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Homeschooling Assignment #1
Homeschooling Assignment #2
Homeschooling Assignment #3
Homeschooling Assignment #4
Homeschooling Assignment #5
Homeschooling Assignment #6
Homeschooling Assignment #7
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Homeschooling Assignment #5:
Gaining Vision
 Fold a regular piece of blank (on one side) paper into half and then half again and half again, Unfold the paper flat and you will have 8 "boxes". If you need two pages, go ahead. Now, take a minute to jot down what you think is generally important for your children to know by the time they are 18 years old in the boxes. Just brainstorm it and don't try to make it perfect. This is a "worksheet". If you find two things that fit in a similar category, then name that box with a title, such as "Practical Skills". You can arrange it in priority order later or add more stuff. You are just trying to "drain your brain" so you can look down the road to the very near future (you'll be amazed at how fast it comes!) when your children are going to be finished with their upbringing and their primary education under your tutelage. You want to feel pretty well satisfied that you have "covered it". You don't want any big glaring gaps--"Oh why, oh why didn't I teach them to read" or "My goodness, didn't I ever teach them not to burp out loud?!" for example! That's why we are looking ahead.
 It is remarkable that you can choose what to teach a 6 year old. They are so pliable and teachable. But a 16 year old is "baked". They are set in the patterns you gave them (or you allowed p.s.--public school--or other adults or institutions to train in them). No flexing and re-teaching and changing them. You've had your chance at it and they are their own people now, really by about 12 to 14 years.
So you want to get it right. You want to mold them, give them good habits, make the most of this unique opportunity to nurture and train your child. Don't get scared out of the job. It is yours, even if you choose to send them to public school. God put that responsibility for your child's upbringing squarely on your shoulders. You can use whatever resources you need to, and if you feel that public school can do the job to your satisfaction, then so be it. But, most of us realize pretty quick that p.s. is not turning out the kind of people we were hoping for our precious children to become. So take the job--it's yours anyway!
Unfortunately, I missed the boat when it came to teaching my children "Personal Finance Management". I don't have any reason or excuse, except that I just somehow spaced it. I am naturally very thrifty and "make do", so it never occurred to me that someone could just spend money flagrantly without budgeting, balancing their checkbook or setting goals, or something like that. Some of my children were naturals at finance, so no harm done. Others, well. . . I don't want to embarrass any of my children too badly to the online world! So let us just suffice to say, not all children are natural financiers. What would have taken us 15 minutes once a week to learn at age 10 or 12 years, has to be taught by overdrafts, late fees and the other methods the banking world teaches us info that our mother neglected. Perhaps they will marry an accountant and all will be well!
Work on your worksheet for a week. Leave it out on your kitchen counter, and jot things down. Wipe off the spaghetti sauce that spills on it. Remember, it is not everything, it is not details, it is not in priority order and is isn't neat. That's okay. When the week is over, stick your worksheets under a page divider in the back of your Teacher's Planner entitled: "Vision" (which means seeing the whole overall picture before they grow up too far to implement it.)
Each day, at the end of homeschool, or in the afternoon while the kids are playing, you are going to sit down for a few minutes and flip through your Teacher's Planner. You are going to look over your Vision worksheets and jot down one or two more things. Just reading over it daily is going to start your brain working on thinking about what you want your kids to turn out like. You are going to notice a teenager at church, or one of your children's friends' big sisters and you are going to say, "Yes! That is where I am headed". And that will give you the power to go "backwards" in your vision to see what little things have to be done now, to create the end results you are dreaming of.
Don't forget, the ultimate goal is for our children to rely on Christ and act like Him too.
--Diane Hopkins
Homeschooling Assignment #6 (click here to view)
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Hi!
I am Diane Hopkins, mother of 7 children (ages 12 to 32) whom I have had the privilege of homeschooling over the past 18 years. I'm a mom, just like you, and have those fabulous days and those not-so-good days like we all do. My hope in writing is to share experiences, and hopefully we can encourage one another in this wonderful, intense adventure of childraising--that is really what homeschooling is, after all.
Hoping to help, if I can!
Love, Diane
Please send me your homeschooling questions.
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