What I Want My Children to Attain from Their Homeschooling Life

My older daughter is seen here teaching her baby sister.

As promised here is the next portion to my homeschooling adventure series:

I learned a lot from homeschooling my teenage nephew.  He was in his early teens when I began homeschooling my oldest son who was only five years-old at the time.  Ironically, that same son is now fifteen--the age when my nephew left my home.  Fortunately, my son has no intentions, like my other children, in leaving home too soon.  I am grateful for that because I want the time to equip him with as much life skills as possible before he leaves my nest.

My homeschooling philosophy has evolved, undoubtedly.  I haven't done too much direct teaching. Instead, I believe in I'll-hold-your-hand-sometimes-but-not-forever.  As soon as the children are reading independently, I give them their material, like workbooks, textbooks, etc.   I give the children instructions over how much to do per day per subject, and they only come to me when they are stuck with something they don't understand.  They input into their daily logs what they have done for each day.  

Our homeschooling is as follows:

--Eclectic (including many ideas and material); 

--Montessori (lots of self-learning with available material);

--a little bit of unschooling (varied schedules, some do work in the morning, some at night);

--some interest-driven electives (computers and drawing), and 

--using teachable moments (for example, writing an essay about why you want your parents to buy you a computer tower).

Here is a sampling of concrete skills that I want education to give my children:

-Writing--for them to have a way for my children to express themselves in the written word when they desire something; for example, writing a letter to their councilmen about an issue involving their neighborhood;

-Math--for them to balance their checkbooks and budget their money;

-History--for them to know the background behind the news they hear;

-Bible--for them to be able to discern the real truth behind people's actions and words and to know what God expects of them; also for them to know how to conduct themselves;

-Science--for them to know about what their bodies need and what nourishes them and about the natural world around them;

-Reading--for them to know how to empower themselves by seeking out information that is understandable to them because they comprehend the words; and
-Chores--for them to cook, clean, and fix problems for themselves.

The above is not an exhausted list; there are more things I want my children to know before they leave me.  As you can see, I want my children to be productive, loving individuals that will go out into the world and be positive members of society.  I want them to be equipped to face the challenges of this world.  Yes, experience will give them plenty of knowledge, but the skills they learn through me, their facilitator, I hope will take them further.  Isn't this what every parent would like for their children?

How about you, my readers?  What skills would you like for the children in your life to acquire?  Good public speaking skills?   What about our future waste collectors, doctors, and lawyers?  What skills would they need?  Think about it.  You could enhance their lives by taking the time to pause to review what is needed vs. what is already learned.

Thanks for taking the time to read about my homeschooling career.  I hope it benefits someone and/or that it causes some reflection about their child's education.

By the way, stay tuned to read on a future entry: What I Need to Teach My Ninth Grader.

Peace I extend to you all, my friends and family.