A Really Good Read: Creative Homeschooling

In trying to find some resources to deal with the challenges of teaching my kids, I came across a great book in the library: Creative Homeschooling: A Resource Guide for Smart Families by Lisa Rivero. Wow. This is a book I could have used a long time ago--even before I started homeschooling. Now, though, having homeschooled for 5 months, I felt like this book was copying my thoughts word for word and it expresses, in a nutshell, why homeschooling is working so well for us--and I'm only on page 15!

Some of the things that really hit home were the decreasing enthusiasm and interest in learning for the author's intelligent son, trying to help gifted kids fit in with their peers, trying to get resources for gifted kids in schools, concerns about support and resources for gifted kids who are homeschooled, understanding special educational needs of gifted kids and on and on. The list of qualities of gifted kids really hit home with me and sounded all too familiar and highlighted my insecurities about whether I am able to meet the educational needs of my kids.

The difference between "gifted" kids and "smart" kids was outlined, with the advantage given to "smart" kids. Gifted kids see and experience the world differently and oftentimes have a harder time fitting in; 'smart' kids, on the other hand, have 'optimal intelligence' and have the social abilities to more easily fit in with other kids and use their intelligence. So I look at the continuum of where my kids are at and use sensitivity to tailor their education to their needs.

Thus the optimal education for the moment: homeschooling. Right now the kids are getting some great advantages to being homeschooled, and the advantages are outweighing the disadvantages. I am hoping that, being the teacher type, I will continue to refine my skill in providing them with an optimal education situation. My bottom line values, though, are not just of being 'smart' or 'educated', though those are certainly worthy goals. Learning to contribute positively to our human family and the world is vital. Teaching the kids to do things with love and passion is deeply important, and no matter what someone's intelligence level, if they don't do that it seems like life would be an empty shell.

Getting Ahead

Last week my daughter finished her math book--one of those big, fat 3 inch thick ones. She did every single problem in the book. At the beginning of the year I tried to convince her to do, say, every other problem, but no, she insisted on doing every single problem of every single chapter because "that's what Bill made us do." Every single problem got checked and corrected. Every review and test was taken.

This happens to be the same textbook the kids in her class are using, and it will take them the entire school year to get through it. Aurora loves math, and I am glad she can move right along. But it brings me face to face with one of the reasons she brought up last April as to why she might not want to be homeschooled. As we began to explore the possibility of homeschooling, Aurora said, "But what if I get so far ahead and then I have to go back to school and do it over again? That will be boring." That was one of the few concerns she had that I didn't address, saying that "We'll deal with that when it happens." We don't have long-term plans as to whether we will homeschool or head back to the brick and mortar school, so I guess I still can't answer that question. It certainly is a valid concern. Many conscientious homeschoolers find that they are far ahead of their in-school counterparts. And after experiencing the freedom of learning independently and at their own pace, it can be difficult to "slow down" to the pace and level of the classroom.

I struggle with this question. I don't have answers, but I also trust that we are building a good foundation for our kids to learn, not just in school but in life. If school proves unsatisfying educationally, we now have the tools and initiative to seek other sources of challenge.

Collaborative Efforts

In planning the next semester, I offhandedly mentioned to Denver that maybe Clayton, a next door neighbor boy the same age as Denver who is also homeschooled, might like to do the simple machines and chemistry activities with him.  Denver's face lit up with such excitement at the thought of doing activities with a friend that I felt a twinge of regret that I haven't organized such activities for him before now.

For those who think the life of homeschoolers is a quiet, sedate pace, think again.  Constant enrichment activities and field trips are blended into the day along with the normal daily activities of exercise, eating, chores and more.  I have found it amazingly difficult to connect with other homeschooling mom's and their kids for activities.  We all seem to have some level of desire to connect, but our days have a structure to them just like any classroom, and to a degree we are loathe to break the routine too much.

I happened to run into a mom at the library who was checking out all the Egypt books they had, and we emailed back and forth to figure out a time and day to meet and plan some collaborative ancient civilizations activities for our daughters who are the same age.  Finally it got pushed back to January:  after the holidays.

Another family was recommended to my son for collaborative activities, and coincidentally we met them in kayaking class a few weeks back.  Apparently they have been travelling all fall and are finally home.  We'll be swapping emails this week at the last kayaking class and then the dance to coordiate schedules will begin.

Ultimately, I hope to more along these lines, but it is a delicate balance of finding other kids whose personalities, learning styles and interests match.  With homeschooling this process can take time, but I suspect that once we find those other families it will be a little bit easier.  We begin to meet people when we're out and about and find out which ones are homeschooled and would be interested in daytime activities.  Proximity makes a difference of course, not that "the other side of Homer" is all that far away (15-20 min.).  Meanwhile, we will continue to get out there and seek out other kids who would enjoy group activities.