The Constitution, Family Rights and Homeschooling

Well, if you haven't already heard, recently a court ruled that parents do not have a Constitutional right to educate their own children, to "homeschool." What does the ruling mean to homeschooling families? Only the future will tell. But for now, it's quite disconcerting as we've greatly enjoyed and benefited from the private schooling we provide our children.

I've delayed writing about this due to fear that we'd be "caught" homeschooling. But it's not as if we keep our homeschooling practices a secret, and we're already on the state's list since we filed all the appropriate paperwork as prescribed by the Education Code. With so much misinformation out there in Medialand, I just can't let the matter slip any more.

First of all, I didn't really start out as a strong homeschooling advocate. In fact, when I met my first family of homeschoolers I told myself I would NEVER "do that to my children." But then I met lots of other homeschooling families, and saw the myriad options for educational choice provided by a program tailored for so few students in a "class." As education reporter for the local paper, I had PLENTY of opportunity to witness the great things, and the weak spots, in local education, both public and private. In the end, it was our joy in raising our own children that led us to keep them "home." (We aren't really locked in the house, as so many people envision of homeschoolers. The girls and I volunteer at the local natural history museum where we run storytime, we take regular field trips to take advantage of experiential learning opportunities, and both girls are involved in dance, gymnastics and swimming.)

With our way of life threatened, I find myself becoming quite an outspoken advocate for homeschooling, and sharing our stories where ever possible. How do we homeschool? What amazing things have our children been able to do that, without a doubt, they would not have been able to do otherwise? Why do we homeschool? How do we organize our days? These are all questions I've been answering as people aware of the latest news pull me aside in the grocery store, at the girls' gym or on the pool deck.

For clarification, the state does provide for private schooling which does NOT require credentialed teachers. (Ed. Code 48222. Children who are being instructed in a private full-time day school by persons capable of teaching shall be exempted.) Our children attend one such school, and while we aren't required to take the state standardized testing, we do base our studies on the state's standards. We typically complete the prescribed work within the first 4-6 weeks of school, then move forward, filling our hours with work well into the next grades, or going into depth on subjects of particular interest to our girls.

It's too bad this case has gone so far. It stemmed from YEARS of alleged abuse, a bad argument by the family's lawyer, and the resulting sweeping decision. (Since when does a broad brush really cover all the nooks n' crannies?) The judge makes some specious arguments, not the least of which is that by sending children to public school they'll be safe. (Go ahead, click THIS link to today's latest news headlines regarding safety in our schools.)

As for the history of education in America, I found a great website with some really interesting information. It seems the Puritans started organized education in America in an effort to ensure everyone could read the Bible, thereby protecting the masses from Evil. In 1642, the Massachusetts Education Law required that children be educated in basic literacy (reading and writing). It did NOT state that a SCHOOL must be used.

According to Amy L. Matzat's article on the site: "The idea behind this, once again, was that if all citizens could understand the written language on some basic level, all citizens would be able to understand and therefore, abide by the governing laws of the land. At this point in time there was no concept of a formal school as we know it today; it was understood that each person would be educated enough to meet the individual needs of their station in life and social harmony would be that much closer. Who better to educate their children than their parents? The law did state, however, that should the above mentioned parents and masters grow lax in their responsibility and their children not be able to meet basic criteria it would be the government's right to remove the child from the home and place him or her in a place where he or she could receive adequate instruction."

I do believe we're doing a good job with our children. They are more than sufficiently literate for their tender years. Not only do they read and write, but they're beginning to THINK for themselves. They're social, they're active, they're involved in their community, and they love learning. What more can we ask?

Math Assessment

Some homeschoolers opt to work with local school districts, buy packaged curriculum or find help from any number of sources. I find a lot of my help online through a wide variety of agencies including (but certainly not limited to) the state's department of education. While we currently homeschool, there's no telling what the future will bring, so I keep an eye on state standards. I rest assured that, if/when our girls attend the modern traditional school, they won't be caught off guard.

On that note, this week I printed out the California math standards assessment for third grade and first grade. (The grades they would start next fall.) Each day, the girls are work their way through a little more of the 1/4-ream of paper the assessment requires, and I take notes on the areas that need work, and the new (to them, so far) concepts. I don't grade the assessment or give a score (though V will do just about any amount of math in exchange for a unique smiley face), but use it as a tool to help me see where we may have been lacking. Still, I remind myself that we're looking at NEXT year's grade level, and I remind them, too.

With the help of one of the sisters, I discovered some holes in the older girls' language arts skills. While we've covered a lot of spelling through our various activities, it never occurred to me to go over the spelling of colors and numbers! Since the oldest one can read just about anything now, it seemed a given that she'd have these basic words down. Well, a quick review over the course of a couple of days took care of it...I think. ;)

So, what's up with us in coming weeks? Well, our interactive history lessons will kick up a notch. During our Stone Age lessons, we built cave dioramas in our garden, learned to build fire (and just how tough that could be if you let your coals die out), began making pottery and built a bow & arrow. The girls made their own simple dresses, and the oldest went on a bear hunt. As we discussed Ancient Times, we visited museums with ancient wares still in amazingly fantastic condition, but with avid readers, we fell out of our hands-on tradition a bit more than any of us liked. So, stay tuned for news about our Medieval Adventures as we march forward in time.

Geography, social science and geneology, OH MY!

One of the great things about homeschooling is that we can tailor our studies to our children's interests. And just as any teacher may, we have the opportunity to use a single issue or item of interest to teach a variety of lessons and skills. We did it with our homemade Princess Curriculum, and more recently we did it with our family tree.

My great grandmother spent ages collecting family history. When she passed away, a copy of her research was given to me, and I've continued to build on it. At our house, I'm not sure a day passes in which we don't talk about one ancestor or relative or another, so it was only natural to create a kid-friendly family tree. It became a multi-day project that included art, social science, geography and world cultures.

We began with an art project. Together, we lined up giant strips of butcher paper on an open wall in the living room, then we drew a tree on it. Then our 7-year-old copied maps of the United State and Western Europe out of the encyclopedia. Those were hung on the same wall, below the branches of the tree.

Then we used a printed family tree to look back at our family history, beginning with our girls' grandparents, and branching out from there. I didn't just tell them their ancestors' names, but something about each of them, about their offspring, about their childhoods or their childhood homes. I tried to think of new stories to tell about the ancestors they'd heard so much already, and with memories of stories told by my own great-grandparents, I was able to tell a little something about more people that I'd realized would be possible! Where photos were available, I shared those images with the girls.

After I told a bit about each person, the girls drew portraits of them, wrote their place of birth and profession. Then they posted the portraits on the family tree. When we'd completed six generations, we called it good. The family tree was pretty extensive by then, and the girls had a clear picture that they didn't just pop out of nowhere.

Then we looked at the maps. We attached a string to each portrait and connected it to the country or state on the map from which that ancestor originated. We talked about those countries, read about them, watched videos about some, and completed special projects for others. We cooked Scandinavian foods and checked out the languages of our ancestors.

These days we're focusing on handwriting (the older girl is learning cursive), basic math facts, continued study of the pioneers (because one of us just can't get enough of that era), spelling and grammar. We've picked up our music studies a bit, and the girls are working on some Spanish as well. We're developing our tastes in poetry and other literature, and the girls continue their crafting.