Slow Schooling Chapter 20: The Extras
Lits bits that didn't make it into the book
In this chapter are the little bits that I did not manage to incorporate into the book. Consider them extras, and enjoy. As a side note, we now have nine children, five who are currently being homeschooled. Thank you for reading this book in progress. May the Lord bless your efforts as you endeavor to raise your children for His glory.
Our Open House 2008: Part 1
Saturday, August 30, 2008
02:21
As I’ve gotten older and have some half dozen years of homeschooling now behind me, I have realized that schooling at home is not anything more spectacular than, say, feeding my family or keeping the house in order. Preparing breakfast is just something that needs to be done......so is reading to the children. Sanitizing the bathrooms is important.....so is teaching my children to count change.
But occasionally ***homeschooling*** becomes this monstrous impossibility of trying to translate romantic notions of gently and purposefully feeding our children’s minds with the very best of one or more philosophical bents, such as Charlotte Mason, Classical, or Traditional. Of course, there are “right” ways and “wrong” ways to approach each of these, with the “proper” books and curriculum, and if by chance we mess it up (which of course, no public or private school teacher would ever do har har har), the year and age of opportunity are gone, gone, gone and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Ack! Is it any wonder we moms can freak out come September?
If I could ....I’d like to earnestly encourage homeschooling mothers to just RELAX, to enjoy life with their children, to think of schooling as just another facet of homelife and not as some “extra” thing to do in addition to everything else. It isn’t any more “extra” than doing laundry.
Unless of course you usually hire out a laundress to do your dirty work.
I’d encourage you to sell or put away the curriculum or textbooks that you now know were a mistake for your family, not to feel guilty and thus plow through it just because you spent money on it. After all, if something spoils in the fridge, are you going to eat it anyway, just because you spent money on it? We need to give ourselves grace, to know that homeschooling (just like everything else) will never be perfect and that errors will happen. You can start “fresh” at any time, whether it be September, Thursday or the middle of an afternoon. It’s no big deal. Just tie up the laces anew and get back to walking.
I’d also encourage you to foster a love of learning through example (do YOU read?), and to shorten those intense lesson times. Make playing outside a priority, and take care with food choices and times for rest. If you have a child who would rather climb the roof, make instructional table time really short (like 15-20 minutes) at a time. You know what excites your children; use these things to your advantage to teach them. Four hours of pencil and paper work is NOT more advantageous than four hours of imaginative play.
And yes, learning anything at all takes a bit of pain (try learning another hand skill or another language as an adult!) But, again, it is by our example that our children will learn the best lessons: perseverance, hard work, a good attitude. We can’t expect them to rise above our own example.
Learning Happens
Wednesday, September 5, 2007 08:17
It's so great that I don't have to plan for my children's every learning experience. What I am finding more and more, is that I just have to get out of the way (ie. RELAX) and let them have at it. During recent lunchtime conversations alone, we've talked genetics, fractions and parts of speech, all brought up from stuff the kiddos have been reading about on their own. How cool is that?!
An example is my 5yo daughter's copywork, unassigned by me. Copywork is a very effective way to practice handwriting, learn grammar, and grow in vocabulary. She is so excited to be reading and writing, that she just began to copy books on her own. And then there are my daughters (3yo, 5yo, 9yo), busy washing and putting out to dry dolly clothes. I loved hearing them so involved with one another, and they were so proud of their work. I am still trying to convince my eldest that the laundry machine really is far better than handwashing.
And I can see my 7yo son, learning how to use power tools under the watchful eye of his dad, building a rabbit hutch, all from scrap material.
My children are all gaining confidence in their abilities, learning real life skills, and bonding with their family members. I wish I could take credit for all of that; truly, glory belongs to God. That, and thankfulness that I can have a front row seat to watch it all unfold.
A Peek Into Our Homeschool
Monday, August 20, 2007 08:14
(from a another blogger’s interview of my homeschool)
Q. Do you homeschool in a homeschool room, at the kitchen table, at a desk, in the park on the grass?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you have any “must share” tips?
A. Yes! RELAX! Your children WILL learn, on their own time frame. Read to them a lot, give them love and discipline, manage their chores, and let them be themselves. Play with them, and pray with them. And always, always, point them to God.
Q. Do you have a question or concern? Throw that in there too!
A. Am I doing a good job? Am I ruining my children? Why didn’t I..........How come I can’t........Can we start over?........What do I do about..........Can’t someone come SHOW me how to.......and can I be reimbursed for all the stuff I bought that I never use but had to have because everyone else loved it?.....oh, the questions never end! Even though I *know* my children belong at home, I am forever hopeful that I won’t screw them up. I am at peace, however, knowing that God will not only lead me in training them up, He will stand in the gaps (the enormous, gaping holes) to work out His plan in drawing them to Himself. And that, most of all, is the reward and pleasure of watching them grow and learn.
On Being “Called” to....(fill in the blank)
I humbly submit this blog post I wrote after the birth of our first (of two) daughters born with Down syndrome. If you’d like to hear the story of either (or both) of their births and the effect on our family, I’d encourage you to check out the podcasts Tom and I did. (1) Homeschooling has continued through every trial our family has faced, because life is not all about academics, but about glorifying God in every way we are able, including academics. May we look to walk faithfully in ALL areas of our lives.
Chosen?
Friday, June 27, 2008 02:57
"We will see more and more that we are chosen, not because of our ability, but because of His power that will be demonstrated in our not being able."
Corrie Ten Boom
There runs a familiar story of somehow being specially chosen to raise a special child because somehow I (or whomever else gifted with such challenges) have more to offer than the ordinary Jane. It embraces the common notion that “the Lord does not give you anything more than you can handle”, to which I cannot help but reply, “Wanna bet?!”
The way I see it goes somewhat like this: if indeed the Lord does not ever give me more than I can handle, then truly I have no need of His direction, strength or loving exhortation. After all, if my own hands are fully equipped to the task I am facing, what need have I of His? Nay, friends, I humbly disagree. My Father in heaven will ask me to do much beyond my abilities, my confidences, my understandings. For it is in through such overwhelming and ridiculous odds that I am certain to stumble at best and utterly fail at worst that God will Himself show up. I have to believe it is thus, for if I do not, then I am doomed to despair. I am doomed to bury myself in the multitudes of counselors. I am doomed to chase after every idea and help that my finite mind is invited to partake in, and that in turn will lead me helter skelter spiritually, physically and emotionally as well.
I feel the pull already. The literature I read exhorts me to act now, to find immediate early intervention, to make decisions that even will affect my daughter’s future as an adult. This is hard for me. I am more pondersome, more thoughtful, more careful. I feel more apt to simply stay put, to continue to teach her how to nurse without bruising her mama’s tender parts, and to allow my own body to recover from surgery. Is it wrong just to sit with her out in the garden for now, enjoying the sun and the wispy breeze, watching the dragonflies and swallows do acrobatics in the clear blue sky?
I reject the notion that I have been “called” to be a mother, simply because I now have six children, or that I am “called” to have this special child. What I have been called to from the beginning is only to faithfulness. Faith grows from responding to and trusting His heart, that even when His ways and commands seem nonsensical, we know them to be not burdensome.
I know I have been given much to carry. I know I am not equipped. I do not share the delusion that somehow I am more ready, eager, or willing to take on the hard things presented to me. All I have, all I want to have, is trust that God is indeed bigger, and to know His is willing and able to lead me.
Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto Thee. Psalm 143:8
I will guide thee with mine eye. Psalm 32:8
1. Ruby’s story and Poppy’s story
If you’re looking for a simpler, more purposeful life outside of the rule of technology, perhaps you can glean from my experimentations in seeking a more present life. Learn more about the book (and how to get it) by clicking on its image.
