Yes, I finally did what I should have done years ago.
I am a homeschooling mom of two wild but wonderful boys. One is “wilder” than the other one. I believe the LORD has been telling me for a very, very long time to start our day by sending my boys outside. I kept resisting this idea, because it just didn’t seem right or at all productive. I told myself we can’t do that, they need to do morning chores, and we need to get going with school.
Well, I finally did it! I finally listened and obeyed the Holy Spirit and I am so glad I did. Since I finally did it, I have a praise report! The last couple of weeks have been some of the best since we started home schooling. After breakfast if it isn’t raining, my boys must go outside. They must play, and exercise. Almost half of these days I went out after they played a while and we went on at least a short walk. Then we would come back in complete morning duties, and other morning activities (ex. piano lesson), then we would have bible time and start school.
We also have a longer lunch break and they go back out and play. Yes, some the school days do seem longer because of this new plan, but when we aren’t leaving the house it doesn’t matter. Since I submitted to this plan our days have been more peaceful and productive. Thank You Father!
My advice to you would be abide with the Father through His Son Jesus and listen and submit to the Holy Spirit, in every area of your life!! You will be so blessed when you do!
~ by Angie, The One Thing
So happy for you Angie! Sounds like this new plan is working for you guys!
I think it’s sometimes just those basic things that are such a brilliant discovery! Hooray for you and your homeschool. Thanks for encouraging us all to get outside.
The Lord is faithful. I delight in your having your sons start their day outside
to play,exercise, and be rejuvenated to learn. I admire you.
Thank you for posting this. I have been thinking of doing the same with my two energetic boys, but have been hesitant for the same reasons you note. Thank you for the encouragement! Sometimes, I just need to know that others are taking the road less traveled, and it works out just fine.
I read this at the perfect moment. I’ve kept ignoring the Holy Spirit in some specific areas of my life. I submit partially or not at all…thanks for the reminder of how powerful our submission is. That’s when God can really work in and mold our hearts and lives. Thank you. I also think it’s so neat to see how you did what was best for your boys even though it is not a normal approach.
How much time a day would you say that your children spending learning each day? According to your description of your daily schedule, most of the day is spent playing and exercising outside and doing non-learning activities such as morning duties, piano lessons, and bible lessons. None of those have anything to do with learning. If your children were in a real school, their days would be filled with actual learning taught using a complete curriculum with actual lessons taught by a certified teacher. Real teacher have bachelor’s degrees and are licensed by the state. I know probably no one on this site will agree with me but ask yourself this: How will you feel when your child is grown and asks why you took their future and opportunities away from them? How are you going to feel when your child is uneducated, unable to go on to college or any kind of vocational training, and will be lucky if they are qualified for a minimum wage job.? You probably got to go to school and had a chance to do what you wanted, what right do you have to deny your children that?
Carrie,
Wow, thank you for not holding back and telling me exactly like how you feel. I do respect when someone is honest. Thank you for your concern for my boys, at least I assume that is what you were expressing. Though I have to say you based your comments on reading one post from me that focused on my choice to have my boys start their day by getting outside and working off some energy. This was not a post that explained every subject that we cover in what you would label our school time. I did explain that they started their day by getting outside (if possible) to exercise (for ex. practicing a sport that they actually may be playing at the time), they accomplished their morning chores, read from their bible (which is the best history, literature, geography and science book ever), and they practice the piano. I also stated that after they accomplished these activities we would start ‘school’. The main purpose of getting them outside and moving was so that when it was time to sit down and “do school”, they could actually concentrate and focus better than if they had all this pent up energy that boys tend to have in abundance. You said none of these activities are educational and you assumed I am not covering enough of what you would consider educational subjects? For one I would disagree with you when you claim none of the above activities are educational. Those activities that my boys start their day with are tools that educate, stimulate, and help mature different areas of my boys bodies, minds, and spirits. You see I am educating the whole person when I educate my sons. I am not just trying to educate one part of their brain. Just for your piece of mind I will share a little more about us. We cover in “school”; Math, Reading, everything that is included in Language Arts, Geography, World History, American History, Science, Natural History, Poetry, a variety of Literature (living books and biographies), Music (Classical/Composer Study and Hymn Study), and Art (Hands-On and Picture/Artist Study). We have park day (recess/P.E.) with friends, variety of field trips, variety of clubs with other kids (Art, Music, Nature, American Social Studies, Survival Skills, etc.), they have experienced Science Fairs, Art/Photo Contest, Talent Shows, Team Sports, Individual Sports, and variety of other activities. I hope that this information might make you feel better about my boys education. I am not against Public Education or a Private School Education but for our family this is what is best. I appreciate the fact that we live in a country where you and I are both free to choose what is best for ourselves and our families. Please rest assured my boys will be able to get a job, go to college, communicate with all kinds of people in all kinds of ways, they will also be able to continue to learn because they have the skills needed, and they will have the freedom to pursue what they want in this life. We all have a right to our feelings and beliefs, and I respect your right to have your own even though they assumed I would be doing a disservice to my children. I would encourage you in the future to give the author of a post the benefit of the doubt, because one post will not give you the whole story about the author, or even the subject matter.
I hope your children do go on to have a productive future, all children deserve that. In my opinion though, homeschooling is not the way to do that. No parent will never be able to teach a curriculum as complete as that of a team of teachers or will they be able to recreate the entire school experience. My reference to the bible and piano lessons not being school was not a general criticism of these activities, they are good and are appropriate for after school. However, they should not be part of the school day. The bible, not matter how important it is, can never be a substitute for history, geography, or science lessons. It is true that we live in a country where we all have a right to our beliefs and opinions and I’m thankful for that but I hope how soon homeschooling will be strictly regulated, throughout our country, with home inspections, curriculum assessments, and quarterly achievements tests. If this happened, the education these children receive would be closer to satisfactory and the number of homeschooled children would greatly decrease.
I would like to thank you for having an open discussion concerning this topic, since hearing criticism isn’t easy and I assume you want to do best for your children, and I hope you will consider what I’ve said and think about what your children are missing out on. I didn’t post anything just to be mean, I genuinely believe that homeschooling, in general, is a great disservice to children and that they deserve better.
Thank you for your kind reply. I do not mind that other people disagree with my beliefs, and choices, etc. I am always open to discussing different subject matters with people that are like-minded and ones that are not. I have taken all that you have said in consideration a long time ago. I did do research before I started down the road of home education. I could show you my research that reveals home education is successful. I could show you statistics that show public education is actually not doing a great job in many, many areas. You could also back up your views with your own research and statistics. That wouldn’t get us anywhere. I agree some parents shouldn’t home educate, and some people actually shouldn’t be parents. Though I do not believe the rights of the many should be taken away because of the choices of the few. Though from your words I am left with understanding that your view on public education to actually be negative. I say this because you are stating a person with a public school education can’t accomplish anything without a college degree; they can’t complete research, can’t communicate (teach) from a book or curriculum, and they can’t live out all the subjects and things they learned in their public school education, etc. Actually what it sounds like your saying is that the only education that can make you successful is what you may get in college. I do not understand how that could be the case if according to your words public school or real school as you call it is so successful. I believe a college education is a wonderful opportunity, but I do not believe it is the only answer to be successful. Home educators have endless educational resources, and opportunities at their fingertips. There is much more I could say but I won’t because I am not trying to convince you to except my views. The key no matter what educational route you take is to be a parent that is actively involved in your children’s lives, and to be willing to go the extra mile or more for them!! Have a great weekend Carrie!
I want to encourage everyone who is homeschooling, or thinking of homeschooling, not to take these recent negative comments too seriously. There is obviously some flawed thinking in the remarks, perhaps the result of not investigating the facts.
The truth is, homeschooled children often outperform traditionally-schooled students on standardized tests, and have little trouble getting into college.1 In fact, homeschoolers have been accepted at such prestigious schools as Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, and Princeton.2
My daughter was homeschooled from first grade through twelfth. Though not certified by the state, I am completely capable of complying with state standards, choosing curriculum, teaching, giving assignments, and grading tests. My daughter scored a 30 on the ACT test, at the 96th percentile in the United States. She is now attending an accredited university on an honors scholarship. I am proud of my daughter, confident in my decision to homeschool her, and glad I did not listen to negative comments.
1 “Homeschoolers find university doors open”. The Boston Globe. 2007-03-06.
2 A. Distefano et al. (2005) Encyclopedia of Distributed Learning (p222) ISBN 1-59781-572-1