Utah Homeschool Education Association Convention 2009

Susan Wise Bauer was the keynote speaker and made the whole convention completely worth it. Her keynote speech was very similar to the one she gave at the conference 5 years ago, and I realized that I have incorporated a lot of her suggestions into my homeschool without really realizing where they came from. Here are some of my notes:

Things her mother did right in homeschooling her:

1-Make learning a regular part of life instead of something to be gotten over in order to do something fun. Learning is fun.
2-Make books central to your homeschool-- give them as gifts to show that they are something to be valued.
3-Get control of the screens in your house -- T.V., computer, video games, etc.
4-Set times where you are off duty-- her mother was off-duty before 8 a.m., between 1-3 p.m. (they spent it quietly, alone in their rooms, so they could all have a break from each other) and after 8-9 p.m.
5- Cover the basics-- and then allow the kids focus in on what is exciting and interesting to them. This way they learned how to learn and when they realized they had never studied goegraphy, it was O.K. because Susan knew how to find and gain that info. There is no way to learn everything, so cover the basics and then follow your interests.
6-Don't be afraid to be hard-hearted about a social life. They lived on a farm and would have to drive for social activities, so they were very limited and as a teenager, Susan felt deprived. But her mother would tell her she would make friends in college, and she did and married and has a nice family of her own even without a teenage social life.
7-When a child has an emotional meltdown -- first offer them a sandwich, if that doesn't work, then a shower and if that doesn't work, then a nap. Most of the emotions are physical changes and happenings going on. Don't take it personal, they just may be hungry.
8-Don't encourage your child to go to an expensive college and get wrapped up with debt. There are plenty of affordable colleges that will give them a comprable education without debt.

The Things she would Change:

1-Don't worry so much, try to have an outside family member or friend let you know your kids really are doing fine so that worry can be eased. Smile!
2- Be careful about joining Co-ops, your time may be better spent using that time on your own kids.
3-Praise the kids
4-If you have family difficulties, get professional help and learn what your responsibilities are and are not.
5-Don't ignore your gut instincts or rely on your child to tell you if something is wrong. If something doesn't sit right with you, trust that and find out what is going on.
6-College at age 16 is too early, cannot rush emotional maturity
7-Sing more around the house, singing seems to indicate that everything is O.K.

The things I have found to be the most helpful for me is to tell my kids they have to get their own of whatever it is before 8 a.m. or go back to bed. We have pretty good control of the screens, my kids love listening to music. Covering the basics and not worrying so much about everything else has been good too. Also, using and enjoying a wide variety of books and thinking of library fines as a contribution to the arts has been beneficial to us as well. I hope I'll never need counseling, but I guess you never know what may come!!

I taught Elementary Academics twice at the conference. I was disappointed in the number of people in the first set, but had a decent number of people in the last class. I think it was helpful and informative, and I'm glad it's over!! There were 1 or 2 other classes I would have liked to have attended, but for the most part, I had already attended many of them in past conferences. I missed Deborah Recksiek this year, her classes were always awesome and she has been an inspiration in homeschooling to me ( she has raised and homeschooled 7 successful kids of her own and is now finishing raising 8 lovely adopted children). I really like hearing from people who have done it successfully. I hope she'll present next year. There were a few others I missed who have presented at past conferences, but that's just how it goes I guess. Susan Wise Bauer really made the whole thing worthwhile this year.

Thanks to all the UHEA people for putting it together. It was a huge ordeal.

sidenote: I saw Tony Robbins in person on stage at the Salt Palace on my way to my car to get the materials for my presentation!! He was presenting for some company called zrii. It made having to walk the length of the Salt Palace not so bad!!!

The Well-Trained Mind -- Homeschooling

There is one constant and that is change. My girls are getting older and it is time to step things up a notch. I decided to review the Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise. I was reminded at how much I like their approach. I think it is because they follow the trivium which is the standard of classical education since the middle ages. Basically the trivium is made up of 3 stages-- the grammar stage, where the child should learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic and facts and knowledge about things, this is followed by the logic stage, where they start to put facts together and analyze from whole to parts including the formal study of logic which I find fascinating, then the rhetoric stage is where the student can take the logic and form their own conclusions and ideas and express themselves and make good arguments and join the Great Conversation.

Now that is an education. The hard thing is becoming reeducated, I've got to learn formal logic, and then teach it to my kids. Fortunately, Susan Wise Bauer has laid it all out. Her mother, Susan Wise, homeschooled her back in the day, and she started Latin at age 10. She is classically educated and currently teaches English at the College of William and Mary and has written several books. So I think she knows her stuff and how to train students academically. I don't do everything she recommends, but I do want my children to be able to do the things she talks about and to study many of the things she recommends. I like the goal of being able to think, analyze and express ideas. I also like the idea of knowing facts and knowing about things and how they work.

This is not all I want my children to know and be, but it will be a major tool for them to accomplish the things they will want to accomplish throughout their lives.

So at this point, the grammar stage, they need to be excellent readers. They need to know how to spell. They need to know English grammar- parts of speech, punctuation, capitalization, etc. They need to get used to writing letters, summaries, copywork, dictation and other assignments. Memorization of scriptures and poems also help to lay down a good language foundation. They should also be familiar with basic concepts and events of World history, Basic Math, geography, science, art and music. Then we can start formal logic and Algebra!!

I'm very excited. It is a lot of work, but it has been sooo very rewarding. Some days are definitely better than others. Thank-you to Susan Wise Bauer and all her work helping us untrained homeschooling mothers!! By the way, she is coming to Utah in June to be the Keynote speaker at the UHEA conference. I am so excited to hear her speak. I heard her at that conference a couple years ago, but now we are entering a new phase and I'm sure I'll learn something new!!

To close this post, here are a couple of paragraphs written by Susan's mother on page 619 of The Well-Trained Mind:

"Personally, I decided to pur on hold some of my goals. But I held on the the wise council given me when my children were toddlers: "Live your life in chapters. You don't have to do everything you want to do in life during this chapter of rearing children.: This advice provided the cornerstone of my plans for personal goals."

"I wanted to write. I wanted to make a hand-briaded eary American-style rug." ....(she put those things on hold to educate her children)....

"I have time to write now. My rug-in-waiting is still in boxes, although I can almost see the time approaching to start it --- thirty years later! But my children are the most creative project I have been involved in. I can't compare the relationship I have with them to a relationship with a rug, no matter how beautifully hand-crafted. And my crafting of their education has been life-enriching to all of us."

I really like that idea of living our lives in chapters, and I like the idea that our children are the most creative project we can undertake. Thank- you Jessie for paving the way!!