Category: Homeschooling

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32 ESV

At some point, we must acknowledge any grievances we have against our children and forgive them.

Forgive them for grumbling.

Forgive them for not trying.

Forgive them for not finishing their work.

Forgive them for forgetting what you thought they had mastered.

Forgive them for not practicing after begging for expensive music or art or dance or whatever lessons.

Forgive them for not liking the curriculum you took weeks to select.

Forgive them for not being independent learners—as if that was their fault.

Forgive them for not meeting the advertised parenting or homeschool expectations—as if that was their fault as well.

Forgive them for not being kind to their siblings.

Forgive them for wishing they had different parents.

Forgive them for all the other things you once held and might still hold against them.

At some point you pardon the people in your family for being stuck together in all their weirdness and when you can do that, you can learn to pardon anyone.

Anne Lamott

I was a young teaching assistant standing in front of twenty college students when one raised her hand and asked the answer to an economic problem. I had recently passed my doctoral exams in economics, but I did not know the answer.

After a fleeting moment of panic, I said, “Let’s work the problem together.” Step by step, I led the class until we had a solution. More importantly, I had an epiphany.

I had not been trained to know all the answers. I had been trained to find the answers.

That was the difference between me and my students. My job was not to give them answers but to show them how to find their own answers. Along the way, I watched many students hunt and find the correct answers

Corrie ten Boom is one of my heroines. Her parents did not give her the answers for surviving the Holocaust. However, they trained her to find the answers she needed. (See In My Father’s House by ten Boom for more.)

Even today, it helps me to know my adult sons know where and how to find correct answers.

The tide by the pier was lower than it had been on our previous visit. We didn’t need our memory.  Abundant remnants of exposed oysters—in the most interesting formations—confirmed it. They were latched onto a discarded whelk shell, wedged between rocks, partially buried in sand, covered in algae

How did oysters choose their mooring? Become anchored? Who were their predators?  

Where did I turn for answers? Picture books.

While homeschooling, an experienced teacher told me to introduce new information by having my sons read a book at least one level below their abilities. Not only would they have a quick overview, but the most important facts would be emphasized. Understanding and retention would be increased.

My friend’s advice was confirmed by my neighbor who taught middle school biology. Magic School Bus episodes succinctly covered information on her classes’ standardized testing.

I ordered several picture books from my library before I turned to the internet. My internet hits were oyster recipes, restaurant recommendations, mineral and vitamin content, and scientific classifications.

My friend’s advice was confirmed again. Begin with picture books for a good overview.