Of the numerous questions we receive concerning homeschooling, the majority fall into one of two categories: the rationale behind our choice with its inevitable consequences (basically the why) and the logistics (the who, what, where, when and how).  It’s always easier to list facts and schedules than to present a thesis putting the abstract on paper, so I will answer the logistics questions first!  I do, at times, take the path of least resistance.  Welcome to that path!

Whom do we homeschool?

Legally in our state all children between the ages of 7 and 17 are required to be educated in some appropriate manner.  Some states require education from ages 6 to 18.  That means that any of you could keep your children home until they are of age and not have to say anything to anybody…except maybe to your mother-in-law.  With those guidelines, we are officially homeschooling our three oldest children, ages 12, 10, and 8.

Any homeschool parent will tell you that the age guidelines are for the government alone.  Out where the rubber meets the road, or the graphite meets the paper, age is just a number of candles on a cake.   Every moment of every day of each child’s life is a teachable moment, and that begins immediately, not at five, not at seven, not at ten. 

While I hesitantly state that I am not a proponent of early education, I must offer an explanation.  I am not a proponent of placing a wiggly three- or four-year-old boy in a chair with a pencil and forcing him to write his name five times.  I am in favor of giving a wiggly three- or four-year-old boy a set of paints, empty peanut cans to paint, a little name-writing assistance, and a purposeful object lesson in sorting Legos into cans.  I am also in favor of writing in the sand with sticks, making letters out of rocks or cookie dough (particularly cookie dough), and hitting the pavement with colored chalk.  A child can and will learn many things in the first ten years of his life.  Few of those lessons require a child to be confined unnaturally to a chair with his small hands wrapped around a pencil…although some (including two of my own) thrive on the chair/desk/pencil routine.  Similarly, I believe that tear-wrenching reading lessons for a young child, whose mind is simply not yet developed enough to grasp the concept, are a waste of time and an extinguishing of the joy of learning.  (This from a mother whose “late” reader was reading at age five.)  When they are ready, they will grasp it without tears.  At around age twelve the late readers and the early readers even out.  That said, I am a huge believer in reading quality, and often complex, literature to very small (and very tall) children.  Early math can be learned just as well (better, in fact) counting stairs or subtracting M&Ms as it can doing worksheets.  A bit of a confession: I am a huge fan of subtraction with M&Ms. 

That said, we homeschool all our children, the oldest three officially, the oldest four with self-constructed (self as in Mama, not self as in child) educational plans, and the youngest two with activities designated to enrich their learning experiences and prepare them for their academic futures.  (That is educator gobbledy-gook for keeping them out of trouble while the rest of us “do history.”)  You teach your children, too, whatever their ages, whether or not you realize it.

Who does the teaching?

A lot of our older children’s work is done independently with parental supervision.  I am the main teacher responsible for curriculum selection, teaching, supervision, follow-up, scheduling, record-keeping, and (the perpetual attempt to achieve some level of) organization.  Daddy is the king of field trips and spontaneous learning.  He also serves as the resident expert on religion, science, and history, due to his insatiable appetite for knowledge and his enviable ability to not only remember what he learns, but to process it critically and thoughtfully within the context of a Christian worldview.  ”Ask Daddy” is this mother’s life-saving expression.

What qualifies us to teach?

Neither of us has a teaching degree.  Legally this is not an issue in our state.  In practice this is also not an issue.  In fact, many excellent classroom teachers find it initially difficult to look beyond their teacher-training to see how real life learning can take place at home in a far more effective manner than through contrived lessons.  They are often tempted to recreate the school within the home, something that removes many of the benefits of homeschooling. Children with a certified parent at home do no better than those with a good ol’ fashioned Mama with a love of learning, a few worn out library cards, and spare change for fines.

Does this sound idealistic?  Perhaps.  But consider that the average parent who enjoys spending time with her child will be reading to, working alongside, and exploring the world with her child.  The child will learn naturally through these activities, and will gain a love of learning and an independent approach toward exploration and discovery.  This will carry that child far.  The conscientious parent will instill in the child a working knowledge of how to learn, how to teach himself, and where to go to find information and training when necessary.

A wealth of curriculum choices, authors willing to field questions, co-ops, homeschool support groups, online classes, video classes, and local classes are all options to assist the homeschool parents provide the type of education their children need.  As an example, while I have always worked with my young children in the kitchen where they learn fractions, the basic math functions, and their applications, I found it difficult to break down the math processes for pencil work.  At the advice of a friend across the country, I began using a program called Math-U-See which uses a DVD and manual to teach the teacher how to teach.  Bingo!  Help where I needed it!

Does a teaching parent need a college degree?

In our state, no degree is necessary to teach your own child how to read.  Although my musicman and I both have college degrees, the main way they have served us is to repeatedly remind us how overwhelmed we are by the debt of our educations, and to reenforce our own decision to find a more resourceful and relevant method of educating our children.  Education is key…the method is the question. I have found that very few of my college classes have added to my personal abilities in the kingdom of God, in the workforce, or in service to my family, and those which did were almost all in my preferred area of study.  It is the desire for learning and self-directed discovery that make a successful homeschool parent, not the ordered passing of exams sufficient to gain a few abbreviated capitals behind your name.  Personally, my calculus studies have in no way made it easier to explain long division to my children.  That said, a solid grasp of the basics of the three Rs (ironic educational misnomers) are essential to life and helpful for teaching, but they can be gained alongside your child if they are currently lacking.  I have learned quite a bit alongside my children.  It is a joy and an education that makes sense.

 

 

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