homeschool

Why Do You Homeschool? Making Time for Journaling

April 12, 2016 by Justin

We’re now on the fourth post in our series titled “Why Do You Homeschool?” We’ve been talking with Deborah, a mom who homeschooled four children, about some of the advantages of homeschooling.

Deborah mentioned what a blessing it was that homeschooling allowed her family time to journal regularly, so I asked her to tell us more about that. Here’s what she said:

“Journaling is such a wonderful tool if used properly. It teaches a number of skills that are needed in any child’s education—from handwriting, spelling, and punctuation to thoughtful creative skills.

“Because we were fairly structured in our homeschooling, journaling was simply part of our ‘school day’ once a week.

“This all got started because of the journal entry section in the BJU Press spelling curriculum. The purpose was to have the child use some of the spelling words in the suggested topic. These entries were never graded, but I would always answer their journals briefly, using any words that they might have misspelled. It was never meant to critique their writing or thought processes.

“The journal entry does not have to be more than a couple of sentences sometimes. I required at least five sentences from my kids while in school. If the suggested topic (in the spelling text) did not seem to fit, I chose the question/topic. On occasion the kids would suggest something to write about. Some topics were simply fun ones; others were more serious in nature. Because it was accepted simply as part of the lesson and was not a long assignment, there was never an argument from any of them when it came time to write.

“The kids loved reading journals from years past. Often it generated laughter and discussion of family trips, events, and situations. It gave great opportunity to talk about God’s active presence in our lives individually and as a family. Many truths were fleshed out over time as the family bonded.

“Of course, the most vivid memory for them is sharing favorite times with their dad—our hikes and camping trips, his jokes and all the fun times he brought to our home. Often we talked about the topic, and the older kids would share something their youngest sibling did not remember about her dad. It brought healing to our broken hearts and cemented precious memories.

“Today my kids are better than I am when it comes to journaling because they were taught from the get-go how important it is to put your thoughts into writing and to do so clearly. They learned that discipline early on. I can’t emphasize enough how life-changing this practice can be if nurtured. The memories chronicled, the joys and heartaches revealed, and the lessons from the Lord written down to revisit years later are all invaluable.”

Has homeschooling made a blessing like this possible for your family? Let us know in the comments below!

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Remember These Dates in April

March 31, 2016 by Meredith

Welcome to the month where some say “April showers bring May flowers.” Whether or not that statement about the weather is true where you live, we can celebrate the literary emphasis that April brings.

For starters, it’s National Poetry Month. A poem presents us with a different way of thinking about a topic. The writer’s (or narrator’s) meaning is not always apparent on the first reading, and this can be frustrating to young readers. That was the case for me. But poetry is a valuable and symbolic way of communicating to others. During my homeschool years, Mom introduced me to this literary genre using Favorite Poems Old and New, a collection of poems for children. My favorite was “Puppy and I” by A. A. Milne. Take time this month to read poetry out loud with your kids and introduce them to the forms and types of poetry.

April 10–16 celebrates National Library Week, and the 2016 theme is “Libraries Transform.” Take time to visit your local library and check out a book for free. The local library opened up a world of learning for me as a child not only because of the books I was able to read but also because of the workers who dedicated their time. Involve your family in doing a random act of kindness for a librarian.

April 1

The origin of April Fool’s Day is uncertain, but we all know that now this date is associated with fun, lighthearted practical jokes. Plan a comedy night family fun night with ideas from Kim at Not Consumed. Watch out, or else the joke might be on you!

April 5

Booker T. Washington was born this day in 1856. As a young man, he had the opportunity to attend a school where he learned to read and write as well as how to contribute to the value of society as a whole through industrial means. Later on Washington used the principles he learned to develop the Tuskegee Institute, a training place for teachers. Learn more of his life and work in this fast facts video.

April 14

Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language was registered with the copyright office on this day in 1828. This book helped standardize the spelling of “American” words and supported many definitions with examples of the word’s use in the Bible. Webster learned twenty-six languages to complete this dictionary. As a child, I had the opportunity to visit Noah Webster’s childhood home in West Hartford, Connecticut. Their website includes a kid’s corner with activities to do with your children.

April 24

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into space in 1990. It has allowed scientists to observe objects in space without interference from conditions in earth’s atmosphere. As this telescope orbits the earth, it provides clear, colorful images that add to our understanding of the Milky Way Galaxy. Interpreting what these images show us depends on our worldview of how everything came to be. Show your family these images of space taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Why Do You Homeschool? Teaching from the Heart

March 29, 2016 by BJU Press Writer

Last week we introduced you to homeschool mom Deborah and told you that in the coming weeks we would be revealing her top five reasons to homeschool. Today, let’s take a look at the first of those reasons—teaching from the heart.

Think back to when you were a student, however close or far away that might seem. If I asked you to give me the name of a teacher who really taught from the heart, could you do it?

What are some qualities that teacher possessed? Did he really make learning “come alive”? Did she inspire you to be what you are today? Did he encourage you to follow God? No matter what your reasons are, I think we could probably all agree on one thing in particular: that teacher cared.

As a parent, you know more about your children than any other teacher could. Not only do you care about their education, but you also care about their hearts, their futures, and their walk with the Lord. In Deborah’s words, “The ability to guide a child’s heart is precious. I looked at homeschooling not just as a time of learning academics but a time of teaching life skills and strong character traits based on biblical truths.”

It’s no secret that secular ideas have pushed the Bible out of many schools. As a result, spirituality is no longer a goal worth striving for; morality will do. In some cases, “what is best for me” is even substituted for what’s moral. As a parent, you want your kids to do the right thing, but more than that, you want them to do it for the right reasons. All parents hope their children will become productive members of society, but as Christians, that’s not enough. We should pray for them and guide them to become champions for God’s kingdom.

Homeschooling your children allows you to address issues of the heart on your own terms. There’s no competition between what you teach at home and what’s taught in the classroom since they are one and the same.

As a parent, you are the ultimate caring teacher.

What are your reasons for homeschooling? We would love to hear from you!

Read more of Deborah’s motivations for homeschooling.

• • • • •

A Creative Writing graduate of Bob Jones University, Hannah worked for BJU Press for almost nine years as a writer and proofreader. Currently a coffee barista and freelance writer, she also tutors one student in French. While Hannah herself was not homeschooled, her experience in tutoring and teaching violin have shown her how beneficial one-on-one education can be. She hopes to homeschool her own kids someday.

Why Do You Homeschool?

March 22, 2016 by Justin

Ask homeschool parents the question, “Why do you homeschool?” and you’ll get a lot of different answers. Sometimes they are standard, but other times they include reasons I’ve never thought of before. One story in particular stood out to me.

Meet Deborah, a mom who homeschooled all four of her kids through the elementary grades. Her homeschool journey, like that of most homeschool parents, was filled with challenges and triumphs, but what holds true is the constant presence of God’s grace. I’ll let her take it from here.

“My husband and I met at college in South Carolina. Our plan after graduation was for my husband to assist in a church in Maine or one of the other New England states. Realizing there might be no good Christian school in the area, we decided to begin homeschooling our children.

“Plans changed. I was diagnosed with colon cancer, so that put things on hold. The Lord was merciful. The summer of my five-year cancer-free mark, we took a survey trip to New England. We camped in central Maine and traveled from there to different areas. We came home excited about the possibilities.

“But God closed doors, and we never made it to New England. My husband was diagnosed with ALS. You don’t always see the ‘whys,’ but at that time I saw why we needed to stay in South Carolina—to continue homeschooling during his illness and to be near our family as well as our wonderful church family.

“The kids were a great comfort and help throughout his illness. God extended our time together as a family. Homeschooling helped us all grow through the experience. My husband passed away two and a half years later. We were able to build close relationships. I cherish those days—probably more than my kids did.”

Today Deborah’s children are grown and have been blessed with rewarding careers as a pilot, a missionary teacher, a business professional, and an artist. Deborah believes the Lord led her to homeschool because it allowed her to spend time with her family, to develop the unbreakable bonds she shares with her children today, and to build the eternal relationship they all share with the Lord Jesus Christ.

There’s a lot more to Deborah’s homeschool story. Each week for the next five weeks, we’ll be sharing some of the motivations that kept her going through those homeschooling years, many of them as a single parent.

We hope you’ll share some of your own reasons for homeschooling as well, to serve as a testimony of God’s wonderful grace and inspiration to other parents.

Staying on Course with Homeschool Organization

February 18, 2016 by Guest Writer

tall ship sailing — © iStockphoto.com/FransDekkers

As a homeschooled kid, I thought very little about the amount of time and effort it took for my mom to keep everything organized. The concept only entered my mind when a new “school cabinet” showed up in our basement or living room and quickly filled up with books and DVDs, or when I saw my mom sitting at the kitchen table, notebooks and schedules spread out before her, like a ship’s captain consulting star charts and plotting the right course. With three kids, it took organization and discipline to make it all happen. Add in another child, or two or three, and homeschooling really gets complicated. Here are a few tips for keeping your little sailors and their school gear shipshape.

Color-Coding

Organization begins with stowing the books and supplies. My mom used a large cabinet with double doors and plenty of shelves, but other moms use cubbies, bookcases, drawers, and wall shelving─anything that can conveniently store a lot of books and educational items. To make it easier on you and on the kids, assign each child his or her own shelves, drawers, bins, or cubbies. Try color-coding these storage spaces using labels and the children’s names. The colors allow little ones to identify their supplies, even if they cannot read yet.

Of course, you also have those miscellaneous supplies that everyone needs─markers, pens, pencils, glue, scissors, sticky notes, folders, and paper. A separate cabinet or desk, placed in an accessible spot in your homeschool area, can house these “common use” items.

Using a Planner

Many textbooks and teacher’s manuals come with planning aids, and detailed homeschool planners are available online or in notebook format, depending on the style that is most comfortable for you. Before the beginning of the school year, set aside ample time to go through the kids’ upcoming subjects and create a plan for each child and every school day, right through the first month. It’s time-consuming but much less stressful in the long run. Of course, you can adjust your planner as you go along until you have a schedule that works well for everyone.

Teaching in Shifts

Homeschooling a mix of grade levels offers the potential for teaching independence and self-motivation. Using homeschool DVDs or online videos helps immensely here since you can start the older children with their lessons and check in on them periodically to keep them on track and to answer questions. Meanwhile, you can focus on the little ones who don’t yet have the attention span or the learning skills to take on a lesson by themselves. For instance, phonics and reading with a couple of the younger children happens while middle grade and high school kids are busy watching their video lessons.

If you don’t use video lessons, simply set up the older children in a quiet corner of the house with their reading assignments and then talk through the concepts with them later while the little ones are busy with worksheets. Work together on fun activities such as art, music, math manipulatives, and science experiments.

Knowing When to Flex

Many moms find that allowing their kids a little flexibility within the overall schedule works wonders. For example, Sophia may want to do math first and then science, rather than vice versa. If it doesn’t negatively affect anyone else’s schooling, Mom allows her that freedom to switch the two subjects. That way, Sophia is more engaged and interested in her work, and she gains a sense of responsibility for making that decision. It doesn’t change her assignment─ it just improves her mindset.

Motivating the Sailors─and the Captain

Whining and wailing about the workload happens in every homeschool, but it can really sap a mom’s patience. With a combination of consequences and rewards, you can keep wayward sailors in line and stay the course for a successful homeschool day. If Jackson doesn’t finish his math assignment within the allotted time, it goes on the “evening work” pile and the schedule moves on to the next assignment. Jackson─and his siblings─quickly realize that the more they accomplish during school hours, the less they have to do later.

At the end of the day, not every pencil may find its way back to the pencil holder, and a couple of history pages may still be unread. What matters is the moments when their eyes light up with understanding, when they randomly give you a squeeze around the neck and a kiss on the cheek, or when they bend over a younger sibling and say, “Let me teach you what I learned.”

• • • • •

Rebecca is a work-at-home freelance writer, novelist, wife, and the mom of two bright-eyed little ones. She credits her success in writing and her love of books to her own mom, who homeschooled three kids from pre-K through high school.