Changed By Love

Changed By Love

Following the Lamb wherever he goes… Revelation 14:4

No Tests or Grades – A Benefit of Homeschooling

No tests or grades or grade levels are necessary when you homeschool.

You may choose to use them or not. You could just identify areas that are not mastered or learned well enough yet and work on learning them better. In the early years, many people are very comfortable with letting their children learn in a more natural way at their own pace. You can get a general outline or list of skills that are taught in a cumulative way, meaning they build on each other, and use that to go by.

Or you can use books at a certain grade level that corresponds more or less with the age of your child and teach the topics that are covered in that book. There are many ways to determine what you should teach your child when. Some people feel that giving grades is a way of rewarding externally. I believe that children should really learn because they want to know something or they have internal motivation to accomplish goals and master skills. I believe this is a deeper, more thorough type of learning process.

The high school years don’t require daily grades or grade levels or tests, either. It’s up to you. If you feel more comfortable giving grades, and you have time and a system for keeping track, then you should do that. You are the boss of your homeschool. You get to decide how you do it. I just offer this alternative to you, in case you are not aware that it is an alternative.

When it comes to transcripts and diplomas, there are ways to do those even if you haven’t used grades throughout your years of homeschooling. Here is a good post https://simplehomeschool.net/transcript/ to help you develop a transcript even if you have used a more relaxed approach even through high school. I have designed transcripts for many people that have worked just fine to get them into college or into a job they were applying for.

This is what I have done. I have not used grades, grade levels, or tests, and I have found that it works well. My kids have been able to get jobs and do well in the things they have endeavored. They are mature and well-adjusted, for the most part. They have been complimented by management, fellow employees, and clients for their maturity, skills, and good work ethics. My kids have been commended for their ability to come up with solutions and to think outside of the box. I think it’s because they have had freedom to experiment, think deeply, try new things, and have not had the pressure of trying to make a good grade that would hinder their creative efforts.

Individualized Education – A Major Perk of Homeschooling

The ideal way to teach people is one at a time. There can be some synergy in a group, but to be sure that a person is learning, and to give the learner a chance to relate to the material personally, the best form of education is one-on-one tutoring. In the best case scenario, the teacher or facilitator of learning is available to the learner at all times. It is impossible to fall through the cracks when you are the only one there. There are no cracks! Individualized education is the ideal. There are other important factors that influence the effectiveness of the instruction such as the quality of the learning material, the matching of the teaching with the learning style, the attitude of the instructor toward the student and vice versa, and the level of interest of the student.

In individualized education each student is valued as an individual and is instructed in a manner that lines up with his skills and what he is interested in. To teach a student individually, you don’t need a big chalkboard or even whiteboard usually. Most things can just be written on a regular sheet of paper and explained one-on-one. It’s a tutoring situation instead of a group situation. It’s easy for the teacher to give a lot more focused attention to each student. And immediate feedback is very helpful in the learning process. The teacher can tell the student right away if something is right or wrong or can discuss a concept right at the time the student is encountering and engaging with an idea or topic of interest. Deeper, more lasting learning happens in this atmosphere than in a classroom full of people with a leader who has a lesson plan and a time limit.

Group lessons can be helpful, and some good thinking can be inspired by a good speaker. But the very best type of learning comes from what you meditate, ponder, consider, compare, and add to your own body of knowledge and beliefs on your own time and in your own way. Individualized education should allow thinking time and inspire further study of topics that interest the student.

I see homeschooling as the ideal way to individualize education. Another benefit of homeschooling is that students do less comparing of themselves to other students. Kids can build up confidence in their abilities. They aren’t constantly compared to other kids. If a brother or sister is better at something, the teacher (mother) can explain, “They’re older than you are” or “You’re really good at this other thing”. There isn’t that feeling of being not as smart or being in competition with others but the student is just doing the best that he can. He just does his personal best.

So I see the ability to individualize instruction as a major perk of homeschooling. The schools would love to be able to individualize, but it’s just not possible with the class sizes they have. We should take advantage of the wonderful opportunity we have to allow our children to specialize and go deep into subjects they love and want to explore to the fullest extent. They can learn and discover to their heart’s content. So let them!

The Best Thing You Can Do For Your Homeschool and Family

My first YouTube livestream. What do you think is the best thing you can do?

 

Find out how I homeschool with 10 children! I give lots of tips in this video besides telling about the best thing you can do for your homeschool and your family.

Watch and see what I think it is.

https://youtu.be/F5q7NlQfh0o

The Journey to Home Sweet Home


 

Gary and I are in a season where he has to drive to a city 4 hours away to work, so he has to stay there all week and come home on weekends. I’m grateful that he at least gets to come home on weekends. That might be changing soon, and he won’t even be able to come home that often.

We are truly practicing the admonition written on the door above. I am doing my best to make our home and myself a welcoming place for him to come home to each weekend. And he has been a joy to spend time with during the precious few hours we have together.

We still have some not-so-great times, but we’re learning to deal with things and clear them up quickly so that no time is wasted.

He just walked out the door to drive to Dallas again. I prayed over him, and we reluctantly said good-bye again.

But I am thankful that we have gotten to such a good place in our relationship that he truly is glad to come home and he makes me sorry to see him leave.