Help
With Your Rule
Too Much Schoolwork!
Dear Holly,
My biggest question when looking at your schedule was how you could complete school in a few hours. I tried an on-line Virtual charter school (K12) this past year and we are way behind. It seemed really intense. I will have a 3rd grade, 1st/2nd and a Kindergarden child next Fall along with the infant and a toddler. I almost feel as if this curriculum has a hold on me because I just can't seem to let it go. A hundred times a day I decide to do it then not do K12-maybe because of the free stuff they send or the teacher you talk to? It is an excellent academic program, but we just are not getting to it. Any suggestions for a good Catholic or Christian curriculum for large families?
Labels: 4th P Parent
posted by Holly at 2:42 PM
9 Comments:
There is much more to Catholic education than intellectual formation.
- There is the development of the body (being healthy, fit and caring for it's needs)
- the development of the intellect (which is the ability to think , not to create walking encyclopedias)
- the development of the will (which is character formation ; helping our children become good persons)
- and the development of the heart (Which is permitting the emotions to grow by having a safe and loving environment in which to experience the awe and wonder of God, and knowing they are special and loveable persons)
The problem with homeschoolers, as I have experienced in my own life, is a type of intellectual 'greed' almost - a tendency to overburden the curriculum - and hence an extreme focus on intellectual formation and learning 'stuff' - which is both unbalanced and which becomes a heavy burden to moms.
We think we have to ladle our children with tons of grammar pages and fill in the blank exercises and copious pages and pages of print to study. And I think this is because we all want to be faithful Catholics - and hence, we go back to what we knew - 'school' work - and the more faithful we are, the more schoolwork we lay on our kids.
But homeschooling is a new movement - a pioneer movement - and I think the Holy Spirit is calling us to reexamine how we educate our children. I beleive the stress moms are experiencing is because the familiar methods we have chosen to educate our children, don't reflect an understanding of what the purpose of Catholic education is - which is the formation of the whole person, and the development of body, mind, will and heart - and allowing all of these an equal place in our so-called 'curriculum'.
We also need to remember as homeschoolers, that private tutoring is much more intensive
than classroom education because it is dealing with the child where he is at - one on one - and a homeschooled child learns 5X as much as a child in a classroom during the same amount of time..
For a child to do more than 3 hours intensive homeschooling work is really too much in my opinion - there is more to life - and even in school, out of the 6 hours kids are in class, only 3 hours are meant for instructional purposes.
Our children are not robots or computers to be programmed - they need development of all the areas of their person. 3 Hours for junior high level is plenty, with much less for the primary grades. The rest of the time can be filled in with play,crafts, Sewing,quiet, nature, pets...all 'educational' of
the whole person in their own way...
I have heard of and seen the CHC (Catholic Heritage Curricula) program which is designed for Mom to teach many children in a gentle intellectual fashion while
focusing on the character and faith development of the child - they also have all the plans written out which saves Mummy huge amounts of time. I would strongly recommend this to you. Teresa Johnson, the foundress of CHC, has the right idea when it comes to the complete 'Catholic formation' of the child,and I think her program and her support would be very beneficial to you.
What an awesome reply, Holly! I have known all this in my heart, but that "intellectual greed" and the fear of failing or someone "finding out" that my kids don't know everything in their "grade level" has blinded me. Lately, as my young children create numerous conflicts, I have seen that they need the Words of God and Jesus "hidden in their hearts." We, as homeschooling mothers can teach them this through repeating the values of loving one another daily and providing that loving, safe environment you mentioned. This past year I was so concerned about the academics, that I let the spiritual teaching go because it didn't "count" toward the curriculum. How ridiculous! As adults, it will be the Christian example and the love they felt and saw and lived in their childhood home that will lead them on a path toward healthy relationships and "happiness." Subjects and predicates will never give them all that. The first paragraph of your reply, Holly, should be on a poster for all Catholic homeschooling mothers to hang in their schoolroom.
I too looked at the K12 cirriculum, but was intimidated by the time commitment. Plus, I really don't want my kids using the computer yet (I think they'll learn soon enough).
Next school year, I'll have a 2nd grader, a kindergartner, a 4 year old, a 2 year old and a newborn. I can't devote 8 hours a day to formal schooling!
I recommend Laura Berquist's book "Designing Your Own Classical Cirriculum." I use her syllabi (for more info, go to www.motherofdivinegrace.org or look at the booklists for her program found at www.emmanuelbooks.com), but I substitute or supplement to fit my family's needs (for example, I use a different reading program). Seton Home Study is a good Catholic program, more traditional than classical, but they offer some great textbooks (www.setonhome.com).
Sorry for the marketing plug! I just know that if I hadn't had a strong, Catholic support group a few years ago when I got started that I would be very lost right now with homeschooling. Those moms turned me on to these resources.
Holly,
I really liked your post.
The most important thing I have learned in our nine years of homeschooling is to put Religion first in our homeschooing. In a Seton newsletter they pointed out that eternity is just that. But our life here and jobs here are so short in comparison.
Stacey
Greetings!
I have been homeschooling for almost 16 years now, and I have finally found the curriculum that is working! CHC is wonderful! It is gentle and spirit-filled!
I have slowly been buying all the books required for K-12 for several years now.
I have tried just about everything out there. It has been incredible stressful and exhausting. The curriculum would sometimes take 8-10 hours a day if I did everything that was required for EACH child. Some of my children have responded, but mostly they have been stressed out and hated to do school. My boys have been behind in everything. I can heartily say Praise God for CHC! You will be so refreshed and excited to have a mom-friendly curriculum that speaks to your heart and soul as you teach your precious children!My children are responding very positively and I look forward to implementing the new Middle School Years curriculum this fall.
May God bless you with Wisdom and Peace as you make the decisions necessary for a wonderful school year at HOME!
Cara
Hello,
I wanted to write a response from the other side of things. First of all, I completely agree with Holly on the four areas of Catholic education. I love the way that she breaks them down. I, however, use the K12 curriculum (as a homeschooler, not virtual academy)that the original question mentions and we are not overburdened in our home. I have never had the "intellectual greed" that was mentioned, either. On the contrary, I simply desire a complete curriculum for my children, with a classical approach. Because everything is done for me...lesson plans, book lists, schedules, etc., we find that we have so much more time to do other things because mom is not always needing to plan and find books the way that I was with the other curricula I have tried.
Yes, in the beginning the curriculum seemed overwhelming (as anything new does), but now that we are into it, my children (toddler, 1st, 3rd and 5th grade) are actually quite independent in their work, with me acting as a guide and support. Their education is beautiful because it incorporates history, art (much of it Catholic), and literature to go along with a certain time period, making them well rounded in their thinking. Included in their "school time" is them doing beautiful works of art and writing creative stories - not over burdensome feats.
I would recommend that we as Catholic homeschoolers do not "throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bath-water" and say that just because a curriculum is rigorous or takes more time, it is doing harm or taking away from other activities that children love to do. Sometimes I have found -- in my experience -- that homeschoolers want the best of everything (homeschool, clean house, well-behaved children, etc.) with as little effort as possible. Just as Holly portrays in her book, we need to challenge ourselves to do God's will for us and our families even if it's hard. And if for a time (due to babies or needy children) we must relax our school day, so be it. But at some point we also need to get back up and give our other children the stimuli they need. Whether that be spiritual, physical, devlopmental, and yes, intellectual.
Thanks Shannon - loved your post. Having spent most of my homeschooling career planning all my own lessons for the kids, I see the wisdom of having set plans already laid out for Mom - there are many many advantages to this - not least of which is that Mom has more time for just 'being' with her family, instead of being too preoccupied getting all the lesson plans worked out.
Also, I liked your balanced input about not throwing out the baby too - I totally agree - that the intellect still needs to be formed - yes. That intellectual formation is all there is to education - no. it's finding that balance - which is necessary in everything, isn't it!
Another thing too is looking for efficient ways to accomplish things - sometimes an oral lesson can just as easily replace many workbook pages - in other words, there are hundreds of ways to have children read and write, and we don't need to limit ourselves to too many workbooks or other school methods or to certain publisher programs that burden us . Just like Jesus said - the Sabbath is made for man not man for the Sabbath...
I think, just like a rule - curriculums are a tool for us to use to suit the family and the child's educational needs - but even like a rule, it all depends how we use it.
I liked many of your points - that new things can intimidate; that practice makes perfect; that the inclusion of the whole person in education thru art response activities, creative writing responses,is necessary etc. Thanks!
Hello Ladies,
It's been interesting reading all your comments and I can relate to much of what is being said!
I think there are as many ways to homeschool as there are families. We've been homeschooling our four children for nearly ten years now and I've found, over the years, that the Good Lord has gently guided us ever since we made our decision. Somehow, someway - the right people, books, curriculums etc seemed to come our way. Whenever I have doubts, one of my close friends always reminds me - God led you to homeschooling, trust Him and He will help you see it through.
When we began we used the classical approach (including Laura Berquist's book) but it never seemed to be right for us. About 4 years ago we discovered the Charlotte Mason approach and it suited us perfectly. I still use books from other styles, but with a Charlotte Mason approach.
Prayer and trust go a long way to helping finding the learning style that suits your particular family. My difficulty is in not going into "panic mode" when talking to other home schoolers and doubting whether what we're doing is alright (intellectual greed rearing its ugly head!)Perservere and remember there is more to life than academic achievement.
God bless,
Cheryl
Thank you Cheryl from Australia! I agree with you. I appreciate your battling 'panic mode' when being compared with school methods etc... I would like to hear more about your experiences - you could even email me.
For me, I have come to realize that the missing element in Catholic education is the very reason Jesus came to earth in the first place - to form the heart. And the heart, the seat of who we are, is meant to 'love'. Hence, the heart of Catholic education is a personal relationship in love with God - but we as parents, are first models and secondly, (and mroe importantly) grace-conduits. To be a conduit of God is to help God make us holy so there are no obstacles.
So for us, the key element of our children's formation is to have our children 'experience' our truest affirming 'love of their person'. They can only experience this thru OUR holiness.
This can be hard to do when Mummy is so busy concentrating on obeying the textbook that she tends to yell at and pressure the kids to get to work. A real re-examination is called for here.
In all the history of education, no one has focused on 'how' to love, how to form the heart, nor have many (even Catholic educators) understood it - and they admitted it. But we have some new stuff coming thru JPII and Dr Conrad Baars(See "Born Only Once" for a good working definition of love, vs pseudo love...)
I think openess to a new inspiration - a full inspiration - is necessary.
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