By Mimi Rothschild
“My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.”
Many from my generation remember reciting that solar system mnemonic as kids. Teachers are going to have to think of a new learning tool, as our solar system is now an eight-member family. The International Astronomical Union met on August 24th in order to discuss the definitions of celestial bodies. As a result, the icy planet Pluto has been demoted to “dwarf planet” status. Not wanting to hurt Pluto’s feelings, scientists have now crowned it the “King of Icy Dwarves.”
On the surface, this name change is rather innocuous. After all, teachers need only come up with a new mnemonic. However, if we look a little deeper into educational implications, we will uncover a serious limitation of public schools. Public school curriculum is embodied almost entirely in the form of traditional paper textbooks. These textbooks, aside from being “astronomically” priced, are only updated once every few years. Students are not given updated textbooks for up to ten years!
Homeschoolers, however, are on the forefront of innovative, up-to-date education. Online texts and e-books, such as the ones offered by Learning By Grace’s academies, are easy to update. In fact, our entire curriculum has already been changed to account for Pluto’s new status. Unfortunately, this is not possible for most educational institutions. And people say homeschool families are old-fashioned! Far from it, we are years ahead of the curve.
Julia Osborne, Science Editorial Director for Pearson Prentice Hall has stated that textbooks for this school year are already in traditional school classrooms, so for “most students this fall it will be out of date.” Even textbook manufacturers are admitting their limitations. Not only are they in danger of losing millions of dollars printing new textbooks, but they are also teaching our youth obsolete information. On the other hand, the students of MorningStar, Grace, and Jubilee Academies are always taught the most current material.
Here at Learning By Grace managed academies, we are ready to welcome the new King of Icy Dwarves, days after the status change. Hmm… “My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nachos?”
By Mimi Rothschild
While it may at first seem that the most important home-schooling subjects would be math, English and science, possibly the most vital lesson you can teach your child is first aid. Teaching your child the basics of first aid could save their life – or the life of another – somewhere down the line.
When done correctly, home-schooling can be perfectly successful – in many cases providing a much better education than if you sent your child into the school system. However, many home-schooling parents neglect to teach their children important life lessons that will keep them safe – instead concentrating only on academic studies.
But don’t worry – the basics of first aid can be taught in just a few short hours. Why not spend one morning every week for a month to instil the bare bones of first aid training, and then keep up a monthly refresher course to make sure the information sticks?
You should bear in mind that basic first aid training isn’t simply about teaching the child how to bandage a wound or clear an airway. A complete first aid education should include teaching the child to keep their head in an emergency. After all, all the training in the world is useless if the child is frozen into inaction in an emergency. Part of your first aid training should involve explaining to the child that in a medical emergency, it’s important to act quickly. If you can instil in them enough confidence in their abilities, they should be able to perform in a life or death situation.
Basic first aid training should include lessons on how to perform an assessment of the situation: is the patient breathing? Is the airway clear? What about the pulse? The child should be able to make an assessment quickly about whether the patient requires CPR or to simply be placed in the recovery position until help arrives.
One thing you should consider is whether you should teach your child first aid yourself or bring in a more qualified teacher to do it. Of course, if you have a first aid certificate or medical training you’ll do fine, but if you don’t know the basics you should consider asking a qualified friend or relative to donate a little time. Maybe you could learn a little something too!
By Mimi Rothschild
In a public school environment, experiential learning, or learning through hands-on activity, cannot be practiced very often. In the home school environment, however, experiential learning has become a regular part of the curriculum. Home schooling parents know that learning through teamwork, public service, community involvement, and problem solving through physical activities can be extremely beneficial for students.
What are the benefits of experiential learning? For one thing, it puts home school students out into the world, allowing them to learn firsthand about the communities in which they will soon be an integral part. Teaching your home school children about housing and employment problems within a city, county, or state will allow them to memorize facts, but having them volunteer to help feed or clothe the homeless will drive the point home in a very tangible way.
Home school children not only learn about their communities through experiential learning, they can also learn about teamwork and problem-solving. Though it is important for home school children to study subjects such as math and reading, it is equally important for them to learn deductive reasoning and problem-solving skills through real-life situations. Groups of home school children, through a coordinated home school field trip, can tackle outdoor projects together. Home schooling parents can plan these projects so that there is a specific activity that has an end goal. It is at this point that the parents need to sit back and watch their children develop skills in teamwork, deductive reasoning, and problem solving.
With experiential learning, memorizing a lesson is a given – there is no reason to study or be tested. Home schooling parents and children can, however, sit down and have discussions after an experiential learning experience. Without being too specific, parents can gently guide conversation so that their home school children can discuss among themselves how teamwork helped them reach a specific goal, and how they came up with unique ways to overcome obstacles. This type of discussion will serve to reinforce the valuable lessons that the children learn through experiential learning.
There is no reason why home schooling parents need to always stand back and let the children do all the activities. Parents can participate in the experiential learning activities with their children, although it is better for them to let the children take the lead whenever possible. Home schooling parents could take their children out hiking one day, for example, and let the children plan the hike from beginning to end. Though parents should be prepared for any emergency, they should still let their children experience the consequences of poor planning or enjoy the rewards of careful planning.
By Mimi Rothchild
Children, adults, families, students, and teachers alike all need to have a little fun sometimes. So, how are you going to incorporate some family fun into your homeschool curriculum? Most importantly, how are you going to do this on a conservative budget?
There are countless events, activities, and places that are not only fun, but affordable for just about any family. Think of these activities as school field trips. Field trips are often not just for entertainment, but also are experiences in which children also learn. Your homeschool students need never know the difference. Here are some entertainment ideas that are proven to be enjoyed by people of all ages and are easy on the budget.
If you don’t already have some, then buy some board games for you and your homeschool children to play. Consider the age of each homeschooler, and purchase games accordingly. You don’t have to buy them brand new, because you can find plenty of used board games at thrift stores or garage sales. Don’t forget about cards, either. There are lots of fun games with a regular deck of cards that you and your homeschool children would be able to play together, but you could also buy card games like UNO, Crazy eights, and Old Maid.
Pick up a flier at your local library of upcoming events. Libraries are always holding family fun recreational activities, and you couldn’t pick a better setting for a homeschool field trip. Usually these events do not cost anything either, and almost always end up serving as a learning event.
Another activity that doesn’t cost anything (except for maybe the cost of the sack lunches you make and bring with you) is going to the park. Pick a nice day and walk with your homeschool children to a local park, unless you all have a favorite park to go to that’s not within walking distance. Even if you have to pay for the gas to drive there, it’s still usually an affordable trip, and will be quite fun as well. You can turn your trip to the park into a learning experience by having your homeschool children study the surrounding environment. Talk about different kinds of trees and flowers, or even bugs! Your students will love it!
By Mimi Rothschild
There are some people who perceive the home-school as the seat of academic, social and spiritual education. The way these home-schools are being applauded and appreciated, one should note that such was not the case six years ago. People who would choose to home-school their kids were either thought of as people who were social misfits or as those who were foolish enough to make their children intellectually inferior. Needless to say, with the astounding results of home-schools in the US and in other places around the globe, the parents who chose to home-school are finally receiving the recognition they deserve.
Academic experts have recently found that parents are quite capable of teaching their children efficiently and effectively. They even found that the home-school children were socially active and they possessed the same social skills if not better, than their traditional school counterparts.
Recently, tabloids, the television and the Internet are have had a field day talking about how home education is a fashionable new method of education. Certain sections of the press, however, would look at home-schools as a sort of political movement or a cause to bring people away from the Church. As they ventured further, the press began to laud home-schools as a favorable educational alternative. There are trends that come and go, but home-schooling is here to stay.