Homeschooling fundie style

[Koala]

raisingolives.com/2012/02/q-homeschooling-while-pregnant-sourdough-starter-handling-large-family

tips for being successful at homeschooling during a pregnancy:

Relax and let go of the guilt. Remember, not only has God called you to this pregnancy, he has called your husband and your children to this pregnancy. Morning sickness and tiredness affect you, but they also affect your family as well. This is not a surprise to God. This is the best thing for your whole family.

Children called by god to mom's pregnancy. Who knew? :shock:

What is the best thing for the whole family? The morning sickness or the pregnancy? I'm confused.

The longer I’ve been involved in homeschooling the more convinced I am that the greatest educational benefits that our children receive are not the textbooks, classes or work pages, but learning to live life by serving others and mom’s pregnancy provides great opportunities for service.

Over the past few months, as I’ve struggled through the beginning of this pregnancy, not a lot of formal school work has been done. However, our kids have been planning a garden, making a greenhouse and planting seeds. They found a lizard, created a habitat for it and have learned about it’s habits and needs. They have taken over all the sourdough bread, cracker, muffin, bagel, pancake, etc. making. They have taken over taking care of the kefir and the kambucha. They have patched and painted walls, crocheted, knitted, sewed, etc. They have done a lot of cleaning and have helped play with and care for their siblings. They have menu planned, written grocery lists and gotten dinner on the table nearly every evening. And through all of this they have worked together as a team.

See how convenient that is? Cleaning your mother's house and taking care of her children provides the best educational benefits. I bet you thought it was actual schooling :lol: Don't be silly!

Teach your children to be independent diligent workers. Even though I’ve not been very involved in homeschooling the kids for the last several weeks, all of the children have continued to complete their everyday assignments without me.

See how smart cleaning has made her children? They don't even need a teacher anymore!

And last but not least, get Dad involved:

Involve your husband. My husband is always pretty involved in homeschooling, but over the last several weeks he has taken over looking over the independent work that the children have completed during the day. He is always the math and Bible teacher and he also reads ‘character books‘ to the older children every night before bed. Honestly, if our children just did the things that daddy teaches, I think their education would be just fine.

Now I feel better. There's an adult looking over all of the work the kids taught themselves to do during the day. Whew...what a relief! He's also over math, Bible, and "character" which is really all there is to an education anyway. Good thing, cause that leaves more time for cleaning. :D :roll:

[bellamonster04]

I do not understand how someone could care so little about the education of their children. If you really believe that a kids education should never happen anywhere else but home with mom as the teacher, why is it so easy to toss it aside because it creates a conflict with whatever else is going on?!

And if math, Bible study and a book before bed is all that is necessary for their version of an "education", those kids are screwed.

"There's an adult looking over all of the work the kids taught themselves to do during the day. " I sure hope all of their children have the rare ability and motivation to teach themselves everything they need to know because that it pretty much their only hope for having an adequate education that gives them options beyond poverty.

[O Latin]

Theoretically, this could be one of the benefits of homeschooling. If you need to take a break in March, you could make up for it by working through the summer. But that would only work if you stuck to it. I've heard of even non-fundie homeschooling families that take long breaks and then just never really get caught up.

[Feberin]

Wow my son is only a toddler and I felt SO guilty when I was feeling miserable with morning sickness for letting him watch some Raffi songs on youtube and once the Sound of Music (he was sick as well and not up to playing) instead of doing something more active with him. I'd really wanted to wait until two like the AAP recomends and I felt horrible that I was slacking and letting him watch stuff already. Not that I think he needed to be doing flash cards and formal learning. I can't imagine letting homeschool slack up that much with school age kids. Especially since it will probably happen again when she hits the third trimester and is exhausted and then when the baby comes. If she did summer in March that would be fine but her attitude says to me that her pregnancy is SO much more important than her children's education and pregnancy lasts way longer then summer break.

[Witsec7]

And if math, Bible study and a book before bed is all that is necessary for their version of an "education", those kids are screwed.

But but but, they know how to make kombucha. :roll:

[Lady]

I don't think it is a big deal with normal sized families. But when pregnancy occurs every year it's as predictable as summer vacation. Of course 9 months is the length of a standard school year not a summer vacation.

One of my friends was home schooled as a kid. She was a music prodigy, so it was helpful for her to be able to take 2 months off to go play violin in London. But then she had to do school 7 days a week year around.

[cindyluvs24]

Hell, with all that who needs chemistry and geometry and foreign languages and community service and varsity sports and.......

[Conuly]

Over the past few months, as I’ve struggled through the beginning of this pregnancy, not a lot of formal school work has been done. However, our kids have been planning a garden, making a greenhouse and planting seeds. They found a lizard, created a habitat for it and have learned about it’s habits and needs. They have taken over all the sourdough bread, cracker, muffin, bagel, pancake, etc. making. They have taken over taking care of the kefir and the kambucha. They have patched and painted walls, crocheted, knitted, sewed, etc. They have done a lot of cleaning and have helped play with and care for their siblings. They have menu planned, written grocery lists and gotten dinner on the table nearly every evening. And through all of this they have worked together as a team.

Done right, this could be a decent education. You really could do a lot of science when it comes to planting a garden, and a lot of experimenting and research (reading!) when it comes to learning about greenhouse design. Ditto for taking care of a pet lizard, cooking fermented or rising foods, that sort of thing. And there's certainly a lot of good in practical life skills and crafts like knitting and so on.

I know people who are competently "unschooling" their children and making the most of everyday educational moments and all that. (And I've met their kids. They are better educated then some same-aged peers in the local schools I'm acquainted with.)

However, it seems to me that this involves a lot of hard work, work which most people are, quite reasonably, unable or unwilling to put into daily life. And while it's also fine as a break in the routine for families who do more structured homeschooling, if you're like this with every pregnancy and you're pregnant a lot? That's a LOT of breaks, where Mom's not feeling up to being as on top of things as you really have to be to make this form of education really *work*.

With that said, we don't know what independent work the kids are doing during the day. Children really do want to learn (which is why nobody has to teach them how to walk and talk), so if they're able to go forward in their structured work with minimal supervision and somebody's checking to make sure they do so, at least they probably aren't falling that far *behind*, even if they're not genuinely making the most of all these everyday situations.

[ohpotteryourotter]

Yes, one of the benefits of homeschooling is you can take breaks when needed...but for weeks at a time? I think that's too lenient. And if you can't be "actively involved" in all the subjects, at least give them some damn documentaries to watch. Don't just throw up your hands and go "Oh well! We just won't do any school work in most of the subjects for 5 weeks straight! because I don't feel like it!".

[Conuly]

Yes, one of the benefits of homeschooling is you can take breaks when needed...but for weeks at a time? I think that's too lenient.

Well, in fairness, kids who aren't homeschooled take 8 weeks off every summer, and they take week long breaks periodically through the year.

When you think about it, if the school year is 180 days and the actual year is 365 days, students are in school less than once every other day. Even if you discount weekends, there are 260 weekdays in the average year, and kids spend 80 of them not in school. That's a lot of days off!

So if they take one long 5 week break and then NO OTHER BREAKS, they're ahead of the curve.

This comment does not mean I think this specific family does that, or any specific family. I'm just pointing out the math here.

[reds]

Hell, with all that who needs chemistry and geometry and foreign languages and community service and varsity sports and.......

They are doing community service.. laundry and dishes.

[browngrl]

I think that it is entirely possible to teach your children well at home. The thing is: you actually have to teach.

[socalrules]

There is a big difference between fundies homeschooling and others homeschooling. For most people, they homeschool so their children can receive a better education than the local schools may be able to provide. They are hardcore about preparing their children for the future, specifically college. They want their children to have a chance out in the world. Fundies really only homeschool to keep their children sheltered from the outside world. They are so lax about education because it isn't necessary in their world and, if anything, frowned upon. You don't need much education to cut trees or wait for prince charming. All they need to know is how to read, write and do simple math.

Yes, you get a lot of breaks when in regular school. The upside is that you have a regular schedule for classes to be taught and things to be learned. Schools keep to a lesson plan to get things done. This allows you to take breaks. I can see homeschool families that care about education setting a regular schedule but not fundies. If your mama is pregnant with her eighth kid and laundry needs to be done, class just has to be put off for another day. We see how much the Duggars travel and how little seems to be taught when they Michelle "teaches".

Anyway, I am not big on cleaning and would love to have a garden, so I really need to push out some babies fast. If I could get one that is good at laundry I would be all set.

[Anise]

And these are the same people who quote statistics about how much better off home-schooled kids are. :doh:

I was homeschooled, and even though my parents have been fundy-lite, they both had been school teachers. Sure I was taught creationism instead of evolution, but I also had to memorize Latin and Greek roots and suffered through calculus at sixteen. Our summer break was getting Fridays off.

Not all homeschoolers are equal.

[clibbyjo]

And these are the same people who quote statistics about how much better off home-schooled kids are. :doh:

I was homeschooled, and even though my parents have been fundy-lite, they both had been school teachers. Sure I was taught creationism instead of evolution, but I also had to memorize Latin and Greek roots and suffered through calculus at sixteen. Our summer break was getting Fridays off.

Not all homeschoolers are equal.

Lets NOT have yet another homeschool war. We just had yet another one a couple weeks ago.(AGAIN, another one.) As my homeschooled daughter is on day 25 of serious concussion recovery and has not "done school" in 25 days I am really not up for yet another war. Go read the other 200 posts on the same topic,then go start a new thread on abortion,circumcision or something equally fabulous. :violin: :violin: :violin: :violin: :violin:

[Anise]

Lets NOT have yet another homeschool war. We just had yet another one a couple weeks ago.(AGAIN, another one.) As my homeschooled daughter is on day 25 of serious concussion recovery and has not "done school" in 25 days I am really not up for yet another war. Go read the other 200 posts on the same topic,then go start a new thread on abortion,circumcision or something equally fabulous. :violin: :violin: :violin: :violin: :violin:

Calma. I have no intention of warring. I am simply communicating little respect for "homeschoolers" whose subjects are Bible, laundry, cleaning, cooking, and knife throwing while making it clear that some homeschoolers do value education. Also, I'd say a concussion is a pretty good reason for not doing school, and I hope your daughter feels better soon.

[Koala]

I really don't think anyone is comparing fundie homeschoolers with "normal" homeschoolers. As Anise said, if your homeschooling involves teaching your children to run your house and care for your children while you are in a constant state of pregnancy, then you are not homeschooling.

[O Latin]

Well, in fairness, kids who aren't homeschooled take 8 weeks off every summer, and they take week long breaks periodically through the year.

When you think about it, if the school year is 180 days and the actual year is 365 days, students are in school less than once every other day. Even if you discount weekends, there are 260 weekdays in the average year, and kids spend 80 of them not in school. That's a lot of days off!

So if they take one long 5 week break and then NO OTHER BREAKS, they're ahead of the curve.

This comment does not mean I think this specific family does that, or any specific family. I'm just pointing out the math here.

We always had more like 12 weeks off in the summer (let out sometime in the first few days of June, started up sometime in the last few days of August). Then we had two weeks for Christmas and one week for spring break. I would have infinitely preferred a shorter summer and longer and/or more frequent breaks throughout the year. Christmas break was heaven. Summer break was just boring. It's even worse in college, where classes end at the beginning of May and then start again in late August. I am already dreading the endless abyss of summer.

[Tempehst]

he also reads ‘character books‘ to the older children every night before bed. Honestly, if our children just did the things that daddy teaches, I think their education would be just fine.

Unfortunately there is no puking smiley because that's what I did when I read that.

Yea I'm pretty sure your kids are going to need more than just character booklets to make it in life.

Dumbasses.

[Conuly]

We always had more like 12 weeks off in the summer (let out sometime in the first few days of June, started up sometime in the last few days of August). Then we had two weeks for Christmas and one week for spring break. I would have infinitely preferred a shorter summer and longer and/or more frequent breaks throughout the year. Christmas break was heaven. Summer break was just boring. It's even worse in college, where classes end at the beginning of May and then start again in late August. I am already dreading the endless abyss of summer.

I've heard of 12 weeks off, but it seems strange to me. We always got off the LAST week of June (often on a Monday or a Tuesday just to screw everybody over, and they refuse to hand you your report card unless you get your butt into the classroom for that lousy last half day) and started just after Labor Day.

All of July, all of August - that's 8 weeks. Plus another week and a half at the ends of June and September. Then there's a week and a half off each for spring break and for winter break, a week off for mid-winter recess, and several days off scattered throughout the year.

At any rate, no matter how you cut it, in most of the US it's 180 days. Some private schools in my area, even quite well regarded schools, have even fewer days in school! :shock: