- Hi, This question is long, but it is very, very important to me. What is it about home schooling for me? I keep circling the mindset like it is gold. I want to be the first teacher. I want to also be a great homework helper. I want to teach sometimes on vacations, long ones away from public schools. I want to help by helping teach the lessons from a public edu and not by putting pressure. I want to be a great mother. I am on a re-locating journey and the next stop for the next 3-5 years is going to be a great walkable town/city. San Francisco is a high possibility, or even a classy town like Pittsford, NY that has an amazing library and totally walkable with Rochester a quick ride away with #7 of the best children’s museum in the country (we have been…the library allows coffee & sells it!) After that I am thinking we will settle somewhere, not sure if I will be there then, but I am thinking ahead to a great amazing high school. So, I guess I am really out there; I want to unschool my children by walking them around a place that is really great, I also want to follow some sort of learning habit with lessons that will have them sitting still & gaining skills & I am thinking of adding a Montessori curriculum to the life school we have going on here, & I also am wanting some homeschooling teaching guidance….but I am really scared of the last through any old books. I want something with heart, cognitive science & child development psychology. (Child Dev Psy was my favorite in college! I studied Biology.)
I recently took my 3 year old away from an expensive & sort of great Montessori Pre-school. It was **great** for the emergency placement when my daughter was born needing TLC due to acid reflux (not gaining weight, needed tons of calm). It was an amazing blessing to us actually because I learned a method for home environment that has been blessing us daily! We do lots of home life things & I am finding my inner teacher, or at least the style for him. We are doing great at the type of lessons that come with routines, cooking, cleaning, but when ever I present anything learning like pre-school, i.e. cutting out shapes, tracing letters, I can tell things are rubbing off in a bad way :(. It is not something I am going to push into him & almost want to view him as a Waldorf child, but (I know this sounds so weird) I think some of the fairy tales are too scary for a 5 year old. I love teaching a happy world & life first & I am so hopeful & optimistic. I still teach feelings, but they are short lessons & I make up quickly & try not to dwell. See, I guess I am not a Christian but more of a "Love is my religion" type person & mother. I grew up in the Church called "Unity" not unitarian & they teach from almost all religions, usually & mostly all positive sermons. I add this in because I am not against any Christian Homeschooling lessons, but I will never clearly teach my child to study the bible as source... I hope any Christian moms are not offended. I teach my children to pray & about a loving God. My celebration of the home life being great & festive helps me direct the days pretty well! They seem to celebrate nature and child themed holidays. I would be open to a world religion class for toddlers that teaches a loving God outlook!!! We also go out during the week because I am also an outing lover & could even say I am a great "unschooling" mom (learn by experiences is the gist "unschooling") But I am still learning & I know I have tons to learn. It is not something I still am sure about doing, but I am sure I want to teach him to kindergarten because I love the outings soooo much! (& everything else! I love doing chores with kids now!) Re-location is going to be happening & the next two years I am trying to get us somewhere incredible & walkable for a "going out" kind of community & then I am going to try to relocate to a really great school system. I feel a bit intuitive that I really want to end up with a community school, a great school within a strong community. If anything happens to be outside of this..uhm, say we have to live in a RV for a little while searching for this sweet spot, or we end up in a school system I have a problem with, then I can whisk them away with exuberance because homeschooling is already in my bag! Care to help teach this mom a bit about homeschooling? I have a list of books available from my library below. Are any good or bad? Any body like me or even a few ways like me, I would love to hear from you! Again this is very important to me. Any ones I should read first, second, last?
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"But what about socialization?" : answering the perpetual home schooling question : a review of the literature /
by McDowell, Susan A.
100 top picks for homeschool curriculum : choosing the right curriculum & approach for your child's learning style /
by Duffy, Cathy.
Absolute beginner's guide to homeschooling /
by Miser, Brad.
Basic Montessori : learning activities for under-fives /
by Gettman, David.
The big book of home learning /
by Pride, Mary.
Essential homeschooling : everything you need to know to educate your child at home /
by Linsenbach, Sherri.
Everything your 1st grader needs to know /
by Tyle, Laura B.
Home schooling in full view : a reader /
by Cooper, Bruce S.
Home sweet homeschool : a survivor's guide to giving your kids a quality education /
by Maakestad, Sue.
Homeschool your child for free /
by Gold, LauraMaery., Zielinski, Joan M.
Homeschooling : a family's journey /
by Millman, Gregory., Millman, Martine.
Homeschooling : a research-based how-to manual /
by Clements, Andrea D., 1961-
Homeschooling : take a deep breath--you can do this! /
by Bittner, Terrie Lynn, 1959-
Homeschooling and the voyage of self-discovery : a journey of original seeking /
by Albert, David H.
The homeschooling book of lists /
by Leppert, Michael., Leppert, Mary.
Homeschooling FAQS : 101 questions every homeschooling parent should ask.
by LearningExpress (Organization)
Homeschooling methods : seasoned advice on learning styles /
by Suarez, Paul., Suarez, Gena.
How children learn at home /
by Thomas, Alan (Alan James), Pattison, Harriet.
How to raise an amazing child the Montessori way /
by Seldin, Tim, 1946-
Mary Pride's complete guide to getting started in homeschooling /
by Pride, Mary.
Montessori : the science behind the genius /
by Lillard, Angeline Stoll.
Montessori at home : a complete guide to teaching your preschooler at home using the Montessori method /
by Spietz, Heidi Anne, 1954-
Montessori from the start : the child at home, from birth to age three /
by Lillard, Paula Polk., Jessen, Lynn Lillard.
The Montessori method : scientific pedagogy as applied to child education in "The children's houses" with additions and revisions by the author /
by Montessori, Maria, 1870-1952., George, Anne E., Holmes, Henry W. (Henry Wyman), 1880-1960
Montessori play & learn : a parents' guide to purposeful play from two to six /
by Britton, Lesley.
Montessori read & write : a parents' guide to literacy for children /
by Lawrence, Lynne, 1954-
Montessori today : a comprehensive approach to education from birth to adulthood /
by Lillard, Paula Polk.
Raising curious, creative, confident kids : the Pestalozzi experiment in child-based education /
by Wild, Rebeca, 1939-
School starts at home : simple ways to make learning fun /
by Fuller, Cheri.
Teach me to do it myself : Montessori activities for you and your child /
by Pitamic, Maja.
Teaching Montessori in the home : the pre-school years /
by Hainstock, Elizabeth G.
Theories of childhood : an introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget and Vygotsky /
by Mooney, Carol Garhart.
The well-adjusted child : the social benefits of homeschooling /
by Gathercole, Rachel, 1973-
The well-trained mind : a guide to classical education at home /
by Bauer, S. Wise., Wise, Jessie.
Here are a few web sites to check out. If you are considering relocation, make sure you know what the laws are in the states you are considering. That has a big influence as well. I have homeschooled both my kids, now all grown up, in PA, and the law here is burdensome as it can be in other states as well.
The Home School Legal Defense association
www.hslda.com (National wide info)
Wow! You've exhausted this seasoned home schooling mom! You seem to be all over the place and struggling to figure out where to land.
Your son is just 3, right? For now, teach him the way you've been teaching him. One of my favorite preschool teachers wrote an article that I had posted on my website about teaching children through play. If you'd like me to send you a copy, let me know and I'm happy to pass it along.
There are sooo many ways to teach...you can teach him many things through music...ABC's, counting, just about anything you'd like to have him memorize can be found in music.
As for teaching a worldview, we are all blessed to live in a country that allows us to teach our children as we choose and worship or not worship as we choose.
Frankly, that is one of the reasons I home school. I enjoy spending time with my children, I enjoy teaching them what I think is important for them to learn, and I know from my experience teaching my two older daughters that it has paid off in ways I never expected. A few examples: Teenage years were not hostile. We had a peaceful home during the years when most parents are ready to give their kids away. My daughters and I had and have the best of relationships. I love being with them and they love being with me. I was the one they went to for advice, not their teenage friend who was struggling to figure out who she is. Our family is a family that loves to be together. After home schooling my two oldest all the way through high school, I am now repeating that experience with my youngest daughter.
You don't have to have it all figured out right now. Your list of books to read is overwhelming! If you truly want to read them all, make a commitment to yourself to read one every month.
A quick comment about socialization: Where in society do you EVER see adults in a controlled environment 6-7 hours a day 5 days a week with 20-30 other people all the same age interacting? The beauty of homeschooling is that my children can interact with adults, seniors, little children, etc. How many teenagers do you know who WANT to spend time with adults? Who enjoy smaller children? For us, home schooling has provided a far superior social experience than a private or public school setting did.
Whew! This ended up being longer than I planned, but I do wish you the best for your family.
I am an atheist and planning on home schooling my children. For me it is about letting them explore their interests and abilities to their fullest. The public schools cannot provide each child with the necessary resources and conditions to let them do that, so I am thinking I may home school. I also taught at the University level, and any students I had that were home schooled were so far ahead of their peers it wasn't even funny.
I also don't want my kids to be exposed to negative social interactions. We don't watch TV (save for the news and movies), and I don't want them to have to deal with all of that. My 2.5 year old thinks Dora is a character in a book and I'd like to keep it that way.
I have a friend that home schools, and she swears by the well-trained mind book. I think the "teach me to do it myself" book is a great intro to the Montessori method.
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J.L.
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A.F.
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Thanks for posting your question. You provided a lot of good books to look into. We are going to homeschool our kids. Our oldest is currently in first grade and every day she comes home and tells me what they did in school, she confirms it even more than public schools are a joke (and we are in a well-respected school district). We do more in our one hour family study time every night than she all day long.
I posted a question on here not too long ago about questions we had when we first started thinking about homeschooling. I wanted to share the responses I got in hopes there is some information that may help you.
I think you definitely have the right idea. We were just discussing this last night at our homeschool meeting. As a Christian it is more about Character. There is so much more to educating the child than just reading an math. Think about that when you think about the education of your child, but from your post it sounds like you already have. There is so much more that is involved when your a Christian Homeschooling mom. There is a whole lot more going into that little ones future. There is a tremendous amount of flexibility. You change things easily to suit the needs of your little or yourself.
hth
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H.S.
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we're reading Free Range Learning: How Homeschooling Changes Everything by Laura Grace Weldon. It's helping me realize (especially for my son) that we'd love to give our children the kind of experiences you're talking about. I'd definitely look into what requirements there are for each state you are planning on living in. TX is very homeschool friendly, but others, not so much. This website seems to have a lot of information, or at least direct you to where you need to go... http://homeschooling.about.com/ even goes into legalities and all that fun stuff.
Good luck in your journey. Thanks for the book list, I think I need to get on those too. :)
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S.T.
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you sound like a wonderful waldorf mom! you know your child best, read to him whatever books you think will suit him. i didn't hold back much from the fairy tales, but can't honestly remember at what age we explored the 'darker' ones. regardless, i think your kids are going to benefit from a wonderful childhood and i look forward to you posting more about your adventures here.
your book list is excellent, skim 'em and use 'em for ideas but don't expect to create your family philosophy whole cloth from any of them. your experience will be very uniquely yours. and many things you try will end up getting dropped, so don't worry if some efforts don't pan out. you have already learned how to put some montessori ideas at work in your house, just keep gleaning the world for that, for ideas that fit with your family.
you're going to be fine.
:) khairete
S.
