Family and marriage are institutions designed by God–they are not man-made. Perhaps then, we shouldn’t be surprised that the family is becoming an enemy. Who would have ever believed there would come a time when society would be hostile to what has always been considered the basic unit of its existence? It is why I think feminism has had the most damaging impact on our culture…because at the core, it seeks to separate family…with destruction as a result.
We have slid down a slippery slope and arrived at the belief that the basic unit of society is the INDIVIDUAL. (Think about it for a minute…look at all the ways families are divided and the expectations that is should be so…even within the church.) And when that is believed, the individual is very quickly lost in the state.
“Dr. Carle C. Zimmerman, Harvard University spent his life studying the history of the family. He has pointed out the family’s significance: that whenever the atomistic (separate, unrelated members) family develops, in which the authority of the father is no longer paramount, then there is a very quick disintegration of society, the total state takes over, and there is a radical collapse of civilization…..
With the development of the atomistic family–which is really no family at all–the home is simply a place to room and board while the state takes over the role as father–to take care of the family in its every need, providing for the children and the parents; the family no longer cares for itself; civilization collapses. ” -R.J. Rushdoony
(By the way, this paradigm does not exclude the rare single men and women not called to marriage; all still belong to a family and have a major importance in that role.)
Listen to Zimmerman’s conclusions:
He believed…
“..that a fundamental purpose of civilization is the empowerment and enabling of the family — and is absolutely key to the health of any civilization. … Nobody undertakes to have a large family because it’s fun, or, in advanced societies, because it’s economically beneficial. They do it because they believe that’s what people do. In other words, they believe that children are a blessing from God, and that we humans are participating in the divine will by begetting children and raising them up to carry on our civilization….
Mankind has consumed not only the crop, but the seed for the next planting as well. Whatever may be our Pollyanna inclination, this fact cannot be avoided. Under any assumptions, the implications will be far-reaching for the future not only of the family but of our civilization as well. The question is no longer a moral one; it is social.”
Building the family is the only option for surviving–slice it any way you like, our ideals and personal opinions won’t erase factual reality.
Yep, this is pretty much the extent of our vocabulary curriculum. Actually, I would consider this “extra”. Good conversation is all that’s really necessary for a substantial vocabulary. As someone mentioned in the last comment thread, if parents simply speak deliberately–enunciating clearly and being liberal with the words they use, even with the youngest children, there’s no need, as far as I can see, for a formal vocabulary curriculum.
Remember, your children began learning an entire language at birth, and you were their primary teacher. Their vocabulary continues to grow and I submit it can continue to be taught in the same way you’ve been teaching it since birth. (If your vocabulary is limited, you can learn alongside them with this small idea.)
Words used throughout the normal flow of the day are much more likely to “stick” than 15 random words on a sheet of paper that the student is supposed to memorize. It goes the same with any piece of information: experience creates context in which information is best retained.
So back to our board: this contains our WOD (word of the day). Sometimes I leave it for a couple of days. The challenge is to use the word as often as possible in the correct way. Sometimes we have a contest to see who can find the most uses for it.
Fun, simple, quick.
A good place from which to glean WODs is your read-alouds as you come across words that may not be understood. Context is best.
Relaxed homeschooling, for us, doesn’t mean we don’t sit down and do “school work”. It just means that we also “think outside the classroom” and text books and worksheets are tools, while our education extends far beyond them.
A lifestyle of learning seems to me not only more natural and comprehensive, but easier to implement as a busy mom.
Mary Hood said: “God didn’t create classrooms, He created families.”
The sensibility in that statement meets me as a mom. Mothers are often overwhelmed by the task of homeschooling because they are trying to run both a family and a school.
What if much of the education of children just happened naturally inside family life?
Especially for little ones, there are many things that can be taught in casual conversation, multi-tasking during a chore, etc.
A few random things we do:
Sing learning songs together during chores or play time. We’ve been singing the “Months of the Year Song”. We also enjoy singing Scripture this way as well.
LISTEN. God bestowed the wonderful gift of curiosity into children which, if we are available and ready, can be an important key to knowledge. Hear their questions and be ready to help them find answers, even if you plant seeds by giving them an overview of what you know. I said the word “electricity” yesterday, and my 4-year-old asked, “Who’s ‘Tricity’ “? She wasn’t really interested in electricity, but she listened intently as I explained how it was responsible for turning on things.
Ask questions. Whatever is in front of us, I try to get into the habit of asking, “Do you know why ……?”
Do math. Math is everywhere and it makes better sense when it is taught in the context of real life. Even the rote stuff–multiplication tables, for example, can be practiced while we fold laundry or do dishes together. It just takes remembering to “redeem the time”.
Make good use of writing opportunities. A card or thank-you note makes a great use of time and energy and can double as language, writing and grammar. It makes better sense to have a reason for writing when possible. After all, the only reason grammar, spelling and language matter is so we can communicate our thoughts to others.
Sometimes I just need to revisit the reasons we educate in the first place. Learning can take many forms. Don’t be afraid to tailor it to your season of life, not only giving yourself a break if you can’t duplicate a classroom, but possibly even finding that it’s better that way.
What are some of your “real-life” learning strategies?
Check out the great, practical tips and learn more about a lifestyle of learning in my Ebook, Think Outside the Classroom!
Jasmine Baucham had a great post about the error of a typical homeschool argument we hear often. I found it excellent food for thought…
“I’m going to be completely honest here:
Some of us have a huge bias when it comes to arguments about education.
You know the kids I’m talking about.
They’ve been educated in an echo chamber, a place where the curriculum is a unified effort to teach them one way to think.
They learn to view the world through a single lens: the worldview that they’re being taught.
They don’t live in the real world.
They’ve been told what to think and how to act from a young age; their responses to certain stimuli are deeply ingrained in them. And because of all of this, they’re biased. When they speak, they’re often just parroting what they’ve been taught….”
There is little more humbling than hearing one’s self recorded (especially when one’s self is from the South ). Nevertheless, I was grateful to spend some time yesterday talking to Kevin Swanson on his radio program Generations With Vision, about family economics, sharing a little about our home business and how it all started. (There was so much of I thought of later that I would have liked to talk about, but it was a very spontaneous interview.)
I think you’ll enjoy Kevin’s dynamic passion for family enterprise.
You can listen to it at Generations With Vision, if you promise to remember that my gift is writing, not speaking
birth control, christian living, family/parenting, frugal living/saving money, homeschooling, large families, motherhood, political | Word Warrior | 
April 23, 2010 2:34 pm | 
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