I was going to blog about calculus, music videos and learning. But then I read Kate Fridkis' I used to be the prettiest girl in the world.
After that, calculus had to wait
Homeschooling has incredible benefits of all stripes. But I don't remember reading anything that so poignantly captured the confidence homeschooling offers your children. We can discuss socialization and peer pressure and academics and creativity and love of learning, but all of those things come together and are overshadowed by the beauty of your children enjoying who they are.
As I mentioned in the comments, I had a very similar experience. That is probably why Kate's post resonated with me so much. But, as a guy, I wasn't too interested in being pretty. But I was AWESOME.
Please, go read about how homeschooling lets your children be pretty (or AWESOME).
Bummed that I didn't write about calculus and music videos? Perhaps next week. There's a bunch of other great stuff to read and watch and enjoy in my Other Posts of Note... because I'm that AWESOME.
But not quite that awesome.
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
P.S. You knew Sonlight offers just about every subject you can imagine, right? Yep, even Math.
[…] Autoblot Years ago, Luke linked to the blog post I used to be the prettiest girl in the world. That post is such a perfect picture […]
[...] Personally, I think one of the best reasons to homeschool is that it allows your kids to grow up awesome. [...]
[...] And I was reminded of one of the biggest benefits of homeschooling: Confidence. [...]
Wow. Thank you so much for sharing this, Robin. And, yes: I'm thrilled your son is thriving at home. That is so encouraging to hear!
~Luke
I read this post yesterday and smiled and nodded and moved on (I was a bit behind in my blog reading).
Then today my 8 yo announced, in all seriousness, that he is a genius. He has said such things before, but it was this blog post and the one you linked to that really made me stop and see this statement for what it is. It is *amazing*.
You see, this kid is severely dyslexic. He is at least a year behind in reading (and only in the 2nd grade), and it has taken a lot of work to even get that far along. My husband, who is only mild to moderately dyslexic and also has a genius IQ, just knew he was stupid by the time he was my son's age. My son knows he doesn't read as well as other kids he knows and that things that come easily for others, like singing the ABC song, are near to impossible for him. But it has never occurred to him that he is stupid. No. He is smart, a genius, a boy people want to listen to because he has important input to give.
It almost brings me to tears to think what homeschooling has done for this kid, because I have seen what public schooling did to my husband and other dyslexic people I know. I can cry for kids that are convinced they are stupid before they finish Kindergarten (I'm not exaggerating, I've known poor children that have experienced this). I thank God above that my son has been spared this. He IS a genius.
<smile>
~Luke
*nodding* :)