Sonlight Homeschooling Blog

Jul. 1, 2013

Stuff I Think You'll Find Interesting

By Luke

Have you ever felt worn out defending your decision to homeschool? Have you been thinking about the latest Supreme Court ruling on marriage and how Christians should respond? Has someone asked you about socialization yet again? Have you been scouring the internet looking for a summer recipe for slime?

Of course you have!

As Sonlighters, we're interested in all kinds of things. Ever since I started blogging for Sonlight all those years ago, I've been reading fascinating blog posts. I share some of them as Other Posts of Note. There are hundreds (thousands?) of such posts in my Google Reader feed, but since Reader is closing down today, I'm guessing those will all vanish into cyberspace. That's why, a few months ago, I started the transition to a different RSS reader. The new Other Posts of Note can be found here (or on the sidebar of the blog).

If you have a blog I don't know about, please share the link so I can add you to my list.

Have you selected a new RSS reader (assuming you follow a bunch of blogs too)?

I love that Sonlighters are such kindred spirits. I'm sure we don't agree on everything, but we've all discovered the joy of life-long learning. I love reading what you share--including the ever-encouraging Sonlight Moments--and I think you'll find these Other Posts of Note interesting.

Any favorite posts you've read recently?

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged blog, learning, thinking | 3 Comments

Jul. 1, 2013

Videos to Help You on Your Homeschool Journey

By Sonlight

Enjoy these free homeschool workshops and webinars. Learn from veteran homeschool moms as they share the tips, tricks, and reminders about socialization, testing, organization, getting started with Sonlight, and more!

Continue reading →

Please Read Books Instead

By Luke

He grew up a student of the school system. History was little more than a series of titles and dates mixed in with social studies. It wasn't until the sixth grade that a teacher read a well-written story from history to him. In that moment, history became interesting.

He's a history teacher now. He's passionate about the subject. He clearly loves research and tying themes together. That's great.

Tragically, his history courses are mostly about social studies. As I reviewed the DVD he sent me, I kept waiting for him to share a story. I desperately wanted him to give me the same thing he experienced as a 6th Grader. But after two lectures, I had nothing more than a few compiled facts and opinions about a society. Not a single story. Nothing to hook me. "History" was boring.

Key words flashed on the screen. "These are important," I was told. "So be sure to write them in your notes."

I'm not against note taking. If writing something down helps you remember it, fantastic! I dutifully fill in the blanks on the sheet provided with the sermon each Sunday. But learning history is not akin to recalling terms like "the people of the mountain" associated with a particular people group. Telling me that slaves were of little importance means nothing either. But if you shared a story about a slave who lived among a people on a mountain, I'd get all that. More that than, I'd be interested.

Give your students a powerful advantage in their studies with a literature-based curriculum. Allow history to come alive for your children. Give them an education that encourages them to find history interesting. Please read books instead.

By all means add media and other resources to your schooling. But continue to use great stories as the basis for your studies. A great story sparked a passion for history. Imagine what an education based on great literature would do.

You don't have to imagine.

You can read about this year's Scholarship Winners and hundreds of Sonlight Moments. And with Sonlight's Love to Learn, Love to Teach Guarantee, you can experience this for yourself and prove it works for your family.

If you've experienced the benefits of reading great literature in your homeschool, please share!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged books, history, learning, stories | 4 Comments

Jun. 25, 2013

The Difference

By Karla

A few summers ago my family had to opportunity to travel on a long-abandoned stretch of historic Route 66 over the mountains between Kingman, Arizona and Needles, California.

The further we got from the Interstate the further back in time we went. I could easily imagine what it must have been like for the Okies who left the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression in hopes of a better life in California.

We didn't have to travel that route to get where we were going that day. In fact, it was somewhat of a detour for us to go that way, but we wanted to just for the experience of it. And it was, indeed, an experience we will never forget.

The old highway is narrow and twisty. It follows the contour of the land winding up and around the mountains. There are sharp drop-offs and blind curves. It is not an easy road to drive. It is fascinating, though, with interesting things to see and intriguing intersections leading off to who-knows-where. We especially enjoyed watching for the wild burros. And we speculated about the travelers who had been this way before, generations ago.

The Interstate we had left behind by-passed the mountains and rough places. It was wide and smooth, and easy to travel. We would have reached our destination sooner if we had stayed on the (boring) Interstate. But that wasn't the point that day.

Contrasting the two routes reminds me a little bit of homeschooling. Sending my kids off for someone else to educate would certainly be the easiest route (at least for me), but choosing "the road less traveled by" has been so much more rewarding over the years. I'm convinced our family is closer as a result of the extra time we've had to spend together. We've been able to customize our learning plan to specifically meet the needs of each of my children in ways that a classroom school never could. And we've had time to explore side-roads and admire the scenery along the way.

Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I, I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
--Robert Frost

Enjoying the adventure,
~Karla Cook
Lifelong Learner

Tagged family, Homeschooling, summer, travel | 1 Comment

Jun. 21, 2013

Inadequate, Boring, Backward, Limited and Cruel Education

By Luke

My wife has been re-listening to The History of Rome podcast. This morning she told me a bit about what the Roman education system was like (yes, she's already up to episode 87). The basic idea: Require students to memorize stuff. Period.

"Once a kid got out of school, he was almost guaranteed to never want to learn anything ever again. It was that bad." As my wife described the joyless process of reading for the sake of reading--not to enjoy or learn or think--she shifted to one of her latest pet observations: Rome lacked creativity. They stole their culture and religion from the Greeks. And that makes sense if your students are only taught to regurgitate what they have been given to memorize.

The "obvious" step here would be to compare our current public educational model with this ancient classical approach to learning. But I don't think that would be wise.

First, I'm not convinced the public schools are that bad. I've heard from a few people that they never want to read a book again. At the same time, they often love stories. Overall, the kids I know are bright, inquisitive, and happy to learn stuff. The system has much improved from how it was in ancient Rome.

Second, while schools certainly "teach to the test"--so much so that teachers are saying "I quit" (another here)--the problems are larger than that. For example, the Common Core is failing to help keep publishers on task as exemplified in this video. "Literature & Writing" texts are directed at teaching kids emotional pleas for social issues not, you know, writing and literature.

Third, I'm more interested in focusing on the benefits of our approach. The more Brittany told me about Rome, the more ways I was encouraged to know we do it better. Example: Instead of forcing kids to memorize the sequence and names of the alphabet before seeing a single letter, we regularly focus on the sound a letter makes and emphasize that sound in words when playing with my youngest niece.

As homeschoolers, we can take what works and give our children a life-long love of learning. And if we can learn from the inadequate, boring, backward, and limited ideas about education from the past, so much the better.

Keep up the great work you are doing in raising up the next generation!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged education, history, learning, school | 1 Comment

Jun. 20, 2013

Challenge or Content?

By Judy

One of the frequent conversations I have with folks making curriculum choices is the "challenge or content" discussion. It goes something like this ... "my son is reading at a 6th grade level, but he's only 9 years old. So how do I choose curriculum for him? If I get him a 3rd or 4th grade curriculum package, surely he'll be bored because the reading material will be too 'easy' for him!"

There are a number of "negative" reasons for not choosing a 6th grade curriculum for a 9 year old, but one "positive" reason is this. Once your student knows how to read independently, Sonlight often chooses literature for its content, as opposed to focusing just on the challenge. While a student may find a book "easy" to read, it does not mean the value of the book is lost on him/her. While learning about George Washington in our Core D program (Intro to American History, Year 1 of 2), the historical fiction piece The Cabin Faced West rounds out Washington as an individual, and provides a fascinating backdrop to everyday life in late 18th century America. Is it a "hard" book to read? Not at all ... but the story itself adds such flavor and interest to the study of American History, that there is no "shame" in having an advanced reader spend time with this title.

Having had three very different students in our homeschool, I do understand that some students thoroughly enjoy the challenge of a book written just above their level. And there is nothing wrong with feeding that desire. But don't discount titles that are written at your student's "age" level just because they seem to be an easy read. Learn to see beyond the grade level on the book, to the value of the content contained between the covers.

Still on the journey ...
~Judy Wnuk
Sonlight Customer Champion

PS: Speaking of reading ... if you're looking for some top-notch literature for your students for the summer months, check out Sonlight's Summer Reader packages!

Tagged grade level, literature, reading | Leave a comment

Jun. 19, 2013

What Went Well This Year?

By Luke

Heather Sanders has a good post on how praising your kids can backfire. It reminded me of the article about how we should praise a person's efforts rather than intelligence. If you haven't at least skimmed the article, please do so.

"The 'smart' kids took the cop-out." For me, that observation is a no-brainer. If a task--like school--is about looking good or performing well, the intelligent move would be to ensure you meet that standard. There is no benefit to trying to get better. That's why I'm thankful I was homeschooled without grades: Grades only deterred me from trying things I could get wrong. Homeschooling allowed me to focus on getting it right which naturally encourages you to try harder and improve.

As you look back on this last year of homeschooling, what has gone well? What specific areas of legitimate praise do you and your children deserve? I love the story Heather shares in her post, and I think there is much we can learn from it. But what else went well? What area of struggle did your son or daughter persevere through--despite the tears and frustration? That is something to praise as well!

May our children constantly strive to learn more and improve. May they see challenges as opportunities. May they never succumb to situations where the "smart" thing to do is give up when they should have carried on. And may the same be true of us.

So what went well this year? I'd love it if you'd come and "brag" a bit about what you and your children achieved!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged Encouragement, grades, life-long learning, praise | 4 Comments

Stuff I Think You'll Find Interesting

Videos to Help You on Your Homeschool Journey

Please Read Books Instead

The Difference

Inadequate, Boring, Backward, Limited and Cruel Education

Challenge or Content?

What Went Well This Year?

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