Saturday, August 9, 2008
Thoughts on Homeschooling
Some out here in blogland know I have a private MSN group for homeschoolers, homesteaders and just moms in general..this was something I posted the other day after hearing something on a radio broadcast I was listening too...I have changed names ,except mine to protect privacy...I thought it was very thought provoking discussion and worth sharing with others...
~Kris
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I was listening to a local christian radio station and they were having a program about day care etc...A lady was on there and speaking about leaving our children in daycare centers and how that can effect them etc...The one thing she said spoke volumes to me and I related it to homeschooling...her quote was
"The person that teaches your child to speak is the person that teaches your child to think"...WOW!
Before I go further let me say...these are simply some thoughts that came to my mind...not saying they are right or wrong...every family is different!!! I am in no way implying my way is the right way for your family...
I pondered on that for a while and I took it a bit further...when we send our children to 'school' they are being taught the governements worldview...no matter what you teach them at home... for 7 hours a day they are being poured full of governement...very subtle hints that homosexuality is ok....they get told if they get spanked its child abuse...if they want to have sex just use a condom or other birth control...they can't pray in school....evolution is fact....they are with other children that may or may not hold they same values as your child...and we all know about peer pressure and how hard it is for a child to resist.....the list goes on...so essentially even though you may have taught them to talk and think to a point ...when you send them to school the government then teaches them how and what to think for the rest of their lives in some form or fashion...
EXAMPLE: I think the majority of us in here were public/private school products...and when we began homeschooling our view was that in order to learn one must set at a desk/table and do work from text or worktext while a teacher stood at a black board or sit behind a desk and drilled the child/ren with facts and figures...why did we think that? Cause it's all we knew
...a few of us in here have challenged that thinking and we do things 'out of the box' a bit...not to be different or rebellious, but to challenge the governments way of thinking and take a more " relaxed approach"...Unschoolers get a bad wrap only because they are not understood...I will freely admit 10 years ago when I did not understand the concept I thought unschoolers were parents that were lazy, unmotivated and just simpleydid not want to do the work...
..WOW, does the Lord humble us or what!? I began listening and looking around at the 'unschoolers' and thru the Lord it all began to make sense to me...now, here I am, an unschooler...Oh, from time to time I get back in one of my 'moods' that we need new school books and I should make DD sit at the table for 4 hours and do work...but you know whats funny...when I make that "plan" something always deters me...God....He will clearly show me through DD that she is learning and has learned alot...He will gently remind me that I am to trust Him in ALL things not just the ones I pick and choose to trust Him in...DD, like all other children is her own unique individual and God has a plan for her life...as her mom/mentor/teacher I am to listen to God and follow His leading in her schooling as He cannot go wrong and neither can I if I am listening to Him..If I listen and obey HIM I can help GOD fulfill HIS plan for DD's life...in order to do this I have put aside my own thoughts of what education is...I have to put aside what the government calls education...and I have to stay in tune with God...He is all we need...He is everything...He knitted Destinee together in her mothers womb and He knows everything about her...so if HE knows everything about her how can HE steer me wrong in educating her?? I am not anyone in here is wrong for their way of homeschooling, that is not my place...these are simply some personal thoughts I thougth I would share, you are free to do with them what you will...
In His Grip-
~Kris
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REPLY from J--
Kris,
I share your heart entirely and can't believe all the new thought I have that I never had before. Even this week it bothered me that a friend must take a course to homeschool. This homeschool was not put together by the state but by other homeschoolers. I started to fear that other homeschoolers may "form" other homeschoolers' thinking to the point that a woman might want to disregard her own intuition or her own ability to hear from the Lord. I think women need encouragement that the Holy Spirit really IS our teacher, not that we don't need help but definitely need validation for own thoughts!
Thanks for sharing.
Love, J
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REPLY from Kris--
Hi J--Nice to see you here! I see a saying quite often in the homeschool community and it is "A mothers heart is a childs classroom", however so many do not really know what that means...if we would only truly believe that saying how great it would be...If my heart is right with the Lord, I cannot go wrong in educating my child because my hearts desire will the desire of the Savior......The only class we need to take is the one in the form of the bible and prayer...I have become so very passionate in this subject...I really wish I known about Marilyn Howshall many years ago, so that I could have bought her books...*Sigh*
~Kris
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Reply from D--
I completely agree with you ladies!! When we first started homeschooling, I was very insistant that the kids sit at the table with their feet in front of them and I would teach them from the blackboard, or dry erase board and that was the way it was going to go. Well,l I have learned so much since that time!! We are starting to do some lapbooks and they are so much fun!! All the kids have told me that they want to keep doing them instead of the book work. And I would have never done that a few years ago because this just doesn't seem much like school work. I think it just takes some time for people to see that it really doesn't have to be one way only.
D
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REPLY from J--
Good Fri. eve sisters. Kristy, you expressed that so well and so right.
Isn't it amazing when you see them learn little details of behavior that they got just from enjoying their learning lifestyle? I love seeing them desiring what is right and good. And even reminding me or the others about it!
Mine have had a lot of freedom to draw on blank paper and usually want to write and read before I'm ready to teach them. Its so fun to give them what they want when they ask for it.
Its also very cool to watch and see the things that they learn and accomplish. I think my 16 yo is doing so well at Driver's Ed because she's done so much "watching" all these years. She also learned to drive a mower and a quad before now.
I guess I'm trying to say that more work and rote learning does not always equal a great kid! Only God can create a great kid and we can learn to lead them and other times we can learn to stay out of His way at times!
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Last reply so far from Me--
I still do not have this way perfected and most likely never will, but I do know that Lord has led us here and I doing my best to follow and be faithful...I do know I have felt such freedom..I am not tied to a book or to a curriculum..I am tied to Jesus and His way...we use textbooks from time to time when needed but we only follow the Lords scope and sequence and that is the one that is perfect for Destinee...Government scope and sequence says all children need to be doing the same thing at the same time, but God created each of us unique, therefore we each need a cutomized education...ever notice when a child isn't reading by 6 or 7 you get these looks of "why" is something wrong, or maybe you need a different curriculum...I honestly was the same way and I did know in my heart something was not right with Destinee, but over time I have tried hard to quit looking at her 'inabilites' and look solely on her 'abilites' God has been very faithful to point them out to me...He has been faithful to let me know what direction we need to go...When I gave up my idea of how Destinee should learn to read..she begin reading...she did not learn by phonics, although she can sound out letters, she cannot for whatever reason put them together as a word...she learned by sight reading...I have actually had doctors tell me children do not learn that way....Ummmmm...mine did...but again a perfect example of how people are conditioned to think...phonics = reading....NOT! God has the ultimate plan book and thats where our plans should come from...you should plan your year with God through prayer and meditation...those plans will work out and your child will learn in leaps and bounds!
~Kris
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Homeschool Freebie!
Geared for younger children this is a great lapbook...great for September back to school project!
Scroll down a bit and you will see Apple Learn' N Folder. Click where it says FREE: Apple Learn' N Folder Download. It will automatically open up...Have fun!
~Kris
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Thursday, July 24, 2008
FREE Farm Premade Thematic Unit Study
We really like these free pre-made unit studies...they are geared at younger children but could be adapted for older children...they are fun and engaging...
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This week we have a Thematic Unit about Farms.
When you click on the download link the file should download to your computer. If it displays in your web browser go to the file menu at the top of your browser and select to save it to you desktop. That way you will have the eworkbook files always available on you computer, ready to print whenever you need them.
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Download the FREE FarmThematic Unit. <<
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Tuesday, January 29, 2008
A GREAT Freebie
The Long Winter
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The story of "The Long Winter" begins in Dakota territory on a hot August day in 1880. Laura and her father ("Pa") are working hard to bring in enough hay to feed the livestock over the winter. When they come across a muskrat's house, Pa tells Laura that he knows the winter is going to be hard because muskrats always build a house with thick walls before a hard winter, and this year, they have built the thickest walls that he has ever seen. In mid-October, the Ingalls wake one morning to find an unusually early blizzard howling around their frail claim shanty. Impressed, Pa decides to move the family into nearby De Smet for the winter. How the family and the town face the incredibly harsh conditions of that winter and the threat of starvation is told in the tale that follows. This great dramatization of this classic Newberry honor book was originally aired on the Hallmark Playhouse on March 15, 1951 and stars Edward Arnold as Pa.
Here's your link to the story:
The Long Winter <--CLICK
(22 minutes, 7.2 megs)
TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THIS FREE SERVICE --
JUST SEND THEM TO
WWW.HOMESCHOOLRADIOSHOWS.COM
Thanks again! We really appreciate your help in getting the word out about our programs!
See you next week!
Your Friends,
The Erskine Family
PO Box 187 * Canmer, KY 42722
www.homeschoolradioshows.com
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Thursday, January 3, 2008
Finding our Groove
It always seems that after any major downtime in our home that we have a problem trying to find our 'groove' again...such is life with a special needs child...schooling has been slow that past month with the excitment of Christmas and playing with all the new things...today we slowly began back, DD worked on writing me a story, so far she is doing well...tomorrow we will add a little more and we will even do some "school" on Saturday. Sunday is just a given for church and our Sundays are filled with just simply going to church and worshipping the Lord...But until we get back into routine Saturdays around here will also be considered "school" days and filled with things like story writing,educational games,and maybe some History channel or a good old fashioned movie...Since Valentines day is our next holiday we will be begin focusing on,and from now until Feb 14th our homes focus will be on the verse 1 Corinthians 13:13--And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
We are going to try a little different 'schedule' beginning next week which will be a block schedule of sorts...we did this in the past and worked really well,honestly, not sure how we got away from it...it seemed to work well for dd, our days were very productive, but shortened as far as "table time" academics and we seemed to have more time for more 'creative' type things...
I got most of my house work done today so tomorrow should find our focus on academics. We will also be doing a small unit on Valentines day and I am going to look around for a lapbook to also do...We love units and lapbooks...so much fun and a great way to learn!
~Kris
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Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Thought I would share!
You can visit my "porta portal" and take a peek at some of my favorite links...when you get to this page http://portaportal.com/ you will see where is says "guest access" type in hsmom and then click visit...you will be able to vist some of my favorite websites for homeschooling...Enjoy!
~Kris
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