Serious feedback appreciated about an idea I would like to try

[Deece in MN]

I received an email a week or so ago and it was talking about a book called Education of a Wandering Man. It is Louis L'Amour's autobiography. After reading the email I was intrigued and asked my dh about the book (he is a L'Amour fan and I figured he would know about the book). Anyway, L'Amour dropped out of school at 15 and traveled around the country and the world. Everywhere he went he would always have good books with him to read.

 

So this got me thinking. I have always struggled a bit with our approach to hs'ing (I have posted about it before and yes, I do flip-flop a lot over this issue). I have always wanted to take a different path than the ps model, but I would always end up back to the ps model because that is what I know.

 

My idea is this:

Starting now, we will read this book as a family to (hopefully) be inspired. Then starting in Jan. we will do math and probably spanish because my dc are really enjoying that every day. Then the rest of our time will be spent reading good books, thinking, talking and writing. I will require everyone (dh and myself included) to write something daily. It can be about what we are reading, our day, our dreams, etc. it doesn't matter what we write about as long as we are writing. I am thinking I might find some pictures, questions or quotes to share and ponder and that could maybe be the catalyst for the days writing, things like that.

 

We also will read 1 book a month aloud as a family and use the information I learned from Teaching the Classics as a base for our discussion of the book. We also plan on taking day trips around our state (and possibly other close states) to get out and explore and experience.

 

This is the main idea I have. I am looking for some honest feedback. My thought is that it can't hurt them to spend a year reading good books and it might just give them the spark that lights their fire (especially for my ds). Am I looking at this with rose colored glasses or is it an idea worth persuing?

 

My dc are 14 and 12.

Thanks!

Edited November 5, 2008 by Deece in MN

[bumbledeb]

Sounds brilliant to me. I haven't read the book you mention although I did enjoy some Louis L'Amour as a teenager. I think the plan you outline cannot do any harm and may do a lot of good.

 

Have fun.

[Cheryl in NM]

This is the basis behind A Thomas Jefferson Education by Olive VanDemille. His idea is to read classics and learn from them. Learn about science and math from Aristotle, astronomy from Galileo, etc.

 

It's sound pretty cool. Good idea and good luck!

[Jean in Newcastle]

Are you going to evaluate the kids' writing in some way?

 

Do they have basic writing skills already?

 

Also - are you going to choose the books so that they get a balance of science, history and literature?

 

These are my first questions I would ask myself if I were doing this.

[Heather in the Kootenays]

It was on the recommendation of an academic friend of mine. I thought he was out of his mind but I recall loving the book.

 

I think I'll find it and give it to my 13 yo ds. Dh is potentially about to be laid off and my Plan B is to travel and learn for awhile. I say - Go for it.

[PineFarmMom]

 

My idea is this:

Starting now, we will read this book as a family to (hopefully) be inspired. Then starting in Jan. we will do math and probably spanish because my dc are really enjoying that every day. Then the rest of our time will be spent reading good books, thinking, talking and writing. I will require everyone (dh and myself included) to write something daily. It can be about what we are reading, our day, our dreams, etc. it doesn't matter what we write about as long as we are writing. I am thinking I might find some pictures, questions or quotes to share and ponder and that could maybe be the catalyst for the days writing, things like that.

 

 

My dc are 14 and 12.

Thanks!

 

I want to read this book now...or at least give it to my dad who is a huge Louis L'amoure fan. I think it sounds like a great education. We've made some changes in the past 2 years from what we were doing before, even though we are using a curriculum. Just changing to a literature approach has been brought such a change in my children's attitude towards learning. If we weren't so loving what we're doing, I could see taking the approach you're thinking of. My 13yo dd even admitted to me the other day that she feels she learns better writing from reading good authors. She was explaining to her younger brother that his writing would improve if he paid attention to how an author wrote in a certain book he was reading. I never told her that concept...she drew the conclusion on her own. Moving away from textbooks and being more practical just seems to make sense. I hope it goes well for you! :)

[ravengal]

I'm with you. My dc learn most when we stick to the basics. They have more zest for independent reading and exploration when they aren't bogged down in "doing school".

[Deece in MN]

Thanks, everyone, for the supportive comments. I needed to make sure that I wasn't being too unrealistic about my ideas as I tend to do that sometimes.

 

 

 

Are you going to evaluate the kids' writing in some way?

 

Do they have basic writing skills already?

 

Also - are you going to choose the books so that they get a balance of science, history and literature?

 

These are my first questions I would ask myself if I were doing this.

 

I also appreciate questions like this because they help me to think through my idea in a more refined way.

 

The daily journal writing will not be evaluated. I may request a more formal written response to a piece of writing or prompt randomly throughout the year, but that is not firm in my mind yet.

 

Yes, my dc have basic writing skills. Do they need improving? Yes, I am sure they do. But I am hoping that daily writing will help them with getting ideas on paper and finding their voice which is what I want to focus on for a while.

 

I will help them in choosing books by giving suggestions and recommendations. I think at first I want to see what they choose without interfering too much. If it seems they tend towards a certain genre too much or are not challenging themselves a bit, I will step in and help with books choices. We have already talked a bit about this. I want to focus on classics and good books. I have said that they can read a "mind candy" book periodically to rest their brains, but this will not be the norm. I am considering some guidelines, such as choosing 1 biography, 1 science related book, 1 math related book, 1 classic, 1 poetry, 1 historical fiction, etc. per month. I don't know that I want to dictate too much because I want them to own this as much as possible.

 

I am going to continue to ponder these questions and ideas. Thanks for bringing them up!

[PrairieAir]

This sounds like a wonderful idea--if you're disciplined enough to follow through with what you have in mind and not just slack off. I know a lot of homeschoolers (myself included) who would be let it all go too quickly without some sort of checklist of goals to accomplish daily, weekly, monthly, and for the duration. It could be a flexible list, but I would need some sort of framework to guide me.

 

Another thing to consider is whether or not your kids are ready for something like this right now. They should probably have a very solid grasp of the basics before they are ready to go to such an unstructured and self-guided method of learning. Without the basics in place, they may just feel lost and not really retain anything. With a solid foundation, it could be a tremendous experience.

 

Thanks for mentioning this book! I'm eager to read it myself, and I think it will be one of the books I buy for oldest ds for Christmas. He's a Louis L'Amour fan and who would love this style of learning.

[Chris in VA]

If you are going to do it, now's the time! It'll make a great college entrance essay! Keep a journal of your own experience, and the changes and challenges you discover, then publish it, that's what I say. "Homeschooling With Louis" or something like that! lol

[Deece in MN]

This sounds like a wonderful idea--if you're disciplined enough to follow through with what you have in mind and not just slack off. I know a lot of homeschoolers (myself included) who would be let it all go too quickly without some sort of checklist of goals to accomplish daily, weekly, monthly, and for the duration. It could be a flexible list, but I would need some sort of framework to guide me.

 

Another thing to consider is whether or not your kids are ready for something like this right now. They should probably have a very solid grasp of the basics before they are ready to go to such an unstructured and self-guided method of learning. Without the basics in place, they may just feel lost and not really retain anything. With a solid foundation, it could be a tremendous experience.

 

.

 

I am working on some type of goal/checklist at least for myself if not all of us because what you mention is a concern for me. I don't want to slack off part way into this, so I am working now to come up with a way for me to keep accountable.

 

I think my dc are ready. :) Or at least I hope they are as ready as I think. We will see what happens as we get into this. I don't think it will take long to find any weaknesses. :)

 

If you are going to do it, now's the time! It'll make a great college entrance essay! Keep a journal of your own experience, and the changes and challenges you discover, then publish it, that's what I say. "Homeschooling With Louis" or something like that! lol

 

Oh, I didn't think of the college entrance essay. Thanks! I do plan to keep a journal during this adventure. I am debating between a blog and a notebook and pen. I'll keep the publishing idea in mind. :)

[bumbledeb]

When you get it all figured out, I'd love to read the details of what you do and how it goes.

[SapphireStitch]

When you get it all figured out, I'd love to read the details of what you do and how it goes.

:iagree::iagree:

 

This is the kind of schooling I wish I had been able to pull off with my DD, but I kept getting caught up in the obstacles. Now with DS I'm working on laying the foundation of phonics, early grammar, math skills, and handwriting. He's not to the point of being able to learn from his reading just yet, but I could see this happening in a few years.

 

This is a fascinating idea...and I'll be checking my library to try to find L'Amour's book!

[Ellie]

What a wonderful idea!

 

And whichever way it goes, whether you change courses midstream and become less structured/focussed or decide you were crazy to consider it in the first place:D, the time you spend will have been valuable.

 

Be prepared for people to go off on tangents. One of the things I read when I was first considering hsing was a letter in John Holt's Growing Without School, where a mother said that her dd had started out reading L'Amour westerns, began to wonder what life was like in the "Old West," and did research on that, which lead to an interest in Early American history and more research (which 25 years ago meant, you know, actually going to the library). At the time of the letter, the dd was memorizing the Declaration of Independence all on her own.

[cathmom]

I have always thought that I would have been better off if instead of going to high school, I just stayed home and read and wrote! I think this sounds great!

 

Is your dh on board?

 

Oh, and thanks for mentioning that book! I will give it to my father for Christmas!

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

Great ideas- I am doing this in a round about way! We just returned from Italy, Greece and Turkey. That was the model I used to prepare. It was amazing experience (its all up on my blog). I did the same thing with Amer History last year. I just work in the characters, the location, the biographies, the geography etc. I feel we are learning a lot. Good luck!