Homeschool State of the Union

I’ve wanted to write a midyear evaluation of my first homeschool attempt for my first grader. But two weeks into the new year, I admit it’s a difficult task. (So, for procrastination, I get an A.) Here goes, using a scale of 1 - 10…

1. Courage: 10. I never considered homeschooling in my life before last Easter Sunday. As a child of public school teachers, I always thought it was for paranoid militia control freak types and produced maladapted citizens. (Okay, slight exaggeration…) But circumstances brought me into contact with some pretty impressive homeschoolers, and the week after Easter I bought The Well-Trained Mind, read it, and felt strongly that it was the right thing to do. So, for uncharacteristic carpe diem, I give myself a generous grade.
2. Relationship: 10. Part of the reason I did this was academic and spiritual, but mostly it was because I felt I was using public school to run away from my own fears of being inadequate as a mother. I don’t always know how to relate to my kids, but I’m definitely in the game, and there are rewards. When we were doing verbs a few weeks ago, I asked my daughter for actions everyone in the family performed. When it was my turn, I feared it would be, “Mommy cooks. Mommy cleans. Mommy disciplines.” Instead it was, “Mommy helps. Mommy hugs. Mommy loves.” (I was shocked… but in a good way!)
3. Developing love of learning: 7. This, more than the curriculum of a classical education, is my educational goal. My 6 yo doesn’t like to interrupt playtime for lessons. She doesn’t roll out of bed eager to break open the Saxon math. On the other hand, she’s constantly making connections between lessons and life, enjoying more free time to play creatively instead of being herded from one activity to the next or being plopped in front of a Disney movie as happened on a daily basis in kindergarten, and listening to many more stories. She picks up books and reads them, or tries to read them, now. When we don’t do school, she initiates: “Now I’m going to read to you.” Or, “I think we should do some history now.” So there’s love of learning, but not the greatest ability to submit to structure.
4.  Academic progress: 10.  We’re ahead in every subject.
5. Curriculum: 9. I switched from Singapore to Saxon math, and I like it better because I have a clearer sense of how to guide. But it can be tedious. Story of the World is working well for history, Spelling Workout, First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind, and Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading are working well, and my Kingfisher encyclopedias for animals and astronomy have been very user-friendly in designing a science curriculum. She actually takes the animal encyclopedia to bed with her occasionally.
6. Literacy development: 10. I’ve restricted television pretty severely, and read all sorts of books instead. Some are below her reading level, and she’s beginning to read these for herself, and sometimes to her younger sister. Some are just fun stories; some are at a more challenging reading level. It’s true, what they say about children liking to hear stories even if the language and concepts are a bit beyond them. Some mysterious language thing happens even if they don’t comprehend 100%. My 6 yo listens to audiobooks too, the virtues of which are laid out well in this article. However, it fails to include repetition as one of the advantages of audiobooks; she listens over and over to Little House in the Big Woods, The Cat in the Hat and Other Dr. Suess Favorites, Tales of the Old Testament, and Cherished Bible Stories. These we own; through the library we’ve also enjoyed the other Little House books, the Narnia books, E.B. White reading Charlotte’s Web, Runaway Ralph, and a few others. My 4 yo likes the Frog and Toad stories, the Frances stories, Mouse Soup, and Mother Goose Remembers. We all like The Velveteen Rabbit read by Meryl Streep, but not too often. (I don’t want them to get numb to it.)
7. Worldview: 10 (I guess). In history, we’re able to see Bible stories in their historical context, which reinforces their real-worldness. We’re able to see the distinctives of Christianity against the belief systems of other ancient cultures. But the big plus in the worldview arena is simply the more relaxed way we can deal with “thinking Christianly.” I found last year that circumstances forced certain discussions because there was, whether consciously or unconsciously I can’t say, a kind of pop-culture indoctrination agenda being developed. I’m more comfortable this year because I’m not finding myself in the awkward position of having to take a defensive stance against another authority figure who’s peddling a godless worldview without even the awareness that it constitutes a subjective belief system.  
8. Socialization: 7. I’m not totally satisfied. There’s a co-op that meets on Fridays, and maybe it’s time to check it out. It hasn’t appealed to me because it’s a time commitment that boxes us in, as well as a commitment to teach other kids when I’m trying to find my way with my own. But I’m ready to investigate it. She’s been in Brownies, taken horseback riding lessons, and is now doing Upward basketball. The quality of socialization has been good, and she’s more idea-driven than people-driven. But I’m curious whether we need a little more quantity. On the upside, my 6 yo and my 4 yo describe themselves as “best friends.” That counts for a lot.
9. Logistics/discipline/execution: 6. I thought I’d be a real gestapo-type about structure, but each week after about 2 days of structure I have to take more of an unschooling approach for a day, then press on again on Thursday and Friday. We get everything done, but I myself hate the structure and have a hard time getting going bright and early, when we’re fresh. I’m also not great at dividing my attention between the two kids, and feel like the 4 yo gets short-shrift. On the upside, I keep great records.

Average: 87%. So there it is - a mixed bag, not the golden-veiled wonder I imagined before we got started, but certainly a respectable attempt so far. I need now to start thinking about next year, and whether I want to follow the path of classical education or not.

Now, to reward myself for finally getting this thought out, I’m going to go watch Persuasion - the first of many weeks of Jane Austen on Masterpiece Theatre. :-)

And speaking of classics, here are two Woods for this Week: first, the Pauline Baynes illustration from The Magician’s Nephew:

 

Next, the cover illustration from the 70’s vintage version of the book I read as a child. It’s a reminder that evil can enter the wood: