After 5 Years of Home Schooling...

[PachiSusan]

I went back to some of my original goals and intents and I realized something: That which brought me into the idea of home education is the part of the curriculum that is bothering me the most now! LOL

 

I wanted a Catholic immersion curriculum to teach my daughter that God is in ALL our lives, not just an hour on Sundays or something we profess but don't live. Now I am finding that I'm skipping a lot of the religious aspects of the books.

 

This was a big surprise to me.

 

Have you run across any such surprising revelations in your journey?

 

ETA to be clear about one aspect: I am not against Seton and how they teach and what they teach. We are still fully on board. I have just been realizing that I don't need to have a religious art lesson in Math...or do an art project and have it be religiously themed. We still fully do their religion courses - I find for us they are the best, bar none Catholic preparation for life. Melissa still enjoys it tremendously and asks to do it. :)

[dbmamaz]

hmm, i should go look at the attempts i made at a goals document! i was an accidental homeschooler, though - i mostly just wanted my boys to stop crying about school all the time.

[Farrar]

I was much more unschoolish when we started. But my kids were younger. And I should have seen it coming that I would move toward being more schoolish. I also started out in education when I was teaching much more loose and slowly came to appreciate the value of structure. I don't know why I didn't see that the same thing would happen with homeschooling. That said, I think we did it right. I'm still glad we didn't do formal math for K for example.

[Mandy in TN]

My oldest was such a Sonlight kid. Historical fiction really led to empathy not just for a particular character but for all the people of a time period. This led to greater understanding and greater retention and a love of history. Plus, he just loved to read.

 

I went for years trying to make this work for my second son. It never happened. He just wasn't interested in history or literature. Our homeschool changed, but I never, ever wanted to do school at home.

 

Now, I just have my little one and school at home is looking pretty good. The little man is just not interested in school other than how little he can get away with completing. No amount of effort on my part is going to make him interested in learning. At this point, I feel old and tired and just want it done.

 

However, I am still a Charlotte Mason gal. My overriding educational philosophy is still CM. :-)

Mandy

[PachiSusan]

hmm, i should go look at the attempts i made at a goals document! i was an accidental homeschooler, though - i mostly just wanted my boys to stop crying about school all the time.

 

 

Awwww, poor boys!!! Are they happier with school now?

[PachiSusan]

I was much more unschoolish when we started. But my kids were younger. And I should have seen it coming that I would move toward being more schoolish. I also started out in education when I was teaching much more loose and slowly came to appreciate the value of structure. I don't know why I didn't see that the same thing would happen with homeschooling. That said, I think we did it right. I'm still glad we didn't do formal math for K for example.

 

 

I think I'm moving the opposite. I wasn't sure I had the smarts to go it on my own so I needed a full boxed curriculum. I'm going more "off the cuff" now than I ever had and it's so much more enjoyable for BOTH of us!

[PachiSusan]

I feel safe in WTM curriculum, but ds7 is requiring a more unschooling approach. I love the creativity it requires of me, but it's so much work and I am constantly left worrying that I am not doing enough.

 

My original reasoning for homeschooling was I wanted a more challenging education for oldest who was bored in so called gifted classes that were nothing more than busywork. I always have that goal in the back of my mind, which puts a lot of pressure on myself. This is only my second year and I feel like I've grown so much already. I can't wait to see what I would say to this 3 years from now.

 

 

You're a good Mommy!!!

[PachiSusan]

My oldest was such a Sonlight kid. Historical fiction really led to empathy not just for a particular character but for all the people of a time period. This led to greater understanding and greater retention and a love of history. Plus, he just loved to read.

 

I went for years trying to make this work for my second son. It never happened. He just wasn't interested in history or literature. Our homeschool changed, but I never, ever wanted to do school at home.

 

Now, I just have my little one and school at home is looking pretty good. The little man is just not interested in school other than how little he can get away with completing. No amount of effort on my part is going to make him interested in learning. At this point, I feel old and tired and just want it done.

 

However, I am still a Charlotte Mason gal. My overriding educational philosophy is still CM. :-)

Mandy

 

 

I am a Charlotte Mason wanna be. I need more structure but my heart sure loves the idea of it!

[Mandy in TN]

I am a Charlotte Mason wanna be. I need more structure but my heart sure loves the idea of it!

 

If you look at the 1908 schedules from the PNEU school, they are quite scheduled and rigorous. However, I didn't really mean schedules or curriculum. I meant that my homeschool philosophy and long term goals are now and have always been inspired by Charlotte Mason.

 

These are my homeschool goals/ my homeschool philosophy that I have posted here before in conversations like this:

 

I want my child to be firm in his knowledge of appropriate conduct. I want him to learn the difference between what he wants to do right now and having a strong enough will to do what is appropriate/ right. He must also be taught to be careful not to rationalize something to be right simply because he wants it to be so. Along these lines, there can be no true happiness without first taking care of responsibilities. “…the chief responsibility which rests on them as persons is the acceptance or rejection of ideas. To help them in this choice we give them principles of conduct, and a wide range of the knowledge fitted to them.â€

 

"I am, I can, I ought, I will." is the place from which I instruct, because we achieve through diligence not through intelligence or imagination. I use habit training as a road to success, because I want him to be a responsible, decent, moral person who possesses positive and productive physical and mental habits. I want him to learn to apply these habits to whatever he chooses to do in life whether that is a tinker, a tailor, a soldier, or a sailor.

 

I exercise habit training alongside the idea that “perhaps the business of teachers is to open as many doors as possible.†I respect that he is born whole and that his mind is naturally designed to learn. I can provide the nourishment of education for his mind to grow healthy through a learning lifestyle where he is trained to be disciplined not in subject matter but in life for "education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life."

 

However, my child is not a blank slate, but is a whole person complete with his own personality and capacity for good and evil. Neither my self worth nor his hinges upon his going to college. I will for my part try to open doors and windows and widen chinks in the walls, but ultimately he will choose his own path. I hope that he chooses one that is fulfilling.

 

Mandy, with quotes from Charlotte Mason

[PachiSusan]

I guess I'm more CM than I thought now, because all of this resonates with me and my philosophy of teaching and learning.

 

If you look at the 1908 schedules from the PNEU school, they are quite scheduled and rigorous. However, I didn't really mean schedules or curriculum. I meant that my homeschool philosophy and long term goals are now and have always been inspired by Charlotte Mason.

 

These are my homeschool goals/ my homeschool philosophy that I have posted here before in conversations like this:

 

I want my child to be firm in his knowledge of appropriate conduct. I want him to learn the difference between what he wants to do right now and having a strong enough will to do what is appropriate/ right. He must also be taught to be careful not to rationalize something to be right simply because he wants it to be so. Along these lines, there can be no true happiness without first taking care of responsibilities. “…the chief responsibility which rests on them as persons is the acceptance or rejection of ideas. To help them in this choice we give them principles of conduct, and a wide range of the knowledge fitted to them.â€

 

"I am, I can, I ought, I will." is the place from which I instruct, because we achieve through diligence not through intelligence or imagination. I use habit training as a road to success, because I want him to be a responsible, decent, moral person who possesses positive and productive physical and mental habits. I want him to learn to apply these habits to whatever he chooses to do in life whether that is a tinker, a tailor, a soldier, or a sailor.

 

I exercise habit training alongside the idea that “perhaps the business of teachers is to open as many doors as possible.†I respect that he is born whole and that his mind is naturally designed to learn. I can provide the nourishment of education for his mind to grow healthy through a learning lifestyle where he is trained to be disciplined not in subject matter but in life for "education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life."

 

However, my child is not a blank slate, but is a whole person complete with his own personality and capacity for good and evil. Neither my self worth nor his hinges upon his going to college. I will for my part try to open doors and windows and widen chinks in the walls, but ultimately he will choose his own path. I hope that he chooses one that is fulfilling.

 

Mandy, with quotes from Charlotte Mason

 

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Similar to the OP, I started with a curriculum that was immersed with religion and that is the part that grated over the years. I have always found it forced but over the last few years I just ignore it. I also was extremely structured and very schoolish. Now we school very relaxed and only a very small portion is is with a Christian textbook. My kids still get Bible but it is more of a study I don't have any particular style but pull something from WTM, CM, Unschooling mushed together to make a school day work for us.

[....]

Have you run across any such surprising revelations in your journey?

 

This spring will also mark the beginning of our 5th year homeschooling. I've also done some 360s. :glare: I also have some regrets (and they mainly involve my son).

 

Here, I'll just embarrass myself and list them. :o

 

1. I regret pushing math so hard when my son was in 1st-2nd grade. He couldn't grasp any of the abstract concepts that some of the better curricula use (*cough* Singapore *cough*) for problem-solving and it basically turned my son into an intense math-hater. If I could do over again, I would've just used some living math books and let him play with the C-rods.

 

2. My 3rd and 4th children will not even know what "language arts" is until 4th grade. Before that, we're focusing on phonics and writing a good sentence.

 

3. I actually feel bad about not finding some great curricula earlier in our homeschooling. Some things have been a HUGE hit for us and I feel like my older kids missed out: All About Spelling (my 2nd grader has near-perfect spelling - my older kids would've done great with that program), Beast Academy (why, oh why, could this not have come out on the market a couple of years ago? :crying: They're furry monsters who explain math! My oldest daughter would've loved this program)...

 

Edited to say: Maybe I'm doing 180s, not 360s. :tongue_smilie: See how great my geometry is?

[dbmamaz]

 

Awwww, poor boys!!! Are they happier with school now?

 

Yes, mostly. I mean, they would still rather play video games and read fan fics all day, but they are VERY happy to be homeschooling instead of going to school. I will probably send the younger one back for high school, though. the older one will be going to community college soon enough . ..

[PachiSusan]

Similar to the OP, I started with a curriculum that was immersed with religion and that is the part that grated over the years. I have always found it forced but over the last few years I just ignore it. I also was extremely structured and very schoolish. Now we school very relaxed and only a very small portion is is with a Christian textbook. My kids still get Bible but it is more of a study I don't have any particular style but pull something from WTM, CM, Unschooling mushed together to make a school day work for us.

 

 

I'm still pretty structured and we still use the same materials, I've just learned what works and what doesn't need to be focused on so much. I think it comes with time, eh?

 

I would still be accused of being very schoolish though. LOL

[PachiSusan]

 

1. I regret pushing math so hard when my son was in 1st-2nd grade. He couldn't grasp any of the abstract concepts that some of the better curricula use (*cough* Singapore *cough*) for problem-solving and it basically turned my son into an intense math-hater. If I could do over again, I would've just used some living math books and let him play with the C-rods.

 

This is me too. I pushed her SO HARD in Kindergarden to do 1st grade work and could not see that she just was not developmentally ready. :(

 

2. My 3rd and 4th children will not even know what "language arts" is until 4th grade. Before that, we're focusing on phonics and writing a good sentence.

 

We are doing both, but not at all like a classical education where Language Arts is concerned. Overloading her on reading would have one outcome: Losing her attention.

 

 

 

[PachiSusan]

Yes, mostly. I mean, they would still rather play video games and read fan fics all day, but they are VERY happy to be homeschooling instead of going to school. I will probably send the younger one back for high school, though. the older one will be going to community college soon enough . ..

 

 

That's my daughter. IF she could be on Pixie Hollow and play Minecraft all day she'd be so happy!!! LOL

[kristinannie]

I went back to some of my original goals and intents and I realized something: That which brought me into the idea of home education is the part of the curriculum that is bothering me the most now! LOL

 

I wanted a Catholic immersion curriculum to teach my daughter that God is in ALL our lives, not just an hour on Sundays or something we profess but don't live. Now I am finding that I'm skipping a lot of the religious aspects of the books.

 

This was a big surprise to me.

 

Have you run across any such surprising revelations in your journey?

 

ETA to be clear about one aspect: I am not against Seton and how they teach and what they teach. We are still fully on board. I have just been realizing that I don't need to have a religious art lesson in Math...or do an art project and have it be religiously themed. We still fully do their religion courses - I find for us they are the best, bar none Catholic preparation for life. Melissa still enjoys it tremendously and asks to do it. :)

 

I understand exactly what you mean. I want our faith to be a huge priority, but I also don't feel the need to discuss religious imagery during math. :closedeyes: I don't use Seton so I can't comment exactly. However, it has to be good for her to constantly see these images even if you don't discuss them. I have found that the best ways to incorporate our faith into our learning are these (and I am also Catholic):

 

Follow the liturgical year. We celebrate a few saint's days each month. These threads are AWESOME. Also, I have a liturgical year cookbook and use this website. We read picture books about the saint or a story about them in a compilation.

 

Go to daily Mass. We only have daily mass 2-3 times a week so I try to go when they have it.

 

Family prayer. We try to pray a decade of the rosary or some other prayer every night (but it happens more like 3 times a week). We also pray the Angelus at noon daily.

 

We read a lot of the Neumann Press books and other stories about Saints.

 

 

 

I think you were trying to do something else with this post so here is my real answer. :lol: One of the things I am realizing after two years of homeschooling is that I am pretty much completely rejecting the school model. I was expecting this at all. I do an almost completely CM homeschool (and classical). I even have some unschoolish leanings which really, really surprises me. :eek:

[Lori D.]

I've also done some 360s... Edited to say: Maybe I'm doing 180s, not 360s. See how great my geometry is?

 

 

 

 

LOL! I just thought you meant homeschooling had you spinning in circles. :tongue_smilie: Wait till you move up to the "X Game" level of homeschooling in another year or two and find you're pulling 720s and more... :laugh:

 

(just feeling silly today!)

[PachiSusan]

I think you and I are very similar to each other in approach to God. We do many of those things and we basically want M. to know that God is in all that we do, whether overtly or covertly. :) I will check out those links - I'm always up for something new!!

 

And hey, how do you make your links actual words and not the web address?

 

 

I understand exactly what you mean. I want our faith to be a huge priority, but I also don't feel the need to discuss religious imagery during math. :closedeyes: I don't use Seton so I can't comment exactly. However, it has to be good for her to constantly see these images even if you don't discuss them. I have found that the best ways to incorporate our faith into our learning are these (and I am also Catholic):

 

Follow the liturgical year. We celebrate a few saint's days each month. These threads are AWESOME. Also, I have a liturgical year cookbook and use this website. We read picture books about the saint or a story about them in a compilation.

 

Go to daily Mass. We only have daily mass 2-3 times a week so I try to go when they have it.

 

Family prayer. We try to pray a decade of the rosary or some other prayer every night (but it happens more like 3 times a week). We also pray the Angelus at noon daily.

 

We read a lot of the Neumann Press books and other stories about Saints.

 

 

 

I think you were trying to do something else with this post so here is my real answer. :lol: One of the things I am realizing after two years of homeschooling is that I am pretty much completely rejecting the school model. I was expecting this at all. I do an almost completely CM homeschool (and classical). I even have some unschoolish leanings which really, really surprises me. :eek:

 

[Gentlemommy]

When I first started researching HS, I knew we would be Delight/Interest Led Learners. We'd have lots of great books, we'd do unit studies, I got Konos, we would do a ton of hands on stuff, projects, we'd spend hours outside, hours reading, I wouldn't worry about a scope and sequence, I wouldn't worry about what the 'other' kids her age were learning...

Somewhere, somehow I lost my way. :-( I became all about the rat race, keeping up, doing more, more, more. My poor dd. she is NOT an academic kid. She would LOVE to learn in the way I was intending to do school from the begining. My fear and pride got in the way. Just this January, I made some big changes in how we HS, and it's slowly getting back to the original vision. It's not there yet, and who know? Perhaps I'll never have that idyllic HS I was envisioning. However, it is my goal to work toward that. To stop worrying so much about where everyone else is, and start meeting MY dd where SHE is.

[PachiSusan]

When I first started researching HS, I knew we would be Delight/Interest Led Learners. We'd have lots of great books, we'd do unit studies, I got Konos, we would do a ton of hands on stuff, projects, we'd spend hours outside, hours reading, I wouldn't worry about a scope and sequence, I wouldn't worry about what the 'other' kids her age were learning...

Somewhere, somehow I lost my way. :-( I became all about the rat race, keeping up, doing more, more, more. My poor dd. she is NOT an academic kid. She would LOVE to learn in the way I was intending to do school from the begining. My fear and pride got in the way. Just this January, I made some big changes in how we HS, and it's slowly getting back to the original vision. It's not there yet, and who know? Perhaps I'll never have that idyllic HS I was envisioning. However, it is my goal to work toward that. To stop worrying so much about where everyone else is, and start meeting MY dd where SHE is.

 

 

I'll have to look up KONOS - I have seen that a lot here.

 

I lost my way too...you sound very much like me! I have always wanted to be more like this but never felt I could do it - that I needed someone else's creativity. I'm learning I have quite a lot more than I thought I ever did!

[DianeW88]

I second the Konos recommendation. Hands down, the best curriculum I've ever used in my 18 years of homeschooling.