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Homeschooling

***Note: All the underlined words in this article are links to other pages; most of them are on other websites. When you click on a link, a new browser window will open so you will be able to easily return to this page.***

We are Homeschoolers

My husband and I have two children so far -- our daughter, Ellen, is four, and our little boy, Calvin, is one. I am a stay at home mom, and my children and I are together all day. We are homeschoolers, though I don't really think of what we do as "schooling." We don't do any school-type things, yet our children are learning a lot! I think what we do is most like unschooling.

Ellen and Calvin have been learning from me and my husband since before they were born. They heard our voices in the womb, and our son heard his sister's voice. Sunshine on my tummy brightened their worlds. They heard music and singing, and yelling. They felt the effects of my sadness, anger, and happiness.

After their births, they learned a lot about communication by our responsiveness to their cries. We held them close during the day, and that helped them feel secure. They have always been involved in my daily activities, and their Daddy's, too, when he is not at work. This stimulates their brain and helps them learn a lot about their environment and about relationships. We have always talked to them often explaining things that we are doing and telling them how much we love them and giving them lots of hugs and kisses.

We Talk A Lot

Throughout the day Ellen and I discuss many different things; we talk about our dreams, about our fears, about having babies (she has given birth to many babies since she was at the birth of her brother ;-)). We share our feelings and thoughts with one another. My daughter asks questions; my husband and I do our best to answer them, but she sure comes up with some hard questions! Sometimes I mention the colors of things. Sometimes I count how many things there are. We go on walks, and we talk about the trees and the bushes. We talk about the birds and the clouds.

It's hard to explain everything, but we are learning together. Many of the things I try to explain to my children are things I've always taken for granted, and I've never really thought about how they work (well, maybe I did when I was a kid). We talk about factories often, because Ellen is very interested in learning about how things are made. We talk about plastic and how it turns into liquid when it gets really hot. We are hoping to visit a candy factory soon. My daughter makes me *think* a lot. The Internet is very helpful for finding information to help explain things, as are books.

Calvin listens to us talk and tries his best to join in. We talk to Calvin a lot, too, and I name different objects to him and explain what we are doing. I repeat the sounds he says back to him, so he will know I am carrying on a conversation with him and that what he says matters. I try to figure out the "English" word for what he is saying in babytalk, and sometimes I can figure it out (or guess!!!), and I share that word with him, too.

We Read Books

My husband and I like to read books to our children. We read books at nighttime before they go to bed. I also usually read to them during the day. Ellen loves books, and a couple months ago Calvin finally became interested in toddler books. He likes the ones with little flaps that you lift, and his favorite one is one with a mirror in it.

In the past month, I've started reading books written for older children to my daughter (while my son plays nearby, nurses, or naps). So far I've read to her "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. Now we are reading The House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Ellen gets distracted sometimes and doesn't listen to every word (of course), but she enjoys hearing the stories; the drawings in the books help to keep her attention and help her to understand what I am reading about. We read a couple chapters every day.

We learn a lot by reading books. For instance, today we learned about making maple syrup (and are looking forward to buying some this weekend!). Yesterday we had a discussion about guns, and how they used to have to use them to kill animals to eat for food. This book talks about spankings, and we don't spank (see our Toddler Discipline page for more information about how we discipline), so we've discussed that, too.

Update March 25 We finished "The House in the Big Woods" and have also read "Little House on the Prairie," "On the Banks of Plum Creek," and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (I edited a few place a little bit). We've almost finished "Farmer Boy" and are partway through "On the Shores of Silver Lake."

Ellen also loves to "read" books herself. She can look through a picture book and remember the story pretty well if we've read it before, or she can make up a whole new story from the pictures. She enjoys listening to stories on tapes and CDs, too, and loves story time at the library.

We Look at Animals

We have been reading about wolves in Laura Ingalls Wilder's book. My daughter looked out on our back porch tonight and said, "I see a wolf." I thought she was just making it up, because she likes so much to play pretend. So I just went along with her, but then she opened the curtain, and I looked out, and there was an animal right there looking at us. . . a racoon! So my son, daughter, and I had a long, good look at a racoon. He was right next to our sliding glass door, and Ellen watched him up close for about 20 mintues until he went away. He looked at us a long time, then started cleaning himself, and then finally left. That was a cool learning experience!

We Watch Television and Videos

She likes tv, but we don't watch it everyday. Right now (in March) her favorite tv show is "Wishbone." Up until this year, she didn't care for the show called Reading Rainbow, but now she really likes it; and she also likes the children's animal shows on PBS like "Zaboomafoo." It's neat to see her taste in shows "mature." Okay, but she does like Teletubbies, too (she only watches it about once a month). The part where the children do an activity is pretty neat, though, I think, so there. ;-) She also likes videos such as The Donut Man and Veggie Tales, and Winnie the Pooh.

Children's Imagination is Cool

Our daughter has an incredible imagination. She loves to dress up; she especially likes to dress up like a princess. She enjoys playing games and pretending she is the gingerbread man. . . "Run, run, as fast as you can. You can catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!!" She enjoys puppets. Also, she shows her imagination when she talks to things and carries on conversations with all sorts of objects -- like tonight at the kitchen table she was talking to a ladel. A few months ago, she had an invisible friend for a couple weeks. Now she sees monsters sometimes. They seem to be nice ones. She has been scared lately about being alone, so I guess this helps her deal with her fears (at least that's what I've read!)

She takes good care of her dollies. When we were at a friend's house recently, Ellen was playing with one of their dollies. There were a bunch of people in the room. Ellen said her baby was hungry, so right there she lifted her shirt up (discreetly) so her baby could nurse. I was so proud of her! She is learning to be such a nurturing mommy. One of her favorite dolls is named "Sally." She likes to change Sally's diapers. She sounds so maternal sometimes when she cares for her baby. . . . "She has a poopy diaper! I need to get some baby wipes."

We Do Artistic Things

Ellen loves to draw pictures. She likes paints especially. Crayons and markers are nice, too. She's not very enthralled with coloring books, and usually perfers to make her own pictures. She also likes to cut out pictures from magazines and catalogs and glue them on paper, and she likes making pictures from stickers. She enjoys drawing pictures using my Photoshop program, too.

Calvin doesn't draw much yet, but he's interested! He tries to eat the crayons, though; but now he is able to get in some light scribbles before biting on his delectable crayon. He is finally able (at almost 14 months of age) to play with play dough without constantly trying to eat it, so that is something he and Ellen can do together.

We Cook

She loves to cook. She enjoys pouring ingredients in the bowl and stirring. She can even crack an egg. We had a tea party

yesterday, and we made some biscuits for it. I am starting to explain about what "one cup," "half a cup," and teaspoons and tablespoons are. We've also made other things such as pizza crust, pancakes, french toast, and cookies. I'd say that now she almost knows more about cooking than I did when I first got married! lol

Calvin doesn't cook yet, but he sure does love to eat. He enjoys trying new things, but sometimes he makes the funniest faces! When he's ready to start cooking, I think this on-line cookbook sounds like fun: Cooking by the Handful.

We Listen to Music

We listen to lots of different types of music -- from hymns to alternative Christian music to oldies. Ellen likes classical music (which she calls "ballet music"). Our children are super at dancing. Calvin really has the beat! And Ellen is incredibly energetic, enthusiastic, and creative in her dancing.

We are all learning a lot, together as a family, and it's fun! What more could anyone ask for?

But, You Ask, What About Socialization?

Ellen and Calvin are people-persons. My husband and I are both rather shy, so they amaze us with their confidence. They love being around other people. Ellen is fun to be around; she is very funny (she loves to make people laugh) and is an excellent conversationalist, and she is gentle and loving.

We do spend a lot of time at home enjoying one another's company, but we have ample opportunities to interact with other people. Among other things, we go to stores (of course!), to church, and to various meetings. We visit their grandparents often. Ellen plays with the children at church each Sunday. We've attended La Leche League meetings since Ellen was 11 months old. I watch children once a month for women's fellowship at church. Our children love to play at the park on the big toys and in the sand, and usually other children are there. Sometimes we go to the mall, and our children climb on the toys in the play area. We go to library storytime. We've found that our park district has a wonderful variety of children's activities available at good prices. Ellen will probably take swimming lessons this summer, and maybe even Calvin, too. I would like for us (Ellen, Calvin, and I) to volunteer somewhere, though I don't know where yet. Also, I am thinking about trying to start an attachment parenting play group/Bible study.

I don't think that age-segregation is a positive thing. Our children benefit from being around people of all ages. We love doing things together as a family. I don't feel that it's necessary for my children to be around lots of children their own age; I seriously doubt that the influence of many children their own age in a school setting would be a positive one.

Other Things We Do

We do much more than I've listed here, but hopefully this gives you a good idea of some of the things we do. You can find out some other things we do by visitng the Toddler Activities page, the Children in Church page, and the Family Worship and Devotions page.

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