What I Learned from a One-Room Schoolhouse

Last school year, my children attended a one-room schoolhouse. 3rd to 8th grade were all in the same classroom. Younger ones were in a separate reading class. School was held three mornings week. I worked as secretary and art teacher in exchange for tuition.

photo credit: Robb North

The opportunity to work in a Principle Approach school was such a blessing! I planned to work there for a long time, but towards the end of the year I realized how much missed teaching my kids. Then we bought a house south east of nowhere. Commuting would not be an option.

I determined to homeschool again implementing some ideas that I knew, but understood differently now that I observed a master teach multiple ages in one classroom.

Consistency counts

One of the most amazing things I witnessed was how much work my kids accomplished just because of consistency. My oldest son completed two years worth of math! The younger kids had notebooks full of work. We had never completed so much in a year.

Do the hard stuff first and keep it simple

I, also, realized that I usually attempted to do too much. By 10:00 a.m., my kids had completed Bible, math, English, and spelling. It sometimes took us two hours to get through Bible and math! After break, they finished up with spelling tests and read literature. The school day was completed at 11:30. They had homework, but I learned something about that, too.

Education really is about character

It is not my job to beg and bribe my kids to complete their work. If they didn’t use their school time wisely, they had more homework. My children learned to work diligently during class. It helped having accountability of a teacher that wasn’t Mom, but I used to wait for everyone to finish. Now I set a time frame for each subject. If the work isn’t completed, they come back to it later.

There is no perfect curriculum

In the one-room school, my younger children used Abeka workbooks for math. I never would have chosen workbooks. That was anti-Principle Approach to me. But, it worked fine. My idealistic view of education has often hindered me from just using what I have available and made lessons more complicated than they needed to be. One idea really is enough.

Modeling is important

My children do what I do. If I am consistent, they will learn to be consistent. If I work hard, they will learn to work hard. If I love learning, they will, too.

Freedom is still why I homeschool 

This school year, I borrowed a friend’s pre-packaged curriculum. My Father’s World, Exploring Countries and Cultures, has a sample schedule much like the schedule my children used last year. The lessons are planned, so I spend more time, actually, teaching and less time making detailed lessons that I can’t get through. I am free to alter the plans to fit our life.

I am free to enjoy this journey.

 


On Teaching Another One

A little boy bursts through the door. He’s here. Then he’s there. Examining, exploring, trying to figure things out.

I try to get him to sit, to focus, but I need to pull him gently.

photo credit: nattu

We’ve talked about creating a peaceful home, a place of learning.

He wants to be here.

He wants to play.

He wants to be loved. {Don’t we all?}

The challenge is before me and I willingly accept the burden, because the burden is a soul. This soul peers through big, brown eyes and walks with stinky feet. It’s an honor to teach him. To bring him into our family. To show him how a mother treats a son.

I review phonograms with him and let him jump to the answers. I call him in to worship and he requests “Our God is an Awesome God.”

And then in the quiet of the evening, I pray for this little boy as tears stream down my face. I’m burdened, and I’m in love.

And love is the foundation of everything I want to teach.

 


Imitating Me

Frustrated with the continual mess. Frustrated with the lack of space. The constant purging. The constant squeeze.

I ask the little ones to clean their room and the whining starts.

Where does that come from?

Girl at the Mirror

Their words express what is in my heart.

I tell them if they can’t clean up they have too much stuff.

They see the plastic bag and the whining turns to screaming. I reassure my girls that I’m not throwing things away. It’s just…there is so little room. We need to store some things for the sake of sanity.

And I grow weary. Headache and heat mixed with the inner turmoil of a soul who craves order and beauty. I pause to pray.

The constant dilapidation into chaos happens in my heart, too.

Setting things right begins internally. It happens when I choose to lay it all down.

It happens when I choose contentment in the midst of chaos.

I remind my soul that this too shall pass. The things around me are temporal. I squint to see with the eyes of faith. Eternal beings are in my care. These precious souls need a good model to follow, but I fail. I wail. I flail.

Discipline is far from me, but can’t it be squeezed in to replace some of the messes within?

And when that happens, the external might just might match the internal.

And then my children will learn habits worthy of modeling.


Carnival of Homeschooling: Wish List Edition

Office supplies make me giddy. Going to the library is my fondest errands. Bookshelves are my favorite pieces of furniture. Can you relate? If so, you may be a homeschooler.

In this edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling, I consider my wish list while highlighting posts submitted by the homeschooling community. This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a smattering of what blogging has to offer.

The homeschool community is diverse and I’m sure my wish list is vastly different from yours, but whatever you desire I hope we can all agree on the importance of liberty.

May the freedom to teach our children continue.

I wish for…

Liberty

The First Lesson, 1903

Endurance

The Evening Before the Journey to England - Study Room, Published in "Lasst Licht Hinin"

Library/work room

The Reading Room, Published in "Lasst Licht Hinin",("Let in More Light") 1909

Wisdom

Woman Lying on a Bench, 1913

Housekeeper

Karin by the Linen Cupboard (Karin Vid Linneskapet), 1906

What is on your wish list?

If you would like to submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Homeschooling, please use this submission form.



How the Basket Lady Organizes Homeschool

When the librarian called, he recognized my voice.

Oh, you’re the basket lady.

Should I be offended?

I used to take a backpack to the library and then transfer the books to their place next to the couch, but grabbing my old, wire basket saves a step. It does a great job keeping library books corralled, and it’s the perfect size for our check-out limit.

That library basket works so well, I don’t care that basket lady and bag lady sound so similar.

I have bigger things to battle, things like books and paper.

Organizing Books

Since we don’t have a separate room for our personal library, our living room has three large bookshelves in it. I make space for a few pieces of pottery, because I crave beauty as much as I like books.

Our books are loosely organized by category and size. Curriculum is on the shelf above our binders. Reference books are to the left of my desk. Favorite children’s books are on a separate shelf next to the couch.

Organizing Paper

Besides books, our homeschool fills up with paper. My girls each have an old-fashioned school desk with a bit of storage for their plethora of drawings.

When their desks are full, we sort through and keep their best and favorite works of art.

What we decide to keep goes into a three drawer organizer. I also slip in small treasures, cards, and keepsakes to add to their binders or scrapbooks later.

School papers used to pile in my plan book and languish there.

Then I found a $2 letter sorter to control that disaster. It’s perfect for holding file folders on my desk. Papers that need to be graded and papers that need to be filed are in separate sections. And my plan book fits right in the front.

Organizing Other Stuff

My desk drawers organize all of our office supplies:

  • erasers
  • pencils
  • staplers
  • hole punches
  • flash cards
  • stickers
  • paper cutters
  • notebook paper
  • extra gadgets
  • even the bills

I would like a new desk some day, but that might be as strenuous as packing the whole house.

Some of our puzzles, cards, and games are stored in a small dresser that I use as a sideboard in my kitchen.

I even cram things under the couch, but we won’t discuss that right now.

I’m a bit concerned about other nicknames that could arise if I divulge all the places I hide stuff.

What is your biggest organizational challenge?