Bare Bones Learning - Part 1
If there has been one thing I've done consistently as a homeschooler, it's sticking with the basics. Like all families who have made this homeschooling trek for any length of time, we've come across our share of obstacles. Bumps in the road that, had I not already determined to keep driving, would have thrown our van in the ditch.
Like most people when they set out to start homeschooling, I was overwhelmed, yet excited at all the choices in front of me. My children were young, the possibilities for learning were endless. Or so it would seem. One bump in the road that we encountered early on was the huge speed bump of a strong willed learner. In one year's time, I realized that all my well laid plans of early history and foreign language were for not. My oldest just was not having it. But that's a whole other topic altogether.
It was then that I made the decision to stick to the basics for the time being. I figured that if he only had reading, math and writing, then at least we could say we did something. But I still felt guilty. It started to feel like that's all we ever did. I read about other homeschoolers who were implementing a full course of curriculum at age 6; complete with studies on Ancient Rome and Music Theory. I pined away at the thought that my kids lives would be so much more enriched if only I could convince them that these were interesting subjects. Every time I tried, the bell rung and the boxing match commenced.
Time passed and the children grew older. From time to time, I would try to throw in a bit of art or music appreciation. I tried a workbook curriculum and I gave an online academy a whirl. But in the end, none of them were the right fit. About the time I was wrought with guilt over being such a homeschooling failure, I came across a book that literally revolutionized my view of education at home. A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola introduced me to the teaching methods of Charlotte Mason, a British educator who lived in the 1800's.
The simplicity of using whole books to educate versus a textbook with dry questions at the end of each chapter intrigued me and encouraged me. In all the curriculum's we had used, the children's and my favorite parts had been finding a corresponding book in the library's non-fiction section to go with our studies. Many times these books were not only easier to understand, but interesting and personal. These are what Charlotte Mason called Living Books. To think that I could use these for my entire curriculum, not including language arts and math, was burden lifting. And so I began a journey of gentle learning that at once seemed much more natural and yet at times like I was cheating the system.
However, I've found that in my research on how to put Charlotte Mason's methods into practice that many people advocate a very advanced type of learning. While that appealed to me, once again I was met with the obstacle of children who just don't fit into that box. Was that to be the end of Charlotte Mason for us? Surely not.
Flexible woman that I am, I have learned that there are other ways around the mulberry bush. You can use Charlotte's high ideals with children who are not ready for Dickens and Shakespeare. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to cover those classic works. But for now, we are still covering the basics. We are taking baby steps even seven years into this homeschooling journey. I am convinced that many people give up after the first year of home educating because they think school must be complex and exhaustive. I hope to share with the frustrated homeschooler some things I've learned about keeping it simple and resting in the fact that bare bones learning isn't cheating your children from anything.
It's giving them a foundation to build on when the time is right ~ by Carrie Evans
Like most people when they set out to start homeschooling, I was overwhelmed, yet excited at all the choices in front of me. My children were young, the possibilities for learning were endless. Or so it would seem. One bump in the road that we encountered early on was the huge speed bump of a strong willed learner. In one year's time, I realized that all my well laid plans of early history and foreign language were for not. My oldest just was not having it. But that's a whole other topic altogether.
It was then that I made the decision to stick to the basics for the time being. I figured that if he only had reading, math and writing, then at least we could say we did something. But I still felt guilty. It started to feel like that's all we ever did. I read about other homeschoolers who were implementing a full course of curriculum at age 6; complete with studies on Ancient Rome and Music Theory. I pined away at the thought that my kids lives would be so much more enriched if only I could convince them that these were interesting subjects. Every time I tried, the bell rung and the boxing match commenced.
Time passed and the children grew older. From time to time, I would try to throw in a bit of art or music appreciation. I tried a workbook curriculum and I gave an online academy a whirl. But in the end, none of them were the right fit. About the time I was wrought with guilt over being such a homeschooling failure, I came across a book that literally revolutionized my view of education at home. A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola introduced me to the teaching methods of Charlotte Mason, a British educator who lived in the 1800's.
The simplicity of using whole books to educate versus a textbook with dry questions at the end of each chapter intrigued me and encouraged me. In all the curriculum's we had used, the children's and my favorite parts had been finding a corresponding book in the library's non-fiction section to go with our studies. Many times these books were not only easier to understand, but interesting and personal. These are what Charlotte Mason called Living Books. To think that I could use these for my entire curriculum, not including language arts and math, was burden lifting. And so I began a journey of gentle learning that at once seemed much more natural and yet at times like I was cheating the system.
However, I've found that in my research on how to put Charlotte Mason's methods into practice that many people advocate a very advanced type of learning. While that appealed to me, once again I was met with the obstacle of children who just don't fit into that box. Was that to be the end of Charlotte Mason for us? Surely not.
Flexible woman that I am, I have learned that there are other ways around the mulberry bush. You can use Charlotte's high ideals with children who are not ready for Dickens and Shakespeare. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to cover those classic works. But for now, we are still covering the basics. We are taking baby steps even seven years into this homeschooling journey. I am convinced that many people give up after the first year of home educating because they think school must be complex and exhaustive. I hope to share with the frustrated homeschooler some things I've learned about keeping it simple and resting in the fact that bare bones learning isn't cheating your children from anything.
It's giving them a foundation to build on when the time is right ~ by Carrie Evans
posted by blue thistle books @ 11:31 PM
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