Why I Home School

Isaac Newton did not invent the laws of physics, he observed and delineated what was already there. The great ancient human civilizations did the same thing with education. They realized that children learn in stages, and even as adults, we grow line by line, precept by precept.

There is a three-stage path to training the mind well. The stages are: Grammar, Dialectic, and Rhetoric.

The Grammar stage is when children's brains are like sponges. They can memorize lots of things (nursery rhymes, stories, songs, math facts, dinosaur names, historical timelines), but good luck reasoning with them or expecting much meaningful self-expression. Don't torture them with analytical or abstract lessons. And definitely keep the propaganda out of it. There is a big push in current education to help elementary school children "understand" what they are learning. This is wrong for two reasons: they are not able to conceptualize the relationship between different factors and, even if they were, they have not developed the ability to reason through the validity of what they have been told. They accept whatever you say! (Santa Claus is real, smoking is bad, the polar ice caps are melting and baby seals are dying)

The Dialectic stage is when their logic and reasoning kick in, and they are delighted by being argumentative, and contrary just to get a reaction. It can be aggravating, but if you channel these natural tendencies into exercises using previously memorized facts, they are able to connect ideas, analyze the strengths of arguments, etc. Unless you have a body of facts with which to practice reasoning, you have to work from the ground up, and kids this age HATE nonsensical memorization. That's for babies. We react with shock when they question the existence of God, or the veracity of the Word of Wisdom, but just realize that it's natural, and hope you've been teaching them Logic so they can ask accurate questions and test validity of truths.

The Rhetoric stage occurs around teenagerhood and is most notable for a desire to express the self, discover strengths, and become proficient at whatever interests them. The unknown can be explored because the known is understood.

This is not a revolutionary idea. It's how you learn how to do anything well. Think about driving a car or using the computer. First you learn the terms and rules, then you string the isolated parts together to make a whole, then you become proficient and have the power to go wherever you want.

I would love to find a Christian school that taught in the Classical tradition, but since they are so expensive and usually have a belief statement that involves the Trinity and such things, I am content to educate at home and be involved in co-ops, church, and eventually orchestras and sports teams (oh yeah, you have more time for those things when your schooling only takes 3 hours).

Here are some links to articles and resources I use (I know, I know, this huge rant about education and I can't figure out how to insert a hyperlink):
http://www.veritaspress.com/
http://www.gbt.org/text/sayers.html
http://www.gbt.org/
http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=11394&x=52&y=10
Book: The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis

Happy Birthday Aunt Elizabeth!

My husband has a wonderful sister named Elizabeth, and she is a ballerina. This thrills my daughter to no end, and while we were visiting last month Elizabeth taught her how to do part of Swan Lake. Thanks Bit, you are turning into a fine woman (wow, isn't that what Norrington said too? about another Elizabeth? hee hee). Hope this is a great year for you!

The house

I have returned from a month-long trip to visit family in Utah and Arizona, seriously we were in Phoenix about 40 hours ago, so you'll notice my husband is a little on edge in these videos. The week before I left, we decided to buy this house. Our neighbors are great, and my husband has done the hideous job of dealing with the financiers (I'll iron your shirts anytime, honey). We are hoping to close on Wednesday the 5th of May, that is if my husband can slay the last remaining dragons and our Buyer's Remorse doesn't get the better of us. I love the neighborhood (we lived here for the first 5 years of our marriage). The schools are great, and I look at homeschool as a hobby (with potentially disastrous results--eek!). There's very little we want to changein this house, just some paint here and there. Even though these are black squares, they really are video clips. Enjoy!