Higher education. What is it? Why do you need it? What do the statistics show? How should you, as a homeschooler, begin approaching higher education? And, most importantly, what is God’s plan for your life?

What is it?

I often read articles, hear people speak, and wonder, am I the only one who doesn’t know what that term is that they are using? Usually my question pertains to a commonly used term that I should clearly know the definition of, but just don’t. Therefore, I’m going to start by defining higher education. Specifically, higher education is education provided by universities, colleges, and other institutions that award academic degrees. Higher education includes both the undergraduate (i.e., college) and the graduate (or postgraduate) levels. Higher education includes most professional education and is strongly vocationally or professionally oriented. Higher education differs from other forms of post-secondary (after high school) education such as vocational education. Vocational education is a form of secondary or postsecondary education but is considered non-academic as compared to higher education. The figure below is an attempt to visually show these levels of education and just where higher education fits in.

Why do you need it?

Given that we have a basic definition of higher education, why do you need it? According to many sources I’ve studied, higher education offers graduates more jobs to choose from than are open to those who don’t pursue education beyond high school, and graduates typically earn more than nongraduates. Specifically, the US Census Bureau reported in 2004 that, on average, a college graduate earns $54,704, significantly more than the $30,056 earned annually by someone with a high school diploma, or the $22,100 earned by a high school dropout. Another way of looking at these numbers is that, according to the Postsecondary Education Opportunity Research Letter (PEORL), the lifetime income of families headed by individuals with a bachelor’s degree will be about $1.6 million more than the incomes of families headed by those with a high school diploma. The PEORL goes on to state that every dollar spent on a college education produces $34.85 in increased lifetime income—not a bad return on an investment.

Higher education improves an individual’s quality of life. Studies show that, compared to high school graduates, college graduates have longer life spans, better access to health care, better dietary and health practices, greater economic stability and security, more prestigious employment and greater job satisfaction, less dependency on government assistance, greater knowledge of government, greater community service and leadership, more volunteer work, more self-confidence, and less criminal activity and incarceration. In addition, college graduates supposedly have greater use of seatbelts, more continuing education, greater Internet access, greater attendance at live performances, greater participation in leisure and artistic activities, more book purchases, and higher voting rates. As an aside, I have to admit that I was amazed at some of these items—not that I found them, but that someone actually researched this stuff and thought some of the items were enviable.

Higher education, theoretically, will also enable individuals to expand their knowledge and skills, express their thoughts clearly in speech and in writing, grasp abstract concepts and theories, and increase their understanding of the world and their community.

According to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, “We must ensure that our whole population receives an education that will allow full and continuing participation in this dynamic period of American economic history.” What Mr. Greenspan is saying, basically, is that without a college education you may be left out. As time goes on, the relationship between a college education and success will become more and more significant in our information-driven global economy.

What do the statistics show?

Given the reasons for higher education, what do the statistics show? Focusing now on homeschoolers, I’m just going to attempt to hit the highlights of some of the data out there. I have to preface this discussion, though, with the caveat that we don’t know the true numbers of homeschoolers applying to and attending institutions of higher education, and much of the data out there is several years old. However, I believe that the general trends in the data provide a good feel for how homeschoolers are doing.

First, homeschoolers are more likely to attend college. A survey of more than 7,300 adults who were homeschooled, conducted by the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) showed that of homeschool graduates aged 18 to 24, 74% had taken college courses, compared with 46% among the general population in that same age group. Further, about 12% of those surveyed homeschoolers had received bachelor’s degrees, compared with 8% of the general population. And 50% of homeschoolers had some college but no degree, compared with 34% of the general population. Almost 9% of homeschoolers had two-year associate degrees, compared with 4% of the general population.

The results of the SAT and ACT, our nation’s major college-entrance tests, also credit those students who identified themselves as homeschoolers with outperforming non-homeschooled students. In 2002, homeschooled SAT-takers averaged 1092 (out of a possible 1600), compared with 1020 for the national average of all SAT-takers, or 72 points higher. Similarly, in 2004, homeschooled ACT-takers averaged a score of 22.6, compared with the national average of 20.9 for all ACT-takers.

How does this translate into college admission? Well, just a few years ago, only a handful of colleges and universities were prepared to admit homeschooled students. Today, homeschoolers have been and are being admitted to more than a thousand colleges in at least five countries. Further, many of these students are being admitted with scholarships. Search on the web for colleges that admit homeschoolers and you’ll be surprised at the lists that have been compiled to help you sort through the many possibilities.

How should you, as a homeschooler, begin approaching higher education?

As a homeschooler beginning to approach higher education, be sure to start early. Think about your interests and goals, and identify what level of education you’ll need to pursue those interests and goals. If higher education is required, read web sites, books, and periodicals to learn about colleges and universities. Find which schools will meet your specific needs and then find out about their policies concerning homeschooled students. Start mapping out your strategies for how to best target the schools selected.

Second, keep organized, keep records, and determine the best format (e.g., transcript or portfolio) for those records. Keep this information complete and updated. Don’t rely on memory. Write down, with dates, anything and everything that you feel might be useful during the application process. Keep track of specific demonstrations of leadership qualities. Start compiling a list of individuals who might be appropriate for writing letters of recommendation.

Third, map out a timeline of what needs to be done when. Include specific courses that might be required and when they should be taken, what tests (e.g., PSAT, SAT, ACT, SAT II) have to be taken, and application dates. You can also think about enrollment in community college classes, taking classes via distance learning, taking Advanced Placement (AP) tests and taking College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests. These are all things that should be planned into the timeline.

Fourth, look for avenues for funding, such as scholarships. Often money is available and goes untouched because of lack of awareness. Look for those opportunities to defray the costs of higher education.

And fifth but probably not last, consider college at home. There is the possibility, through distance learning programs, to continue your education from home at a significantly reduced cost. There are even ways to tackle lab courses and meet research requirements through distance learning. Don’t discount the possibility before researching.

All of these things are offered as catalysts to get you thinking and researching. There’s so much I’d love to write, but due to space constraints, I’ll have to leave it to you to do the research pertinent to your interests.

What is God’s plan for your life?

I think the most important question to ask, now that I’ve written this column on higher education, is, what is God’s plan for your life? Focus and prayer should be on this very question with the answer dictating the direction of education.

Often we hear people stressing that their children must go to college if they want to get a good job, make a good income, and support a family. Just as often, colleges or universities are pre-selected for those children because that particular institution is a parent’s alma mater. Then, a child is often sent to that institution without clear direction (i.e., a clear plan of a major and a goal at the end). What a sad, but all too typical, story.

I heard Mike Farris speak at our Christian Association of Parent Educators (CAPE-NM) conference in New Mexico several years ago, and he spoke of this very problem. He basically said that after the purchase of a home, there is no greater expenditure of money than sending a child to a college or university. Further, this decision is often made with little thought or planning. We send the child to school, he or she goes for a few years, and then, all of a sudden, is on the spot to pick a major. Credits in various areas are tallied, and often the decision rests on what area has the most credits. He went on to say how foolish we are when it comes to higher education. We don’t plan. We don’t counsel our children in this area. We don’t pray. We treat this particular expenditure pretty cavalierly considering how much money and time is at risk.

Mr. Farris also went on to speak about young women attending college and how he has counseled his daughters. He has suggested to his daughters areas of study that could lead to a career that could be conducted from the home. For example, if a woman went into graphic design, in the event that income was needed due to the death of a spouse or job layoff, she could do that work from the home while still caring for the children. As I listened, I thought that that was excellent wisdom.

Much of the data out there, and much of what is reported above, focuses on the material rather than the spiritual. We must pray for guidance when it comes to any area of our lives, including higher education. We must also seek wisdom in counseling our children. As I was working on this column, I came across a website, Heart of Wisdom, at homeschoolinformation.com/FAQs/what_about_college.htm. A paragraph on that page caught my attention, and I thought it worthy of using as a closing to this column.

Before you place extreme importance on a college education, however, remember that a college degree is worthless if one does not know Christ. It is of little value for our children to master chemistry and algebra if they don’t know how to get along with their spouses or cannot learn how to discipline their children. It is of little value for one to be fluent in several foreign languages if he doesn’t have tongue control. It is of little value for one to diagram a sentence if one cannot communicate true feelings. Are you sure college is God’s plan for your child?

A Survey of Homeschool Friendly Colleges and Universities in the United States*

Abilene Christian University (Abilene, TX)

Agnes Scott College (Decatur, GA)

Alaska Bible College (Glennellen, AK)

Albion College (Albion, MI)

Alma College (Alma, MI)

Andrews University (Berrien Springs, MI)

Anne Arundel Community College (Arnold, MD)

Appalachian Bible College (Bradley, WV)

Aquinas College, (Grand Rapids, MI)

Arcadia University (Glenside, PA)

Arlington Baptist College (Arlington, TX)

Ashland University (Ashland, OH)

Bennington College (Bennington, VT)

Berea College (Berea, KY)

Berry College (Mount Berry, GA)

Biola University (La Mirada, CA)

Bluffton College (Bluffton, OH)

Bob Jones University (Greenville, SC)

Bryan College (Dayton, TN)

Cottey College (Nevada, MO)

Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)

David Lipscomb University (Nashville, TN)

Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)

Duquesne University (Pittsburg, PA)

Evangel University (Springfield, MO)

Faulkner University (Montgomery, AL)

Freed-Hardeman University (Henderson, TN)

Gordon College, (Wenham, MA)

Grove City College (Grove City, PA)

Hanover College (Hanover, IN)

Hillsdale College (Hillsdale, MI)

Hiram College (Hiram, OH)

Huntington College (Huntington, IN)

John Brown University (Siloam Springs, AR)

Johnson & Wales University (Charleston, SC)

Johnson & Wales University (Denver, CO)

Johnson & Wales University (Norfolk, VA)

Johnson & Wales University (North Miami, FL)

Johnson & Wales University (Providence, RI)

Judson College (Elgin, IL)

Judson College (Marion, AL)

Kent State University (Kent, OH)

Lebanon Valley College (Annville, PA)

Lee University (Cleveland, TN)

LeTourneau University (Longview, TX)

Lousiana College (Pineville, LA)

Lubbock Christian University (Lubbock, TX)

Luzerne County Community College (Nanticoke, PA)

Maranatha Baptist Bible College (Watertown, WI)

Mary Baldwin College (Staunton, VA)

Marylhurst University (Portland, OR)

The Master’s College (Santa Clarita, CA)

Northampton Community College (Bethlehem, PA)

Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, OH)

Patrick Henry College (Purcellville, VA)

Pensacola Christian College (Pensacola, FL)

Piedmont College (Demorest, GA)

Pillsbury Baptist Bible College (Owatonna, MN)

Providence Christian College (Ontario, CA)

Quincy University (Quincy, IL)

Saint Joseph’s College (Rensselaer, IN)

Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville, NY)

Sheldon Jackson College (Sitka, AK)

Spurgeon Baptist Bible College (Mulberry, FL)

Stanford University (Stanford, CA)

Sterling College (Sterling, KS)

St John’s College (Annapolis, MD; Santa Fe, NM)

Talladega College (Talladega, AL)

Taylor University (Upland, IN)

Thomas Aquinas College (Santa Paula, CA)

Toccoa Falls College (Toccoa Falls, GA)

Towson State University (Towson, MD)

University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) (Huntsville, AL)

University of Bridgeport (Bridgeport, CT)

The University of Mobile (Mobile, AL)

University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)

University of Saint Francis (Fort Wayne, IN)

Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN)

Waynesburg College (Waynesburg, PA)

West Point (West Point, NY)

Wilson College (Chambersburg, PA)

• This list is not exhaustive, nor does it guarantee admission to homeschoolers; however, it is offered as a place to begin your search.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Heather Allen is TOS’s Town Square chief contributing writer and Senior Analytical Consultant. She has a PhD in Experimental Psychology, served as an Aerospace Experimental Psychologist in the US Navy, and worked 11 years for Sandia National Laboratories. She and her husband Steve have homeschooled their three children for 8 years.

Without exception, after explaining what homeschooling was, our plan was met with excitement. The officials representing the Chinese government were excited about the fact that Hana would be homeschooled.

I was asked to write the Summer issue’s Town Square column with a focus on what’s going on around the world in homeschooling, and, while I was at it, take a peek at our family’s recent adoption of a terrific little girl. Okay, so it might seem a strange mix at first glance, but I’m up to the challenge. Keeping that in mind, let’s focus first on the homeschooling world at a glance and then I’ll finish up with our love story of Hana Anping Allen.

As I perused the literature, I found many statistics concerning homeschooling abroad. Those statistics varied significantly from source to source, but I’m going to try to give you a broad-brush overview of what I think is an exciting trend, gleaned from those sources (see, for example, Dr. Brian Ray’s work, the HSLDA website, and data provided by various countries concerning homeschooling). Also, as you read this overview, please refer to Figure 1, which is my attempt to give you a visual perspective on homeschooling worldwide. Note that the map provided is certainly not exhaustive; however, it’s a good starting point to see God’s work in progress throughout the world.

Taking countries in order of numbers of homeschoolers, the United States leads the way with over two million home educated. Next we find the United Kingdom (100,000) and Canada (95,000) coming on strong with Australia not far behind (55,000). As we rank order the data, we find homeschoolers in New Zealand (6,000), South Africa (5,000), and South Korea (1,000) increasing in numbers that are starting to show that homeschooling as a viable education choice is taking hold. Other countries such as Japan (800), Germany (600), France and Taiwan (both at 500), and Ireland (400) are starting to show positive trends in the increasing numbers of homeschoolers. And last, countries indicating 100 or fewer homeschoolers, each one of those significant, include the Netherlands, Brazil, Kenya, Poland, Ukraine, Switzerland, and Bulgaria.

Homeschooling is starting to appear where we might least expect it and … is spreading worldwide.

When actually studying each of these countries, and other countries that are reporting homeschooling families (e.g., Chili, Hungary, Czech Republic, Mexico, and Romania), one finds that there are many legal restrictions and significant difficulties faced by families; however, homeschooling is starting to appear where we might least expect it and, obviously, is spreading worldwide.

Why is this happening? For many of the same reasons homeschooling is growing at such a rate in the United States: People want the freedom to guide their children’s education and are seeing homeschooling as that freedom. They are also seeing homeschooling as a solution to the worldwide problem of the disintegration of the family. As in the United States, homeschooling is not a new phenomenon around the world but rather a return to the way children were educated before government schools came into vogue and requirements and standards were dictated from obscure offices far removed from the children for whom those requirements and standards were intended.

What a blessing to see homeschooling taking hold worldwide yet again! A return to what worked so well and so effectively in past generations. And what a blessing it is to be able to support these other countries in their efforts by praying for courage as individual families as they strive for this freedom and for their strength as they persevere through many hardships and confront the bureaucracies that are not willing to release the power they have amassed through the years. What an exciting time we are living in to be able to see such freedoms spreading, albeit not without the sacrifices and hardships of many people—throughout our country and the world.

Now, how does all of this discussion of worldwide homeschooling tie in with the Allen family’s recent adoption of our youngest daughter, Hana Anping Allen? Well, Hana (formally known as Rao An Ping) is originally from the Shangrao Social Welfare Institute (i.e., an orphanage), in the Jiangxi Province of China. As we worked with our adoption agency, All God’s Children International (AGCI, in Portland, Oregon), we spotted Hana on a special needs list and fell in love with her. “Special needs” in the case of an international adoption typically means children with medical needs. Anyway, we knew that God had clearly meant for Hana to join our family, and we asked AGCI to communicate to China that we would be coming for her.

On December 26, 2004, our family left Albuquerque for a few days of sightseeing in Beijing, followed by a flight to Nanchang, the capital of Hana’s province and the location where we would receive our newest daughter. On January 3, 2005, Hana was placed into my arms by the director of her orphanage at the Civil Affairs Building in Nanchang. Steve (my husband), Ed (12), Joe (10), Emily (6), and I experienced such a range of emotions at that moment that it’s not quite possible to capture in words what we felt; however, there was no question that this child was meant to be part of our family, and God’s presence was palpable to all. What an incredible moment. What an incredible blessing to our family.

During the next few days, as we waited for Hana’s passport, Steve and Joe had the privilege of visiting Hana’s orphanage. They met again with the orphanage director and had a chance to see where Hana had lived. She had also been blessed to live with a foster family during some of her first 16 months of life, but we were unable to meet them. Steve and Joe met people who had obviously cared for and loved Hana; it was a special time for them and provided information they could share with Hana as she grew older.

As we met with the Civil Affairs personnel, the orphanage director, and the notary (in China, that is an attorney), we were asked about Hana’s future, specifically, how we planned to educate her. On every occasion we explained that we homeschooled our children. This meant that Hana would be at home with her brothers and sister and mother. She would never be in day care. We would strive to identify her gifts and abilities, and we would provide her with the best education we could. Without exception, after explaining what homeschooling was, our plan was met with excitement. The officials representing the Chinese government were excited about the fact that Hana would be homeschooled. Is that neat or what?!

Also, on numerous occasions in Nanchang and later after we arrived in Guangzhou where the US embassy is located, we were asked by Chinese people on the street, in the hotel, in restaurants, and so on, after they counted our children, if “they were all ours?” and “why they weren’t in school?” Again we explained that we homeschooled and what that meant exactly. Again our explanations were met with excitement and often the comment, “Lucky children. Blessed children.”

Homeschooling is making its way into the hearts and minds of many throughout the world, and our prayers are needed.

While I can’t provide numbers of homeschooled children for mainland China, I can certainly say that, without exception, our manner of education was met with excitement by all. Yes, homeschooling is making its way into the hearts and minds of many throughout the world, and our prayers are needed.

As I write this column, I’m in room 215 with my husband and four children at the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island, New York. We are here, after being referred by our surgeon, Dr. William Buntain in Albuquerque, for Hana to have surgery performed by Dr. Alberto Pena at the Schneiders Children’s Hospital. Our plan, if all goes according to plan, is to be here for three weeks and then return home.

God has clearly been protecting Hana. He has surrounded her with people who have cared about her, starting with her birth parents and then the orphanage personnel and foster family in China. He blessed her by providing her with Dr. Buntain, who after his first examination referred us to the surgeon who is considered the best in the world to treat her particular medical problem. He continued his protection of Hana when Dr. Pena not only accepted her as his patient, but then called to say there had been a cancellation and could we be in New York the next week. And He provided for us as a family to enable all of us to be here for her, and for the Ronald McDonald House to have a room for us to stay in. Yes, God has been with Hana from the start, and we feel He has plans for her life. Even more, and what just leaves us in awe of God’s presence and provision for Hana, Dr. Buntain and then Dr. Pena have both said that Hana should not be alive, and given that she is, should not be this healthy. The surgery she is scheduled to have in three days is typically done within 48 hours of birth, not at 19 months old.

This is our love story of Hana Anping Allen and is just the beginning of the rest of our lives with this special little girl from China. What a blessing to us all and what a gift God has given our family. If you’re interested in the story of our adoption with daily updates and pictures of our trip to China, and then monthly updates concerning Hana’s surgery and progress, we have a website that we have been keeping up to date and will maintain until Hana’s health has stabilized. It is located at www.thestoryofyou.com. Go to Extended Hosting and then click on Hana.

Please pray for homeschoolers worldwide. Pray for countries to open the door to the freedoms we are experiencing. Pray for countries that have not been ready to allow homeschooling to relax the laws prohibiting this form of education. Pray for homeschool families to witness to others as they have opportunities to visit other countries. And if you wouldn’t mind, please pray that Hana will be restored to good health and that all bodily systems will work as God intended.

What a time of change we are living in. Let us all be catalysts for change. Prayer is the best catalyst there is, and the blessings that result are incredible.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Heather Allen is TOS’s Town Square chief contributing writer and Senior Analytical Consultant. She has a PhD in Experimental Psychology, served as an Aerospace Experimental Psychologist in the US Navy, and worked 11 years for Sandia National Laboratories. She and her husband Steve have homeschooled their three children for 8 years.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” —2 Corinthians 3:17

Last year, I spoke on the topic of freedom to homeschool. After many years of reading and hearing wonderful advice from veteran home educators and diving head-first into the challenge that comes with this decision to teach my children at home, I felt that I must make it my mission to help parents catch the vision of freedom—freedom in their decision to homeschool.

I have been greatly influenced by the Moores (Better Late Than Early), the Davises (I Saw the Angel in the Marble), Mary Hood (The Joyful Homeschooler), and Mr. John Taylor Gatto (Dumbing us Down). Each of these pioneers has made me rejoice—and weep: rejoice in the validation of my thoughts on homeschooling, and weep over my own programming, that has to die a decisive death.

Although my zealousness toward unschooling, “child led” and delight-directed methods has gotten me into some hot water, I have also discovered that my zealousness in helping people trust their own instincts and abilities has encouraged some floundering souls in addition to my own. Plus, I have gained an appreciation for the differences in people. Variety is truly the spice of homeschooling!

But what exactly is this freedom I am talking about? Where do we get it? Why must we grasp it? With the passing of time, many things change. Words have new, but not always accurate, meanings now. I went to a God-fearing source for my definitions: Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary of the English Language (published by Foundations of American Christian Education). If you are not familiar with it, I urge you to seek it out, purchase it hastily, and use it every day. Webster defines these watchwords as shown below, I have underlined some parts of the definitions for emphasis:

Free (5) [fifth definition] Unconstrained: unrestrained; not under compulsion or control. A man is free to pursue his own choice; he enjoys free will.

Freedom A state of exemption from the power or control of another; liberty; exemption from slavery, servitude or confinement. Freedom is personal, civil, political, and religious. See Liberty.

Liberty (1) Freedom from restraint, in general sense, and applicable to the body or to the will or mind. The body is at liberty, when not confined.

Natural Liberty (2) Consists in the power of acting as one thinks fit, without any restraint or control except from the laws of nature. It is a state of exemption from the control of others, and from positive laws and the institutions of social life. This liberty is abridged by the establishment of government.

Civil Liberty (3) is the liberty of men in a state of society, or natural liberty, so far only abridged and restrained, as is necessary and expedient of the safety and interest of the society, state or nation. A restraint of natural liberty, not necessary or expedient for the public, is tyranny or oppression. Civil liberty is an exemption from the arbitrary will of others, which exemption is secured by established laws, which restrain every man from injuring or controlling another. Hence the restraints of law are essential to civil liberty.

Mr. Webster was called the schoolmaster to the nation, having had an enormous impact on the early education of our country—American education—with the development of his early spellers and textbooks. But what made his books different was that he didn’t separate the Creator from the education of the creation. And he taught the American children about their culture, their surroundings, their geography—not solely about the “Motherland” that they had left behind.

In Galatians 5:1, Paul the apostle tells us to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Here he is contrasting the bondage of those seeking to be justified by the keeping of the law with the freedom of those in Christ.

Now, I realize Paul wasn’t referring to home education, but I think the premise can be applied to it. We have come full circle in the area of education: from the way we have done it to the regulations posed upon us; from freedom to bondage and back again. Let’s leave the “motherland” behind and teach what applies to us, in our own homes.

Although there are many second-generation homeschoolers that we know of now, many of us parents who are “doing this” are products of the institutional system, and even though we don’t want to emulate that formula for a myriad of reasons, we are programmed to do what we know. Personal experiences aside, if you want to know why the institutional system doesn’t work, and how it is designed to not work for us, please read Dumbing us Down by John Taylor Gatto. Another take on it that is very important for you to read and understand is Kris Klicka’s book Homeschooling, The Right Choice.

So what is the answer for us? I think it’s time for the Extreme Makeover: Homeschool Edition.

The Barrett family in Peyton, Colorado, was selected out of thousands of applications for ABC Television’s program Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and while they were away on an all-expenses-paid vacation, courtesy of ABC, their old cramped quarters came crashing down and a new one was put up in its place in less than 100 hours. It was out with the old and in with the new! As they commenced on this project using hundreds of hours of volunteer manpower and donated materials, a family in dire need of a change was blessed with a beautiful new home with room to raise and nurture their family, which consists of two of their own children and four children who were deemed “un-adoptable” by Social Services.

I was intrigued when I found out that this project included the building of a 600-square-foot schoolhouse! Four out of the six Barrett children are currently homeschooled. A friend of mine who helped with the project told me about it: she said she was disappointed with the schoolhouse. “What do you mean?” I asked. She continued, “Did you know they built them a schoolhouse? They are a homeschooling family. And they built them a schoolhouse. It looks just like a traditional schoolhouse on the outside. And I was hoping for some really cool stuff on the inside…. But it ended up being pretty much like a public school classroom. I had visualized bean bags, reading nooks, science labs, animal cages and tanks…. They obviously didn’t do their homework on what homeschooling is all about. Public school mentality at work.” She continued, “The family can do wonders with it, I am sure—but here is an unlimited project, and they build a public school classroom….”

I don’t see her as being negative, just disappointed in this one aspect of the project because SHE is a homeschool mom too and has been working at throwing out the mentality that has followed her through life. She is now enjoying freedom in her homeschooling! And I am so excited for Mrs. Barrett, with her new little red school building! She is going to have a blast customizing it for her kids!

Folks, what are you building? An institutional education for your homeschooled kids? Or are you building a custom-made experience for your unique, one-of-a-kind child? Maybe some demolition is in order! It is time to break out and be free! Sure, we have some regulation—more than we should—but we are law-abiding even if we don’t agree with it. We homeschoolers are involved at the legislative level, sometimes with a vengeance, because we have to be. It is our responsibility because “It” is “Our” responsibility. Freedom does have its price.

But research and statistics even show that heavy governmental regulation of homeschooling has little to no effect on academic achievement. “Parents are doing well with their children without government intervention,” states Brian Ray, PhD (Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling, Broadman & Holman Publishers, p. 82). And that is very important to note, although the emphasis on academics versus character training in the homeschool is a whole different topic to discuss. Some parents are more concerned with character, at least in the beginning. But at the same time, we want to be without reproach in academics. And certainly governmental regulation wreaks havoc on character training.

So while you chew on that for a while, let me just throw some ideas at you, things that you might not have considered as an avenue for a family-designed, God-ordained lesson plan for your home and school:

Support groups abound, and they can give you a lot; but it is up to you to utilize your “natural liberty” and decide what is best for you. Get support in a group that encourages you and validates your choices. Don’t get stuck in a group that makes you cringe. Try many, and if that doesn’t work, start your own! It takes only two or three families to make up a great support network.

Be who you are, but be willing to grow. Be flexible! Life happens, so go with the flow. Grab hold of the freedom to teach your children from your own knowledge and personal experience! God has a plan for your kids, and you are a huge part of that plan. You are special!

Take your liberty to choose, and use whatever resources you want to use!

So you say you don’t have a teaching degree? So what? The statistics prove that you don’t have to have a degree in order to successfully educate your children at home. So you didn’t even graduate from high school either? Well, that may be. But you have still come a long way. If you can effectively communicate and are willing to learn new things yourself, you can home educate.

And maybe you have lived a hard life and been in a place of regret. How about remembering this: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Change is possible! Some of those lessons you learned may be ones you don’t want your children to learn they way you did (the hard way), but you have the freedom to teach them from your mistakes, your failures, and your successes just the same. I firmly believe that it is my right as the parent to make the mistakes with my children—as well as to celebrate the triumphs! Why should a complete stranger get that privilege?

In addition to life’s lessons, resources abound! Try things out, ask questions, use the library, borrow from a friend. Educate yourself about learning styles by reading about them or by observing how your child learns … or both! Freely allow your children to be who THEY are, and nurture them. Find out what they are interested in, what they are good at. Learn to say yes and not no. Kids need freedom to explore. Make sure they master the basic skills. Spend time with them. Read out loud. Make sure the books are good! You decide.

T-I-M-E. It takes just a minute—and before you know it, you have spent a whole day having a relationship with your kids. Wow.

Mom and Dad, your life is an unwritten book. Open it up and tell your kids all about you! You are a highly specialized, individualized asset to your children! Trust your intuition, and also seek the Lord and trust that He will help you! He created you and your children, and each of you is unique and has a special purpose. The beauty of homeschooling is the freedom to discover who each child is! (And learn together all of what God says in His Word about training children.) Learn to look at your child from his or her very own standpoint. Not just as one of the gang. This child is different, that child is different (Psalm 139).

Remember that there isn’t one “right” way to go about this. Enjoy your freedom in seeking. Discover your own way of teaching, how to do it, what to do. Pick and choose your curriculum, schedule, style, and focus.

Then, we can have the freedom to FAIL if we must. But unless we try, we cannot fail or succeed in anything we do.

Therefore, my friends, I ask you to take a look at yourself, trust what you see, and if you are seriously considering this homeschool journey, go forward with a mind set to the task and a confidence that you are an individual (there is no one else exactly like you on this earth) and that you have what it takes to be Free and In Charge of the education of your greatest treasure, your children. Let’s tear down those old dilapidated ideas and start fresh. Are you ready for some freedom? Are you ready for an extreme makeover today? Get out the wrecking ball—the walls are coming down!

“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” —James 1:25

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nancy K. Baetz

Copyright 2005. Used with permission. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Right now, 19 free gifts when you subscribe. www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

One of those twerpy kids was always hanging around the playground when I was little. He would hop on the merry-go-round and gleefully demand to be spun. He’d be obliged, of course (the following spectacle was great fun to witness), and without fail he’d start screaming like a cat caught in a washing machine before being flung off in a heap, where he’d promptly lose his lunch and start crying about how “everyone pushed too fast.” Then the next day he’d be back again, wanting to jump back on. The goofy little nerd refused to face the fact that he didn’t spin well; he was always determined to have another go at it. It was almost admirable seeing him pitched off day after day, but after a while it got nauseating to watch what a twittering loaf he was. Me, on the other hand, I was unflappable and could spin with the best of them. I loved the merry-go-round. Loved (past tense). It’s funny how things change when you get older. I no longer spin well. I think I’d die if I had to endure a ride on a merry-go-round. Besides, I have other sorts of merry-go-rounds that keep me plenty busy spinning in circles.

I once heard someone say that the definition of insanity is “a person doing the same thing over and over yet expecting a different outcome.” It’s like the twerpy spinner kid. He knew he was going to puke, we knew he was going to puke, but he hopped back on every day just the same. It’s a dreadful realization that my life reflects the same track of lunacy as that weird kid.

With some things I just refuse to face the facts. Fact: when I eat three plates of chicken curry at one sitting, I always feel unbearably ill. Do you think that stops me? Heavens no. I’d eat three plates of curry right this minute if they were in arm’s reach. Fact: when I cross over the yellow line when I’m driving, other cars almost hit me. Think I drive any better? Nope. I know the facts, but I don’t seem to learn. When I wear my husband’s socks outside they always get really dirty; this causes him to get rather unhappy. You’d think I’d just stop wearing his socks, right? Sometimes I stop. And it always happens that when I don’t clean the tub, a slimy yellowish-orange coat appears all over it. I’ll wait weeks for it to go away. You’d think I’d get a clue, but I’m always shocked that it only gets thicker and orangy-er. When I snap at my kids in anger, they get gloomy. I know this, yet I still snap. When I’m too busy with “life” to play with them, they grow resentful and withdrawn. I know the outcome, yet I still let it happen. I’ll write whole articles about the great things that happen when I’m sweet to my husband; I know all about cause and effect, and occasionally I’ll actually do what’s right and experience a great outcome. And when that happens I become more secure in knowing my philosophies are right. “Yep, this philosophy is good. This is my philosophy. I believe in such ’n such philosophy.” … But simply knowing something is completely worthless without the will or faith to live it consistently. It surprises me that I so quickly jump back on that merry-go-round and spin in circles with disastrous success.

Knowing that I should read my Bible and pray daily gets me no closer to my Lord. Believing that submitting to my husband “is good” means nothing if I buck his authority when an opportunity presents itself for me to practice what I preach. It’s in the doing that really means anything.

You have no idea how much I can relate to the Israelites, who wandered in circles for 40 years. However, I have no excuse, because the fact is, *I* have a road map. The agonizing thing is that I know what I’m supposed to be doing; but God help me, sometimes it’s easier to simply spin in circles. I know the house does not run well when I spend hours on the computer. Do I stop? I get irritated and grouchy at the kids when they bother me while I’m busy. “What do you mean you want to eat? I fed you twice yesterday.” So do I un-busy myself? It is not uncommon for them to stand next to me and say “Mama” fifteen times until they finally say, “Never mind,” and walk off. It shames me to write this, yet I will bring it up as a valid example because I think it is common to many moms—moms who would say they also share my own lofty philosophies of being a homemaker/teacher.

We live in an age where “minding the home” is more avoidable than ever. We have cars, the Internet, email, job opportunities, good magazines and books, telephones and televisions and daycare centers and all sorts of distractions to keep us from our God, our husbands, and our children. Yes, we homeschool, and that is super swell. And it is true that our kids are not being polluted daily by a system we (perhaps) find repulsive. But simply keeping our children away from bad peers and bad teachers does not automatically create loving, responsible, educated human beings. And if we neglect our great responsibility as “Mama” during the very short time we have, then it really doesn’t matter much what our philosophies happen to be.

Depressed yet? I don’t write this to make anyone feel like a bucket of seaweed. I write this because I believe that at the heart of most homeschoolers, we emphatically desire a life that keeps us OFF that dreadful merry-go-round. We have no desire to spin in circles. We chat about how sorry we are for those women who aren’t ever around their families, and then we go home and busy ourselves in the home—not for the home—just in the home. Busy, busy, busy as we spin and spin and spin.

Well I, for one, will keep fighting against what hinders me. By golly, I will pull myself up and make good things happen! I will create a schedule and go to therapy. Right? Just give me another “To-Do List.” I need more laws governing my life. Is this true? No … believe it or not, that thought pattern is just another cleverly disguised contraption to keep you spinning. It won’t achieve what’s really needed. As a Christian, what I need is to look to things above. I need to look to my Lord, the One who knows me and loves me despite my ridiculous bad habits and my constant shortcomings. Behavior modification is worthless without knowing Christ (not knowing of Him … but knowing Him directly).

There is an answer to the merry-go-round, and the solution is certainly not “trying harder to be a better wife and mother.” The answer is Him. He does not have a list of things for you to do. He simply wants to see your face. Everything seems to fall into perfect place when He comes into focus and the world grows dim. For those of us who know Christ, I pray that we will seek to know Him as a person—not intellectually as an impersonal far-off God, but a loving, actual real-life person who made a way for us to truly live. How do you keep things from spinning out of control? I can’t do it, but He can. I pray that we can make it a practice to meet with Him every day. How do we meet Him? Read His Word. Worship Him today. Worship Him with your children.

For those of you who do not know Christ, I pray that you will consider the only One who is able to save: Jesus Christ the Messiah. He is worth knowing personally. And He’s the most valuable truth I can teach my children. Without Him, everything else is empty and dull and will only make us dizzy.

Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. (Ephesians 1:15-18)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jenefer Igarashi, TOS’s Senior Editor, lives in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee with her husband, Geoff, and their six children, ages 16 years to 1 year. Jen enjoys writing fiction and has won two awards from Writer’s Digest. The whole family enjoys construction projects, good books, and jumping on their trampoline. Come say hi to Jen on her blog page at www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/JenIg.

Have you heard that question yet? When I first decided to homeschool, and friends, family, and acquaintances found out, it was amazing how often and quickly that question is posed. In many cases, before I could even try to formulate an answer, I was usually smacked with a barrage of warnings and cautions, or had my questioner simply shake their head and smile condescendingly. It was maddening!

300 years ago, there were two choices: a) walk 17 miles through the snow to the one-room schoolhouse or, b) have your mother and father teach you at home.

Yes, believe it or not, children all throughout history were homeschooled. Alas, the poor, misfortunate, odd little child of the 1700’s. How ever did they keep from falling behind? How possibly could they have learned social skills if not from being tossed into a group of fellow nine-year-olds to teach them? How could they learn independence without being smothered by a peer group? Where did they learn the necessary skills and receive the self-esteem lessons that are found on the playground? Could sibling rivalry at home ever measure up to the greater scale of cruelty, and sometimes deadly, violence we now have in abundance in some public schools?

For the child of the 1700’s, homeschooling was the norm. It was not some nutty, new-age experiment that was just introduced to society. Homeschooling was how things had always been done—and quite successfully, too! Strong, brilliant men and women who were trained as children by their mothers grew up to build the great nation that we live in today. Their mothers were moms just like us; they were willing to teach. And, they knew back then that social skills were learned and practiced in the home. Kindness, patience, tolerance for siblings, perseverance, and the hard work of daily chores were learned along side Mom and Dad, and within the family structure.

While many parents are content to hand over the responsibilities of education, influence and inadvertent character and values training to the government for 7 hours a day, I am not. The choice to homeschool my family was not necessarily easy, but crucial for us. The fact that there is a whole history that consistently demonstrates and proves the successful methods of homeschooling is a comfort to me. And frankly, the 200-year government run, public learning experiment has not impressed me at all. Ironically, despite the low statistics and depressing national test scores, as well as the rampant playground torments, school shootings, and prejudiced curricula filled with values and philosophies in direct conflict with my own, it is I who gets the bewildered looks from other parents when they learn I am a homschooling mommy.

On an ending note, I must emphatically add that I do not “condemn” all public schools or view them as an enemy. Nor would I ever dream of judging—in any way at all—parents, who, after consideration, prayer and/or much thought, choose public, private, charter, or any other educational way or system. We all want what is best for our families, and being vastly different, it would be tremendously egotistical to believe that our way is the best for all families. Rather, “Who are you to judge another man? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand…Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Read Romans 14.

Continue to research; and my respect to all parents who refuse to be blindly led or forced into any system, based upon peer pressure, social trends, or simply because it is the direction the stampeding masses are charging into.

Our little ones are too precious for us to let go without first being confident of the hands, hearts, and minds of those they will come under.

May God bless you and your efforts as you search for what is best for your own dear family.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jenefer Igarashi, TOS’s Senior Editor, lives in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee with her husband, Geoff, and their six children, ages 16 – 1 year. Jen enjoys writing fiction and has won two awards from Writer’s Digest. The whole family enjoys construction projects, good books, and jumping on their trampoline. Come say hi to Jen on her blog at www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/JenIg.

Copyright 2005. Used with permission. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Right now, 19 free gifts when you subscribe. www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

While a home schooling mom’s day is filled with numerous lesson plans, she often still desires to work at home to help out with the family’s finances. As a home schooling mom who also works from home, other home schooling moms seeking suggestions regarding how to manage a home, a school, and a business successfully without going insane often approach me. It can be done with good organizational skills and proper time management.  

Schedule In Advance: 

One of the best gifts a home schooling mom who also works at home can receive or give to herself is a day planner. The best day planner will provide a week at a glance along with an hourly breakdown, preferable into15 minute increments. At least one week ahead of time, sit down and calendar in the times you will devote to your children’s education and their extracurricular activities. Block them off immediately, as their education is your first priority. Next, calendar in your business hours. Always carry your day planner with you even when you leave the home. When working from home and home schooling, you have to stay on top of your schedule. A good day planner will help you do so successfully. 

Be Prepared: 

Organizing a home, creating, and implementing lesson plans are full time jobs all by themselves. So, when you add a home business into the day, you must be organized and prepared to keep the day running smoothly.  

a. Have your lesson plans ready to go in advance of your day. Don’t wait until the school day begins to create your child’s educational goals. Purchasing curriculums that create the lesson plans for you will save on preparation time. 

b. When schooling more than one age group, keep your lesson plans from year to year. You will appreciate having them on file. 

c. Home schooled students do expect regular meal times and snacks to not go unnoticed! Plan your meals in advance and grocery shop accordingly. Keep daytime meals and snacks simple. 

d. When preparing meals, allow for leftovers. Utilize your microwave oven, crock pot, and food steamer. You will enjoy the extra family and business time this provides. 

Delegate: 

As moms we strive to meet home and family demands independently. When working from home, you must be open and willing to delegate some of the simple and repetitive tasks that can consume your day. 

a. Allow older siblings to help with lunch preparation. If all the ingredients are handy and available, most children can easily prepare a simple sandwich.  

b. Always have simple nutritious snacks on hand even the youngest can independently retrieve with permission. 

c. Create an age appropriate chore list for all family members, so housework is not your primary responsibility. This will free up time and allow you to spend time working your business without household chores interrupting your business hours. 

d. Enlist the help of older children to help with some of the younger children’s schoolwork such as calling out spelling words, math flash cards, or listening to them read aloud. Older siblings typically enjoy being the “teacher” and the younger sibling usually enjoys the attention he receives at the same time. It’s a win-win scenario. Delegating simple educational assignments like this will allow the school bell to ring a little earlier and give you more time to work your business at home. 

Control Interruptions: 

The reality of our home schooling environment is that it is also our home, and it is filled with many distractions. You must control these distractions or you will never finish school and have time to work your business. 

a. Control the phone! Turn off the ringer and let all your calls go to voice mail until school time is done. Entertaining unscheduled phone calls will only delay your school day and ultimately make you tardy for work. 

b. Hold firm to a No TV, No Computer, No Video Game rule until school is completely done by all students in the home. These distractions are difficult to pull the students away from even after recess time.  

c. Hold firm to school hours, especially starting times. Allowing the kids to sleep late without justification will delay your working hours.  

d. Remember the day planner suggestion? Have your calendar handy and stay in control of your school and workday. Frequently, as stay at home moms, we are perceived by friends/family as being readily available for unscheduled play dates and even unexpected childcare services. Politely decline these requests by reminding them that you will be working during the requested time. Eventually, they will learn to respect your time by scheduling in advance.  

Home schooling your children and working from home can be done. Many mothers are achieving great success.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

© 2005 Elizabeth Champagne, M.A., R.D. All rights reserved, but you may pass this along provided the following message is included in its entirety: “Liz Champagne is a Registered Dietitian and stay-at-home/home schooling mom of 3 sons. She has been working at home since July 2001. To learn more about how she can help you , visit her site http://www.home4kids2.com

People think it is being sugar coated—what researchers are finding about homeschooling, that is. Whether I am presenting research to a judge in a court case, to other researchers at an academic meeting, or to parents at a homeschool conference, someone is likely to think that I am hiding some dark secrets about how the home-educated are doing academically, psychologically, socially, or in terms of participation in their communities. Is anything being hidden?

Academics

Dozens of studies have now been completed, often involving analyses of standardized achievement test scores. On average, homeschooled students outscore their public (state) school peers by 15 to 30 percentile points. Here are few examples.

The Stanford Achievement Test scores of hundreds of home-educated students, grades K-12, in Washington State over several years show that they consistently score above the national average at about the 67th percentile on national norms. The public school average is about the 50th percentile.

Data on 1,657 families and 5,402 children were analyzed in my nationwide study. These students scored, on average, about 30 percentile points above the state-school average. This was in all subject areas: reading, language, math, science, social studies, and study skills. My summer of 2002 study of homeschooling in Ohio also found the homeschooled scoring well above average.

“Socialization”

When someone asks of parent-led home education, “What about socialization?,” he usually means, “How will these children learn to get along with others when they are not in large, age-segregated groups of their peers most of the day?” He might also mean, “How will this home-educated child learn to accept the ‘American’ way of thinking and living?”

A number of studies have addressed the social and psychological development of the home-educated. Regarding the aspect of self-concept, for example, studies have revealed that the homeschooled are significantly stronger than are public school students. One researcher concluded: “A low anxiety level could be a contributing factor. …More contact with significant others, parental love, support, and involvement, peer independence, and a sense of responsibility and self-worth may be other contributing factors” (see Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling, p. 57-58, below).

Dr. Larry Shyers found institutionally schooled students to have significantly higher problem-behavior scores than their home-educated age mates. His study found the conventionally schooled to be considerably more aggressive, louder, and more competitive than the home-educated. He theorized that the home-educated do better because their key role models are their parents rather than peers. In summary, research to date finds the home-educated doing well in their social, psychological, and emotional development.

A Part of Society?

Sometimes homeschoolers are accused of isolating themselves and their children from their own communities and from society in general. Research is beginning to dispel this claim.

For example, Drs. Christian Smith and David Sikkink, conducted a nationwide study that examined the extent of family involvement in a variety of civic activities. They concluded: “Far from being privatized and isolated, home schooling families are typically very well networked and quite civically active. The empirical evidence is clear and decisive: private schoolers and home schoolers are considerably more civically involved in the public square than are public schoolers… (see Worldwide Guide, p. 75). My recent study of Ohio homeschooling revealed the similar findings.

The good news is that research on homeschooling indicates positive things about home-based education. Parents have re-learned that they can successfully teach, train, and disciple their children. By faith in a providing God, they can educate their children without taking money from their neighbors via taxation (e.g., conventional public schools, charter schools, vouchers).

It will be fascinating to see what future research reveals about the home educated as they move into their adult lives of living out their faith in the Lord, raising families of their own, working for pay, and serving in their communities and culture.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Brian Ray is the president of the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) and founding editor of the academic journal Home School Researcher (est. 1985). He has published numerous journal articles and books, been repeatedly interviewed by major media, served as an expert witness in court cases on homeschooling, and testified to legislatures regarding educational issues. Dr. Ray is a leading international expert in research on homeschooling. In addition, he has been both a classroom teacher and a university professor through the graduate level. He earned his Ph.D. in science education from Oregon State University and his M.S. in zoology from Ohio University. Brian and Betsy have been married 26 years and have eight children, all of whom they have home educated since birth.

Copyright 2006. Used with permission. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Right now, 19 free gifts when you subscribe. www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

Do you have a preschooler in your home? Then you are blessed. These little ones help us keep a perspective on what is important in life. They are curious about everything, eager to learn, energetic, and extremely fatiguing!

As I travel and speak at homeschooling events across the country, I am pleased to find that many parents are homeschooling their preschoolers. A growing number of these parents have only preschool-aged children and are excited to jump onto the homeschool wagon. However, some appear overzealous in their desire to “educate” their young children, encouraging them to learn difficult academic material.

Another group of homeschooling parents with preschool children also exists. In addition to their preschoolers, these parents have school-aged children whom they are teaching. Many in this group are less enthusiastic towards their preschoolers since they assume their young children are “in the way” while they are teaching their older children.

Do you fall into one of the categories described above, or do you desire to energize your preschool efforts? If so, read on.

Educational psychologists claim that more than half of a child’s learning occurs during his first few years. Wow! These important, formative years should not be overlooked; however, we should resist the urge to cultivate “little geniuses.” It is crucial in our zeal that we do not neglect simple activities necessary for the child’s development. A less academic and more hands-on approach will enable us and our children to enjoy homeschooling and avoid burnout.

Perhaps we are homeschooling several children, and “teaching” our preschooler is not at the top of our to-do list. Maybe it is not even slated to be on our list for another year or two. It can be difficult to train or entertain our preschoolers while teaching our older children. We need a system that is flexible, easy-to-follow, and successful.

What our preschool child needs most in her day is time with Mom! I suggest we begin our school day by spending one-on-one time with our preschooler, making her our priority. We can instruct our older children not to interrupt, because we are doing “schoolwork” with our young child. This serves as an example for the preschooler to follow when we are working with our older children. This intimate time together makes our young child feel that she is part of the learning process, important, and loved. Countless parents have testified that this basic advice has enriched their homeschooling experience.

Sharing good books with our preschooler is a stimulating activity. This simple task will motivate our young child to become a proficient reader; our love and enthusiasm for reading is contagious. Reading aloud lays a solid foundation for developing effective writing skills since our preschooler must cultivate an ear for good writing in order to write well one day. This early immersion in literature is the core of a highly effective pre-reading and pre-writing program. Children love the closeness of read-aloud time; they know they have our undivided attention!

The child becomes an active participant in story time as she narrates what we have read aloud. Numerous skills are nurtured as she retells an intriguing story. Her composition skills are empowered as she weaves her tale, her vocabulary is strengthened as she searches for just the right words, and her sequencing skills are refined as she works to keep the story events in proper order.

A child who has not yet developed her communication skills can take pleasure in pointing out various details through the story’s illustrations as we ask, for example, “Can you find the cat? Where is the flower? How many birds can you find?” This word-picture association helps her increase her vocabulary, visual discrimination skills, and general knowledge.

Using simple hand puppets, children love acting out the stories we read. This serves to fortify language and presentation skills while building manual dexterity. Story elements such as use of dialogue, sequencing, setting, character, action, conflict, climax, and resolution are “caught” rather than “taught” through this playful medium. Older children enjoy participating in this hands-on lesson as well.

Young children are sponges! It is amazing how much they absorb while being close at hand as we homeschool our older children. We can provide entertaining yet educational activities to keep them occupied nearby for short spans of time, offering us freedom to work with our school-aged children. The goal of many preschool children is to create a mess! This is a task into which they heartily immerse themselves.

When my daughter Mandy was a preschooler, she was particularly fond of water. One day I noticed she had disappeared from our family room where we were doing our schoolwork. I quickly darted to the bathroom, where cheerful squeals filled the air. Mandy was conducting a scientific investigation to discover which toys would effectively clog the sink drain. To Mandy’s delight, she had created a waterfall, which cascaded over the counter, flowed across the floor, and meandered down the hallway. I then realized I needed to provide Mandy with entertaining activities to occupy her in our family room during school time. I needed to create a “controlled messy situation.”

Mandy’s attraction to water inspired me to make this the focal point of my experiment. I laid several large towels on the tile floor in our family room and placed a dishpan half full of water on top. I added a little dish soap and swished it around to form some playful bubbles. I supplied Mandy with an assortment of doll clothes and asked her to wash them. She loved this and played quietly as I worked with her older siblings. I soon learned I could extend this activity by adding another dishpan of clear water for her to rinse the clothes and a folded towel for her to blot the excess water from the garments. Since this was successful, I set up a small “clothesline” for Mandy to hang the doll clothes on to dry. I simply tied a piece of yarn from one chair back to another and clipped the clothespins, several inches apart, onto the taut line. Clipping the clothespins in place in advance made it easy for Mandy to squeeze their tops together and slip the doll clothes between the pinchers.

Mandy was never as happy as when she was “washing the doll clothes.” Not only was she having fun, but she was also learning. Through this child’s play she was discovering the properties of water, following a series of simple instructions, and developing fine motor skills. She was also listening as I read aloud to the older children and soon entered into our literary discussions. (Our floor was exceptionally clean when Mandy “washed the doll clothes,” for I used the wet towels to mop up when she tired of the activity!)

I searched for additional fun-filled amusements for Mandy. I began sharing these with other families and eventually put together a book with 100 activities to entertain and educate preschoolers. We can easily set up these activity centers in our home. Our preschoolers will not be the only ones intrigued by these occupations. Our early elementary-aged children will be eager to finish their schoolwork so they can “wash the doll clothes” and participate in other engaging enterprises with their younger sibling.

We should supply our preschooler with plenty of books, pads of paper, crayons, washable markers, play dough, puppets, and puzzles. Allowing her to use certain items only during school time prevents them from becoming too ordinary. We can provide a special container to house her materials in and occasionally purchase new items for her to discover in her school box. As we prepare breakfast, we can pack our preschooler a lunchbox filled with healthy snacks to enjoy while we are busy teaching our older children. This will put an end to at least one interruption!

Homeschooling with a preschooler in the house can be overwhelming at times. The following plan allows those of us with several children to effectively homeschool. We can begin by reading aloud to our preschooler and then assisting her with an activity such as “washing the doll clothes.” Once she understands how to perform this activity independently, we can read aloud to our children as a group. The preschooler is able to take in what is appropriate as she plays close by. Next we can select one of our capable children to read a simple book to our preschool child. This helps to occupy the young child, who may now be tired of playing on her own, and provides the older child practice with her oral reading skills. Equally important is the strengthening of the sibling relationship.

This arrangement affords us the opportunity to work individually with another child, perhaps teaching a subject that requires concentration, such as mathematics or phonics. During this time, our other children may be reading silently from books geared to their levels or engaging in an independent exercise. A non-reading child can draw a picture, put together a puzzle, or use an educational computer program. Each of our children can take turns interacting with our preschooler, either by reading aloud or by participating in an activity, allowing us the freedom to work individually with each of them as needed. This structure works well for organizational purposes and promotes numerous skills: each child needs some individual attention, each child needs to be able to teach someone else, and each child needs to be able to learn some material independently.

Homeschooling is hard work, especially with a preschooler in the house! It is easy to lose focus as we strive to provide our children with a good education. The most significant lessons we will teach our children, however, are not academic lessons, but lessons about relationships. The best place to learn about these relationships is in the confines of a loving home. Blessings will follow if we purpose to have a positive attitude toward our preschoolers. We should resist the notion that they are a burden, preventing us from teaching our older children.

I believe the learning experiences our preschoolers will encounter are as important as, or even more important than, those of our older children; for it is in the formative years that they develop habits and impressions that will affect their academic performance for a lifetime.

It is an honor, a privilege, and a blessing to teach my children. I hope you feel this way too! Our little ones will not be little forever—so it is important we make the most of the preschool years. It is important for them, and it is important for us. May the Lord bless you as you seek His best for your family.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Over the past 25 years Valerie and her husband, Bruce, have homeschooled their six children. Valerie offers encouragement in her books: Unit Studies Made Easy, Creating Books with Children, Reading Made Easy, The Frances Study Guide, Successful Puppet Making, and Making the Most of the Preschool Years. Valerie enjoys speaking at homeschool conferences. The family resides in Tampa, Florida. Visit Valerie’s website at www.ValerieBendt.com

Copyright 2006. Originally appeared in Summer 2005. Used with permission. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Right now, 19 free gifts when you subscribe. www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

We didn’t always know we had two gifted children. Like most parents, we fell in love with each of them instantly and spent long hours just marveling at the smallest details of the new life unfolding before us bit by bit. Such a wonder everything is with so many firsts constantly taking place!

So when our two-week old son didn’t sleep very much but instead was content to spend most of the day looking around, we didn’t think it was particularly unusual. At 12 months, he became obsessed with sorting toys or landscape rocks or food containers into endlessly varied groups, like a living Venn diagram. When he didn’t walk until nearly 16 months but could recognize all the letters of the alphabet and speak clearly in complete sentences, we began to wonder.

Likewise, we assumed our daughter, who never crawled but went directly from standing up to running at 8 months, simply had a different developmental timetable than other children, including her older brother. Three months of colic doesn’t begin to describe her babyhood; she spent almost the first year crying constantly until she fell asleep, exhausted, in mid-wail. She moved on to pulling on everything she could grab, getting around such bothersome safety features as cabinet locks or safety gates by dismantling them. By 15 months, she was doing complicated jigsaw puzzles and narrating phrases and whole sections of many children’s books to herself.

It gradually became clear to us that their differences were not explained by mere differences in developmental milestones. Rather, their early abilities and behaviors were categorically so unusual that we could find nothing helpful in the parenting books or from the other parents we knew. The pediatrician first suggested that our children’s behavior was not typical, giving us a term that would later be confirmed by other sources to describe what we were observing: gifted. Despite the positive, privileged, and friendly-sounding name, we soon found out by research and experience that a whole host of characteristics go with such children, not all of them positive.

An excellent place to start is with checklists of gifted characteristics, such as this one, courtesy of Dr. Linda Silverman of the Gifted Development Center (888-443-8331 www.gifteddevelopment.com):

Characteristics of Giftedness Scale

Good problem solving/reasoning abilities

Rapid learning ability

Extensive vocabulary

Excellent memory

Long attention span

Personal sensitivity

Compassion for others

Perfectionism

Intensity

Moral sensitivity

Unusual curiosity

Perseverant when interested

High degree of energy

Preference for older companions

Wide range of interests

Great sense of humor

Early or avid reading ability

Concerned with justice, fairness

At times, judgment seems mature for age

Keen powers of observation

Vivid imagination

High degree of creativity

Tends to question authority

Shows ability with numbers

Good at jigsaw puzzles

If your child displays most of these characteristics, she or he could be gifted. But even such lists are problematic, because gifted children are more different from each other than any other group, and even within the gifted community, levels of giftedness vary greatly. For instance, two children, both gifted, could be as differently gifted from each other as a mildly mentally retarded child is from an above average child. (Not to mention that gifted could mean musically gifted, artistically gifted, mathematically gifted, and so on, yet all bear the same label.) And to further complicate matters, a gifted child may manifest only certain characteristics on those checklists and still be gifted. More important than the specific matches on a checklist is the degree of intensity to which a child demonstrates a particular characteristic.

Whatever giftedness means—and does NOT mean—these children require as much of an individualized approach to education as possible, which is one reason why homeschooling is ideal. Curriculum in a box, or anything in a box for that matter, just won’t work. What has worked for one of my gifted children has not necessarily worked for the other, and vice versa. What works for us will not necessarily work for you.

Because we don’t use one particular curriculum or publisher, I have found it helpful to have a checklist of what children are expected to have learned or master by certain ages. I use Robin Sampson’s What Your Child Needs to Know When, but there are other lists out there. This helps me evaluate where the kids stand in relation to generalized standards, and we aren’t tied to any curriculum, publisher, or textbook. We can spend more concentrated time when we need to and skip ahead if we want to.

We have tried many different schedules and will probably try many more before our homeschooling years are behind us, but we currently opt to school year round, working for three weeks and then having an off week in which we do special projects, have themed weeks, and let Mom tackle household things like cleaning closets. I spend many hours over the course of several months poring over catalogs, websites, bookstores, and the exhibit halls at homeschool conventions, examining potential curriculum. It will take me a week or more to plan for each child at the beginning of each school year and a few hours to plan for each 3- or 4-week block.

My children use their own home-designed weekly planners, which allow them control of their own learning and days in a limited but substantial way. The planners include only each child’s individual work: math, writing, spelling, grammar, and so on, and not any subjects we study as a family or projects they’ve designed for themselves. Each child does the work in the order he or she chooses, and I check it off when it’s been shown to me and we’ve gone over it. Because the kids know exactly what is expected of them, they happily (most of the time) do their work diligently.

Maybe that’s the best wonder of them all!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Helene Barker Kiser lives and learns with her husband, children, and assorted animals in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her writing has appeared in dozens of journals, books, and online sources. She welcomes your thoughts and comments on this article or on any aspect of educating gifted children at home. Email her at hbkiser@verizon.net.

I am a perfectionist, but only in some areas. It’s a funny combination, but it’s true—there are some things that I want to win at, and other things that I couldn’t really care less about. I will create competition where there is none, just to feel the delight of working to “beat” someone else. Sometimes this trait inspires me to excellence. Other times, it is a difficult personality flaw that I have to work to overcome.

My passion for “winning” did me no favors as a first-time homeschool mom. My poor 4-year-old didn’t understand the fact that we “had” to prove her amazing genius (and prove the obviously dominant method of homeschooling versus regular schooling). Poor little Judah had no idea there was an imaginary contest her mother had determined to win. She was blissfully unaware of waging any wars (or showing up any doubting-Thomas relatives).

Thankfully, God placed a love for my daughter above my love for “beating competition.” When I saw that sweet glint dying out in her eyes, I knew something was going all wrong. Instead of having a prodigy child who read sixth-grade level books at age 4, I was fast creating a girl who equated learning with being pressured by Mom to somehow make sense of a confusing jumble of letters. My eager little learner was being replaced by a girl who begged not to “do school.”

So we stopped. We quit doing all that “school” stuff and started just reading lots of stories on the couch. Or rather, continued (just as we’d always done since she was old enough to sit with me on the couch). Judah pulled a stool up to the counter and helped Mom measure ingredients for dinner. She helped with the new baby. She played “house” in the living room with old blankets and dolls. She colored and cut and pasted whenever the urge hit (and learned to clean it all up when she was done, too). She played outside. She helped me grocery shop. She wrestled with her Daddy.

And when she turned 6, she was ready to read. I can’t explain how it happened or how we knew it—we just did. All of a sudden, phonics (from 100 Easy Lessons) went from a torturous exercise to a quickly mastered feat, and then she flew through the first grade Pathway Readers and the second grade Christian Light Readers with delight. Before she turned 7, Judah was reading with ease, and I went from wishing she would read to wishing she would slow down (hey, wholesome books can sometimes be hard to find in the library!). Mathematics, a subject that brought her to tears, suddenly “clicked,” and she went through six workbooks (Developmental Math) in one year. Writing had been a miserable thing for her, but now she was constantly crafting stories and filling pages in journals.

We learned. We learned that one of the most wonderful things about home education is that you get to work with the natural development of your child. It’s a lot like gardening. You don’t try to plant seedlings in the middle of winter, but you wait for the right season. Planted in spring, the young shoots take off, thriving because the conditions are right. Just because I wanted my 4-year-old to read was no indication that she was ready to read. What would have taken a year or two of struggle, frustration, and friction was accomplished in two simple, happy weeks—because she was ready.

The hilarious ending to that story is that our second child actually did learn to read at age 4! The poor child was beyond ready, and we kept putting her off, not wanting to repeat the mistake we had made with our older child. Anna learned anyway, despite us. You simply can’t stop a child when she is ready.

So I’m not in competitive homeschooling anymore. I’m just mothering my children—which includes educating them. We are not trying to compete with anybody. We’re just growing beautiful young seedlings in their seasons, enjoying the process along with the harvest.

There are five of them now, and our home is anything but quiet or boring. But we keep the same relaxed approach to learning—a relaxed environment within an organized structure. Upon waking, each child has a small list of morning chores. This was my husband’s idea, and he taught this “class” for one month, a half hour each morning, until even the toddler had his morning routine down pat. After breakfast, the two oldest do a page of math (we are currently using Modern Curriculum Press), a page of handwriting (Italic Handwriting Series and DrawŸWriteŸNow!), piano, and 15 minutes of reading silently from books of our choosing (various classics at their reading level). Sometimes it’s handier to do this in the afternoon, so we keep our routine flexible and work with each day as it comes. It doesn’t so much matter when it all gets done, just so long as it gets done.

I make curriculum choices based on whether or not it can be done independently (using many ideas from the Robinson Curriculum philosophy). Juggling five children does not leave many spare moments, especially not when it comes to deciphering teacher’s manuals and the like. So … I don’t. Quarter Mile Math, for example, is a fun drill program that lets the computer do the work of teaching (not me). Books on CD are another blessing to a busy homeschooling mom. Our children know their oceans, continents, planets, and so many Scripture verses, all thanks to tapes we sing along with in the car. The Little House on the Prairie series came alive this year when the girls listened to each book on CD at bedtime. Probably the only exception to my “no-teaching” preference would be family games (such as Uno and chess) and our read-aloud times, which usually happen at the table during lunch. So far this year, we have loved Big Truths for Little Kids, Missionary Stories with the Millers, Jotham’s Journey, and A Child’s Geography.

After the required subjects are completed (math, reading, and writing), the children are free to play and learn about whatever they like. We keep plenty of educational things around the house, most of which I have acquired via garage sales, older homeschooling families, or used-curriculum fairs. It’s amazing how many great resources you can find if you just keep your eyes open. Using a long, low shelf, we have books, puzzles, and art supplies aplenty, available for whoever gets the “urge” to explore or create. Rooms in our home have become elaborate restaurants, the ocean, a Post Office, the Wild West, a jungle canopy, and more. I’ll let them do pretty much anything, as long as they clean it all up when they’re done! (It’s amazing how imaginative children can be with a few pieces of construction paper and some Scotch Tape). Mix in helping Dad and Mom, some afternoon chores, and time outdoors, and we end up with a very full educational day.

Chores are a big part of homeschooling in our house, and the general rule is that the chore goes to the youngest person who can handle it. No fair loading up the oldest child with all the work. Spending a day or two teaching the 5-year-old how to unload a dishwasher means I free my 7-year-old up for a chore more on her level (something the 5- -year-old couldn’t handle yet). This helps tremendously with the housework, lessening my own burden and teaching the children good skills that will bless them for a lifetime. By the way, grumping about chores is treated like one of the seven deadly sins around here, which goes a long way toward making chore time quick and enjoyable.

The baby is a part of everything. My fifth child, Jireh, has been hauled around on my front or back for at least a couple of hours each day since birth, thanks to one of the best homeschool helpers I’ve ever had—a baby carrier. Believe it or not, a wonderful (and cheap!) carrier for newborns and small babies is a long piece of cloth (often referred to as a “baby wrap”—see www.mamatoto.org for details on how to make and use one). Now that Jireh is over 20 pounds, I can’t say enough good things about my Ergo, the “Cadillac of baby carriers.” We ordered our Ergo from www.NurtureCenter.com and were very pleased. Moms of many know how crazy it can be trying to help the toddler potty train, explain a math problem to the 7-year-old, and mediate a disagreement between the 5- and 4-year-old, all with a fussing baby in the background, right? Strapping Baby to my back makes it possible for this mom to meet everyone’s needs, and makes Baby happy too. Fussy baby noises are a thing of the past, which is nice for the baby and for my nerves!

The toddler is another story, because every toddler is another story. There are toddlers who sit and play quietly and happily, and then there are toddlers whose chunky legs move toward trouble with lightening speed as soon as your back is turned. Our current toddler, Israel, is one of the latter category, and I’m not sure if I could have survived him alongside a rigorous schooling schedule, me attempting to play “teacher” all morning while he attempted to scale the refrigerator. No thanks. Our relaxed/independent approach has been a lifesaver. He gets the attention he needs (T.I.M.E. with me, supervised constantly), and yet the other children don’t have to pay the price.

The same thing can be said for the preschooler. With a rich learning environment, Emmanuel can design Lego contraptions to his heart’s content, work on a coloring project, jump off boyish energy on the trampoline, or help Mom fix lunch. Since almost all of our toys and learning activities are contained in labeled plastic tubs, cleanup is something any preschooler can handle—or the toddler, for that matter. Children are drilled early that one tub comes out at a time and is picked up before moving on to anything else. This makes playtime and cleanup easy for everyone.

Thanks to the focus on independent learning, when baby is teething or I’m not feeling up to par, homeschooling keeps right on going without me. Which is exactly what my husband and I want to see happen, especially as the years go by. We want our children to know and love God, and secondly (though certainly a product of the first), we pray they would love to learn, just like we do. This can happen on the days when I feel like Queen of All I Survey, and it can also happen when I’m on the couch with a raging head cold. Why? Because the success of our homeschooling day isn’t contingent on bearing a heavy curriculum burden, but on the sparkling curiosity shining from five pairs of young smiling eyes, and a Daddy and Momma who love them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Currently residing in Alaska, Molly Aley is the wife of a youth minister and homeschooling mommy to five children age 7 and under. She enjoys learning new things, freelance writing, a good game of Uno with the children (who usually win), reading stories on the couch, admiring her hunky man, and snuggling with the latest baby. You can find Molly online at www.ChoosingHome.com or at Choosing Home’s great team blog, www.ChoosingHome.com/blog.