Friday’s Fun (and big!) Homeschooling Tip: Homeschool for Free?

Homeschooling is like anything else–a great opportunity for people to make money.  And I’m all about the opportunity to make money!

But every now and then I talk to moms who are financially strapped but still feel the pressure to invest in lots of curriculum.  Or, I hear from moms who say they would like to come home and homeschool, but if their income was cut, they wouldn’t be able to afford school materials, assuming that’s the only way to do it.

The good news is you can truly homeschool without spending any money, at least for a long time.  It will require a bit more work, but not as much as you might think.  AND, because we are just accustomed to the neat, colorful packages of curriculum, it’s hard for us to think of not having it.

The truth is, really, (and we know it), that learning doesn’t require anything fancy or pre-packaged and can be quite fun and creative!

Obviously, there’s no way to write an exhaustive list of resources for every grade level and subject.  So I thought I’d offer some ideas to get you thinking and some resources for your use, even if just to supplement what you already have.

The goal. First, make sure you remember the goal of homeschooling:  to educate, not to get finished with a text book.  Getting through a grade level of curriculum is only important if they learn the material. Finishing isn’t the goal.

What to teach. The beauty of homeschooling!  If you really want to stay right on track with their schooled counterparts, you can look on line or in text books to see what other children are learning and when.  However, keep in mind that your children will not be handicapped if they learn about the Civil War in the second grace but don’t know what barometric pressure is until the 8th.  One time table, established by the state schools, is just one time table–not necessarily the “right” one.  If they are learning, they are being educated in the right direction.

Books. Start a running book list and use your library and ask friends if you can borrow/barter with them. Books are your foundation.  Ambleside is a great place to start compiling your list.  Also, there are many, many free on-line books now, so check The Online Books Page and sites like that for free versions.

Math. For little ones, math is easy.  It’s all around us every day–just remember, instead of taking what is so natural to us for granted, talk through it as you see opportunities (time, measurements, adding and subtracting). For elementary/middle school math, The Math Worsheet Generator is wonderful. You could even print these off and create your own text book.

Teaching reading. Chalkboards are GREAT for teaching little ones letters and sounds. They seem to be motivated more by a chalkboard than just a piece of paper, though that works great too!  I’ve heard of making peanut butter playdoh letters, and all sorts of other ideas too.  Teaching children to read is so much more simple than I once thought–sounds of letters, then put letters together, then words–that’s it.  Nothing fancy required.

Check out Donna Young’s Printables and Resource for a wealth of help!

I’ve also used the Flapbook idea to teach reading, writing letter blends on one flap then the ending of the word on another and teaching one side at a time.

Text books. While not free, you can find cheap text books for subjects like math at thrift shops.  (Older editions work just fine.  Math isn’t supposed to change )

History. Reading great biographies with a few resource books on hand can supply a rich education of social studies, geography and history. Add essays for older students and if you don’t feel confident enough to grade them, barter with a friend who can.

Science. Use what’s around you for science.  Don’t overlook the simplicity and “secret” of  nature studies and journals.  Find what sparks their interest and then use the Internet for deeper investigation.  Collecting, drawing, classifying is an excellent hands-on tool.  There are many educational opportunities found in just the weather.  (I think it was William Clark, and I’m sure many others,  who kept small journals in his pocket where he habitually recorded details about the weather and conditions around him wherever he went.)

Trivia. We have found that trivia games of all sorts provide a really great spring board for sparking interest and further studies.  We are currently spending a few minutes in the afternoon while I ask trivia questions from a National Geographic game.  We learn facts, but it also opens up doors and then they end up discussing things they learned with Dad around the dinner table. The discussion is the gem.

Skills. We don’t talk enough about the importance of learning life skills. There are obvious ones like learning to run a household (and so many kids miss these, despite how obvious!) and there are all sorts of other opportunities like working alongside your husband or neighbor as he builds a deck where he will learn not just the skill, but the educational application as well (measurements, fractions, equations).  In the big picture of life, I would venture to say that learning practical skills is EVERY BIT important as gaining an intellectual education, but so often ignored.  (I may have to revisit this topic in a post of its own!)  So hand that kid a screwdriver and put him to work!

Before you begin. I would be remiss if I didn’t emphasize that for Christians, we MUST begin with “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”. It’s so easy to get swept along by what others expect of us, and neglect our greatest duty in education.  Our children will be so far ahead by simply teaching from this simple starting place.  And besides that, it’s our command!

These are just a few things–only the beginning.  When you realize that education is about the learning–not the text book, you will begin to see opportunities all around you for educating your children…and yourself, maybe for the first time!

Friday’s Fun Homeschooling Tip: Geography

Mostly I think learning should be a reward in itself.  BUT…sometimes, there are things we wish to motivate our children to learn that may require a bit of inspiration….things like rote memorization.

I had no idea just how inspired mine would be when I said, “OK I have an idea…you older ones teach the younger ones the names of all the states and when everyone down to ____ has them memorized, we’ll all go out for ice cream!”

Secretly, it’s the older ones (8 & 11) that I really wanted to motivate to brush up on these, and any time an older one is “teaching” they learn more–it’s a fact.  So, they have all been busily studying the US map–states and capitals this week without any prompting. The younger ones are picking it up quickly!

I’m thinking of ways to expand this to other areas

How Our Family Homeschools

I have had several requests lately to give a general picture of what it looks like to homeschool in our family where there are several different age levels as well as small children.  An overview of my basic homeschool philosophy is detailed in my ebook “Think Outside the Classroom” if you’re interested in reading more.

As far as how that philosophy translates to real life, I’ll give it my best shot!

First, we are relaxed.  Some days I think it would be easier to be less relaxed, on other days I’m glad we’re more flexible and not haunted by deadlines.

I do not “teach for a test”.  That is, while we’re concerned that our children learn much of the same basic information taught in school, we are not concerned as much with when they learn it or whether they perform well while testing.  This makes a huge difference in how children are educated.

Our “skeleton” schedule—if nothing else gets done–is this:

The three oldest have a math and English curriculum that they work on independently with my help if needed.  We use different curriculum from year to year, but right now everyone is using Rod and Staff.  They also do copy work, usually from the Bible.

The oldest has a pretty large reading assignment of an assortment of books and subjects (Apologetics, Government and right now she’s studying events of the 20th century–specifically, the Holocaust.)  She will write an essay on one of these books every few weeks and I will grade it and go over grammar, spelling and usage errors.  (If I felt inadequate to do this, I would solicit the help of a relative or friend.)

The next two do daily reading assignments from a Science book and History book (right now it’s Apologia Science and A Child’s Story of History).  In addition, they must “leisure read” from another book of their choice, approved by one of us.

I usually read aloud to all the children at some point during the day from a biography or “living book”.  The little ones can play in the floor during this time, but everyone has to be quiet.

For the little ones, it’s pretty spontaneous.  I encourage them to play a lot, and as they show interest in learning the sounds of letters I sit down with them just a few minutes a day and go over that.  If they don’t show interest, I require them to sit with me and practice letter sounds at around age 6.  I’m currently teaching the 5th one to read and I have never used a curriculum or program to do it. Just sounds of letters, then sounds of blends (consonant and vowel), then putting words together and helping with sight words.  It’s worked every time!  I don’t get real antsy about their reading at a certain age because they eventually learn to read well, even if they don’t start early.

For variety, I try to switch things up sometimes.  For example, today I officially gave them “‘math and English off” until Christmas, but my 9 and 11 year old have to play a math game with each other each day and they each have to read a section from “Explore & Learn” to a younger sibling.  Bria is delighted to just have more time for reading, and she also actually enjoys reading from learning books with the younger ones.  We also incorporate educational videos and documentaries.

My husband tries to ask them at dinner to talk about something they learned that day.  This helps them solidify their knowledge and keeps him more involved as well.

Their Dad usually reads from some book at night besides the Bible.  Right now we’re alternating between “Life of Washington” and “They Signed for Us”.

As I emphasize in the ebook, I think a parent cannot underestimate the power of simple conversation in a child’s education.  I believe this is possibly where they learn the most.

My husband and I usually reevaluate everything at the first of the year and make necessary adjustments.  Little things like not forgetting to have the age-appropriate ones learn to type, or discussing whether a certain curriculum is a good match for each child.

We personally feel that “education” is best summed up by “being literate and well-read, developing critical thinking skills (done best through conversation), being numerate and maintaining a thirst for learning”.  Above all this though, as Christians, we desire that our children develop a fear of the Lord which is the beginning of knowledge.

I’ve probably left out lots of questions, so feel free to ask and I’ll try to explain  I do not think our way of schooling is superior, at all, it’s just what works for us in this season.

Addendum: (I thought of something else )

A common fear about homeschooling is “what if I can’t teach them everything?”  Good news is, you don’t have to, nor CAN you.  The “system” makes us think that one needs to be under the constant tutelage of an expert to learn what we need to learn.  I submit that far more important is the skill of “learning how to learn”.  A simple illustration is the age-old proverb about how it’s far better to teach a man how to plant a garden rather than planting a garden for a man.  (Is that a proverb?  I have no idea.)  Anyway, maybe you get my point.

I don’t have to teach my child every subject; in fact, no institution is capable of covering everything.  I didn’t learn any Chemistry in school, but I excelled in that subject in college.  It’s a fallacy for someone to say, “but you need a professional to teach ______. Perhaps, but if and when that time comes, if your child has a foundational understanding of how to learn, it will not be a problem. (By the way, I can’t think of a single instance where I’ve ever needed Chemistry.) To clarify, as a commenter pointed out, I’m not discounting the enormous presence and importance of Chemistry in our everyday life; I’m pointing out that Chemistry isn’t even a required subject in high school, and I don’t feel handicapped for not having had it in high school nor do I feel disqualified to teach my children based on my not being an expert in Chemistry.

We need to rely much heavier on the instincts that God gave us for learning what is needed at the time it is needed, instead of getting worried about fulfilling a checklist of subjects, most of which will likely be forgotten after the test.

Think Outside the Classroom

$6.97  

Are you a homeschooling mother who worries that you aren’t “doing enough”? Are you thinking of homeschooling but feel afraid that you aren’t qualified? If so, read more…

But How Do You Socialize Your Children? (Homeschooling)

I had a conversation recently with a lady that almost made me laugh since I had just watched this video.  Our conversation wasn’t as funny and she wasn’t as persistent, but it went something like,

“Are you still homeschooling?”

“Yes we are.”

“So, do you do that with a group?”

Pause….Here is where I wanted to say, “I’m pretty sure our family constitutes ’a group’. *smile*

“Well, we belong to a homeschool covering, yes.”

“But do you meet with a group and have classes?”
(Thinking to myself, “Um, wouldn’t that not be homeschooling?”) And yes, we have participated in co-op classes but I don’t think this was the activity in question.

I ended up giving an ambiguous answer, I think, because it’s difficult to paint the picture to someone who really doesn’t understand. It was an honest question.  She doesn’t know another homeschooling family so she really thinks the whole thing very weird.

This video, cute as it is, brought up the important aspects of homeschooling and socialization…plus it’s just fun to watch

My favorite point, and one some of us may not think about, is that for centuries a child’s main “social group” was his family and we never heard of a “socialization crisis”.  Schools were created to teach children who weren’t learning at home the three R’s; they were not created because we had a socialization problem.

Homeschooling: What Are We to Teach Our Children?

Even the most avid homeschool family stops periodically and asks, “Are we teaching our children the right things?”  Heavily swayed by outside pressures and our own influence by the state’s agenda, Christians easily lose focus of our educational responsibility before the Lord.

R.C. Sproul Jr. has written one of my favorite books–a book I think every family needs to read and then revisit several times a year. When You Rise Up “cuts through the haze surrounding the educational debate by offering a biblical approach that is elegantly simple without being simplistic.”  (Greg Harris)

I am always recharged and inspired when I pick it up.  I wanted to share a few thoughts with you from the book:

“We don’t start with the state’s curriculum, and then attempt to find a Bible passage to justify each part.  Rather, we start with the Bible and go from there, learning evermore of who God is, of what he has done and of what he requires of us…..”

Sproul takes a practical look at Scripture and explains its rock solid instructions for telling parents how to educate their children for “the good life”.  And the methodolgy?

“Here is how God wants us to educate our children–he wants us to talk to them.”

No, Sproul doesn’t throw out formal learning or text books.  But he rightly challenges us to get our priorities in order as we follow God’s curriculum.

“Why do we teach our children to read?  Most people, if they are honest, would explain that their children need to learn how to read so they can get a good job.  That it’s a tool for personal peace and affluence….we ought to teach our children to read so they can know God better.”

He describes the three G’s–what the Christian’s goals of education should be: teaching our children who God is, what God has done, and what He requires of us.

Another word that really hit home to me…(paraphrased)

“All parents DO teach their children ‘when they lie down and when they rise up’.  Psychologists say, ‘more is caught than taught’. Whether by abdication or diligence, whether we delegate our job or not, we are always teaching our children what is important about life.”

and…

“…we blend together the worship of the true and living God with personal peace and affluence….we cut God this deal:  ’Lord, we know you are the master of all things.  We know you are the lawgiver.  So what we’re going to do, while we worship personal peace and affluence, we’re going to serve that God in accordance with your law. You will give us ethics, but the other god will give us purpose. We will pursue the world’s vision of the good life, but we’ll pursue it without stealing or committing adultery. We’ll pursue it, but we’ll be sure to pay our tithes along the way.”

I could quote the whole book, but there are babies to teach and housework to be done.

I would challenge you, as you embrace this awesome task, to wipe the slate clean of preconceieved ideas and go to the Scripture to find out how we are to teach these children.  Look to Jesus for his example.  Teach them history which begins in Genesis and “continues through to today’s morning paper”.

And one last word from Sproul:

“We are doomed to fail if we don’t teach our children why we teach our children, so that they in turn will teach our grandchildren.”

When You Rise Up by R.C. Sproul Jr.

Think Outside the Classroom

$6.97  

Are you a homeschooling mother who worries that you aren’t “doing enough”? Are you thinking of homeschooling but feel afraid that you aren’t qualified? If so, read more…

The Problem With Western Civilization

“The biggest problem with western civilization is the methodology by which we educate our children.  We have tried to compartmentalize education.  We have divorced the knowledge of God from chemistry.  I’m not so concerned with teaching my children about the fear of the Lord or teaching them about chemistry as I am about teaching them the fear of the Lord IN the chemistry classroom.”  -Kevin Swanson

A reader asks a good question:  ”how does he whittle it down to just one thing?”  According to Lori, it’s “presuppositional apologetics” which traces our presuppositions back to wrong doctrine.  I second that and added in the comment section that one’s world-view determines the way one lives.  Divorcing the wisdom of God from education turns out a nation full of people with a false/wrong world-view which causes them to live wrongly….thus, a nation’s demise.