Friday, October 3, 2008

Heart of the Matter Meme: What Have I Learned?

Today's Heart of the Matter meme asks: What is the one thing you learned that you didn't expect from homeschooling?

Two huge things jump out at me, one practical and one rather intangible. From a practical standpoint, I have learned so much, particularly in history and geography. I have only sketchy memories of history in K-12. I remember making Iroquois longhouses and bushmen villages. I remember memorizing the states and capitals, presidents and vice presidents, and the Preamble to the Constitution. History began coming alive in college, with our required Humanities program that wove together history, literature, art, music, religion, and philosophy; and, well, I also minored in history. But in the nine years we've been homeschooling, my knowledge of history and geography has increased exponentially, due largely to Sonlight's fabulous program. I continue to be amazed at the new things I learn practically every day.

And the other thing that I knew intuitively before we began homeschooling but which becomes more and more apparent to me each year: this is what life is about. I absolutely cherish these years I have with my children. I remember going through the whole, "But what about my life? What am I going to have to sacrifice?" baloney before we began homeschooling. And the answer is right here, every day. Even on the bad mom and/or bad kid days, I celebrate the freedom we have in our family. This is the very essence of life.

9 comments:

  1. I just found your blog. It's amazing! My son is in regular school right now for 5th grade (neither of us have been satisfied with it) so I've finally gotten the nerve up to start homeschooling him for 6th grade. I've found your site to be an absolute wealth of information. I need a lot of ideas and reassurance. I'm organizing my thoughts and ideas right now as to the direction I want to start off in. Thanks for all of the wonderful ideas and reviews on books, methods, and such!!!

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  2. You're absolutely right - it IS what life is about. I can't imagine now not having my kids with me all day, learning alongside them, and watching them figure out their lives.

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  3. Great post and fab photos, makes me miss TN even MORE than I already do!

    We use and LOVE Sonlight too!

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  4. Great post! I've learned so much history and geography through homeschooling too, especially since my older son is a history buff. I agree with you about the essence of life. Cherishing our children every day is such a blessing.

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  5. mi alrit long tok bilong yu.
    Sonlight i numba wan buk long Map 3
    lukim yu pukpuk!

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  6. I didn't remember much about history from my school days either and what little I did remember was all American History. I have loved learning history along side of my kids. The time with my kids has been priceless-sounds like a credit card commercial but true all the same;-)

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  7. Both are so true!!
    Thanks for sharing!!

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  8. I so agree with you! I have learned so much about history and geography. I'm always saying, "I didn't know, I didn't know that!" You'll hear me saying "Cool!" quite often when we are learning "together" :)

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