WHY homeschooling, you ask? Many reasons! For one, I like the fact that my children will be able to work at THEIR pace at home, and NOT the pace at a public school. Dusty LOVES to talk about things that he's learning, and tries to absorb every little thing about it before moving on. In public school, he can't sit and ask his ten thousand questions about a topic. No, the teacher must move on, whether he's "got it" or not. Isabelle is a FAST learner, and catches on quickly to most things and is ready to move on before the rest of the class. It doesn't mean she is ready to be put in a higher grade, it just means she's ready to learn something else but she has to wait for the rest of the class.
A lot of public school is standing in line, taking turns, waiting for the teacher to help you, recess, walking to and from the cafeteria or gym a few times a day, bathroom breaks, and then they come home and do homework. I can't tell you how many hours are spent on homework every night AFTER getting home from school! I mean, the parents are homeschooling anyway at night, lol! And dear me if the child is sick for more than two days, oh the homework and lectures they have missed and have to catch up on!
Last year, Isabelle was the first on the bus; it was an hour ride to school, and an hour back. Now granted, bus time can be a great opportunity to socialize or just relax and unwind, but she and the other elementary children were mixed in with high school students and were exposed to a LOT of high school drama and "issues", and I am sure some profanity and who knows what else! Homeschool, we can start at 8am, and be done by 1 or 2 pm or keep working until 3 if we want! Then homework will have already been done during the day, and the kids can read for an hour or so in the evening as their "homework".
Socializing? A lot of people wonder about how homeschooled kids get socialization! There are wonderful outlets available for homeschooled kids, we are already looking into the homeschool PE they have up at the community center. Plus, Isabelle can do an elective such as learning to sew or 4H or some other outlet. Also, I have just joined a small group in the town next to us who gets together to do group field trips once a month! How cool!
The other things I have planned are incorporating homeskills into our curriculum such as gardening and cooking! And cooking and math go together! I will be doing a TON of art with them also, and we'll do field trips to art galleries and look for things to photograph and paint or draw. Dusty LOVES to build so I will work with him on learning structures and shapes.
As for the curriuclum that I am SO excited about, I ended up going with Heart Of Dakota (www.heartofdakota.com). The curriculum has a fantastic layout of daily tasks, and what I love most about it, it has a "Charlotte Mason" type feel to it.
To those not familiar with Charlotte Mason, here is a little run-down of who she is and what she believed in as far as teaching methods, taken directly from www.simplycharlottemason.com:
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"Charlotte Mason was a British educator who lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Her method, the Charlotte Mason method, is centered around the idea that education is three-pronged: Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.
By “Atmosphere,” Charlotte meant the surroundings in which the child grows up. A child absorbs a lot from his home environment. Charlotte believed that atmosphere makes up one-third of a child’s education.
By “Discipline,” Charlotte meant the discipline of good habits — and specifically habits of character. Cultivating good habits in your child’s life make up another third of his education.
The other third of education, “Life,” applies to academics. Charlotte believed that we should give children living thoughts and ideas, not just dry facts. So all of her methods for teaching the various school subjects are built around that concept.
For example, Charlotte’s students used living books rather than dry textbooks. Living books are usually written in story form by one author who has a passion for the subject. A living book makes the subject “come alive.”
She taught spelling by using passages from great books that communicate great ideas rather than just a list of words.
She encouraged spending time outdoors, interacting with God’s creation firsthand and learning the living ways of nature."
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I just LOVE that!
As far as Heart Of Dakota goes, it IS a Christian based curriculum, and those who know me know I am spiritual but not religious. However, although I am spiritual in a metaphysical nature and free spirited in a hippie manner, I love Christian morals and infact I love reading the history of the Bible, but if it begins to feel a little too overburdoning for me in the "Jesus"/teaching style, I can omit a little here and there.
The other thing I love about Heart Of Dakota is that it can be adapted to other age levels, it is VERY flexible! The reading is awesome, you can go with their reading selections or make up your own list of books (this is especially good if I want to go on a more fantasy route like The Hobbit or something of that nature). However a lot of their selections are pioneer and prairie based books which I simply adore! But I want my kids to find their own adventures in books as well, and Heart Of Dakota lets you be a bit independent like that!
I'm not sure how the math and science will be but we'll cross that bridge when we get there (IF we get there, lol), we can always supplement with our own program if we don't like what HOD provides. That's what's so great about it!
All in all, we're ready to give homeschooling a shot, but in the end, it may not be for us. We won't know til we put forth some effort in trying. ;)
I will keep you all posted!
(haha, couldn't resist!)
