Homeschool To Us–Who, What, Where, When, Why (but not necessarily in that order ;))

I mentioned that Anthony and did a homeschool workshop for some people in our ward and family that were interested in learning more.  Now I’m going to post all the details here for anyone else that may have missed it but is still wanting to learn in a series of posts. 

Below is a picture of my girls’ interests for the year.  Obviously the lists grow as time goes on and K’s list is obviously a bit longer than A’s or H’s.  The picture isn’t too terribly relevant to this post, I just wanted to add a picture and that’s what I had ;).  We’ll go over the lists along with some other things a little later in the series. 

Following you will find a list of five questions along with mine and Anthony’s answers.  We did this packet together and you will notice our opinions of homeschooling are heavily peppered throughout.  Does that mean that our way of homeschooling is the only right way? 

Definitely NOT! 

Does it mean that we look down on others for doing it differently? 

Absolutely NOT! 

It simply means that we have prayed and come to certain conclusions and received answers as to how we need to educate both our children and ourselves in our home.  Your home is different!  You have different children, different parents, different circumstances, different ideas, different backgrounds, different learning styles, etc.  Your school should definitely NOT look just like ours!  So, before we begin, I encourage you read this article that I wrote about schedules. 

Our homeschool opinions are just that… opinions… things that have worked in our home and things that we strongly believe in. 

Let’s get on with the show… :)

 

What is homeschooling?

Homeschooling is a lifestyle! It is NOT school at home… or at least we don’t believe that it should be. 

Who am I teaching?

Ideally you will be mentoring, not teaching. And in the process you’ll be learning along with your children. You are your child’s greatest example.

Where do we ‘do’ school?

School is done wherever you feel comfortable. We like the comfort of our living room or dining room table. Sometimes we even prefer to be outdoors on nice days. Some prefer a designated school room.  The reason we choose NOT to have school room is because, as I said before, we don’t believe that homeschool should necessarily ‘look like’ school.  You’ll read more about the reasons for that in the ‘Why’ answer below. 

When do we ‘do’ school?

In the interest of ‘Structure Time, Not Content’ (A Thomas Jefferson Education) we have designated times of the day that we are learning. Friends are not allowed until after 3:00 on ‘school days’. As far as the content, nothing is required… ‘Inspire, not Require’. I (Brooke) tell the kids that I will be studying {whatever subject} at such and such a time in whatever room I choose. They are welcome to join me. In the past it has been required but they fought it. Once I stopped requiring them to join me, it was voluntary. They enjoyed it.

They will value their education if they see that you value yours!

We want our kids to develop a LOVE of learning rather than a HATE of learning.

Why should we homeschool?

Here is an article that is definitely worth reading (very LDS {Mormon} based but I still think it applies to just about anyone)!!

In addition, we believe that our children can and should LOVE learning. It should happen every day without even thinking about it. We love that we are able to tailor each child’s education to what they want out of life. This lets them know that their ideas and opinions are valued. Children have very valid points of view.

You are able pinpoint strengths and weaknesses that you might otherwise miss. Children are able to move at a pace that is comfortable for them. They don’t get left behind if they are struggling in one area. Likewise, they aren’t bored like they might be in a school setting where some of their peers are lagging. A teacher can only move at the pace that is already predetermined for them.