How to Teach Writing in the Home School

December 12, 2008 – 2:43 am

This is all you need to know:

WRITING IS NOT HARD. Writing is communicating. If you can think, you can write.

So why do home schoolers spend so much money on writing curriculum and give writing assignments starting in first grade and worry that their kids don’t write enough? Probably because the home schooling parent went to traditional school and that’s what they went through, or because that expensive curriculum I just bought says we have to, that’s why.

It’s hard to imagine a world where eight-year-olds are not asked to find the topic sentence of a paragraph or where 12 year-olds are not asked to write book reports. What would become of our youth?

Abraham Lincoln lived in that kind of world. He only spent a few months in a traditional school setting. The rest of his childhood was spent in search of time to read, and no one asked him to write anything. In fact, he didn’t have paper. He would write in the dirt or scratch on wood. As a farmer, he had time to think about his readings as he plowed fields or chopped wood, but he never wrote a summary or an analysis of his readings. He didn’t even take notes.

When he moved away from home, Lincoln became a store clerk and had plenty of time to read behind the counter. When a family moving West had to lighten their load, he bought a barrel full of their belongings. “I found at the bottom of the rubbish a complete edition of Blackstone’s Commentaries. I began to read those famous works, and I had plenty of time; for during the long summer days, when the farmers were busy with their crops, my customers were few and far between. The more I read, the more intensely interested I became. Never in my whole life was my mind so thoroughly absorbed. I read until I devoured them.” source

That’s how Abraham Lincoln became a lawyer. He read, studied what interested him, and passed the bar exam. Without traditional education he became one of the most eloquent, influential communicators in American history. He never took a speech-writing class, yet the Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address are among the best speeches ever delivered (and yes, he wrote his own speeches).

But could he write a five paragraph essay? Argh! I’ll have more on that topic in a future post.

Here are some specifics for today’s student:

1. Let them read.
2. Let them think and express opinions about what they read.
3. Respect their opinions and insights so they will feel the freedom to talk honestly with you.
4. Share your own insights and wonder at a writer’s ability to communicate.
5. Don’t kill the fun of writing by pointing out spelling or grammar mistakes all the time.

Here’s what we did.

At the age of six or seven, Peter began reading the Boxcar Children Series over and over again. I had to remind myself that even if these weren’t Dickens, he was at least being exposed to correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. At one point he told me that on the second or third reading he started to notice how the writer was laying out the story, foreshadowing, and creating suspense. This is a good thing to remember: On the first read you are engrossed in the story; on subsequent readings you can be more detached and notice the craft. He even noticed how quotations were organized so that each new speaker had his own line–pretty sophisticated stuff for a young reader to discover on his own. If you think your child isn’t picking up on these things, you could casually point them out, especially if you are reading out loud to him. But keep comments minimally invasive or you’ll kill the joy of reading.

As your child is reading books that interest him, allow him to respond naturally. He may want to talk about it, write about it, act it out, find more information, who knows! Then he will find more books and websites and have more responses. This can go on for years.

Encourage creative writing by suggesting your child write his own book. Or if he likes to create imaginary worlds, give him a little journal to chronicle his adventures. Melissa had dog stories going on for awhile. She liked to type them into the computer and work on them with friends. At one point, she created a newspaper that reported on happenings around the house, including an advice column and comics.

Meg was a late reader, but she loved to listen to books, and we did a lot of that (Little House on the Prairie, Chronicles of Narnia, The Borrowers, etc). Around the age of 10, she started reading on her own, and with very little instruction, her spelling and grammar are up to grade level just from the exposure she gets from her books.

In 8th grade, take stock of your child’s knowledge of grammar, especially if you have not been taking standardized tests all along.* And by the way, I would not recommend taking standardized tests if you don’t have to. They could traumatize some kids and they just aren’t necessary.

How do you assess your kids in the area of mechanics? Check out EnglishChick.com. She has a great grammar basics section and links to other sites, including a free assessment with online lessons. To check your child’s knowledge in the least threatening way, just read over the basics page together, or do the assessment together and see what areas are weak. I also like the Online Writing Lab from Purdue University. They are concise and have a nice list of topics to choose from. EdHelper.com has free worksheets on various grammar topics if your child wants to try those. And my all-time favorite book on English mechanics is Woe is I by Patricia T. O’Connor.

For high school, encourage your child to continue reading great books and allow plenty of opportunity to research whatever interests him. If your child needs some help finding things to read, I highly recommend Invitation to the Classics. It gives short background information on the most respected authors through time, discussion of some of their most important works, along with some questions for thought. Your child could start reading through this book until she comes upon a piece of literature that sounds interesting, then find it at the library. Or you and he could be reading the same thing so you can have the fun of discussing it. This is a great guide to help you find wonderful things to read.

Meg doing her favorite thing.

You could give writing assignments, but I wouldn’t unless the child really wants one. Melissa used to do this to me. In junior high she’d ask me to give her a research assignment. She tended to do reports about animals. I’d tell her what types of things she might want to find and she’d come up with her own way to present it, complete with pictures she found on the Internet.

One year during high school, Peter and I met with another home schooled student and tried to do a more formal type of literature class. It was fun to have a time set aside once a week to do that, but it really helped the other girl more than Peter. He found the writing assignments easy because he likes to read and talk about what he reads. And after all, that’s what makes a good writer–someone who can think and communicate logically. I spent most of my time trying to help the other child who’d been very traditionally schooled at home all her life.

The first semester of his senior year, Peter took a composition class at our local community college. We decided to do that so he could prove to himself and colleges that he could write. Unfortunately, it was mostly a waste of money. They had him writing essays (yes, the old five paragraph essay) on different topics. He got A’s on all of them and I hear now his essays are used as examples in the class. Now he’s completing his first quarter at the University of Chicago. He gets A’s on his papers and at least one teacher used his paper as an example for the rest of the class. His friends wonder how he can be such a good writer when he’s been homeschooled–meaning he was never subjected to hours of writing instruction and practice. Maybe that’s the key.

If your child will take the SAT or the ACT, you need to teach them about the five paragraph essay. I will have a thorough discussion of that coming soon. But instead of teaching that topic ad nauseam for years, start about four weeks before the test to allow time to practice a few.

Home School Meets Public School in English Class

Recently Melissa told me about her high school freshman English class (she decided to try public school this year). They are learning how to write summaries. I just roll my eyes and think what a waste of time for those poor kids. Human beings can summarize without instruction, thank you. We do it all the time.

A few weeks ago they started learning how to write the five paragraph essay. If you haven’t noticed by now, I have strong opinions about this traditional way to teach writing, and I can’t wait to get some time to dive into it. But even worse than the fact that high school freshman are learning how to write the five paragraph essay, the teacher told them they wouldn’t be writing a persuasive essay until next year because they just “aren’t mature enough yet.” Excuse me? How many eight-year-olds can present persuasive arguments, especially now, around Christmas time?

For the first time in her life, Melissa is taking notes on a book she’s reading. She has discovered that the purpose of the note cards is to prove they are actually reading the books. Yes, the joys of institutional education. At various points in the unit, each child has to stand in front of the class and talk about the notes they are taking. Melissa did hers yesterday. I asked her how she did. “Fine. I always get full credit for things.”

“How did the other kids do?” I asked.

“Terrible! It’s amazing how no one can talk. The teacher has to pull things out of them and they just mumble.”

But wait, these kids have been in a classroom since they were five years old, becoming magically socialized and learning such wonderful things! And here the child who spent her elementary years “in the wild” can actually talk and write about things she’s learning.

Be assured, the freedom to read and think and follow his interests will make your child a natural, effective communicator.

*If you live in an area where your kids have to prove some sort of “competency” for the “experts,” find out what exactly they are looking for and be sure your kids can do those things at a passing level. Scores on standardized tests in the elementary grades mean nothing to colleges. If, however, you plan to send them to a private high school, it might be a good idea to check ahead of time if those schools will use your elementary scores to determine admission or scholarships. Even if you have to “teach to the tests,” you can probably cover what they need to know in just a few days if the rest of the time has been rich in reading and discovery.

Jena is a homeschooling mom of three teenagers (one off to college and one checking out public school this year). She has been relaxed/unschooling for most of her home school career. She writes at www.yarnsoftheheart.com, runs http://www.dailylearners.com, and writes at http://lifewithoutschool.typepad.com/.
By Jena | Posted in Books, How They Learn, Unschooled Kids, Websites | Comments (6)

I’m Scaring My Husband

December 9, 2008 – 2:17 am

The more “relaxed” and interest-led I become in my teaching approach, the antsier my husband becomes. Not because the children aren’t learning, but because he can’t measure them with his “stick.” So I’ve done what any rebellious, hard-headed wife would never do. I’ve gone back to teaching the “traditional” way in the mornings.

Really, what good will it do to bicker with my husband when we both want what is best for the children? And what harm will it do to ask them to work through some reading and math lessons? The rest of the day is still ours to roam and explore, to find the answers to the hundreds of questions that flit through our minds.

I’m finding that bending is what unschooling is all about. And if that bending is occasionally in the direction that makes my husband feel comfortable, then so be it. God will use my willingness to honor my husband to grow me and as an example for my children.

So, who do you scare?

We live and we learn all at the same time, all the time—as we walk along the path of life. Deb As We Walk
By aswewalk | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (9)

W’s Pinball Machine

December 5, 2008 – 11:40 pm
Made on the lid of a storage bin out of stuff W found around the house. To play you prop up the lid so it sits at a slight angle, use a marble for the ball and your thumbs as the flippers.

I’ve heard that Thomas Edison said that all you need to invent is a good imagination and pile of junk. If that’s true W’s got it covered!

Have a great weekend,

Penny is the homeschooling mother of two wonderful boys (ages 8 and 6). She is passionate about living in the freedom and joy found in Christ. She loves her husband and children, homeschooling, reading, learning, and teaching kids about missions. You can read more of her ramblings at seedsanddreams.blogspot.com
By Penny | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)

bringing good things to life~

November 18, 2008 – 10:20 pm

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is the facilitating of that passion to learn, to build and to creatively express ones self; that desire to grow and to become something great that’s within us all, my own children specifically, manifesting itself in so many various talents. As a parent and my children’s primary instructor, it’s important to me that I culture their God-given abilities and desires, bringing these good things to life, if you will… while at the same time realizing that I truly am not taking the lead… in that it’s not all up to me to conjure these up in my kids. Rather, I’m watching, listening, and waiting on the Holy Spirit to show me their intrinsic giftings, and praying for His guidance as I plan our studies and their activities.

As I’m doing my best to daily immerse our kids in an engaging learning environment and introducing them to a variety of inspiring subjects, I am delighted to be discovering their passions with them, and comforted in the remembrance that these precious soul stirrings and that ultimate quickening of their spirits towards Him are all individual workings of His Spirit within them, as we’re learning to walk out His Word in our lives together, and therefore not solely dependent upon me, nor anyone else. I need but tune in to them, and especially their Creator, while keeping my eyes wide open to the opportunities abounding in each moment as we journey together each day, lest I miss those small sparks that would ultimately kindle their passions and thereby could someday even dictate their very livelihoods.

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I have found that with our oldest daughter, 9yo T, who is my “go-getter”, this is an easier thing to recognize; her passions. She talks about them, and initiates doing stuff working towards exploring them on her own. When she’s inspired, the results are much more extravagant and obvious than when our 12 yo son, N is impassioned. He tends to discover passions (like writing, dance, reading a certain book, horse riding) after I’ve suggested he try something out. Lately I have been fascinated over the inter-connectedness of their blossoming personalities with the opportunities they’ve been offered thusfar in their young lives. I’m left to wonder over how beautifully it has all worked together… and question which came first, a specific passion or was an experience the catalyst of curiosity turned to desire? I’ve been musing over what the ramifications of these truths could be, not only in my kids’ lives, but in my own as well.

And we know that for those who love God, that is, for those who are called according to his purpose, all things are working together for good.

~ Romans 8.28

It’s certainly a mystery profound how the Sovereign Lord choreographs our very lives, nurturing those seeds of talent He placed within us, even as He knit us in the womb, while simultaneously allowing the free-will of our individuality. It’s caused me to consider the weighty responsibility Chris and I have as parents to introduce our children- His children- to a wide array of possibilities, directing them toward His truths, and presenting them with an assortment of rich ideas for their minds and hearts to grow upon. Gradually, I am learning to recognize when the “education” is doing its work within them, and to therefore not snuff out the tiny flames which seem yet so insignificant by my own lofty unrealistic adult-perspective qualifying standards, set mostly by pre-conceived ideas of how learning “should look”… Meaningful learning does not necessarily mean a finished *project*. I’m learning to look with my child-eyes again.

a new language

For instance, the other day when T showed me the language she’s creating for the characters in one of her stories, my first teacherly-Mom thoughts were along the lines of, “well, that’s not a real language… why should she be wasting her time and all of that good language interest and energies with this when we could be working on our Latin or Hebrew?” Thankfully, in the next instant, I realized that I was witnessing a beautifully genuine representation of this child’s love for language and passion for writing. And so the thoughts I expressed to her were those of encouragement and “why not?, how clever!” and musings over the inceptions of various languages.

But that was not the only challenge along these lines that either one of my kids have thrown at my feeble mind in the last couple of weeks. Last month N, who’s been taking guitar lessons for just over a year now (that was his own inspired idea, which he faltered in when it came to the monotany of daily practice), announced to me that he’d like to come up with his own song to play at our co-op’s end of the semester student presentations ceremony… I immediately had to shush my overly-conservative, doubtful-of-his-being-ready-to-do-that thoughts right up. After months of laboring resistantly through daily practicings on his guitar, he’s made it over some kind of mental hump, and now usually plays daily (without my having to tell him to!), and tells me he absolutely loves it. He was also greatly inspired by the movie August Rush. As we’re driving home from his lessons nowadays, he often tells me excitedly of what he’s learning, and how encouraging his guitar teacher is. Just last week his instructor told him that he could play his own songs without having any music written out(?!), and could even learn to play chords he hasn’t yet formally learned, just by intently listening to a piece of music and then copying what he hears. Imagine that… I am so thankful for the many wonderfully inspiring people that have been God’s vessels of instruction for our kids  (and myself) over the years, what evidence of HIS faithful provision! On so very many levels, this whole parenting/homeschooling business has been such a growing experience for my own faith levels.

And I know that I’ve mentioned here before of how my daring daughter gets these crazy inspired ideas to do things that are much bigger than any goals I’d ever set for her. I’ve seen how God has been faithful to send others into our lives to facilitate dreaming and passions that I could not… but I’m apparently a slow learner. Usually my first (natural) impulse is to caution her and help her to pare her visions down a bit, set her sights more realistically… but her fervor and insistence that she can and has already counted the cost of a conceived endeavour has once again inspired me, and as I’ve let go of the reigns I had moments before fearfully rationally tightened my grip on, I’ve been further delighted to see how God has sent others to come along side of me/us to see that her fans are flamed and help set her on the path to accomplishing these fantastic goals that I couldn’t have orchestrated or provided for on my own, let alone have even decided upon.

Once again, this week it seems that another request, prayerfully offered up by a girl with bigger faith shoes than I can fill has been fulfilled by a generous Father.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows…

~ James 1.17

T has praise in her heart. She loves to put on worship music and dance before the Lord enthusiastically. It’s something that I’ve enjoyed doing with my kids since they were babies in my arms, twirling together with hands lifted high. T told me on Monday that she’d like to choreograph her own dance to a Third Day song and perform it at the aforementioned homeschool co-op student presentation ceremony. I gulped down my doubts, astonished at her brevity, again. She proceeded to explain her plans to me, and I just nodded along as I listened, knowing better than to discourage her resolve. “I’m going to ask Mrs. Jamie (her dance instructor- that’s another testimony we have of His great provision for us- scholarships for dance lessons) to help me with my moves and figuring it all out.” “That’s a good idea.” “Okay then, you’ll have to wait for me a little bit longer after class so that I can talk to her about it.” I agreed. And after her dance class ended on Tuesday, I watched as she gingerly approached her teacher, holding her passion close, encased in a dream that she proceeded to share with a trusted confidante. To my great surprise and delight, Jamie agreed to help her and meet with her a half hour before her class, every week- for free! I went back and checked with her myself after T told me, just to make sure it was really alright! Is that crazy-generous, and just like God, or what?! Needless to say, T is so excited about it that she’s on fire now, and has asked a dancing friend that we carpool with to join her in the dance! She’s been busily drawing and dancing up her choreography plans. Here’s what she’s got so far:

song choreography

I tried getting some pictures of her dancing, but she wouldn’t cooperate.
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She did, however, allow me to take some pictures of her practicing on her violin. This – her opportunity to play the violin this year- is another story of her aspirations met by the willing Hand of Providence.

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T has wanted to take violin lessons for years. I believe that the desire was probably first sparked sometime in her toddlerhood, when we spent a great deal of time with friends, whose then highschool daughter played the violin beautifully. She would watch and listen to her play intently every chance that she got. She began asking for lessons a few years ago, but we couldn’t afford private violin lessons, and neither Chris nor I can even read music (something which both of our children are now learning to do quite well -without us!).  As I do, I told her that I would join with her in praying that if it be His will, that He would provide an avenue for this opportunity for her. Then last year, we were blessed with the means to pay for N to have the private guitar lessons I mentioned above, and she so wanted the same. She confided to me of how she was struggling with jealousy and I reminded her that he too had been waiting for years for music lessons. Her time would come… and to be patient. Meanwhile, she decided to master her recorder and used the book that it came with to teach herself to read music and play quite a few folk songs. She joined a class offered at our co-op for the recorder, and took heart in my reminder not to despise small beginnings.

Then, to our delighted amazement, a wonderful lady decided to teach a strings class at our homeschool co-op this year, specifically violin and cello. T was beside herself with excitement over this opportunity to finally learn to play her instrument of choice – the violin. Now… if only we had a violin. I prayerfully sought the Lord, trusting Him to provide this too, knowing that with Him in it, it would all come together. Chris and I knew that it would have to happen cheaply to be feasible for us. Then towards the end of last school year, it came up at our Bible study with some friends that T was so glad to be looking forward to taking a violin class at our co-op, and since this friend had played for years, we asked her for suggestions concerning our finding a used violin for T. To our thrilled astonishment, she offered to loan T her own beautiful violin for as long as she needed it. I am glad that she had to wait, as I can see how it presented opportunity for her own faith to grow as she’s seen the Lord’s faithfulness in providing for her.

Time and again I have been blessed to see God’s orchestration of timely provision for our children’s passions, in both their inceptions and continuity. As their Mother and primary instructor, I find rest in knowing that it is not up to me to bring all these good things to life in their worlds,

‘ Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the LORD of hosts.

~ Zechariah 4.6

but rather I am just an open conduit of His loving kindness and purposes for each of them, His unique creations.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

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I'm a devoted wife, contentedly co-sleeping AP Mama, CM inspired-relaxed-eclectic homeschooler, amateur photographer, creative homemaker, indulgent reader, Truth seeker, domestic artist, life-long learner, sincere worshiper, adventuresome homebody, fumbling writer and sporadic blogger. I blog at the brew*crew adventure, where you can read more about me and our family's eclectic education.
By Beth | Posted in Day in the Life, Encouragement, How They Learn, Personality, Struggles, Testimonies, Thoughts, Unschooled Kids | Tagged , , , , | Comments (5)

From Classical Christian Homeschooler to (eek!) Possible Christian Unschooler

November 17, 2008 – 9:34 pm

When I began to homeschool I tried the classical Christian approach and thought that every single day I needed to teach my Kindergartner

  • Bible
  • Math
  • Reading and
  • Art

That didn’t seem too bad and I actually really enjoyed it! (Except for the fact that W wasn’t anywhere near ready for reading at age 5!)

But I gave up the classical method when I realized that in 1st grade I was expected to add

  • Geography
  • Grammar
  • Literature and
  • Music

At that point I became afraid! How was I to teach literature and grammar and reading to a boy who wasn’t reading at all? I thought, “Why can’t literature and grammar and reading all be taught as one subject instead of three?”

I was overwhelmed to say the least. So when W went into first grade I became an eclectic homeschooler who used classical Christian materials as I saw fit and tweaked everything to suit us.

J started Kindergarten the following year, with W entering 2ND grade. At this point I was teaching

  • Bible
  • Math
  • Reading/Literature
  • Art
  • History
  • Latin
  • Music (appreciation)
  • Geography and
  • Science

This was a good year for us, maybe the most comfortable one we’ve had so far. This was the year I became not only eclectic but “relaxed eclectic” in the schooling of the boys. By relaxed I mean we took no tests, used classical materials but did almost all of it orally or as we saw fit and took our time learning the things we set out to learn. Of course we had our ups and downs but as this post demonstrates, for the most part things were going really well!

And now we have entered our 4TH year of homeschooling. W is a 3rd grader (and finally reading!) and J is in 1st grade. We’re still using mostly classical materials and enjoy them (like I said before, we use them in a way that suits us.) But as I’ve mentioned this year has been tough. The dynamics have just changed. We only have 2 or 3 days a week that we are able to hit the books and I have been worrying a lot about that.

I’ve been operating under the assumption that in order for my kids to learn they had to do a little bit of EVERY subject every day but this year has proven me wrong. This year our learning looks different. One day we may do science, reading and art for 4 full hours (in the form of one project), and then the next day do 8 pages of math, read the Bible, write someone a letter and work hard on memorizing our spelling words. It’s not that they’re not learning, it just looks different!

I think I may be moving from “relaxed/eclectic” to semi-unschooling. It’s scary for me to even type that sentence, I just know that I am inviting criticism. The thing is, my kids like to learn. Listening to the Swiss Family Robinson on CD is fun to them. Creating a comic book about the life of Joseph is play to them. I’m not kidding! W loves to memorize math facts and Bible verses. J gets excited about writing letters to missionary kids and learning sign language. W will say, “I love writing!” and J says, “Everything is school.” We read constantly, discuss what we learn, watch documentaries and educational videos. We listen to Latin, literature and the Bible on CD. And just as important, they love to play and use their imaginations.

So, I’m going to relax and let them be. Everyday doesn’t have to look like every other and I don’t need to be in constant worry.

Enjoy your day!

Penny is the homeschooling mother of two wonderful boys (ages 8 and 6). She is passionate about living in the freedom and joy found in Christ. She loves her husband and children, homeschooling, reading, learning, and teaching kids about missions. You can read more of her ramblings at seedsanddreams.blogspot.com
By Penny | Posted in Learning Styles, Struggles, Unschooling | Comments (6)

Autumn Craft Collection

November 15, 2008 – 9:07 pm

Collecting seeds in the woods resulted in imaginative creations.

My son designed a pine cone bird with a sweetgum head.

Pine Cone Bird Craft

My daughters made acorn dolls with green hair and silk flower dresses.

Acorn Fairy Craft

On our next adventure, we hope to gather leaves. Last year the leaves rotted brown. If the rusty patinas are missing again, we will make our own color with these crafts:

Next on the agenda, haircuts.

Sunshine and Sweet Pea

What are you creating this season?

Renae homeschools her three children laying Christ as the foundation of all subjects. She enjoys children's literature and delights in the daily discovery of truth. When her children are grown, she intends to go back to school to officially become a teacher, so she can inspire more generations to live in liberty. She will also finish at least half of the scrapbooks and sewing projects she started. Renae writes about life and learning at Life Nurturing Education.
By Renae | Posted in Activities, Day in the Life | Comments (3)

An Unschooler at College: #1

November 12, 2008 – 6:31 pm

My son Peter graduated from our home school last Spring. This post was originally written in early October 2008:

Peter has completed one week of college classes. I’m very interested in his observations and experiences as a teenager who was allowed to follow his interests at his own pace in highschool. How does he adjust to the time demands, the assignments, the relationships, and the life away from family? Did his free-flowing education prepare him for the rigors of a college like the University of Chicago? Here’s #1 in a series of posts.

Yesterday I asked (over Google chat), “What insight do you have as an unschooler at the end of his first week of college?”

Peter: well, we need more time to see, because it’s hard to tell about people this quickly,and also UChicago attracts people with a fairly unschooled attitude anywayme: interesting Peter: but I do think that people are a little less self-reliant than I would expect.
Peter: like, in math, everyone is a little freaked out that the professor moves too quickly. And it is a little annoying, but it’s not that big a deal, you just look at your notes later and figure out the parts he glossed over.
me: :) so what is it about your experience that makes you less likely to freak out? Peter: well, I’ve had to figure everything out myself, so having to figure out 10% of the math by myself seems pretty easy

When he says math he means Calculus. In essence, Peter learned how to learn. He’s comfortable with ambiguity and knows what to do with it to reach his goals–in this case, to pass Calculus.

How does this happen? A child needs to become fearless at trial and error and exploration. This happens when he’s not held to certain parameters or expectations. When each failure is a learning experience and not a low grade, he’s free to develop his analytical mind and learns how to learn. This reminds me of Thomas Edison. He tried hundreds of materials until he found the one that worked in the electric light bulb. Edison was intensely interested in finding a solution, but if that had been a Physics assignment, he would have run out of time and gotten an F. Now Peter’s in an environment where mistakes will count against him, but he’s had years to prepare and has the tools to succeed.

Unfortunately, most children spend their lives in schools that ignore their interests, penalize failure, and paralyze true learning.

Jena is a homeschooling mom of three teenagers (one off to college and one checking out public school this year). She has been relaxed/unschooling for most of her home school career. She writes at www.yarnsoftheheart.com, runs http://www.dailylearners.com, and writes at http://lifewithoutschool.typepad.com/.
By Jena | Posted in How They Learn, Unschooled Kids | Tagged | Comments (3)

Homeschool Personalities

November 10, 2008 – 10:45 am

Recently at our monthly home school meeting there was a discussion panel on styles of home schooling and different curriculum used. There were 4 mom’s on the panel. One (L) was to talk about being fully aligned with the Province, one (J) was to talk about using a specific curriculum, another (C) about traditional home schooling and having students graduate without our provincial diploma, and I was to talk about traditional/unschooling. Interestingly enough, we lined ourselves up in that order. It was not planned, we just walked up and chose chairs. Another interesting observation, the first 2 on the panel had notes. The 2 traditional home schoolers came to the table with nothing, just flying by the seat of our pants. I would suggest it is our personalities that determine how we home school.

I know all the ladies personally and have known them for a few years now. L has 2 children, a girl 16 and a boy 10. She has a day home as well. She is ultra organized and is very computer knowledgeable. J has 6 children (18 months to 10 years) and uses Sonlight curriculum, one core year for most of the school age kids. C has 5 children 9 to 21. She has used varied curriculum over the years and her children graduated without provincial diplomas. Her oldest is in a christian university in the city and her son (18) is planning to be a lawyer. I have 4 children 11 to 17. Our family did unschooling through elementary school and introduced more curriculum through junior high and high school.

We each gave a 5-10 minute blurb about our experiences and how we run our programs, then there were questions. There were also questions afterwards, as people looked at what we brought for curriculum. That too was an interesting display. L brought some curriculum, some graphs and charts she downloaded and some organizational things from her system. J, with the full curriculum had the curriculum binder and a lot of the books to go with it. C had a number of text books for high school. I had some text books and work books and some books I have read to the kids. It might look like an effort thing, but in reality, it is how each person runs their home.

For myself, we have spent a lot of time reading, (less now that they are older and our life has taken on different things). The kids have their text books, but a lot of learning is occurring through their experiences. All my children have jobs. All have learnt to manage money through having to manage money. I recently did a couple of posts on our allowance system; they get a regular allowance and a clothes allowance. They learnt to work when they were young, through chores and extra work they were required to do. They learnt good character though family reading time, experience, and discussion. They learnt to love God the same way, as well as through a loving home, extended family and church family. My focus and belief for the kids when they were young was to “Teach them 1. To love God, 2. To have a good character and 3. To have a good work ethic; and the rest would take care of itself”, and though not flawless, it has worked fairly well. The personalities of the parents are what dictates how a home school operates, but the personalities of the students play a role in how it works out in the end.

I recently attended a workshop on mediated learning. I found reassurance in some areas as we have run our home with many of the principles outlined. I was also dismayed at the time lost in not applying other things learnt in the workshop. As parents we want our children to succeed beyond measure. We work to that end in our own way and sometimes the child’s personality isn’t consistent with the plan. The same thing happens in school. The beauty of home schooling our children is we are able to adjust our styles to mesh with each child, and give each one the best education possible for his or her needs. It is great to have the option to home school.

I home school 4 children ages 11, 14, 16 and 17. None of them have attended formal school. We live on an acreage and work with the family on the farm. We try to live a life full of experiences. Some days it is crazy but we wouldn't have it any other way. You can read more about our family at Colours of Dawn.
By Dawn | Posted in Application, How They Learn, Learning Styles, Personality, Testimonies | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Youtube and Unschooling

November 3, 2008 – 3:50 pm

We don’t have cable and haven’t found it necessary to our home schooling.  However, we do have a Wii with wireless internet, meaning we get and can watch Youtube on our tv.  (We also get Netflix–we find that to be an excellent educational investment but that is another whole post.)

As willing as my children are to sit and watch cats do all sorts of crazy back flips and flush the toilet, Youtube is full of interesting educational resources if you know where to look.  For instance my son adores marbles.  Really.  He has a huge collection that is constantly under foot, in corners, in my vases, cupboards, every conceivable spot has at least one marble if you look hard enough.  One day he asked me how they made them, which led to several hours browsing Youtube watching videos about marble making, glass making, leading to how they make everything under the sun. If you remember the old Mr. Rogers/Mr. McFeely how they make that videos you know what I mean.

The problem with that is that you have to be careful–not every one of those how they make it movies on Youtube is child friendly–in fact, many have language I prefer not to share with my children.  We usually preview them on my computer where I make a queue of suitable movies for the kids to watch on the Wii.  The other trick we have found is to go to this site. The Erskines have done a wonderful job putting together a slew of educational Youtube videos.  My kids will sit and watch videos on their site for hours, learning all sorts of interesting thigns–and then, usually, they go out and try the experiments themselves and elaborate on them (like they did with Eepy Bird’s Mentos and coke experiments.)

*The Erskines also run Home School Radio Shows which has free downloadable mp3′s of old radio shows each week, plus lots of little interesting tidbits to go with it.  My oldest adores old radio shows and loves getting the latest from this site. :)

Former teacher turned Christian unschooling mom, artist, geek wife of a work -at-home geek with 3 geeklings. Our lives are full of gaming, reading, writing, baking, and making lots of messes. I blog about our daily life at An Untraditional Home and share my creative endeavors at Elasah.com.
By Heather | Posted in Application, Favorite Resources, Movies, Websites | Tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

Video Games and Learning

October 31, 2008 – 12:06 am

Thank you Cathy, for introducing me to edutopia.org and this video. Here James Paul Gee, a professor at Arizona State University talks about video games and their learning potential, online communities, and the future of education in general. Fascinating stuff.

Dr. Gee has written a book called What Video Games can Teach Us About Literacy and Learning. In an interview at gamezone.com he says this:

“My book covers 36 good learning principles built into good games like System Shock 2, Rise of Nations, Arcanum, or even Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. But there are many more. Let me just give a few examples. First, humans are terrible at learning when you give them lots and lots of verbal information ahead of time out of any context where it can be applied. Games give verbal information “just in time” when and where it can be used and “on demand” as the player realizes he or she needs it.

Second, good games stay inside, but at the outer edge of the player’s growing competence, feeling challenging, but “doable.” This creates a sense of pleasurable frustration. Third, good games create what’s been called a “cycle of expertise” by giving players well-designed problems on the basis of which they can form good strategies, letting them practice these enough to routinize them, then throwing a new problem at them that forces them to undo their now routinized skills and think again before achieving, through more practice, a new and higher routinized set of skills. Good games repeat this cycle again and again—it’s the process by which experts are produced in any domain.”

For more, read the paper Good Video Games and Good Learning by Dr. Gee, where he outlines sixteen reasons why gaming can be good for you.

I want to find a game that teaches high school biology topics. Any suggestions?

Jena is a homeschooling mom of three teenagers (one off to college and one checking out public school this year). She has been relaxed/unschooling for most of her home school career. She writes at www.yarnsoftheheart.com, runs http://www.dailylearners.com, and writes at http://lifewithoutschool.typepad.com/.
By Jena | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)