Homeschooling How To Tip: Let your children teach each other. This is one of the very best ways to check exactly what your child understood from the original lesson. There are a number of benefits – let me count the ways
*It highlights their learning and the gaps in comprehension for them.
* It makes them feel important.
* It is an opportunity for your child to genuinely give value to the family.
* It gives them the chance to understand that other people may learn differently – can you say “teach-able moment”?
Images of the ideal homeschool life include smiling, happy children engrossed in an educational activity, working alongside their siblings with grace and maturity and little conflict. Fighting, after all, may be typical for their public schooled peers, but certainly not acceptable behaviour for children taught at home under the watchful eye of mom. Throw in a crackling fire and some hot chocolate, mom busy baking cookies in the kitchen and the picture is perfect-the message intact-homeschooling life is a superior.
Naturally, this is a lie, and it is best for all new homeschooling moms and dads to know the truth, it may not set you free, but it will help your sanity remain intact even it is only Continue reading →
Are Homeschool Children Getting Enough Socialization?
By Joy Kita
The Great ‘S’ Debate
Socialization; a word that has become dirty to many a homeschooling family, and is akin to a curse word for all its implied meaning. The use of this word causes the most experienced home educating parent to cringe, or at the very least procures a heartfelt eye roll. No matter how long one has been homeschooling it is a question that is expected and dreaded in equal measures. Dreaded by teaching parents not because of a feeling of inadequacy in their ability to answer or because of a lack of strength in their answer, but because it is so very overused and abused. The sentiments behind the question may vary in condescending tones and sincerity, but it is always asked.
There have been enough reports filled with irrefutable statistics on the academic success of homeschooling that many critics have been silenced. Of course, as with any controversial subject, the critics never remain without argument for long. The idea that homeschooled children cannot possibly be getting the required amount of socialization-as if there is an industry standard-is not a new one. It has caused many a grandparent sincere grief, and given many experts in the field (the socialization one) a new platform in which to express their concern.
So the question remains; are homeschooled children receiving enough socialization? But is it the right question? Might a better one be, “are homeschooled children receiving the right kind of socialization?” And further to that thought can we not direct the same attention to public schooled children? Are our children, homeschooled or not, receiving good socialization? There is a difference, and most homeschooled parents are keenly aware of what that difference is.
In order to answer the first question with the proper attention it deserves it would be wise to dig a little deeper into the word itself. With all the opinions on how children should be Continue reading →
Homeschool how to principle: Child driven education!
How fast can you learn something when you are interested in it?
Quite!
In this entertaining Ted talk this marvelous man leaves computers in remote villages with no instructions on how to use them. Then he goes away for a while. When he comes back it is to find astounding results.
Children have a natural innate passion for learning that will flourish if we give it a chance. As parents and especially as homeschoolers, we need to trust in their instinct to learn, create an environment that will foster that and celebrate their wins! Celebration is important and FUN!
Now that you have seen the results - what do you think of the system? Were you as delighted and amazed as I was by the childrens’ curiosity? When I watched their faces I felt like dancing! They are quite able to delve deeply into subjects that would never even make it to the public system curriculums.
The “teaching each other” is an integral part of the learning which is interesting to note. This is truly wonderful from a homeschooling perspective. Many people ask how we can teach children of such varying ages at the same time - you can have them teach each other! This will build the confidence of the teaching child and solidify its learning, it will facilitate the learning childs discoveries, build team spirit and best of all - it is not you teaching!!
This goes back to my central point about being the “Facilitator of your child’s education” - not necessarily the teacher! That is a foundational Homeschool How To Tip.
Please do let me know what you thought of the talk. What was your AHA! moment in this talk? How did it make you feel about your homeschooling adventure? Do you have a “Homeschooling How To Question” rising from this talk? Comment below or email me at Karen@HomeschoolingHowTo.com
Why did I originally choose to homeschool? My five year old daughter was so miserably unhappy that she cried every step of the way there each day and then I cried all the way home. We did that for one entire semester until I could not bear it any more and had to find a better solution.
Once I started doing the research the answer to “Why Homeschool?” changed and blossomed until I cannot even imagine an alternative.
So let me count the ways…
1. No stuffing square pegs into round holes! We can tailor each child’s education to their unique talents and interests. We can build their strengths into mastery instead of wasting fruitless hours building their weaknesses into mediocrities.
2. No trying to play pool with a wet noodle! We can tailor the education to suit each Continue reading →
Homeschooling is a hot topic these days. We know someone doing it, have talked to someone thinking of trying it, or heard someone discussing it. There was a time, not too long ago, when those who homeschooled stayed quiet about their choice fearing judgement or worse; interference. No longer is that the case for most homeschooling families. There are blogs, websites, podcasts and old fashioned face to face discussions being had all over the globe about this subject.
Why the Change?
There is power in numbers. Today nearly two million families in North America choose to homeschool, and those numbers continue to rise each year. With more people choosing alternate education methods there are increased amounts of resources and support. There have been enough studies completed that proves homeschooling is good alternate choice to school. Parents have support systems and teaching co-ops to support their choice and provide knowledge through years of experience.
The Numbers Are Out
In the past two decades numerous studies have detailed the academic progress of homeschooled children. The results are clear. On average, home educated children scored higher on standardized academic achievement tests than their public schooled Continue reading →
The best possible answer I have to the “Why homeschool?” question is because of who the children become. You can focus on their strengths and facilitate them aquiring mastery in those areas. The most important of which is their character. In the previous post there was an article on a Character test used to grade the character building progress in a particulalrly enlightened and inspiring school. This is that test. Below is the report card for a child whose charater has been graded by six teachers.
This is an extract from an article in the New York Times:
Here’s a look at KIPP’s revolutionary “character report card”
And here’s a list of the 24 character strengths identified in “Character Strengths and Virtues,” the 2004 book by Chris Peterson and Martin Seligman that was the origin of this initiative.
This article answers some of the homeschooling how to questions as well as the why homeschool one.
We are free in our homeschool to design the environment to exactly suit the character development that we choose to foster in our unique children. I love the idea that there is a test for Grit and character. That is way cool. After you read the article you will probably want to give the test a quick look. I will put the test into the next post.
I absolutely agree with the idea of allowing my child to fail while I am there to help him get back up so that he can learn that skill. It is a hideous thought that the first time a young person is allowed to fail is when they are set free to live in the real world with no safety net!
There is enormous value to failing in small ways and learning how to get back up, learning what to avoid, learning how to predict a fall and learning to manage your emotions during all of this. This is one of the most important abilities to becoming a successful person.
I would be interested to hear your opinions on the subject. Comment below or email me at Karen@HomeschoolingHowTo.com
The Education Issue from The New York Times
What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?
Tape Installation by Stephen Doyle. Photograph by Stephen Wilkes for The New York Times.
Riverdale Country School in the Bronx.
By PAUL TOUGH
Published: September 14, 2011
Dominic Randolph can seem a little out of place at Riverdale Country School — which is odd, because he’s the headmaster. Riverdale is one of New York City’s most prestigious Continue reading →
There are all sorts of fabulous lessons to be gleaned from Sir Ken Robinson’s talk for people thinking about homeschooling how to and how not tos:
Let’s hear it for Sir Robinson!!!! He is funny and charming and extremely accurate! This is one of the real benefits of homeschooling - you can take this sort of information and use it to genuinely assist your child. You can adapt to your child’s needs and talents. You can actively foster the creativity that will be vital for him to make a joyous living in the world!
Fom a Homeschooling how to point of view - the biggest take away from this forme was find your child’s passion and foster it!
Here is a recent comment on the talk that I feel is really telling:
Nov 13 2011: “I taught school for 35 years. Most parents don’t believe me but one of the biggest problems is shoving information down children’s throats that are not only not interested in it or even more importantly not ready to receive it. Check out Piaget. He is so right. Some maybe even lots of children are not ready to read until they are 16. But who wants to wait until they are 16. Thats why so much talent is destroyed before they reach 16 because the powers that be want to put them in special classes that destroy their creativiity as well as their self esteem. Any teacher that believes as I still do will not have it easy in our educational system because not only do they want to suppress the child’s creativity put also the teachers. You need to support the children as well as any teacher that you find that supports this view. That is if there are any left.”
I think that most teachers should be sainted! They are doing their very best in a system designed to make it hard for them to teach! It lookes to me more like riot control than teaching when you stuff 30 small active bodies into one room!
Knowing that it is truly a gift you can give your children to homeschool them. Listening to Sir Robinson inspires me all over again each time I watch the talk. Not only that, but I get to feel all kinds of smug for protecting my cherubs from the terrors of the schoolroom
Please do tell me what your biggest Aha! from this video was - I would love to get your take on it….
Here is the marvel of deep desire fuelling a homeless boy into becoming a star!
There is a wonderful Homeschooling How To lesson to be learned here.
I cried as I watched this young man sing. The talent and passion are so very moving! He did not need a school or a teacher to push him into singing. It blossomed out of him. He pursued it because he wanted to. It is a marvelous example of character and persistence and also of the autodidactic philosophy.
When we homeschool our children we give them the gift of being able to follow their passions WITH support, with lessons, tools and mentors. Imagine how this young man would have appreciated those opportunities!
That is one of the Homeschooling How To Tips: Foster your child’s passion!
Help your child discover his passion through exposure to a multiplicity of experiences and then help him to build on that strength. Help her to explore it and develope it and become truly skilled at it. This is one of the joys of homschooling!