The new home-schooling

• Published in: Today's parent Vol. 27; no. 5; p. 85
• Main Author: Roslin, Alex
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Toronto St. Joseph Communications 01.05.2010
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Child development; Educational evaluation; Educational Opportunities; Family (Sociological Unit); Fractions; Home education; Home Schooling; Independent Study; Instructional design; Instructional Materials; Language Aptitude; Lesson Plans; Libraries; Parent participation; Parents; Parents & parenting; Principals; Private Schools; Public Schools; Quality of education; Secondary Education; Socialization; Special Needs Students; Teaching Experience; Teaching Methods; Worksheets; Canada; United States > US
• ISSN: 0823-9258

Besides, Kira doesn't need cajoling to start school. Before breakfast, she's already spent an hour engrossed in Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. After reading for a while in French, Kira turns her attention to math, practising fractions on some worksheets that her mom, [Kim Nichols], printed from an educational website. Then she works on a short story that she's writing about mythical creatures, plays Scrabble with Mom (building Kira's vocabulary) and plays outside. School's done for the day and it isn't even time for lunch; Kira virtually never needs to spend more than two hours a day on academics to stay ahead of the school curriculum for her grade. Abbi Miller's parents were early proponents of unschooling, visiting places like the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota to teach their children geography and history. "The world is your school" is how Abbi, now 25, sums up the approach. Looking back on her experience, she believes the more freedom kids are given to learn what interests them, the more likely they'll be to retain their love of learning. A self-proclaimed "math geek," Abbi was allowed to teach that subject to herself - something she did with great enthusiasm. "I would be like 'Mom, I want more workbooks!"' she recalls! Because children's social - and academic - successes aren't expressed in regular report cards, parents who home-school also need to take a different perspective on their children's progress. "Don't expect linear development," [Gary Knowles] advises. "Kids might go a long time without seeming to make progress. Parents who home-school have to take a more fluid or open view of kids' learning."