I have seen the (Son)light

I have to say, we are three months into our Sonlight curriculum and I LOVE it!!!  The kids are so fascinated by all of the literature that they are exposed to and they beg for more!!!!  It is so exciting to see the kids so actively learning and excited and interested.  We've been using Singapore math and my oldest daughter, who I've had the hardest time trying to teach math to since we pulled her out of public school, is eating it up.  And begging for more.  And since they go up through high school, well, why not?  Think I've found something that works, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Children are people, too!

I have been thinking a lot lately about how I treat my children, especially in regards to some ideas I've been pondering concerning violence, war vs. peace, and how to be loving, despite when someone else is not.  These ponderings have caused me to call into question much of my parenting techniques.  I think it is often easy to view children as property.  I know I don't mean to, but I think subconsciously I do.  This attitude allows me to disrespect my children in all sorts of ways.

I guess the question is, what is the balance between getting children to behave in a way that is considered appropriate by our culture, what I as a parent expect from my children, and how a child is naturally inclined?

There are lots of ideas that our culture has, that I have as a parent about how my child(ren) should behave.  Are they all appropriate?  What about the "proper" way to set, and sit at the table.  I have a friend who thinks it's silly that I expect my children to know that.  Is that important in our society anymore?

I wonder about the things that our society expected 10, 20, 30 years ago and much of it has changed.  Things that were expected in the 50's and 60's are now viewed as ridiculous.  For instance, the way we dress.  My father wears a suit and tie to work.  He's always worn one for as long as I can remember.  I've shown up to an interview in a blazer and jeans and gotten the job.

And these things relate to how I raise my kids and what expectations I should have of them.  Should I wash their mouths out with soap for swearing or being disrespectful?  Should I just allow the behavior to slide because, well, we all get angry and slip up and children should be able to express themselves?

I don't know what the right answers are, and everyone seems to have differing opinions on what is right.  For now, I'm just doing the best I can and praying that God will make them into what he wants them to be.  But, then somebody might just have something to say against that, too......

I ran across this link this evening, and immediately the questions flew through my mind.  This makes me sad, why do we have to assume that because a child isn't "learning" rote grammar and mathematical problems, that the child will be "uneducated"? Can't (and shouldn't) life learning experiences be a major part of a child's education, instead of cramming facts and figures that the child will never use again and wasting 12 years of said child's life with such facts?


Secondly, the writer of the article assumes that the children exposed to this type of education will be relegated “... to the creation of a permanent, uneducated underclass” because of this project.  Don't we already have a permanent uneducated underclass?  The basic thing that we as humans are called to do, take care of the earth, is shoved to the side because we feel that "book learning" is much more important.  What's wrong with exposing a child to farmlife?  We have few enough farmers as it is because of this kind of attitude.


Children should be taught who they are and what they are meant to do, not how to  make the most money in this life.


             "Train a child in the way he should go,
                        and when he is old he will not turn from it."
                                                            Proverbs 22:6

An Apple for Teacher

So, a new school year is upon us, and I am in the throes of purchasing, and waiting for the arrival of, some new curriculum.  I have tried the pure "unschooling" approach, and I find that I cannot keep up with it.  Yes, my children did a lot of stuff, but I was concerned that they weren't getting enough.  We also tried the public school-at-home approach and felt that the work load was too much.  So, I'm hoping that the curriculum I have purchased will be the balance I am looking for.

So, what did I get?  I know, I can hear you asking that question.  I have purchased Sonlight.  After much research and debate and discussion with my husband, we have decided that this curriculum is best for our family.  I like it because the reading, history and Language Arts are all intertwined.  I won't be teaching a bunch of different subjects.  Plus, there are a TON of books, and my kids are voracious readers.  I actually have threatened to ground them from reading.  Yes, it really is that bad.  I also like it because, while it is a Christian based curriculum, it also presents a secular worldview, such as creation vs evolution in the science curriculum, and teaches about other religions of the world, using materials and books from different cultures and religions.  The thing I like best about it is that, compared to other curricula, it is relatively inexpensive.  I got seven subjects (including a higher level math and writing for my older two children) for just over $1000.  The best part is that I get to split the payments over four months!  It came out to about $270 a month for me.

The other thing I am looking forward to is that our newest member of the family, a friend who is living with us for the time being, will be teaching my children some Japanese culture stuff.  I am so excited about what she will come up with for the kids!

So, here's to a new school year, and hopefully my kids will enjoy the new curriculum.  We shall see come December and January :)

The day I had to change the way I raise my child

At 6pm on a Monday evening, we were cozied down for a family night of movies and pizza.  We had just bought two new movies that day and were watching the first one.  Sometime during the movie, my oldest daughter got up and went to the bathroom.  She came out a couple of minutes later saying she couldn't see.  Anything.  After doing a few preliminary checks with her, my husband had me call 911.

From that moment on, we were caught up in a whirlwind of paramedics, emergency room staff, nurses, doctors and tests.  When the paramedics left our home we took her to the emergency room.  By the time we got her there she had disintegrated from a happy 9-year-old to being practically unresponsive.  They had her hooked up to machines and they kept giving her dose after dose of medication.  They kept throwing the word "seizure" around.  Seizures?  How is that possible?  I lived in a surreal state as they worked on my child.  One of the nurses was impressed that I was holding it all together.  What she didn't realize was that inside I was in peices.

Then I heard the words every mother dreads hearing:  "We're going to have to LifeFlight her..."  What?  Don't take my baby!  And I couldn't go.  We had to make the agonizing 45 minute drive up to the hospital without her.

When we finally got there, sometime around midnight, she was sleeping.  They'd given her some medication to calm her body down.  Over the next few days we waited agonizing hours as we listened to our daughter say and do strange things.  She didn't recognize me or her father.  She repeated words and phrases over and over, many of them not making sense.  She saw things that weren't there.  And they ran test after test.  We waited to hear the results of each one, hoping that each would come back negative, but at the same time hoping something would come back with an answer.

That began our journey as parents of a child with epilepsy.  It is strange, even now, to say it.  With each seizure that takes over her mind, and sometimes her body, we watch, we wait.  Most of the time, she pulls through just fine.  But sometimes...we end up in the ER again.

And then, she's my little sunshine again.  The storm is gone.  The clouds roll away.  And she's off to play, without a care in the world.

Onward and Upward

So, I have disenrolled my kids from our Alternative Learning Program (ALP) and have decided (with much encouragement from hubby) to go it alone.  I must admit that I have been pretty nervous about it, but now I am excited to be able to do it.
So, what kept me from doing it?  I think mostly fear.  Fear of not teaching the right things.  Fear of not being a good teacher.  Fear that I might not get it right.
You see, I'm a perfectionist, and I'm bound and determined to raise perfect kids!  Yeah, right.  I've really got to let go of that one.
So, for now, I'm going to do the best that I can, and trust that God will make up for my shortcomings.  Besides, the idea is not to teach them everything before they graduate high school, but to instill in them a love of learning for the rest of their lives.  And when they are ready to learn, hopefully I will have taught them everything they need to know about learning...and that is that it's fun!

Alternative Learning

Our family has opted to use public school curriculum in a homeschool setting.  In the truest sense of the word, this means that we are not technically homeschoolers.  This has its pros and cons.  The main pros are that you get free curriculum and everything you need, plus accountability.  The main con is accountability.

As a somewhat freespirited person, having someone (a public school teacher) who is so closely involved in my children's education, I feel confined.  My teacher is a very sweet person and gives me lots of space, mind you, but it still makes it a bit difficult.  I am required to maintain hours as though my children were still in school, and I have progress goals that I am required to meet each month.  Sorta defeats the purpose of "homeschooling" imo.

I would really like to move away from the public school mentality.  I'd like to be able to complete curriculum in my own time and at my children's paces, not the state's or the school's.  However, I find myself wanting a little of that hand-holding.  I'm afraid to go it alone.  What if I don't teach the right things?  What if I miss something vital?  What if I end up just slacking off and it ends up being more harmful than good?

Also, I like the fact that there are field trips and get-togethers.  I like that I can interact with other moms.  I also like the fact that I don't have to pay monitarily (trust me, I pay in other ways).

It will all work out, but it is a bit frightening, knowing that this time next year I may be flying solo.