This is just my two cents worth..and it is what works for us…not necessarily what everyone else likes…The 4 of us don’t function well with strong structure…so if you do, this won’t work for you! :-)Â
This whole post came about because of a conversation on one of my home school groups…I can’t stand the idea that people feel inferior if they home school..or that their children might miss something! Why let the public school system give you a complex? Life is a great educator and life is what your kids are going to have to deal within the future…not the institutional schedule and compartmentalization that the schools set up. Who goes to work with only the same age people as yourself? Who is friends and acquaintances with only the same gender or age group as yourself…How normal is that???? But that’s “Socialization” per the school system…ok..on with my post..enough of my rant..! LOL!
I believe that the biggest misconception is that by homeschooling, we might “miss” something..or that our children may not be educated properly. Here is how I look at it:
I cover the basics..(actually we cover them every day in various ways). But beyond that I look at what our society has become and what we want our children to learn vs what we don’t want them to learn. yeah, sounds kind of weird…
Arkansas requires state mandated standardized tests for grades 3-9….our daughter took the ones for 6th grade this year…so she’s taken 4 yrs of them now..with the exception of the first year (she had never taken any kind of test before) she has done exceptionally well…better than most students (in the 98-99th percentiles). Sounds good…right??? Consider this..I don’t use textbooks..we hate them…we have some..they are on a shelf with the reference books..to be used when the need or interest strikes.
Meg (oldest) is 12..she can cook. (some things better than me!), sew, clean, care for her 8yr old brother, read at a college level, operate the computer, tell you what the major presidents did, tell you the history of Arkansas, Hawaii, and Texas …among others.
Mitch (age 8 ) can tell you all about the rain forests around the world and what kind of animals live in them, how to build an airplane and how they fly, identify animal tracks of most any wild animal in this region, identify a lot of local rocks and minerals and how a battery works and why. He can also identify local fish.
That’s just a general skim…they know so much but their basics aren’t lacking. Because they are home with me everyday, they know how to shop on a budget, how to double and even triple a recipe, or to reduce one. Megan can enlarge or reduce a pattern. They help me shop, make soap, research homesteading techniques and explore forgotten arts. They love history and science..but would rather live it as opposed to having a textbook tell them about it. They like to read (devour books by the truckload! LOL!) and live and breathe the History, Discovery, Travel and Animal Planet channels…Mitchell’s only cartoon is Curious George…forget Spongebob, Bratzor anything like that..they don’t live here.. (although Spiderman does! LOL!)
I guess in all my long-windedness…Children will learn if we relax…learning doesn’t always have to occur like the schools dictate…it happens naturally and quite rapidly without their influence..and the kids learn SO much more! Just provide them with the correct resources and take it at their pace, so that they learn to love it instead of dreading it..
Socialization doesn’t occur in school..if you go to church…that’s social skills, if you have friends over, that’s social skills…a day at the park or the library, ..simple day to day activities..because your children will learn to interact not just with peers their own age, but people of all ages…
For us, we have Church…they attend meetings with me, they are Altar Servers for Mass, and often help with whatever needs to be done at church..bazaars, cleaning, server training, etc.
We also have 4-H…our group ranges from 1st graders to High Schoolers (public and homeschoolers ) and each one has his/her own interest and talent…for our daughter, it’s sewing and cooking..for our son it’s science related stuff and a fishing project.
Our daughter also has Girl Scouts..we don’t have a good Boy Scout troop here…but our son isn’t really interested anyway..he’d rather fish with Dad or practice his Archery..or collect tadpoles and bugs! 
They learn everyday, without ceasing..they grow and explore…yes, for some in more restrictive states, I suppose you have to be more detailed..but that nature walk..it covered biology and earth science. The “notebooking” covers fine motor skills and later writing. That story book? Reading, phonics, grammar, imagination and whatever the book may have been about! The trip to the grocery store covers Home Economics, bookkeeping, math, social, metal math, Health and environmental issues (paper, plastic or cloth and why?)…Gas station? Science, economics, social issues, government.
Presidential campaign? American History, economics, social issues, morals (or lack thereof), government, and independent thinking.
Nightly news? Same as above…local social issues, economic issues, local government, compassion, morals, etc.
Do you run a business? financial skills, math, economic issues, tax laws, computer skills, customer relations (social graces), etc…then whatever your business actually deals with (Ours is a construction company…measurements, structures, building materials…(math, science, physics, chemistry, social graces, economics, etc.) We also have my sewing business (math, Home Ec, chemistry, health, etc.)
So, you see..without even opening a text book..they learn something every day! And…DH is a High School graduate…I only hold a 2 yr Associate Degree in Accounting/bookkeeping..so we are not educated “professionals”, but we are loving, smart parents who only want the very BEST for our children..and they are getting it..in a loving, safe and educational enviroment..not in an institution! I gave birth to these kids..I know what’s best for them a lot more than some stranger does!
Filed under: A view into my mind!, Family, Homeschooling Life | Tagged: homeschooling, public school, socialization, home learning
May I just say…
Amen!!
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We are a mix of unschooling and textbooks, depending on what we are learning. Luckily for us, NO testing required in KS. I think the only reason I use textbooks at all is to help me make sure they are learning what they are supposed to. Subjects I’m weak on, I need a textbook. I also use one for math, just to make sure they learn what they should. And almost every lesson- they already know! LOL
CUDDOS!!!
I couldn’t have stated it better myself! My son is thriving with unschooling. Learning everyday by leaps and bounds. No textbooks needed. ;-}