A couple really cool things have happened in the last few days. They probably aren't very exciting to anyone but me, but this is my blog, so I can share.
Cool Thing #1
-Our 2009 blog book arrived in the mail today!! And it looks fantastic! I love it. It makes me super excited to get working on 2010.
Cool Thing #2
-I've been talking about the fact that I am now writing a column in a home school newsletter for a little bit now. My first article was supposed to get published the first week of February, but they must have needed or wanted it to go early because it got published with yesterday's newsletter. I was so surprised and excited to open my inbox and see it there. You can go to this website http://ldsnhe.com/sentinel_25Jan2011_Krystal_Swan.html to see it. But I will also repost it below. Here it is, my first piece of writing to ever be published since I was in high school newspaper. :)
The Parable of the Bat and the Racket
by Krystal Swan
I consider myself to be pretty athletic. I am decent at most sports, although my favorite, by far, is softball. For thirteen years growing up I played competitive fast-pitch softball. That’s lots and lots of hours spent practicing to fine tune specific skills. When I was a freshman in college, a friend of mine tried to teach me how to play tennis. I was terrible! It turns out that swinging a tennis racket and swinging a softball bat are different enough motions that if you try to swing a racket the same as you swing a bat you will fail miserably. And I did. But I was so used to swinging a bat that I could not adjust, and I gave up on tennis.
Since making the decision to homeschool, I’ve realized that I’m up against a similar struggle. This time, however, I am bound and determined to make the adjustment. I am an alumnus of the public school system. Although I don’t feel like I had an awful experience in public school, I think that homeschool has more to offer. But trying to imagine myself homeschooling was like trying to play tennis. At first, when I thought about it, I pictured my kids sitting in little desks in our living room while I stood in front of them and lectured all day. Thankfully, after a little research, I discovered that homeschoolers swing the racket a little differently. The trick is to learn how, without letting my public school mind set get in the way.
Recently I attended a homeschooling conference. The instructor talked a little bit about paradigms. He defined a paradigm as, “A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them.” The phrase, “a way of viewing reality” really stands out to me as a reminder that there are many different realities depending on your perspective or your experience. Sometimes when I am trying to learn new things I dig myself a hole because I only try to do it one way—the way I know. By shifting my paradigm a little, I’m learning that an education doesn’t have to be the same 8:00-3:00, lectures, quizzes, and one-subject-at-a-time routine I grew up with.
When I first started researching about homeschooling, my favorite thing to do was to read about the creative ways people came up with to encourage their kids to learn. An experience that’s coming to mind is a woman whose son was interested in squid. She ran with it. They read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, they visited an aquarium, they ate squid at a restaurant, they dissected a squid, etc. Tons of learning going on there, and her son was all over it because he was interested. Stories like this fascinate me, because they are so foreign to the experiences I had in school. I want to learn how to create an environment like that for my kids. But in order to do that I have to teach my mind to put down the bat and pick up the racket, so to speak. And that’s going to take some effort.
And who knows, if this homeschooling thing works out, maybe I’ll give tennis another shot. :)
You can leave your thoughts, comments or suggestions here on my feedback page. Thanks!
- Krystal
Exciting, isn't it? Well, for me anyways, it really is. I have always wanted a chance to write, and I feel like this is a great place to start, and also about a subject that I'm starting to fall in love with. I know most people think I'm nuts for wanting to home school. But I think that's mostly because a lot of people don't really know much about it. All they know is that they used to know so-and-so who homeschooled and they were really weird. Unfortunately, the "weird" homeschoolers are the ones we remember because they stick out because they are weird. But I'd bet that you know lots of people who were homeschooled, you just never guessed it because they are normal. At least, that's the reaction we get when we tell people Aaron was home schooled. People say, "Oh really? I never would have guessed that, he's so normal." Anyways, whether you are a fan of homeschooling or not, you have to admit that it's pretty freakin' awesome that I got an article published. Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to write about for next month.
4 comments:
I'm so excited to see this piece finally published! I think it's a great article, can't wait to see what more you have in store!
Love it! Such an astounding piece of work. I commend you for your decision to homeschool your kids. It is a huge decision that I know you did not make lightly. It is taking on a task greater than many mothers are willing to, and you deserve accolades for that.
I am very curious, as I am new to the whole homeschool thing. Do you teach them clear through "high school"? If so, how do you teach them things like Calculus or possibly psychology? I know you are smart, but I am sincerly interested in understanding what you choose to teach your kids, and how you choose it? Maybe this is an idea for your next article.
I'm not trying to be patronizing either. I hope it does not come across that way. I am genuinely interested in the thought process that goes into this, as I know it is a painstaking process you went through...
Lisa- Me too, and thank you! Because I could not have done it without you. :)
Sierra- Thanks for your open mind. There are dozens and dozens of books dedicated to the answer of your question. I'll try to be very general and brief here, especially since I'm not at the high school part yet, so I haven't read any of those books. :) Some people choose to home school through high school and some do not. I think its a personal choice and each family should consider the needs of the child when they make it. But it is possible, and lots of families do it really well.
You can teach whatever subjects you want, but likely Calculus will be part of the curriculum if you want to meet all the requirements to be able to go to college. (Although, come to think of it, I never took calculus in public school and I got in to college just fine.) And there are as many ways to teach each subject as there are families who teach them. If the parent feels like they are good enough in the certain subject they can teach it, but if not there are outside sources. (For example, Aaron could easily teach calculus, I'd probably have to get some outside help in that area.) You can find an outside mentor, use text books and work books (there are lots of companies that sale various home school curriculum), online classes, possible enrollment at a local community college, private tutors, home school groups, etc. That can provide the resources you are looking for. The method you choose depends on what you are comfortable with and what your child's specific needs are. Basically, if you are willing to put forth the effort to find waht you need, you will be able to find it.
Also, if you are worried about what to teach when you can always go through and look at the public school requirements of each grade level, and that will put you on the right track. Homeschoolers aren't trying to reinvent the wheel, they are just trying to make sure that a child's education is tailored specifically to the child, as opposed to one tailored to a generic "average" large group of children. Being able to move at the child's pace, is one really great aspect of home schooling. You can slow down if they need more time on fractions, or speed up when you know they have the 5 paragraph essay down. It cuts out a lot of busy work, and gives both child and parents extra time to learn more deeply about the things that are interesting to them.
I hope that helps, and answers your questions. And I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert...so take all this with a grain of salt. :)
Krystal, that is great! Did I tell you I'm homeschooling next year? I'm not quite ready to take the full jump; next year is my "experiment". Congrats on being published!!! :0) And the blog book- where did you get it done???
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