S/O on how educational experience affects homeschooling--what about your home life?

[Jane in NC]

Here is the original thread.

 

Most of the responses discuss "educational experience" strictly in terms of classroom experiences. I am a bit surprised by this since I figure that most homeschoolers see education as something that begins in the home.

 

Did you have a "rich" educational home life growing up? My parents were not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but they provided us with great educational experiences beyond the classroom. My mom and I went to the library weekly, a habit that grew to independent visits to the big downtown library once I was old enough to take the bus by myself. We had art books in our home, history books. One of my father's dearest possessions was a set of Britannica Great Books. (Neither of my parents went to college.)

 

In the summer, we packed up our gear in our camper and explored national parks and national monuments--cooking our meals on the Coleman stove along the way. I have wonderful memories...

 

My formal education was reasonably good, but I suspect my thirst for knowledge began in my home. Seems to me that this is the greatest advantage that we as homeschoolers (and concerned parents) provide to our children.

 

Jane

[Rosie_0801]

My parents did alright considering their lack of education. I think the most important thing Mum did was teach me to be curious and to care. I wouldn't have learned much without those very important things.

 

Rosie

[nevergiveup]

I grew up on a farm with three sisters. My father died when I was eight and my mother gradually became an alcoholic. I don't remember having a library of books around although the Bookmobile would come out to the country and park about a half mile away. We would ride our bikes there to get books.

 

In spite of this, I believe I had a good childhood. My mother was one who could do anything. My grandfather was a very intelligent man who could figure most things out. Schoolwork was our responsibility and we were expected to get good grades. I do not remember Mom helping out with any of it, although she may have in the younger grades.

 

What we did have was a lot of hard physical work and if we were given a job, we were expected to do it. That and my mom being a do-it-yourselfer were probably the most compelling influences for me.

[stripe]

My parents always had plenty of books around, but they were their books. I never felt like I had my own "collection" per se, so I've put work into developing this, including lots of exposure to library books. I want it to be possible to have something on hand that meets many current/predictable interests, without having to go find something every time.

 

I also wanted to have more outings ranging from trips to the library and museums.

Edited October 13, 2009 by stripe

[AuntPol]

I grew up very, very poor. My parents were divorced, with my dad being an alcholic that abandoned us (no child support or anything) and my sister had leukemia. We didn't have a lot of books in the house or much of anything really. Much of my childhood was spent hanging out in hospital waiting rooms reading Reader's Digests.

[The Girls' Mom]

My mother always stressed the importance of education...she dropped out in 10th grade and regretted it her entire life. My dad (they were divorced) LOVES to read, and always provided me with books, and where ever he lived was always book rich. (although often inappropriate :glare:)

[lionfamily1999]

Dh and I have created a very different home together than what we'd had as children. Since hsing our home has changed even more (no t.v. is a big one).

 

However, my parents did teach me that if I wanted something done right I should do it myself :p and that we are all responsible for our own futures. Whenever I'd complain that I was bored at school, my parents would tell me it was up to me to learn more.

 

I don't make the kids educate themselves ;) , but I do insist that ds take responsibility for his education, dd too. Just because the bars are set low (especially for dd) doesn't mean YOU can't raise them.

[elegantlion]

My parents modeled a lot about character, but I don't remember there being intentional teaching, it was just who they were.

 

As far as educational/life skills well... I mentioned in the other thread how they expected the school system to teach those things. They didn't give us a lot of guidance into how to enter the real world. I knew where the checkbook was, the emergency cash, but not how to budget, no understanding of credit or debt at all.

 

I wish the internet had been around when I was a kid. I was the one who would literally read the encyclopedia, I loved to learn, but I hated school.

 

The things I wanted to explore in life/career were never really supported by my parents. They were more the kind to follow someone else's leadership. There were not risk takers. I had no clue how to achieve my goals and gave up because they seemed impossible. It's kind of sad looking back because I know my life would have been different if someone would have been helping me make those decisions.

 

Part of this transfers to my son. We've been teaching him about money management since he was old enough to walk. We're teaching our ds about goal setting, supporting his interests and we're making an effort to insure his passions are able to be pursued.

 

A few good traditions we are carrying on is that I used to go to work with my dad at least twice a year. He was a broadcast engineer at a TV station. It was fun and I really understood what he did to put food on the table. I've seen so many teens that didn't understand what their parents did for work it flabbergasted me. So ds has been to work with dh several times. He knows exactly how much work dh does in a day. That helps him be understanding when dh has had a rough day.

[MamaT]

My parents were pretty hands off when it came everything about my life. I was expected to make good grades and not cause them any grief, but that was about it.

 

What made the difference for me was my oldest sister. She is 12 years older than I am and was born to teach. She read to me all the time and taught me to read by the time I was 3. My love of books and learning came from her influence in my life. She got married when I was 9 and it totally turned my life upside down. I found out later that she tried to get my parents to let me go live with her (in another city) and they would not agree. I continued to love books and love to learn as I got older, but also got into lots of trouble with no parental supervision. My parents seemed not to care what I got into, as long as I kept my grades up. That was no problem since I made straight A's without even trying (or showing up for school half the time).

 

My sister teaches 5th graders now and has won many awards. She was recently reading a book to her class, and her class said the characters were "crazy." She went on to explain the difference between being crazy and being eccentric. Her students all began to look at each other until one brave boy said, "Mrs. M______, you're eccentric." When she asked why, some of the responses were, "You're the only teacher that skips to lunch with us." "You're the only teacher who tells us she loves us." She is in her 50's and still loves to learn. If all teachers were like her, my kids would be in ps.

[Michelle in MO]

I think that both of my parents helped to cultivate a good measure of intellectual curiosity in both my brother and me.

 

I remember both of my parents reading to us quite a bit, not only kids' books, but books beyond our ability to understand. I remember my father reading Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn to us when I was four or five years old. For some reason, I remember my father reading aloud to me more, and I think that the impact of a dad reading aloud to his kids has a profound effect (at least, this is my opinion, which was confirmed to me when I read Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook, in which he claims that children tend to remember their fathers reading aloud to them more than their mothers). My dad says my mom read aloud to us just as much, but for some reason I remember his reading more vividly than my mom's. Anyway, the first book I ever read was Miss Polly's Animal School, and I was able to read very well before I got out of kindergarten. My parents were also the ones to teach us how to tell time (analog clocks, too; long before digital).

 

Fortunately, when I was in first grade, the teachers did not force me to stay in readers, so they allowed me to go to the library and read up through the third grade shelf.

 

Since we lived in a community that was considered to be a village at the time, we had no library, but of all the luck, the Bookmobile parked right in front of our house every two weeks, and that spurred me on to read even more. It was so convenient to race down the lawn to the Bookmobile and get a stack of books to read!

 

We also went to a cabin in northern Minnesota, near Ely, every summer for 1-2 weeks; there was no TV, so we would buy a bunch of Louis L'Amour books and read those at the cabin, as well as play chess, checkers, and fish (and call loons!).

 

I also think our generation had it a little better than today's generation in terms of fewer distractions. We had a TV, and eventually got a color TV, but we were in that slot of time when there were only 4 channels, no personal computers, no videotapes or DVDs, no iPods or Wiis (sp?) or Nintendo or Playstation. So, we spent ample amounts of time outdoors, especially in the summer, and had many other games and activities that we had to engage in to keep from being bored.

 

We did watch TV, though, but I do remember watching things like National Geographic or Jacques Cousteau specials every time they came on, or the Watergate hearings, or the moon landings.

 

Overall, I think we lived in a good era in which to grow up! :)

[Jugglin'5]

My parents were not big readers at all, though they did expect us to do well in school. Therefore I read the same books over and over, plus a really old set of encyclopedias that my grandmother gave me. Occasionally my aunt or my other grandmother would give me books for Christmas or birthdays (they were both readers). My school library was pretty pathetic.

 

I knew that I wanted to have as extensive a home library as I could get based on my childhood dearth of books. I had I nice childhood, but my parents just never seemed to know how to deal with my desire to read. It is as if it never occurred to them to buy books, lol. I can remember being disappointed when all I would get was clothes and toys for presents. My poor kids probably wish they got fewer books and more of the rest. :tongue_smilie: We may have a different problem. Books are so easy for them to get and so available, that I don't think they really appreciate them. :001_huh:

[Daisy]

My parents provided a rich learning environment. We had tons of books and went to the library weekly. My Mom read to us and was a voracious reader herself. She modeled a curiousness about the world around her. She loved puzzles and trying to figure things out. Lots of hands-on.

 

My Dad has a doctorate. He is the wordy one. Lots of vocabulary building. He enjoyed playing games of strategy with us. He was very opinionated and I think it is why I have such a debater's heart now. He would never put up with lousy emotionally-based arguments.

 

We went camping a lot. My Mom loved to raise animals.

 

Education was important in that my Mom always helped us study, helped us improve. I remember her often saying, "That paragraph doesn't capture my attention. Try to GRAB me!" She quizzed us every day on what we had learned at school. On the flip side she wasn't afraid to show up unannounced at school and whisk us away to the park for the afternoon either especially since we were all good students.

 

Thanks! This thread just made me realize what I'd love for my children to experience in learning. A combination of rigor, fun, curiosity, etc.

 

Oh, and I just realized something I didn't even think about. We weren't a tv/screens family. We went years without a television. We don't watch tv in our family now and I'm sure part of why that is so easy for us is because both of our families (hubby & I) didn't put much stock in television watching.

Edited October 13, 2009 by Daisy

[swellmomma]

No, we were taught life skills early(as in responsible for all housework from a young age). But no extra activities outside of girl guides and baseball. Since I hate baseball I was told tough luck no other activities (I wanted dance or music lessons). We were dirt poor for most of my childhood, it wasn't until I was almost in high school that they started earning decent money, so my little brother got all those other activities growing up. Nothing supplemental was added, not even trips to the museum etc as my mom hates all that stuff and my dad would never take us kids on his own. No pets, no reading aloud, no discussions of anything (expect for sex ed type stuff).

 

Most things I learned outside of school was at my best friend's house, I was there all the time and stayed over most weekends from gr 5 through 9. By 16 I was told daily by my parents they couldn't wait for me to move out and that I was ruining their lives. I moved out 6 months after I turned 18. I didn't know anything about budgeting etc so I ended up in debt pretty darn quickly. College was postponed due to having to work. When I was 19 I got into college, and moved back home. Was told it was a waste of my time as I would doomed to fail. I got pregnant and dropped out 6 months later.

 

All of that impacts how I am with my kids, both good and bad. We go to all sorts of extra things like museums, science center, zoos etc. We did that even when they were in ps. I am teaching them lifeskills, but have a hard time actually delegating much to them, because I remember the feeling of having to do it all and don't know what the right amount is.

 

The one thing my mom was big on was reading, she was and still is always reading so we all became big readers and that got passed on to my kids. However, she couldn't stand the clutter caused by books, so we never had many at a time. We used the library once a week rather than having a personal library kwim.

 

I put my kids in A LOT of extra activities and do everything in my power to pay for the ones they want. I don't have much money but they have not had to miss out on much (horseback riding is the only one that comes to mind). I try to put an emphasis on education as a whole, not school specifically. So I let them see me learning new things and try new things all the time, from reading a book, to learning a new craft, to trying B-boy moves with my daughter.

 

I try my best to tune out my mother's negative talk, she is still telling me I will fail in university (even though I do have 1 college diploma already). I pay for my new courses next week and she is already telling me how I am wasting my time and money because I will never complete it, yet in the same breath telling me I have ruined the kids lives by not having a degree. I don't let the kids hear that, and instead talk about how excited I am to start these courses and be learning something new. I am seeing the impact of that, my ds wants to go to college (up until now he bought into the lines when others said he would never do it), he is more eager to do his own work (can't complain much when mom is doing university at home right next to you, grammar doesn't seem so hard anymore).

 

My upbringing affected both goals for the kids education but also how I parent them. Even if homeschooling was never an option and they were in public school I would keep our home environment filled with educational activities, books, and learning.

[JenneinCA]

My parents worked from early in the morning to late in the evening. I went to before care at about 7:15 and after care until at least 5:30 daily. I would get home from school and eat dinner, spend an hour doing homework and go to bed. And then repeat the whole thing endlessly. Summers were spent either in more day care or alone at home.

 

I saw my parents on the weekends. They were very tired and spent lots of time cleaning house, buying groceries, or doing errands. I can't remember anyone ever reading a book to me. We did go to a whole bunch of very boring art museums and lots of craft fairs where I didn't get to buy anything. (Did you ever notice that art in art museums is placed at an appropriate height for adults and not children? Kids can't see the art very well at all!)

[LibraryLover]

My earliest memories of my childhood are of my mother reading to me and playing 'Rhyming' with me. My father knew lots of poems that he had memorized as a child, and he'd he'd recite them to us. Further, he sang. He knew show tunes , hymns, everything. He sang all the time. There was a memorable time when captured us all in the bathroom and sang the entire score of Fiddler on the Roof and then Man of La Mancha. I still remember most of the words to Mack the Knife. lol He also loved history. My parents hosted Fresh Air kids, so we got to know people outside our family and neighborhood.

 

I have a photo of me as a baby near a toy chalkboard we had in our home. I am about 13 or 14 mos old, and my father had written a sentence in French with my name in it, and I am holding the chalk so it looks like I had written it. My father loved to read, and I started reading Jane Boleyn when I was little...it was in a basket in the bathroom for years, it seemed. lol

 

They had their flaws, and they married very young, so there was quite a bit of youthful immaturity and drama there. I went to a terrible city elementary school, but books and education was very important to them. My father and mother also took us on field trips. I had been to Plimouth Plantation, Boston, Newport RI mansions, the Salem Witch museum etc multiple times before I was 10. We didn't travel far; but they took us lots of places.

Edited October 13, 2009 by LibraryLover

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

My parents were divorced and I lived with my mother. I remember growing up with her as being well provided with the things necessary, plus some (food, shelter, more luxuries than we could really afford) and a moral expectation but no personal training or instruction in any area, just her self pity and a guilt trip when I failed in some way (usually moral, I don't recall much input from her academically but then, I was "passing" so I guess maybe that was enough).

[eternalknot]

 

Did you have a "rich" educational home life growing up? My parents were not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but they provided us with great educational experiences beyond the classroom.

 

I did. My experience sounds very much like your own. We were read to often, taken on frequent field trips, and did a fair amount of traveling the country and the world. We all acknowledge that we got more out of our family experiences than we did our academic careers (one of the few things we siblings are all in agreement on!) We are also a very close-knit extended family, so even growing up we were further enriched by the informal teachings of our many aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents (piano, singing, sewing, cooking, etc). I honestly believe that the breakdown of the extended family's role has negatively affected so many things, including education - both formal and informal.

 

 

My formal education was reasonably good, but I suspect my thirst for knowledge began in my home.

 

 

Same here. My formal education may not have been ideal, but it wasn't anything scarring or horrible. We all earned high marks, were active participants in academics and extracurriculars, successfully navigated the social waters, and have no experiences that directly influenced my decision to homeschool. If anything, my decision to homeschool was more firmly rooted in spending MORE time doing what my parents did for us in the after-school hours :)

[Bee]

Like I said in my other reply, I was raised as a child by my grandparents. My grandmother was an artist. We went to art shows, she brought us books and other things from places she visited, we went to libraries and visited child- friendly places. I lived with my dad when I was a teenager and he didn't really care what my siblings and I did as long as we went to school when we were supposed to, made the meals,helped on the farm, and kept the house reasonably clean (and stayed out of trouble, IYKWIM). If we missed school when we were sick, we would write our own excuse and he would just sign it. We did have a lot of time to be independent and we learned to look after ourselves, which wasn't a terrible thing.

[Mommyfaithe]

Here is the original thread.

 

Most of the responses discuss "educational experience" strictly in terms of classroom experiences. I am a bit surprised by this since I figure that most homeschoolers see education as something that begins in the home.

 

Did you have a "rich" educational home life growing up? My parents were not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but they provided us with great educational experiences beyond the classroom. My mom and I went to the library weekly, a habit that grew to independent visits to the big downtown library once I was old enough to take the bus by myself. We had art books in our home, history books. One of my father's dearest possessions was a set of Britannica Great Books. (Neither of my parents went to college.)

 

In the summer, we packed up our gear in our camper and explored national parks and national monuments--cooking our meals on the Coleman stove along the way. I have wonderful memories...

 

My formal education was reasonably good, but I suspect my thirst for knowledge began in my home. Seems to me that this is the greatest advantage that we as homeschoolers (and concerned parents) provide to our children.

 

Jane

 

I think my Mom was always a bit ashamed of her lack of education...but she did instill a love of learning in me...by NOT being afraid to say "I don't know but we can look it up or ask Mrs. so and so...she will know. She also read all the time. OK , they were mostly romance novels, but i didn't know that. She took me to the library...paid my fines without a word and let me take as many boos as we could carry. She didn't pressure me to read them, but was always happy that I did.

 

We were also very poor, so my "toys" were things like office supplies...old school workbooks, a blackboard and chalk...linoleum tiles from the flooring store...stuff....but we got to be very creative....

 

~~Faithe

[SheWillFly]

I can say without a doubt that my parents sculpted my view of learning and education. I was read to every night and had a expansive library. My parents had a large collection of history, science and nature books available at all times. Conversation was open and experience was hands on as much as possible. Regular parts of my childhood included trips to museums, historic sites, plays, as well has camping, caring for animals, and athletics. If I was even remotely interested in a topic I was encouraged to pursue it.

 

My parents have some form of higher education but my dad has a trade certificate and my mom has an associates and an unfinished MBA. My dad made it clear through my childhood that he regretted not going to college.

[Colleen in NS]

I am a bit surprised by this since I figure that most homeschoolers see education as something that begins in the home.

 

I do now, but I didn't see it that way when I was growing up. School was where I supposedly learned, and home was where I lived, played, and did chores.

 

Did you have a "rich" educational home life growing up?

 

My mother helped me learn math facts in 3rd grade, she made books with me when I was four, she gardened with us in the summers, she let us keep pets, and she took us to the Bookmobile in the summers. My father bought books for me as much as he could, too, and they both went to spelling bees that I participated in. But when I say books (from him or Bookmobile), I mean that I chose. And I chose things like Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden and Judy Blume (yuck). My father did give me some classics, though, like the Little House books and Little Women, and my mother had a good stash of children's picture books for us. But other than ND and TB, I don't remember looking for better books - I just had no concept. My father did have a set of encyclopedias in one of his homes (he moved a lot after the divorce), and I used to like to sit and read those when I visited him.

 

When I had kids, my mother showed me how to find really good children's picture books, to start a collection. She would take me through books stores, dept. stores, and libraries every time we visited each other and show me book after book, and telling me things to look for - colourful pictures, big print, nicely worded sentences, etc.. When I became interested in homeschooling, she taught me how to teach my kids to read. She answered multiple e-mails about that. She taught me many things about how young children learn - early childhood and early elementary are her specialty. And a few years ago, when I told my father about homeschooling, and particularly about the ideas in WTM, he became my biggest cheerleader in giving my kids a classical (neo? whatever) education. He went to Boston College High School and Boston College (excellent Catholic schools, at least when he was there) and was highly intellectual - I had never really known that. He is the person IRL who completely understands and cheers on the reasons I do Latin, logic, critical thinking, expository writing with my kids. And he champions my wanting to do rhetoric later on.

Edited October 19, 2009 by Colleen in NS

[WiseOwlKnits]

My mother was a college graduate who later went back to school and took graduate level classes even though she never got a Master's Degree. My father (who she divorced when I was 12) was barely a high school graduate who didn't appreciate or acknowledge education as something beneficial. We had no books of our own in our house, although my sister and I did go to the library every week to get books. I never saw my parents read anything more than a newspaper or magazine growing up.

 

I grew up in a very abusive house and school was my escape. It was the one place where I could get away from what was going on at home and where I actually heard positive things about myself (although I didn't believe them).

 

So I don't know that my home life contributed, except for my desire for my kids to have a completely different childhood experience than I did. That isn't why we homeschool though...they could have a completely different childhood and still have gone to public schools. :)

[LauraGB]

Growing up in my family meant a lot of responsibility, hard work and life lessons in dealing with difficult people. Those are the good, character building things that I hope I keep to teach my children, only in a much nicer and more loving environment.

 

While I know that my parents loved us, they were definitely not the sort of people who were comfortable showing it. And I can honestly say that I did not know they loved me as I was growing up - it was only after I was an adult and no longer living with them that this wisdom settled in. So this is something I, even as an adult, needed to A) recognize and B) change about myself, having been a product of that environment. I'm satisfied that both my children will hug me and I can hug them back for no good reason every single day. I state this because I think that impacted our decision to homeschool and be a closer family and more hands on parents.

 

My parents weren't readers. Not that they couldn't, but just that they didn't. There were absolutely no books anywhere in our house except my school books! My house is cluttered with books and dd and I are read-a-holics. Ds likes to read, likes stories, but will likely never have the same love for them as I do. I think my love of books is due to the sheer lack of them as a child.

 

There are a lot of experiences from my childhood that I feel if I do the complete opposite, my kids should feel loved, confident and smart. ;) And, that's really nothing against my parents because I know they did thier very best to raise us, and that counts.

Edited October 13, 2009 by LauraGB
added stuff

[MIch elle]

I joined the Doubleday Book Club in high school with my own money and would receive my one book/month. Was that a waste of money - yes and no. It was something I looked forward to receiving every month after looking at their slick book catalog. Yes, I could have borrowed it from the library but there was something special about the whole experience of belonging the DD Book Club and getting my OWN books.

 

I continue to "waste" my money on books! :D

 

Did I tell you that I adore my Kindle? ;)

Edited October 13, 2009 by MIch elle
typo

[Impish]

Well, my mother was/is a reader, so I guess I got that from her. I've been reading since I was around 4, and have been addicted ever since :D

 

Other than that, my parents went over my report cards, gave me crap until the next time. I was never given time for homework, but got in crap for missing assignments...go figure :glare:

[peachskittles]

Did you have a "rich" educational home life growing up?

 

No, I didn't but it was lack of education for my mother that caused that problem...She never went past 8th grade, could barely read higher than like a 4th grade level (rough guess)...School was supposed to teach me everything because she couldn't...I remember bringing home a library book and begging my mother to read it to me at bedtime...She couldn't read more than a few pages, stumbling over so many words, before she gave up and asked me to read it to her...I ended up teaching her, reviewing letters she wrote to different places or relatives, checking that she did her math right for bank accounts, even helping choose which life insuance policy to buy...My dad was around but he worked swing shifts so he never was really involved in my home life or school life...Even during strikes at work, he was never really present...

 

My one saving grace was my relatives...Every summer my grandmother in Hawaii would send me a box of old library books...My aunt would bring me out to her house and I would drool over the library of books she owned (and was encouraged to read all I wanted of course)...Another grandmother encouraged my interests in history by taking me to different places so I could learn about stuff that intrigued me (I was going to be an archaeologist but that plan failed)...

[elegantlion]

I am enjoying this thread. We truly are a people with greatly diverse backgrounds. :grouphug:

[Desert Rat]

Ya know, home life is a good point.

My parents weren't educated people when we were young. (They have since enriched their educations.) But we always had books, books, books and National Geographic. My parents were always doing road trips and taking us to fascinating areas- Amish villages, the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, etc. We were always learning whether with cooking or painting, cleaning or yard work. We had lots of family projects like 150 loaves of banana bread on Christmas or sewing projects the next.

Although we don't travel as much as I would like, we try to make our children's life rich with memories.....

[katilac]

Here is the original thread.

 

Most of the responses discuss "educational experience" strictly in terms of classroom experiences. I am a bit surprised by this since I figure that most homeschoolers see education as something that begins in the home.

Jane

 

Well, the original post in that thread was worded more towards formal learning, so that doesn't surprise me: educational background, educational experience, schooling.

 

I think that most hs'ers, certainly many on this board, do consider education as not only something that begins at home, but something that is life-long and not restricted to school. I know I do, but I interpreted the question to be about 'formal' schooling, whatever form that took.

[angela in ohio]

I said it in the other thread, but I'll repeat it here. My home life growing up is primarily why I homeschool. I lived in a home that promoted a lifetime love of learning. My mom signed me up for every extra academic class and camp available in our small town, we took field trips as a family constantly, and academic excellence was expected and supported. If you've ever read the book Top of the Class, that was us, only an Irish immigrant family (my dad's father) as opposed to Asian. My entire extended family on my dad's side was all about earning "the American Dream," and education was key.

 

I really want my dc to learn as I did that you learn constantly and that it is a joy. Homeschooling allows me to show them that daily.

[MIch elle]

No, I didn't but it was lack of education for my mother that caused that problem...She never went past 8th grade, could barely read higher than like a 4th grade level (rough guess)...School was supposed to teach me everything because she couldn't...I remember bringing home a library book and begging my mother to read it to me at bedtime...She couldn't read more than a few pages, stumbling over so many words, before she gave up and asked me to read it to her...

 

But that was better than my grandfather who came from Russia/Poland as a young adult and couldn't read or write in ANY language. So you're not alone!

[Imprimis]

I joined the Doubleday Book Club in high school with my own money and would receive my one book/month. Was that a waste of money - yes and no. It was something I looked forward to receiving every month after looking at their slick book catalog. Yes, I could have borrowed it from the library but there was something special about the whole experience of belonging the DD Book Club and getting my OWN books.

 

I continue to "waste" my money on books! :D

 

 

How funny, I did the same thing---joined Doubleday as a teen! I looked forward to it each month, as well.

 

Now, I'm doing the same thing, only with Easton Press :001_smile:.

[Colleen in NS]

Something I just read reminded me of something else. My mother's mother was a teacher as well, and she always gave us "educational" things for Christmas and birthdays. Things like National Geographic subscriptions, Cricket, Highlights...chemistry sets, yo-yos, unusual puzzles, physics-type toys, books, hobby sets.....

[Jane in NC]

I am enjoying this thread. We truly are a people with greatly diverse backgrounds. :grouphug:

 

I wish to echo your sentiments.

 

My mother sometimes felt the need to apologize for her lack of "education". She had a high school diploma and technical training for office work back in the days of "comptometers". She was a numbers gal so she had me doing lots of mental arithmetic as a preschooler. One of the best "toys" of my childhood was the button box, an old tin filled with buttons from discarded clothing. I would count them, sort them by color, size and type. What my mother did not know was that she was giving me a great foundation for studying mathematics--pattern recognition. I went on to receive a BS and MS in math. I credit Mom with her button box and deck of cards.

 

I wish to say that it is not the material stuff of childhood that gives us an education. Yeah, the trips are nice, but even those can be imagined in books. I am grateful for a mother who read to me, who let me stand on a stool to cook with her, who marched me into the library every single week. Gosh Mom, I miss you. Sniff.

 

Cheers to us--and our beautiful children.

Jane

[Colleen in NS]

I wish to say that it is not the material stuff of childhood that gives us an education. Yeah, the trips are nice, but even those can be imagined in books. I am grateful for a mother who read to me, who let me stand on a stool to cook with her, who marched me into the library every single week. Gosh Mom, I miss you. Sniff.

 

Cheers to us--and our beautiful children.

Jane

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

Thanks for a great thread.

[cathmom]

I grew up very, very poor. My parents were divorced, with my dad being an alcholic that abandoned us (no child support or anything) and my sister had leukemia. We didn't have a lot of books in the house or much of anything really. Much of my childhood was spent hanging out in hospital waiting rooms reading Reader's Digests.

 

Hugs to you, Aunt Pol! :grouphug:

 

My parents definitely encouraged reading, thinking and learning. One time (I think it was about Watergate or something) my dad got upset and required us all to write an essay about what the job of the President was. I was just a little girl, and I wrote that his job was to protect the United States, because if he didn't, he wouldn't have a country to be president of!

 

We had discussions at the dinner table, and I was always sent to go look things up in the dictionary, the encyclopedia, or the atlas. I still love looking things up! My mom took me to the library all the time and I got out tons of books. She would actually tell me to stop reading and go outside and play. We played games, board games and word games, and we went on short trips to historical sites and museums.

 

My father never hid the fact that he didn't like the public school system. He has actually advocated shutting it down entirely. But he still let us go there, unfortunately. I would have been better off being unschooled in high school, and I ended up leaving early to go to college.

[SilverMoon]

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Edited September 23, 2023 by SilverMoon

[KidsHappen]

You know, I never really gave this much thought. My parents were not intentional teachers but my dad constantly told me to "Look it up!" (now I tell my kids to google it :D) and my mom always took me to the library so I could. Both my mom and dad answered all the really difficult questions honestly and with no stuttering or stammering. My mother taught me most life skills* and provided lots of educational experience which we just called fun, museums, zoo, historic sites. They also made sure we had plenty of extras like sports, art and music. Most of all, they let me live and make my own mistakes while providing a safe atmosphere to do so. I really guess I should appreciate my upbringing more than I have.

 

* these life skills did not include cooking or sewing but plenty of good old fashioned living skills like hunting, fishing and living off the land. I don't use much of either these days. :tongue_smilie:

Edited October 14, 2009 by KidsHappen