9/20/2021 0 Comments September 2021 MusingsHome Sweet Homeschool
September has arrived! I don’t know about you, but I just love September. It seems like an unassuming month- no special holidays, the leaves haven’t turned colors on the trees just yet, and it’s wedged between the halcyon days of summer and the fabulous days of fall. And yet… September is special because it’s the month when we suddenly have so much to look forward to, and looking forward to something can fill us with hope. We have those first chilly fall days coming, when the sky is blue and crystal clear, when we put on a hoodie and feel cozy and content while our tea sits steaming in its mug. We have the holidays to look forward to. Thanksgiving is coming and then, joy of joys, Christmas! And at our house, something else happens on the first of September. It’s the day our homeschool year begins. This month I have been thinking about school, and I decided that I would like to share with you a few of my best homeschooling tips. I’ve been homeschooling for over twenty years. My oldest daughter has graduated from college, there are two children in the middle, and my youngest son is eight and in the third grade. Over the years we have had hard times and blissful times, times when I felt very blessed to be able to homeschool, and times when I have had to work very hard to get through the year. (Those high school years with Drivers Ed and transcripts-whew!). There are many tips that I could share, but you are busy and your time is valuable, so I have narrowed it down to three. They might be a little different than what you are expecting, and they are not curriculum suggestions. (Our favorites are My Father’s World for enjoyable multi-level learning, Christian Liberty for inexpensive workbooks and their indispensable Adventures In Phonics for reading, and Teaching Textbooks for math, if you are curious.) Rather, these tips are more general, more gentle, more like building blocks for the rest of your children’s education. Each of these made a difference in my kids’ lives, expanded their minds and helped them to love learning and think independently. If you don’t homeschool, I believe you could still incorporate these into your days and benefit from them, even if it’s only during summer break. 1: Book Basket Book basket is something that you can begin when your children are babies. It’s simple and inexpensive, too. All you need is a basket, or even an old box, and books to fill it with. Library books are the best for this purpose. During book basket time your kids can bring you books to read to them, and when they are older they can curl up and read to themselves. A love of reading is the foundation for so much else in learning, and it is also a beneficial alternative to screens. 2: Nature Journal You can find some inexpensive nature journals online, or you can staple some pieces of paper together and make your own. Nature journals are wonderful for getting children outside and into the fresh air and sunshine, and for helping them to appreciate the amazing creation around us that we often take for granted. Your kids can choose anything that they are interested in- a flower, a rock, a bug- and then they sketch it and write a little about it. Sometimes they learn even more because you can help them find other information on their interests, and suddenly learning is fun! 3: Family Meals This one might seem like an odd homeschooling tip, but it may be the most important of all. With my big family, I definitely understand how hard it is to get everyone to the table at the same time. And I more than understand how difficult it is to get everyone off of their screens. I have to admit that I love to read on my iPad and eat at the same time! But I also believe it is definitely worth the effort, at least as many days of the week as possible for your family. Eating together and talking during meals builds closeness and family bonds, but in the context of school it does more than that. I believe that my children have learned to think independently, debate, and analyze information logically most often while we have had family discussions around the dinner table. Any subject is fair game, from politics to philosophy to the plot of the latest Marvel movie. Many people go through life on auto-pilot, or even worse live their life believing everything they are told by someone else. Conversation is important, and if it can be done over a giant plate of spaghetti it’s even better! So this September I wish my fellow moms a wonderful school year, and hope that one of these suggestions might be helpful. If you don’t have children yet, you can still have a blast by having your own version of book basket time, getting out in nature and journaling, and of course spending some time eating and talking with someone that you love. Happy fall, ya’ll! Love, Stac
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