Most of us have seen the Duggars. They were my first real look at homeschooling.
Intimidating much?
They are ALL so well mannered, self-sufficient, self-motivated, musical...extremely musical and they study foreign languages too!
When you are new to homeschooling, you realize very quickly, that most children that were homeschooled from an early age, know how to play musical instruments very well, they know a foreign language, and are involved in many extra curricular activities.
I thought this was HOMEschool?
Watching and hearing about these familes can be intimidating, as a first time homeschooler. In public school, I had my boys home, in the driveway, at 4pm. There was hardly any time left for anything but homework.
At first I felt obligated to try many things...but mostly excited at all the opportunities we have available to round out their education.
We picked guitar, then piano and piano has been fantastic. It is also fantastic that their piano teacher comes to the home too!
So rule #1: find an instrument they like and stick with it! Consistency for a college resume is KEY! You read enough articles and you figure this rule out, really quickly!
Now what about a foreign language? I heard: wait until high school, start as soon as possible, learn Latin, etc..... At first, I had suggestions from others, that French was the go to language...but, we live in Texas, huh?...Now that I'm thoroughly confused...what do I do? ACK!
I finally got advice from my wonderful sister in law Hannah, who is currently at Harvard. She recommended, as did her friend, another student at Harvard that was homeschooled, *committing, to a foreign language that is a living language, ie. not Latin!
~ A living language, is a language that is spoken daily around the world. eg. Spanish, German, French, Japanese, etc.
* {A long term commitment in musical instruments and a foreign language is key to a great looking college resume!}
Me: "No Latin? But, so many homeschoolers push Latin..is it bad if we don't?"
Their explanation on this recommendation is this:
Latin is great for doctors and lawyers, but a living language will open doors to travel, and career opportunities, as well as career advancement. Here in Texas, Spanish is a great option. They have signs in Espanol at our local stores.
I must say, even my friends who are Dr.s have said it's not necessary to learn Latin for medical school early on. When you learn a foreign language like Spanish or French, they are Latin based, so learning Latin terms later, is easy. So focus on the living languages.
Rule #2: Follow your children's interests and take into consideration where you live. I hear French is great for East Coast residents, I guess because of European travelers?? But here in Texas, Spanish made the most sense!
Chosing Spanish was the easy part. Now where do we find the right instructor?
There are many avenues for a foreign language study.
There is the Rosetta Stone route, or through your local library, there may be online free language programs. Our library had Mango. We used Mango on and off over the last year. We also used a tutoring facility that connected us with a Spanish tutor. She was fantastic, but it just was a little too costly. When you use a tutoring facility, you are paying them to do the research, the use of the building, and don't forget they have to make a profit!
You have to remember, I'm cheap! My husband always tells me to say, FRUGAL...not cheap!
So we took a long break, and realized after trying it on our own, we needed a live tutor. Spanish is not my first language, nor my second. So me trying to help with pronunciation was reallllly funny!
I decided to try and find someone who could come to the house. I began by using my gift of chatting and started asking!
I mentioned it in talking with the boys hairdresser, who mentioned it to another client, and that client is now our Spanish tutor! Luckily, she is a trained teacher and travels to students homes.
Jasmine, our new Spanish tutor, has only given them one lesson, but I can already see that she is a great fit! She will come to our home once a week and give homework. They were very anxious to get started and couldn't stop talking about how much fun she made the class.
This week it's making flashcards and working on memorizing them.
We are excited for the boys to get a foreign language under their belt and we are grateful for having wonderful people around us, always helping us get closer to our goals.
It takes a village!
So, the key in homeschooling your children is networking, chatting, & always putting out there what your needs are...you never know what will land in your lap.
Happy Saturday! Or should I say...Felize Sabado!
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment