Yearly Archives: 2008

Terri Johnson at Knowledge Quest has a good article on Homeschooling with Toddlers this week.

Day 7 Home Education Week!

What are your goals for home education? What do you hope to instill in your children? Are you planning any changes to how you educate your children?

Well, right now I’m looking forward to finishing blogging. My blog-a-thon is nearly over – 1 week in one afternoon and evening. Well, I guess I’ll leave the “real time” on this post. 🙂 And this was actually a week that I already had several OTHER posts.

Now you’re talking my language, and I can speak from the perspective of a philosophical mom. You saved the best question till last!

My goals are simple, that our children would love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and glorify Him in whatever they do. (I know, broad and philosophical.)

I hope to instill in them the ability to look at all of life through the Wisdom of God’s Word, therefore they must know, REALLY KNOW His Word and how it applies to all of life – their life.

In order to live that out they must be submitted to God’s Word, walking in “self-government” with Christian character.

I am not planning any foreseeable changes. We have found a good path, and we are walking therein. I am doing the best I know how at this point. However, since everyday is growth and change, we will continue to do that. Growing and changing day by day, to be conformed more into the image of God’s own dear Son. That will mean that the best of plans will be “tweaked” along the way.

Day 6 Home Education Week!

Share your children’s home education experience in their own words. What have they said about their education? What are their likes and dislikes? Share some stories, some quotes, or turn your blog over to your children for the day.

Whoo-hoo we’re on the home stretch!! This has been a true blog-a-thon!

Dd16 – thinks “it’s hard” – she isn’t in here to ask a direct quote. She’s sure she has more to do than anyone ever had. (No doubt because I’ve been so easy on her in the past 🙂 She loves to read and to learn – but just not always what is “necessary.” “Math? Why should I have to do that?”

Ds 14 is gaining FLUENCY in reading, whoo-hoo, (yes, it’s been a slow road for him) and he loves to read, but doesn’t like reading long things or for long stretches, (and still LOVES being read to more). He told the eye dr. that he only reads what he has to for school. (Which is somewhat true –) But he always says, “I’ll read the Scripture for today.” or “Can I read that?” Or last week when his sisters were gone and I had an online workshop to do said, “Mom, you just go do what you need to work on and I’ll read the lessons to the other boys.”

Ds 10 just told me the best thing about home education was we get done earlier. (Oh, is that so?)

Dd8 loves learning. If asked what she likes about home ed, she says, “Reading!” and “spelling”. But wishes she could do less math and more projects, art and music. She’s usually cutting, coloring, drawing something as we read. She’s read FAR more books than ds 14, and will no doubt catch up with ds10 – who, as of the beginning of last summer, had read over 70 books for the year. I don’t know what his count is this year, but his books choices are getting quite long, so I’m guessing it will drop off quite a bit. She also says we could do it a lot faster if the boys weren’t always messing around.

Ds3 told me a couple weeks ago, “[ds5] doesn’t know how to read yet.” Guess he felt it was high time he learned.

Ds5 and 3 believe that lesson time is their time to go fire up the printer and start printing coloring pages for themselves. (Ds5 knows how. Ds3 THINKS he does.) They’ve been kind of stuck in the Alamo, coloring page after page after page – the same ones over and over. They love Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie. But I guess before that it was Daniel Boone, over and over. I reminded them that we were studying a different war now, (I guess they were oblivious to the time between the wars) and there are plenty of pages on the civil war they could color about some of the men they are enjoying hearing about from that too. Did they pick Stonewall (5yo’s fave)? No. Did they pick Lee or Stuart or Lincoln or any others we’ve read about? No. They asked to color the ladies in the pretty dresses, (“the big sister and the little sister.” – a Southern Belles color book.)

OK, older children are in now, so I have some quotes.

Ds14 likes best about learning at home – “you don’t get any F’s.” He said that’s what he tells his friends when they ask. He likes math. He wishes we’d do more reading – like stories and such. i.e. like Lamplighters. He wishes we’d do less books. OK, we don’t do textbooks, or workbooks, or anything but real books such as the above, so what is he saying? More reading – less reading, which is it? “Less books like Spurgeon.” None of the children were too thrilled with the bio we picked. We quit about half way through.

Dd16 likes best that they have more options in what they do. She’s not sure what she’d want more or less of. “Just perfect as it is?”, I ask, knowing her better than that. “Well, I’m sure there’s something.” And finally said, “less messing around by the boys so we could get done sooner.”

Ds3 says he like playing quietly best. Yeah right!!!

Ds5 says he likes playing best – when mom says they can go play while we work on a lesson that needs a bit of quiet!

Ds10 says he likes that he “can’t get in trouble that much.” Where did this kid get these ideas? He likes math best and wishes we’d do more of it. He wishes we’d do less reading. What? he loves reading. Oh, less reading together. The thing his brother wishes we’d do more of. Guess that means it’s my call, and it must be close to right if one wants more and another wants less. Right?

Well, I think I’ve heard from everybody. On to day 7!

or Universal Principles with Unique Applications ~ how L.E.D and PA share the same spirit, but individual expressions.

Here I go with initials again. For the uninitiated, L.E.D. is our biblically principled approach to home education. It stands for Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™. We’ve been around, undercover to most of the world 🙂 , for about 18 years, or somewhere there about. PA stands for the Principle Approach®, a biblically principled approach to education developed by Rosalie Slater, and her work with Verna Hall. PA’s been around MUCH longer, since the ’60’s, I think.

So if L.E.D. and PA are both biblically, principled approaches to education, what’s the difference? The main difference between PA and L.E.D. is that L.E.D. is my individualized application of biblical principles education for the home and family setting – seeking to make education a Lifestyle. Much of the ideas in LED and PA are the same (although perhaps stated a bit differently) and some things I have gleaned from PA and adapted to fit into L.E.D.

Another difference is – They are professional educators; I’m a mom. PA was designed by professional Christian educators, mainly working with/within Christian schools, (although it has made definite inroads to home ed now too). L.E.D. was designed by a Christian mom discipling her family and searching the Word, and trusting God to do that. (I have a GREAT PASSION for discipleship! and biblical wisdom/philosophy, especially in education.)

As I studied various philosophies of education, to see what fit in with what I’d found in the Word, I saw that PA was really the same philosophy of education I had, just laid out a bit differently, primarily for the classroom setting, (more “school” structured than we want – more academically rigorous in younger ages than we feel necessary). They (naturally) had different terms for the same things I saw, etc. But they were in essence/in spirit the same thing (because they are both centered on seeking and applying the Wisdom of the Word) – just in “law”/application looked a bit different.

Since it was the same philosophy, I learned more about PA, and how they apply it. (Actually, I came in through the backdoor, as when I first approached the PA front door, I turned away. My initial response to PA was probably the same as most people’s – somewhat like, “Wow, this sounds great. Whoa, it looks complicated.” ) Anyhow, learning more about PA has (undoubtedly and unavoidably) led to some “tweaking” in L.E.D. It has also helped me to “learn to speak their language”.

I work with moms, not within an educational system/institution, so I have always tried to help simplify things as much as possible, and relieve the stress and bondage many moms feel while trying to do things “right”, as prescribed by either ‘schoolish’ ways (ingrained from their past) or someone looked upon as an ‘authority’ in education. I don’t try to take the home into the “school” realm, but rather bring biblical education into the Home realm.

A mom of many usually doesn’t have the amount of time to devote to learning all the “school” things that a classroom teacher does, (nor does she need to,) and perhaps she doesn’t even have the natural inclination for teaching. She is just following the command of the Lord to disciple her children, teach and train them in the way the Lord would have them to grow. Her day isn’t spent just focused on academic education, but also wiping runny noses and doing laundry and cleaning and cooking and nursing the baby, etc. – all while teaching, perhaps several levels of students, not just academics but all of life. But she will fall into trying to apply what she does know, from past experience, if she is not Renewed to a biblical perspective of education.

For those moms Freedom & Simplicity™ was designed. I know thinking philosophically is not always every mom’s strength, but I try to make it as easy as possible. A biblical philosophy of education is a different way of thinking about education than most of us have grown up with/learned. Therefore those foundations (the philosophy) have to be taught first, and internalized by the parent before they can begin applying the methods to any content.

I’ve (in more recent years) worked with many moms who have tried PA, (and many times given up on it, as just being “too hard” to understand.) And I desire to bring them (back) to biblically, principled education, as a way that is not only good and biblical, but also “do-able” for moms that don’t have years to learn full-time before they can begin teaching their children. Most moms fear that ticking clock, feeling they are getting “behind” or don’t have much “time left.”

I don’t say this against F.A.C.E. at all. (Yep, more initials. FACE is the Foundation for American Christian Education, the PA people.) I believe FACE is doing a great job of trying to reach and work with moms in the home. Everyone I’ve talked to there has a heart to help moms see the spirit behind this and find freedom, too. But if God can apply His grace to my passion of sharing biblically principled education with others, as I’ve learned it from His Word, and help moms to learn to apply it in Freedom & Simplicity™ in the Lifestyle of the home, all praise goes to Him.

I am blessed by those of you that God helps through me, to find understanding and application of a biblically principled education based on a Lifestyle of Discipleship in the home. But if you prefer to apply “straight PA” as developed by the experts, I am happy to help as I can there too. I know enough PA that I generally know where L.E.D. differs from it, so I think I can present it fairly, but I don’t claim to be an expert on anything. 🙂  Yet, I continue to grow and learn more, on education and life in general, as God’s Word transforms me daily.

It is a biblically principled education we are after, (whatever we call it,) ~ Seeking Biblical Wisdom through Universal Principles with Unique Applications.