An Inside Look

I was invited to participate in an interview on Debbie Harbeson's Homeschooling: Freedom and Fun For Your Family blog and since I haven't written about homeschooling in a while, I thought I'd better get some mileage out of this interview and post it here. After reading my responses, go visit Debbie's blog and see what other Indiana Homeschoolers had to say about homeschooling.


1. How long have you been homeschooling (or if finished, how long did you homeschool)?

We've homeschooled since fall of 1994, so that makes this our 15th year of homeschooling. Wow! The times flies when you're having fun (and when you're not, for that matter).



2. One of the main benefits of homeschooling is the freedom and flexibility it allows. Can you give us a few examples of how this freedom and flexibility benefited your family?


Well, when we first began homeschooling my husband traveled for his job - a lot. Homeschooling allowed us to occasionally travel with him, but even when we stayed home it was nice to have flexibility in our schedules so the boys could enjoy spending time with their dad when he was home. When his scheduled flexed ours flexed. We could take a day (or week) off school without getting special permission, or stay up late enjoying an activity together and not worry about being too tired in the morning. And a perfect snow day for us is when we get to go sledding on a fresh hill while the other kids are in school. ;^) We used to live in a subdivision built around a golf course and boy did we have some great sledding hills! 

While we did have some great sledding hills on that golf course near Huntington, IN, this picture is taken at Provence Park in Franklin.  Youngs Creek is at the bottom of the hill.  Getting oneself stopped before taking a bath is part of the thrill of sledding here.  


Freedom and flexibility have also been enjoyed in the area of academics. Our oldest was advanced academically and homeschooling allowed him to progress at his speed in whatever areas that interested him. He was a math whiz and taught himself to read before age 3. He was a unique package -- being academically gifted, but at the same time socially immature -- and we easily concluded that traditional school wasn't a good option for him when he was old enough for Kindergarten.

By highschool, he was enjoying participating in math competitions (and he even won a few ;^). Then, just as we were settling into our expectations that he would pursue a career in math, this son decided he enjoyed writing and he began creating a LOTR parody. He says he's embarrassed of it today, but I believe it was the freedom he had to spend hours writing it, sending installments to peers for their enjoyment and getting all sorts of kudos from people, that served as the very thing that encouraged him to keep on with it.

His love for the written word was nurtured naturally - through reading and writing to his heart's content.   By the time he graduated from highschool he decided he wanted to pursue a career in writing and is now in a liberal arts college program studying the many aspects of professional writing - and we continue to be awed by his natural gift for the written word.  (Update in 2014:  Nathan graduated with honors from Taylor University.)

Another son had some learning issues early on and homeschooling has benefited him in that he too could progress at his own speed without the burden of negative labels he, no doubt, would have received had he been in a traditional school environment. Highschool for this son is looking different than it did for our oldest, but we are just as much in awe of his natural bents as we were of his older brother's. This son enjoys having plenty of time to explore the mechanics of things - taking apart things that are broken and fixing them and sometimes fashioning new items altogether. Backyard Ballistics was written for this son! This son also enjoys sports and has always been involved somehow - this past year he was on a first-year homeschool soccer team in this area and he excelled.  (Update in 2017:  Joel graduated  from IUPUC with a degree in Mechanical Engineering - no surprise there.)

(Update on youngest son:  Don't know why I didn't mention our youngest son in this section in the original article, but Ben graduated with honors from IUPUI in 2018 with a degree in Public Safety Management.)

For all our sons, we take advantage of non-traditional educational activities to learn valuable (and sometimes fun) skills and gain knowledge that will be useful both now and in their adult lives. I have enjoyed the freedom to determine when those activities qualify for credit on a highschool transcript.

Some examples of these non-traditional learning activities have been:

The book my son wrote, edited and shared with others, combined with other writing and learning opportunities, translated to a year's worth of English credit in 10th grade.  The course was called Creative Writing.

A 10-week clown class and subsequent involvement in clown ministry as well as participation in several significant dramas earned my son a credit in dramatic arts.

Ben finds a couple "Letter Boxes" less than a mile from our home

Our second son is a military history buff. He has watched hours of documentaries on military history and armament and has read many books and articles about different wars. He builds models of different military vehicles and exhibits them in 4-H (at least one went to State Fair). These are things he has done over the course of his highschool career and when I decide he's done enough, I will be granting him a year's worth of credit for Military History. Who knows how this particular self-driven study will benefit him some day?

This son is also a natural musician and we love hearing him play his guitar for as long as he desires to. Having the time to work a part-time job enables this son to upgrade his instrument inventory when he wants to be challenged by something new.

Credit for Physical Education is granted through participation in many, many activities -- basketball, soccer, 4-H shooting sports, bowling, weight-lifting, golf, cycling, spelunking -- literally anything that exposes our sons to physical activities that they can enjoy into their adult lives.

3. Another benefit of homeschooling is the fun factor. Can you give us a few examples of some especially fun times you had as a result of homeschooling?


Oh, I think going places together -- especially when the boys were younger (either with a homeschool group or just our family).   Just as a sampling:

Seyfert's potato chip factory in Ft. Wayne was a hoot.

We've learned Indiana History not just by reading about it, but by traveling and visiting historical sites and living history museums when we can.

When traveling west to South Dakota and Colorado to visit family, we took in historical sites along the way and seeing awesome landforms was a great experience for these flat-landers.

Joel and Ben admiring the iguanas at the Indianapolis Zoo 

Traveling south to Tennessee and visiting Civil War sites and the Chattanooga Aquarium was also memorable.

Even stopping into antique stores is an opportunity to learn about a different time period.

And being able to do these things during off seasons greatly adds to the enjoyment factor for this family. No lines! We all know homeschoolers don't know how to stand in lines anyway - thankfully we're not tested on this skill very often.

At the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. One of our favorite field trips when we lived in Huntington.

Another great thing about homeschooling has been participating in our local homeschool group. Each year our group decides on a theme and we read books and engage in monthly activities to bring that theme to life. We've studied the Civil War, Christian Military Heroes, Jewish Feasts and Holidays, Pioneer Days, Inventors -- just to name a few.

When studying Medieval times we enjoyed attending a dress rehearsal for a madrigal dinner put on by IU students - full dress, full props. Instead of mutton and wild game, we feasted on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while the actors performed around us and drew us into the drama just as if we'd bought expensive tickets and been part of several hundred attending -- but we got so much more individual attention.

But the most memorable event was probably meeting Steve Saint, son of slain missionary Nate Saint. He met with our group privately just a couple hours before he appeared with a Christian performer who supports his ministry. He shared with us very personally about his experience with the Waodani people (or Auca) in South America. It was awesome and life-changing -- and had we not had the ability to just take off on very short notice and drive to Bloomington (during a school day, no less), we would have missed it.

Our boys participate in a Teen Service group during their Jr. High and Sr. High years. They have helped with a demolition project, raked leaves and shoveled snow for seniors and others who need the help, made casseroles and have done some house painting -- just as examples. They have had a LOT of fun serving others alongside their friends and making a positive impression of homeschooling in our community.

Even hard times are made better simply because we're all together and more focused than we could possibly be if the boys were in different places and on different time schedules. When my father was ill and dying, we spent countless hours over a period of several months driving the 30 minutes one way to go visit with him several times a week -- the boys often playing with fun things in the facility where he was cared for. We have some good memories of this time (and great pictures.) Had they been in a traditional school, it would have been impossible to spend the amount of quality time with Dad (Grandpa) that we did.



4. We all have funny experiences while homeschooling. Can you share one of yours with us?

Hmmm....well, we sometimes reminisce about losing a tadpole (that had just developed legs and we think escaped) in our dining room and after searching and searching we finally concluding that our youngest son (who was a crawler at the time) had probably found it and eaten it. Eeewwww, I know.

Nathan with one of the tiny frogs we grew from tadpole to adult.

 

We also count ourselves experienced campers now that we bought a tent and went camping as a family ONCE! We spent the night re-inflating two air mattresses that had leaks (and being thankful we didn't have neighbors). I'm sure we were in violation of the campground's quiet hours. We didn't take enough wood for the weekend, so I cooked sausages and pancakes over some pretty pitiful coals in the morning. It took about a half-hour before the pancakes were solid and edible. I'm pretty sure they dried out (as opposed to actually cooking). We took it all in stride and no one complained. But come to think about it, no one has asked to go camping since.

And once we almost left our youngest in a baby swing in our friends' country yard as we quickly packed up our picnic items to head to the 4th of July fireworks show in town. We were actually getting into our vehicles when our friends' grandmother cried, "Is somebody going to get the baby?!?"

This, would perhaps be a good time to note that I have never been nominated (or ever even entertained the notion that I might be nominated) for Mother-of-the-year.

I'm sure our funny moments are pretty typical (well, except - maybe - for eating tadpoles) and none of these things have as much to do with homeschooling as they have to with just being a family. Homeschooling is just one of the things we do as we live our lives together - bumping into each other, getting frustrated with one another, blowing it, forgiving each other and encouraging each other. Homeschooling gives us LOTS of time together to do all these things. We've not done any of it perfectly, but it's been a life I've loved.
 

Getting Started Homeschooling

By Becki Biberdorf

Considering homeschooling but not quite sure what to do first? It is normal to be overwhelmed by the wealth of information and the abundance of resources available to today’s homeschooler. Knowing the basics of getting started is helpful in settling some of the jitters many of us feel in the early days.

While some jump head first into homeschooling and still enjoy the experience, I highly recommend you spend time in prayer and conversation with your spouse before committing to this endeavor. It is not at all uncommon for spouses to approach the idea of homeschooling from different philosophies and viewpoints. It is important to consider each other’s thoughts and find common ground as you start out. Decide together what the important issues are in your family and your homeschool. You may even find writing out a philosophy of education to be helpful. You do have one, you know. Getting it down on paper will give you confidence in the days ahead when you wonder if you’re doing enough, or when you’ve been asked for the umpteenth time why you’re doing this? This philosophy may change over the years as your family changes, but if you take the time to write it out and refer back to it, it will serve as a stabilizing component of your homeschool.

You will need to research curriculum choices and methods of homeschooling. It’s overwhelming to be sure, but this is also an exciting phase – it’s actually a phase you’ll be in for the duration, but it does become a little less intimidating with time. Don’t attempt to copy another family’s curriculum choices or style, but glean from others why some things work and why other things aren’t effective. Knowing why a certain curriculum does or doesn’t work for a particular family may actually be more important than their opinion of it. It may not work for them because they don’t use it as intended. Or it may work great for someone else, but you may have no desire to use a particular curriculum the way it is laid out. We’ve all made purchases that look great (that are great), but then end up sitting on the shelf because of some resistance we have toward some part of it. Figuring this out early may help you not make large mistakes down the road, but know going into this that you will make some mistakes in choosing curriculum. Just plan now to forgive yourself and know that you can usually resell materials to someone who will love to use what you can’t.

Keep in mind, depending on the time of year you make your decision, you may have to wait for delivery of items you order through the mail or on-line. The busy season for book sellers is typically mid-late summer. If you’ve waited until it’s time to start school to place your order, you will need a plan for what you will do until your materials arrive. You can either wait to start your schooling, or you can come up with some creative learning experiences and begin your schooling as soon as you like. Once you decide when your school year will start, you need to keep attendance for 180 days. I suggest keeping the task of recording attendance as simple as possible - checking days off on a calendar works fine.

Figure out where you will actually do your “schooling.” Some families have the luxury of particular space dedicated to schooling, but most of us use our entire house. Either way, some system of organization will make learning easier. If you have a place to put everything, your children will be more likely to cooperate in keeping a peaceful, productive learning environment.

It’s also a good idea to have some kind of schedule, but realize that a workable schedule will fluctuate with your family’s needs. It may fluctuate from season to season or from day to day. For many of us the homeschooling lifestyle is a constant flexing between structure and freedom. Too much structure can be stifling to some families and too much freedom can prove unproductive for others. Do what works for you and your children, and periodically assess where your children are on the road of learning and developing. Looking at the big picture is helpful too, when you question your day-to-day progress. Homeschooling isn’t a sprint. It is a marathon that can appear in the early years to stretch on forever, but be assured, it will pass all too quickly.

It is important to have fellowship on this journey and many seasoned homeschoolers recommended that you hook up with a support group of some sort, both for the social benefit, and for the sharing of resources and information. You will learn much from other homeschoolers. You also have much to share. Veteran homeschoolers sometimes benefit from the fresh excitement and creative ideas new homeschooling moms often exude. There are 16 IAHE Regional Representative couples throughout the state of Indiana who can offer some assistance in locating a support group or may know of several groups from which to choose. You may also find some on-line communities that can help you sort through questions and find solutions to problems. There is no reason for anyone to feel isolated these days as a homeschooler. The problem is more likely to be choosing between so many activities that are available to you and your children.

Be sure you know what the law says about homeschooling. In fact, http://www.inhomeeducators.org/laws is a good place to start. In a nutshell - once you begin homeschooling, you are considered a private school in the state of Indiana. You are required to keep a record of attendance for 180 days. You are required to provide an education in the English language and an education that is equivalent to the public schools , but an equivalent education is not defined or quantified. While that may make some nervous, it also means there is great freedom in how you choose to educate your children in the state of Indiana. There is no such thing as a cookie-cutter education for Hoosier homeschoolers! If you’re interested, you can visit the Indiana Department of Education’s Website and find the standards that are used for the state’s public schools. Keep in mind that the language used in these standards can be intimidating to read as a whole, but when translated into what they actually mean, many are very simple concepts that you are quite capable of providing to your children. Also keep in mind these standards are simply tools. As Christians our standards are often very different than what the state has laid down. Seek God’s standards and His guidance foremost in your homeschool.

If your children are enrolled in a public or private school, you need to notify the school that you are transferring your child’s enrollment to your homeschool. It is recommended that this notification be sent to the school by certified mail and that you use this opportunity to request a copy of your child’s permanent record which will include transcripts. Provide a mailing address for this purpose. If the State Superintendent of Public Instruction requests that you report enrollment of your children, you must do so. In all likelihood, this will not be requested unless you have previously made contact with the IDOE, or there has been a problem in the school from which your child is being withdrawn. Schools are not required (nor are likely) to inform the IDOE of your homeschool status. They simply report their current enrollment each year. After your child is withdrawn, he or she will not be included in the school’s headcount anymore.

Once you know the law and have your materials, enjoy the experience, enjoy your children, and enjoy yourself. This is a wonderful adventure. Savor it. Soon you'll realize you are learning as much as your children, and that’s when it really gets fun! Get ready for the ride of your life!



Copyright 2003 Becki Biberdorf
Reprint by permission only

If you find this article helpful, you may like some other articles you'll find at the IAHE website. Click here: http://www.inhomeeducators.org/articles/article.cfm?id=66 and you'll be able to peruse the other articles of interest to homeschooling families.