I guess for some, a blog post with six months of rumination behind it would be extraordinarily well thought-out and organized. For six months I've been considering, every-so-often, the extraordinary experience that this past year has been, wondering how exactly I would put down on "paper" all it has entailed - academically, personally, in family dynamics, etc, etc etc.
So I can't begin to cover all of that.
In fact, in the past six months, my attention has shifted from an amazement at all that Jonathan was asking and learning in his kindergarten year, much of which I'd frankly never encountered (Punic Wars? Tojo of Japan?) to a recognition that the end of this year isn't about what I, or he, or we learned in our first year of home school. Instead, I might title a post today, "What I've begun learning, since re-entering Kindergarten."
And that list can't be put into bullet points. Instead, I think I'll share my best attempt at a short tour of our first year of homeschool.
Last summer, I was struck entirely indecisive over when to put our bright, late-summer-birthday just-turning-five-years-old son into Kindergarten. He had no interest in spending more than a few mornings a week away from home, he was beginning to pick up on reading quite well, and was fascinated with space and anything I titled an "experiment." A kind friend and former Kindergarten teacher went through a developmental test with him and agreed that he was ready to begin Kindergarten academically and should be in a gifted program, but that other factors supported him spending more time at home, as he preferred.
We didn't begin homeschooling because we had a problem with the public school system. (We live down the road from an excellent school to which we fully intended to send our children.) We didn't begin homeschooling to shelter the children from any particular influence. We weren't looking to add in religious education, or to do something differently than what we believed the schools could do. It was simply the right choice for us for this season, and that became increasingly clear. I wasn't sure how we'd do it, but I was so excited I went out and bought a white board the day after we decided. We even ordered a school desk, though I'm so very grateful that it actually never arrived.
We were introduced to Classical Conversations (CC) by a few friends, and CC seemed to provide the perfect solution to my concerns about homeschooling. In fact, we didn't seriously consider it until we'd discovered CC. He would have a group of classmates his age, he'd have a touch of classroom structure, and there would be curriculum provided to prevent me from dropping the ball on some essential element of his education that I hadn't considered. But all that would be one day a week, leaving us the bulk of the week to pursue his wealth of interests and plans for his own projects and books and to arrange a wealth of play dates with friends.
The key point to this adventure, this experiment of "let's try home school for a year and see how it goes," was that we had never intended to put Jonathan into kindergarten this year anyways. I figured that truly anything we learned was just icing on the cake. It was a year to try things out, discovering how we work and learn together as a family. We'd see how our options looked in a few months when it was time to make decisions again. Would this be "Prek 4?" "Kindergarten?" Who knows. I figured we'd decide that once the year was over, rather than before. I think the only reason I didn't melt from the anticipated pressure of being fully responsible for his education is that I really told myself our goal was "anything." Whatever we do this year, great.
CC introduced us to new, dear friends, to a classical model of education, and to history. Oh my goodness, did I end up smacked in the face with all of history. The kids at CC learn the timeline of history, from creation to the present, in a single 14 minute song. The timeline provides a frame of reference for the rest of their education as they learn about and mentally plug in a wealth of understanding. But for my inquisitive child, it meant that his mother was suddenly subject to questions ranging from "What are Punic Wars?" to "But why did they fight World War I?" I would not have survived without Wikipedia. I'll confess that majority of Jonathan's understanding of history, outside of the 24 history sentences he learned this year, comes from Wikipedia at this point. Because that's what's available to me when we're in a parking lot and he asks me for the fourth time in 10 minutes why the Roman Empire fell.
After a few weeks into the year, I had discovered I didn't have to create random unit studies from anything and everything to piece together our education. I laugh now at how little I knew about home education. I seriously thought I might be looking for worksheets on other people's blogs for everything we ever did. It was a relief to learn I could find a published math curriculum :) After trying a few options, I discovered a phonics book that was super simple and perfect for us. Now it was time to take a step back and think more deliberately about where we were headed.
And that's about when I discovered Charlotte Mason. The term "educational philosophy" became my obsession. What is an education? Why am I educating my child? For what purpose? What are my end goals for his education? Who do I believe a child to be? How was he made? How does a child learn? What material does he need to learn? How do I teach him? Oh my goodness, so many questions. Living books, ideas v. facts, rote memorization v. learning something by heart, encyclopedias, textbooks, historical fiction, utilitarian education, standardized testing. What role, if any, do each of these have in our education? Are textbooks pure evil? Are facts foundational to his education? Or will facts rather kill his very ability to truly understand and relate to a subject? I was so overwhelmed. I devoured books on project-based learning, classical education, and Charlotte Mason philosophy.
And I discovered that, despite my desire to find a direction and follow it, I am *gasp* an eclectic homeschooler. At least for today. ;) We will be learning what works for us, what ignites delight and curiosity, what "sticks" in the long-term, and what's sometimes simply necessary. And there's no short-cut to discovering that on our own. It will be a matter of discovering daily how God has made my children, and who He's made them to be, as I learn more fully how He's made me, as a mother and a teacher. And from there we'll discover the resources he brings into our path.
I see facts like the Timeline, history sentences, and science facts as forming a skeleton. Those facts aren't the flesh. They're just the beginning. But they are so very helpful. Carefully, repeatedly memorized facts will cement in our knowledge to last beyond a single year's final exams. To the facts we add ideas, living books, relationships with nature and authors and composers and inventors. They will provide the flesh of our education and its heart. All this to be guided with a vision for guiding my children into the discovery and appreciation of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. The development of character and virtue is of even higher significance in their education than any specific academic skills or achievement. It is my goal that they are driven to learn and that they develop the skills to learn. The actual *what* of what they learn is actually less significant than I'd initially imagined. If children leave our home with the skills and discipline to educate themselves in any area that catches their heart and mind, and the character to use that education to the glory of God and the service of others, I will consider their education wildly successful.
So I was about there as the school year wrapped up, enthusiastically planning out our year ahead. Mentally merging neoclassical educational methods with the educational philosophy of Charlotte Mason, I began the summer piecing together our plans for our first formal year of homeschooling. I'm very excited about our year ahead :) Jonathan's the most patriotic 5 year old I've ever met, and I'm excited to get a taste of American history with him. But the "What we're doing this year" post is for another day.
So what did I learn in Kindergarten?
I learned:
... that home school is definitely not "school" at home, not for us.
... that the kitchen table, a comfy couch, sharpened pencils, and great books are all we really need.
... that poetry is delightful even for the very young.
... that teaching art appreciation, classical music, and hymns can be so very simple.
... that wonderful, well-written, beautifully-illustrated picture books are the heart of Kindergarten.
... that children thrive in long stretches of unstructured time in nature.
... that there is much education to be had in pursuing a child's interests.
... that organization and routine are essential, but it is flexibility that will preserve our joy.
... that the majority of early math can be taught with snacks and games.... that being a model for imitation is key to teaching. There is no
replacement for a genuine love for literature, music, art, or math.
... that this is my education, too.
... that developing an intimate understanding of God's grace in my
experience of our daily lives is absolutely one of the most valuable
things I can offer my children.
