I'm Blowing My Cover...

Ok, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Homeschooling isn't that hard. There. I've said it... Because I generally get two typical responses when I tell someone that we homeschool... total admiration and awe... or shock and fright. It's probably because people tend to either think I'm saint with an abnormal amount of patience, or a freak who chooses to set herself up for a life of torture...Neither of which is true...Hmmm, or maybe a little of both I suppose...?

No, really, it's not that big of a deal. Not that I take my kids' education lightly by any means, it's just that our "methods" are quite simple. We read. A LOT. And we do some other stuff too of course, but the main focus of our learning is reading. We love books. Whole books... not those yucky, bland, watered down, condensed versions otherwise known as "textbooks" ...*blah*... Now that is what I call torture!! I tried using all of the "curriculum" our first year, and was ready to call it quits after 2 months! And then it dawned on me...it wasn't the school work that was so terrible, it was the "books" we were using! When I finally got the courage to venture away from the "grid", and pursue the interests of my ever so curious son, everything really fell into place for us. So every day we get out a few different books... one for literature, one for science, one for history...and we read. It's amazing how much fun it is to learn when the material is written by someone who really loves what they are writing about...the passion is contagious! And writing is simple, he writes about what he reads. Novel idea, I know. I'm quite creative that way...And tests are basically unnecessary because you retain nearly all of the information when you are reading a great book that is actually *ahem* INTERESTING!! Now, I already know what you're thinking, "How do you know that he's learning everything that he needs to know for the xx grade?". Well, that's why God made my favorite little workbook called, "Brain Quest". It has every topic, broken down by every subject, at each grade level, in one easy to use workbook. So we never miss a beat! The lessons are short and to the point with no busy work required. And since I am the teacher, and he's in my care, oh, 24 hours a day, it's pretty easy to make sure that he's retaining the information and actually understanding it. We do have a few different math workbooks to choose from too, since there is little reading involved in that subject. I guess variety would be the overriding theme in my approach...

See? I told you. Simpler than it appears, I know. No magic, really. Just a passion to learn that I hope carries over to all of my children through out the next 10 to 15 years. Not that I've always had this flame inside of me; it only started when I began seeing everything through the eyes of my children. Because even though I was a very good student, I basically only taught myself how to be a good test taker. You remember, memorize the bold print just long enough to fill in the blanks on the test then let all of that "boring" information drain out of your brain like an overflowing dam... As if there was something more important to fill that empty space. Of course I did learn some things obviously, I am writing this... and I can balance a checkbook...but ask me about dates in history or pretty much anything in science and I draw a blank like a lot of people. Unless of course it's something I've read with my second grader...then I can give you every detail. I actually think I've learned more in my 2 1/2 years with him than in all of my 12 years in school and 5 years earning my bachelor's degree!! Because like my wise, insightful, homeschooling-mom friend once told me..."It's not what you can teach your kids that makes you a great homeschooling parent; It's what you're willing to learn with them..."