I know that God has called me to homeschool. I know this because I did not know anyone who homeschooled, and I myself, thought that was something OTHER people did, but not me. I could never do it.
Shantal has always disliked school and had problems there. She went to Early Childhood Education (preschool), Kindergarden & First Grade in Public School. We considered holding her back all three years because she seemed to 'not get' what was being taught. She had some behavior problems and would come home crying everyday and beg me not to make her go back to school. This young , learning should be fun!! I knew there was a problem. The school staff (psychologists, specialists) recommended that she be put on Ritalin and in Special Education Classes, but when we had her tested for special ed, they were surprised to find out she was exceptionally bright and definately not under normal intelligence. I did not know anyone who homeschooled, so I researched it online and at the library. I was just looking for a solution to this problem. I was scared my daughter would be scarred for life if things continued this way. All I wanted was for her to have a good education and enjoy school like I did. It was ironic that I would even think of homeschooling since I didn't know anyone who did it. I prayed about it daily and it wasn't long before I pulled her out and we began. I get a lot of 'wide eyes' and 'jaws dropping to the floor' when I tell people I homeschool. The most common concern is "Aren't you afraid she won't learn to socialize properly?" I believe that socialization starts before school and in the home. I also do not know anyone who sends their children to school to socialize. But, nevertheless, what a child in traditional school learns in 6 hours, I can teach my daughter in 1-2 hours per day. That leaves her with more time for social activities. She is currently in Girl Scouts, involved in the Children's ministry at our church, goes on frequent play dates with other homeschooled children, and is taking a science/cooking class at the recreation center with other children her age. This summer she will be taking swimming lessons and playing on a junior tee-ball league. She has more friends that I can count in our neighborhood and has kept in touch with some from the public school.
Currently, I do not use much text book curriculum, partly because she is 'burnt out' from public school, and because I want to instill a love of learning in her instead of the 'I hate math!" attitude that some children have when forced to learn. Instead, we read a lot of books, and write stories about things she is interested in, like Barbies. We play games that encourage math and critical thinking. We do many science projects and experiements. We recently made a globe out of paper mache, and drew a detailed map of how to get to her room. She loved it!! and didn't even know how much she was learning. We visit the museums here and learn a lot about our culture and the history of where we live. Every single day we learn about things surrounding us and whatever interests her, we will study. She asked me why it rains one day, and so we went to the library and got some books explaining that with colorful pictures and we made our own cotton ball clouds. Homeschool groups even hold proms and graduation ceremonies for homeschooled children! In my opinion, my daughter is not missing out on anything by being homeschooled. Instead, she is gaining things like 1 on 1 attention, parental guidance and strong family values that a lot of kids are lacking today. |
