Advice for Idaho homeschoolers –
The best thing we can do is do the research and get the information we need, regardless of whether college is the route the boys will take. Don’t take my word for it. Research your own state requirements. Fortunately for us, Idaho has some of the most lenient homeschool requirements in the US.
HSLDA: Homeschooling Advocates
Homeschooling in Idaho
Idaho Coalition of Home Educators
Resources for Homeschool Educators
National Homeschool Organizations
Homeschool Transcripts Explained
Parents REALLY need to read these homeschool books- look for them on the LIBBY app for free books and audio books. Just need a current library card.
“Dumbing us Down” by John Taylor Gatto
“Call of the Wild + Free” by Ainsley Arment
“Unschooled, raising curious, well-educated children outside the conventional classroom” by Kerry McDonald
“How do your kids learn math?”
Many years ago, I read a book called The MoneySmart Family System: Teaching Financial Independence to Children of Every Age By Steve and Annette Economides. We immediately put into place the Give, Save, Spend Jars. A weekly meeting with $3.50 for each boy “minimum wage” or $7 if “above and beyond” was reached (they do extra chores without prompting). This simple routine started when they were 6 and 8 years old, helped them have a sense of financial independence, and gave mom and dad a great reason to say “did you bring your money?” Any time a trinket or sweet treat was envied by the boys in the grocery store or farmers market.
We always pay for basic necessities such as shoes, clothing, and food, but they have learned the value of a dollar quickly and have no problem with frugality and shopping at thrift stores.
Where else are children learning how to manage money and financial education? Will public schools teach good financial habits? NO! Do colleges teach that? NO! Do friends or social media teach it? Absolutely not! It’s up to us as parents and family to educate them on home management skills. It is worth it to see your children able to manage money independently and not need us to fund their adult lifestyles in the future. That is the basis of our homeschool journey. Learning is not reserved for buildings with bells.
Every Sunday, we all meet together specifically to go over finances, who’s in charge of meals for the week, and talk about what family bills were paid and what bills are coming up. I am glad we are in a position where money is not a scary thing. We are fortunate not to live paycheck to paycheck at this time in our lives. It was not always this way. Our financial road has been rocky at times, but we as adults are always reading, listening to podcasts, and learning too. We are on the FIRE path, Financial Independence Retire Early, attempting to spend less than we earn and save money in low-fee investments such as index funds.
Now the boys (14 and 16 years old) have options to make more money. They know how to shovel snow and push a lawnmower around the neighborhood looking for work. Also, Dad has taught them skills on how to edit photos, and they are paid to help him on photo shoots and given a per-diem when they go out of town. Which makes them very aware of prices in restaurants or vending machines because they know what they do not spend is theirs to keep. This week, they had an overnight trip, and Dad took them to Carl’s Jr. for dinner. After the boys noticed how much more prices were compared to other fast food places they had been, they asked Dad to take them somewhere else, which would have never happened if Mom and Dad are footing the bill. Jack asked if he could take food from home in his backpack, so we decided which snacks would travel well.
They have made impressive goals and saved their money for months at a time. Our latest investment is Greenlight. It been an amazing educational tool and gives the boys Independence over all their financial choices. The games make economics fun. Yesterday, after combining funds and writing up an impressive contract with each other and our parents, they bought a long-awaited Nintendo Switch. In fact, right now, I am listening to them use the Switch to connect with their older (adult) siblings in other states to talk and play games together.
Khan Academy is a free online Math Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization created in 2008 by Salman Khan with the goal of creating a set of online tools that help educate students. The organization produces short lessons in the form of videos. Its website also includes supplementary practice exercises and materials for educators.
We invested in Study.com for general studies due to its opportunities to earn college credits in high school age.
We also cook and bake every day at home. The boys learn math and fractions by measuring ingredients for food. It gives them a sense of accomplishment and in contributing to family mealtimes. Grocery shopping and using math weighing bulk food and produce. Hypothesising how much the grocery bill is going to be. We teach healthy eating habits and we also garden. This spring, we are planning on another huge garden, currently going over the nursery circulars flooding our mailbox, dreaming of spring in the middle of winter doldrums.
“Why Reading is so Important”
“If you want a child to know the truth, tell him the truth. If you want a child to love the truth, tell him a story” ~ Andrew Peterson
“A person who reads lives a thousand lives, but a person who never reads, lives only one”
We have read aloud nightly to help the boys fall asleep since they were babies. Sometimes half-heartedly sometimes with renewed convictions. Especially after reading a good book like The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah Macenzie and The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
We read aloud to our kids because I know years with my kids are short. I want to know that I have created warm memories and lasting relationships with my kids. Moments our family will treasure for the rest of their lives.
There are so many lessons we are obligated to teach our children, but lessons (or lectures from) from mom and dad only go so far. Storytelling, on the other hand, can inspire a child to do better, try harder, and love more. It allows a child to vicariously experience situations, the courage of heroes, integrity, compassion, and doing the right thing when nobody’s watching. When we read, we can try on emotions. We get a glimpse of struggles we would never be able to experience otherwise. Stories are the way the greatest truths have been passed on for generations. Encouraging us to do what is right in the face of hardships and trials. By reading aloud with your child, you help kids understand that life can be difficult. More difficult than they can currently imagine, but inside each of us is a hero.
What can give children the academic boost in all areas of the curriculum? Reading aloud. The single most important activity for building knowledge in the success of reading is reading aloud to children. The more children are read to, the higher the test scores are. It is so powerful in increasing a child’s academic success that it is more effective than expensive tutoring or private education. Increased vocabulary happens when you expose children to grammatically correct and sophisticated language patterns. Writing comes so much easier when a child has a storehouse of language and vocabulary given to them by rich storytelling.
“Why should I read aloud?”
Parents should read classics aloud because listening comprehension is higher than their reading comprehension levels at an early age. Children can listen to stories with a more complex vocabulary beyond what they are able to read on their own. So much energy is taken trying to demystify and decode the letters and sounds of words on the page, that they can not spend the mental energy in actual comprehension. Children need someone to do the hard work of decoding the text and translating the rhythm and cadence. When we do that work for the child, the child can spend their mental energy on enjoying the story and making connections in their own lives.
As far as homeschooling and reading, I believe that children are dealing with a sense of duty that is killing their ability to read for pleasure in the public school systems. Obligation and to-do lists made by English, history, and language art teachers for test prep and quizzes. By middle school, our kids have received the message that reading is something we do as a duty rather than pleasure, book reports, essays, and comprehension quizzes. By high school, a teen will read for pleasure only 6 minutes a day. Reading is now working or academic for a teenager, enforced by teachers, the school system, and sometimes parents. Schools snuff out the love of reading from our children. Home is the only place children will fall in love with books.
“The least expensive thing we can give a child outside of a hug turns out to be the most valuable, words.” ~Jim Trelease
https://info.zondervan.com/read-aloud-family-audiobook-pdf/
“But how will he get into college?”
The myth that homeschoolers need high school credits and transcripts for college is just erroneous and a difficult falsehood to break. It’s probably one of the top reasons that many people don’t homeschool. Many believe that homeschool doesn’t provide the structure or transcripts for their kids to attend or be prepared for college.
Nothing is further from the truth. We are not out to hinder our boys from taking that path if that is the way they decide to go.
Just Google any college and homeschool. Try it “Harvard Homeschool” I dare you. Or I’ll save you some work. Here are the top 3 results:
From Homeschool to Harvard
Harvard’s homeschooled students say growing up outside of a traditional school system was an opportunity for them to be flexible and self-driven.
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/12/10/homeschool-harvard/
Three Harvard students on lessons of homeschooling
Profiles of three students who were homeschooled before coming to Harvard.
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/02/three-harvard-students-on-lessons-of-homeschooling/
Homeschooling is the new path to Harvard – Business Insider
Regan Grabner waves a U.S. flag with a dollar bill tied to it as he graduates from Harvard’s Business School during the 357th Commencement …
https://www.businessinsider.com/homeschooling-is-the-new-path-to-harvard-2015-9
Most colleges look for students who apply themselves in a specific area of expertise. Homeschoolers have particular advantages. A traditional school makes all students look very similar in academics and extracurricular activities. A homeschooler can stand out from that crowd with their uniqueness. SAT and SAT2, documentation and descriptions of academics during high school years are still necessary. Homeschoolers have proven to be just as adept, if not more, with better SAT scores overall. We personally plan on an online portfolio for each child with their travels, creations, accomplishments, letters of recommendation, volunteering, and passions of theirs. Honestly, it’s more for posterity than a report of measurements, but it will be sufficient for college admissions if that’s the way they want to go.
As far as “real graduation”, don’t worry, transcripts will be written, with credits for creations, diplomas will be given, a gathering of friends and families will happen, a cap and gown will be bought from Amazon. Also, local co-ops will hold their own graduation parties, and that is always an option.
Feel free to read my other writings on homeschool to see our typical day…
Adventures in Mitchell 