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Keeping Focus April 1, 2009 |
The Spring Solstice has come and gone, bringing it's annual reminder of new beginnings. For most
homeschoolers, Spring is a time when we begin to wind down the academic year while looking ahead to
next year's curriculum. “What's next?” we ask ourselves.
We're so determined to make sure we cover all the new material in the next grade level's scope and sequence that we forget that education is more than just new skills and new concepts. The majority of education is what Dr. Johnson touches on in the quote of the month. It is practicing and reviewing a skill until it is mastered. Mastery means that a child can do the skill without putting a lot of thought into it. It is automated learning, where the brain functions almost as if it is on automatic pilot. If I ask you what 2 plus 2 is, you automatically say four. If I ask you how to spell cat, you don't even have to think about it. That's what sight reading and times tables are all about. Too often both parents and students think that just because they have covered the material once or twice that it can be checked off the “to do” list. That's true if your educational goal is just to expose the child to the material. But if it involves a key skill or concept that you want your child to know intimately and use throughout life, then it will need to be reviewed again and again until it becomes “second nature.” In fact, that's really what true homeschooling is all about – training or instilling into the child's God-given nature the things he or she will need to be a successful man or woman of God. This kind of education is personal. It means that what my family focuses on may not be what your family considers vital. More to the point, what most Christian homeschoolers believe is essential to a child's training is not what the public school systems consider important. So before you rush into buying next year's curriculum, take some time to evaluate where your child is at in his or her training. What has the child mastered? What needs more reminding? What is your greatest concern for this child? The best way to KEEP FOCUS is to take time to focus on your educational goals while the past year's accomplishments and frustrations are still fresh in your mind. Jot them down. Then set them aside. Spend some time getting refreshed in God's Presence. Then look at your notes again and bring them before the Creator. He will direct you in planning the year ahead. |
