i been thinking a lot lately. thinking about my life and my children. contemplating ways i could enrich their lives a bit more, to the best of my abilities, their abilities.
i have come to a crossroads in my life. one that seems to be leading me into a whole new light. a light so bright i don't know how i did not see it before. but now it is blazing.
i have a notion. one that i could only dream about as a child. one that will make a positive change in the way i educate my children.
we live our lives day to day, talking about our dreams, our goals, our interest, and what we wish we could be doing. i have come to realize there is more to life for a child than sitting at a desk and working on so called lessons that are supposed to prepare you for real life. certain so called lessons would not be so bad if indeed they were initiated by the child because they choose to learn it. anything that they do not show interest in, should not be forced. it is more damaging to them than good.
when we began this homeschooling journey, my point was to get her out of the school setting. i never seen a purpose in it in the first place. how is my daughter going to learn if she is stuck in a building all day, doing the same thing as all the other kids. what if her way of learning is completely different than the next child's way. maybe she is not interested in history from a classroom perspective, maybe she needs it "hands on" to learn it or find interest it. why does she have to learn at everyone else's pace and not her own? why should she have to endure criticism and be badgered by other children whom she cannot ignore because she is stuck with them in the same space..every...single..day. school was the most negative thing i have ever experienced in my whole life from the beginning to the end. those days were nearly impossible to bear when doing nothing but watching the hands on the clock ticking all of my time away. what a waste.
Tick..Tock..Tick..Tock..Tick..Tock..
it was not my way of learning. i needed something more. a whole different approach.
little by little the light is creeping in on me. every day we grow a little more and learn by experience. i have come to realize that my daughter is handicapped. crippled by society, and their expectations.
instead of investing in a school curriculum, i choose to invest in my children and their desires, passions, dreams and talents and let them be natural learners. let their real individuality explode.
let them lead the way.
let them lead the way.
i cannot think of anything more important to me than my children's well being, happiness and freedom.
they have the need to explore, they have desires and talents that need nurtured in order for them to grow.
every day will be a good day because it will be our day. we have just as many hours in the day as Mother Teresa and Albert Einstein. it is up to us to use it wisely. the whole wide world is up for grabs, so lets go get it and use it to our advantage.
i believe that children learn far more than school could ever teach, when they are exposed to real life situations. being with their parents, playing with their parents, and simply hanging out with their parents.
i was exceptionally happy that Nev was able to accompany me to each and every doctor appointment during my pregnancies and attend the birth of London. she was involved in it. she was able to see the process hands on, and can understand that real life experience, instead of learning it in a classroom that does not provide anything tangible. those doctor appointments were just as important for her to attend than the birth itself, and i if she was still in school, i would have most definitely taken her out for them as she learned so much from each and every visit.
i caught some grief here and there about how she was too young for such an experience, but how dare i deprive her of any real life learning opportunity. how shallow! no one is too young! plus, she wouldn't have wanted to miss it for the world. in 2008 when Denver was born, she came to all the appointments, (i had to take her out of school for one's scheduled during school hours), but she chose not to attend the birth, although she was most definately welcome. it was her choice, and i respect it.
it used to drive me crazy waiting out the hours till Nev got home from school. i remember telling Brian "she doesn't have time for school, there is so much i could be teaching her"! but his reaction was always the same, she is a kid, and a kids place in school. Ack! i still will never understand his mentality. and silly me for leaving her there day after day. i am one that loathes waste. and homework? well, lets save that for a whole nother blog. if i counted up all the hours of our valuable time that was wasted in school, i'd be sick all over again. she is my kid, and she should be raised by me, guided by me, taught by me. only i know her needs.
so why should i force her to continue to waste away her hours on tedious worksheets, quizzes, and hours of ridiculous and non-purpose havin assignments that are trying to squash her natural desire to learn.
i think from now on i will let my children guide the way to a full and interesting life by offering them a new, unique kind of curriculum. one that consists of:
*The Earth, in which will provide a plethora of natural learning resources. it offers us the materials needed for the learning of physical, chemical and electrical Science. and from the land which will accommodate us in Geography, History and Nature study gained by camping, hiking, gardening, etc.
*Museums, *libraries (reading), *galleries (art), *church (music).
*our 5 senses (sometimes 6)
*computer for obvious reasons
*and a mama who promises to always allow you to choose your passions, and interests and help guide you into that direction. providing you with the means to go and DO, see, touch, and explore all that is available to us. i will listen to your instincts. involve you. and play with you.
i promise.
“It is as true now as it was then that no matter what tests show, very little of what is taught in school is learned, very little of what is learned is remembered, and very little of what is remembered is used. The things we learn, remember, and use are the things we seek out or meet in the daily, serious, non school parts of our lives.”
i believe that children learn far more than school could ever teach, when they are exposed to real life situations. being with their parents, playing with their parents, and simply hanging out with their parents.
i was exceptionally happy that Nev was able to accompany me to each and every doctor appointment during my pregnancies and attend the birth of London. she was involved in it. she was able to see the process hands on, and can understand that real life experience, instead of learning it in a classroom that does not provide anything tangible. those doctor appointments were just as important for her to attend than the birth itself, and i if she was still in school, i would have most definitely taken her out for them as she learned so much from each and every visit.
i caught some grief here and there about how she was too young for such an experience, but how dare i deprive her of any real life learning opportunity. how shallow! no one is too young! plus, she wouldn't have wanted to miss it for the world. in 2008 when Denver was born, she came to all the appointments, (i had to take her out of school for one's scheduled during school hours), but she chose not to attend the birth, although she was most definately welcome. it was her choice, and i respect it.
it used to drive me crazy waiting out the hours till Nev got home from school. i remember telling Brian "she doesn't have time for school, there is so much i could be teaching her"! but his reaction was always the same, she is a kid, and a kids place in school. Ack! i still will never understand his mentality. and silly me for leaving her there day after day. i am one that loathes waste. and homework? well, lets save that for a whole nother blog. if i counted up all the hours of our valuable time that was wasted in school, i'd be sick all over again. she is my kid, and she should be raised by me, guided by me, taught by me. only i know her needs.
so why should i force her to continue to waste away her hours on tedious worksheets, quizzes, and hours of ridiculous and non-purpose havin assignments that are trying to squash her natural desire to learn.
i think from now on i will let my children guide the way to a full and interesting life by offering them a new, unique kind of curriculum. one that consists of:
*The Earth, in which will provide a plethora of natural learning resources. it offers us the materials needed for the learning of physical, chemical and electrical Science. and from the land which will accommodate us in Geography, History and Nature study gained by camping, hiking, gardening, etc.
*Museums, *libraries (reading), *galleries (art), *church (music).
*our 5 senses (sometimes 6)
*computer for obvious reasons
*and a mama who promises to always allow you to choose your passions, and interests and help guide you into that direction. providing you with the means to go and DO, see, touch, and explore all that is available to us. i will listen to your instincts. involve you. and play with you.
i promise.
“It is as true now as it was then that no matter what tests show, very little of what is taught in school is learned, very little of what is learned is remembered, and very little of what is remembered is used. The things we learn, remember, and use are the things we seek out or meet in the daily, serious, non school parts of our lives.”
a few cool links:
I love this! Your passion to teach your children is rare and amazing! Most parents love to ship their kids off to school but you want to teach them about the world and spend time with them and allow them to pursue their passions and interests. I think they will turn out to be wonderful, passionate, driven people because of your efforts to show them the world and not limit them to text book learning. I hope to teach my children with similar methods as yours. I did not like school and I especially do not want to expose my children to what schools are about today. I hope when I do have children I am able to teach them myself and let them learn from real life. I think its neat that you let Nev experience your pregnancy and the birth because she was able to witness a real miracle and she will be more mature about the reality of pregnancy and childbirth. I was taught some pretty shady things about this topic in school and it wasn't until we started trying to concieve that we realized how different reality was from what we were taught. I really enjoy your blogs and cannot wait for the next! I love that you are teaching your children with such passion and that you are also willing to learn with them. I look forward to hearing about your learning adventures so hopefully I can do the same with my children. :)
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