The Place Where Everything Just “Fits”

Every now and then, we are placed, I believe divinely, in a warm and comforting space in our homeschooling experience where everything just seems to fit together. I relish those moments when there are unplanned and unexpected opportunities to really seal knowledge into their hearts and minds through the power of repetition. For example, at one period in history, we were reading about King James commanding the Bible to be rewritten, a conversation which adds a “real life” feel to our Bible study. Our son brought up how our study of astronomy is a constant reminder of what God is doing in the scientific world (my words, not his). We read the book of Matthew and talked about how the people knew God’s law, but didn’t know God’s love. Meanwhile, apart from school, we’ve had to deal with some flesh-like bickering between the older two, which led to the memorization of 1 Corinthians 13. Finally, as a just-before-bed read aloud, we enjoyed Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls, great fodder for talks about the “wild” west and so many turn-of-the-century events (the transcontinental railroad, mountain men, the growth of America).

What I described above is an academic product; the other component of this time of “fitting together”, and perhaps more important for our goals, is our enjoyment of each other as family while we read. I was blessed to hear Sally Clarkson lecture about the value of reading, and one of her touch points was the power of reading to build strong bonds of relationship. A few days ago, I read to our toddler while the older kids enjoyed breakfast at the table. I got so tickled as I read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and my older two “intellectuals” had quite the dialogue about why a Wink’s fur is pink just because it likes to drink pink ink. How funny, and how fun!

As much as I strive to follow a Charlotte Mason approach in our school, I fully realize that, for reading this to one of the children, I must seek forgiveness for my sin. Indeed, Miss Mason would refer to One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish as twaddle, and would probably shake her head in dismay at the thought that I exposed the children to such emptiness. However, I am not discussing a specific book as much as a connection to one another that occurred while learning.

I obviously have my biases based upon my own family’s journey while educating at home. Yet, regardless of your teaching methodology/ approach to learning, I believe you can create an environment that enhances the relationships your children might already enjoy with one another. Creating and building relationships is very different than reciting a short-term memorization of facts that will later be lost and gone forever. How do we build upon that foundation of familial relationship to make learning together even more meaningful? Consider the following:

Game time and tea time (even for a boy!) can be as educational, though informal, as any text you might find. This one-liner from a fellow homeschooler opened my eyes to all new possibilities…

When dd was young and we were asked what curriculum did we used, I used to say Milton Bradley; we used a lot of games for early learning.

Sharing books, and sharing conversations over books, brings a family together in the same way that a family movie favorite will, only it occurs during the “school” day. I personally like to stop that read-aloud right at the point where it creates a good cliffhanger. The kids are delightfully annoyed. “MOM!” My son will exclaim.

Making books together has been a more recent, but very effective way for our kids of all ages to learn and to show off their handiwork and talents to one another. The books are personal keepsakes, and I don’t miss an opportunity to have one child teach another based upon what he/she has already learned and documented.

For the families that like to get out (not our pajama-clad clan), school on the road, as in a local library or Barnes and Noble, can stimulate any bored and stale homeschool.

You may have your own methods for building friendships among your children as you build collegians. Learning isn’t always fun, and not every day will be one that calls for a Kodak moment. For this reason and more, we should pay special attention to the signs of accomplishments in their hearts as well as in their minds; the former are not gradable.

A while back, the oldest prepared for science—learning about density via adding salt to water and observing an egg that sank initially gradually float. She had to fight with her sister and brother to drop teaspoons of salt and the egg into the glass of water. As we read about Sebastian Bach walking 200 miles for the opportunity to attend music school, the same kid broke into a mini math lesson to see how long this walk would take for a child. You could feel the hush of shock and sadness over the kids as they looked at pictures while I told the story of the Holocaust. Our younger two then had some great quality time together as we all sipped on peppermint tea. Later, over a morning snack of Fuji apples, the oldest exclaimed, “Thanks, Mom. These are my favorite kind.” I thought she said these are my favorite times, and so I smiled inside and out as I replied, “Yea, mine, too.”

Belinda Bullard is a wife and homeschooling mother of three, Belinda is an author and the owner of A Blessed Heritage Educational Resources, a literature-based history curriculum featuring African-American presence in history, as well as the contributions of other races to American history. A chemical engineer by formal education, she also serves as adjunct faculty for college distance learning programs.

Tags: Bible studies, Charlotte Mason, Dr. Seuss, Holocaust, homeschool life, Life Learning, Milton Bradley, Sally Clarkson, science, Scripture

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