Help
With Your Rule
Question re Holly's Homeschooling
Dear Holly,
I have a real practical question about homeschooling. Are you still homeschooling, and if so what grades, and what type of school schedule works for you? Are you enrolled or use a certain curriculum? How do you juggle (not balls)?
Labels: Homeschooling
posted by Holly at 10:10 AM
32 Comments:
I am homeschooling grades K-9 at present. I use my own program which I have developed over the years. Math - we use textbooks and we spend 45 minutes a day and I tutor as they need it.
In all other things, the children are pretty independent - I assign a general project/work/topics at the beginning of the month- we discuss WAYS they could study/learn/work with it individually, and then I let them go. They come to me for assistance. At the end of the month there is usually a test OR a presentation OR a project OR a response paper or whatever.
We have two hours allotted for 'school' in the morning when I am at their disposal (altho I also have time here to do my own studying/research if I wish.) In the afternoon, my grade 5,7,9 children carry on another hour or so independently while I do other things.
Dear Holly, I am homeschooling grades k-5 right now. I'm expecting my ninth child in a couple of months - the oldest being 11 years old. I am very thankful for your book - it's encouraged me to stick to the basic rule I had started somewhat similar to yours through trial and lots of error. I'm really intrigued by the time spent on homeschooling - and the independent work done by your older kids. Could you be more specific on the month project or topics used? I need all the help I can get!!! THanks and God Bless!
OK - an example of a solid month's project:
My grade 7 son last month: Theme Ancient Greece.
So he had his normal math and spelling work, and his religion was discussing Israel just before time of Christ - these were pages assigned. Religion was not tested.
Then, his history included text reading on Ancient Greece and some supplementary reading about famous Greeks. His English reading was Aesop's Fables and Greek Mythology. His Science was the Archimedes novel. Other resources involved a Good Apple unit on Ancient Greece.
As we discussed, we agreed that, at the end of the month, he was to do an oral presentation for the family covering Greek culture. He had an interactive activity with pictures of Greek gods and goddesses for description & identifiction. He wrote a two page report on the Greek City-State system of government. His presentation was to include a demonstration with models of three scientific principles from Archimedes' work. And his art was to replicate 3 ancient Greek art works, either in statue or in drawing.
At the end of the month, I get the report which I correct for grammar and composition skills, and assign any necessary text exercises next month if needed. His presentation reveals absorption of material and understanding of Greek culture, especially thru our questioning. And all the rest is supplemental, experiential and atmospheric. When he goes to study ancient Greece in high school, he will have ample memory tags to latch further studies on to.
So it's like that.
But some units aren't as pulled together as that. My oldest in Grade Nine was studying the French Revolution. So she had 2 texts from which she gained basic structure for the times; various saint stories and novels; and for English the novel A Tale of Two Cities - topped with two videos - Les MIserables and A Tale of Two Cities. Plenty of oral discussion.
Her entire written assignment for the month was to discuss why the revolution was a failure and write a response paper. Whereupon, she felt it was not wholly a failure, and she thus answered accordingly. The emphais here was on logical reasoning, backing a hypothesis and good composition format. Next months' writing assignment will be different.
As for science, it did not fit in with her studies, so she had a separate unit on genetics and cloning for science - and this was presented in a poster-oral talk format, with a written paper tying in her religion by discussing the morality of cloning. She then forwarded this paper to a youth magazine in the hopes of publication.
Her math was separate.
Every month, I assign them their topics and vary the WAYS they do things - change emphases, look for a different slant, different activity.
Like this month, they have all taken 3 weeks and they are doing Math formally, religion thru their spiritual reading around prayer time, and hands-on science for two of them as they build a hovercraft, and for another, she is building an actual model of a pioneer home with log cabin from real trees, and building all her own clay pottery etc. My youngest son is doing Math and experiments with magnets as he preps for the science fair.
When these competitions are done, we will find another format for next month. I need and like the change from month to month in how and what we are doing.
Does this help?
How do you pick the topics? Is there some overall structure you are following?
I did a lot of research when I first began homeschooling - What is History? What is science? What is the faith? And after I found out what 'topics' or general areas there were, I determined a broad general overview of basic knowledge was what I would base my K-9 curriculum.
So, for example - my history/geography program looks like this:
Gr 1 symbols of Canada & USA
Gr 2 Intro to World Geog
Gr 3 Canada & USA
Gr 4 World Geography / Intro to Prehistoric man, ancient egypt, ancient greeks, ancient romans, medieval times, early natives
Gr 5 Canada/ US History overview & geog
Gr 6 Latin American History & Geog
Gr 7 Old Testament history synthesized with prehistoric man, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and ancieent Rome / African Geog
Gr 8 Life of Christ, Early Christian Church, MIddle Ages, Exploration & Trade Routes, Discovery of New World / European Geog
Gr 9 Renaissance, Enlightenment, French Revolution, World Wars I & II, The Depression, Communism / Asian Geog
Now - I walk thru main themes - culture mostly - with some political events come late junior high, And with the focus on culture, I also then focus primarily on great persons during this time .
There is a catholic methodology called personation - which means, that we form 'persons' to love God by exposure to models who have loved God - so the main emphasis for me is the study of persons in history up to Grade 9 (saints especially and other virtuous men and women exeplifying human virtue) and discussion of how they interacted with their environment and age... By the time we get to grade 8 & 9, the kids also study evil villans! How NOT to live...
So, for me, the study of persons primarily to Grade 9 as a major emphasis, and then I see the study of 'ideas' in highschool as the natural progression...
Anyway, I am rambling...
Holly, please keep rambling. Your method sounds relaxed and fun but I still want a grasp on how you plan it all out. I don't know some of the topics how can I guide or suggest how to study these topics.
I am used to learning with my child or should I say relearning with he/she if I'm not versed on a particular subject. Is there alot of research on your part? When do you do the planning for each months topic? (over the summer)
What about grammer and a language?
OK - How do I plan it all out?
Well, for every grade level, I had decided what I consider 'essential-general-knowledge' topics which most of our culture would know (or used to). Usually I look thru a text and determine these - especially in history.
Next, I compile novels and other supplementary reading books, such as saints lives, to fit the era and location and main event. I do NOT assign a pile of questions based on everything they read. I let them read and ponder it, and 95% of the time, let them 'work with it' in a different fashion.
Then, depending on what is studied that year, there is usually a predominant geographical area. For geography, I have them study a map of the continent, and perhaps do a project on a country or smaller area - and then the year just has videos, which we watch at lunchtime, and which we borrow from the library - specifically relating to the culture of the places. We also watch saint and science videos at lunch too.
Math is a textbook - I use
MCP K
Abeka for Gr 1-2
MCP 3
Calvert 4
MCP 5,6
Calvert 7
Ginn 8,9
Personally, if I could afford it, I'd use Calvert all the way for Math, but MCP is second in my books as it's so simple.
Spelling - I use the Catholic Word Power thru Spelling program of Nueman Press.
English - I usually put the children thru the Grade 3 & 4 Voyages in English as it covers many key common mistake areas. After that, I usually teach diagnostically - based on their own writing, I examine it and then plan remedial lessons the next month which they do as formal exercises, and which I then 'look for' in the their written work.
I don't do separate reading comprehension questions because they get reading comprehension skills in every other book they read, be it history,science or saints lives - my simple questioning about the life of a saint can usually determine if they 'comprehend' - a presentation of key elements of a historical time frame tells me if they 'comprehended' - and I can use the 5 or 6 basic types of questions for this:
main idea / sequence/ attention to detail / inference and I forget the other two! :-)
Science- I have a 3 year cycle with topics gleaned from all the 3 main areas of Natural Science - Life Science (which includes zoology, biology, and anatomy and which I now introduce genetics and heredity in Gr 9); Earth Science (which includes geology, meteorology, paleontology, (sp?), oceanography, and astronomy; and Physical Science which includes Chemistry & Physics - the latter being broken down into heat, light, mechanics, simple machines, magnets & electricity, etc. A read thru any basic encyclopedia on the topic of 'Science' will give you all your topic breakdowns. Divide them up and use them as a rotating cycle for all your kids.
Then, re science - let them all study the same topic at the same time - focusing on different emphases and different levels - and then you can use library videos to supplement their work too as they are all on the same topic. Sometimes, I have a large presentation night , where each child mght have a different topic to report on - all under the same umbrella theme:
a little one might do dinosaurs, another do fossils, another earthquakes, another volcanoes, and another geologic time...
Now - because my curriculum is somewhat 'standardized" (ie:because my goal is to present basic general knowledge) I have all the children pass thru the same basc topics - although the individual emphasis on each is perhaps different. This eliminates the need to reinvent the wheel from year to year. The readings for any grade level remain the same, but HOW they study it is then open to discussion every month when I plan the next month.
So for my older daughter who is highly literary, I might expect a more detailed response paper than for my oldest son who would be better off with a less weighty discussion in history and more of a focus on science that month say...
As for planning- aside from working out the general topics which I did a long time ago, I have stopped myself from planning HOW to study a topic in the summer. I find that too detailed planning leaves me with no spontaneity. I would much prefer to just know that this month I'll need some India videos and that so-and-so is studying pioneers. That way, I can let the child's need determine how we study it; I can take into consideration the present situation of the family which may alter plans; and I can freely look around for presently-satisfactory ways to study it.
Some months the kids despise projects because they would rather just 'get it done' (like in May when the weather is nice -and in these instances, I would do basic reading and testing.)
Now, one last thing, since you told me I could ramble! I don't like my kids spending too much time on school work. I limit their time to max 3 hours a day. I beleive they have other things to do with their time - and in this way, they can live the rest of their lives studying or doing what they are drawn to and interested in (altho they are also interested in school).
But seeing as how I beleive in balance in all things, I just cannot see how any more school work than that, at least in our lives, is not excessive. They need time then to draw and play piano and go outside and play with the pets and play with each other and clean their rooms and help bake a cake...
In the scope of personal formation,the intellect is one function of the person (and the memory a small chunk of that!) But there are many other areas of formation necessary - of the will, of the heart, of the emotions, of the body. And if I spent 5-6 hours a day on the mind, when does the rest get formed??? So I limit - max 3 hours a day for the older kids (grades 4-9) and max 2 hours for Grade 3 and under. For high school, well, we hit that next year and I will probably limit to a 4 hour period, or let the child decide, within reason.
Hmmm, does this answer your question? :-)
Holly,
Yes, please keep rambling! This is very interesting. While our kids are still too young, we do intend to homeschool them.
I am a very structured person by nature, so I was thinking that a program, such as Seton or Kolbe would suit us better. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think that the method is determined by the parent or the child or a little of both?
I love the way that you adapt your lessons based on your childs strengths. That is what I intend to do as well, but maybe a more structured program would not allow that?
Also, the thought of coming up with my own program the way that you have overwhelms me a bit! :)
Holly, any suggestions about "goofing around" and distracting the others? What are some consequences that might work? (Basically my oldest 1yr old boy!)And sharing the school planning is great, although I agree with the previous comment planning it all out like this seems a bit overwhelming. How do you know they are getting what they need, or what they need at particular age/grade or what is expected by the school district, especially if some areas are a mystery to yourself? Your "rambling" is very, very interresting and helpful. I think most people who visit your site don't mind!!!
I posted the previous comment and see the typo in my sons age. He is 11yrs.
Yes, Holly, keep rambling - I sense another book in all this somewhere. Your approach seems to be very liberating to me. I just attended a homeschooling retreat Saturday of which the topic was "Love and Relationships" and focusing on that more so than the academic aspects of our homeschool. We have to look at WHY we are doing this (homeschooling). Is it to prove to the world (or our family, friends, parish) that we can teach our children so well that they are all winning the National Spelling Bee or speak Latin and Greek? Or is it so that we can form them spiritually as well as intellectually in order to help them develop a loving relationship with the Lord and their neighbors (neighbors that are first and foremost their parents and siblings).
I really like the limit for school time. I am feeling so much pressure to get every subject in and get it all done. That and the lack of motivation on the children's part to do the work has left me despairing of ever being able to follow a Rule. It just seems like I am doing everything I can and it is the others in the family who are not sticking to the plan when it comes to school! We always seem to go way beyond the scheduled school time. So, I am thinking we need to change something.
One other thing - how long did it take you to figure this method/curriculum out? I feel there is a learning curve to homeschooling and I am still on the upside of it!
To Anonymous re structured program
In my opinion, a structured program would be able to work for you - it is just HOW you do it which needs to be evaluated.
I have a 'structured' program in that I have a set content which is passed through by each child. I have my texts, books etc all lined up, and my topics are picked out. And I see no conflict between a structured boxed program and what I do in respect of content.
What I DO see a difference in is HOW the lessons are learned. I do NOT follow all the little question and answer questions in the texts, nor have my children write and answer to each question.
We can take a chapter and turn it into a project by the children simply reading and designing a poster/presentation/demonstration. I find they learn far better this way - by interacting with it - than by just question and answer.
At other times I just have them read it and we discuss it. At other times they just read and I don't bother to discuss it, because I feel it only warrants a quick introduction to the material, but it isn't important enough to 'memorize' or take to heart. But we still use some textbooks.
On the other hand, we ALSO have periods of time when we just do question and answer. After a month long active project, we can all get a bit tired of action! So, for two weeks, a child and I might agree that they just read and answer questions and have a test at the end. This way, their time and mind can attend to other things on their spare time. And school becomes something quite easy to do - sit, read, think, write, test.
For me, and I would imagine for you - your desire for structure is OK, and not feeling up to designing your own program is valid.
But I would suggest that your methodology - HOW your children study each section - would be best left up to the moment and discussion - with each of you having input. Otherwise, like me, you will probably tire of doing school the same way all the time, and just Q&A format can be quite monotonous and boring and dscouraging. Not only that, but I have seen less comprehension and retention because the children feel the goal is to answer questions, not learn it! So they skim and have no recall.
Know that in schools, a teacher would not usually consider this to be their one sole way to teach. Creativity and flexibility are the key to motivation - as is taking the child's opinion into account . You can still have this with a set course of 'content' study.
Your biggest temptation will be to see all those questions - all those exercises - and not do them all. You must be able to pick and choose which lessons/topics/pages/chapters you think are TRULY important for your child to learn, and so I still always suggest a little research to help YOU understand what the sciences are, history, etc etc.. That way, your powers of discrimination re your child's education remain in your hands, instead of you getting intimidated by what the 'textbook experts' are trying to get you to do...
See what I mean?
Re Goofing Around & Dsitracting Others
Little ones in a homeschool can be very challenging! I know all about kids crawlingover the table when you are teacing someone else!! :-) Reality is -they want to be part of the family and not be excluded.
What I eventually learned to do with 1 & 2 year olds - I utilized the highchair : I had a large box with little one toys in it - and I sat the child beside me in the highchair - and I handed him or her one toy at a time to play with, and kept these rotating from day to day : wooden puzzles, stacking boxes, magazines and a pen, large beads on a string, crackers and a juice, pen and paper, coloring sheet, chess set... etc etc...
And I just kept handing him things as he played, and removing them as he tired of them, and timed it - sometimes a child could be kept busy and involved for an hour or more. I babysat an 18 month old boy who would stay playing happily for 90 minutes while I schooled - and he was a very active temperament.
Then - I also had a set video time, I broke up the morning for the kids with recess which broke up his morning; I had a playpen with larger toys (rotated) which I used - so - many things like this to have the infant 'do school' too and still be a part of the family without crawling over everything!
If you look at the LIttle Ones Activity list on Holly's notebook page (way back) you will probably find a pile of things you can do in this fashion. The secret is to keep the child busy in a hands on way while you school the others. Keep the toys rotated - every 3 days no sooner. And if it is nursing time, put him on your lap and carry on.
Now - I have to go school!
Dear Amy -Thank you for your post. Your mention of another book stirred my heart as education seems to be a hobby of mine and I have long desired to write about Catholic Education. Perhaps my readers could keep this intention in their prayers. I would truly love to put out another book - this time on education - but I fear it is going to take me quite a while!
Secondly, your mention of love and relationships really hits home too. The reality is that the world had survival skills taught even by prehistoric man, so there is nothing new there. The world had 'reason' with the Greeks, 'virtue' with the Romans, and 'faith' with the Jews. What DID Jesus bring to education that is unique?
Well, I believe He brought 'LOVE' which is HImself. And I beleive the core of a Catholic education IS love. You know, St Paul says "What good is it if I have all the knowledge in the world..... if I have not love."
And so in our homeschools - if stress and grammar are taking over our relationships with our children - perhaps we need to look at what it's all about?
Just like in MROL - all of it is about order and balance. There are 5 main areas of formation of our person -
the body
the intellect
the will
the emotions
the heart or person's unique core
The intellect must have its place, and a very important place - but instead of spending ALL our time on academics, I think a more discerning program is in order, - instead of wanting ot cover 'everything' like the inventor of the modern school system Comenius wanted to do (and hence to have our children become walking encyclopedias) - perhaps instead we need to determine what is intellectually essential. Then, those specific needs being met, we can have more time for the rest of us to be fed.
And just as an aside- usually, there is only required a 3 hour 'instructional time' on the part of teachers at school - that means, out of a whole day, there is only 3 required hours of actual teaching/learning. The rest is taken up with crowd control, processes , lunch, recess, walking to the next class, etc etc. Not to mention how assemblies, announcements, special field trips, drama productions, fund raisers etc all take away from even the required instruction time...
So - given this, and given that homeschooling is private tutoring which is a MUCH more intensive process that classroom teaching - I certainly believe 3 hours a day will more than cover it. And if I can't finish all I have planned in a year, then I have planned too much.
Catholic thought in education has always stressed "less content-learned thoroughly" over "much content merely skimmed"...
Re how long it took to figure it out - I am still figuring and it's been ten years
:-)
Holly, I posted the wrong age for the child "goofing around" and distracting others. He is not 1-2 but 11! Any suggestions on an 11 yr old? And with sooo much homeschooling theories, suggestions, curriculum how does one decide what is essential? I am finding a lack of retention. We discuss and go over lessons together then the tests are failed. How do I know they are getting it? I'm getting discoraged and very intimidated with what I don't know.(Especially since its almost the end of the year) Hey and I am all ears and prayers about another book!
Hey Anonymous. Good questions. Challenging for me.
First off - re 11 year old boy who is disruptive. Put yourself back in school and answer why school bored you. He's either not challenged or he's discouraged. His personal needs aren't being met, and most probably his male needs aren't being met.
I have heard of a good book for mothers of sons called "Wild at Heart" - recommended to me by a solid priest... it discusses the male person and I think would be important when we look at how education has been feminized. I have not read it yet though myself.
On another note, when my kids were little, I remember being given a set of children's encyclopedias. As I sat in my chair and opened the books, all my children rushed to sit all around me and above me on the chair and eagerly looked at all the pictures as I was viewing it. It struck me that learning and curiosity about life are a natural part of our makeup. And it also struck me how teachers have motivation problems with their students, and that we need to ask ourselves: How did I get to the point here of having my child's natural interest in life discouraged?
I don't think you are alone in your situation, necessarily, but in my experience, the closer we follow school methodology, the more discouraged our children and we become.
Let me tell you why teachers need kids to write everything out and why they need formal tests - because they do not have time to get around to each child. The easiest way to 'know where children are at' is to have them write it so I can look it over later.
Plus, this also provides a written record for the parents who, not being present either, can be shown the work at a later date.
But you know, we homeschool. I can tell in a flash if my children are 'getting' what they are reading or studying. And when I lay off the school methods and let them read and digest it, I tend to get ample discussion of the material at supper time or whatever.
But in reality, I also think this is where we as parents are dealing with our own background, and in effect, brainwashing. For me, I really struggled with finding my own way to homeschool because not only was I trained in the system as a professional teacher, but I was raised in the system and all the authority figures in my life growing up told me school was the 'right way' to do things. So, as an adult, until I am ready to re-think and re-evaluate all the unconscious messages of my upbringing, I am partially blocked in going forward in what I personally believe is best for my kids.
So I have to say, and I say this from experience, that my children's reluctance to do their work, or their disruptive behavior probably tends to originate in MY own personal issues re education - and in my insistance in following methodologies that don't work for either of us.
If we think back to Jesus - he didn't have a classroom, he didn't give tests, he didn't assign readings... and so we need to be able to differentiate between schooling and school methods and education.
There - I've rambled again.
And as for the second part of your question - how do you tell what is essential knowledge - I have to tell you I am not sure I can answer that yet. I know what I do and I know why I do it, but I can't give you the principles yet to decide for yourself. And until I can give you these principles (altho I have them half worked out) I can't answer. But I will try to get back to you as soon as I can verbalize them. Will that do? :-)
Holly, thank you. I don't think we should call your insight rambling. Because rambling would cause the reader to lose interest and THAT is not the case :). I have noticed that my children love the interaction with me educationally; discussions, problem solving together etc. Maybe I need to find out how to use those "loves" to form our schooling. Again thanks.
Hey - I am wonering if the real issue that you mention is not that your children 'love the interaction' - period :-). THIS I think is really the crux of it all - they love being persons and relating to you as a person and being loved as a person - and that this interaction - this relationship - is more important than a grammar concept.
Intellectual formation is a necessary good. But there is a higher priority, isn't there.
In other words - all your interaction with them is very important and hopefully something like grammar ought not to be a source of stress between you. Like the 'sabbath', 'schooling' ought to serve the person, not the person serve the schooling, so to speak...
Dear Holly, yes, yes, definitely write a book on education methodology and how it fits in with the parent/child relationship. In fact, a book by Dr. Mark Lowery at the Uinversity of Dallas called "Living the Good Life" is based on JPII's Theology of the Body and Veritatis Splendor. I went to a series of his talks and he id a homeschooling father of nine. Basically, life is about good relationships and homeschooling, in my opinion, should not be done if it's to "save your child's soul" and you feel tremendous pressure to do it. Homeschooling, for me, is about developing relationships and forming children for life - not just 18 years. I choose to homeschool - not because I have too, but because I want too - and hopefully they will save their souls and many others as well. Thanks again for your ramblings and honesty - after trying many things - cutting the day to 2 or 3 hours has been by far the wisest. Do you get many questions from moms who have followed a rule and have so much free time it's almost eerie? Ha Ha!!
When I began homeschooling, teacher that I was, I did it because I HAD to. I wanted a Catholic school, but there are none where I live and no effort on my part for 5 years where I Iived could pull together a private Catholic school. One day I realized, "If God wants a school he'll form one."
Which left me at home with my kids. So, from that point forward I realized I needed to see God's Will in my homeschool and to understand what he wanted here. I had to open my mind and my heart to understand education as HE understood it - outside of the cultural conditioning which made me desire only 'school' format.
As time has progressed I have indeed seen more and more clearly that it is love which is the heart of Catholic education. Now I can joyfully say I homeschool because I want to, not because I have to. And my kids want to homeschool too.
Praise God.
Holly, these posts on schooling have been very eye opening in a great and loving way. I think I'm starting to uncover the HEART of my homeschooling.
Another question I have for you is do you have an opinion about co-op's (educational)? Also, sometimes activities come up but to participate would rearange the "time" of my rule. Example, a mom in my area is offering a cooking class in a week and the food prepared by the children will go to a shelter- 9-12p. This time frame cuts out my prayer time from 10-10:30 and throws some other scheduled things off that day but the opportunity to serve, learn and share faith are good. This is only a one day deal but its an example. And I don't know how flexable my rule should or shouldn't be. These things can come up alot. How rigid should prayer time be adheard to? Or other "rule" essentials? How do you work around?
Holly, I think a concern of some Homeschoolers is that their children are getting a "GOOD" education. Especially if they (children and parent) aspire to go to college. My question is: is "essential" just enough? Or is that the point, "essential" does not mean bare bones but it means the meat with out the fat?
re rule flexibility
I think we need tremendous flexibility. I mentioned in MROL that we needed to be able to drop everything and do something the family needed - and something liek that one-day cooking thing - yes, I personally go for those things. It provides the necessary flexbility and spontaneity which tempers routine
One thing I did was have an essentials list worked out - and for me, it was morning and evening prayer and a family prayer time - so if my mid-day prayer time got interrupted because of necessary and legitimate circumstance, I knew that I had already considered that and I was on a bare bones thing.
As for educational coop - social skills and joinging the community are valid and legitimate activities in the formation of a child and can rightly be considered educational actitivites and worthwhile.
I guess if necessary, I would be looking at alternate daily schedules if I had to - based around the same principles of the spirit of the rule. A friend of mine has a daily schedule which is totally different day to day, but still follows the heart of her rule - which is ample time dedicated to fulfilling the call of God as it presents itself.
Another thing to rememebr too - a rule is a training tool. It helps bring your heart and your activities on line with God's will for us. But there comes a time when 'love' ought to become the main focus of daily life , not 'rule' or 'schedule' . When in doubt, let "Love" guide your decisions. In other words - is this action a legitmate good and a loving thing to do? If so, then do it.
As my previous spiritual director used to tell me, then fulfill all the other "essential" 5 Ps before I take my leisure. These essentials need to be figured out by each woman, so you know what to do when you come up against circumstances which seem disruptive, but are really part of one's call.
Essential to me, in education, means the core needs which one cannot dispense with.
So for example, my children need to be able to write and communicate. What they don't necessarily need is 8 years of grammar textbooks. Reality is, thru exposure to good books, my basic instruction as they progress thru school, and a good text and grammar program at some point, my kids can learn to write. I wrote MROL and never took a grammar course - and hey, perhaps it shows! BUT, I have an editor and a husband who is an English teacher!
For me, I am interested in education as a process for life, not just college entrance. And not just for intellectual training. My inclusion of 'other types' of education (as in will formation, emotional formation, spritual formation, etc) does not in any way lessen intellectual formation, but completes it.
And in relation to intellectual formation, I like to look at the essential purpose of things - why am I teaching what I am teaching? What do they truly need to know? What can I leave up to interest and talent and personal initiative, and what do I need to ensure? This is an active process , a discerning process, and leads to a purposeful education, not a series of lesssons I do only because a books says so.
At the same time, in areas where I do not feel qualitified to create, I use standard texts, But even in this, I still pick and choose relevancy. Come High school level, I do not feel qualitified in the realm of science and math and so I would be leaning on what others considered essential! Perhaps some people feel this way all the way through.
Essential is to be able to read and understand, at all the various levels of maturity. But that does not mean every page in every reader, nor 6 years of phonics once the child can read, nor repeating what a child already has grasped and is using, nor daily comprehension exercises.
The root and essential object is to teach reading. HOW we do it can vary. I remember with my first - tons of phonics workbooks and posters and and and... (with the subsequent pressure to finish every page!) But now, with my youngest, I simply introduce the letter, have them say it, print it maybe, and flashcard it - 5 minutes MAX a day. And when they know the blends and everything, I stop. I don't need to continue instruction on something they already practice. We do not go back to teaching what the notes are once a child has learned to read music.
Math - for example - they need to know how to add. But, drill exercises for math facts to ten or twenty are redundant if they are doing multi-digit addition with carrying...
Comprehension questions in English are redundant when they get them in science and religion and history...
There is a lot of busy work in texts and programs and not even good teachers teach and use EVERYTHING in books and texts but are selective, according to their aims. I think we need the same.
At this point, what do I consider essential?
Well- knowlege of the faith - but HOW I teach this can vary as widely as how you and I raise our children.
Basic Math - so I use a text (and still pick and choose exericises)
Reading and Writing - with or without texts
Basic geographical knowledge, basic historical knowledge, science...
but there is so much more:
How to love, how to pray, how to behave, how to treat others; how to care for self; how to cook and clean; how to tend a pet; how to fix something; etc etc
I don't know if this answers your question. I am not anti-intellectual (far from it! I personally never stop studying) but I do think a lot of educational materials are unnecessarily burdened with busy work and believe that HOW we study the KEY points is our way to freedom in our homeschool.
For in reality, my kids REALLY don't need to memorize the 18 uses of a coconut in their Latin America Geography text, do they? Only to be able to fill in the blanks on the test and then promptly forget it within a week. Learning ought to be more deep, real and relevant than that, right?
Holly, Yes it ought to be!!Wonderful post thank you. Your sense of essential and confidence and trust is inspiring. That I think is my downfall. I think you keep posting here at this question you will have your homeschool book!
Holly -
An invitation to ramble on a little further. Your commentary is so interesting! You wrote a lot about your methods for your older children. What about kindergarten? I will be starting with my son this fall (although we are doing informal lessons now). Any information you could give would be so appreciated - I'm a little overwhelmed at all the info out there! This should help you make some progress on that book...!
Holly, yes a little ramble about the younger grades and how you train them to be independent. I have 2yr old, k,and 2nd. And their reading is at a minimum or not at all yet. What do you use with them. Do you do memorization? Also what do you think about saxon math for 4th on up? or why calvert? Do you do consequences for work incomplete or not done? Does this ever impede your rule or lay out/progression for the year?
Thanks and keep onnnnnnnnn ramblin'
Hi - re Kindergarten
My goals for this grade level are basically:
-learn upper and lower case letters 9aemns only - not phonics - altho I intro, I don't expect phonic recall until grade 1 level)
-practice printing these (loosely) and simple drawings
-numbers from 1-10
-classification (toys, zoo animals, furniture etc)
-story sequence
-coloring skills
-cut and paste
I have some hands-on materials and some simple workbooks. I have the child sit by me and very mildly, teach the letters - have her practice copying - drawing a picture or cutting and pasting - praise praise praise! And then count and do a workbook page - praise praise praise.
As well as basic life skills and basic prayers.
That's it for K level - in addition to all the other normal life experiences - and I usually do about an hour a day, and then let them color or do hands-on activities or playdough or whatever.
Sorry - that last post was upper and lower case letters - (names only)
How do I train children to be independant? I tell them EXACTLY what I expect of them and then ensure they do it, until they do it without any supervision.
So - if I want them to read their written instructions, set up their page, write a paragraph - first of all - I have their instructions written out in detail (just like I am very specific about their chore charts!) - more detail when they are little and much less detail as they grow older. And then I walk them thru the process until I see they can do it.
So - if I want them to be able to read, set up notebooks, answer questions (for example) , then I assign this type of thing for a week or more - the same format - and I personally focus on those
'steps' more than on the content. When I look over their work,I might say "OK. You read the pages?... OK, then you set up your page???... good! Now, how about those questions?..."
And I stress - STRESS - the importance of following verbal and written instructions - which means 1) listen or read carefully, 2) make sure you understand, 3) ask question if you don't, and 4)engage.
How do I teach reading?
I introduce them to all the phonics sounds in the same order as most typical workbooks (altho I may not use the actual pages) and I use readers like Faith & Freedom and teach sight words (with phonetic anaylsis) as we learn the phonics. I do both sight and phonics instruction together, and also context clues (ie Looking at the picture for clues as to word meaning.) I have always found just the phonetic or just the sight methods less effective without each other. But that could be the materials I am using, too.
Math - I don't use Saxon soley for three reasons - I find it visually unappealing and I am a visual person - I like colored diagrams; and two, there is too much printing and I prefer it to 'look' like Math more... Thirdly, I like the ongoing review for grades one and two (hence why I use Abeka in those grades). But I prefer the chapter approach when they get older , for I had a daughter once who struggled with long division and for her to face long division every day all year was a pain! So, with the chapter method, she could find it gruelling for a month, and then it was done until next year.
SO! As you can see - these are merely preferences, not principles and I know many people who swear by Saxon. It's just not my personal lay-out style. :-)
Lastly - re consequences for unfinished work?
Yup, I have them! Schoolwork, chores and other duties all come before privileges - so there is no TV, no computer, no recess, nothing special until the work is done properly and completely. Simple. Come evening or March Break - and the work is not done - I don't usually need to tell children to do it. And if they choose not to do it - then tv, computer, recess - nothing is restored until it IS done. Their choice. And if it ever carried on to a ridiculous level, I bring in Daddy. :-)
Oh - and these consequences do not impede my rule because the children have to catch up on their own time - I have a schedule of my activities - I don't spend my computer time or quiet time dealing with a child who refused to work when I WAS available. So, if they need help, they can come to me when I am available again - like when I am making supper, or sit beside me at computer and I get to them as I can.
Philip has always stressed to me that the children are responsible for their own work, and that since I have many other obligations, they have to make use of me when I am totally theirs. Just like in school - a teacher doesn't stop her next class to help a student from the last class - no - she schedules some after school help when she is next available.
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