It seems to me that home schooling is a lot like swimming across a lake.
When you are out in the middle, the lake sometimes seems to be a lot bigger than it looked when you jumped in, and unlike a swimming pool, it has no lines painted on the bottom to keep you swimming in a straight line. When you are fighting to make it through the waves without inhaling too much water, pushing yourself to keep going stroke after stroke when you are exhausted, and blinking to see in spite of the water stinging your eyes, it is possible to lose perspective.
I love looking at the snow fall ......when I am warm in my house and don’t have anywhere to go. I guess it would be more accurate to say that certain days and certain times I appreciate the snow a lot more than other days. When the kids were younger, we lived in Kelowna. It snowed a lot more than what I was used to and when it snowed, the temperatures were refreshing. Unlike here in Alberta where it feels like it is white for at least 6 months of the year. We started a tradition in our family years ago of drinking hot chocolate and eating timbits on the first day of snow. I would also give my son’s mini marshmallows to eat but before they ate them I would have them count them first. What they thought they were doing was making sure that they were given the same amount of marshmallows. Whether they knew it or not, they were doing Math. Once they mastered counting by 1’s then we worked on counting by 2’s and then 5’s and so on. When a Math pattern is discovered the brain starts to remember information that has been taught to them.That is one of the amazing things about teaching a young brain, they can always learn more!
Preparing For Fall Facilitator Visit
The following are a few tips to allay anxiety, concern, and apprehension of your facilitator’s home visit with you. (Click on the links for more.)
- Conference with your spouse - and children if appropriate - concerning the goals, planning, and overall vision for each child’s year. Write it down in order to refer to it when your facilitator comes. Keep it simple and to the point.
- Review previous assessments (ie: Spring 2006) and education plans in order to reflect and evaluate ‘where we’ve been’, ‘how we’re doing’, and ‘where we’re going’. Some parents have even filled out the new assessment right on the previous form. If you are new with WISDOM or have misplaced the previous assessment, view education plan samples and the blank assessment form.
- E-mail or call your facilitator within a reasonable time frame prior to the visit for special requests, concerns, scheduling preferences, or anything that will assist the facilitator in making the most of the visit for all involved. If you do not know who your facilitator is, please contact the WISDOM Office to find out.
- Make samples of the children’s work available for your facilitator’s perusal.
- If possible, have a preliminary written draft of each child’s education plan.
- Pray for God’s guidance and for the effective use of the limited time available with your facilitator. We’re praying for you, too.
- Enjoy your facilitator visit, and the start of your new year of study!
Find out more about how WISDOM can be part of your home school journey.
Are you beating your head against a wall? Is your thirteen year old impossible to teach? Is the curriculum that has worked so well in the past suddenly "boring?"
I recently spoke with a mother of many who, after completing an enjoyable unit study of reading and discussion on Holland, decided her fourteen year old son should follow-up this project with something concrete. She asked him to write an essay on the history of the development of the tulip industry - a topic they had all found to be interesting. As days of reluctance dragged into weeks of resistance, a normally affable mother-son relationship became outright antagonistic....
It was with the support of their local school principal that Ken and Marlane Noster brought home their eldest child, half way through grade 3; but the superintendent threatened to charge them with truancy. The late 80’s were rife with inconsistencies in treatment of home schoolers.
My parents began homeschooling me in grade 1, but I'm sure they never thought at the time that they would continue to do so right up until high school. We took a rather eclectic approach, which means that we drew resources from various places and put together our own curriculum to meet our (my) needs. It worked very well for us, but as I neared high school, my parents began to feel a certain amount of apprehension. Were they doing the right thing? Personally, I was very excited about homeschooling through high school, and told my parents that this was what I wanted to do. We discussed together what I wanted to study before I graduated, and although my parents had their own requirements I had to fulfill, I was able to direct my own education to certain extent. Because what we'd been doing so far had been working for us, it only made sense to continue in that way.
When people seek more information about the science and technology event, one of the first questions that I hear – with a tone of apprehension in their voice – is: “Is this a science fair?” The answer I give is “no” – to which I hear a sigh of relief.
Summer is a wonderful time for getting out to play and to explore the wonderful handiwork of God’s creation. Even though many of you suspend your formal homeschool studies during this time, I encourage you to use the summer for building greater momentum in your science program.