It's a leetle late for me to be offering you homeschooling advice, I know.
Yet, even with September freshness — those new books, that fantastic curriculum, those sharp pencils — there might be room for me to throw in my two cents.
Honestly, I tried to talk about this in June. But who wants to talk about homeschooling in June?
Well, there is at least one person out there who is just as “behind” as I am. She wrote to me not too many days ago, and I thought I'd share the gist of what she said in case there are one or two more of you who find yourselves wondering how on earth you are going to do this thing.
Angel {I didn't make up her name!} writes:
Dear Auntie Leila,
First I wish you were my aunt, but oh well. You can be my bloggy aunt.
I am a mom of 6 — ages 10 months to 13 years. I am participating in an online school thing through the school district, because I was nervous to try it on my own, didn't want to have to figure out all the class schedules etc. I have 5 boys &1 girl so I need a pretty active curriculum.
Well this online thing is not working for my daughter, it takes her 8 hours a day to complete all the assignments, but I am too afraid to do it on my own and try to create what is right for them. My son resists almost all formal-feeling teaching so the idea of trying to persuade him to do assignments each day is daunting, but I feel like if his online teacher tells him to do it he won't rebel as much.
I also don't have a 100% spiritual conviction that homeschooling is the only “right” way. I can see the good in both settings. But for the next two years I want to homeschool my children, but I just feel so overwhelmed and confused on the hows. I've read lots of books and stuff, but it seems more confusing now that the kids are getting older.
How do you do it?
Well thanks for your blog, I've been lurking for a while.
Angel
Thanks for writing, Angel!
In one way, I started blogging, wrestling this space from its intended purpose (of posting crafts and such), for this very reason:
To put into words and pictures what I usually end up incoherently babbling to a young mom who asks me, “How do you do it?” Meaning, homeschooling.
Because homeschooling — in fact, the formation of our children, pure and simple; at home, in school, in the womb, under the shade tree — is a part of our family life.
A man and a woman are meant to marry, have children, and bring them up! That last bit is…family life! All of it!
So I always look at her somewhat helplessly, the poor woman sitting in my kitchen, and stammer something vague, when what I mean is — what Like Mother, Like Daughter is all about. Usually after the first hour or so, she says, meaningfully (not quite rolling her eyes), “You should write a book!”
So, first of all, read the sidebar, because if you are stuck in Laundry 101 you will never get to Comparative Literature 202!
In other words, I have found that what the poor girl is telling me is that she is so buried under babies and their needs and wants, not to mention that big hairy galumph standing there wondering where his clean socks are, not to mention that all she really wants to do is read a book or knit a sweater — that she tends to curl up and die at the mention of homeschool.
Oh, she's all for it — enthusiastic about all her hopes and dreams for leading her little ones into the joys of higher learning. But the daily grind that is teaching the 3 Rs, that's what gets her down.
But let's assume that you are reasonably (reasonably! Not perfectly!) on top of getting up, making meals, and doing the laundry. (We won't even address the issue of cleaning the house — maybe next year!)
Let's say that you understand that education means more than schooling, and you are at one with your husband when it comes to Sundays and feast days — that you are slowly trying to live your faith, day in and day out, with your whole family. See sidebar!
Let's say that your children obey you most of the time, because honey, if not, homeschooling is the least of your worries.
The next thing to realize is that education means — dear Aristotle! —
For a full explanation, read The Abolition of Man, by C. S. Lewis.
You will get a crash course on all sorts of things, including moderns vs. ancients, epistemology, and first principles. It will be fun, and it's a short book.
Another short read would be Dorothy Sayers' The Lost Tools of Learning. Armed with these two background works, you will be ready to tackle all the other reading I have in store for you!
Now, let's see — you have a vision, right? Let's quote from Plato (this from The Republic via Abolition) about the properly brought-up child,
“who would see most clearly whatever was amiss in ill-made works of man or ill-grown works of nature, and with a just distaste would blame and hate the ugly even from his earliest years and would give delighted praise to beauty, receiving it into his soul and being nourished by it, so that he becomes a man of gentle heart.
All this before he is of an age to reason; so that when Reason at length comes to him, then, bred as he has been, he will hold out his hands in welcome and recognize her because of the affinity he bears to her.”
And you have the children.
They by no means seem destined to be men of gentle heart.
On the contrary, they are this minute dismantling something important to you, or perhaps expressing their inner rage with marker on white walls. They are uncivilized little beasts, and like Angel you are fairly sure that sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours fails the test of education, and like her, naturally, you want to find something active for them to do, preferably breaking rocks in a chain gang or hiking a distant canyon.
And to complicate matters, there is no end to the methods, curricula, and options available to homeschoolers. Even after 18 years of homeschooling, my strong convictions can be shaken by a random glimpse into someone else's seemingly magical approach. “Get math geniuses using only these ten musical instruments!” “Learn writing skills with our comprehensive 18-volume self-taught manual!”
But, do as I do, and resist. Stick to your vision. So, how to bring these things — vision and children — into the right relationship, as pertains to actual schooling?
I'm going to tell you.
The key is to make sure that whatever you do with your children has this quality: it is related to all the things that intelligent and wise people have ever done to become educated. In simple terms, this means that your plan of study, your curriculum, must be firmly connected to good, old, time-tested, well worn, books.
It has been said by John Senior, a seminal thinker in classical education, that before one can read the Hundred Great Books (those works of civilization that represent the crown of man's thought and art), one must read the “thousand good books”!
These books are the shared heritage without which all learning and thinking will whither for lack of nourishment. This is the key! If your curriculum isn't all about the books, it's not going to be worth it.
Don't waste your time and money on things that are not time-tested! Don't do it! It's not that there aren't fine things out there — it's that there isn't enough time to get to them AND read all the wonderful literature that makes us who we are.
And don't start fretting about an exact list. People disagree on the margins, but in the main, the books that belong on your shelves are not difficult to find, if you are clever and know how to look for them. (You can buy a little booklet published by a friend of mine, called A Mother's List of Books. A good start!)
I'm going to tell you what I tell everyone who asks me: go to Ambleside Online, a website devoted to Charlotte Mason's thinking, which I highly recommend. And it's free!
Mason's thrust is this: being connected with the past through what she calls living books (the thousand good books!) as well as physically moving the child outside to observe, enjoy, and study nature. In addition, she incorporates many other activities that in most curricula are relegated to the periphery, unjustly. Music, art, crafts, singing folk songs and hymns — she integrates these into her teachings, and rightly so.
I start at this site myself all the time. There are several reasons.
1. They have a condensed version of Mason's writings, which is wonderful. The woman was a genius, but somewhat prolix! If it's September, and it is, you need the gist of what she's getting at. Save the long version for next summer.
2. They have a book list for each stage, roughly by grade. They have hit many important books, and although I consider myself a complete bookworm, I have found many gems there, including things online I never could have found on my own. The book list alone is worth a fortune.
3. They have lesson plans. I've never actually used them, but they have helped me figure out how to do my own, based on the books I've chosen. (You really probably can't use ALL the books they have in their plans. It's just really a lot.) And it helps you realize, if you are as impractical as I am, that the plan is a simple matter, after all: Take the book, divide it into the weeks you have available, and voila! Your plan.
4. They have many ideas for nature study, crafts, poetry, singing…it's a treasure trove!
{I do have one reservation about the Mason approach to history, as organized on this site. The books tend to be Anglo- and reformation- centric (Mason was an Anglican), which leads to what has been called “the Whig interpretation of history” — the idea that we are all progressing towards a perfected state. But we can address that later — it doesn't detract from the value of the site as a whole.}
Don't be overwhelmed by the vast stores on Ambleside. It's more of a revelation of how things could be done, rather than a set injunction to do them a certain way.
I suggest that you begin using what you can as it appeals to you and your children. It's at least worth a look just for good books from the library! A little at a time…
Which leads me to say, that's all for today. I have a lot more in store for you on this topic, but a little at a time is the watchword!
Bethany says
I love, love, LOVE this post. Especially your recommendation to read Abolition of Man and The Lost Tools of Learning. I heartily second that.Up until recently, I've only focused on teaching at the college level, and you just about perfectly expressed my philosophy of teaching–only you made it applicable to young children. I've been considering education options for my almost-three-year-old; you make me want to homeschool!
Mrs Bossy says
After a 10 year hiatus from homeschooling, due to disease and 'pruning' – the Almighty has seen fit to launch me back into the adventures of schooling. Yee ha! I'm back! And hubs is so much more an active participant in our daily lives. (Middle age tends to slow down the pace compared to our first two decades together.) Anywho, thanks for the timely post and book suggestions. I am a human impersonator of Johnny V from the 1986 movie Short Circuit – "I'm ah-live!" & "Neeed input! More input…"
Sue says
Amen! You say it so well, as always. I especially like the part about the chain gang ;-). Thanks for a couple of new titles for my ever-growing Amazon wish list!
Anonymous says
I also loved the Lewis and Sayers recommendation. I reread The Lost Tools every year before we start again.I like Ambleside and glean things there, but I really like Mater Amabilis and their lists/recommendations, though they are still working on the high school years.http://www.materamabilis.org/
Anonymous says
Having happily home educated my now married children I'd like to humbly say, no matter what method/programme/unschooling/curriculum a mother decides to use; without fail, read to your children every day, no matter their ages. Have books everywhere. Make books and reading a major part of your daily life. Sharing the love of reading is a such a joy and forms a tremendous bond between the family; lots of happy memories. (And if children can read, they can teach themselves most anything. How educated is that!) 🙂 Love Linda.
Crafty P says
oh so good. so much to think upon Auntie Leila! I could so do this…. but is everyone called? Are some moms supposed to send their little ones (and big ones) off to school?
Candra Georgi says
thank you so much for this post. you've given me a lot to think about. [and read about!]http://curiousgeorgi.blogspot.com/
Amy says
Auntie Leila, what DO you recommend for teaching history, especially from a Catholic perspective?
Leila says
Amy, that is a question that I can't answer in the comments, but I will try to post about at some point! Thanks for asking!
Bridget Green says
I have been interested in the Charlotte Mason approach for a while now, and I am seriously contemplating trying it this coming Fall. My oldest is in second grade right now, and I have a first grader as well. I'm a little lost as to where to start them.Why do you recommend Ambleside which is Protestant rather than Mater Amabilis? Genuinely curious. I've looked at both, and my heart wants to go with a Catholic program, but my head is drawn to Ambleside because it seems "heavier", if that makes sense. Any thoughts, Auntie Leila? 🙂
Leila says
Bridget, I am not as familiar with Mater Amabilis as with Ambleside. Ambleside is what I stumbled upon when in the throes of homeschooling many young ones (that is, after the internet became the helpful thing it is now!). From what I see, though, I would say that Ambleside just has so very much material — so many books listed! Since I am very much a DIY-er in homeschooling, I found that more helpful than a ready-made study guide.As I have said, though, the Ambleside approach to history is very much a Protestant one — that is, subscribing to the "Whig" view of history, that mankind is on a journey to progressively improving in all ways, starting with the Reformation. So that is my caveat.Perhaps the MA curriculum avoids this trap. If it also provides the richness of "living books," then it should be fine! Use the amblesideonline.org website to get your booklists in shape and you're good to go!
Catie H says
Dear Aunt Leila,
You’re closer to the end of your homeschooling years than the beginning. I’m closer to the beginning than the end. I have 4 children ages 8 and under, and I can only assume that more will come given God’s providence thus far (this is a good thing!). Can you give any tips to us overwhelmed mothers who see the years stretching out far ahead of us and so very unsure of ourselves in the homeschooling department? For instance, looking back, which things are you so very glad you did (and venture to say got right), and which things do you wish you had known when you were beginning. I find myself bouncing between being uptight and angry because I feel like my kids aren’t “getting enough done” and will be failures… and then on the other hand perhaps letting too much go in favor of letting them play together for hours in the warm sunshine. I wish I could fast forward and look back and take notes. But then again, I suppose we’d all like to do that with most things in life. Anyway, any advice you could give along this vein would be much appreciated! Thank you for blog. It’s such an encouragement. 🙂
Catie
Leila says
Dear Catie,
I appreciate your comment — you are right! This is what’s needed. And rather than give you a long answer here or even writing a post about it, I would say that the whole blog is my attempt at an answer.
In fact, I started blogging here with that purpose — just to answer your question! For places to start, look here:
http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2009/03/order-and-wonder-or-most-frequently/
Here I write about how I started and answered other questions:
http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2013/10/ask-auntie-leila-ten-questions-of/
If you click on “education” (you’ll have to leave your phone, if that’s how you read the blog, and go to the site so you can see the categories — we are working on getting menu tabs up for phone readers!) you will find extended attempts, however feeble, to address your wonderings. But there are also posts on your own creativity (click on that in the categories) and how it is part of the whole vast project of making your family — and educating the children.
You can also read my posts on the family (try starting here: http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2013/04/what-we-do-in-here/ — it’s the last post in the series but the others are linked) to understand my philosophy, which is that the family — its own unique character, unity, and energy — is a force for forming children beyond what we may do consciously.
Also, delve into how the liturgical seasons define that Order and Wonder that we are seeking, and facilitate them without stress on our part. The category of Liturgical Year might help you.
In short, the whole blog is my attempt to give you your answer. I hope it helps! XOXO Leila
Catie H says
Thank you so much, Aunt Leila! These links (and many more pages on your site) have been so helpful. It all feels so very overwhelming right now… and *tiring*. But I trust that God will supply the grace each step along the way. I just need to keep fighting the noonday devil and remember to ask for His help.
Love (cause I do),
Catie