Home School Reflection No. 1 :: A Home School Rule of Life

I have been home schooling for a long time now (my oldest is a sophomore in college, my youngest is in first grade). Over the years I have learned some things by trial and error that have turned out to be important to my family's home learning. Together they have become a Rule of Life for me, which, in religious terms, is a plan for living:

• A routine, not a schedule.  Tablework in the morning, fieldwork, activities, chores and errands in the afternoon; reading and other quiet pursuits in the evenings. 

• Practice peace and good cheer. As soon as things become tense and stressful learning stops--abort the mission and do something that will restore calm, peaceful energy. 

• Maintain an orderly environment. After something is used it is returned to where it belongs immediately. Later does not exist--neither does before. Life is now, this present moment. Don't let it slip away and then regret it later (after everything has become an exhausting mess).

•  Work first, then play. Play is a good and worthwhile pursuit. At some point a child must also learn duty, which is equally worthwhile. 

•  Value tools and character more than knowledge. The tools of learning and character last a lifetime: reading, listening, writing, speaking and mathematics; honesty, kindness, patience, cleanliness, helpfulness, diligence, charity, etc. These will equip a person to learn anything and to live a peaceful and productive life  Knowledge, however, is constantly shifting. What one learns today may very well be obsolete tomorrow. (Remember when Pluto used to be a planet?)

•  Make broad plans, not detailed ones. Choose a learning topic and see what emerges. Discover the details of a thing together with the children.

•  Quality over quantity. Six things done perfectly are better than thirty done poorly.

• Waste not want not.  99% of the time the materials I have on hand will do the job nicely. Very rarely will new curriculum make a major difference in my child's learning. Beware the idea of quick fix-its. Problems and challenges take time to work through and overcome, and are best aided by patience and trust.

• Go outdoors everyday. There is no tonic like sunshine and rain, trees and wind, flowers and dew, rocks and birds (and plants and things :-), and the great wild sky. Nature is the best teacher.

• I am mother, not teacher.  I don't have to "learn it first" or know everything (or anything) to help my child learn and grow. I just need to love my child and be willing to figure things out with her together--just as we have always done.