If I could boil my homeschool requirements down to the bare minimum, what would they be? That's a good question, considering the fall semester is breathing down our necks and we're trying to figure what curriculum (if any) to buy.Here's my answer: math and good books (fiction and nonfiction). If you can encourage your children to practice and learn about math at least once a week (more would be even better) and always have a piece of rich literature flowing through their brains, you can be happy. With these two things they are keeping up with a skill that will be necessary to get into college (remember the ACT and SAT have math sections) and they will have a vibrant vocabulary and understanding of the written word (also necessary for the tests and the rest of life). They will also be able to communicate well because they are being trained by the best authors. And they will be learning things, "assimilating content," as an educator would say.
If that's the bare minimum, there's plenty of time for them to have fun and dive into their interests. If you and your kids want to do structured things together, go for it! I'm all for doing what is fun and motivating, even if it's going to public school like my youngest is choosing to do this year.
Math and literature. Ah, that sounds very doable. And you can relax, knowing you are helping them lay a great foundation.
17 comments:
Thank you for that! I really appreciate your perspective.
~Jeanne
Thanks for the idea to put it down!
Sometimes I feel like I am flying blind even though I have been homeschooling for 8 years. Your blog has been such a blessing to me. You've given me an all new perspective. There is a happy medium between classical/intense/school at home and radical unschooling (both of which I have tried with less than stellar results).
Wendy
Wendy, I'm so glad my meager meanderings are helpful. :) This homeschooling thing is a journey, one we continually reinvent as we find what works best for us.
Sounds good to me, Jena!
Your words are so reassuring. Thank you!
I was just thinking the same answer to that question-- math and good books!
Any suggestions on how to get a thirteen year old interested in 'good' books? My daughter has always been an avid reader...she has devoured the Warrior Cats series, the Redwall series, but when I suggest reading something like Island of the Blue Dolphin or Little Women she balks.
Danielle,
That's a great question. I'd offer a huge choice, even a list for her to pick something off of. Here's the
Newberry Awards.
Here's a list of 1000 good books according to Classical educators.
Some kids like the idea of seeing how many off the list they can read in a certain time period, or finding a series they like and reading all of them. I've used the 1000 good books list as a record keeping device--put the child's initials and year in front of the title they read.
Great post! I even simplify down to just good books. Math is all around us. I don't know how you could possibly avoid it if you tried. There's math in cooking, math in building anything, math in painting, math especially in the spending/saving of their own money. It's just everywhere! We do a heavy reading around here and so far, they all love to read, thank goodness. The rest comes naturally.
And Danielle - can you try to pique her interest with the movies first? Grab the Little Women that has Susan Sarandon in it - really great version of it, I think. Maybe after you see GOOD movies of the old classics, she'll be more interested in reading them. But don't forget that while classics do have their place, some people just aren't ever interested in 'old stories'. Quality stories. There are stories today which will someday become classics and perhaps she's reading them. :)
Laurie,
Great advice! I forgot to mention listening to books on tape too. Meg likes to do that while she does art or cleans her room. :)
Thats a great perspective
I just discovered your blog, and I am so thrilled by it. My children are younger, but we are considering homeschooling for two of them. (One is already in school and loves it.) I am not getting a lot of support from friends and family on this decision, so it is inspiring and helpful to read about your choices. Thanks, Amy
Thank you for this, Jena. I never quite know what to say when people ask me that question, because I tend to make things more complicated than they have to be (it's a curse!).
Thank you for submitting this to the CoH hosted at The Homeschool Cafe. :D
Hi from a new reader. And thanks for this post. It's wonderful for me to read from those who have done it for a long time. We started homeschooling only 2.5 years ago, and reading posts like yours gives me hope that we'll stick to it. ;)
I know this is an old post, but I found it thanks to a link from simple homeschool. I could really use some help for direction in what math and how to teach reading. My son is doing kindergarten and this is my first year homeschooling. It is very difficult and overwhelming. I worry I will fail my kids and not teach them a thing :/ Any direction for math and teaching reading is appreciated.
Hi Chelsey,
Don't worry! If it's kindergarten, read a lot to him. Find fun picture books that he likes and read them over and over again to him, if he wants. Run your finger along the words as you read and explain to him that the words tell you what to say. Start telling him the sounds for letters. If he tries to sound them out, encourage that! If you find that he's not picking up on the letter/sound relationships, don't worry. Keep reading to him and showing him how the letters tell you what sounds to make. You can also get little schoolbooks that he can write in and practice reading. I found some very inexpensive ones at Walmart and stores like that. If he gets toward the end of 1st grade and is really having trouble reading, then you can be more intentional about reading instruction, but at this age, just make it fun and teach him sounds.
As far as math goes, counting, adding, subtracting, and names of shapes is about all you need to do. He can count things around the house and group them together and then add groups together. Same with subtraction. Make math as concrete as possible--no pencil and paper problems at this age. You don't have to think about failing him. The only thing you need to do is keep his love of learning alive. Make it fun and don't stress out.
Hope that helps!
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