forms, and music? (If they show giftedness/interest, are we doing what we can to help them excel?)
6. Do they have a heavy dose of common sense?

Charge ahead with confidence!

How To Deal With Children Who Don’t Seem Interested in Learning (& Giveaway)

Homeschooling (Kirk Cameron) & Why Moms are the Leading Experts

Two short, inspiring, encouraging bits on homeschooling: Kirk Cameron discusses his family’s decision and Rob Shearer explains why Moms are the real experts when it comes to educating their children (look past the red hat, K?)

Making Life Easier: Chores and Homeschool Help is Here!

As I march in the struggle every mother has to get organized, stay organized and run a more orderly home, I am so excited to be implementing two new things, from The Ultimate Homemaking Ebook Bundle to help me!

I’ve recently realized, as we’ve virtually been rebuilding and putting our lives back together after the tornado in 2011, that I need to regroup and become more intentional, especially with my little ones, about imprinting God’s word and His wisdom on their hearts each day. So these have come at a perfect time!

$5.00

Write Through the Bible, by Trisha @ Intoxicated on Life, is a printable download of copywork sheets of memory verses. I love this for several reasons. First, we are huge fans of copy work, a simple practice that Charlotte Mason hailed as a fundamental teaching tool.

“When a child copies a passage, he has to copy letters, words and punctuation. And in order to copy it correctly, he has to really see it. This is a seeing that impresses the information on the child’s brain.” -C. M.

$17.99

Easy Peasy Chore Charts by Alina Joy @ The Good Old Days Farm

Finally, simple help with chore time! Such a brilliant idea!

A customizable, printable system that easily adjusts to every family, this chore chart system makes helping children remember and follow through with their chores easy peasy!

And this!!! The ABC’s For Godly Children Curriculum, by Lindsey at Road to 31–a fabulous resource for moms of young ones who want to intentionally turn their hearts toward God’s Word. I’m printing and laminating these to use over and over. One of my older ones can recite it with the younger ones and everyone benefits from some important Scripture memory.

Notice that the purchase of these three fabulous resources totals $30.99. Worth every penny. BUT, if you buy The Ultimate Homemaking Ebook Bundle you get these two PLUS 95 more incredible ebooks, PLUS $140 in bonus gifts for just $29.97.

That, friend, is a no-brainer . Don’t forget to tell your friends, who may be struggling in different areas, about this amazing deal (or you could surprise her with it!)

Giveaway: Help Your Children Memorize Scripture

Moore Family Films is offering a giveaway of their NEW DVD, ABC, Say it With Me Bible Memory Verses coming this summer!

I’ve often emphasized that I believe hiding God’s Word in the hearts of our children is one of the most important things we can do as parents. This is a great chance to get some practical help with that task! Your children will love listening and watching over and over!

Pre-order now, and get a sneak-peek, once a week, and then you’ll receive the DVD, once published, with free shipping.

“While delightfully engaged in stories involving a messy house, a lost lamb, a frightening storm during the night, and more, children of all ages will learn to recite a Bible verse (KJV) for each letter of the alphabet!”

 

To enter for the giveaway, just do one or all of the following in the Rafflecopter entry:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ends April 30.

Watch All We Like Sheep Vimeo from Moore Family Films on Vimeo.

How Will Your Kids be Prepared for the Real World (Unless They Go to School There?)

It’s the number one opposition homeschoolers face from doubting questioners, and unfortunately, one of the biggest obstacles preventing parents from deciding to homeschool: parents want their children to be prepared for the real world so they think they must send them to school.

Stop: who got us to think upside down? Essentially, what this means is, we feel like the best way to prepare our children for the real world is to take them out of the real world, put them in an unrealistic world all day for twelve years, try to simulate the real world, and then tell everyone this is the only way to prepare them for the real world. It’s hilarious just writing that out!

“Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.” Resource for Kids

All I want to do here is to help people who want to homeschool but are gripped with this irrational fear to “let it go!”  This is not an attempt to put down anyone, but to offer a discerning look at an often misunderstood topic. If you’re happy with the simulated circumstance (and many are), this isn’t about convincing you to homeschool.

However, we should all want to talk and think like rational humans so for the sake of everyone who must make this important life decision about educating his child, we at least need to make it based on the facts and truth of reality. It’s a bit like my choice to bottle feed my first baby. I knew I would have to go to work and I was still in school and so I decided to bottle feed because I didn’t see a way to breast feed. I did not, however, pretend bottle feeding was better or even the same as nursing in order to justify my decision. I knew it was second best, but it was the decision I felt I had to make. Regardless of our decisions, we need to at least be honest about them.

How schools must recreate the real world

In the first several years of school, especially, a classroom must try to recreate real life which is hardly possible, making the classroom second best for real learning. That’s not an insult, it’s simply a truth, like saying real hair is preferable to a wig. Exploration, creativity, freedom, hands-on learning, it is all greatly limited if not extinguished, in the classroom.

“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”

I was thinking about this as my 5 year old asked me what time it is. I’ve never given my children clock worksheets–we have a clock on the wall. And when they begin to be aware of time and the clock, I show them, until they understand, how time works. That’s it. They all learn to tell time. (Same way they learned the English language.)

We don’t even have phonics books. We use phonics as we sit down with books together, sounding out letters, blends and memorizing sight words, and eventually, they begin reading.

We don’t read books about “opposites” or colors, or numbers; all those things exist in our daily conversations and children are remarkable learners. It comes naturally in real life. We learn about vegetation outside, we classify real birds and real trees when we go for walks. We talk about current events at the dinner table, asking probing questions that require thought and analytic skills.

We discuss lifestyles and how to handle different situations after we leave events, family gatherings, or vacations.

Life teaches.

Hygiene from a health book? No. Weather? It’s there.

Is it reading about the solar system (a perfectly wonderful thing to do) or would the words come alive if they were just given a telescope and notepad to chart their observations?

Another unrealistic thing (necessary only for keeping order and tracking of large groups) is the idea of “school in” or “school out”, deadlines, and grade levels. I could write a book, but suffice it to say, it’s optimal to embrace learning (i.e. “school”) as something always happening, without the confines of time and space. We will never learn all there is to learn; why not develop a mindset of always-learning what is in front of us and what we need to know to enhance our gifts?

As they get older, what then? Is real life being confined to rooms lined with desks and people the same age with little time for conversation and interpersonal exchange? Or is it being allowed to mingle, in the real world, observing and attempting adultish things? Exploring all their interests? Following their passions? Figuring things out on their own?

Do we “sit down and do school”, ever? Yes, but not because it’s necessary. We mostly read a lot, I give writing assignments and go over those for proper grammar and usage, the older ones have a formal math curriculum (I’m tweaking this a lot) and they do copy work. Most everything though, can be and is being learned in the context of real life. There are far more pressing things than whether our children can recall the area of a trapezoid (Google it if you need it!)

Keep in mind, the evidence consistently shows that qualities employers desire (if the goal is to work for someone else) hardly ever include test scores or the ability to memorize facts, etc. It’s almost always about character, communication skills and the ability to solve problems–all most easily learned in the real world, where children are free to satisfy their curiosities and find solutions, an amazing trait the Creator gave us all when we were born. In fact, even most highly specialized jobs provide on-the-job training, requiring the capacity for learning, not a specific set of facts already learned (which most students forget anyway).

(Yes, I know there are those needed jobs where students must still jump through the hoops of the system (achieving certain test scores, etc., homeschooled or otherwise). Thankfully though, even this is being widely reconsidered as the job industry is discovering how a college degree or other “certification” may not always be a comprehensive representation of a person’s expertise. More and more are seeing the benefits of apprenticeship/hands-on training.

If you worry about your children learning to cope in the real world, I don’t blame you; consider homeschooling them.