Home School Mama in the Making

Yesterday I attended a 7-hour home schooling seminar. A friend sent me an e-mail about it months ago with this message, "I highly recommend this seminar! It's the best homeschool one I've ever been to. I wish I'd heard it when my kids were as young as yours." So I sent the kids to hang with Daddy, wrote a check for $53, and sat for hours listening to Carole Joy Seid, a veteran home school mom, former public and Christian school teacher, educational consultant, and conference speaker discuss her home school philosophies and strategies.

I've been asked by countless friends and neighbors about home schooling Judah. I figure if my public-assistance-receiving, television-watching, video-game-playing, public-school-attending neighbors are asking me about home schooling, then I'm probably a strong candidate. It's not like they have home schooling experience and want to share their wisdom. They just know that I'm not "normal" and they think that Judah is so smart because he talks so much, and they figure I'll probably go against the grain on this one, as well. Without really trying, I'm living a pretty counter-cultural lifestyle. As soon as people find out we don't own a television, we're labeled. That, alone, is enough to make an American family an anomaly.

Oddly enough, I used to think that home school kids must be socially inept because they didn't experience the "socialization" of public school. It wasn't until I taught language arts to junior high home school kids two days a week that I realized how incredibly social home school kids can be. They blew me away. They were able to relate socially to any age group. They were confident, curious, creative, kind. . .not at all what you might expect from junior high kids. I rarely had any behavioral problems. My biggest complaints were that the kids almost never wrote their names on their papers and they would often forget their homework. No bullies, loud-mouths, smart remarks, foul language, blatant disrespect. . .just a great group of kids who wanted to please their teacher--especially my first year 6th graders, who are now high school graduates. I met some truly amazing writers during the years I was at New Song Christian Academy, several of whom are still writing, getting published, and winning awards.

Not only did those kids sell me on home schooling, but they were also the catalyst for me beginning to think about becoming a mom. I've said that being a mom is the best job I've ever had. Teaching at NSCA was probably the second best job I've ever had. I had so much fun, and I dearly loved those kids. Several of them still have a special place in my heart.

Families who home school are quite a different breed. I like them. I relate to them. I connect with them. Now, I'm looking forward to emulating them. During one of the short breaks we took at the Saturday seminar, I thanked God for dropping this in my lap. He did the same thing with parenting material, exposing me to the resources before I ever needed them. In fact, we went to a Directing Vision Daily parenting workshop before Judah was ever conceived!

The lady who spoke on Saturday feels strongly about nutrition (she hasn't eaten white sugar or white flour in 30 years!), excercise (she recommends at least two nature walks a week and making the kids play outside after lunch until an hour before Dad gets home, no matter the weather), reading (her whole approach is literature-based, reading aloud to children at least an hour every day), and NOT watching television (she offered several sources that document the detrimental effects of television, particularly on developing infant/toddler brains)--basically, everything I'm already passionate about.

You can listen to a short radio interview through her website, http://www.carolejoyseid.com/index.html. She cites Dr. Raymond Moore (whose philosophy balances service, work, and study) and Charlotte Mason (who replaced textbooks with "living books" or "classics" or any book that your child begs you to read "more, please!") as predecessors and home school heroes. She also says that her home school philosophies are largely based on Francis Schaeffer's book How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture.

I realized through the workshop why I've always hated history and why I've never been able to retain it; I learned through textbooks. When I was in college, one of my history professors required us to go to the library and check out a book written during the time period we were studying. For the first time, I actually enjoyed reading about history. Later, a friend told me that one of her favorite books was The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. I devoured it. I often refer to it in my mind as I go about my daily life. Using a literature-based approach to home school, The Hiding Place would qualify as a history book. I can't begin to describe how excited I am about re-learning history through great books.

So now I have vision. I'm armed. I'm dangerous. I'm going to attempt to home school my children, and as the Lord leads, refer often to the principles (and book lists) I was exposed to this weekend. I just love when He weeds through all the options for me and shows me the best way for my family. HE IS SO GOOD. And I am so tired. :0)