Nice sharing. Rasanya bukan hanya untuk yang tertarik homeschool atau yang menjalankannya tapi mungkin juga berguna buat sekedar informasi.. :)
Cheers, Wiwiet On Sun, Aug 2, 2009 at 2:08 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Here is something I wrote a while back for the moms in my area in regards > to casual schooling. I thought some of you might enjoy it as well, > especially if your child is just now approaching school age and you don't > have any older children or if you need a gentle reminder about what it means > to "teach" your child. Sonya : ) > > There once was a little house where Mom and Dad lived with their two > precious children Joey and Susan. For several years, Dad went to work > and Mom spent the day at home with the children. > > Its time to get up, my dears, Mom said each morning with a smile. > > The children got out of bed and then their daily routine usually consisted > of Mom reading some picture books to the children, taking a walk down the > road or visiting the local park together, having fun together and just > living life. > > Joey loved his little sister and spent a lot of time showing off his Lego > creations or teaching her how to build block towers. He would sometimes > even try to read books to her that he actually had just memorized. There > were also days when guests would come over or the family would go somewhere > else to play. Sometimes they went on field trips, visited the local > childrens museum or spent a whole day playing fort in the living room. > Life was good and everyone was happy. > > Amazingly, during the first five years of his life, Joey had learned to > walk, talk, tie his shoes, say please and thank you, set the table, feed > the pets, make his bed, put away the laundry Mom washed, and many other > things. He could even recognize a few letters and he was beginning to > recognize their sounds. He knew several Bible verses and enjoyed reciting > those when anyone would listen. Even three-year-old Susie could say a few > Bible verses. Both children sat still while Mom read books and they > enjoyed helping clean the kitchen and switch laundry. Joey also ran the > vacuum cleaner (although it was practically too big for him!), took out the > trash and answered the phone. He was even teaching Susan some of the > things he knew. Mom taught Joey and Susan as a natural part of life and > they learned more during those first few years than they ever would at any > point in their lives. And life was good and everyone was happy. > > Then, the time came to enroll Joey in school. Mom and Dad really didnt > want to send him to school. They had heard about homeschooling and since > the children seemed to be doing so well at home, they thought they might > like to continue teaching him. They would also be able to instill their > values in the process. They discussed the issue and decided that not only > would they teach Joey at home, but if all went well, theyd teach little > Susie at home when the time came. > > So the next week, Mom bought some schoolbooks, paper, pencils, and a little > school desk. She even bought a bulletin board, some pretty ABC border for > the wall, and some other educational supplies. Since Mom had spent so much > time getting ready for this new school thing, they knew that it must be > something really special, but they had really missed their walks through the > woods that week. They also missed their weekly art project and their > Wednesday family cook-day. Mom also hadnt had time to read books to them > or tell them stories while they cleaned house together. She was tired. > Life was good and everyone was happy, but mom was very tired and the > children were a little cranky since they didnt have the privilege of Moms > guiding hand that week. > > The next week, Mom started homeschooling. She sat Joey down at the little > school desk she had bought for him and said, Now, Ill let you have regular > breaks, but the law says you have to do school for four hours per day so > lets get started. And so Mom gave Joey first grade science books with > pictures and math workbooks and phonics pages. The first day it was mostly > fun, except for when Susan wanted to color on Joeys phonics pages and Mom > said she needed to wait until she had her own. Then little Susie had to go > to time out because she wanted to do school, too. Joey missed time with > his sister and by the end of the week, he figured he had done enough > worksheets so when Mom wasnt looking, he gave some to his sister and > started showing her where to color them. By the time Mom came back in the > room, they were both sitting at the dining room table with all the phonics > pages colored and the counting teddy bears (for math) were stacked in battle > formation with the red team against the blue team. Life was good, Mom > was frustrated and the children were sent to bed early. > > During the second and third weeks, the children became increasingly > irritable. Mom was tired. Dad began to question whether the decision to > homeschool was actually a good one. Mom questioned as well. Joey had > decided that school was definitely no fun! > > By the end of the first month of homeschooling, everyone wondered why > people thought this homeschooling thing was such a good idea. Mom never > had time to read any more because she was much busier now trying to figure > out which work Joey should do the next day and then trying to get him to do > it. During the day, since Joey didnt have as much time to play with > Susan, the little girl got into things more and Mom had to spend time > cleaning up messes. Joey was frustrated. He used to think learning was > fun and he couldnt wait to learn how to read, but thats when Mom was doing > it with him. When Mom read aloud to him and Susie, Joey thought it was > great fun to sound out words sometimes or to pick out letters, but now he > spent a lot of time sitting at his desk. He didnt think hed ever learn to > read on his own and he didnt really care anymore. > > While this isnt a real family, the fact is that there are many families > just like this one. Because most of us were raised in the government > school system, we have been trained that education takes place in a school > under the tutelage of a trained teacher. In reality, this is just one > way to learn and its not the most efficient. Look at all the things the > PARENTS mom and dad teach a child before they ever enter a classroom. > Moms and dads teach children to walk, talk, run, ride a bicycle, use polite > language, use the potty, answer the phone, dispose of trash properly, eat > with manners, and soooo many more things all in five years, usually. J > These are things that are essential LIFE SKILLS. In fact, children > today who are being raised in daycare settings are lacking many essential > life skills, including those ever-talked-about socialization skills that > come up at the first mention of homeschooling. A child in a group setting > without constant supervision from a loving adult who is has a vested > interest in the outcome of that child may be subjected to bullying, > loneliness, confusion, and anger. Thats not socialization, yet thats > what theyre being exposed to day after day. > > In the homeschool environment, because many parents have forgotten what > real education is, we are exposing our children to the same thing. > Homeschool parents are enrolling children at younger and younger ages in > co-op environments, outside classes, sports, activities, clubs and other > programs. Some of these can be very helpful and of course most of us would > never argue the benefit of these things for older children as they reach an > age where they can actually express interests and desires, but when one-, > two-, and three-year-olds are being enrolled in these activities, it seems > to be a bit more for the parent than the child. I dont want a bunch of > angry hate mail accusing me of bashing co-ops and support groups. Im > certainly not bashing anyone and weve actively participated in outside > activities for years, but we did decide a couple of years ago that these > activities seem to have more benefit for children over the age of nine than > younger children. > > Many homeschool parents have also forgotten that home teaching used to be > the norm, but of course it wasnt called homeschooling. Before > compulsory attendance laws of the mid-1850s, parents considered it their > responsibility to prepare their children for life and children considered it > their responsibility to learn. While the child was young from birth > until about age 11, the parent passed on all the skills and knowledge they > had to their child. They taught their children to read; they taught them > Bible verses; they taught them how to sew, cook, clean, ride a horse, plow a > garden, build a house, etc. They also taught them how to love and respect > others and they did all of this without the help of a trained teacher! > Normally, the child needed little prodding. Education was dear. It was a > privilege. Around the age of 11, children either prepared for marriage > (girls) or they prepared for an internship or formal schooling of some sort > (boys). Children before this age were treated as children. Once a > child neared puberty, they were seen as young adults. They were not > teenagers, as we hear so often today. They didnt make bad decisions > because there was something wrong with their brains or because they had > hormones raging. They were expected to make good decisions adult > decisions and they were held accountable for their decisions. If they > didnt study, they were kicked out of school. If they didnt work, they > were dismissed from internships (or worse, such as beaten). But the whole > point is that THEY what we would call preteens and teens took > responsibility for their education since it was part of life, whether that > education was learning to care for a home and family, learning to care for > the communitys sick, learning how to crunch numbers or whatever. If they > wanted to achieve something, they needed to work hard to achieve their goals > because there was no such thing as a free ride. > > In the home setting, where much learning took place before we ever had > standardized tests, compulsory attendance, or fancy schools hooked up to the > Internet, parents did a wonderful job teaching their children. They taught > them things they knew and when the child had questions about things mom and > dad didnt have an answer for, they asked someone else, had someone else > teach them, or they borrowed books from friends or libraries (much later). > Students learned about things that interested them and became experts in > their fields of study. Thats how we ended up with people like Ferdinand > Magellan, Davy Crockett, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin > and so many others Their parents taught them the basics and then they > also branched out and learned as much as they could about the subject that > interested them most. > > Am I suggesting that you only teach your child about butterflies if thats > the only thing that interests her? Or allow your son to play Legos all day > if thats the only thing that interests him? Of course not. But what I > am saying is that we all might learn something from the parents and students > who lived long ago. Teach your child the basics: reading, writing (which > largely comes from reading good quality books and then just practicing), and > math and instill the basic life skills: cooking, personal care, home care, > etc. and the basic personal skills: manners, love for others, devotion to > God and family, etc. As your child gains a good grasp of the basics, allow > your child to pursue the things that interest him/her most. You might have > another Mozart or Monet, John Audubon or Elizabeth Blackwell. But its > going to be difficult to know if you take the desire to learn away from > them. > > If we model our homeschool environments after the sit down at a desk for > hours each day model as Joeys mom did, its likely that your child will > eventually get the work done, but you might take away their natural love of > learning. Some children like the desk method and I think all children > like it sometimes, but if youre doing it every day and your child doesnt > like it, then try going back to doing what you did during those first five > years of their lives. Read aloud to them, provide your child with > excellent reading material that they can read on their own, spend lots of > time outdoors, and take time to visit parks, aquariums, zoos, museums and > anywhere else where your child will learn because it will actually mean > something to him/her. That is education even if it is not school. > > Under the Tennessee homeschool laws, we are required to have four hours of > instruction time per day. I would be amazed if any parent told me that > they spent less than four hours instructing their child each day even if > they didnt open a single book. After all .. Have you reminded your child > to brush his teeth today? Taught your daughter how to make a casserole? > Helped your six-year-old catch a bird that the cats brought in and then > discussed what type of bird it is? Allowed your son to play a flight > simulator game with actual maps of World War II? Reprimanded your children > for speaking harshly to one another? Caught your teenager reading Fox > News? Watched your children set up Playmobil castles and decide how to > divide out the people that they will use as prisoners? Read your child a > bedtime story? Three or four bedtime stories? > > All of those things can be counted toward instructional hours. After > all, you are instructing your child, training your child, teaching your > child almost all day long. I have shared this before, but I once heard > that education is learning something new or learning how to do something > you already knew better than before. I love that definition and its > true! I speak Spanish, but I certainly have to review it from time to time > to keep up my skills. In order to do this, I could take a class at the > local college or I could get out my books and study them here at home. > Either way, Im learning. When I teach my child life skills, academic > skills, homemaking skills, hunting skills, personal skills, etc., they are > still learning. THAT is homeschooling. > > So for all of you new homeschoolers that will begin teaching your little > ones at home this year, enjoy life! Enjoy your child! Enjoy the time you > will have with your child! Pick and choose your outside activities > carefully. Dont become so burdened with commitments that you dont have > time to do the things that made your child want to learn MORE MORE MORE, the > time you spent just cuddling up on the couch with your child and taking > those romps through the woods or in the creek. THOSE are the things that > will make your child love learning and he/she will come back for more. If > you can instill THAT in your child, then I believe you will have > accomplished the best goal in regards to the educational aspect of > homeschooling You will have instilled in your child a desire to learn that > will last a lifetime. > > Sonya Haskins > > > -- Mary http://www.bondfamilyjourney.blogspot.com http://www.bondhomeschooljourney.blogspot.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Are You The Parent of a Preschooler? You'll Love Universal Preschool's Learning Calendar! It's chock-full of fun, easy activities & time-saving resources for learning with little ones all year long! As a revered Unpreschool List Subscriber you get 33% off and save $10.00 if you enter this code... UP-LEARNCAL ...when you place your order online now at: http://www.homefires.com/store/uplearning.asp Yahoo! Groups Links
