The Learning Umbrella

I think it’s a good idea to start with the positives – and Mom can hear the good things about herself first.  We should never jump straight into criticisms.

 The absolute top times when I LOVED being homeschooled as a child:

1.  Library Trips!  I loved going to the library and picking out a big stack of books.  The librarians would try to guess what we were studying, and I felt so special getting that attention.  There was also such a sense of possibility in the library.  When I was very young, my Mom was with me and I could bring a book to her and say “this looks cool, let’s study this for awhile”.  When I was older, I was by myself and I would play little library games with myself.  I was going through the fiction shelves in alphabetical order for awhile, trying to read anything where the title or author sounded familiar from the Authors cardgame.  I got stuck in the F’s with C.S. Forester and spent a couple months just reading his books.  That kind of freedom to explore the resource was a wonderful and empowering experience.

2.  Doing Things with Adults.  I didn’t see all adults as authority figures, and was instead open to the idea that I could be learning withadults and they would see me as a valuable contributor to whatever we were doing.  I remember going down the street to a neighbor’s house and practicing on her grand piano (we only had an electronic keyboard) and just hanging out with her.  I created a bookworm club for our family and another family we knew, and we would get together to review the books we’d read and earn ranks (all the species of worm until you got to Bookworm, the highest rank) based on the number and type of books we’d read.  The reading done by the kids was treated the same as the reading done by the adults, and there was a lot of crossover appeal to try and read the books that my Mom was reading.  The world of adults was not separate, lame, or mysterious, but rather just part of life.  I had adult friends, from college kids to retirees.

3. Schedule Flexibility.  I pursued lots of interests over the years, and I wasn’t stuck with afterschool hours.  Once I could drive, I would sign up for trail teams to go out and repair hiking trails.  My brother and I were out there on weekdays, hanging out with retired men who had hiked those trails all their lives.  Many of them were retired engineers from the Boeing airplane plant, and I heard some great stories on those work teams.  It was a different experience from the weekend teams that were full of young people, and I would never have known those men if I was stuck with regular school hours.

4.  Getting to be The Teacher.  My mom didn’t pretend to know everything, and she loved it if we would introduce her to some new information or idea.  If we did the research, we could teach her!  I also got to plan work for my younger brother – for instance I would read the entire National Geographic when it came in and I’d highlight parts for him to read.  Trying to teach something is the best way to really learn it.

5.  Creating My Own Projects.  I made a newspaper on our computer for awhile, and we mailed it to all our far away relatives.  I created a business making and selling earrings, and I kept meticulous accounts so I could show my profits and the popularity of various designs with different demographics.  I invented the bookclub, and helped create a Science Scouts club that we did for awhile.  I followed many different physical training regimens.  I made personal reading plans.  I wrote stories and tried to get them published.  I directed talent shows.  I created a dance group with other girls from my classes and organized two concerts including the lights, sound, costume, and space.  My parents were there as resources, but the motivation and ideas were all mine.

If you see a theme in these memories, you’re right.  I felt empowered by my education.  My mom is fond of saying that “kids are just people too”, and that was the way I felt.  I wasn’t “a kid” and I wasn’t waiting to start my own life after I got done with school.  I was living my life fully at the time.  For me and my brothers, it is this empowerment that is the most powerful “lesson” we ever learned.  We are pretty sure we can do it ourselves or learn something new, and we are constantly getting new ideas.  I still walk into the library and wonder what I can find on the shelves.  My brothers decided recently to learn how to read braille.  We aren’t ever going to be done learning.

So, I will leave plenty of room for initiative in my kids’ life and education.  If they can think it up, we’ll try to do it.  I’ll shift other things out of their way so they can follow their own interests.  I want them to feel as empowered as I did, and that means giving them freedom and encouragement.  Everyone needs time and flexibility if they are going to find their own inner voice.

But there is a flip side to the good of childhood freedom – more on that next!