Once a Wounded Lily, Now a Desert Rose has a number of questions regarding homeschooling. In fact, most of her entry is a list of questions for homeschoolers. Before I get to that, however, I wanted to share what initially attracted me to her blog:

I love the Lord with all my heart and since I am suffering from a form of dementia, I find blogging challenging…

It hasn’t been easy to admit what is happening physically and mentally as well as emotionally now. I have a 2% short term memory right now. I decided to turn it into something positive. I can read a book, wait a few weeks, and reread it.

Grace, faith and a touch of humor. She sounds like someone I might like to meet someday. And now for my answers to her questions:

Do you know children who have moved on to public education and did not have a problem or do you know kids who have been left behind?

No. I know one family who put their children into a private school after a hectic year of serious illnesses (near constant hospitalizations). Mom was worn out and certain the kids were behind. They weren’t. They were all ahead and the teachers remarked on their vocabulary. She resumed homeschooling the next year.

One thing to consider when looking at homeschooled children who re-enter the public school system behind: homeschooling may not have been working out for them very well, but the parents noticed. And sent their children to school. This in no way means that the many children who never end up back in school are struggling to the same extent. Homeschooling is by its nature self-selecting because good parents are not going to continue doing something that isn’t working for their children. The stakes are too high.

How do you fee you are doing at homeschooling?

Wow. A self-report. I was feeling sort of like I was muddling through this last semester, but an unexpected book sale in Omaha seems to have recharged me a little. Actually, I have far too much to say on that topic. That, perhaps, is best saved for a post of its own for anyone who wants to check back for the answer.

What challenges do you face?

Honestly, most of the challenges I face are those I construct myself. I measure myself against an ideal, which as I look back on it now, I’m not even sure how ideal it really is. But the biggest challenge this semester was my daughter’s diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis. I think, however, it would have been more of a challenge had she been enrolled in school. The medication she is currently taking compromises the immune system and she is not supposed to be around anyone who is sick. Like that can be controlled in a school environment.

What would you like to do differently?

I’d like to plan more and rush less.

Do you put the kid’s education first?

Yes. But I look at education as something much larger than reading, math and science. It is all that encompasses raising a child. As Webster’s 1828 dictionary says,

Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations.

How do you handle different ages? Do the little ones get help from the olders?

Interesting question. When I was only homeschooling my eldest, I looked with some anxiety on the future as my others toddled about the house. But then, I still sort of had it in my head that my daughter would be doing fourth grade work while my son would be doing kindergarten work. I had in my head that I would be teaching them separately…separate concepts from separate books with separate assignments. What have I discovered? My eldest doesn’t help the younger ones so much as they yearn to copy her. They virtually demand to be included. There is nothing which will get my son to clean a room faster than the promise of sitting down and doing math together. And there is nothing which will bring my three year old running faster than the sound of supplies being pulled out. For the most part, they do what Mouse (9) does but scaled to their ability. On our whaling study, for example, my daughter researched the right whale while my son dictated things he remembered from the book she had read out loud for me to write on his shape book and my three year old colored a picture of a right whale.

Most of the learning which takes place in the day we do as a family. And I have found the younger children to be actually more of a blessing than anything as their interest in what we do each day increases. My eldest still views homeschooling as something somewhat separate from the rest of what we do in the day and as an interruption to what she wants to do. For my younger children, however, it is all they have ever known and it is such a privilege to them to be included. Their enthusiasm can be infectious. Even to their older sister.

How do you keep from getting sidetracked?

I don’t. Actually, we have learned to take advantage of “getting sidetracked.” I used to resist and try to stick blindly to my plans. But when the lessons we undertake generate questions of their own, those questions should not be pushed aside in favor of the lesson plan. Time for exploration and to just linger on an interesting topic is one of the perks of homeschooling. As to the phone, the dog, the doorbell, the errands…well, it is all part of life. The biggest distractions around here are those first golden rays of Spring which warm the backyard and make it irresistible. I deal with that by sending the kids outside. Armed with notebooks, field guides and butterfly nets, we move our studies out of doors. Or mom just grabs a book and watches them play. There is value in both.

Do you have a school room?

No. And I don’t really want one. I do most of my teaching on the sofa with the baby and the three year old on my lap, a five year old on one side and my nine year old on the other. Or on the floor with four little heads peering at whatever model we are constructing. I like not having “school time” separate from family time and have no plans to change that.

Do you do things on the outside like field trips?

Lots of field trips! No matter what we are studying, we try to find things in our community to extend what we are learning. In fact, I have heard some people who do not really like the moniker “homeschooling” because so much of the learning occurs outside the home. Making these sorts of real world connections is another one of th advantages of homeschooling. Families have the time to really get involved with their communities.

Do you belong to a homeschool group?

Sort of. We used to belong more formally to an organization but it sort of disbanded. In the fall, we may try out a homeschool co-op where we will join with other homeschooling families on Fridays. For those of you involved in co-ops, I’d love to hear your perspective. They have always seemed like a great idea to me…a sort of “best of both worlds” kind of opportunity to keep learning a family affair while also benefiting from the experiences of other parents with differing talents and areas of expertise.

But that is all just my perspective. I know a couple of my readers generally have something to say about homeschooling. What are your thoughts on any or all of Desert Rose’s questions?

Note: Today at 1PM CST, the Activities Coordinator and I shall be hosting Home School Talk on the fascinating topic of pets and homeschooling.  Please be advised this is a mock show while I get used to the software, but you are more than welcome to drop in, share your pet stories and hang out in the chat room.

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