Change It Up!

As a child, I played eight years of youth soccer, and although I never improved in my limited ability, I enjoyed it immensely. I especially loved "subbing" for another (usually more qualified) player - switching places so that she could catch her breath and get a drink of water before changing places with me again. I never scored a single goal in my entire soccer career, but I'd like to think that I possibly gave someone else a second wind that, in turn, allowed her to make a point for our team.

Sometime during my adolescence, I learned that in hockey the phrase for "subbing" is "change it up!" The only real difference between subbing in soccer and changing it up in hockey is that with soccer, only a few players are exchanged, while in hockey, it's not uncommon for most or all of the team to trade places with a second string.*

I never really thought about applying sports strategies to education, but I recently learned that my friend routinely "changes it up" for her two home-schooled girls. Instead of doing their work at the kitchen table each day, they move around. One day they do school in the girls' bedroom; another day is at Barnes and Noble bookstore; another day they head to the library; and another is spent at the park. They repeat this change of scenery each week.

Personally, I found this to be a brilliant idea! I would have never occurred to me to change locations for study time. While this might not work for a child who is easily distracted and who needs consistency to stay focused, it can do wonders for wiggly children who need renewed freshness to keep the lessons interesting (such as hyperactive little boys).

Since we're car-less most days, we don't have the daily ability to head to a new location, but a few weeks ago we had the car and decided to spend the day at the local bookstore. It was fantastic! We read new story books; looked up random topics; and learned about new scientific discoveries. We also have our local club house and grounds to which we can walk when the weather permits.

For us, the "change it up" method might just be the best thing since donated curriculum, especially since it will be a rare (and therefore more treasured) treat. It's yet another example of how learning and working together with other families is so needed in the home school environment!

*My apologies to any hockey fans if I have improperly understood this aspect of the game. :)

Unveiling the Facade

Last month, the kids and I drove to a park to spend the afternoon in the intermittent sunshine. While there, a little girl not much older than L began picking on children on the playground. When we decided to head home. the little girl followed us away from the park, across a vast ball field, and all the way into the parking lot without her mother's notice. I repeatedly admonished her to return to her mother, but she had no intention of heeding my recommendations. Finally, her older brother - who could have only been 3 1/2 at most - came to drag her back to her family. At this point, the little girl took off shrieking through the parking lot, dodging cars as she did so, and made a deliberate bee-line for the highway on the other side. Horrified, I took off after her to prevent the worst from taking place. About the time I caught her, her mother mercifully showed up and took over.

In the car on the way home, T inquired about this child's behavior. He was shocked that she would behave in such a disrespectful manner. Realizing this was an unexpected opportunity to teach a valuable lesson, I pounced on the moment.

"T, are you any better than that little girl who disobeyed?"

"Oh, yes, Mommy. I'd never do that!"

"No, honey, we are no better than that little girl. If Mommy and Daddy had not taught you to behave differently, you would have done the exact same thing."

I really think my response caught him off guard. And it isn't always toddlers who think that they are better than the kid next door. It is so easy to get caught up in the "I'm better" attitude on many issues, not just behavioral ones.

Sometimes I find myself thinking, "I'm so glad I'm doing the 'right' thing by teaching my children at home." But then images of the puffed up Pharisee in the Bible come to mind: he sat there judging the sinner while he himself had a completely ungodly attitude.

Home schooling is the right choice - for us. I know of certain situations where home schooling is NOT the right choice for others. I know wives whose husbands husbands do not want to home school. Even though home schooling may be a good thing, to do so against your husband's wishes is not the best choice. (Several husbands have changed their minds after much prayer on the wives' parts.) I know of single mothers who have a 9-5, weekday job. Home schooling for them is not currently an option. And there are other situations where, indeed, home education is not practical or desirable.

Whenever someone asks my opinion on the subject, I highly recommend home schooling. I truly do want others - okay, everyone! - to experience the joy that home schooling can bring. Life is not perfect, though, and neither is educating one's children at home. It's not going to guarantee that the kids "turn out right." It certainly is not going to save them - only God can do that. But what it can do is lay a firm foundation for Godly principles so that we as parents can do all we can to prepare our children for adulthood.

I've heard home schooling promoted as the antidote to the world's problems; I've also heard it called the mask that hides each family's shortcomings. In truth, it is neither. It is a tool that we and many others are using as we raise these precious gifts from God. For us, it's our way of trying to do everything we can to ensure that our children follow the Lord while praying in faith that He will ultimately draw their hearts to Him.

Home schooling bears many unnecessary titles and expectations that can lead to its failure. Having the right perspective, though, will help it become the aid that we want it to be.