The Transformative Power of Homeschooling

LionHeart, age 7, and KingMan, age 13, enjoying the Clearwater Nature Center

 Who would have ever thought that a right-brain, artistic, wordsmith like myself would fall in love with mathematics and science! When I was a little girl I thought math and science were for boys.  When my cousin Keith would show me his science projects and math homework I would always ask, "Did the girls have to do it too?"  In college I took math during the summer so that my grade would not factor into my GPA.  I also made sure that I took the most condensed class offered, which was a 4-week, weekend course.  I just wanted to get it out of the way!  The only positive experience I can recall ever having was in my 11th grade Algebra 2/Trigonometry class.  I had a great teacher and I worked my tail off to earn a B in the class.  I still didn't love math, but I was sure proud of myself after having failed miserably at Geometry the previous year.  Fast-forward to the present and what I have discovered through teaching my own children is that math is absolutely fascinating!  And science, well it's everywhere, and it's probably the most fun subject of all academics.  Who knew? I can tell you that I sure didn't.  Recently, I was blessed to be able to attend a Singapore Math Conference.  I chose Singapore Math for KingMan 8 years ago when I read discussions about it on the Living Math listserv.  We've never, ever looked back.  Because of Singapore Math, KingMan loves math and so do I.  The conference showed me things I never learned as a child.  More importantly, I learned that the love of mathematics is nurtured from birth in many cultures, just as Shinichi Suzuki, developer of the Suzuki Method, believes music ability can be developed in every child.  I was so inspired by the conference that I am considering teaching a "Fun with Singapore Math" class for our co-op next year.  Interestingly enough, another mom in our co-op is teaching writing and she is an accountant by training.  On the other hand, I am journalist by training and I want to teach math.  Therein lies the power of homeschooling and the wonderful discoveries you'll make during the journey of teaching your own children.  Both of my boys have been involved in STEM programs since age 5.  After a STEM training for work today I left thinking to myself, why didn't anyone ever tell me that creating a parallel circuit was so much fun!  It has always been my intention to return to college once I am done homeschooling.  I'd always thought it would be in the communications field, now I'm not so sure.  In the process of educating my children, I am re-educating myself.  Who knows what the future holds - maybe I'll become a math teacher or a scientist!

Mayor for the Day

The CFO (left) and the Town Mayor (right)

KingMan and a good friend participated in JA BizTown.  What an incredible experience for them and me too! Life skills and financial literacy training doesn't get any better than this.  KingMan was elected Mayor based on an essay he wrote.  He had no idea what was in store for the day.  We did prepare for the event by going through the Biztown curriculum.  But nothing prepares you for the real world better than a REAL WORLD experience.





Just like in the real world, there were staff meetings, lunch breaks and an official swearing in ceremonies where KingMan read his speech.

Exhausted by 10:30 a.m.

By 10:30 a.m. KingMan exclaimed, "I'm tired.  This is a lot of work."  My response, "Welcome to the real world baby, now get back to work."

We learned during our brief stint with Classical Conversations that every thing you tackle in the world will have it's own "grammar"or jargon as it's know in the business world.  KingMan began his day by reading over his job description.

KingMan making deposits at the bank in an attempt to pay off their loan at the end of the day.

The goal for each business was to pay their loan off at day's end.  It was no easy task and only four businesses were able to do so.  KingMan's office was in the Town Hall and he was short two employees, so he and the CFO had to work double-duty as the IRS agent and the Utilities Supervisor.  Unfortunately, they were not able to pay off their loan.  What a wonderful lesson in teamwork and what happens when you do not have enough resources.

KingMan making a business deal.

KingMan and his good friend J-Man loved feeling like real businessmen and even made time to cut a few deals.  J-Man was the CFO of Phoenix University.  To support his business, KingMan enrolled in classes at the University.

Sealing the deal (they are really enjoying this!)

KingMan and J-Man sealing the deal.  They were really in character that day.  It's amazing how young people will rise to the occasion.

At the end of the day KingMan said, "Mom this was really great.  I want to do this again."  That was all the confirmation I needed.  I'm already busy planning to bring this to our local homeschool community.  JA Biztown is also program for public and private schools as well.

Abstinence You Say?

A-Man, KingMan and AJ will receive their PURITY RINGS next week at graduation - something to be proud about!

KingMan is 13-years-old now, a newly minted teenager.  As a part of this rite of passage, I decided it was appropriate to enroll him in a Biblically-based abstinence program.  Seems reasonable, right? Well, you'd be amazed by the number of people who laughed in my face.  Add that to the number of people who smirked or snickered.  To them, this whole concept was quite comical.  Despite the fact that there is still not a cure for the HIV virus, despite the fact that studies have shown the benefits of being married before having a family, people just could not wrap their heads around why I would enroll my son in such a program.  Family members have even said to me that "he's not thinking about girls yet."  Do you wait until you are overweight to start thinking about the food you eat, or do you make smart food choices so that you don't gain weight in the first place.  That's my line of reasoning in giving him the information first.  It seems society has accepted that pre-marital sex is natural, inevitable and the cultural norm.  Why am I living in a fantasy world, they must think.  Well, I do believe in the Biblical command that sex is for married couples.  I certainly don't want to wait until his hormones are raging to present this material.  He is a very intellectual and responsible young man, and I wanted him to be armed with Biblical doctrine and healthy facts!  Will being married first keep him from ever having a negative experience? No it does not.  But I certainly don't believe he needs to sample a "buffet" or "sow his oats" before marriage.  We don't teach boys that their bodies are sacred too. In session 4 of the Urban Life Training abstinence class, KingMan learned that sexual intercourse is an "exchange of DNA," and it's not something that should be wasted on people with whom we do not share a deep and abiding commitment, and most important of all, marriage.  My son already believes that marriage is normal.  When someone asked him if his basketball coach was married, his response was "he should be, he has 4 kids!"  Despite living in a ward of a city where 82% of all African-American children are born to unmarried parents, KingMan still believes that a man with 4 children is a husband and father.  For that I am proud.  So despite the reality of my community, I remain optimistic about the values that we have instilled in our son.  I am especially grateful to the Shine Program at the Boys and Girls Club. Shaping Healthy Identities through New Experiences is a health and life skills sex education program that promotes abstinence.  KingMan started this program when he was 10 years old.  I believe in training at home, but I also strongly believe in the concept of the village.  The more reinforcement and information my son has about the benefits of abstinence, the more meaning and power it holds.   Abstinence you say? Yes, absolutely! 

No Lebron James Sneakers for Me

A financial decision he arrived at on his own.

I stopped cold in the kitchen, stepped away from the food I was preparing and walked over to give KingMan a big kiss.  It was another one of those proud-mama-moments.  Now that KingMan is a teenager I thought it was important for him to begin handling money.  KingMan is now managing a pretty decent sum of money each month.  It's not an allowance, it's a sum of money used to provide for his care (I still take care of food, shelter and education).  I want him to get into the habit of budgeting money and making decisions BEFORE he goes off to college.  He's been wanting a pair of Lebron James sneakers.  Of course, I refuse to pay more than $100 for a pair of sneakers, so he knew not to ask mom.  After babysitting and earnings from an NIH study, KingMan was ready to make his purchase.  He wanted to have his fresh new Lebrons in time for his upcoming basketball tournament.  Back to the kiss and the proud mama moment.  KingMan looked up from his laptop and announced, "Mom, I guess I just won't be buying the new LeBron's."  Stopping suddenly and almost slicing my finger with a paring knife, I ask why in my most concerned mother voice.  "Well, it's seems they all cost about $180 and I'm just not paying that much for a pair of sneakers."  I felt the holy-spirit well up in me and I almost did a dance;  instead, I walked over and planted a kiss on that chocolate cheek and told him how proud I was of him for making such a wise and mature decision.  I knew how badly he wanted the new Lebron sneakers and he even had the money to purchase them.  But in the end, he decided it just didn't make good financial sense.  Instead, he decided to go with the more reasonably-priced Kevin Durant's.

Want to Raise An Entrepreneur?

Having entrepreneurial skills is enpowering! My husband infected me with the entrepreneurial spirit when he launched a business with zero experience and taught himself as he went along, driven by pure passion - the ultimate unschooler!  Apparently, these skills can be developed if you start teaching your children some very specific skills:

James A. Merrit is the founder of SpencersFirst.com.

Want to Raise An Entrepreneur?

7 Tips to Remember

1.  Money is a tool not a toy.  Reinforce the value of managing money at every turn.  Every penny counts and business owners realize this every day.

2.  Encourage Passion.  Passion fuels success.  Follow your passion and reap positive benefits.

3.  Teach Critical Thinking.  Entrepreneurs solve problems and fill a void in the marketplace for consumers.  Look for opportunities for problem solving and encourage it often.

4.  Talk Money.  Break the taboo and have conversations about money, goals, and how to make more of it.

5.  Vocabulary.  Teach children to understand that money is a language.  Use it daily and build that muscle.  It removes the fear.

6.  Making money is just as much fun as spending money.  Making money and spending money go hand in hand.  Both are fun.

7.  Model it.  Play money games, start your own business, help your child start a business.  Whatever you do, talk the talk, and walk, the walk.

These tips are from James A. Merritt, author and publisher of Spencer's First Dollar and Spencer's First Bank Account.  He is also the founder of SpencersFirst.com.

The holiday season is a perfect time to launch a business!

500 Years Later

Understanding the US political process can be a daunting task, even for adults.  One tool I always use to reinforce what we are learning is Flocabulary's Educational Hip Hop videos, like this one:

The music, the visuals, and the challenge questions after each video serve as a unique springboard as we delve deeper into topics.

My children are also blessed to have an African History teacher who is a living textbook.  In a recent class we learned that African Americans were traditionally Republican voters until the Reconstruction Period, around 1912.  Soon after, there was a shift, and the majority of African Americans became solidly Democrat.

To make the class interesting, current events are always linked to the past.  One such class began with a list of numbers:

435-123

100-6

1

Curiously, the children looked on having no idea what these numbers symbolized.  We learned that after 500 years of African-American participation in the political process, those numbers represent our elected officials.  There are 435 elected members of the House of Representatives, and of that number there have only been 123 African-Americans.  There have been 100 Senators, but only 6 African-Americans.  And, of course, we all know that there has been only 1 African-American President of the United States.  My children also learned about the most notable African-Americans who had previously run for President of the United States: Shirley Chisolm, Ron Daniels, Jesse Jackson, Lenora Fulani, Al Sharpton, Cynthia McKinney, Dick Gregory and Doug Wilder.

This information prompted KingMan to ask, "what is the different between a Republican and a Democrat?" To begin this rather long conversation, I directed him to this Flocabulary video on the Political Parties.

In African History Class, my children also learn about other forms of governments around the world, as well as political parties in African countries, such as Burkino Faso and Guinee Bissau.  To test the children's understanding, we watched the Forms of Government Flocabulary video.  Somehow understanding is deeper when facts are put to music, especially Hip Hop.  Best of all, LionHeart, at age 6, can learn the forms of government too!

Flocabulary is a wonderful too that I use to introduce, reinforce and even simplify topics in history. 







 

Got Green

A Kale, Avocado, Flax Seed & Banana Mustache!

When I snapped this photo, I immediately thought of the "Got Milk" media campaign to promote the consumption of milk.  Got green is our family's twist on this concept.  Thanks to the wonderful blog Nutrition for Healthy Kids, nutrition is now a part of our curriculum.  KingMan likes that the curriculum is a blog because he gets the posts in his personal e-mail inbox (independence).  He's been reading through the archives to learn more about the dangers of high fructose corn syrup or what constitutes an edible plant.  As we approach cold and flu season, our focus for October will be Super Foods.  We will focus on the benefits of eating for a purpose, not just for taste.  Super Foods are nutrient dense and pack more power for the punch.  Before eating we always discuss the value of the food we are eating and how it will benefit the body.  I kick started this Nutrition Movement when I decided to start following the Hallelujah Acres eating program for health reasons.  My goal was more energy.  Raising and educating children is no fun when you are always tired.  I replaced my country breakfast (waffles, eggs and turkey bacon) with a green drink.  My energy level has increased tremendously.  Initially, my beverage of choice got a big thumbs down until I persuaded everyone to simply try a shot glass.  Now everyone, my husband, KingMan and LionHeart ask for their "shot of green" each morning.