My first guest post has just been published on the Unplugged Mom site. Click here to read it.
If It’s Not Working, Dump It
December 29, 2011 By
I run wild around the internet here and there and sometimes find myself adding my input when parents ask for help in their homeschooling adventure. I wrote this the other day and thought it was general enough for anyone who would just like a boost…
My first recommendation is to always, always remember that you have freedom as a homeschooler. You do not need to do anything that emulates school. If something is not working, dump it.
My second suggestion is to pay attention to what your child is telling you. Some kids might come right out and tell parents what they think about the program that parents set up for them if they are comfortable doing so. But all kids will communicate with you by their actions.
And she’s telling you that your program is not working. The beauty of homeschooling is that this isn’t such a big deal. You are not bound to it, no one is forcing you to stick to something that is not working. Take advantage of that.
Sit down with her and find out more about why she says she wants to continue homeschooling but does not do her school work. How much of her schoolwork is actually “busy work” that has little relevance to her life? Perhaps you could take a closer look at what she’d rather do than the program you are using and then use those interests to help her learn.
I would not want to fight with her everyday either. Homeschooling is not about you feeling you have to constantly work on getting a program done. It is not about you feeling defeated. It’s about you and your child working together on ideas to help her learn. And enjoy doing so.
I suggest you not wrap yourself too tightly with a desire to “get her to do her assignments without fighting.” Learning and education is not about fighting. Fighting her may be a clue that she wants to be a part of the planning process.
Consider the message you are sending when you tell her that she will not do “x, y, z” until she is finished with her schoolwork. What sort of message does that give about education and learning? Shouldn’t it be more enjoyable than that? It can be when you are not stuck in institutional school because you have so much more freedom to tailor learning to your individual child.
Subjects like History when done using a prescribed program are boring, boring, boring. I bet if you take a look at what she’s doing, you’d be bored too. I never taught history. We just ran into it as we lived our lives, museums, books, videos, etc. There are a million things you could do for history. It doesn’t have to be programmed at all. If you do anything structured, just create a timeline so they can get a sense of “when” certain things happened that you run into as you live your lives.
To your question about tests, if you know your child is not ready, then why make her take it and fail? And also, if you know your child is not ready, then why would you need a test at all?
Again, remember you have freedom now. You are homeschooling. Take advantage of that. And have fun!
Homeschooling Encouragement with the Unplugged Mom
October 11, 2011 By
I recently participated in a podcast with Laurette Lynn, The Unplugged Mom and Linda Dobson of Parent at the Helm. The main purpose of the podcast was to encourage homeschoolers because this is the time of year that many homeschoolers start to question their sanity. Did I make the right decision? Is this really going to work?
Listen to this podcast. It’s chock-full of great information, not just for homeschooling encouragement but about education in general. It was loads of fun and I thank Laurette for inviting me to join in.
You can get to the podcast here: Living and Learning sans School: Encouragement from veteran voices
Here are direct links to some of the free items I mentioned that I have online to help encourage homeschoolers:
Okay Kids, Time for Bedlam Book
Homeschooling is Freedom Blog (Interviews with scores of homeschooling families.)
Link to the document I like to call The Ultimate Homeschool Encouragement.
Finally, a link to a free document to have fun writing with your child: The Write Way to Have Fun
Keeping The Summer Attitude
September 8, 2011 By
I wrote another post for the Libertopia blog on the topic of unschooling. Gotta keep that summer ‘tude!
Education Experts
August 29, 2011 By
In October, I am speaking at an event in San Diego called Libertopia. Here is a post I wrote for their blog:
Doodle With Words
August 18, 2011 By
Most of us have been in situations where we just started drawing randomly on a piece of paper, or doodling. When doodling, we usually don’t have a clear objective and we don’t really care how it turns out. We don’t get all upset or wonder if our doodles are correct. We just doodle.
Sure, it could end up as a completed picture but often it’s just unrelated random drawings created with an attitude of playfulness. Doodling is fun.
You can do the same thing with words. Thinking of writing as doodling can help you stop worrying about whether you are doing it “right” because you don’t concern yourself with writing rules and conventions.
Free Writing
In the writing world this is known as free writing. When free writing, you just let the words flow, with no clear objective except to write thoughts down in an attitude of playfulness. You don’t worry about the end result; you just write.
Free writing is a valuable technique for everyone, child or adult. All you need to do is grab a pencil and paper and start to write. You literally just dictate your thoughts. You can choose a certain amount of time, even if it’s as short as a minute or two and just start writing until the time is up.
With free writing, there is never a reason to be faced with a blank sheet of paper because there are always words and thoughts running through your mind – unless you’re dead. And if you’re dead you can’t hold the pencil anyway.
Push Through Doubts
Even if all you can think of is “I don’t know what to say,” or “free writing is stupid and that Debbie is goofy,” you are still writing down words and thoughts. You will eventually move on to other ideas or at least begin to discover more about why you think I’m goofy. You may like something you wrote or you may just throw it away, it just doesn’t matter. And that’s the point.
If you do go back and read something you like, or see an idea that sparks more thoughts, you may want to continue. Free writing is a treasure hunt, a discovery of what’s going on inside that head of yours. And if your mind is anything like mine, you are going to find lots of strange and wonderful ideas inside.
If you want, you can corral your thoughts by putting a single word on top of the page and start writing about whatever pops into your head when you see that word. Try it right now if you want. Doodle your thoughts about the word “snail.”
Doodling with words can clear your mind. Doodling with words can focus your mind. But most of all doodling with words can be a lot of goofy fun.
Ideas Generate Ideas
July 27, 2011 By
I have a guest post over at Linda Dobson’s Parent At The Helm blog about a writing idea a reader thought of as a result of reading “The Write Way to Have Fun.” This is exactly what I knew would happen because ideas generate ideas. And as each family looks at an idea that worked in one family, they almost always change, mold and tailor it in ways that they know will work for their children.
So head on over and look at one reader’s idea so you can start generating more ideas of your own.
While you’re at Linda’s site, make sure you browse around because it’s packed full of information, resources and fun for all parents interested in taking charge of their children’s education. When it comes to ideas, Linda’s one of the champs!
The Write Way To Have Fun
July 19, 2011 By
It's Fun Writing With Stubby Pencils
Yeah, I know you think I must be crazy but I have another free item for all of you homeschoolers out there. Well, wait a minute, really this free item is for any parent, not just homeschoolers. No, hold on, this free item is actually for everyone, child or adult, who wants to free themselves from schoolish ways of thinking about writing.
I have written an e-book titled “The Write Way To Have Fun.” In this book, I explain some of the ideas our family used as we learned to relax and play with words. The book includes real examples of writing my kids did when they were elementary age. As a bonus, the e-book even includes directions to a wildly energetic game for kids.
Guaranteed fun for your family!
I am quite excited about releasing this project because I know this book will motivate at least one person in your family to write. As a matter of fact, I am so confident of this that I am offering to pay $100.00 to anyone who claims this book did not accomplish that goal. You have to admit, that’s a confident offer! Since the book is free and you will even be paid for your time if you feel the book didn’t live up to its promise, this is a case where you really have nothing to lose. The instructions for collecting the money are included at the end of the book.
So go ahead and click here to download your very own free copy of Debbie Harbeson’s “The Write Way To Have Fun.”
The Ultimate Homeschool Encouragement
May 11, 2011 By
Click on the image to download your free copy of The Ultimate Homeschool Encouragement. I guarantee this will convince you that yes, you can!
Unplugged Mom Radio
April 23, 2011 By
Laurette Lynn, The Unplugged Mom, invited me to call into her show on April 15th. No, not because it was tax day, but because she wanted to ask me a few questions as a homeschooling mom whose kids are now adults. In other words, she wanted to talk to me because I’m old.
You can listen to the entire show below. Her discussion with me starts at around the :55 minute mark. Also my husband listened to it and he thought I sort of glossed over the question about college. I guess I was trying too hard make the point that college doesn’t have to be the goal. Anyway after you listen to my responses to her questions, you can read what he sent to Laurette as his addition to the interview.
Listen to internet radio with The Unplugged Mom on Blog Talk Radio
And here’s what my husband added:
- When you asked if Debbie could make folks feel more sure that they could prepare their children for success, I think there is a more direct answer to what those folks might be asking. Our children were both accepted at the University of their choice and were both honor graduates. So the simple answer to the question I always got is “Yes, you can home school your children and prepare them for college and yes, Colleges will accept homeschooled students even if they do not have a high school GPA. Our daughter was accepted to a college which only accepts 10% of the kids who apply there. If it turns out that the child is not capable of college or uninterested the story gets better, because he has an infinitely better chance to think of himself as a success if he is not negatively impacted by the public school system.
- You asked if Debbie had doubts while she was actually in the middle of the process and she talked about me being supportive. She sometimes would say “John, I just don’t think this is working”. I actually had a very precise response. I said “Debbie I would be very disappointed if you gave up home schooling our children because EVERYTHING that you said would happen when we were discussing doing home school; is very obviously happening. All those things that I see happening are wonderful.”