Homeschooling Q & A
Dear Sisters,
"And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ." Matthew 23:10
I have been asked to write about homeschooling by many women since the school year is just beginning. Some requests came by those who do not homeschool, but are interested in learning just how it is done. I think that is wise, for there are many times when a mother might find herself homeschooling, even though she hadn't planned on it. For example, in the summer months when the kids are off school, a mother might want to keep her child caught up in his studies if he tends to struggle in a certain area. Or if a child has an extended illness, a mother might also find herself homeschooling that child for a temporary time. Or perhaps an extended vacation might be taken due to the illness of another family member in another part of the country, a mother, again, might find herself homeschooling her child. Even grandmothers might find it necessary to temporarily homeschool their grandchildren given certain circumstances. I know I never imagined myself homeschooling, but here I am. With that in mind, I share with you all how I have learned to homeschool my children.
Without a doubt, the LORD is the Teacher of this family, as the verse above states. I go to Him continually for guidance and wisdom. I consider it a great privilege to teach my children. I thank Him often for the opportunity. I do not feel that I am capable of it. But I know He is capable. How I thank Him for the work He does through this weak vessel. He is truly awesome to me. I would have never believed that I could homeschool my four children; but as I start on my ninth year this week, I see only His Hand in it all. This year I will homeschool a tenth grader, a seventh grader, a third grader, and a kindergartner.
I started homeschooling when I was pregnant with my third child. My son was having trouble with reading, so my husband asked me to catch him up at home for a year. We pulled him out of second grade and soon found it to be a way of life for our family. Was it easy at first? Oh, nothing is easy at first! In fact every year has its own challenges. Yet I am so glad to be doing this job. For I get to work intimately with those who mean the most to me: my children.
The first question women often ask is, "Do you use a certain curriculum?" I use to. I truly believe I needed that formal guidance at first. Just as one needs to follow a recipe until they learn the mechanics of cooking. I needed a "recipe" for homeschooling until I learned the mechanics of homeschooling. Now I take great pleasure in seeking out just that special book for just that special child. I love to teach them from the areas they find the most interesting. For one of my sons, that is music. For another son, that is animals. For my daughter, that is homemaking. For my youngest son, that is also animals. What a pleasure to keep my eye open in the thrift stores, antique stores, and any other place the LORD leads me to, for those special books. I love good books! I don't care much for textbooks, and if I can avoid them, I do. I find that if I pick up a book and can't wait to sit down and read it, then that is a good sign that my child will want to do the same. Out of a good book I can teach many good things.
The second question women often ask is, "What is your school schedule?" I turn the phone off as soon as my school day begins. This is an important time of the day for me. I, prayerfully, have my meal cooking, my laundry caught up, my house somewhat on its way to being clean, (since I have been up early working and have seen my children through to completion of four chores each), and now I sit down and have breakfast with my children while we study the Word of God together. Once we have had our Bible study, which often includes talk of world events in conjunction with The Word, along with social problems, personal concerns, some reading aloud, Scripture memorization, and prayer, we begin our studies for the day.
I always think Reading , Writing, and 'Rithmetic for the day with the other subjects falling under one of those headings. But not in that order. I actually reverse the order.
The first subject is always math. This is necessary as their minds are fresh, and one needs a fresh mind for math. I find that this is the mountain of our homeschooling day, especially the farther along one gets in math, and once "math mountain" is conquered, the rest of the day goes that much more smoothly. I do not pay a lot of attention to grade levels on math. (And I do have to use a textbook in this subject.) The important thing to me is that they grasp the concept, no matter how long it takes, no matter how much we need to repeat it. I want them to be able to figure out how much carpeting or tile it will take to put down a room in their house, once they have their own homes. I want them to be able to quickly calculate change back in their mind, or figure out a percentage if something is taxed or tipped. I want them to be able to budget their money and balance their check books or accounts. I want them to understand taxes and live wisely off their take-home pay. I want them to understand measurements and cost analysis that lead up to estimating and completing certain building projects. I want them to be able to double or triple or cost out a recipe. I want them to understand how great their God is Who laid the foundation of this earth in perfect conjunction with all the planets surrounding it. He is the Great Mathematician. We can go to Him for any math problem. He knows it all and will show us the way in His perfect timing and in His peace. I have found that as I let my children learn math at their pace, they are learning it well.
Our next subject is writing. As you know, I love to write. However, I have children who do not always feel the same way. So it is a challenge to redirect them to my way of thinking concerning writing. In my next letter I will continue my homeschooling day which includes writing after "math mountain" is conquered.
Love,
Laine
"And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ." Matthew 23:10
I have been asked to write about homeschooling by many women since the school year is just beginning. Some requests came by those who do not homeschool, but are interested in learning just how it is done. I think that is wise, for there are many times when a mother might find herself homeschooling, even though she hadn't planned on it. For example, in the summer months when the kids are off school, a mother might want to keep her child caught up in his studies if he tends to struggle in a certain area. Or if a child has an extended illness, a mother might also find herself homeschooling that child for a temporary time. Or perhaps an extended vacation might be taken due to the illness of another family member in another part of the country, a mother, again, might find herself homeschooling her child. Even grandmothers might find it necessary to temporarily homeschool their grandchildren given certain circumstances. I know I never imagined myself homeschooling, but here I am. With that in mind, I share with you all how I have learned to homeschool my children.
Without a doubt, the LORD is the Teacher of this family, as the verse above states. I go to Him continually for guidance and wisdom. I consider it a great privilege to teach my children. I thank Him often for the opportunity. I do not feel that I am capable of it. But I know He is capable. How I thank Him for the work He does through this weak vessel. He is truly awesome to me. I would have never believed that I could homeschool my four children; but as I start on my ninth year this week, I see only His Hand in it all. This year I will homeschool a tenth grader, a seventh grader, a third grader, and a kindergartner.
I started homeschooling when I was pregnant with my third child. My son was having trouble with reading, so my husband asked me to catch him up at home for a year. We pulled him out of second grade and soon found it to be a way of life for our family. Was it easy at first? Oh, nothing is easy at first! In fact every year has its own challenges. Yet I am so glad to be doing this job. For I get to work intimately with those who mean the most to me: my children.
The first question women often ask is, "Do you use a certain curriculum?" I use to. I truly believe I needed that formal guidance at first. Just as one needs to follow a recipe until they learn the mechanics of cooking. I needed a "recipe" for homeschooling until I learned the mechanics of homeschooling. Now I take great pleasure in seeking out just that special book for just that special child. I love to teach them from the areas they find the most interesting. For one of my sons, that is music. For another son, that is animals. For my daughter, that is homemaking. For my youngest son, that is also animals. What a pleasure to keep my eye open in the thrift stores, antique stores, and any other place the LORD leads me to, for those special books. I love good books! I don't care much for textbooks, and if I can avoid them, I do. I find that if I pick up a book and can't wait to sit down and read it, then that is a good sign that my child will want to do the same. Out of a good book I can teach many good things.
The second question women often ask is, "What is your school schedule?" I turn the phone off as soon as my school day begins. This is an important time of the day for me. I, prayerfully, have my meal cooking, my laundry caught up, my house somewhat on its way to being clean, (since I have been up early working and have seen my children through to completion of four chores each), and now I sit down and have breakfast with my children while we study the Word of God together. Once we have had our Bible study, which often includes talk of world events in conjunction with The Word, along with social problems, personal concerns, some reading aloud, Scripture memorization, and prayer, we begin our studies for the day.
I always think Reading , Writing, and 'Rithmetic for the day with the other subjects falling under one of those headings. But not in that order. I actually reverse the order.
The first subject is always math. This is necessary as their minds are fresh, and one needs a fresh mind for math. I find that this is the mountain of our homeschooling day, especially the farther along one gets in math, and once "math mountain" is conquered, the rest of the day goes that much more smoothly. I do not pay a lot of attention to grade levels on math. (And I do have to use a textbook in this subject.) The important thing to me is that they grasp the concept, no matter how long it takes, no matter how much we need to repeat it. I want them to be able to figure out how much carpeting or tile it will take to put down a room in their house, once they have their own homes. I want them to be able to quickly calculate change back in their mind, or figure out a percentage if something is taxed or tipped. I want them to be able to budget their money and balance their check books or accounts. I want them to understand taxes and live wisely off their take-home pay. I want them to understand measurements and cost analysis that lead up to estimating and completing certain building projects. I want them to be able to double or triple or cost out a recipe. I want them to understand how great their God is Who laid the foundation of this earth in perfect conjunction with all the planets surrounding it. He is the Great Mathematician. We can go to Him for any math problem. He knows it all and will show us the way in His perfect timing and in His peace. I have found that as I let my children learn math at their pace, they are learning it well.
Our next subject is writing. As you know, I love to write. However, I have children who do not always feel the same way. So it is a challenge to redirect them to my way of thinking concerning writing. In my next letter I will continue my homeschooling day which includes writing after "math mountain" is conquered.
Love,
Laine
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