Author Archives: Lisa @ Me & My House

That is: What do PA and CM have to do with L.E.D.?

As I’ve shared in the first two parts of this series –  Our Journey TO Home Ed, and Our Journey THROUGH Home Ed –  we have gleaned from other approaches to home education. Yesterday I mentioned that both PA and CM played a part in my study of approaches to education. Since these are probably two approaches we’ve gleaned the most from, besides general discipleship approaches, I’ll share how we have incorporated these ideas, and to what extent. Today I will focus mostly on CM, and tomorrow or Mon. will perhaps conclude this series with our application of PA.

To reiterate, LED is and has always been first and foremost completely Scripture-centered. It is ALL about training our children in the Scriptures. It is a Discipleship methodology, a lifestyle saturated with God and His Word.

Charlotte Mason is an approach that considers education to be emersion in excellence and beauty. We agree with that, and further, believing that our home should be an environment permeated with the the excellence and beauty of the Word and worship, honoring God in awe of His Creation and His Providence, in all that surrounds us and in all we study . CM utilizes gentle, natural methods of learning, rather than artifical assignments. We agree with that, believing that learning should be a gentle experience, especially for children. Learning should be a natual flow from our lifestyle.

CM endorses excellent, living literature, including Poetry, rather than what she termed “twaddle”. We agree with that, believing that excellent living books not only have much more to offer than twaddly fluff, but that they are more enjoyable by all ages. And further that Scripture is the most excellent literature and poetry. However, our book lists don’t come from CM lists. I’m sure we’d agree with some choices, and disagree with others.

CM utilizes Copywork, Dictation, and Narration as key natural methods for learning, and utilizes Nature and Picture and Classical Music Studies. We agree with that, and utilize these methods also (and probably others I’m not specifically thinking of right now). However, there are other aspects of the philosophy and methodology of CM that we don’t agree with.

There are many methodologies of the Charlotte Mason approach that we glean from in L.E.D. However, it is not a philosophy that we completely line up with. In Part 2 I will share with you an approach that we line up more closely with in philosophy.

Yesterday I told you about our journey to home ed. Today I will share our journey through home ed.

As I said, we began that first little over a year with workbooks. Things were beginning to open up to home educators a bit, and previous school teachers turned home educators began writing curriculum and selling it to other home educators.

A friend I had known years ago began home educating, and I found a small support group beginning in our town. I also found a Unit Study curriculum which would have all my girls studying the same topics, and all the subjects would be integrated – and it was all planned out for you, and it was completely based on the Bible. We switched during that second year to packaged unit studies. That year went great. I was much happier with this “family-friendly” approach, but over time became less than thrilled with the “packaged” part.

One thing I didn’t tell you yesterday is my mom cried when I told her we were going to educate our girls at home. She cried saying, “You’ll never do it. They’ll grow up knowing nothing. I know you’re smart enough, but you won’t carry through.” I probably didn’t help matters when I said, “Oh, we’ll cook and call it math. Go to the store and call it social studies and a field trip.” Etc. That wasn’t my mother’s idea of “school” – and I was being somewhat facicious at the time. But, mothers know us best, huh? She knew that I am too free spirited to stick to the same tedious thing for long. But she under-estimated my full commitment to my convictions. Anyhow, back to our story.

Within the next year or two, the home education market was exploding. I began learning about different methods and approaches, and since tired of the packaged program that I was constantly changing, I set out to write our own -incorporating all the aspects of the different approaches I was learning about. But the fully integrated subjects, 12 year ideal family unit study program never came together for me.

I believe it was at a State Homeschool Convention that I first heard of the Principle Approach, in the early 90’s. I loved what it stood for. I studied it out. But its school application just seemed too stiff for me. I loved aspects of delight-directed – that I learned mostly from Gregg Harris. I loved aspects of Charlotte Mason – though I stuck mostly to the similar teachings of Ruth Beechick. I knew the only way for us was Discipleship, and centered on Scripture for a Bibical Worldview -that I learned mostly from Jonathan Lindvall and the Institute for Basic Life Principles/ATI. I dreamed of being able to join ATIA. But it wasn’t to be.

I began putting together our own Biblical philosophy and methodologies. gleaning from mainly those listed above. We left the textbook/workbook route early on, and weren’t going back. Another “not going back” was in our decision to home educate itself. As I heard other hs moms threaten their children to “send them back to school”, I knew it would never come out of my mouth. It was not an option, so it was not a threat. We would make this work. He who called us to it, would be faithful to equip us and complete it.

We began adding “non-traditional” educational resources to our home business, and changed its focus. Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ began not only taking shape in our home, but I began teaching it to others. Around this time I met Marilyn Howshall, through her works and then in phone discussions. We had many similarities in our approaches, though she was further along than I, and not exactly the same. One thing she had done, (that I didn’t think I had,) was apply the Principle Approach in a relaxed setting. I liked that.

Over the years we have tried “non-traditional” resources that lined up with our gleanings. Some were fairly good fits for the time. Most of the time I wrote our own curriculum, pulling in resources that fit. L.E.D. has grown up, as our children have. We are educating a whole different group now. Sometimes I feel like I pretty much know what I’m doing – going on our 20th year.

Part 3 – Our Journey through Alphabet Soup! : What do PA and CM have to do with LED? – tomorrow, Lord willing.

A while back a co-moderator with me on the bibleprinciples elist asked me if I’d ever blogged my hs journey. I’ve discussed it in seminars and other places, but not in a blog – I don’t think. I’ve taught on all the varying philosophies/approaches and what we have gleaned from them, even in blogs, but not specifically blogged what our journey was. Perhaps because although I can tell you what happened, I’m not sure I can get all the sequence and dates in correctly. It’s been a long time ya’ know.

Anyhow, today’s the day – here’s our own journey (in a very condensed version) – today our journey to home educating, tomorrow our journey through home educating.

The first thoughts of home educating our children came when I was nursing our first child nearly 28 years ago. Someone asked how long I was going to nurse her, and I replied that if she hadn’t weaned by age 5 I’d have to homeschool her. I knew no one who hs-ed, nor anything about it, but had heard of a lady up in the sandhills that was doing it.

Just a few years later our state became famous nationwide for some court cases related to home and “unaccredited” private/Christian education. We weren’t saved at the time, nor did we understand much about government, and I remember dh and I talking about it saying, “Why won’t they just hire accredited teachers instead of all this big stink?”

Very shortly after that we were converted and our lives transformed. We had sent our oldest to school at 5, like everyone else does, without a thought of any other alternatives. She changed schools in the middle of first and second grades, and missed the beginning and end of third. Her younger sister did the same for K and first grade. By that second year, just after we were saved, we were looking into homeschooling.

I read and heard and experienced enough about the government schools to know there were problems there, but we we doing our best, getting them into rural schools with all Christian teachers, getting them into the number one school district in the state, pulling them out when “bad” stuff was going to be taught – that had been announced anyhow. I read the less-than-a-handfull of books on home education available at the time, and really felt that was where we were headed, that it was the Biblical thing to do – still not knowing one living soul who had ever done this.

The year our children missed both the beginning and end of the school year was due to moves. We couldn’t get into our new home until 2 weeks after the school year started, so the teachers just gave us their books and said, “This is what we have planned. They can do it at home.” The girls worked about 1/2 hour a day completing these lessons. When we got to school 2 weeks later the teachers apologized. They hadn’t got as far as they thought they would. Our girls were ahead. I knew at that moment, I could do this! And I learned “real” schools don’t keep on track. At the end of the year we moved again, one month before school got out – the dangers of renting from military people. The teachers said, “They are both doing great. We won’t get much more done anyhow, so here’s their report cards.” I knew then, “real” schools don’t finish books either.

I now knew we not only should do this, but could, and now would. We moved one more time just before the school year started, and we began home educating, K, 2, and 4 graders – still not knowing anyone who did it, anywhere. Knowing only what the few books had told us. By the hand of Providence, they were no longer throwing home educators in jail in our state. We had a new law, within those couple of short years just before we began.

We knew we wanted Christian books, and ordered the types of books we thought were right – there wasn’t much choice anyhow. Home educators pretty much bought from the same 3 biggies that sold textbooks/workbooks to the Christian schools. Not many places would sell to home educators at all. Since we didn’t have money to order a whole year’s worth of textbooks for now 3 children in every subject, we did what we could afford, workbooks, that we could order each month as we needed them.

I remember thinking, “This is great. My kids get up, generally whiz through their workbooks, I can still be in Bible Studies and whatever, while they work quietly in a corner or in another room.” We had ordered the first month of the next year’s workbooks (I think) when God stopped me in my tracks. I clearly heard Him say, “This isn’t what I called you to do.” And thus began the process of renewing my mind on education.

Part 2 – Our Journey THROUGH Home Education – tomorrow, Lord willing.