Thoroughly Fun Homeschooling

Posted by Lisa N. | 0 comments

There seems to be a lot of discussion lately in the homeschooling community about the idea that you can either have fun or be thorough. I’d like to propose that home school can be fun and thorough. My definition of “fun” goes beyond just “Woot.” I count satisfied, fulfilled and contented too. In much the same way that one feels exhausted, wrung out and wasted after a hard physical work-out, one can have that same feeling after a difficult lesson or tackling a challenging academic task. And we can teach our children that sense of satisfaction for a job well done.

My 8 year old and I recently watched Facing the Giants. The team was o.k. before the coach had an epiphany. And o.k. is just fine. But I bet none of us were handed our child directly after birthing them and said to ourselves, “I hope my little bundle of joy grows up to be average. I hope they grow up to be a ‘C’.” Most of us have high hopes for our kids, and that’s good and natural. The coach of the Eagles gets a bigger vision for his kids beyond being “C’s,” brought about by a crisis of faith. He realizes that football isn’t so much about the sport as about faith and trust in God and growing closer to Him. Same with homeschooling; it’s not about if our kids can make it to an Ivy, or is a child prodigy (unless of course, that is what God is calling them to). It’s about really seeking what God has for us and our children, staying the course and doing what it takes to get there.

I can count several lessons we’ve done as homeschoolers that have not been “fun;” phonics instruction, for example. Only one of my kids really enjoyed phonics instruction, the other 4 were reluctant phonics students. We used a rigorous program that wasn’t easy, it was time consuming and challenging. It wasn’t fun, plain and simple. But the fact of the matter is that my kids; 5 for 5, all radically different people, with different strengths and challenges and learning styles are excellent readers with almost 100% reading comprehension. Left to their own, they would have done something fun, like play in the mud or watch Bill Nye the Science Guy (not that we don’t allow plenty of time for that, too). But they probably would have chosen illiteracy for a few more years than I allowed them. Once they began reading on their own, however, there has been no holding them back. They consume information through words, because they have tools in their hands that allow them to go way beyond where they were before. And yet, not one of them has come back and thanked me for pushing them through phonics. Not one of them has apologized for the whining and tears and bad attitudes that occasionally resulted from my pulling out the phonics manuals. And I’m o.k. with that. I don’t expect my kids to love all that I require from them.

It’s like that with a lot of academic pursuits in our home. Some subjects are easy, others are more challenging, and all of it gets in the way of our wanting to be couch potatoes. But my husband and I have a bigger vision than average, so we stay the course and require that the kids do too.

As for fun; we have plenty of that, too. Part of my job as a stay at home, homeschooling Momma, is to seek out wild and wonderful things to do with our time that fit within our budget, things that really jazz our kids and us, that challenge us, draw us closer to the Lord, enhance our ability to work hard, whet our appetites for what’s next. I’ve written before about how I’m a “find cool things for my kids to do fool.” Some of those cool things are academics in the form of unit studies, drama and political activism or co-ops that teach with so much jazz the kids don’t even realize they are learning. Other times it’s a cool thing just for the sake of reveling in cool like rock climbing or international travel. We are actively developing a lifestyle of learning in our home and that infuses fun into our lives.

Back to the Giants: the coach calls out his team leader, the one who doesn’t really push that hard or expect that much. He challenges him to go above and beyond what he thinks he can do. He gets down on the ground with him, shouts encouraging words at him, and tells him how much he needs more from him. And the player delivers. He comes through- way above and beyond what he or the rest of the team believes that he can deliver on.

I want to be that coach for my kids. I want them to know that they are in a game that is, at times, fun as well as challenging and difficult. I want them to know that they can do hard things so that when God calls on them to give away or take on what they don’t think their faith is already big enough for, to still handle it. Academics is really, after all, just character training. Average kids are a dime a dozen, but kids of outstanding character with the will and ability to do hard things – not so much.

Maybe this is the year to expect a bit more, to push a little harder. Be the coach for your kids that goes the extra mile with them. And have a blast along the way.

Lisa Nehring has been homeschooling her 5 kids (2 of whom have graduated) for the past 20 years. She holds Master’s degrees in Human Development and in Marriage and Family Therapy. Lisa has been involved in creating co-ops, class days, and camp experiences for homeschoolers, and was instrumental in bringing TeenPact to South Dakota. She writes regularly for the Homeschool Village as well as other magazines, websites and newsletters. Lisa and her husband of 25 years, David, a Christian Psychologist and Biblical Counselor, speak on marriage and parenting, education and homeschooling. Lisa blogs regularly about “crafting the extraordinary from the ordinary” at Golden Grasses.