"Therefore you shall lay up these
words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and
they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children,
speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down,
and when you rise up."
Deuteronomy 11:18-19
Personal Reflections on
Our Commitment...
I would like to begin by sharing with you some
simple truths that will enhance or possibly save your homeschooling endeavors
thus far. But first, I want to make something very clear: I am by no
means stating here that "our way" is the "best way" for you to educate
your children! But it does work for us and can possibly help
you, so I feel I should share it.
Everyone must choose for themselves what works
best for their families. In all of my articles to come, I am hoping that
what I have to share will encourage and give you some ideas of how to "eliminate
unneccessary" struggles with curriculum choices, schedule planning, etc...you
know--keeping it simple? I've been through it, I'm still going through some of
it, but I've learned some very valuable lessons along the way.
It is very important to understand that
whenever you listen to "how" other folks are educating their
children--whether through public or Christian schools, or even other homeschooling
families and friends--we tend to think that if it works for them, it will
undoubtedly work for us! So we invest our money into books, supplies, and
equipment, only to find out they didn't work for us, and then our "treasures"
end up at the next garage sale. I've given lots of stuff away that just
didn't "take".
In the majority of the cases, it was because the
curriculum "beat around the bush" and didn't get to the point! You know what I
mean; lots of cute nonsense that just stalls for time! I don't want a bunch of
fillers and the kids don't either. We both would like to learn what we're there for,
and get out and enjoy life!
Note: I am not saying all
curriculums are like this! I am ashamed to say that it took me sooo long to put two
and two together! All that extra dwaddle slows you down. Stick to the facts!
Trust me it works. You and your children will easily and painlessly skip from one grade to
the next. Maybe two grades! Do yourself, your children, and your pocketbook a
favor: keep to the simple basics! Even better, make it your family motto!
Remember: Get to know your kids! Observe them, talk to them, play with them. In this way
you'll be able to figure out what they need. Each individual is unique, so
it makes sense to find out what makes them tick so we can nurture that character and help
them grow and become the best that they can be.
Again, don't dwaddle, stick to the
basics! Face it! None of us like to study any longer than we have to!
Now, when you've done your homework and you know what you want, you can
confidently and informatively hit the curriculum fairs and seminars "knowing"
what your looking for. It reminds me of going to the grocery store on an empty
stomach; we end up buying things that we don't need! If we had eaten before
we left to shop and taken an itemized list of what we need, we would leave the store
only with our necessary items and the cash in our pockets remains. It truly
gives peace of mind and deep satisfaction!
You know what they say, "keep it simple
stuuu..silly!!!"
SMILES,
~Donnetta (DC)~
Please send me your
thoughts and comments!
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Last modified February 20, 1999
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