I mentioned in my last post that I first learned about homeschooling in the nineties from a family that I was close to. This family's method could best be described as either relaxed homeschooling, or even unschooling. The majority of their eight kids were either in high school or college when I met them.
What really impressed me about this family was how sure of themselves their kids were. They weren't worried about things like popularity and cliques but in forming real friendships with people. They had relationships with people of all ages, young and old. They were inquisitive and opinionated. They were strong in their faith and it was with this family's help that I first began to consider that Christianity wasn't something that made you dull. It was something that made you alive.
Going over to their house in the middle of the weekday was always an adventure. People came and went, talked, debated, argued, and often someone would burst into song while washing the dishes. The family prayed daily and I saw how faith and learning could be integrated into everyday life.
Everytime I hear someone make the socialization argument against homeschooling I laugh thinking of this family. You'd be hard pressed to find more socialized kids than the ones in this family. They had church friends, friends from the community college classes they took, work friends, camp friends, choir friends, friends from the neighborhood. It was not uncommon for this family of ten to have fifteen or sixteen people at dinner, typically friends of the kids.
My next exposure to what homeschooling could mean was when I met a girl in my creative writing class at the local community college. She was a high schooler who'd taken a year off from formal school to read and study literature.
The idea that you could take a year and read a bunch of books was amazing to me. It made perfect sense, too. Why not? Why not encourage kids to delve into a subject that fascinates them? Whether it be poetry or biology, it seems to me that I'd much rather have my kid loving what they are learning rather than fading out in the middle of algebra class. As I was wont to do.
My third introduction to what homeschooling might look like in a family of younger kids came when I worked as a mother's helper for a family with five young children one summer.
These children were homeschooled in the traditional method using curriculum like A Beka and Rod and Staff, as well as unit studies. They had a beginning time and an ending time for lessons. Some of the children had dyslexia and one had CP. Their mother used to be a Special Ed teacher and was able to give her kids the individual attention they needed.
She also introduced me to the idea that there is no specific relationship between grade, age, and ability. Her eight year old son might be at fourth grade in science, first grade in handwriting, third grade in reading, and sixth grade in math. The kids were able to work at their own pace, in their own time. They weren't forced to work on something above or below their ability just because they were eight and supposed to be in third grade.
Another thing I learned from this dynamic woman was about the concept of multiple intelligences and different ways of learning. Her dyslexic kids might struggle with reading a lesson, but they would thrive and learn from videotapes and books on tape. The kids would do hands on activities, too. So, I learned about auditory, verbal, visual, and hands on learners.
What I took from these encounters is that there is no one right way to homeschool. There is only the right way for your family, the right way for your child.
