What have YOU learned?

[RegGuheert]

One of the first things MomsintheGarden and I realized when we started homeschooling is that WE were in for an education as well as our children. Here are a couple of examples of things that we have learned while educating our children:

 

- Learning proper grammar: We quickly realized that we were both brought up in families that spoke improper grammar. Both of our families use good/well and lie/lay incorrectly. We also realized that unless WE did not correct the grammar in our own speech, our children would suffer the same fate. Thus, we all learned together with our older DC. We propably still make mistakes, but are much better!

 

- History of the world: There is SO much more history than we were taught in the public schools! MomsintheGarden and our DC have learned probably 10X the history than we ever learned growing up in PS. (I get bits and pieces of it, but basically have learned how much I didn't learn.)

 

- Bible: This subject was not taught in PS. We have learned a lot about the bible through our homeschool efforts.

 

- Scientific creationism: There was no room for teaching the science behind creation in the scientific indoctrination that MomsintheGarden and I received in PS. It has been fascinating to learn about the science behind the belief in young-earth creation!

 

What things you YOU learned as a HS teacher/parent that you never learned in your childhood education?

[JudoMom]

History has been a biggie. We're about to start our second cycle and I'm so excited. The first time we did Ancients I was just trying to keep my head above water, so I can't wait to really study ancients (with Biblical history included).

 

I'm learning Latin. Never did that in school. It's fun...like a great, big puzzle.

 

I'm refreshing my Math with Life of Fred. This was never my strong suit, and as ds9 has gotten near the end of Saxon 6/5, there have been questions I've not been able to answer easily. But I'm enjoying re-learning!

[Nestof3]

I would say history is the subject I have learned about the most.

 

I think I learned science pretty well, and I still remember so much of what I had learned. I think it could have been taught in a more interesting way in the elementary years, though.

 

My grammar skills have been/are being honed. My parents speak SO grammatically incorrect, but somehow I learned most things correctly either through school or reading. I am still working on some of the imperfect verbs. What makes it so difficult is that so many writers are ignorant of the rules. The other day I was listening to a John Denver song (which I love) that reads "let me lay down beside you." Then there's the sign in the grocery store that reads "10 items or less." How are we supposed to learn proper grammar unless it is taught from birth? I try really hard with my children, but when family members speak incorrectly, and society uses grammar incorrectly, it becomes quite the battle.

 

I am also finally reading the books I should have read as a child. Coming from a non-reading family has its disadvantages.

 

I also find I enjoy math now. It's more like a big puzzle for me to solve.

 

I absolutely love homeschooling.

[elegantlion]

-:D Proper grammar as well. "Gonna" is not a word, realized that I said that too much this year when ds asked how to spell it. :001_huh:

 

- Science. I hated science in school and took only the classes I needed to get by. God must have a big sense of humor because my ds is a science nut. I'm constantly trying to learn ahead and looking at way to outsource high school science. I second guess my choices on science at least twice each year.

 

- Biblical history as it ties into ancient history. I learned so much by just watching Drive-Thru history this year.

 

- Literature. Again as I was on the fly-under-the-radar track at high school I never took a lit class. I did take every creative writing course. Last week I finished "The Iliad" and have a giant stack of books to read for myself and ahead of ds.

 

- Latin. It wasn't even offered in my school, but my four years of Spanish have come in very handy for teaching Latin.

[Jen in PA]

I was a ps teacher before having kids. I taught in some very nontraditional programs using child-led learning (they picked the topics, I found activities), and I taught many more places where all that we did was test preparation (if the subject isn't on the test, there is no time for it at all). Homeschooling has taught me how to balance the two approaches that I once saw as polar opposites. I could slow down this year and spend extra time on Greek mythology without worrying about getting off-course. As we have covered areas in science this year, I have been able to introduce the important facts without sacrificing the opportunity for dd to spend extra time on the specific plants and animals that interest her (and maybe someday all that extra knowledge about venus flytraps will come in handy:D). I have been able to choose reading material based on quality, instead of using a list created by some bureaucrat! When I decided to follow a classical model, I thought I was choosing what so many call "school at home," but this is very different from school. I have learned that it is very possible to have structure that allows for plenty of room for children to make decisions about their own learning.

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

I never knew, nor did I care about ancient Egypt. I enjoy learning that the pyramids were built for a reason and that they made paper out of papyrus.

 

Regarding the grammar comments: It has always driven me absolutely BONKERS when people have said certain things. For example, "I could care less." "Really? How much less could you care???" My really big one is people who say "real" instead of "really." It makes me cringe. I've corrected my own mom on this one for years. "It was a 'real' big bear!" "Really??? It wasn't a stuffed animal sitting on the side of the road???"

[jonesloonybin]

Grammar is the biggest thing we are working on now. I never realized how bad my grammar was before homeschooling.

 

I am also relearning a lot of math that I took in school and promptly forgot.

 

I have always loved history and it is my favorite subject to teach.

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

Oh, yeah... I'm getting better at math, too!!!

 

 

:D

[Storm Bay]

Not in this order in time or in importance:

 

That I've forgotten much of the math I was good at in high school.

 

What the Oxford comma is (and I still eschew it).

 

A lot about elephants and other animals even though I did a minor in Animal Biology.

 

That not all dc are able to learn math facts by rote (and I was adamant on that one).

 

To modify WTM so that it works will for my family, and that means modifying it somewhat differently for each of my dc.

 

What sentence diagramming is and now I even make all my dc learn this even though I don't really know how to do it well (but I will by the time I'm done with all 3 of them. I mark the work and then promptly forget most of it. NB by the time they learn this, they're in gr 5 and are reading the English lessons on their own...)

 

There's more, but this is enough for now.

[Blessedfamily]

If I told you that, it might spawn one of those "I can't believe what people don't know" threads. (And I graduated at the top of my class.) :blush:

 

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Lots of history and a good brushing up on grammar.

[Nestof3]

If I told you that, it might spawn one of those "I can't believe what people don't know" threads. (And I graduated at the top of my class.) :blush:

 

 

 

Yvette,

 

I believe we could all qualify for that thread. It's just that it would be different for each of us. The things we are amazed others don't know just happen to be the things we know. If we are honest, we would all admit that there is still so much we don't know that others consider common knowledge.

[Impish]

That I could survive this long without actually duct taping anyone, or developing a serious nervous twitch.

 

That I'd actually find myself telling children not to put things in orifices. Repeatedly. And that includes the TEN YEAR OLD.

 

There's more, but I hear laughter. And its not happy laughter. Well, to them it is, but its making the hair on my neck stand on end.

 

Gotta go.

[Mandamom]

I learned math. Before I started homeschooling I struggled in math. Teacher's guides and answer keys weren't in our budget so in order to check my son's work I learned to solve most of it myself.

 

Fast forward a few years and now I'm teaching middle school math (along with reading)-- those exact subjects that I homeschooled. If it wasn't for homeschooling I'm not sure I'd be doing a job that I love.

 

I also loved getting history chronologically. I missed a lot in school and going through it while homeschooling was really educational for me.

[Oak Knoll Mom]

My parents speak SO grammatically incorrect, but somehow I learned most things correctly either through school or reading.

My parents are the paragons of proper grammar. My in-laws, however, are not. I joke around with my husband that his grammar skills fly out the window when he's talking to his parents since he slips back into their speech patterns. :lol:

[beezus]

History was a big hole in my education. I honestly don't remember much about my history instruction in grade school other than George Washington chopping down the cherry tree and the pilgrims having Thanksgiving. It was just a few isolated things tossed out there with no context or continuity. We also learned very little about geography, with the exception of the American states and capitals. I hope my daughter realizes how lucky she is to be getting all this now!

 

Kathleen

[WiseOwlKnits]

The first ones that come to mind for me after doing K this year with DD is an e on the end makes the other vowel say its name (like th E in bike) and when two vowels are next to one another the first one says its name and the 2nd one is silent (like the A in head).

[lionfamily1999]

Definitely History, we had no world history classes here, the closest thing we had was World Geography and what we learned through French and Art. Also, Latin and Greek. I took a year of Latin in hs, but it was on tape and I didn't really learn anything.

 

I'm also learning A LOT about music.

 

Really, it all hinges on history, though. I really love Sotw.

[Happy]

Very definitely history. While taking our first homeschooling trip through the middle ages, I kept asking my husband, 'why don't I know this?' A few years later, I realized why. A stash of report cards in my mom's attic revealed that I had ONE semester of World History in high school. I remember the class...all about the Roman empire. We copied notes off the board and took tests.

 

I've loved learning about the great sweep of history...researching obscure details about ancient civilizations or interesting aspects of the Mayan or Chinese culture.

 

I never ever studied WWI or II, only gleaning some knowledge from movies and stories. Eye-opening to put the WWs in proper perspective historically.

 

Oh, and the joy of studying Lewis and Clark.

 

What fun we've had!

[chai]

I always thought that history was boring. We learned names and dates mainly for American history--I suppose I ought to be grateful for that. Now, I've learned about history as a story. I knew virtually nothing about world history from ancient times through the renaissance. I actually knew more about Biblical history, so it has been fun to tie it together with the other cultures of that time.

 

I love integrating literature with history. I'm in the process of planning our literature through high school. I may have read five books out of the entire list. Reading the great books will be a huge education for me; I'm really looking forward to discussing them as a family.

 

I'm learning some Latin and a lot more about grammar. I'm not so crazy about having to understand all of the imperfect and perfect tenses, but I'll slog through that.

 

I haven't had to relearn math yet--I'm hoping my college degree will get me through most of it.

[hsmom3tn]

If I told you that, it might spawn one of those "I can't believe what people don't know" threads. (And I graduated at the top of my class.) :blush:

 

:iagree: I was Salutatorian of my class and have probably learned more in my 7 years of hs'ing about history, grammar, and science, than I did through all of my years of growing up in public schools. I am sooo glad I decided to homeschool!

 

P.S. - speaking of my ignorance.... I don't even know if I spelled "salutatorian" right or not :lol:

 

Another P.S. - Just thought I'd throw in here the fact that the Valedictorian only beat me by .05 of a point!!!

 

And another P.S. - did I spell "valedictorian" correctly????

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

If I told you that, it might spawn one of those "I can't believe what people don't know" threads. (And I graduated at the top of my class.) :blush:

 

 

I agree. I'm always "showing off" my new history knowledge, and my husband just looks at me like, "Yeah? I know all about that already." So what if I've never heard of the Mycenaean Greeks??? :D

[KidsHappen]

Humility.

[Garga]

It's only been first grade so far, and I've learned a few new things:

 

Pretty much the entire SOTW1 was new material for me. This includes both the history and geography.

 

I've finally learned how to add +8 from MUS.

[Denisemomof4]

I learned to history, and learned to LOVE it, by using GOOD books instead of boring, dry textbooks.

 

I learned to diagram. Never did that in my life.

 

I'll be learning higher math - something I didn't do well in as a kid because I was dating my tutor. :001_smile:

[Jenny in Atl]

That my brain still works on occasion. :lol: Really to much to list. I think school should never end. That humans should always be learning new things, ideas, skills, etc.

[swimmermom3]

I am learning how to really research everything I don't know, which means I am researching all the time:D Whenever the kids ask me a question that I don't know I tell them, "Let's look it up". Groan, sigh. Yesterday, I caught the older ds elbowing his younger brother sharply in the ribs after younger ds asked a question. Older ds caught my eye and grinned, "Now we're going to be hear all day". Oh how I love home schooling. :lol:

[Brooketopia]

We haven't even begun with "official" homeschooling and I'm finding that I'm consistently saying, "Is it incredibly sad that I'm learning so much from science books in the children's section?"

 

My oldest is all about astronomy, and I've learned a ton of stuff just about the planets. Last week I learned how to tell male turtles apart from female turtles, and that their shells have nerve endings in them and they can actually feel stuff that touches their shells. Crazy. Sad. Fun.

 

I have a degree in history and I'm already learning more about the subject just in planning out the next year's history studies. (That's super sad.)

 

I'm looking forward to studying grammar when they get older--I never had any grammar instruction and I have a feeling that I'll benefit greatly from any exposure that comes my way.

 

I am so happy that I get to homeschool! All this learning is like fresh oxygen being pumped into my brain each day. :D