I’m very excited to be bringing big sister (Ling) home to join little brother (Ping) in our homeschool adventure. The big question is why? She had a pretty awesome year at Kindergarten in the local public school (PS). She learned to read quite well, excelled in math, made several friends, and really came out of her shell.
The bottom line is that I want the best education for my kids. While our local PS is good, I don’t think institutional education, in general, is best. Conveyer belt education is not optimal. Children learn at such different paces that it seems wrong to group them strictly by age. Why shouldn’t they have the chance to interact with kids of other ages? Why shouldn’t they be able to talk in class? Why should they spend so much time learning how to walk silently in straight lines down the hall. [I have visited Ling’s school on average once a week during the last year. Seriously, the students in all grades spend a significant amount of time on that “skill.”] I want more individualized attention for my kids. I want them to experience more hands-on instruction. I want them to be able to develop their personalities (and, yes, social skills) in a more nurturing environment. I want them to spend time with grandparents. I DON’T want to do any more fundraising! I don’t want them to spend all day at school and then come home to do more hours of homework. I like my kids and want to spend time with them.
Although many home educators’ reasons are bound up in their religious beliefs, that is actually not a foundational reason for wanting to educate my children at home. My husband and I actively share our faith and beliefs with our children any way. Shielding them from the secular humanism found in PS is not that important to us. We know the difference between fact (the fossil record) and theory (evolution) and have no trouble training our children to know the difference as well. We can tell the difference between the core truth of biblical Christianity versus the theology of different sects and denominations.
In my research of homeschooling resources I came across a book that completely solidified the approach I wish to take with educating my children. The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise (WTM) lays out a complete course of education from preschool through 12th grade. The educational approach is Classical, which divides up the learning stages into a trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
WTM uses a four-year cycle of history as the spine for content areas of history, geography, social studies, art, literature, and even science. The skill areas of math and reading are to be taught daily following some recommended resources. From the WTM web site:
We suggest that the twelve years of education consist of three repetitions of the same four-year pattern: Ancients, Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation, and Modern Times. The child studies these four time periods at varying levels — simple for grades 1-4, more difficult in grades 5-8 (when the student begins to read original sources), and taking an even more complex approach in grades 9-12, when the student works through these time periods using original sources (from Homer to Hitler) and also has the opportunity to pursue a particular interest (music, dance, technology, medicine, biology, creative writing) in depth.
I believe that following the WTM model will give us a rigorous, efficient, and fun educational experience. I know we’ll have challenges and difficult days but I believe in my very soul that this experience will be great.
Next up, curriculum choices and scheduling and our home classroom.
If you are a homeschooler, why do you do it? If you think it is a bad idea, why?
PS: Here is a great video I just saw that highlights many positive outcomes of the homeschooling experience:
