Enter to Win a Homeschool Curriculum and Gift Basket from Oak Meadow! - Page 21

[MamaRuck]

 I have the freedom and capability to educate my child, utilize the world as his classroom and teach from our family values. 

[Leanna2]

Shared on facebook!

[byefirefly]

I was homeschooled myself, and moved the freedom and the joy in learning, as well as the hours and hours in nature and the opportunity to travel. I hope to give my daughters the same freedom and joy and to never quench that flame.

[mina4444]

Home schooling provides a healthy learning environment, greater academic results, and a better opportunity for family bonding. Children who are home schooled do so in a safe, secure environment that provides one-on-one, parent-directed educational instruction that is tailored to a child’s learning style. Many of our nation's leaders, scientists, artists and entertainers were home schooled.
 

[mina4444]

Shared

[LisaMDJ]

I shared this post on my Facebook wall!

[robertsmama]

I homeschool my children so that they can actually have the time to be children, and so that they can keep and nurture their love of learning and exploration.

[robertsmama]

Shared on my facebook page.  My name is Becky Curran Ashkettle.

[Rebecca LaMere]

So you are the main influence in your children's lives.  So you can spend every day with them.  So you all can have FREEDOM to learn what you want, the way you want.  So your children can pursue their passions.  So they do not grow up with the "herd" mindset.  So they are safe.  These are just some of the reasons to homeschool.

[Rebecca LaMere]

I shared on Facebook!

[pdx mama]

Why homeschool? For us it's primarily about family. We want to remain strong and connected and be a steady support for our children. We also want to be outside as much as possible, tending not only plants, animals, and soil but also tending a deep reverence for the earth, which we're a part of.

[JesFaz]

Homeschooling is a no-brainer! There are so many thungs i could say but I will only share a few thoughts here. It allows for a more holistic, organic education and allows parents to really connect wih their children in a way you just can't when they are educated in the public/private "corporate" environment. It also allows your children to really learn more about who they are instead of constantly comparing and competing with other children. Homeschooling, in my opinion is more honest and fosters more respect than other methods. In the traditional school setting, it is a control and domination issue. The teacher must command respect in order to keep these children in line. They have no personal responsibility to the children and can "lord" over them. A working family relationship can foster a mutual respect. I would love to allow my children to have real life experiences. It is my opinion that because homeschooling fosters more independent thought and self understanding, that home schooled children have better tools for self direction once it is time for a higher education. I feel hat traditionally educated children are sent off to college completely unprepared and lose no only time, but money and he best of their youth, while they try to find what kid they want to "do" with themselves. Lack of practical experience makes it get difficult to launch their lives and decide on a career.

[pdx mama]

I just shared a link to your blog post as well. Thanks!
 

[lj'smommy]

This morning, as my homeschooling kindergartener and I were settling in to read together, he looked out the window and noticed that a man in a safety vest was putting up a "road work ahead" sign in front of our house.  He shouted, "Road work!!" and dashed out the door, as I scrambled to find our shoes and jackets and catch up to him.  He spent the next hour excited and fully engaged, watching a big excavator dig up a sewer line in front of our neighbor's house.   He asked the workers many questions about what they were doing and how their machine worked.  During a break they let him climb up and sit in the operator's seat, where he got a mini lesson on driving a big machine.  Throughout the job the workers kept measuring their growing hole with a retractable measuring tape.  When my son asked what they were doing, they explained why they were measuring and let him help do the measurements, teaching him how to read the measuring tape they were using.  After a while, we walked back home as my son talked on and on about all that had happened. At home he got out his notebook and began drawing and writing about his exciting morning.  Our neighbor e-mailed us a photo of my son sitting on the excavator, which he printed out and taped into his notebook.  "Wait until Daddy hears about this!" he said.  I suggested that we make a list of all the new things he had learned so he wouldn't forget anything when he was telling Daddy about his adventure.  He thought this was a great idea and soon this list evolved into a full blown experience story which he illustrated and helped write.  When his dad came home for lunch, he very enthusiastically read his book to Daddy.  When they got to the part about the measuring, my husband went to his tool box and took out a retractable measuring tape.  My son was thrilled and they spent the rest of my husband's lunch break measuring just about everything in the house.  After lunch my son went to his room and got out all his toy construction machines.  He then spent the afternoon deep in his imagination playing "road work," using the new words he had learned and building on the rich, real world experiences he had had this morning.  At dinner we made a plan to go to the library tomorrow and check out some books about excavators and measuring. 

I used to teach kindergarten and I can tell you that if my son had been in a kindergarten classroom today and noticed a "road work ahead" sign going up outside the window, his day would have gone something like this:  After he shouted "road work!" and raced to the window, his teacher had to tell him to sit down and pay attention.  He then spent the rest of the day distracted and very uninterested in what was going on in the classroom, hoping that the big machines would still be out there when school was over.  His disappointment added to his growing realization that learning is rather boring and something he just has to endure until he can to get to what he really wants to do.

This is why we are homeschooling.

[acystaylewis]

Why Homeschool?  Easy for me!  It is so much less stress, and we get to learn about the things we want to learn.  

[acystaylewis]

Shared on Facebook as well and am a fan of both Mothering and OM!

[RUGr8full]

I just love being with my children as they explore the world around them.  I also like to watch them learn and see them expand their knowledge!  It is so exciting to be an important part of their lives!  I'm excited to watch them continue on this path and hopefully this will be the start of a lifetime love of learning!

[mmmomx2]

I was a public school teacher for 17 years. I was trained at a time when we learned about child development, how to teach reading using real books, and how to make thematic cross-curricular units. We taught kids to think and be creative. Now that politicians are making decisions about education, we are told that textbooks are the best way to teach, that tests are all that matter, and if we all teach the same scripted lesson, on the same day, and give the same test, that all children will progress at the same rate. I am not a monkey and my kids are not robots. I want them to be free to express themselves, to learn about science and history now, not in middle school, to explore their interests, follow their passions, and push themselves beyond standardized benchmarks. That is why I stopped teaching other people's children and began teaching my own.

[mmmomx2]

I posted about the giveaway on my facebook page.

[MamaBee1123]

We plan to homeschool because we believe that each child is unique and learns at his/her own pace. We also believe that children are best served when their individual interests can be incorporated into their education and not sidelined as a hobby.