closininII

    The decision to homeschool may seem bold and whatever, but we feel it really isn't. Certainly we hope that homeschooling means that we get to integrate much of Elijah's interests, but, we also hope that choosing this method of education for our child will help to raise him to be a gentle, kind, loving and patient young man.
      There are, of course, many arguments for either kind of education (for now we will use homeschooling and standardized education). For me, I come from the standardized education standpoint--meaning, it scares the crap out of me to send Elijah to public school!!! Mainly I am concerned about classroom size and how the student teacher ratio just isn't ideal these days and everyone knows this to be true. I am also concerned about Elijah's performance in this setting; assuming he is an average student, will he find the material challenging, too challenging or not challenging enough....and will he have teachers who are effective enough (and who have the time and resources) to address these issues for/with him. The other concern is the other students. Who are the other children he is hanging out with? What kinds of behaviours is Elijah exhibiting while hanging with other kids at school? And will I like this?
      Curt comes from the perspective of homeschooling and the benefits therein. Homeschooling provides the particular structure Elijah needs to learn to love learning. The home setting will cater to his interests and needs, the subjects where he excels and ultimately promote good life skills with a positive self-image.
      Okay, so now we are ready to address what everyone's concern is...socialization. This is not a concern for us; much of the research we have done thus far shows that children who are homeschooled are no different socially from other kids. One study in Texas showed that a group of well-trained educators and child psychologists could not tell the difference between a group of children playing together half of whom were homeschooled the other half schooled in a classroom. The concerns around socialization, or the lack thereof, I think, comes from a person who has no idea what homeschooling is. And, as my mother-in-law says, "homeschooling is not the same as it used to be". It should no longer carry the stigma of conservatve religious affiliation, but instead as a viable alternative to sending kids to school. I would much rather education my kid then leave it up to other folks to do for me.
     Certainly there is much work to do on my part; the work I will do consists mainly of research, networking and curriculum building. Elijah, being almost 14 months old, has some time to develope some preferences for learning; but I encourage him in everything he does.
     Something my level VII advisor from Goddard tought me about children, specifically her family and how she was raised, really resonated with me. Laiwan, who is Chinese, was raised by her extended familiy in South Africa, who then fled to Canada said that her family always treated her as a 'growing intellectual being'. Yes!! Though this may seem basic to some, but to me it just really hit home. I remind myself daily that Elijah will one day stand over 6 feet tall and will maintain himself financially and itellectually etc. Perhaps what most struck me about Laiwan's comment, is that she, as a 36 year old artist/educator living in Vancouver, BC, has logged this as being essentially relevent to who she is.
Now it is spring 2003, and Elijah is going on 15.5 months old. I can see many ways in which my desire to home school and its responsibilities are moving out of a theoretical space and into the real. The interest Elijah has in his world is becoming more involved with each passing day. Because he has never spent time in a play yard, he has much access to things of interest and to things that require supervision. At this stage, Elijah operates primarly with the equation x = y. For instance, he knows that if he does x mommy is going to respond y (or at least there there is a probability that I will respond this way ends up encouraging x all the more, I've noticed that if I change the response he keeps up with x to find out why!). But there will come a time when Elijah will be able to conceptualize this cause and effect mechanism and although it is still very simple and 2-step, he will be able to make some predictions and that will be cool. You should know that I have been unsuccessful at solving for x....lord knows I can't figure out the baby. In any event, I am excited about my continued interest in schooling Elijah and am constantly considering myself and my behaviors because of it.
There is some exciting news on the homefront!! My parents have decided to sell their cabin on Wheelwright Pond in Lee, NH. Because I made them promise a long time ago to keep the house in the family, they gave us first refusal on its sale....we didn't even have to think about it!!! The calming naturescape of this spot offers alot of activity for our growing family. Swimming, Canoeing, Kayaking, water skiing, ice skating, snow mobiling, cross country skiiing and ice fishing are some of the things we see a lot of and participate in here.   We are truly blessed in many ways and more than ever are convinced that Curts decision to get out of the Navy is the best one!!!
We have also chosen to add on studio space in the form of a Yurt (a modern interpretation of the traditional Mongolian Yurt). This studio will be used mainly for home schooling and other hobbies. My long term plan is to include other local home schoolers to come and participate in this work shop-like setting. The yurt will be a place for us to germinate seeds, dissect fresh water clams from the pond, examine frogs, play music, read books, sew, draw and paint. Since the space is round, I feel like this will help create an environment where                        people will feel drawn to openness in learning and thinking.