I get asked quite a bit, "Why have you chosen to home school your children?" Sometimes this question is asked out of genuine curiosity and sometimes it is asked out of defensiveness. I am always eager to share why we have made this choice as we seek to "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6). As our kids are drawing nearer to school age, I thought I would take some time to write down all of our "whys" and will therefore share some of those reasons on our blog. I hope you will enjoy reading my thoughts and will be able to see more of our hearts as well as a bit more into our home life.
As I start out with Part 1, it seems most fitting to start by describing an actual event that is a common type of day in our home and how we teach our children. I will not seek to answer the question, "Why do we home school our children?" in this post, but you will see quite a few answers start to develop.
Recently, Tim and the girls were working in our backyard together, and they were helping him rake leaves. They love being great helpers, and they love to please their Papa! When they finished in the yard for the afternoon, Tim told the girls that the next morning while he was at work he wanted them to each fill a red wagon full of sticks from our yard. When they completed this task they would each receive $3 from him.
They worked hard in the yard the next morning, and we even had a little competition going to see who could finish filling a wagon first. Hannah finished first and won a Hershey Hug as her prize. Meanwhile, Lauren praised Hannah for her hard work (they know well the verse, "Encourage one another and build each other up"). So, instead of Lauren being disappointed that she had not won the contest, she was excited for her sister. We have taught them not only to praise others but also to be excited for others when they win, such as in playing a board game. After Lauren finished picking up her sticks I treated them both to a little cup of vanilla yogurt on the back steps. But, this was only after I had "ooohed" and "ahhhed" over all the sticks they had picked up! :) They couldn't wait to show Tim the job they had accomplished when he got home and also to receive the money that he had promised them.
Then, the next morning there were quite a few garage sales in our neighborhood. We took the girls to 5 different sales, and they had a great time shopping with the $3 they had earned. They bought baby dolls, purses, stuffed animals, a baby doll stroller, and even had money left over. During the sales they had to interact with the sellers because if they wanted to buy something it was up to them to talk and negotiate and purchase what they wanted. I was looking at other things and could totally trust them to do their own "business," plus we want them to know how to interact with people of all ages and not just rely on Papa and Mama to communicate for them. In order to do business, they used their knowledge of money that we have been working on together at home. They each had a bunch of change as well as a $1 bill that all added up to $3. They couldn't always make exact change, but the sellers were always happy to help them.
The last garage sale we stopped at was a sweet time because Hannah bought a rocking horse for Timmy. We made a big deal about her using her own money to buy something special for her brother. She worked hard to earn her money and then chose to use it to show love to someone else. Both girls even had money left over after the garage sales. Now that's what I call smart shopping. :)
Then, we came home and enjoyed looking at all the things they had purchased, and they could appreciate their hard work and the contribution they had made to our family. They could also enjoy the rewards of their hard work and learned many things in the process.
To Tim and me, that is what home schooling is all about. It's not about education in a box or at a desk. It's about teaching them in every day life situations. They are learning so many things without even realizing they are learning.
So, in the whole yard work/garage sale event.... what did our kids learn or have to have a working knowledge of?
1- What a tremendous and valuable asset they are to our family
2- The value of hard work
3- The fun of competition as well as being excited for someone else when they win
4- Praising others and not yourself (another thing we teach: Let other lips praise you, not your own)
5- Money: how much coins and bills are worth and how to read price tags in order to make purchases
6- How to be friendly and sociable with people of all ages and how to negotiate and then be grateful by saying things like, "Thank you for your help" and "Have a nice day."
Most of all they are learning without even realizing they are learning, and that is priceless!
Stay tuned for more thoughts on home schooling...
No comments:
Post a Comment