I figured that before I start writing about all sorts of homeschooling topics – finding secular curriculum, educational philosophy, etc. It would be best to start the journey here by introducing myself and talking a bit about my own personal homeschooling journey. First of all, I live in Kansas (I actually come from California), and I have 4 children – a 19 year old boy – “College Boy,” a 4 year old girl – “Princess Boogie,” a 2 year old boy – “Bubster 5000,” and an almost 1 year old girl – “Princess Ladybug.”
I never planned on being a homeschooling mom. I was homeschooled for part of my education and my younger brother was also homeschooled. Let’s just say that I knew very well what the pitfalls of homeschooling – even secular homeschooling – could be. So when I had my oldest, I had all kinds of visions for him of studying and first-day-of-school pictures, and birthday parties.
Then things changed.
Pretty quickly, it was clear that the public school environment wasn’t going to work. My breaking point was being told my kid was making himself a target for bullying. He didn’t return after that. I didn’t care that i was a grad student and I didn’t care that I was a single mom. I was going to make homeschooling work. Coincidentally, I’d also recently happened across The Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. I did what any parent would do – I read every book about homeschooling I could get my hands on, but I kept coming back to the outline in The Well Trained Mind and the classical method.
When we started out, College Boy was barely reading – he was at a kindergarten level. By the time 3 months had passed, he was reading at an 8th grade level, and no longer was he sullen. He’d returned to his normal happy-go-lucky self and had an insatiable zest for learning.
Homeschooling Works; Secular Materials are Hard to Find
I taught College Boy at home from 2nd-7th grades. Then, I got sick. So, back to public school he went. Whereas he was “at risk” and behind when I pulled him out, he went back in and tested ahead. He went into the honors program, and kicked butt and took names and awards throughout the rest of his schooling career. He is now finishing his freshman year at his dream college.
The frustrating part of homeschooling for me wasn’t getting him to do his work. It was trying to find secular materials and/or materials that were easy to adapt to a secular context while still being academically rigorous. This was particularly the case with science and history materials. I will admit, though, that I did use Story of the World for our history curriculum, and I prefaced parts that were Christian mythology being treated as historical fact with that disclosure.
Latin presented another challenge, but we worked through it.
There were a few other places where I had a hard time – I bought an English curriculum once that made me really raise my eyebrows at it – even though the quality was great, the content was less than stellar.
The Younger Set
Now that College Boy is off at college, my husband and I have decided that the younger three kids will be homeschooled through high school. While College Boy did great when he went back, there were many things – academic and social – that we were not thrilled with about his experiences. For one, because he was in advanced classes, he had no time for socialization outside of class. For another, education in Kansas leaves a lot to be desired.
The other consideration has to do with the fact that before they turned 2, both Princess Boogie and Bubster 5000 had picked up their alphabet, counting to 10, and shapes, and for both counting to 20 and colors came shortly after their 2nd birthdays. In addition, Princess Boogie seems to have some neuro-differences that just would not be accommodated well in a traditional classroom environment. Princess Ladybug was born on the earlier side of things, and she’s hit developmental milestones a little later than the others.
Why I Started This Blog
As I move into more academics with Princess Boogie and try to find activities to occupy Bubster 5000 while she’s learning, I’m running into some walls where many things – from lesson planning spreadsheet templates to early childhood activity ideas are colored with Christianity, Christian themes, and suggestions for bible study. I wanted to create a place where parents from all backgrounds can find resources for educating their children – free from religious bias.
A Little Bit About Me
I’ve been working as an editorial consultant for 10 years. Prior to that, I was studying to get a Ph.D. in philosophy (I decided not to finish that degree for a variety of reasons). I am married to a librarian, and we’re quite the bibliophiles. I am a progressive Methodist and he is agnostic. I spent most of my adult life and all of my teen years as an agnostic person while exploring a variety of religions – paganism, Judaism, Buddhism, and settling on Christianity. I believe that children should be allowed the freedom to explore their own spiritual path, and that ethics are independent of religion.
