own needs are for balance and sanity.
For me, the most important point was to
make;sure;that;no;outside;activities;ever
began;before;10:00;a.m.;Second,;when
the children were young, the mornings
were usually spent at home. Third, when
our children participated in outside activities that demanded a lot of time, such
as;sports;or;theatre,;the;kids;had;to;learn
to take turns—unless we were able to
work;out;sharing;the;load;with;one;other
mother. When two children are in different sports at the same time of the year,
it typically splits up the family, with Dad
going to one game and Mom to the other.
This;leads;to;a;hectic;lifestyle;and;breaks
down family togetherness.
When planning for the academic part
of your year, the most important thing
is to remember that as homeschool-
ers, whatever you plan, you must be in
charge. Recently, at the end of the year, I
was evaluating somebody who had made
extensive use of a teacher who taught out-
side classes for high schoolers. Near the
end of the year, due to an unresolved is-
sue with a bill, the teacher refused to turn
over;the;student’s;records;to;the;mother,
who was worried about how to interface
with the college without these records.
I reminded the mother that the use of
outside;classes;did;not;take;the;control,
or the eventual grading process, away
from her! We established fair grades and
turned the transcript in on schedule.
Similarly, if you are using outside class-es;that;are;so;school-like;that;your;stu-dents are bringing home a large amount
of homework, which takes away your
ability to do your own daily scheduling,
you might want to consider giving that
up. If your children are still younger than
in high school, you might want to con-
sider;“relaxed;homeschooling,”;which;is
what we advocate in our organization,
ARCHERS for the Lord, Inc. (The As-
sociation of Relaxed Christian Home
Educators). Relaxed homeschooling
is equivalent to unschooling. It simply
replaces;a;school-like;mentality;with;a
family-based form of learning, where
everything;doesn’t;necessarily;have;to;be
rigidly planned in advance and where in-
dividual;needs;are;recognized.;In;short,
there is less emphasis on following a pre-
planned curriculum.
Set;some;of;your;own;goals,;pick;out;a
few;materials;that;you;believe;will;work,
and use the public library extensively.
Science can be done outside in the gar-den,;at;the;state;park,;and;at;the;zoo.
Social studies/history can be done with
good;books;from;the;library;and;a;few
related;field;trips.;Language arts is simply
another;term;for;“reading;and;writing.”
We used almost no curriculum materials
during the elementary school years, and
all;of;our;kids;wound;up;going;on;to;suc-cess at college.
In high school, a little more planning is
usually;in;order,;with;definite;courses;de-clared, especially if your student wants to
walk;in;the;front;door;of;a;college.;Edu-cation;can;still;be;individualized,;though,
and;doesn’t;have;to;be;dull;instruction
that;is;based;solely;on;reading;a;textbook.
Spanish can be learned through work
with missions. Reading and writing can
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