Febloguary Day 7 (What? You Homeschool?)

Here we go... This is such a fun topic for me!  How in the world did YOU end up homeschooling? I mean, your Mom has a school named after her, you and Justin are both products of public schools, you have always been passionate about the public school... What happened?

About two years ago, the reality hit us that our sweet Lizzie Grace should be going into kindergarten in the fall.  This was all well and good, except that she was already reading Charlotte's Web and The Dictionary for fun.  She also carried herself in a manner that was incredibly mature. Also, Lizzie has a September birthday, which creates an opportunity for her to be nearly a year older than some students in her same grade.  None of this ultimately would have been a huge problem.  Lizzie is very compliant, and she would have happily stated that "A says a" and "learned" to count to 100 while she already was practicing multiplication with Justin each night before bed.  However, God used this scenario to cause us to consider our children's education in prayer rather than just sending them off to school, because that's what you are supposed to do. In this season of prayer and asking LOTS of questions, God made it abundantly clear that we were called to keep Lizzie home, at least for the following year.  Once we knew this for sure, we shared it with Lizzie.  She was not opposed to it, but she did say, "When will I see my friends? How will I meet new people?"  These were great questions and ones for which we too wanted answers.  I had heard of the program Classical Conversations through some friends in College Station, and upon doing some research, the model seemed to be a good fit for our family.  We sought out a local community and visited that February, and Lizzie and I both LOVED it!  Because the program was gaining so much popularity locally, there were plans to begin a new group, which we jumped into with both feet.  

That summer I attended training and became a tutor for Lizzie's class.  I could never have imagined how quickly this community of other homeschool families would become much like my own family.  It has been such a huge gift for us!  There are mommas in our group who have been homeschooling for 20+ years and some who just started this year.  The variety is awesome, and the willingness of those who are farther ahead to willingly pour out knowledge and encouragement on us newbies has been so sweet.  Just as our kiddos need socialization and opportunities to engage with their peers, so do we as moms, and CC not only allows for that but provides an environment that encourages it.  I also LOVE that everyone comes from a wide range of church affiliations, but at the end of the day, we all LOVE Jesus and want our children to love Him too!  This is refreshing when there can be so much dissension among those who follow Jesus.  We are going to two different Valentine's Parties tomorrow with CC friends.  Don't tell me my kids aren't socialized! :)

As for the curriculum we use, Classical Conversations covers a Timeline of the World that is learned each year, History (Ancient, World, and US), Math, Science, Latin Grammar, English Grammar and Geography.  Each week, there is a set of memory work that is taught in class (we meet once a week on Tuesdays), and then we study more in depth on the topics at home. Watching the Olympics has been so much fun, because we recently studied the history of Russia as well as The Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea in Geography.  In addition to this, every week in class, each student gets up in front of their peers and gives an oral presentation.  This is definitely one of my favorite things that CC includes.  This practice in the early years of sharing a show and tell, retelling a Bible story, or telling about your family increases confidence, as it is a weekly occurrence.  This skill translates well into a teenager who is comfortable standing in front of his or her peers defending his or her beliefs and into an adult who can clearly articulate vision and define Truth in the workplace or as he or she leads in the home or in the greater Body of Christ.  The peers also practice what it means to be a good audience-- to listen well and ask good questions, which are also invaluable skills as an adult.  CC also includes an element of Art that is taught weekly, ranging from Drawing skills,  music theory by playing the tin whistle, art techniques based on great artists, and an appreciation for music through the orchestra.    This is a ton of fun and an area where I have learned a great deal alongside my girls.  Lastly, there is an emphasis on the children learning the Scientific Method, so we weekly participate in science experiments and have a blast learning how things work!

It is our hope that through Classical Conversations our girls will be developed into life long learners.  The goal of CC is less on the material and more on learning how to learn.  This has been a paradigm shift for us, but such a great one.  With the skills that we are all acquiring, we can learn pretty much anything that we want to by walking through the stages of learning.  If you are interested in the Classical Model of education, there is a plethora of information available, but a good starting place is Dorothy Sayers, The Lost Tools of Learning.  Miss Sayers was a contemporary of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, and she first presented this essay at Oxford in 1947.  I highly recommend you take the time to read it!

If you are curious what our days look like at home, here is a sample schedule from the fall.  We are not slaves to the schedule, but it does help keep us on track.  We have recently adopted the Pomodoro Technique where we take 25 minutes to stay really focused and work hard and then take a 5 minute break where we dance, read a fun story or some poetry, sing, or do something active.  Using this approach, we knock out school pretty early in the day.  We typically read a chapter or two of a novel over lunch, which sometimes turns into 3 or 4 or 5...  During the afternoon the girls rotate through 30 minutes of Reading, Room, and Computer time which also gives me a bit of time to regroup and refresh.  This time apart from one another is a gift, and Lizzie and Lainie are much more excited to come back together and play happily after a little break!

By far the biggest challenge to our school day is sweet Liv.  Last year, she still took two naps, so we were able to cram school into those segments, and everything was peachy.  This year, however, this is not our reality.  I can't tell you how crazy I was feeling when we began school back in August!  I added Lainie's kindergarten into the mix which worked beautifully, but I had not accounted for school with an almost 2 year old. YIKES!  I quickly realized that I could not teach the girls their math with Liv's "help", so I gave Lizzie and Lainie both a block of "Liv Play Time" where they get to pick things for her to do and pretty much babysit while I have uninterrupted time with the other one to teach Math.  This has worked pretty well, although sometimes Liv just wants Mommy, and we all have to have grace for one another as we navigate the day.  Thankfully something happened over Christmas break called, "Liv can play alone and not be destructive!" It is glorious, and we are all thankful!  It is also remarkable how much this little love is picking up on as she hears and sees school going on around her.  She's one smart cookie!

With only two students, there is the opportunity to do a lot of fun things!  The girls cook a lot, do a lot of art projects, they have taken knitting lessons, they do a lot of domestic things around the house like laundry and dishes, they get to spend extra time with extended family, they care for the goats, field trips are frequent, and life lessons are always an opportunity to point them to Jesus.  Really, when it all comes down to it, that is our goal.  Our hope for Lizzie, Lainie, and Liv is that they would know God and make Him known.  For this season, learning in our home is where that is best happening.  The unity we have as a family through homeschooling has been awesome; our conversations are rich, and we are all growing in wisdom and knowledge together. We are taking our girls' education a year at a time and constantly seeking the Lord as to what He has for our family.  Oh, and everyone is always smiling at Team Bassett Academy... HA! It's a journey with lots of tears from us all, but it's totally worth every single one!  It is a joy and a blessing to be with my girls daily and to be the one who is pouring into their sweet lives.  This is not what I ever imagined for my family; it is far greater than anything I could ask or imagine.