During childhood homeschool lessons, my mom would often remark that homeschooling was a “second education” for her. However, she enjoyed and learned more from the second.
As a kid I usually responded by feelings of having been falsely accused. Are you implying that I’m not paying attention here? As an adult, however, I realized that my mom want referring to my sister and me; she was talking about herself!
Learning Alongside My Kids
As I’ve taught my own children, I, like my Mom, have immensely enjoyed getting to learn something each day along with them. I have a Bachelor’s degree, yes, but that certainly doesn’t mean I “know everything” or remember each little detail from each subject in my own schooling. The homeschooling lifestyle is undoubtedly one of lifelong learning.
To provide just one example, I recently began reading a biography of George Mueller to my kids as part of history. We learned that while much of his ministry took place in England, he grew up in Prussia.
“Where is Prussia?” my kids asked.
Besides surmising that it is not a modern-day country, I honestly really know and had to look it up. I told my kids as much. History was not always my favorite subject as a child and, if I did learn about Prussia, it didn’t stick. But that’s ok. One of the beauties of this homeschooling lifestyle is that there is nothing wrong with my kids and I learning about things Prussia, together.
Learning Through Teaching
I’ve also lately been in awe of the ways that becoming a homeschool teacher is helping me (or forcing me!) to better understand certain subjects, particularly math and English/language arts. Yes, I understood these subjects well enough during my own schooling to earn good grades in school and reasonably employ them in my adult life. That said, teaching them, or in other words, being explain them to someone else, has forced me to begin to digest them on a new level.
The Privilege of Experiencing Things Multiple Times
I imagine this phenomenon partly like walking through a nature preserve, or watching a stage production or film more than one time. On the first go, I take in as much information as I can, but I’m actively trying to figure out the lay the land. When I have a chance to mentally digest that first exposure, and then come back for another look, I find myself more able to absorb important connection points and notice subtle details.
Why’s and What-For’s
In other situations, circumstances lead me to find different ways of teaching. I’m thinking specifically of when it became obvious that my oldest child was not likely to succeed at learning how to spell using the typical rote-memorization method. I figured there had to be an alternative way, and my quest led me to discover the Orton-Gillingham Approach.
The Orton-Gillingham Approach, used in the All About Spelling curriculum, actually explains why words are spelled the way the are, significantly beyond basic phonics. The teaching method was originally developed to help children with dyslexia more easily learn to read and write, but it be helpful for any child… or adult! As a logical thinker, I now absolutely love working through spelling lessons with my kids. Together, we are gaining a better understanding of how words are constructed and how to better guess at correctly spelling words we aren’t familiar with.
Reading with My Kids
One other way that I enjoy getting to learn alongside my kids is through read-aloud literature time. This time is one of my kids’ favorite parts of our school day, and honestly, it’s one of mine too!
Reading interesting, well-written and thoughtful stories out loud to my kids – even those old enough to read themselves – is an incredible pleasure. My kids and I “get in” to the stories together as we eagerly wait to find out what happens. The stories open up our imagination to times, places and experienced other than our own. The stories also often challenge us with the kind of good questions that help us build character, and build solid definitions of right and wrong and our family worldview.
My Second Education as a Homeschool Teacher
Like my mother before me was, I’m truly thankful to be on a learning journey alongside my kids as a homeschool teacher. I am grateful for my first “education,” and also I’m thrilled to be in the midst of my second. Hopefully my kids will still remember at least some of what we’ve learned together by the time they reach adulthood. In the meantime, I have a front row seat to each “wow moment” they experience along the way. It is one of my favorite parts of homeschooling.
Here’s to enjoying lifelong learning!
