A New Outlook

One thing I have learned over the past few months, is that the life of a home schooling family is ever changing. My husband and I went to a meeting the other night, where a woman spoke to many of us "new" or "younger" home schooling families, who had home schooled for 22 years. It was refreshing to hear some one speak who had taught her children at home, and had children who had graduated and gone on to live their lives.
  Back to basics, back to basics, back to basics. It is as simple as that. We were all reminded to get off the the public school conveyor belt, and remember why we decided to homeschool in the first place.
 I was brought back to the Thomas Jefferson Education approach. I follow this plan loosely, but it is a great plan.

7 Keys of Great Teaching
There are seven principles of successful education. When they are applied, learning occurs for any learning style or interests. When they are ignored or rejected, the quantity and quality of education decreases.

1. Classics, Not Textbooks
2. Mentors, Not Professors
3. Inspire, Not Require
4. Structure Time, Not Content
5. Simplicity, Not Complexity
6. Quality, Not Conformity
7. You, Not Them

She added an 8th, which has stuck in my mind. Faith not Fear. Fear is the work of the adversary,  who wants us to fail and wants us to be scared that we are not doing enough or a good enough job. We need to have faith in our selves and Heavenly Father to do the best we can.

Other things that that helped get us back on track:

Read. READ READ READ READ READ. Read to your kids.

Then Discuss.  Talk while you are reading. Don't get upset at interruptions and encourage conversation about the story at hand.

And last, write. Once the child is old enough, have them write about what they have heard.

These are great concepts that have already taken shape in our home. I cannot believe how amazing and effective they are.