For many families, homeschooling means more sleep. And that is good news for kids.
But what about moms? Sleep deprivation seems like part of the job description. And let's be honest: It is hard to serve your family well when you're downright exhausted. Though God will give you strength in the midst of a sleep-deprived season, I encourage you to embrace opportunities to help your body catch up.
Continue readingDo you honor the different types of rest your body and soul need? You need rest daily, weekly, yearly and long-term.
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Is reading good for more than academic development?
Absolutely.
You may already know that reading good books (like those in Sonlight curriculum) helps your children develop good character, grow in leadership skills, develop empathy, and even talk with you about tricky topics like racism.
Well, you can add to that list now. Research shows that reading literary fiction boosts people's abilities to read other people's emotions. It's a new angle on the idea that reading fiction helps people grow in empathy.
Participants were assigned a short excerpt of literary fiction, popular fiction, or non-fiction to read. Some received nothing to read. Then they took a test of emotional intelligence skills, such as guessing people's emotions based on pictures of their eyes. Those who read the literary fiction performed markedly better than the other groups.
One explanation for this is that literary fiction requires more active participation from the reader. One of the researchers says:
"Some writing is what you call 'writerly', you fill in the gaps and participate, and some is 'readerly', and you're entertained. We tend to see 'readerly' more in genre fiction like adventure, romance and thrillers, where the author dictates your experience as a reader. Literary [writerly] fiction lets you go into a new environment and you have to find your own way."
In other words, when you read pop fiction (such as the latest Danielle Steel novel), "the writer is in control, and the reader has a more passive role." It reminds me of television. The author/producer spells things out so you know what people are thinking and feeling. You just sit back and enjoy the entertainment.
But in literary fiction–such as most Sonlight books, or what you'd read in a college English class–the writer tends to show, not tell. The author doesn't spell out every motivation, thought and feeling. Instead, the writer draws you into the story as a participant. Without even realizing it, you fill in gaps and imagine what characters must be feeling. You get outside yourself and walk in another's shoes.
According to this study, these emotional intelligence skills seem to transfer to real life.
Through Sonlight's literature-based curriculum, your children read real literature. I believe this builds their emotional intelligence every day.
While it's fine for kids to read the occasional work of children's pop-fiction (what Charlotte Mason would call twaddle), I believe we should primarily feed them a solid diet of real, living books. I certainly aim to fill each Sonlight program with such worthy literature.
In discussing this study, one Sonlight mom wrote:
"This article is one of the main reasons I want a heavy literature education. I consider teaching my children humanities to be very important. I want them to really learn about other people from various perspectives, circumstances and times in history."
I agree! So just add this to your list of benefits of using Sonlight and reading real books. You can actually foster emotional intelligence through literature! The practice helps your kids read other people and become more emotionally aware. Not a bad payoff for enjoying great books!
Math U See is my favorite math program of all time, as it is easy to use, learn from, teach, and grade. I love watching my children quickly do their math and then move on to the next subject. However, every once in a while, we run into an area that needs a bit more practice to help it solidify. Since I have multiple children with dyslexia, some topics, which come naturally to some children, take more effort to teach. One of the first areas we got snagged on when we first started Math U See was memorizing the block colors and numbers by name without counting. Here are our tricks for memorizing Math U See blocks:
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I expect that you are an intelligent, loving person. You and your spouse probably care about your children more than anyone else possibly could. You want what's best for them. And you work hard to raise them well.
With that formula in place, I believe you are situated to be your child's best teacher.
Some people seem to think that professional teachers acquired magic abilities during their teacher training. They say that if we just send our children to school they will come out civil and educated.
There are many great teachers out there, and yes, they have been trained. Many do a wonderful job and even pursue ongoing training. But even so, I believe that parents are uniquely created to deal with their own children.
You know your children better than anyone else does. You know when they're just being lazy, and when they're struggling. You can see when a concept has clicked. You may not know everything, but you do have incredible insight into what's happening in your children.
And, you desire for you kids to succeed far more than any gifted, wonderful teacher could. I have never met a homeschool mom who said "You know, my high schooler can't read. It didn't come easily, so we just gave up." (Of course, some children with special needs may never learn to read, but I bet their moms still help them succeed in every other way they can!)
I know moms will beat the bushes until they find what their kids need to thrive. Even the best teacher–limited by class size and resources–can't compete with that drive.
So if you have doubts regarding your abilities, know this: God intentionally gave you the children in your home. He placed them with you and trusts that you can and will raise them.
When you're overwhelmed, He will help you. He will equip you for this task to which He's called you.
I believe with all my heart–you can do it!!
Because you are so well suited to teach your children, I see Sonlight's job as simply providing you the tools you need to do that.
I know you are incredibly busy with daily life. So I want you to have every material and lesson plan you need each day. That frees you to focus on what you do best: loving, guiding and teaching your children. God bless you as you do.
Sonlight can make your homeschool experience doable.
Imagine going to bed each night without worrying about what you were going to teach in the morning. Imagine not having to create your own schedules or come up with questions to test your students' comprehension.
After years of using Sonlight, I can see how the books help children work through anxiety and fears in unexpected ways.
Continue readingIn the Sonlight Connections group (membership for anyone with a free account on sonlight.com) and the Sonlight Newbies group (membership offered to qualified new Sonlighters), we asked brand new, unexpected homeschoolers how they are juggling working with teaching their children at home.
Bottom line (and you already know this), doing both is difficult. But many families are making it work through an incredible amount of flexibility and perseverance. We hope their stories will encourage you that you are not alone in your struggles! And maybe you'll find a few tips for making these days easier.
[Some responses have been shortened for brevity and have been lightly edited.]
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