Leah and her husband, Lincoln have six children ranging from 4 months old to 9 years old. They have a family farm, where they raise a variety of animals, including poultry, pigs and beef cattle. They also have a family milk cow. Leah has been homeschooling for four years and has enjoyed the quality time that she gets to spend raising and discipling her kids. You can find her on Instagram (@littlefarmhouseonfelton) to follow along with their life on the farm.

What led you to homeschooling?

When our oldest was a toddler, I sent her to a daycare playgroup 1-2 mornings/week at the private school that my husband taught at. I thought it would be good for her to “socialize” plus I thought I would enjoy the break it gave me.

In reality, it was more of a challenge to get her out the door in the morning and the variety of unpleasant behaviors and illnesses she brought home added a whole new dimension to our parenting. The biggest surprise was how much I missed her. She was only there for two hours, but it felt so unnatural to hand my child off to another caregiver. 
God began working on my heart that year and I felt a pull toward the idea of homeschooling. She was only 2 years old at the time, but I continued to pray about this option and started researching. The following year, I started to do a preschool “curriculum” with her and we haven’t looked back! I truly believe that God did not bless us with our kids, just to allow us to raise them for five years and then send them off to be taught by someone else.

Did you and your husband plan to homeschool?

No. I went to a private christian school and swore that I would not send my kids to a private school. I had initially planned to send them to public school, but when we began having children, Lincoln was teaching at a private christian school, so we decided to send our kids there.

As our kids grew, I didn’t feel comfortable with sending our kids away to school. I felt called as a mom to spend time teaching them, not just academics, but biblical training, character building and life skills.

What are some benefits to homeschooling that you didn’t expect?

There are so many benefits!! One of my favorite things is that I have the privilege of learning with them! I get to learn new things or re-learn a lot of things that I had forgotten from my school years. I also enjoy reading books with them. Much of our school day includes reading together and we have enjoyed many adventures that way.

I also love watching each of our kids grow and reach new milestones. I love seeing them blossom as they work through something difficult and master that skill. I love listening to them play together. Sometimes this includes fighting, but this provides an opportunity to teach our kids how to properly resolve conflict.

Another unexpected benefit is that my character is constantly being refined. God uses moments from our day to shape me into someone who acts more like Him. He has used homeschooling to teach me to be more patient. I have learned to speak softly and respond calmly, when everything in me wants to raise my voice. Do I mess up? Absolutely. But in those moments, God teaches me to humble myself, apologize and ask for forgiveness. The added benefit to these refining moments, is that our kids see me modeling what repentance should look like. 

How do you push through on the hard days?

On the hard days, I step back and evaluate what is the priority that day. Is it my job to just get the bookwork done? Or is it more important for me to focus on my children’s hearts? Is their behavior a reflection of a need for some focused time from mom?

Some days, we just push through by checking off the boxes. Some days, we dangle a carrot… “Let’s work through this list and then we’ll do _____.” But more often than not, we take a step back from the books and spend time doing something fun or getting some things done around the farm. 

How do you homeschool with infants/toddlers in tow?

Some days just look chaotic and thats just the reality of homeschooling with toddlers and infants in the home. Many days, I have a baby on my lap and a toddler on the table, but you know what? They are benefiting from being in the room, listening to what we are discussing. 

Also, snacks. Snacks help a ton. When a toddler’s hands are busy and her mouth is full, she won’t be making as much noise or getting into trouble.

Favorite curriculum and why?

We have been using Gather Round, which is a Charlotte Mason inspired unit study. I love that this curriculum is written for all age levels, so I can cover the same topic but have workbooks that are appropriate for all of my learners.

We also pull our reading from Ambleside Online. We highly value good quality books (nothing fluffy, please!) and the list provided by Ambleside is an excellent resource.

Homeschooling on the Farm

If I had to label our homeschooling style, I would call it “Farm Schooling”. We highly value all of the core classes, but we also recognize the beauty in learning beyond what can be covered in a book.

Many aspects of farming can be turned into a lesson. Have you ever tried to count dozens of wandering chickens? Easier said then done!

Each animal we raise, provides an opportunity for learning – anatomy, what food it can and should eat, behaviors, life cycle, purpose, etc.

Our kids have have been able to watch chicks hatching and a calf being born. Both of these events have prompted discussions about reproduction and the growth and gestation of each animal. These moments are priceless and ones that will be engrained in their memories for a lifetime.

Farm Lessons

In addition to learning these things, farming teaches our kids about responsibility. They participate in the care of our animals each day and have learned that even on days that we “just don’t feel like doing it”, we still need to go outside and feed and care for the animals.

They have also learned about working diligently. We work together as a team and our kids know that if they work diligently, our work can get done faster and then we can relax and play. 

Life Skills

We also focus a lot on teaching our kids life skills. That looks like including our kids in the daily activities that are necessary for maintaining a home – laundry, cleaning, dishes, baking and cooking.

Each of our kids help us prepare and preserve food via canning, dehydrating or freezing. They also help with some of the cooking and baking – learning how to make simple meals or snacks, as well as baking bread.

We have also introduced them to basic finances that are involved in farming. As our kids get older, we will include farm finances (budgeting, expenses, profit/loss) in their schooling.

Benefits of Farm Life for Kids

Our kids also get to reap the benefits of farming. We all enjoy a highly nutritious diet that tastes even better because we grew it in the garden or raised it on our pastures.

Our kids also have had opportunities to earn money. They have been paid for the eggs that they sell or the animals that they helped us raise. This teaches them money management skills and they recognize that hard work is not only satisfying, but it literally pays off.

Farming is not for everyone, but I do believe that everyone can enjoy some element of this lifestyle and include it in their homeschooling.

The post Homeschooling On the Farm With Leah appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

You are considering homeschooling your child, but you are full of questions. You may be thinking…

“Can I homeschool my child?

Will we be able to keep up?

Is this the right choice for my children’s education?

Do homeschooled children have friends?

What if they are missing something?”

Here are several reasons why you CAN homeschool your child!

What does it take to homeschool your child?

I recently read a fantastic article written by the Homeschool Legal Defense Association in which the author listed two crucial attitudes necessary for new homeschoolers to make it over the long haul.

They need to believe

1. “We really can pull this off!” and

2. “Homeschooling is good for our children.”

When my oldest son was 4 years old several years ago, I asked myself the same question, “Do I have what it takes to homeschool my child?” Can I possibly do this?

After more than fourteen years of homeschooling, here is what I have learned.

You will learn as you go.

Whenever you start something new, you are bound to make mistakes. There will even be days when you will completely blow it as a homeschooling parent, BUT you will learn as you go!

• Does your daily schedule not seem to be working? You will figure it out.
• Are you having a hard time managing both the house and school? You will find a workable routine. (And you just might become more flexible!)
• Do you stink at math? You will grow in it. You will become better at math AND you will become a better math teacher.

The other day my husband happened to be home for a school day and our 7th grade son asked him to help him with his math problems (fractions). My husband gave me a deer-in-the-headlights look across the room, telepathically asking for my help.

It’s not that my husband doesn’t know fractions or is bad at math. It’s not that I’m a math whiz or that math has always come easily to me. The fact is that I have been studying and teaching math every day for the past 14 years since our oldest (now graduated) started Kindergarten.

When you work at something on a daily basis, you become better at it. It’s fresh in your mind and you can more clearly break it down in different ways for others to understand.

As our oldest grew and started some higher grade level math work, I had that same deer-in-the-headlights look at times, BUT we figured it out together step by step. Now I understand how to do it and teach it to the kids who are coming up behind him.

Stay one step of your oldest child. You will learn as you go.

It gets easier as your kids get older.

Building the foundation of your child’s education is hard work, but it WILL get easier as your kids get older!! This is one thing I wish someone had told me.

The longer you homeschool and the older your kids get, the easier home education becomes. Yes, maybe the subject matter becomes more challenging. Still, managing schedules, finding your style and your child’s learning style, gaining confidence, meeting your child’s needs, homeschooling with littles underfoot….all these things become easier.

The longer you homeschool, the more readers you have in the house. The more readers you have, the more independent they can be with their work.

At the beginning of your homeschooling journey, everything feels so foreign and takes a lot of time, especially if you grew up going to school and homeschooling is a brand new concept to you.

Choosing a homeschool curriculum the first year can be daunting. Becoming familiar with your curriculum also takes time.

In the beginning, you may be just starting to establish support groups that are a good fit for you and the kids. It’s not always easy finding and making new friends!

Many moms start homeschooling their Kindergartner while juggling younger kids and/or pregnancy which is an additional challenge.

My first several years of homeschooling were hands-down the hardest for me. But now I am reaping the rewards of that hard work and I’m so glad we stuck with it!

Of our ten kids, one is graduated and seven are school-age. We have six readers and five fairly independent learners. I still have young children, but it is different now than when my oldest started school. Back then it was a challenge to help the older children with school work while keeping the baby occupied and the toddler from flushing something down the toilet!

Now, my littles tend to follow the older kids. They want to do “school” since that’s what everybody else seems to be doing! They will sometimes sit beside them and draw or pretend they are doing their own work. Often my older kids will take a break and read to the littles. It’s a whole new world when you have older kids!

Encourage your kids to be self-learners and watch them thrive.

Years ago, someone told me this regarding children. “The one who is doing the most work is the one learning.”

Think about that. Are you doing everything for your child? Are you holding their hand all day long as they muscle through their work? Consider pushing them to be self-learners. Try giving them a daily checklist to follow. Make them responsible for all the work that they can do independently.

In my early years as a homeschool parent, I used a math curriculum that was very hands-on. It taught basic math facts using manipulatives and games. I thought it was a perfect fit for our second son, a hands-on learner.

Due to the number of children in our growing family, however, I simply could not teach three math lessons to three different kids every day on top of all our other school work and caring for younger children! I reluctantly let go of teaching his daily lesson and switched to a more self-directed curriculum.

What I observed in my son afterward completely changed my opinion on this! He liked seeing how much work he had to accomplish each day- rather than me teaching a lesson for which he had no idea how long it would take!

I became more of a facilitator in his learning rather than a lecturer. He came to me when he needed help with a new concept, but he figured out how to solve problems by reading and studying the lesson examples.

He learned HOW to learn himself! What a valuable skill!!

Reading covers a multitude of sins.

Ask any experienced homeschool mom for advice and you will hear this message repeatedly. READ. TO. THEM. Read a lot. Read to kids who can already read.

Whatever mistakes you make in your first homeschool year (and you will make them!), they aren’t crucial if you read to them a lot.

Reading covers so much ground. It fosters their imagination. More importantly, it creates in them an insatiable desire to learn more, read more, and know more about things about which they have always wondered.

Reading will be your margin for error. It’s okay to make mistakes in homeschooling if you are reading to them a lot.

How much reading? Little snippets throughout the day. Here a little, there a little. For more on this, see my blog post Teaching a Child to Read and Teaching a Child to Read Part 2.

Find a community.

I’ve met them. The people who say they’ve tried homeschooling and it just didn’t work for them. This is what they all have in common. They tried to do it alone. Don’t make this mistake.

Don’t think you can pull this off without somebody in your corner. No man is an island. You need to meet other homeschool moms and your kids need to have friendships with other kids who are also homeschooled.

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association is a great resource for national listings of homeschool support groups. Their website has a community section where you can look up organizations by state and more specifically, by county.

Another great way to find community is simply to ask around. Many churches host homeschool co-ops. Look for groups on Facebook. Asking people helps give you a feel for the best option in your area.

Or Start Your Own Community!

If you have a pioneer spirit, you can also start your own homeschool co-op! That’s how our co-op started over ten years ago.

There were five of us moms with kids about the same age. We met and talked about homeschooling here and there. We decided to start meeting in each other’s homes every week.

It was a good place to start, especially because we were all in the same place and had so many things in common to talk about.

Over the years, our group expanded and we now have 35 families and over 150 kids! Our co-op is like family to us. I can say with certainty that I would not have continued homeschooling if it were not for the wonderful friendships and support we found through our co-op.

YOU are the expert on your child.

You are the expert on your child.

No one knows your child like you do. No one has a personal, life-long investment in your child like you. No one will work harder or search more diligently than you will to find the resources your child needs for their struggles AND gifts.

While certified teachers may be experts in a particular field or specialize in teaching a certain age, YOU are the expert on your child. And the more you homeschool, the more adept you become at understanding the unique person they are becoming.

Imagine the following scenario. Your child goes to school from K-12th grade. Imagine that among many teachers along the way, he had one teacher, chosen because he or she had the utmost ardor and care for your child. Imagine that this person remained his teacher, his advocate, his role model, his champion from Kindergarten through the culmination of his education…his final year.

That teacher is you. YOU are the expert on your child.

Some of the most amazing homeschoolers I have met have had no teaching background at all! The two basic qualities that I see great homeschool parents have are these: 1. An insatiable desire to learn and 2. a passion for their kids’ success.

Here’s Why You CAN Homeschool Your Child

Not all parents choose to homeschool, but I firmly believe that ANY parent CAN homeschool their child well. Who else, but a loving parent is better equipped to pursue any means to do what is in their child’s best interest? I am confident that any parent can create a learning environment that thrusts their child to love learning and life.

When I started our homeschool journey over fourteen years ago, I asked myself, “Do I have what it takes to homeschool my child?” Looking back now, I wish I had known all the benefits of homeschooling and realized what an excellent education it is for kids. I had no idea then that this would end up being the best decision we would make for our family.

I felt alone and unsure of myself. I knew that God had called me to this. And I loved it.. even with the challenges. I just wasn’t sure how it was all going to turn out.

More than anything, I wanted our kids to have the very best. I remember reading this verse one morning and tucking it away because it was so encouraging to me.

Psalm 37:6 “He will make your righteousness shine like a light, your just cause like the noonday sun.”

If you are going to make it this year, you have to know, from this homeschool mom who has been where you are….

don’t doubt yourself,

don’t underestimate what God can do through this,

take a deep breath,

you really CAN homeschool your child!

The post Do I Have What It Takes to Homeschool My Child? appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

If you homeschool your kids, people will question everything. you. do. Anytime you step outside of cultural norms, people question you. You will unlikely be able to satisfy their curiosity no matter what you say. This is the catch 22 of homeschooling.

We had a very sweet ninety year old neighbor who could never understand the idea of homeschooling. We developed a close relationship with her. When I would have a new baby, she would have me over for tea and, of course, she wanted to hold the baby! Over the years, we would take her samples of desserts we had made and she would send over her extra bananas that were starting to brown. Every season, she would bring the kids Easter and Halloween candy. She loved our family, but she could never get over the whole homeschooling thing.

Occasionally, she would ask me about it and I would try to explain in the best way I could. Each time, she would respond with this puzzled look on her face. I went over it again and again from every angle. Yes, Helen, they have friends. And, yes, I report all their work to the local school district. They have lots of friends from different circles. They are involved in the community. By the way, would you like to buy some Cub Scout popcorn?

No matter what I said, she would just look at me with a dumbfounded expression. On one occasion, dear Helen pulled herself up to her full 4’11”, looked me square in the eyes and almost yelled, “WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO PUT THOSE KIDS IN SCHOOL?!!”

If you swim against the current, you will find people will question you, no matter how well you and your kids are doing.

Here are some examples.

If you homeschool your kids because you want to pass down your faith to them, you are probably brainwashing them.  

If you follow a more relaxed, interest-led style…. they are probably not getting a “real” education.

If your kids excel at academics, scoring above grade-level in every area on standardized tests, you are too hard on them. They’re probably brainiacs with no social skills. You are trying to produce the perfect child. “Loosen up a little, let them be kids!”

If your teenagers aren’t wearing a certain name brand and giving you attitude, they are probably over protected and unsocialized. On the other hand, if your teenagers have attitude and balk at your requests, it’s probably because they are bristling against their sheltered life.

Additionally, if your kids have a great group of friends, people assume their group is only other homeschoolers. They must all be in the same sheltered bubble.

And finally, if they look “normal” and all your ducks are in a row, you are too perfect. Only a supermom could do that!

In some ways, you really can’t win! This is the Catch 22 of Homeschooling.

Here are questions you will get as a mom. 

–If you LOVE that you get to spend so much time investing in your kids, people ask,

“Don’t you want to do something for yourself, though?”

(If you teach other people’s kids, that is a career, but if you teach your own, its . . . what?!) 

When you are overwhelmed, exhausted, and your kids are driving you crazy, they say,

” Why are you doing this to yourself?!”

On the other hand, if your kids are happy and well-adjusted and everything is going well, the question is…

“Well, what are you going to do with them in high school? How long are you going to do this to them?!”

When homeschooling feels tough, you hear…

“You know, you could just put them in school!”

I say, it’s tough for a reason, and I’m good at what I do. I am proud of what we learn here in our home, more than anything I did in the classroom as a public school teacher. We homeschool moms can take pride in our work because its done with the gut-wrenching, self-sacrificing love that only a mother understands.

Here are questions people ask your kids.

Have you seen the popular meme that says homeschooled kids are asked questions that adults could only answer with their smart phones. This is absolutely true. People will randomly ask your kids their multiplication facts, history trivia, how to spell random words. If you haven’t experienced this yet, just wait, it’s coming! Really!

They want to know if your kids are smart. And if they ARE smart, well then do they have friends?  These two questions are pretty much circular. 

This is the catch 22 of homeschooling.

Keep on Keeping On

If you’ve stepped out and decided to homeschool your kids, you are going to get all kinds of responses from people. These are ALL questions that people have asked me. And, if they haven’t already, they will ask you too! Just so you’re prepared for it.

This may or may not be true, but many times I have felt that if you do what everyone else is doing, even if it’s bad, you have few critics, and if you do something different from what everyone else is doing, even if it is VERY good, people are quick to criticize or question.

This is why it is SO important to know why you are homeschooling. You need to remind yourself why homeschooling is GOOD for your kids , why its the best choice for your whole family.

Don’t let the loud voices of your critics pull you down. You have made a wonderful choice for your kids. Keep doing your best. Keep savoring all the time you get with your kids, making little bits of progress every day.

You are doing something really great. No matter what others think.

RESOURCES AND ENCOURAGEMENT

Looking for more homeschooling encouragement and ideas? Check out my most popular posts!

Advice from Homeschool Moms for Beginners

10 Reasons Why Homeschooling is Good For Kids

How to Make a Homeschool Portfolio

Also find inspiration for your homeschool by checking out my gallery of MOM INTERVIEWS!

The post The Catch 22 of Homeschooling appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

1.Familiarize yourself with the homeschool laws of your state.

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association is an excellent resource for new homeschool families who are making choices about their children’s education. Their website supplies information about each state’s homeschool law, resources for getting started, help for special needs, and information on homeschooling high school students.

According to their website,

“We believe every child is unique. That children should learn in ways that meet their needs. And that you want the best for your child. Homeschooling gives you the freedom to personalize their education so they can realize their potential.HSLDA passionately advocates for the freedom to homeschool and offers support for every stage of your homeschool journey.“

2. Pick a homeschool curriculum and just start.

You can be choosy, get some material in hand to look through, take your time, but understand that you will never be completely satisfied with your choice. I highly recommend Kathy Duffy’s Homeschool Curriculum Reviews. Use caution though! Finding a homeschool curriculum can be very overwhelming. There are so many great options available. Ask another homeschooler or use curriculum reviews, but pick something and just get started. You will learn as you go.

3. Remember the 3 R’s.

Make sure they are reading, writing, and solving math problems every day. These subjects are skills. Do not short-cut these! They should be progressing in these three areas daily. We start with the 3 R’s every morning because they are foundational subjects. Have them conquer these when they are fresh. The other content areas can have some flexibility, but reading, writing, and math should be a priority.

4. Read. A Lot.

Read to them, even if they are already readers. Find a good book list and start purchasing or ordering from the library. Many homeschoolers use Sarah Makenzie’s Read Aloud Revival booklist.

Read to your young children and read to your older kids. Students of all ages can enjoy having someone read to them!

When you make this a part of your homeschool routine, it is one chance you both get to sit together, to look at one another, to explore places, ideas, words, feelings. This will mean more to them than any cheap thrill or gadget you buy them.

If you think about it, other than math (which is a skill) and writing (which is the overflow of reading), children learn almost all other subjects through reading. This is why reading to them covers so much ground!

In addition to reading great books to them, allow time in your school day for them to read quietly. We have a time right after lunch when everyone drops everything to read something purely for enjoyment. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time. We do 15-30 minutes.

Audio books are another great way to help struggling readers. Let them listen to an audiobook every night in bed. Bedtime is a perfet time for audiobooks because they are not as easily distracted as listening to a book during the day. Here are more tips for Teaching a Child To Read.

5. Find a community of other homeschoolers.

This is a biggie in my book. It’s the difference in sinking or swimming. If you have a support group and your kids have great friends, you might start loving this new lifestyle! Many homeschool co-ops meet weekly or bi-weekly to offer classes, field trips, concerts, book clubs, dramas, sports programs, music lessons, and much more.

There is one caution that I would give. Be aware that if you choose for your curriculum a type of online learning (such as cyber schooling) that requires kids to be on the computer at certain and/or random times, and if you have more than one child, it will be very difficult to be available enough to be part of a regular homeschooling community.

6. You don’t have to teach individual subjects for each of your kids in all areas.

Although math, reading, and writing are subjects where kids progress at their own level, you can combine other subjects for multiple ages. You can cover history, science, and other content areas as a group.

For example, in history, pick a time period and explore that for a year. Pull library books, cook recipes, watch documentaries, visit museums. If your kids are crafty, let them make costumes or dioramas. When you find creative ways to explore their interests, you encourage a love of learning in your kids.

For science, ask your kids what they have always wondered about…the human body, simple machines, weather? Find a book of experiments on that topic and let them discover! Use this as a chance for them to learn about things that interest them! What do you remember from history and science in school? You remember the things that interested you!

7. Use this time with your kids as an opportunity.

Homeschooling is a great opportunity for you to do things with your kids that you’ve always wanted to do, but never made the time for. What is that one thing that you never have enough time to do with them?

Try asking the kids, “What is one thing you have always wondered about?” Or, “If you could pick one thing you would like to learn about, what would it be?” Then, take them to the library and find everything you can on that subject. Go places and talk to people that can teach you more about that topic. Watch documentaries on it.

Is there a skill they want to master? Have them watch YouTube videos to learn how to do it. I guarantee you, if you try this, your kids will learn things that they will never forget. In addition to that, they will love learning this way.

8. Don’t worry about what they are “missing” in school.

When we expect children to achieve certain skills or material at a certain age or grade, we are forgetting that children are unique individuals. Yes, we should have high expectations for them. We should also require diligent progress in their daily homeschool lessons.

But remember that children progress at different paces in different areas! They also have different learning styles.

Here is what happens when we set educational standards for all children of a certain age. A child who is weak in Math may be grade levels ahead in reading. In some areas a child might be ready to move on, but held back by these limitations and in other areas of study, he might be struggling and need more help or a slower pace, but be forced to move on.

In my opinion, when we try to fit large groups of children into “what you are supposed to know in X grade”, we ignore the uniqueness of the child.

Your child is an individual. Do not underestimate the headway you can make working one-on-one with your him or her! Do not worry about what they are missing in regular school. If they are progressing every day, they will be fine.

9. Pray.

Pray about your school year. God gave your child to YOU and you to your child. He thinks YOU are the one person who is best equipped to raise him or her! Ask Him for help with practical things… how to schedule your day, how to help your child in areas of struggle, how to teach math. Don’t doubt God’s ability to do “abundantly more than we ask or think.”

I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Psalm 16:8

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act.

Psalm 37:5

If you are a beginning homeschooler, what questions do you have? It can be so helpful to ask homeschool moms for advice on how they do it.

The post The Best Advice From Homeschool Moms for Beginners appeared first on Our Life Homeschooling.

When kids love learning, they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned in any given circumstance. It won’t be terribly crucial if they are “missing” something. Their curiosity will drive them to find a way to satisfy that appetite. They will fill in missing pieces because of their urge to know. This is what happens when kids love to learn.

The children are hungry! They have an appetite for knowing and experiencing.

It is the strong, real world that interests them so much, where the unexpected can happen and there is wonderful mystery.

-Susan Schaeffer Macaulay For The Children’s Sake

My Experience Starting Out Homeschooling

When I started out homeschooling, I relied almost completely on my experience as a public school teacher. I printed out the state standards for Kindergarten. Using this as my guide, I was confident I was going to give my child a solid education!

We began our year, doing the same work that kids were doing in school. We did not have a classroom and schedule like everyone else, but we were doing essentially the same work except with a little more freedom and flexibility.

As we worked our way through the year, I started noticing something that I did not expect. What I observed was that my son started to WONDER. He was curious about everything.

• Look, there is a bug on that leaf. What is it? A bee. Oh, what kind? What is the bee doing? What does a bee eat?
• Why is the sun at noon directly above our house in summer, but at noon in winter, it is along the tree line?

As we encountered real problems in our home or out in the world, his curiosity grew. In the afternoons as I read story after story to him without limitations on what we read or how we read it or how long we read, he wanted more. He had more questions.

“Keeping Up with Kids in School”

My determination to “keep up with the kids in school” shifted as I found that we were doing more than the state required in some ways.

And in other ways, some of the things he was interested in or I thought were important for him to learn didn’t line up with what we were “supposed to be learning” for that year. I found that he was absorbing and retaining so much in addition to what I was teaching him.

He was fascinated by the world around him and had a zest for learning. At home, we were able to get our school work done in a few hours leaving him with an afternoon of free time. With a condensed school day, short lessons, quality time with books, free time to imagine and to create, to go outside and play, I watched my son thrive.

This is what happens when kids love to learn.

Yes, he still had mornings that he didn’t want to do his lessons. We had our moments arguing over his work. There was still the hard stuff that he had to diligently plod through, but his school work was done in a relatively short amount of time leaving him free to do the real learning that was most important to him.

After School Hours: The Real Learning Begins!

And what did he do when we finished?

He would go out and shoot his bow and arrow in the yard. Or finish the book he had started the night before.

Sometimes he would go outside and figure out how to put the chain back on his bike. Other times, he might find a snake in the yard and want to keep it, so he would research everything he could about what a snake eats, what a snake needs to survive. As he encountered real-life problems that only happen in the real world, he wanted to try to solve them.

More than ever, he wanted to explore, to grow, to produce.

He wanted to learn.

My heart swelled as I watched my child THRIVE in the pure freedom of learning for enjoyment!

I have observed this same experience homeschooling all our kids.

Stifling Their Curiosity

When I think of the alternative of my kids sitting in classrooms all day (especially now with so many kids having to wear masks for long hours or even sitting at home in front of a screen cyber-schooling), it makes me sad to think of so many kids learning for long hours of the day this way. It is a poor match for a child’s developmental needs, especially young children.

When kids are stifled by their environment, they will grow to despise learning. And when they hate learning, it doesn’t really matter what we teach them anymore, it will not sink in.

I suggest that the opposite is also true. When kids love learning, it’s not terribly crucial if they are “missing” something. Their appetite will drive them to find a way to satisfy that curiosity. They will fill in missing pieces because of their urge to know. This is what happens when kids love to learn.

Extraordinary Kids, Ordinary Parents

Here’s a question. Have you ever met a homeschooled child who surprised you in a good sort of way?

His mom must be a teacher….or have oodles of patience….or have the right personality- a supermom for sure!

I’d like to suggest that kids like this are a reflection, not just of their moms (and/or dads) who homeschool them, but of homeschooling itself!

They are a reflection of a child set free. A child fed a rich diet of beauty…and given time to reflect on it. They are the outcome of a childhood of one-on-one time with a person who is invested in them for life.

Have you ever considered that maybe these kids have ordinary parents? That being in a home environment can be a wonderful place to learn?

Could it be that the reason some kids are thriving in a homeschool environment is because the homeschooling model encourages a love of learning?

What happens when kids love to learn?

Here are some things I have observed when my kids love learning something.

They…

1. Care.
2. Are motivated.
3. Experiment and try new things.
4. Create and imagine.
5. Solve problems. When they don’t understand something, they find a way to figure it out.
6. Take ownership of their work.
7. Get excited about their ideas.
8. Take initiative for projects.
9. Are always learning new things.

So, though our schedules, curriculum, and plans for the year have their place, let’s not forget to help them love to learn. While it is important to work hard and push through some of the tough spots of school, remember to give them space to enjoy it all.

Our children are hungry. Let’s give them something REAL. As Susan Schaeffer Macaulay writes in another place, “Life is just too interesting for boredom!”

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