Homeschool

In response to some emails I received, I decided to write a post about schooling. For my own family, I have done just about everything including private, public, and home-schooling.  I have come to realize  that there is no”one size fits all” solution to schooling. So much depends on the child, the school and the family situation.

Homeschooling was one of the greatest blessings for us at certain times in our lives because it allowed us so much flexibility and so much depth of study in areas that we really enjoyed.  One year we went to the beach during non-peak season and we spent a whole week doing animal surveys and keying seashells. It was so much fun to sneak out of the cottage just before sunrise and comb the shores. Maddy was always the most studious and excited when she found a new shell to look up.  My children will always remember the summer that we ordered 200 butterfly larvae and watched them grow fat on milkweed before they transformed into Monarch butterflies. It filled us with awe to observe an animal so small, yet so complex that it could migrate hundreds of miles to a sanctuary for the winter.

Even though we are not homeschooling this year, we still enjoy family field trips and read-aloud books. Okay, so I have to admit that I was definitely one of those homeschoolers that would skip grammar occasionally in exchange for two hours of reading aloud Johnny Tremain on our hammock. With so many children and with them being so young, I learned two things were absolutely necessary for me in order to homeschool with joy.  The first was lot and lots of  baking .Our home always had yummy smells coming from the kitchen. Especially in the winter months, it provided so much warmth to have smells of cinnamon and apples fill the room. It kind of relaxed the children and provided an incentive to do their work well. The second thing was a great network of friends. I am such a copycat at heart. I have always been blessed to be surrounded by creative and intelligent friends. Whenever we would get together and chat about our homeschooling woes, somebody would always have an idea, suggestion or just a thought that I would promptly implement. One time I was overwhelmed with all the different history books and a friend suggested I combine all of them into the same history lesson and just adjust my expectations in terms of comprehension. It worked beautifully and the older children didn’t mind a bit that they had to listen to picture books or color pictures of  Columbus and the younger children didn’t mind watching while the older children developed complicated timelines and journals.

My children are in school this year and they are learning so much and in such a different way than they have ever been taught. Their teachers are very dedicated and wonderful. At first it was difficult to see them leave but now I am spending more time with my three little babies and volunteering for my husband on his campaign. It is such a  treat to be able to go out somewhere with just three children. People still tell me “You have your hands full.” I just smile and think to myself ” If you only knew!”