My Posts on Simple Homeschool

I've been writing posts over at SimpleHomeschool.net for a couple years now. If you want to browse through those, here is the link: http://simplehomeschool.net/author/jena/

It's a great blog full of practical ideas and inspiration.

To New Homeschoolers from an Old Timer

Suzy Homeschooler recently sent me some interview questions. I had a great time thinking through this stuff.

Here are the questions:

1- First tell us a bit about your yourself and your family. [For example:] How many years have you homeschooled? How many children do you have and what ages are they? How would you classify your teaching style? Has it changed since you first started homeschooling?

2- Despite its rising popularity, homeschoolers are still in the minority. How did you respond if/when family, friends, or even complete strangers would make negative comments?

3- Stay at home moms, both homeschooling and not, often feel lonely and isolated due to the long hours spent alone with small children. Did you ever struggle with this? And if so, what helped you through it the most?

4- As moms we wear many hats and homeschooling is a very time consuming matter. Did you ever struggle to take your "teacher hat" off and reconnect with your children or your husband or even yourself- away from homeschooling? What advice, if any, would you give to women regarding this balance?

5- During the difficult times in one's life, it can be easy to focus on the current situation rather than on the bigger picture. Many homeschooling moms feel defeated after a bad day. Looking back on your years homeschooing, was it worth it?

6- If you could say only one sentence to a new homeschooling mom, what would that sentence be?

Check out her blog post for my answers. Thank you Suzy!

The Parent's Role in Interest-Led Learning

I like to call our years of homeschooling "interest-led" because the curriculum was driven by what interested the kids. We didn't replicate a classroom in our living room, we just lived a life full of outings, books, and projects. If someone wanted to learn more or become an expert, we encouraged it! We provided the materials and resources to go as deeply as that child desired. Of course, there was the time Meg really wanted a pony, but our city backyard and tiny budget said no. These things happen.

Our homeschool was child-centered, but not Lord of the Flies. Mom and Dad ran the house, made sure the necessities of life were fulfilled (finish your to-do list) and provided the opportunities to discover interests. We loved to watch our kids in a new experience. Did they love it or hate it? Did they show aptitude or frustration?

I'll never forget Meg at the age of 10 with a paintbrush in hand, painting delicate roses, saying dreamily, "I feel like I'm in another world." I knew this was something she was born to do and that meant doing what we could to help her excel. Drawing kept her sane during her nine months in India, and this fall she starts classes for an art therapy major in college.

As we provided opportunities, we also did a little nudging. I kept a copy of The Core Knowledge Sequence to remind myself of topics to explore. I'd find colorful books at the library and stage them around the house, sort of like baiting the hook to see if they'd bite. At other times I was much more direct and held "classes," which they loved, because you see, being in class was novel, something they didn't do every day. I remember doing a unit on world explorers, working through a library book a little at a time everyday for a couple weeks.

I also read to them everyday, usually at bedtime. My favorite tactic was to read historical fiction. Not only were they getting a good story, they were learning about famous people and time periods that would stick in their minds. I even attached a long strip of computer paper around the room to place people and events on a timeline.

During junior high and high school, I suggested we volunteer at a local historical site, complete with costumes and training in period skills. To them it was a fun family activity, a chance to dress up and pretend, but I knew they were learning how to be self-sufficient, how to cook over an open fire, and how to relate to an important time in American history. Eventually, Peter decided he really didn't like it, so he stopped. Missa was a little too young to participate on her own, but Meg loved it. She continued long after the rest of us lost interest.

That's the key. Provide the opportunity and let them stop and move on when they are ready, or let them dive in deeply. 

Children learn best when they are motivated from the inside, but unless we provide the experiences and the subject matter, they might never know what they love! And from that foundation of internal motivation, they can learn all they need to succeed.

***
The idea for this post came from a reader's question, so please send me questions! My email is yarnsoftheheart[at!]gmail.com.

A Glimpse into My Year as a Public School Teacher

After 18 years of homeschooling and a year of graduate school, I spent last school year in a public school classroom. I was the Title 1 reading teacher in a small town in Central Illinois. Let's just say it was very educational. I learned I don't belong in the public school system. I'm too into respecting the child as a unique learner and using individual interests as a bridge to a love for learning. Public schooling is more about making the child fit the mold and meet the criteria established by people who never met them. 

Interest + Opportunity = Motivation

For example, Laura (not her real name) was a 7th grader who had been in Title 1 since first grade. For one thing, a child should not be in a special reading classroom that long unless she has a learning disability, and then she should be in the special education classroom. Instead, Laura plodded through the same curriculum delivered by the same teachers every year, and because she didn't score well enough on certain tests, she went through it all again. No wonder she hated reading!

Toward the end of the year I was able to free the junior high kids from the computerized reading twaddle and get them into real books. I found a book that I knew Laura would love. It was about a girl who got on an all-boys sports team (her own dream) and it revolutionized her life. 

Here's how it went: I found the book at a university library and brought it to school. As I handed it to her, I gave a little synopsis, then walked away. After just a couple minutes, Laura slammed down her hand and said, "Mrs. B, I love this book!" A couple minutes later, she said, "You gotta hear this!" and she started reading to me, telling me how cool this story was. I smiled and tried not to explode with joy!

A few days later she came in and said, "Last night my mom said everything has changed since I started reading this book. I'm doing my chores, getting my homework done and reading every chance I get." I was speechless. She even read walking down the halls at school. Remember, this was the girl who HATED READING!

Even though I had great success with Laura and gave her a vision of what she could do academically, I realize that my philosophy of teaching and learning is at odds with the public school machine. It would be another year of pain and suffering for us all...pain for me as the inflicter of nonsensical policies and pain for them as they endured it.

Homework

This mug sat on my desk, full of pencils. It's from LennyMud on Etsy.

I resigned. I know I could help those kids in that particular school, but I want to use my super powers to help parents succeed at home. I want to help them resist the temptation of sending their kids to school just because they are struggling readers or lack motivation to learn. Homeschooling isn't easy, but it's a lot of fun, and it's much better for kids than being cooped up in a building all day long, forced to do things that masquerade as education. So now I'm looking for suggestions. I will keep blogging, but what else could I do to encourage families to join (and stick with) the homeschooling movement?

What Really Matters in Homeschooling

If I had to boil home education down to just one necessity, it would be this: impart a love for learning. Think about it. If you love to do something, you give it a lot of time and you get pretty good at it. If our kids love learning, all we need to do is stand back and watch them go. Of course we need to be there to coach and encourage, but overall, the internal motivation fuels the learning. And when kids are doing what they love, they are happy and easier to live with too.

The key is to keep learning from being a chore. If you notice that your kids are starting to whine about your curriculum or a certain activity, change it. Find a different way to get that information across, or leave it for another day. Be willing to listen to your kids and take their preferences into account.

Another great way to foster a love for learning is to let them dive deeply into something they find interesting. If your child is into dinosaurs, let him become an expert. It's OK if he reads about dinosaurs 24 hours a day. Just think of all the science and history and reading skills he's developing. And as he talks to you about it, he's practicing his verbal skills and flexing his comprehension strategies of summarizing, visualizing, connecting and questioning.

Talking to your child about what she's interested in and what she's learning is an excellent way to build higher order thinking and communication skills.

My kids are now out of the house, and I'm glad to say they caught the learning bug. In fact, Peter (now a college graduate) has started a study/research/discussion group with his friends where they get together and talk about their recent intellectual interests, maybe even peer reviewing papers before they try to publish.

That's the goal--adults who keep on learning.

Homeschooling can seem very overwhelming, so keep it simple and keep the end in mind.

I have related post on Simple Homeschool called How to Build a Strong Foundation for Your Child.

Overcoming the Fall Slump

It's October, and many new homeschoolers are wondering if it's worth it. If you are feeling like this is too hard, you are in over your head, and maybe sending them to school isn't such a bad idea, let me encourage you.

I homeschooled through sixteen Octobers. The excitement of starting off in late August, the new books, fresh ideas and enthusiasm usually wore off by October. Reality sets in. Can we keep this up? I always readjusted and rethought my priorites and then things would get better again.

Simple advice: Be willing to change.

Stop doing that curriculum. Stop having those expectations. What do your kids need now? Maybe a break is all you need. Think about year-round schooling. Some schools go for six weeks, then take two weeks off. I like that idea. You can adapt it to your homeschool without feeling guilty.

Hang in there, mom!

My next piece of simple advice: Don't give up.

As I look back on those years with my kids, I knew I was sacrificing. I knew I was saying no to myself and things I wanted to do, but I kept my eyes on the prize, the prize of three emotionally healthy, stable, intelligent adults. I knew that if I gave them a loving, nurturing environment in which they could develop their natural curiosity, they would not only be learning facts, they would be learning how to learn, how to find information and experts to answer their questions, all driven by their natural interests. I see the results now.  Peter has a job, an apartment, and is teaching himself computer programming. Meg is braving a third-world country, and Missa is working and going to college in the big city.

Now that I am in this phase of life, I am SO glad I gave those early years to my kids. That was their window of time. That was my chance to lay a strong foundation for them. And really, it wasn't all that self-sacrificing because now I am cashing in on the benefits. We all have great relationships with each other, they know how to solve their own problems, and they are on career paths that excite them. What more could a mom want?