Homeschooling - Part 3

This is a continuation in the series on Why We Homeschool.

Here is my explanation of Hoyer Educational Pillar #2:

(2) As their worldview is shaped by the precepts of Scripture, they will be presented with the history of Man from the Fall as a story of the unfolding majesty of God's plan of Grace.

When my oldest was just four and I began considering homeschooling, I was blessed to read The Well Trained Mind by Jesse Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. It clicked with my mental picture of what a great home education could be, and I devoured the reasoning, recommendations, and techniques found within its pages. One of the things that I loved about the classical approach laid forth in The Well Trained Mind was the emphasis on studying history chronologically. What a concept! Start at the beginning and see how the history of the world unfolds. Brilliant!

I do not want to complain about my education, because it really was pretty decent. But, I feel as though I studied the period of history from the American Revolution to the Civil War several thousand times. Really. I can’t remember studying other periods in history at all. I’m sure I did. But obviously the emphasis was on this period in history.

As a Christian, I believe that our Lord is sovereign. He created the universe and has already dictated who will rise to power, what civilizations will flourish, and the outcome of every war and skirmish. It is very important to me that history not be presented as a series of chance events which have culminated in our present society, but that the history of the world is shown as the unfolding grace of God. I also want there to be no disconnect between the Bible stories we learn in the Scriptures and the “secular” history that everyone believes. I want my kids to know that the lush palace life of the Egyptians was enjoyed by Moses in his youth; when the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell it was to the Assyrians; when Daniel was being divinely protected from the raging lions in the lion’s den, he was in Babylon after the exile of Judah.

So how do you go about teaching history as the unfolding majesty of God’s plan of grace when the world would have you think that some accidental cosmic explosion brought this world into being and that you evolved from animals? Get thee a good study Bible and read the notes and introductions! I LOVE my MacArthur Study Bible for this. When planning to study the Babylonians or the Hittites or the Assyrians, find out what your Bible says about these people. What books of the Bible line up with your current topic? Not only will your children be blessed to see that Bible history and school history are one in the same, but you will be blessed for being in the Word of God and seeing just how magnificently His Word lines up with history. You will see that His Word IS history: factual and truthful.

My favorite pick for elementary history is, without question, The Story of the World 4-year history curriculum written by Susan Wise Bauer (who co-authored the Well Trained Mind.) It is a great narrative of history, written in small, digestible chunks in lovely story form. The accompanying Activity Guide offers coloring pages, maps, recommended reading, and crafts/activities. Bauer is a Christian, although the curriculum is not overtly so, allowing for your own personal Bible study to nicely augment the selections. Having maps and globes displayed about the house and available is also key in understanding history. Show them where, roughly, the Garden of Eden was located. Where is the Red Sea that the Lord parted for the Israelites? As missionaries began carrying the truth to far off places, where exactly did they go with the Good News of Christ?

My oldest boy, a history junkie, currently loves some Teaching Company courses he is taking, called Early Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages. Now, at age 12, his own Bible study and knowledge is brought to bear on what he sees and hears in these video lectures. It is wonderful to discuss these things with him! And it’s wonderful when he pauses the lecture to say, “That doesn’t really line up with the Truth.”

Yes. It is a blessing to see fruits of my labors and God’s abundant mercy in my children. It makes the time and the effort so very, very worth it.

Homeschooling, Part 2

One of the greatest aspects of homeschooling for us is that we may “teach (the Words of God) to our sons, talking of them when we sit in our house and when we walk along the road and when we lie down and when we rise up.” If my children are with me for the whole day, I have so very many opportunities to instruct them in the Word of God and to demonstrate what an obedient believer looks like. Now I frequently fail miserably at demonstrating an obedient believer, but that is when God’s grace becomes evident. So here is a little window into how the Hoyer family puts Educational Pillar #1 into practice.


(1) Our mission is to train our children to become skillful handlers of the Truth of God as recorded in the Scriptures in order that they might not only be hearers, but doers of the Word. They must be deeply anchored in understanding and interpreting literature. They will be encouraged to love language, as it was the means by which the Creator of the Universe chose to reveal Himself to us.


Family Devotions
Gustav spends 15-20 minutes every morning following breakfast in the Word with the kids. They have gone through the books of John, Acts, Romans, Joshua, Genesis and Exodus in the past couple of years. I am blessed to have a husband who takes the command to “teach them to his sons” so seriously. His own deep personal study also allows him to answer their sometimes very insightful questions on the fly. This morning’s discussion? If the Lord is immutable, how did he change his mind after Moses’ entreaty in Exodus 32: 11-14? Good stuff.

To finish up our devotion time we frequently sing a hymn together. We have, as a family, memorized many hymns. The teaching in those old, great hymns is just incredible. I believe we do a disservice to our children when we write them off as antiquated. Just recently, we have begun singing hymns in parts. Honestly, it is such an incredible, worshipful time to be able to sing the great truths of Scripture together as a family. Remember, we are commanded in Scripture to sing, but nowhere are we commanded to sing well! He just wants us to lift our voices in praise!


Personal Bible Study
Once our kids can read they are expected to read their Bible every morning. If there is one habit we want to instill in their lives, it would be this. The older children have daily reading plans that they follow and Nicholas and Gretchen both managed to read through the whole Bible in 2008. Our younger kids just spend 10 minutes reading somewhere in their Bible. It’s about forming the habit, not about quantity .


Scripture (and other) Memory
I was so blessed a couple of years ago to find Charlotte Mason’s Scripture Memory System. It has been such a great, systematic way to memorize Scripture together. We purpose to memorize larger portions of Scripture with some shorter ones thrown in. This year we have memorized Genesis 1, Exodus 20:2-17, Isaiah 53, Psalm 8, as well as 10-12 shorter verses. They do this on top of the AWANA verses they memorize each week. I do not mention this to brag, simply to show that with a systematic approach, our kids can hide a lot of God’s Word in their hearts. (And their Mommies, too!)

We also just love The Institute for Excellence in Writing’s Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization. It’s a mouth-full, but a fantastic program for memorizing some great poetry. Again, just 10-15 minutes per day yields a brain full of some lovely stuff.


Literature
There is just so much great literature out there, that I sometimes feel there just aren’t enough hours in the day! I love using the 1000 Good Books List and Honey for a Child’s Heart to find great literature selections for my kids at their appropriate reading level. Each year I come up with reading selections that line up with our history studies, as well as the literature I want them to cover that year. Throw in a list for family read-alouds, and we have a great time reading and learning together.


Teachable Moments
Sometimes, it is far more important to let the “schoolwork” go to address a character issue in my kids. This was a hard-learned lesson for me. I like very much crossing things off the daily to-do list. But sometimes it is a better choice to let the work stay unfinished and have that heart-to-heart with the child who is grumbling and complaining, or with the child who is choosing harsh words. Bringing Scripture to bear in these situations promotes opportunities for our children to be “doers of the Word” and not only hearers. Gentle correction and an opportunity to correct the offense and restore the relationship are, in the end, far more important than fractions, vocabulary, or spelling. It is a window into the very character of God. We must be commanded to do these things because they DO NOT come easily to the human race. We would much rather be selfish, prideful complainers, wouldn’t we?

Ultimately, we want to create a home environment where Christ is the head, where opportunities for learning about Him abound, and where His Word is honored.

Up next: Educational Pillar #2 :-)

Homeschooling - Why We Do What We Do

I have been asked by a number of my friends and recently encouraged by my husband to blog a bit about homeschooling. I have come full circle on homeschooling: from being positive that we wouldn't, to being open to the possibility, to being adamant that we would. God has used this opportunity to grow me in faith and knowledge of Himself, to love my children more, and to be sanctified daily. However, I do not think it is the only way to properly school the children we have been blessed with. It is just the right way for us at the moment.


One thing that was important for me in the beginning, (being the list-maker that I am) was to have a document that stated why we were doing this. Something I could refer to when I needed encouragement and something that would keep me on track as we matured and grew. The reasons we choose to school our children at home will differ from family to family, as they should, for each family is uniquely designed by God. Here, for your reading pleasure, are:

The Hoyer Educational Pillars
written in 2003

(1) Our mission is to train our children to become skillful handlers of the Truth of God as recorded in the Scriptures in order that they might not only be hearers, but doers of the Word. They must be deeply anchored in understanding and interpreting literature. They will be encouraged to love language, as it was the means by which the Creator of the Universe chose to reveal Himself to us.

(2) As their worldview is shaped by the precepts of Scripture, they will be presented with the history of Man from the Fall as a story of the unfolding majesty of God's plan of Grace.

(3) They will be trained to reverence the ordered excellence of Creation as discovered through observation and experimentation so that they might better glorify the Creator in their hearts and minds, and trust in the perfection of His designs.

(4)We desire that they be trained in rigorous logical disciplines that they might be able to reason with God through His Word, and be able to evaluate life through well-trained thinking.

(5) They should have a knowledge of other civilizations that they might have an understanding of their own place of privilege among the race of Adam.

(6) As beings created in the likeness and image of the Creator God, they should be encouraged to cultivate the exercise and appreciation of the creative arts. This will also cultivate a more profound understanding of that which is lovely and excellent, and will draw their hearts toward the Author and Source of beauty.

(7) We desire that they be trained in the proper care and maintenance of their bodies through exercise and self discipline, that they might steward these gifts to the glory of God.

(8) The expression of a heart that is submitted to God will express itself in gracious and well-mannered speech and thoughtful actions which manifest the preference of the other above self. They will be trained in appropriate etiquette and manners.

(9) The life of a believer should be one marked by diligence and hard work. They will be encouraged to cultivate these character qualities, and be warned against the sin of laziness.



I would heartily encourage anyone who is new to homeschooling to begin by deciding why they feel the Lord has called them to this way of life. Study the Scriptures and pray. Then, once you have put down in words the "why's" of your choice, put them where you will be frequently reminded. Re-read them yearly at least, daily if needed.

I desire, years from now, for my children "to arise and call me blessed." (Proverbs 31:28) Not because they became brilliant mathematicians (which they may) or concert violinists (which they could) or Pulitzer Prize winning authors (which would be wonderful), but because they sat under the tutelage of a humble mother who loved the Lord with all her heart, mind, soul, and strength, and shared her faith and awe of the Creator with them. Day in and day out.

And who never forgot for Whom she was doing what she was doing.

Fundays

My sweet sister-in-Christ, Kim, posed a request in the comments section for more homeschooling-related posts. So, this one's for her. (Just so you know, when I say "you" in the following post I'm talking the collective "you" - all 15 people who read my blog, not just you, Kim :-)

I always second-guess myself when it comes to posting about our homeschooling days. Here are my reasons:

*I don't ever want anyone to think I have it "all together" because I don't. It is very easy (as you can see by the plethora of homeschool websites and blogs) to write about how you intend to homeschool. It is quite a different story, with a houseful of sinful individuals, to implement said plans. As long as everyone acknowledges that my days never go exactly as I plan, and sometimes don't resemble the plan whatsoever, we can proceed :-)
*Also, God has given me five unique individuals to parent the best I can. The way I teach them can, and probably should, be at least a little different from the way you teach your unique individuals. I won't compare my kids to yours and vice-versa. This can be excruciatingly difficult in the homeschooling world, but necessary.
*Lastly, my oldest is only in the 6th grade, so I am certainly not a veteran at this. I so enjoy the encouragement and wisdom I receive from those who have run the full race and finished on their feet!


OK, caveats aside, I will now regale you with our newest, and perhaps most beloved, change. For years I have planned "Fun Fridays." You know, saving art, music, projects & nature study and having a delightful and relaxing Friday to really soak up all of the wonderful beauty and culture that makes an individual "well-rounded." I use that term loosely, because if you ask 10 people what a well-rounded person looks like you'd probably get 10 different iterations. But nonetheless, I wanted a day in the week reserved for the fun stuff. And what better way to end a hard week than with the fun stuff? Here's the problem I was having. Mama can be just an itty-bitty tired come Friday, and she may no longer think those things so important as they seemed on Sunday afternoon when she was planning, thereby letting them slide. In other words, Fun Fridays were not happening.

Enter new idea. Why not do all the fun stuff on Mondays when we're fresh? Let's call it Funday!

So this is what we now do, and boy, what a dunce I am for not doing this sooner! We still begin our days the same as any other: family breakfast at 6:30, devotions with Daddy, personal Bible reading and chores done by 7:45. Then we do our daily Memory Page (which I will expound on in a later post) and practice our instruments. By 9:00 or so we are ready for the fun stuff. Here is what I have scheduled for tomorrow:

• Mozart unit study - reading and listening
• election unit study - I'm not sure if this is more for my kiddos or me! The electoral college is not easy to grasp!
  
• letter writing - pick a friend, any friend
• Diagramming - OK, so we are all geeks and actually look forward to this!
  
• picture study - up this week: Snap the Whip by Winslow Homer; oil on canvas, 1872. We use A Short History of Art to get some background on the artist and the time he/she lived.
  
• music lessons - At least for the time being we have a teacher coming who teaches Nicholas piano, Gretchen viola, and Lillian violin.
• Scripture memory - We work on this every day but spend more time on Mondays. We are currently memorizing Genesis 1 as a family.
• Hymn study - we are currently memorizing My Jesus, I Love Thee
  
• Recitation - My children have memorized over 40 poems using IEW's Developing Linguistic Patterns Through Poetry Memorization Weekly recitation is a fun way to hone in our recitation skills and practice what we have learned.
• Nature study - take a walk and record something in your nature notebook
• History - OK, I know that's not really an extra, but we like it a lot, so we do it on Fundays.
• Lots and Lots and Lots of Reading - We are currently reading some Andersen Fairy Tales. My kids are learning that Disney has kind of distorted the whole fairy tale concept :-)
• History projects and Science experiments - tomorrow we'll be doing a Byzantine Mosaic from Story of the World Volume 2.
• Proverbs Copy Book - Each of the older children has a fancy bound sketch book that they are copying the Book of Proverbs into, about 4-5 verses a week.
  
• Personal endeavors - My kids like making movies together. Lillian loves to bake. Gretchen likes to lock herself in a room to read. Nicholas LOVES to draw. Gabriel likes to talk to anyone who will listen. Kurt likes to escape and destroy. Fundays allow plenty of time to follow our interests :-)

If all of that gets completed in a timely way with out grumbling and complaining, everybody gets a turn on the X-Box. Life is good.

My hope is to constantly be shifting what we do so that our Fundays never become dry and boring. I hope to spend some time doing some fun geography units, maybe add in journal writing, I don't know - whatever strikes our fancy.

That's one of the definite perks of homeschooling that I love so much!

Ode to the First Day of School (or Why I Love a Schedule)

I cannot stand those days
When the husband calls and asks,
“What's going on at home today?
Have you accomplished any tasks?”

“Well, let me see,” I say at last
For surely there must be
Something accomplished, something done
By little 'ol homemaking me.

“Alas,” I sigh, I cannot think
Of anything worthy of sharing.
“I surely spent my time somehow.”
My ego is despairing.

For all I seem to be able to claim
As the day turns into night
Is that the children were somewhat meagerly fed
And didn't kill one other as they might.

No one died or broke out in hives
Or needed glue or stitches.
So all in all the day was great
And transpired with very few glitches.

How can hours and hours go by
And stress me to no end
And nothing get accomplished?
What does this portend?

Whoever said of summer
It's lazy days refresh
Has not lived inside my house
Or dwelled inside this flesh.

Well, excuse me if I'm prudish
But I really don't agree.
A fairly rigid schedule
Is just the thing for me.

You see, I have these little ducks
As many of you know.
And, boy, this mama's much more calm
When they're lined up in a row.

For lazy days are wonderful
Once or twice a year.
But give me days of structured work
And see me jump and cheer.

So bring it on: the school, the chores,
the grumblin' and complainin.'
I'd take it happily any day
Over these summer days of playin'.

I've bought stacks of paper for making lists
(Don't any of you summer-lovers scoff)
And eagerly anticipate the coming days
Of happily crossing things off!

Homeschooling Quote of the Day

Nicholas: "POOP is a palindrome!"

A School Update, Part 1

*this is Nicholas' recently completed edible spinal cord project.

I must say that we have all been enjoying this school year very much. Well, let me rephrase that. I have been enjoying our progress thus far, and well, the kids haven't complained too much!

I have put many hours into our family's custom schedule a la Managers of Their Homes. I really, really cannot say enough about the peace that this little investment of time and money has brought to our home. I can now be the picture book reading, math tutor, project leading Mommy instead of the irritated, drill sergeant, frazzled Mommy. All I have to do is point out the schedule, which is hanging prominently in the dining/school area, and watch all the pieces fall into place. Sounds Utopian, no?

I am pleased with our curriculum choices thus far. My children all use and do very well with Singapore Math, although I have found myself stumped on a number of occasions already this year. Gretchen was using the Intensive Practice 4 and, whoa!, that stuff is tricky!! I have purchased (for the first time) the Home Instructor's Guide for Nicholas who is in 5A. Thankfully, after some reading and boning up on bar diagrams, I don't feel quite as STOOPID as I did a couple of weeks ago. There's nothing like looking into your 5th grader's frustrated face and saying, "Honey, we'll have to wait until Daddy comes home." Yep, God keeps me humble.

We continue to use and LOVE Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization put out by IEW. First off, I love poetry. Secondly, I love the vocabulary we learn. Thirdly, it's just plain cool that Gabriel, at the tender age of 4, can recite Carroll's Jabberwocky or Tennyson's The Eagle. I mean, come on...it's just awesome:

Twas bwiwig, and the slithy toves did gire and gimbwe in da wabe. (That's it in Gabrielese.)

So far we have memorized 33 poems in 14 months. Here's a breakdown of our favorites:

Lillian: Jonathan Bing by Beatrice Curtis Brown
Gretchen: The Ingenious Little Old Man by John Bennett
Nicholas: The Duke of Plaza Toro by W.S. Gilbert
Gabriel: The Vulture by Hilaire Belloc
Me: any of the great Hilaire Belloc poems that deal with a child paying the price for some bad habit...sooo funny!

I think that Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization is my favorite-ever curriculum purchase. How's that for an endorsement?

Lastly I will mention My World Science, which is a curriculum written by cyber-friend Ria at The Well Trained Mind board. We are using the unit on the Human Body right now and are really enjoying it. It is simple and thorough, my 2 criteria for science. Because I know that if it's simple and thorough it will get done and we will learn. Plus, my children are loving the simple experiments and projects. I tend to shy away from projects...I am a bit of a no-fun homeschooler in that respect. But these projects have been straightforward and not too messy. Works for me!

OK, enough for now. It's AWANA night and I need to feed the troops before schlepping the girls over to AWANA. Stay tuned for Latin, History, and Writing. I know y'all are on the edge of your seats :-)

The First Day

Well, here it is. The First Day of School. (I kid you not, the first time I wrote that on the white board, at 6AM, I misspelled SCHOOL. God can keep me humble without too much effort!!) I can say, honestly, it was a delightful day! Praise God. It began with Kurt sleeping until 9:15AM. Amazing. That allowed me time to make some whole wheat applesauce pancakes with smiley faces made out of apple and banana slices. That was a hit with everyone. We were off on the right foot.

Then, the children completed their first day of school questionnaire, on which they had to answer some fun questions about their expectations for the year as well as draw a picture of themselves. How fun to see them through their own eyes!

We took first day of school pictures.

Then we got to work: memory work, math, science, poetry, writing, and grammar. We even managed to get all the instruments practiced with hardly any complaint. I am just thrilled with how the first day back went. Lillian even crawled up into my lap at breakfast and confided, "I'm actually excited about starting school today!" My girl.

We finished up our afternoon making life size replicas of the children for our human body study. When the poster board turned out to be too short for their height we improvised and printed out our first day pictures and taped them onto the shoulders! Go us!


I pray that each day will go as smoothly as today. I know they won't, but I pray to that end nonetheless! May the Lord bless this home school.