All the World is Our Classroom

I wanted to share what Joel and I are doing as far as our children's education. We have heard God's prompting to teach our children at home. Some of you may be interested in how we are doing this. Well, to start off with, I am very excited about all of this, and, thanks to Jesus, I am relaxed. Relaxed as in, not anxious about cramming everything into my Kindergartener's and Preschooler's brain as quickly as possible for fear of falling behind the public school. No, I am relaxed and letting the Holy Spirit lead what we do each day. Every so often throughout the day, I keep track of what we have done in a specific yearly planner. Why do I do this? Before I am accountable to the government when Joshua turns seven, I would like to find my "groove" for a record system that works for our family. And why am I letting the Holy Spirit lead our day instead of following a set schedule?

For starters, I am a Christian. I have given my life to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit lives inside of me. He is my boss. Not the clock. Not a list or a schedule. He knows what the day is going to be like and He knows what is best for us. Therefore, I have more joy (no anxiousness) when I listen to HIM instead of looking at a list or a schedule.

So to start off, I'll go through the main subjects we're focusing on this year...

Bible: Every morning, before breakfast and every evening before bedtime, Joel or I read the two older children a bible story from their children's bible. They love this and ask lots of questions! We also are memorizing a weekly bible verse corresponding with the letter of the week.

Science: I am adopting the Charlotte Mason method for this one. Josh and Rachel each have a "science bag" and within the bag is a small notebook, a pencil, and a magnifying glass. We go outside (when it's nice out) and look, discover and draw pictures in our journals. The kids love it! On not so nice days, we look and read from our science books from Sonlight.

Reading: Every week we have a new letter of the week. I read to the kids everyday from good, wholesome books either from the library or from the curriculum I purchased from Sonlight. In the afternoon when the girls are napping, Joshua and I do his sit-down schoolwork which includes him reading a small book or two out loud to me. Joshua and Rachel also participate in an online program called Starfall. It's a great phonics website that is all educational and very fun.

History: Sonlight has some great books that we are reading this year on world cultures and how people used to live compared to how they live now.

Geography: Every week we are focusing on a specific country, it's flag and where it is located on the world map.

Writing/Spelling/Language Arts: Joshua is continuing his handwriting with Handwriting Without Tears, an excellent workbook. When he is finished with this, we will begin what is called "copy work". Sounds boring, but it is a great natural approach to grammar, spelling and language arts. I will have him copy specific (small) portions of Scripture and fine literature everyday. This method is from Charlotte Mason and also Ruth Beechick.

Mathematics: We are using Alpha Omega's Horizons program for this subject. Joshua really enjoys it.

Art and Music: They are casual and seem to come into our life very naturally. With Joel playing guitar and both of us playing CD's throughout the day, our children already have a love for music. Arts and Crafts also happen naturally. It's great fun to sit at the table and color a picture or do something more special like collecting leaves from outside and creating leaf rubbings.

So that is mostly all for this year. Of course there is so much more kids learn. Like manners, emotional stability, sharing, social skills, doing chores, feeling free to ask questions and have them answered by people they trust, good hygiene, treating the earth and its resources with respect, how to talk on the phone, sports and other outdoor activities, using their imagination and so much more! That is why I titled this post: ALL the World is our classroom. Learning doesn't just take place in front of a workbook or a textbook. When we have that attitude, the day seems to go smoother. Joel and I take opportunities to teach anytime we are with the kids.