Fall 2020

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8
Different Paths Same Destination
We are entering our 11th year of this Homeschool Adventure, and
I can tell you there are highs and lows. The biggest thing I can
relate to you, though, is that the relationship you develop with
your family is all so worth it! However, new homeschoolers are starting to
ask, and I hope to help you answer:
What can kids possibly learn by being
home with their parents and siblings all day?
I can say that we’ve learned a lot, whether it is visual/spatial relations,
physical education, character training, home economics, safety, and even
life skills. Join me as I show you how these can all be learned together as
a family.
My children love to sit on the counter
and help out in the kitchen. Usually it is
to help bake cookies or make smoothies,
but sometimes they help cook supper.
One night while making supper, Kendon,
then age 3, decided to see how far up
his nose he could shove a pea. While he
laughed and laughed, the older children
were able to join me in trying to retrieve
the pea. We were able to talk about what size and length object could be
used to perform the retrieval, along with utensils that would not be safe
to stick up someone’s nose. After a successful removal, Kendon went on
in the next few weeks to continue sticking various objects up his nose, in-
cluding legos and sticky tack. Think of the visual/spatial relations my older
children learned as we discussed the sizes of the objects placed into such
a small orifice and the force needed to blow them out! Imagine all they
learned as we then took a field trip to the medical clinic in order to meet
our family physician who they watched remove a particularly lodged
bead from Kendon’s nose! Family learning at its best!
Physical education has been one area that has included the whole family,
as my children have all beenmore likely to jump off the top of the refriger-
ator and stick a landing before they could even talk. One morning I came
out of my bedroom to start the day. I saw that the freezer door was open. I
sighed and reminded myself to give the kids another lesson on saving en-
ergy by keeping the freezer and fridge doors closed. As I went to close it
it wouldn’t close. I came around the edge of the door, and there I saw m
youngest, Kaleb, then 3 at the time, sitting in the freezer eating ice cream
“What are you doing!” I exclaimed.
“Eating breakfast!” he replied with an adorable smile. He was obviousl
quite happy with himself. I gathered all the kids and asked if anyone sa
him perform this rascally deed, and why they wouldn’t have stopped him
“He’s been doing that all week, Mom. He grabs a spoon, shimmies u
the refrigerator handle, opens the freezer door, climbs in, sits and eats ic
cream for breakfast. It’s pretty cool!” they explained. Kids! Obviously, w
needed a sit-down where we discussed saving energy by not eating whil
sitting in the freezer, but we also discussed the other things we learned
including Kaleb’s perseverance, life skills (how to climb, hold a spoon, an
open a door all at the same time), an
nutrition (why we don’t eat ice cream fo
breakfast)!
One thing every mom hopes to pas
on to her children is home econom
ics. Whether cooking or cleaning, it i
important to learn how to take care o
your home. Many people know how t
wipe a counter off or clean dishes, bu
how about cleaning up the big messes
I think it is best for them to learn the joy involved in these big cleanup
while they are young. I was able to give them this opportunity one night.
was cooking supper, and it had been a hard day. It was time for dinner, so
called the troops to the table. For some reason Kendon, age 2 at the time
was not coming. I went on a hunt throughout the house looking for hi
and the older kids joined in.
“Mom, Mom! We found him! And you better hurry up!” they cried.
went running to the rarely used basement bathroom where I found m
two-year-old roaring with laughter as water ran all around him. He ha
clogged the sink, turned on the water, and made his own waterfall! Wa
ter filled the sink, ran over the counters, down the cabinets, and all ove
the bathroom floor. After the initial shock, I laughed! I must admit tha
his laughter was contagious. And though he was flooding my bathroom
I couldn’t help but laugh too! As I turned off the water and surveyed th
damage, I figured we might as well turn this into another homeschool les
Four women share their transition from “Mom” to “Homeschool Mom”
Homeschooling: a Family Adventure
BY KELLI KRUID
b
Obviously, we needed a sit-down
where we discussed saving energy by
not eating while sitting in the freezer...
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