Home School Evangelist Blog

Good day to you!

Well, in my quest for a more organized and stress-free 2008, I was seriously praying for guidance about what to do with my business and life in general.

And do you know what God said?

Okay, you’re going to think I’m kidding - would the Holy One of Israel actually say this? But I’m totally serious.

Clear as a bell, I hear in my spirit, “Wash your dishes every night before going to bed.”

Now, I honestly expected something a little more spiritual sounding, you know? Fast one day a week, get up at 3:00 AM and intercede for nations, give all you have to the poor… something along those lines.

But nope. When I wanted to know what God wanted for 2008 in my life, He said, “Wash the dishes.”

My grandma always said there were two things she couldn’t stand. An unmade bed and a sink full of dishes. I didn’t inherit those pet-peeves.

But I do have this tendency to get totally overwhelmed and paralyzed when there’s too much to do. I just shut down.

And I realized, as I started washing the dishes at night, how awesome I was feeling in the mornings as a result of seeing a clean sink. Man, it’s amazing what a grimy two foot stack of plates and bowls can do to the psyche! That mess contributed to my overwhelmed feelings and paralysis.

Isn’t God amazing? I mean, He knows smack dab what my issues are and how to alleviate stress in my life.

Who knows? Maybe next year I’ll actually start folding laundry.

Want to share what He’s telling you for 2008?

Lisa

Hi, Friends!

Honestly, I can hardly talk about this topic without feeling some heat rise into my face. Socialization.

I will attempt to maintain composure.

I find that home schooled children tend to be more mature, sensitive to others, caring and ministry oriented. For people who question the socialization aspect of home schooling- socialization is not taught at school. There may be character curriculum in a public school, but its teaching comprises a tiny part of the child’s week. Character isn’t integrated into life as it can be in a home setting – it’s just presented as another lesson.

As a public school teacher for 16 years, I depended on parents to teach kindness self control, caring for others, manners, and appropriate behavior. In order for my classroom to be effective, those social skills already needed to be learned at home. Bottom line - moms and dads are the molders of social skills.

Homeschooled children are among the most considerate, sensitive, mannerly children I have ever come in contact with. Someone asked me if not sending a child to public school would be detrimental. I replied, “Imagine never having to deal with being pushed into your place in the hierarchy based on what clothes you wear, what you look like, and how much of a clone of your peers you become.

Imagine never having to worry about being bullied, not having to hear obscenities or witness fist fights. I know many people who have gone through years of therapy to try to get beyond ways they were treated as children in public school. Imagine being so free that that whole “you don’t belong here” worry is like a foreign land.”

Do I think the public school has a place in educating our children? Yes, but I believe it is primarily for those children whose home life is abusive –horrible things are witnessed at home, and their only way of escape is coming to school. Many children live in these situations and, for them, school is a godsend. No, it’s not the very best educationally and emotionally, but it’s far better than what they could have at home. So while the public school has its place, I believe it’s secondary in quality to the type of education that can occur in the home.

Take care, and thanks for reading!

Lisa

Here’s a powerful tip that will skyrocket your child’s test-taking abilities by helping what he’s learning really stick.

And it’s so simple, even a five-year-old can do it!

All you have to do is ask the child to document in some way the jist of what was learned in each subject that day. Younger children can draw a picture. Older children can write a few sentences.

Boring? So non-creative? Ah, therein lies the secret.

When we read information, we can move through quickly, get to the end of the book and then if someone asked us what we learned from that text, we say, “Uhm, well, see, it’s about… uhm… Well, hand it here again…”

But if two minutes are taken at the end of each chapter to form a two sentence synopsis of what the chapter was about, WOW! That information ends up rubber cemented to the brain. If the child talks about what she’s learned within 24 hours, and actually explains those two sentences to someone, the info ends up super-glued to the brain.

This simple tip is often overlooked, because by the end of a learning session, we’re likely eager to skip to something else, or we’re headed out the door. But taking that extra two minutes to summarize the basic ideas of what was learned means that come test time - there won’t need to be a ton of review or stomach ulcers. It’s all cemented in the brain, just waiting for retrieval.

It’s potentially the most valuable two minutes of the learning process!

Talk to you later!
Lisa

P.S. For numerous tips to help your children learn faster and easier, check out the “Brain Strategies” section at http://www.homeschoolhelper.com

Well, I don’t normally plan on being this longwinded - but this post is exactly why I started this blog, so… Thanks for your indulgence!

Home schooling allows parents to utilize the best teaching and learning practices (such as one-on-one learning instruction) and to implement unique brain strategies. And since you don’t have a classroom of 25 children to manage, you can allow your child to pursue areas of his own interest. This freedom skyrockets motivation!

A home schooled child can have a customized, tailor-made education. How freeing to learn at his own pace, not hurried and frustrated or twiddling thumbs while waiting for others to listen or catch up.

Homeschooling also allows for a breadth and depth of curriculum that isn’t available in the public school. For instance, recent studies show that listening to a foreign language before the age of two gives a child the ability to later learn and speak that language like a native. You don’t have to wait until age 14 to begin Spanish! Many home schooled children learn real-life skills – they can cook, grow their own vegetables, build a house –and they develop musical and artistic talents, too. Some even start their own businesses as early as age 8!

Also, when a person is schooled at home, and there is an emphasis on meaning and understanding. Learning isn’t just a bag of trivial facts, it becomes an entire dimension when you’re home schooling.

Home schooled children are likely to become independent, creative thinkers. They feel free to search for truth and question opinions stated as facts.

Most of a child’s day in the public school is spent trying to fit in, and that interferes with the learning process. Children who don’t have to take the time to develop and use survival mechanisms to keep from being made fun of or bullied, develop strong, confident self-concepts. Moms and Dads are thrilled at their children’s creativity, and at home no one is criticized for having a unique idea.

This relaxed atmosphere allows learning to catapult to heights that just aren’t possible when you have to create ways to survive, and plan ways to belong.

One of the most profound benefits of homeschooling is the strong family relationships that are forged. Respect and manners can be not only taught, but modeled again and again. Service to others just becomes a part of life. Strong families work through their problems together. The companionship and gift of time with our children takes precedence over the frantic pace of the treadmill.

Mae Shell, a homeschooled young lady, is quoted in The Homeschooling Book of Answers (by Linda Dobson). Her words say it better than I ever could. When asked what she’d most remember about being homeschooled, Mae replied, “The first thing that comes to mind is the importance of my family life. And I mean this in every sense you can imagine, not simply loving, but being friends with my family, enjoying their company, supporting them and knowing they support me no matter what happens…

More than being just parents, they are my friends, mentors, teachers, and counselors. I also cherish the friendship of my three younger sisters and older half-brother and sister. I know I will always have these rich, wonderful relationships with my siblings.” Mae goes on to speak of what her family means to her. “I value being a part of this intricate living quilt above everything else.” (pg.222)

Can you put a price tag on this type of family strength and love? It’s worth everything!

Well, that’s a mouthful and a half.  I have descended my soap box and  promise to have shorter posts on this blog as well!

Take care,

Lisa