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That Vision
by Tiana Galloway
Jan. 2008

It was actually my father-in-law who first suggested to my husband that we homeschool our children. I was aghast at the mere suggestion. I’d just had my 7th child. I was so looking forward to the time when I would get the day to myself. I had many friends who’d reached that stage already. I imagined that they had complete control of their days. They could decide whether or not the house was quiet or to fill the air with something they found edifying. They were, at least weekly, checking off the things on their personal lists of goals. All those craft projects; all the books they yearned to read; the odd class here or there; perhaps meddling in a career outside the home.
It is now about one year after that first seedling was planted. What was it that caused that seed to sprout? It happened slowly. First, it was like taking a quick peek at something someone shows you that you’re not really interested in, but out of politeness you ask questions and listen to what they have to say. Then, as the days went by, it seemed that my memory bank started calling up these incidents and what-nots, that had left all these blemishes in something I had previously accepted as worthy for my children. It seems my memory bank has its own selective recall since I usually can’t remember what three things it was I needed at the store! Soon, I found myself with a pretty substantial list of reasons why I was unhappy with having my children in public school.
So, as is characteristic of me, I dove into studying and researching “homeschooling”. Boy, I was blown away. I didn’t know there were so many different ways of going about it, and there are TONS of resources out there. These two things alone were reassuring to me that even I couldn’t foul this up. Then I talked to any Mom I could find who was homeschooling her children. Okay, really, I attacked them with flying questions. Anyway, I think this was the real turning point for me. None of these mothers seemed burdened or any more harried than I already was. None ever expressed a regret, or felt that they’re sacrificing too much. All of them expressed how their appreciation for their children grew or that they’ve become a much closer family. One even made it sound fun.
Okay, so at this point I can say I was actually pretty excited and pretty much made up my mind to do it. Then I found I was TERRIFIED and had no idea how these mothers actually DID it. I mean, how did they find time for housework? I asked one mom, “How do you fit your life around it?” Her quick response was, “I don’t fit my life around it. It IS my life”. well, that just caught me right in the throat.
Seven months after I actually began educating my children myself, I am still constantly researching, reading, and interviewing. At one of my first meetings with the homeschooling group, one of the moms started talking about specific ways that her children have sort of found themselves, while being in their home under her direction, and there were tears in her eyes. I know what she was feeling. I have caught that vision. Now, I can’t even imagine it any other way. Why shouldn’t my children be able to learn what they need to know in order to develop into productive, respectful, and responsible adults under my guidance, enfolded in my arms, surrounded by my love?
What could I possibly do with “the day to myself” that would compare AT ALL to the worth of giving my time to my family? My list of goals is still there, and perhaps I will live long enough to reach a quieter time of life when I can put myself into those things. May my children see themselves as my masterpiece, my treasure.

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Here it is; the start of the school year. We have made it through another year. For several member families, you have survived your first year of homeschooling. Are you ready for another?

I remember being on the fence after my first year. I had made it, the kids were doing great, but I wasn’t sure if I could keep going. I was pretty worn out and having second thoughts. But after a month of not doing anything (summer break), the kids were getting bored and so was I.

We were getting ready to head out to parts unknown in our RV (which was why we started to homeschool in the first place). We wanted to move west, but had no destination yet. We would see the country on the way. I ordered the books I needed for the next year of school. When the books arrived, the kids were sooooo excited. They wanted to start right then and there, in July.

That first year of travel was a wellspring of educational material, and then into year number two. We visited Plymouth Plantation, Gettysburg, Kennedy Space Center, and SeaWorld. We saw Niagara Falls, Lincoln’s Birth Place, New Orleans, and camped out for 3 weeks on Padre Island in Texas. We toured San Antonio and saw the Alamo, then went to Carlsbad Caverns, and camped in the Saguaro Desert. That was an Odyssey in Learning and I guess you could say we unschooled the whole time. We had some text books that we used but mostly made what we learned about fit where we were and what we were doing and seeing.

After arriving in Star Valley and deciding to stay, we were faced with the decision, do we put them in school or keep homeschooling. We talked to a lot of people before making the decision. I met some ladies who were homeschooling and they invited me to a meeting of their group and we went on a couple fieldtrips with them. I was overwhelmed with welcome and my decision was easy after that. Up till that point I was in it completely alone. Being part of a group that I was able to go to for help and encouragement, was new to me and Wonderful. It made so much difference for me and my kids. All of those women have moved away or their kids are out of school now, but I am so thankful for being able to meet them and call them friends.

I pray often that I can be there also, like those ladies, to anyone who may need a helping hand. It made a world of difference to me and my kids when I was at a point of indecision; a fork in the road. It is my hope to all those who are new to homeschooling, that you have a wonderful year and that you continue on. To those who have recently moved to the valley, I hope you feel Welcomed and at home in our group and the Valley.



How To Build A Unit Study
by Cindy Munger
http://mungermom.blogspot.com/
Break the Blahs by planning a unit study that is tailor-made for your family and students. Plan now and be ready to learn about something different or a special area of interest to your students whenever a dry spell may hit.

Planning - giving the study structure.
Prayer - is easy to forget. I didn’t even think to list it when doing my outline for this article, yet I began with prayer.

Physical Limitations - place, time of day, number of lessons, number of students, ages/abilities of students, teacher’s abilities. Stop and consider each of these dynamics of your family. Is it easier to do the study on Fridays, getting the mess out only once a week, and do other work Monday through Thursday? Or would it work better to do the study after everyone has eaten lunch and the younger children are napping? Discern what will work best for your family.

Set Limits - Do not let it be open ended. Unit studies will grow and consume all your time and energy. Set your limits when you begin planning how long it will last and how much you will dedicate to it in resources. Realize before you begin, you will not cover all the information on any given subject. Instead plan which topics your students need to cover and will find most interesting. These are the areas you devote most of the time to. If a student becomes enthralled with a subject, they can learn about it on their own time. Sometimes a study will have a set dead-line. Sometimes you need to set the finish date and work backwards. Example: A family vacation to a civil war battlefield, you would want to build the study around the vacation.

Goals/Evaluations - Each student should be expected to accomplish definitive learning tasks and demonstrate new knowledge gained. When you know before hand where you are going, you are much more likely to arrive there. Always expect students to perform skills already taught. Plan specific rtant thing is have fun with it.assignments for each student’s needs and in keeping with their abilities. This doesn’t mean let the reluctant writer off from any writing assignments or the shy student avoid interviewing or interacting with others, but rather guide him through the steps to help him succeed. By using a variety of assignments your student will gradually build skills. Tailoring assignments to where your student is and what the student needs to learn is a key benefit of home education .
Here is an example of a writing assignment that would walk a young student through what is expected. Read a biography of a leader during the Civil War. Write a short biographical sketch that includes the following: birth date and place, who his parents were, what it was like for this person growing up, describe his education, tell why he was a leader and what he did, tell when, how, where he died. If your student followed the above assignment he would easily have 3-4 paragraphs and you know exactly what to evaluate for in content. You should also grade him on grammar and language skills he has been taught.

Materials…Sky Chart - Large poster board or newsprint works great for this. Put your main subject (era, topic, skill) in the center, then write related topics around it drawing a line from the main subject to the related topic. Next do sub-topics of the topics in the same manner. In this way we might start with the Civil War as our main subject. Some related topics would be slavery, state rights, railroads, weapons, settling the west, Indian affairs. From the topic of slavery, we might have the sub-topics Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Dred Scott, Underground Railroad, Emancipation Proclamation. Sub-topics related to the Underground Railroad would be quilts that were used to give directions to those traveling, Harriet Tubman who led many to freedom. You will end up with much more than you can possibly cover. Using the sky chart helps you see topics relate. It also allows the teacher to pick areas of study according to the resources she has available and with consideration of her students’ interests and abilities.

Resources - Use books such as texts, bios, historic novels, as well as magazines, internet, movies, newspapers, other people. Resources can be borrowed, bought, and created. Have your students create a map and timeline as you study. This helps put things in place and relate happenings. It is amazing how God brings information and resources to us when we need them.

Methods - Match to your subject and your student. Try to discover your students weak areas, strong areas, and mode of learning. If you have a visual learner they might be glad to read a stack of biographies. A hands-on learner needs to be challenged to read how Fort Clapsop was built and then build the fort accurately. You will find your students retain more information the more they are involved with the information.
Cementing..Making a lasting impression - Centering off a memorable book, person, movie, or event. When studying the Civil War, I borrowed a PBS series from the Public Library. Thinking this would give me some fundamental information I began to watch the series to prepare for the study. My boys came in and watched the entire series. Even though it was “very dry” in a documentary style presentation, they gained an incredible amount of information. This series gave us a framework on which to hang other information. Another family attended a Civil War Ball as part of their study. Reading aloud a book is a great foundation. One family I know read “The Diary Of Anne Frank” and then proceeded to experience the Holocaust. Using their upstairs, they re-enacted being in hiding during one entire day. They learned how stressful it was to “hide” all day.
Timeline - A timeline helps relate the different events and people in a chronological order. This is easily done on a sheet of butcher paper with colored markers and pencils. Assign different colors for different countries or people. Be sure to include major inventions and world crises that changed history.
Ending Event - This could be the Medieval feast, the re-enactment of a battle, the Inaugural Ball of George Washington, or the staging of a debate over slavery. It should also include displays of written and artistic work: reports, newspaper articles written, copies of interviews done, maps, timelines, artwork, and perhaps a special meal. Oral presentations will give your students the opportunity to shine before others at the same time help him cement what he has learned. Don’t hesitate to invite grandparents, neighbors or family friends, or other home school families to share in the grand finale. This can be as big or small as you desire it to be.
Take Pictures - Don’t forget this!!! After studying China we removed the table from the dining room. We placed a sheet of plywood on two picnic benches and put pillows around for a Chinese dinner. After dinner with our invited guests, two other home school families, we watched a biographical movie about
Hudson Taylor, an early missionary to China.

Your unit study can be as big or little as your circumstances allow. The most important thing is have fun with it.