How Do I Start the First Day???

This post was written by veteran homeschooler, Norma Curry in response to a new homeschooler who wondered how to start her first day of home education. I thought it was absolutely excellent advice, so I asked Norma's permission to republish it here. So, with her blessing, here is Norma's advice:

The beauty of home education is that you get to decide what kind of scheduling works for you and your family. If you have early birds in your family you can begin your day early (lucky you!), and if you are like more of us and have kids who would rather sleep than breathe you will probably begin your day late. Teens are definitely prone to the latter.If you have things that your student must do at any time of day, like mucking stables, or getting to practice ice for skating, or the gym for gymnastics, or fencing class, or to an art class or cello lesson, then you can arrange your schedule around those things.

If you must work part of the day you can arrange your direct interaction with your child around your work schedule. And your child can do more self-directed learning activities, too, giving you more freedom.

If you have a child who loves discipline and routine then you will probably devise a disciplined and routine oriented learning schedule. If you have a very creative type learner then you will probably go for a more ecclectic mode of learning. All are viable and all can work, depending on the learner.

Remember that learning does not only take place while reading a textbook or "doing" school work. Learning is all around us, everywhere, all the time:

• in the kitchen;
• in the workshop;
• in the backyard garden or bird feeders;
• on hikes in the woods;
• helping grandma make a quilt;
• singing in a choir;
• dancing;
• taking care of animals;
• volunteering;
• hanging out at the library;
• watching movies and educational videos;
• traveling;
• reading;
• writing;
• watching PBS;
• doing research at the computer;
• visiting a museum;
• going on lots of different field trips;
• organizing events and activities;
• doing art projects;
• in clubs and organizations;
• in sports and recreational activities;
• and so on.

So be sure to count ALL your instructional hours. You will be amazed!

Learning does not have to come packaged in textbooks and workbooks unless you have a child who really enjoys that kind of thing. If so then you might start out doing lots of "school at home" type activities. If not then you will be fighting all the time to get your child to do things he or she simply does not want to do, and, truth be told, does not have to do to learn. And forcing a child to do something is not conducive to good learning.

Ecclectic learning does not eliminate excellent learning options. Start out spending lots of time at the library. Find out about any programs for homeschoolers they might have. And there are always other programs for kids after school and on weekends. Check with your local parks and recreation folks to see what they are offering; again, often there are classes for homeschoolers. And then follow your child's interests and organize activities that feed those interests. Learning does not have to be painful or boring or sitting in a chair at a table.

The best learning is hands-on so you can help your child find activities that she enjoys and that inspire him to want to learn more.

Plan visits to interesting places whenever you can:

• go to the Renaissance Fair;
• visit your local dairy, factory, bakery, food processing plant;
• attend historical re-enactments.
• Buy one museum or special facilities membership per year (or more if you can afford them) and attend all the great events available to members in these facilities. These might include:

• the Cincinnati Art Museum;

  the Taft Museum;

  The Cincinnati Museum Center ($55/year for a family membership,
  special
  to home educators!);

  the Newport Aquarium;the brand new Freedom
  Center;

  the Contemporary Art Center;

  the Berringer Crawford Museum;

  Heritage Village Museum;

  and many others

If your child already has special interests then further support those interests:

• join a rock and minerals group;
• join a group into fossils, like Dry Dredgers;
• join 4-H and do projects, whether or not you plan to show them at the county or state fairs;
• join a club for any sport;
• join an astronomy group;
• and if you can't find a group form one of your own and tell others about it.

Scheduling? Take your pick. The day is yours and no one else has any right to tell you how to organize it. Figure out what is best for you, your student, your family, and go from there. Generally you will do lots of tweaking and adjusting as you go along. My daughter started her first job at 12 and has been working ever since, so some of her scheduling had to revolve around her work, and still does. She also skates everyday, so again, her scheduling often revolves around when she can get ice time. And she has, over the years, taken many classes. We then had to work her schedule, and mine, around those classes.

Basically home education is a juggling act. The difference is that you have far more time in which to juggle everything. You do not lose that big 6-8 hour chunk of each day that most kids spend sitting in school, plus getting to and from school. And that really makes a difference, stretches out all your options. Give yourself some time to feel your way through what works best for you. Never assume! Just because something works for someone else does not mean that it will for you. And just because the folks in public or parochial school do it that way does not mean it is the right way, or the only way to do it.

Stay open to new ideas. Have fun! Look at every situation you encounter every day and ask yourself what you are learning, or what you could be learning from that situation.

• Do math at the grocery store, or on any kind of shopping trip, or when planning family travel.
• Do science in the kitchen or with household cleaning, or in the backyard.
• Do literature in the car with books on tape.
• Or listen to classical music, or foreign language lessons as you travel in your car.
• These days you can even have personal DVD players in the car so each kid can watch good educational DVDs while you drive anywhere, or while waiting in the doctor's or dentist's office.
• Check out my recent posting about how to get hundreds of free educational DVDs.

Relax! No one is keeping tabs on you. No one is going to come in and tell you what you have to do or when you have to do it. Find your own rhythmn. Allow some time to "deschool" for a while. And then do whatever works best for you. That is what home education is all about.

Written by Norma Curry