IS HOMESCHOOLING BEST FOR YOUR FAMILY?

By Lily Morgan

Home schooling has become a popular alternative to traditional education. More and more parents have become frustrated with the public school system, and are turning to home schooling rather than often-expensive private schools. For Christians, home schooling can also be a way to immerse your child in your values and beliefs. It is also a terrific way to bond with your child, developing a more mature relationship that many parents and children do not achieve until the child reaches adulthood. However, there are some drawbacks to home schooling as well. Here is a parents’ guide to determining whether home schooling is right for your family.

Are You Committed to the Process?

One of the biggest advantages of home schooling is the ability to let the child learn organically. Lessons can be based on the child’s interests and progressed at his or her own speed. Simultaneously, however, the parent must meet state guidelines regarding curriculum and lesson planning. This can lead to a balancing act, requiring the parent to be flexible and able to think on her feet.

In order to successfully home school your child, you must be willing to wholeheartedly embrace the process. Home schooling, like parenting, is never simple or easy. You and your child will have bad days. There will be frustrations and confusion. You may need to field changing legislation and state bureaucracy. If you are able to deal with the challenges and commit yourself to the process, you may be a good candidate for home schooling your child.

Do You Have Time?

If you are a work at home mom, chances are that you control your own schedule. This is a decided advantage for you, compared to women who must choose between career and family. However, home schooling will require a major investment of time and energy. It is not sufficient to have your child sit quietly with prepared lessons all day while you work. You must be an active participant in his or her education. Carefully organizing your day, however, can yield the time that you need. Perhaps you could spend a couple of hours in the morning on hands-on home school activities, then give your child some written assignments to complete while you get some work done before lunch. After lunch, you could do another hands-on activity before going back to written work. Breaking up your day like this can help to bring structure to the child’s education while yielding the time that you need for work.

Finding Opportunities for Your Child’s Socialization

One of the major concerns that parents have about home schooling is a lack of opportunities for the child to make friends. If you are proactive, however, there is no need to worry. Enroll your child in the after-school activities that he enjoys, from baseball to theatre. Join a home school organization in your area. Set up play dates. With just a bit of effort, you can find numerous ways to provide for your child’s socialization. Some experts have found that home schooled children, who tend to develop more adult relationships with their parents, actually have advanced social skills in comparison to others their age.

Finding and Using Appropriate Resources

As little as a decade ago, it was difficult for parents who were new to home schooling to find assistance. In many ways, home schooling families were “on their own,” figuring out the process on their own. The explosion of the internet, however, combined with a sharp growth rate in the number of home schooling families, has ensured that resources are never more than a click away. A simple search in your favorite search engine will turn up thousands of web communities that are dedicated to home schooling. You can find lesson plans and curriculum guides, information on state laws, forums for home schooling parents, forums for home schooled children, and all the information you could ever need. Learn your way around these resources and you are well on your way to being successful.

The Bottom Line

There is no right answer to the question of home schooling. Many parents and children find the experience extremely rewarding. Thanks to the internet, most of the initial concerns of both parent and child can be easily addressed at the beginning of the process. However, home schooling is not for everyone. In order to be successful, you must be flexible, organized and fully dedicated to the process. Remember that home schooling is not a final, permanent decision. You can always try it for a year, and then make an assessment to see whether it worked. The choice is ultimately yours. 

Every homeschooling parent knows that feeling of waking up one morning with an "Oh no! I’m not doing it right!" moment. Perhaps it’s that fear that prevents many parents from even launching into the "formidable" task of teaching their own children. And while it’s so wonderful that homeschoolers have such a plethora of curriculum from which to choose, often it is the overwhelming options that make homeschooling so frightening. We all do it…"Susan, what curriculum do you use?" And then we go home and nervously explain to our husbands that our children are going to be behind because we haven’t begun teaching Latin yet.

And of course, the pressure from "the outside" doesn’t help either. Some families have to deal with relatives who demand to see test scores (how scary!), or constantly quiz the children on the Periodic Table. Whatever our fears, there is hope. It helps to stop what we are doing sometimes, and get refocused. I hope this article encourages you to do just that.

Remember, God gave you your children, which makes you qualified, above anyone else to teach them. Lacking a certificate or degree in education does not disqualify you to teach your children. Contrary to popular opinion, anyone can teach, and anyone can learn. Teaching is a matter of commitment and desire. And because you are your child’s parent, no one could be more committed to his education. A teacher does not need to have all the knowledge; he merely needs to be able to show the student where to find it.

Remember that you are a unique family, with unique children and unique goals. Write our your academic/spiritual goals, and plan your teaching methods around them. Perhaps the reason we get so nervous about the way others are "doing school", is because we forget that there is not a right way. Our thinking is still ingrained with the public school mentality — one size fits all. We must remember that the government teaches that way because that’s the only option they have with a room full of students. We have greater options, different options, better options. Let’s not be afraid to utilize them!

One mother has a deep need for structure, schedule and order. Perhaps her children follow suit. This family may thrive with conventional text books, desks lined up in a row, and a school day that begins with The Pledge of Allegiance.

However, another mom may be a "free spirit". She may feel like Picasso one day, and Copernicus the next! Her children may thrive under her spur-of-the-moment methods, learning whatever comes before them that day, as they cavalierly ramble through library books. And for those who lean toward this method but worry about teaching discipline and perseverance, there are plenty of other areas in life to ensure these characteristics are taught. Don’t feel guilty about stepping out of the mold.

One mom may implement both types of teaching; one mom may love Unit Studies, another may hate them. Some children enjoy text books, some do not. It is so crucial that we realize there is not one right method for every family. Pray about your goals and ask the Lord to lead you to the right methods for your family. Then, try to avoid asking and comparing with other families.

One family may have specific plans for college, and another family may be training their children in entrepreneurship. The goals will distinctly shape the methods.

Another note of comfort…what is right for your family one year, may not be right at all the next. Don’t be discouraged if you change every year! What a blessing to have the freedom to explore all the different types of learning!

God has done a lot of the work for us! So often we fail to realize how intricately God has designed our children’s brains. Think of this…a mother gives birth to a baby. That mother can be completely uneducated, even illiterate; but by the time that baby is two or three years old, he has already learned an entire language, and is piling up his vocabulary by the minute. All that, without ANY curriculum! She didn’t even give his "education" a thought. It happened, almost effortlessly! Why? Because God created children with an insatiable curiosity that compels them to learn without the slightest push. That curiosity doesn’t just end when he reaches a certain age. Now of course he won’t learn everything quite so effortlessly, but I think we underestimate how much a child is capable of learning about the world around him, simply because of the Creator’s design. Let us use that to our advantage and relax a little bit!

Remember that reading is foundational. Many great Americans virtually educated themselves (and were brilliant students), simply through the reading of great books. Never underestimate the foundational bedrock of reading. If you can cultivate a love of reading in your children, the majority of their education has been taken care of. When I taught school, I would observe in my classroom that an exceptionally bright student, who had attended the same classes as the struggling student, would always have a love for reading. If you can read, you can teach well! If your child can read, he can learn well!

Remember your priorities. It often helps to jump off the merry-go-round for a minute and look at the "big picture". This is where you have to shut out everyone else’s expectations, grab your spouse’s hand, and walk ahead with confidence. If everything I do fails, have I been faithful to raise God-fearing, selfless children who love the Lord with all their hearts, and others as themselves? Isn’t that really the only thing God has required of us? And isn’t it Him that we serve? Education can become an idol if we allow it to interfere with our spiritual training, and the passing on of a godly heritage to our children.

Remember the great homeschool advantage. That is, the advantage of having our children with us, communicating, thinking and interacting on a higher intellectual level than most schooled children. We often overlook this very important aspect of homeschooling. Also, remember that even though a typical child is "in school" for 7 hours a day, very little of that time is actually directed toward academics. (I know, I was a school teacher and witnessed it!) Each student has to wait for every other student to finish his work before they can move on. Recess, bathroom breaks, etc, all take up large amounts of time. Then there are movie days, "field trip" days, and other rather unproductive days. Don’t feel intimidated by the fewer hours you spend teaching.

Don’t sacrifice relationships for "the perfect school day". I have seen moms who are completely distraught, as are their children, because they are so focused on "doing it right", but things aren’t turning out like they had pictured. It’s time to try something different! I believe so strongly in keeping my relationship tender with my children, that sometimes, if I perceive we are struggling through a day, and attitudes are not like they should be, I would rather close the books, and go outside to liven up things, than to compound the problem. Now a matter of disobedience should be addressed differently. But we do need to remember that finishing our seven pages of history is not the most important thing. If your children are frustrated over the school work, they probably aren’t learning anything anyway. Is it worth it to continue to force information into a cup with a hole in it? That’s when we realize that it is OK to try something else.

Let us be encouraged to stop comparing ourselves with those around us. Let us celebrate our uniqueness and the blessed freedom to exercise different methods of educating our children. Let us enjoy them, and enjoy learning with them. Let us relax, whatever our method!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kelly Crawford and her husband Aaron are the homeschooling parents of six children, and one on the way! Kelly is a free-lance writer and songwriter, and the Crawfords run a cottage industry making homemade skin products, and have just recorded a Scripture Songs CD to help families memorize God’s Word together. Kelly is also the founder of a local stay-at-home mom’s group which she began six years ago to encourage women who wanted to devote their lives to being wives and mothers. For more encouraging articles about family, children and living frugally, you can visit their web site at www.heartsforfamily.com or Kelly’s blog at http://heartsforfamily.blogspot.com

You will be extremely happy to know that you have nothing in common with me. You glide along through life like a leaf down a crystal stream. You tend to steer in the direction everyone else is steering, and the road ahead of you is well lit and mapped out. Your children have been welcomed with open arms by everyone they’ve met, and your home is a bastion of peace, harmony, and good will. Best of all, your homeschooling experience has been the most rewarding and inspiring era of your life, and you’ve never doubted your calling for even a moment. See? I told you that you have nothing in common with me.

Me . . . well, my life has been slightly different. My leaf tends to get stuck against every wet rock of the stream, my steering has been out of alignment for as long as I can remember, and the road I am on has been steep, winding, and many times even closed for construction. My children, both with special needs, have been stared at, frowned upon, and pitied in their turn, and my home can feel much more like an open battlefield than a fortress at times. And frankly, I’ve been tempted to quit homeschooling more times than I’ve been tempted to cheat on my diet, and that is saying a lot. However, while my life in no way resembles yours, you needn’t feel sorry for me one bit. I like my life . . . actually, I love it - - every little bit of it - - because God made me especially for it.

So many things in life seem designed with the "average" person in mind, don’t they? Airplane passenger seats are designed for an average size person, standardized tests are designed for the average student, and medicine doses are prescribed with the average person in mind. I’ll never forget the feeling of empathy I felt when I saw someone being asked to move along because they wouldn’t fit into a ride at a theme park. Or the first time I saw children on a park playground laughing at my son because he couldn’t control the jerking tics caused by his Tourette Syndrome. Our society caters to the average person . . . the average family . . . the average way of life. Unfortunately, I just can’t squeeze myself into that mold.

Homeschoolers used to be marginalized too, but over the years, they have become more accepted and respected. Within the homeschooling community, there are now groupings that help people fit in. There are Christian homeschoolers, unschoolers, Classical schoolers, Waldorf schoolers, Montessori schoolers, and traditional schoolers. Would you believe that I don’t fit into any of those either? We are Christians, but aren’t really homeschooling for religious reasons, we read the classics, but our exposure to Latin consists of what is written on the backs of our coins, and my worn-out lesson plan book would attest that I am a far cry from adopting unschooling in the near future. I suppose I simply don’t assimilate well.

Strangely enough, though, my life is far from impossible. Someone had the good sense to design a few things with the irregular person in mind. Tivo invented a way to automatically record any show that happens to concern Jane Austen - - my current obsession. Tombstone miraculously created a frozen pizza that is half cheese and half supreme - - the only way my family will eat it. I recently saw a magazine in the library for people who garden on their deck. I truly thought I was the only one guiding squash vines around the railing posts. And thank heavens for Time4Learning.com, a multimedia homeschool curriculum that is so well suited for the out-of-the-box learner.

I have learned over time that the kingdom of God is certainly an upside-down kingdom, and that swimming against the current is actually inevitable. Praying for my enemies, returning kindness for evil, and forgiving those who are beyond forgiveness are part of the inverted life I’ve been asked to lead. So, I shouldn’t be all that surprised that my leaf takes a few hits as it heads downstream. The image I see in my mirror each day looks different from any other image I see in the world around me because God has asked me to model a life that is far from average. In fact, I think God delights in the fact that I am abnormal . . . unusual . . . exceptional.

Because of this, I know that when I hit the roadblocks of life, I can find a way around them. When my children face the challenges of being different, I can remind them that means they are on the right track! When the normal battles of life take over my home, I understand that I will win the war in the end. And when I have laid my head down on my pillow at the end of a difficult day, and wondered why God has called me to this thing called "homeschooling" - - I will remember that it is because I have been called according to His purpose. Called to be different.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kerry Jones is a freelance writer and web maintenance engineer in North Carolina. She has two sons, and has been homeschooling since 1999. For more information visit her website at: http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-simplywrite

Behavior!

My wife and I have had a great deal of experience, both in our own homeschooling and in relating to other homeschooling families. One of the more serious things we have dealt with is the concern of parents over the behavior of their children in public. Of course we should train our children to interact well with others or to exhibit Christian values. Those are good things. The problem comes when the behavior concerns have little to do with the children

Raising kids is not about you. It’s about them. This is serious. I have seen so many homeschool parents greatly bothered about the things their kids do because of what people at church or in the community will think. But they aren’t worried about what these folks will think of the kids. They are worried about what they will think of the parents. "Kids wouldn’t act like that if they had good parenting!" Heaven forbid that the children should embarrass the parents in front of others. You would think that child-raising is all about the parents. It isn’t.

Kids learn differently and they act differently. They react differently to situations and they think differently about life. If you try to make your kids all the same, you are doing them a disservice. If you try to make them like other people’s kids, you are probably hurting them. One wiggles while he learns. One has to have noise, so she sings or hums. Another cares so much about others that he can’t focus on his own work.

These aren’t bad things - they are just different. Work them out, but don’t rob your kids of their individuality. And, guess what: they are probably different from you… and that’s ok too. This isn’t about you.

Let me say it this way: God could raise kids in the woods someplace and bring them out fully developed as adults. He doesn’t. Instead, He puts them in families to be raised. The only reason I can think of is that He has something to teach parents. So be humble and learn from your kids.

As you interact with your children you will learn fairly quickly that they think different than you. Suddenly you have to find a way to communicate with someone else, especially if you want to teach that person. There is great adventure and even joy in finding new ways to teach your children - and you will learn a lot in the process. If you try to force them to learn your way, you not only make it harder for them but you also make it harder and less enjoyable for you. And, believe it or not, you will become a better person because you will have learned to value someone’s differences and you have developed the ability to listen.

A Final Note

Remember that the Lord already loves you. You can’t do anything to make Him love you more than He already does. You are already accepted by Him and acceptable to Him. He doesn’t want you to work harder; He wants you to rest in Him. He wants you to be confident in what He has done, not try to add to what He has done. A failure here and there does not change His love for you, nor is He ever disappointed with you. He knows exactly how things will work out and He has always known and He has always loved you.

Listen: He loves your kids more than you do. He cares about their lives and the success of their jobs and marriages and all. But He cares more about their hearts. He wants them to know that He is not a bully, not a Judge who is waiting to get them. He wants them to know that He loves them. Be sure that you tell your kids about His love for them and be sure that you are secure in His love for them. He may allow them to take a path that brings concern for you, but He will never turn His back on them. You can trust Him.

You see, discouragement comes from thinking that you have to do something or be something that seems unreachable. You run through your day - cleaning, scolding, motivating, teaching, cooking, and all the hundreds of other things - and you can’t see progress. All you can see is that the goal is still far away. But the goal isn’t perfect children who move the world. The goal is happy children who are secure in the Lord’s love and are able to navigate through life with Christ as their center. It doesn’t matter what others think or how well others do. It only matters that, ultimately, your children remember the love of the Lord and the love of their parents.

Relax - you are probably doing better than you think!

c David Orrison, PhD

(This is the first in a series of brief articles on homeschooling discouragement. Read the entire article and find more encouragement at www.gracefortheheart.org)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. David Orrison has been a homeschooling dad for nearly 25 years. He and his wife, Alice, have 8 sons. He has been a pastor for nearly 30 years and is now the director of Grace for the Heart, a ministry designed to proclaim the sufficiency of Jesus Christ in all areas of the Christian life.

Homeschooling? Discouraged?

Many homeschool moms struggle with discouragement. It is easy to become discouraged when the children don’t cooperate, when you feel like you are in over your head, and when others seem to be doing so well. Is there anything that can help?

I have been a homeschooling dad for nearly 25 years and I served a church filled with homeschoolers for 12 years. I have seen discouragement. I have talked with homeschool moms who were suicidal, who wanted to leave their families, and who just wanted to quit the whole thing. Discouragement, when unresolved, is the breeding ground for serious depression. If you want to end the discouragement and avoid the depression, there are a few things you should know.

First, stop comparing yourself with others. They are not doing as well as they pretend. Many of the homeschool moms I have counseled were held up as examples for others… but they were struggling themselves! Few people want to be considered “whiners” so they put on a brave face and try to make the children behave in public. Sometimes it sends the message that things are always this good. They aren’t. We are taught to put a positive spin on the things in our lives, particularly the spiritual things, and so we tell positive things about our families. That’s fine, but it means that only one part of the truth is presented.

Comparisons are always hurtful, either to you or to others (and sometimes to both). I can guarantee that there is someone out there who wishes her family would be as good as yours. It is just the nature of the thing. You can always find something that will make you feel guilty and you can almost always find something to make yourself feel better than someone else. But don’t. It isn’t a game that you really win.

Some people get into homeschooling because of comparisons. They hope their children will “turn out as good as Susie’s”. When they see other children sitting so orderly at the restaurant or at church and they hear how respectful those children are, these parents just know that homeschooling could do the same for their own kids. Not necessarily.

I have known kids who sat quietly at church only because of the intense fear of what would happen later if they wiggled. Is that what you want your children to think about in church? Other parents maintain very orderly lives themselves and that order is simply passed on to the children. I have known homes where the soup cans are arranged in alphabetical order on the shelves. It works for them… but not for most of us.

God has made us different from others. You can’t compare yourself with others because you don’t have the background they had or the perspective on life they have. I am not an engineer and I don’t think like most engineers. If I were to compare my way of handling money, for example, with that of some engineers I know, I could get discouraged. They always know where they stand and they always seem to have more and better things. But the truth is that most of the engineers I know make much more money than I do and still they log the miles driven each day by their children and budget everything religiously. This isn’t bad, of course, but it is different… and it makes comparisons almost impossible.

You don’t win the comparison game. Someone will always do something better than you. You will have to come to the understanding that your acceptance, especially with the Lord, is not founded on how well you do. His grace is given because of our need, not because of our strength or competence.

Love your children and don’t compare them to “Susie’s”. Let them be who they are supposed to be. Follow the Lord and keep your focus on Him. You will find love and acceptance and encouragement in Him.

c David Orrison, PhD

(This is the first in a series of brief articles on homeschooling discouragement. Read the entire article and find more encouragement at www.gracefortheheart.org)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. David Orrison has been a homeschooling dad for nearly 25 years. He and his wife, Alice, have 8 sons. He has been a pastor for nearly 30 years and is now the director of Grace for the Heart, a ministry designed to proclaim the sufficiency of Jesus Christ in all areas of the Christian life.

Homeschool Hype!

As a homeschool dad of nearly 25 years and the pastor of a church with many homeschoolers for 12 years, I have seen a great deal of discouragement among homeschool moms. These brief articles are offered with the hope that they will shine a light on some things that are causing discouragement and provide some right words to lift hearts.

You must learn to recognize “homeschool hype”. You’ll see it come at you in two ways. One is the model family. The family on the front of the homeschool magazine is perfect, right? They all play the violin and sing regularly in the area nursing homes. The older children are holding good jobs, going to college at home, and teaching the younger children. The younger children all can sit quietly for hours without complaining. The father works a low-paying job so that he can spend more time with the family, but they have a 10 bedroom home with no mortgage. The mom has had 15 children and can still fit into the dress she wore at her high school graduation. In fact, she looks like she just graduated!

This is the model family. You might know this family. You might know some who are just about like this family. But let me tell you a secret - this family isn’t real! Oh, they exist of course, but what you see isn’t real. What you see is the result of the same kind of “retouching” done in the glossy advertisements for weight loss products.

Another way this will come at you is through formulas and promises. If you just do this - use this curriculum or product, follow this daily schedule, pray this prayer, whatever - then your success will be guaranteed. If it doesn’t work for you, you must have done something wrong. You will hear of how Johnny learned to read at 2 years old because Mom used this certain curriculum. You’ll be told how Billy was called to the ministry or went into a multi-million dollar business right out of the homeschool because the family followed a certain program. If you buy it today, at the special price, you’ll see amazing results in your own family.

This is called marketing. Just like in the commercials on TV (oh, I know, you don’t watch TV - but you still know what I mean), the people are actors and the products are usually mediocre. Sure, the family on the front of the magazine exists, but they aren’t typical. All of these things should come with that little caveat, “Results not typical!” It is the nature of marketing to oversell, to stretch the truth so that you desire the product. But it is still just hype! Don’t ever expect to live up to someone’s marketing hype.

I have counseled with some of these “model families” and have heard how they struggle to maintain that image. They don’t want anyone to know the truth and they pay a high price to make it look real. I have seen some of these wonderful products at garage sales and used bookstores. Some of them have just the first few pages filled out and then they were obviously abandoned. I have seen the results of some of these programs and have heard how people were told that the program didn’t work because they didn’t follow “all of it”.

Homeschooling has become an industry and many families spend thousands of dollars on books or programs because they want the very best for their children. Like any other industry where money can be made, homeschooling is overflowing with marketing hype. Instead of being overwhelmed by all that is offered, why not just relax and enjoy your children? Follow the Lord instead of someone’s program and use materials that connect with your kids. You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to have the latest gimmick.

And, remember, the Lord accepts you and loves you without the hype. You don’t have to be the “model family” to be acceptable to Him.

c David Orrison, PhD

(This is the first in a series of brief articles on homeschooling discouragement. Read the entire article and find more encouragement at www.gracefortheheart.org)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. David Orrison has been a homeschooling dad for nearly 25 years. He and his wife, Alice, have 8 sons. He has been a pastor for nearly 30 years and is now the director of Grace for the Heart, a ministry designed to proclaim the sufficiency of Jesus Christ in all areas of the Christian life.

Has your preschooler ever asked you the question, “What can I do next, Mom”, and your mind just goes blank? If this has ever happened to you, it may be to your advantage to have some simple activities on hand. Here is a suggested activity that may prove to be an answer to your child’s request.

This activity can serve to teach your child some simple readiness skills while he is having fun. The activity takes only a few minutes to do but is an activity that a child often delights in doing over and over again. The beauty of it all is that the activity only requires simple materials found at home.

Hint: You may have to do the activity first to show the child how to do it. This will build his confidence and also aid in motivating him to participate in the activity and do it again independently.

To begin the activity, “Put It In A Line”, use a piece of yarn, string or masking tape approximately a yard long. (A yard stick or a tape measure could also suffice for the activity). Lay it in a straight line that is facing the child from left to right. Give the child a paper bag containing about five to ten assorted items such as a small block, key, small sponge, clothespin, large button, small rock, spool, small toy, spoon, cup or whatever items you have on hand..

Start on the left and place one of the items from the bag on the yarn, string or tape. Show the child the left and right movement that he can follow by sweeping your hand across in this direction. Encourage the child to continue moving from left to right placing the objects chosen from the bag on the yarn or tape until the bag is empty. The objects should be in a line.

Next, encourage the child to pick up each item one at a time from left to right until all of the objects are back in the bag. The words, “left” and “right” need not be emphasized; just the movement with the hand is sufficient to enable the child to under left to right direction.

This teaches the child to clean up and not leave assorted items on the floor when not being used. This activity also helps to make the child aware of left to right progression, (a preliminary step in beginning to read and spell).

This activity also enhances the sense of touch in handling the various shaped objects in the bag and improves eye-hand coordination. The child also can develop skill in following directions and completing a task. The concepts “on” “off” , “one” (item or object) as well “empty” (when the bag has no more objects) may also be emphasized.

This activity may be repeated on different occasions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

June R. Oberlander

The book Slow and Steady Get Me Ready is a wonderful resource for those of you with young children! This book would also be great for those with”special needs” children who are developmentally delayed and a unique gift for a baby shower. This book was written by June Oberlander, a retired kindergarten teach with over 25 years of teaching experience. This book started out as notes written to her daughter who was looking for interesting learning activities to do with her first baby. What has evolved is a thick book with five years worth of learning experiences. If you are not one who goes for pushing a small child to learn, then you will discover that this book avoids that. It is very practical, can be done inexpensively with items found around the house, doesn’t take a lot of time and helps to increase a good parent/child bond through close interaction… Best of all it is FUN!

Starting from the first week of a child’s life, there are activities to do to insure good development. This book covers it all from awareness skills as an infant, progressing on up through readiness skills for school at the age of five. It is divided into 260 weeks with a different activity for each week. The book also includes an outline for the approximate age that a child will be ready to learn specific things which will be helpful in preparing a child for formal learning in school.

Visit June Oberlander site!

You have decided to home school your children. You have been thinking and praying about it for some time. As September approaches you know it is time. Where to start? The choices seem overwhelming.

How well I remember those days. My children had spent the previous year in a new rural public school. They had completed 1st, 3rd, and 6th grades. They were unhappy with school. I was unhappy with school. I knew there had to be a better way. I asked questions of everyone I could find who had home schooled. I read every book in the library on the subject. I prayed without ceasing. I ordered curriculum catalogs. I went to the home school fair. I read even more.

Once my husband and I made the decision there was peace. I knew that I would be stretched tremendously, but I knew it was the answer. God was faithful to encourage us over and over. Now the decision was made, but where to begin.

I felt we needed a structured program with accountability for the first year. I needed to know what to teach and how to teach. We selected a complete program from Christian Liberty Academy. This program provided diagnostic testing, all books and manuals, and the record keeping. It made me feel secure.

The curriculum choices are staggering. I really suggest you pick one provider for the first year. At the end of the year re-evaluate what worked and what didn’t. I really believe that all curriculum works if you use it. They differences are mostly about style and design. As you grow in confidence you will feel more secure about choosing curriculum

I read about learning styles. I realized that my children did not all learn the same way. My girls were both visual learners. They were also very self motivated. They were excited about home school. My son was a busy, wiggly, distracted, hands-on kinesthetic learner. I understood that could be a challenge to both of us.

The first year proved to be a time of adjustments for everyone. I learned how to teach to all three learning styles. The visual learners loved books, posters, charts, and lists. The kinesthetic learner wanted hands-on projects, manipulatives, and artwork. Auditory learners need to talk about what they are learning. This meant teaching concepts several ways. I learned when I taught to all three styles all the children learned more.

I read about school style and goals. I begin to understand there was not one perfect way to home school. What did we want for our family? We could choose Charlotte Mason method, unit studies, the principle approach, classical education, independent learning, textbook based, history emphasis, accelerated education, or unschooling. So many choices! How to choose what was best for our children?

After reading about each I felt pulled toward independent accelerated education. It was suggested that I home school my youngest because at first grade (age 5) she was already well ahead of all her classmates. She began reading at age 4 and scored 2 years ahead of her classmates. My oldest daughter was also ahead of her age mates by 1-1/2 years. It seemed to fit these children to teach them to work at their own pace . I wanted them to learn how to learn.

I developed a weekly goal chart, which showed the minimum work to be accomplished each day. They were to cross off each assignment as completed. They enjoyed the control this gave them. They could choose to do the minimum or work ahead.

They first year also was used to undo the attitudes and expectations of public school. We worked on attitudes and character traits. I set up an incentive program to reinforce the behaviors I wanted to see. I assigned scripture memorization. The children were allowed to earn points for prizes. They really enjoy this. The younger children especially respond to this method. The prizes were all school related.

Scheduling was also import to our school. I wanted to be sure that all the important things were accomplished each day. We set a starting time and the order for subjects. We also scheduled regular breaks and lunch times. The children were finished for the day when the minimum was completed.

Above everything else my attitude played the most important role. If I was grouchy or insecure or rushed or out of control everything else was effected. If I relied on the Lord and have my attitude and heart right everything ran smoother. I must constantly seek Him, be in the Word, submit my will, and be teachable. When I do that He is able to guide me on the right path.

What are the results? My youngest daughter Allison is 13 She is happy and challenged. She will complete the last part of 9th grade this year. She is taking piano lesson. She loves reading historical fiction and biographies. She loves the Lord and is thinking about becoming a pastor. She wants to use her musical gift for the Lord.

My son Jordan is 16. He started as an unmotivated average student. He scored his highest ever on achievement scores this spring (98th%). He loves the Lord. He witnesses to kids at the park. He loves to roller blade and is playing the bass guitar for adult and youth worship services.

My oldest daughter Melissa is 18. She graduated from American School (an accredited correspondence high school program) in June 1999 at age 16. She went on a mission trip to Mexico in August. She is active in a discipleship youth group. She is in her 2nd year of college to become a preschool teacher.

As you can see, 7 years of home school has brought many dividends. I urge you to seek the Lord, become friends with other home school families, and get involved in your church. If we can do it, so can you.

Take one day at a time and pray every step of the way. Enjoy watching your children learn about this world in which they live.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kay Green and her family live in rural Oregon. They have home schooled for the past 7 years. She loves helping new families start the journey of home school. She has a web page at http://www.preciouskids.org

She has also written the book: HOMESCHOOL-A New Beginning!

Preschoolers can learn many things by learning to listen more carefully and then following directions. Educators have proven that young children learn best through meaningful play experiences. Some young children may even balk at too much structure. Proper guidance and interaction is essential. “Play is a child’s work”. Why not “employ” the child to work by playing games with the child. This will enrich the parent child bond. Simple play listening learning experiences can be initiated at any time of the day, especially when a child is looking for something to do.

A simple game to play could be “I Spy”. To play this game, look around the room and find something that has the red in it. Then tell the child that you spy something “red”. Allow the child to look around the room for something red and ask him to tell you when he/she has spied it. Continue playing the game until you cannot find anything else that has red in it. Then play “I Spy” with the color blue in the same way. Other colors may be taught in the same way.

To make the game more interesting, cut out a cardboard-shaped mirror with a hole where the glass should be. Look through the hole and pretend to locate something “red” or “blue” (introduce other colors later). This will give the child a clue as to the direction of the red or blue object that you spy.

Encourage the child to go and point to something red or blue. Help the child if necessary. If the child is close to the colored object say “You are getting warm”. If the child is going in the wrong direction say, “You are cold”. Avoid teasing the child. Security and success in finding red and blue objects are essential. Be sure to use only one color at a time. Interchanging the colors will tend to confuse a child of this age. However, at a later time interchanging the colors will add advanced interest. This activity involves listening for the color and finding it in a certain place. The child must feel secure with thecolor to find its location.

This simple activity can be used to teach the basic colors, shapes,letters and numbers. It serves to develop skill in using clues for problem solving. It also develops skill in matching colors (shapes, letters or numbers). Language enrichment is enhanced as well as self confidence.

To play the game, make it simple and name something obvious that the child should look for in a room or outside. If the child asked you to repeat what you said. Repeat the command and observe whether the child spied the correct object. Continue until the child can accurately follow the I spy command. Some children can readily do this but others need practice to succeed.

The game “I spy” may be expanded to teach colors. For example, I spy something red. This may be expanded to find many things that are red. Once the child can spy the color red, introduce blue and continue with the primary colors until the child has successfully listened for the correct color name, found something red and has met success.

This game may be further expanded to teach shapes, names of things, letters, numbers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

June R. Oberlander

The book Slow and Steady Get Me Ready is a wonderful resource for those of you with young children! This book would also be great for those with”special needs” children who are developmentally delayed and a unique gift for a baby shower. This book was written by June Oberlander, a retired kindergarten teacher with over 25 years of teaching experience. This book started out as notes written to her daughter who was looking for interesting learning activities to do with her first baby. What has evolved is a thick book with five years worth of learning experiences. If you are not one who goes for pushing a small child to learn, then you will discover that this book avoids that. It is very practical, can be done inexpensively with items found around the house, doesn’t take a lot of time and helps to increase a good parent/child bond through close interaction… Best of all it is FUN!

Starting from the first week of a child’s life, there are activities to do to insure good development. This book covers it all from awareness skills as an infant, progressing on up through readiness skills for school at the age of five. It is divided into 260 weeks with a different activity for each week. The book also includes an outline for the approximate age that a child will be ready to learn specific things which will be helpful in preparing a child for formal learning in school.

Visit June Oberlander site!

Among the obvious benefits of sitting down and playing a good old-fashioned game with your children is the opportunity that games provide to apply and solidify the mathematical reasoning and calculating skills your children are learning in school. Perceptual and verbal skills have both been linked to mathematical achievement levels. That is, math does not only involve strong number skills. It also involves visual-perceptual skills, auditory perceptual and verbal skills, as well as strong logical thinking skills and fine motor skills.

Visual perceptual skills help your child to keep his written computations organized with aligned columns. They also help him to differentiate between the symbols, shapes and sizes found in math. They help him to understand the part-whole concepts needed for fractions, to and understand sequential concepts (e.g., before and after). Auditory perceptual and verbal skills help your child to distinguish between similar sounding numbers (e.g., 13 and 30; 1000 and 1000th), follow directions, follow oral drills and dictated assignments, count on from within a sequence, explain why a problem is solved as it is, write numbers from dictation and comprehend story problems. Abstract and logical reasoning skills help your child to solve story problems, compare sizes using symbols, understand number patterns, understand place-value concepts and apply concepts to symbols. Finally, fine-motor skills are needed for completing written calculations and manipulating concrete materials.

Up until children are 6 years old, their primary way of learning about the world is through their senses. Between 2 and 6 years they are laying the foundation skills needed for learning mathematical concepts. These include understanding concepts such as more- or less-than, before and after, categorizing, making sets, finding pairs and making one-to-one correspondence, sequencing, identifying parts of a whole, understanding cause-effect relationships, recognizing patterns, rote counting skills, and recognizing numbers. Games that help build the concepts of more or less-than include Don’t Spill the Beans and Lucky Ducks. Games such as Candy Land and Shoots and Ladders help to build the concepts of “before” and “after”. Concepts that include balance, cause-effect, making predictions, logical and visual reasoning and fine motor skills include Don’t Spill the Beans, Spaghetti Game and Don’t Break the Ice. Lucky Ducks and Potato Head are two more games that build fine motor skills, as well as one-to-one correspondence, part-whole concepts, matching, and memory. Higher level skills such as memory, concentration, attention, identifying sets, number identification and recognition of dot patterns of numbers can be solidified by playing games such as Bingo, The Memory Game and Cootie. Finally, rote counting skills can easily be incorporated into all of these games by parents.

Starting around 6 years, children begin to attach meaning to the numbers they have previously learned by rote. For example, 7 is 1 more than 6, not just the number that comes after 6 when you are counting aloud. They can use objects and manipulatives to understand mathematical concepts and numbers. From the ages of 4 to 11 children need objects in the physical world to learn about abstract mathematical concepts. Their memory for math facts can be reinforced in any game by incorporating the rule of answering one to three flash cards correctly before taking a turn. Games such as Chinese Checkers, Checkers, Connect Four and Battleship all build the visual perceptual organization skills needed to read and build charts and graphs and to align columns in long mathematical problems. Planning, cause-effect, and logical reasoning skills are also addressed by those games as well as games such as Clue Junior and Guess Who. Card games, including games like Uno, and any card tricks, build sequencing, memory and number pattern recognition, as well as mental computation skills such as addition and skip counting. Dominos is another good game to build visual memory for number patterns, as well as fine motor skills. Games such as Monopoly Junior begin to build basic money skills and doubling skills, while games such as Clue Junior and Guess Who build the problem-solving skills that will become increasingly important as your child progresses through his school math classes.

Starting around 11 to 12 years, children begin to reason and think about numbers and concepts at the abstract level. The games children this age can play become significantly more complicated, and the games’ connections to math skills become more obvious. However children continue to benefit from the multisensory, interactive and experiential nature of the game format for learning well into their young adult years. Reading large numbers and building place-value concepts are skills exercised in games such as Masterpiece, Careers and Life. It is at this stage that many games incorporate money skills into their formats. Careers, Life, Monopoly, Easy Money and Pay Day incorporate money skills that range from the very basic such as counting money and determining correct change, to advanced concepts and skills such as bankruptcy, inflation, taxes, rent, salary, accounting, bartering and bidding, interest, mortgaging, bills, loans and budgeting. Many games incorporate higher thinking skills. For instance, games like Masterpiece, Careers, Monopoly, Life, Clue, Backgammon, and particularly Master Mind all exercise logical and deductive reasoning, predicting and planning, problem solving, and visual perceptual and organizational skills. Some of these games even build higher level math concepts such as fractions, ratios, and percentages into their formats.

Professional educators disagree about many theories. However, most educators agree that children learn best by becoming actively engaged in experiences that allow them to interact and discuss ideas and concepts with other learners. Games are a great way for parents to provide learning experiences for their children that are engaging, interactive and most importantly, fun! Board games are especially good for building mathematical concepts and skills. They are fun and engage all the senses (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and motor). Because learning is a social process, children learn best through fun activities that involve interaction with other people, all the senses and the opportunity to act out concepts using physical representations. There are many commercial games that offer all of these, making them ideal learning tools. So, go ahead and turn off your TV and even the computer, and try a good old-fashioned board game with your kids. A price can not be put on the quality of the time you will have spent with your children. They will have fun while learning, and they will remember those times with greater fondness than the times they spent playing the educational computer games or watching the educational TV programs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Julie Tiss is the Director of Tiss’ Tutoring and Testing, a member of WISER and the mother of two. You can reach her by e-mail at: jtiss@gmu.edu.