| Home schooling. What is it? What does it mean to | | | | and I wouldn't get interrupted, gathered the |
| you? How do you home school? These were just | | | | materials, and sat down to teach her about |
| some of the questions I had when we started | | | | money. ( Experienced home learning parents are |
| thinking about home schooling our children. | | | | probably having a great laugh at this point. ) |
| While our daughter was a baby, I started reading | | | | We started to trace the coins on paper to show |
| articles in the paper about the local schools. Our | | | | how five pennies make a nickel, and two nickels |
| school district was in financial trouble. They were | | | | make a dime. Much to my surprise, Katherine was |
| cutting services and staff over and over again. | | | | not enjoying herself. She refused to count the |
| The elementary schools were eliminating librarians, | | | | number of pennies with me, wouldn't help trace |
| day time janitors, band, and the parents were | | | | circles, and became generally difficult. Finally I was |
| fund raising for a crossing guard. That's when I | | | | so annoyed I just put everything away. She |
| realized that the local public school would not be | | | | came up and hugged me and said 'I still love you |
| anything like the school I went to. | | | | Mommy'. My heart melted, but the doubts in my |
| Our first step was checking out the private school | | | | abilities remained. |
| options. There are three Montessori schools within | | | | A week latter, Katherine was watching TV and |
| a 20 minute drive, a variety of Christian schools, | | | | told me which three shows which shows were |
| and a Waldorf school about 45 minutes away. As | | | | listed on the screen. She had never even watched |
| I went and sat in classrooms, I realized that I | | | | one of the shows. I sat in stunned silence. She |
| didn't want my daughter spending most of her | | | | was right. Was it a good guess? Had she |
| childhood in those classrooms. Nothing seemed to | | | | memorized them or could she read? I hadn't |
| fit what I saw as her needs for education. | | | | planned to 'teach' her how to read until she was 7 |
| It didn't take me long to realize that home learning | | | | or 8. We hadn't even started any language |
| could be the best choice for Katherine. She is an | | | | lessons. What was going on? This event was not |
| intelligent child who does things in her own time. | | | | part of the plans I had been making for her home |
| She didn't start talking until she was about 2.5 | | | | schooling education. |
| years old. About a year latter, we went through a | | | | Truthfully, I don't think she could read that day, |
| speech assessment to find out if there were any | | | | but I'm not certain about that statement. She is |
| long term problems. She could say all of the | | | | quite capable of selectively answering our |
| sounds of a 2 year old, less than half of the | | | | questions when it suits her. We knew she could |
| sounds of three and four year olds and almost all | | | | sing the alphabet song, and recognize some |
| the sounds of five and six year olds! The final | | | | letters. I have been able to discover that she |
| assessment was that her speech development | | | | knows what all the letters look like, and can |
| did not fit the norm, but was OK. What if they | | | | correctly tell us which letter starts most words |
| hadn't tested her for the more advanced sounds? | | | | ('My grandmother's name is Margery, what letter |
| The results would have been very different. | | | | does Margery start with?"), even when she has |
| This test echoed the developmental patterns we | | | | never seen or heard the word before. |
| had seen with Katherine from the beginning. Any | | | | My husband and I have talked about this situation |
| time I tried to compare her to a chart, she was | | | | a few times. When she choses to answer our |
| fine at the levels below, had some of the skills at | | | | questions, we find out she knows way more than |
| her current level, but quite a few from the level | | | | either one of us thought she did. She has |
| above. While I think she might like all the kids in | | | | correctly found a show she would like to watch |
| the classroom, I am afraid that she will be labelled | | | | listed in the TV Guide, much to my amazement |
| as 'below average' because she doesn't fit their | | | | since the look of the words in the TV Guide is |
| standard tests. I do not want her public schools. | | | | very different from the logo with the show's |
| Home learning was no longer a choice, but a very | | | | name on TV. It's not just image recognition. We |
| firm decision. | | | | don't know where or how she has learned these |
| Fortunately, we live in a popular home learning | | | | skills. |
| area with some of the best legislation for home | | | | What has become clear is that Katherine doesn't |
| learners in Canada. I had never planned to home | | | | need me to 'teach' her or have a master plan for |
| school, and wasn't quite sure what it meant. I did | | | | her education. I do have to provide a good |
| know people whose children learned at home, and | | | | learning environment, answer her questions, help |
| it seemed to work for their families. I subscribed | | | | when she asks, and watch her learn. |
| to one of the two local newsletters and started | | | | I knew she would learn to walk, talk, and all those |
| listening to conversations about learning at home. | | | | hundreds of other things babies are suppose to |
| I liked what I read, saw and thought about. Most | | | | learn in their first few years. There is no reason |
| of my remaining doubts were about me as a | | | | to create an artificial line between life learning and |
| teacher. I love my children, our 6 year-old | | | | academic learning. For me, that was one of the |
| daughter Katherine, now has a 3 year-old brother | | | | reasons I thought home learning was great. Yet I |
| Duncan. I feel priveledged to be spending their | | | | still fell into the trap of trying to artificially set-up a |
| childhoods with them. However I do get impatient, | | | | teaching situation. No wonder Katherine wanted |
| need my own space some times, and don't have | | | | nothing to do with my planned lesson. |
| a teaching background. Could we home learn? We | | | | I have to remember to trust her. She loves |
| would try and see what happened. | | | | learning in her own way, at her own pace. Now if |
| An experienced home learning parent had told me | | | | I can just stay out of her way, she will to a great |
| about a great activity they did tracing coins and | | | | job all by herself. I am looking forward to having a |
| learning about money. Although Katherine was | | | | wonderful time watching her grow and learn in the |
| only 4y at the time, she loved coins and it | | | | coming years. I just hope I can remember what I |
| sounded perfect for us. I picked a time when she | | | | learned from our first home lesson. |