Homeschooling Food for Thought

I was reading through the syllabus from the homeschooling curriculum I purchased and they had a lot of good things to think about in there so I thought I'd share! :)

"Parents who are eager for their children to display their mental talents should remember that a child is more than just an intellect. A brilliant intellect is useless without a focused will and is dangerous without a loving heart."

That is the basic premise behind this curriculum. Also they encourage you to present the material in a natural, informal manner so the child doesn't make a distinction between "school" and "life". They believe the child should gradually develop the attitude that expanding their knowledge and capabilities is just a part of the process of life and what IS life.

I REALLY agree with this.

They also strongly encourage creative play and suggest having very basic toys like blocks, simple dolls, etc. because with toys like these the possibilities for stretching their imaginations are endless! Their example is that if you have a rectangular wodden block it can become a table, a car, a boat, a house, or many other things that the child creates with their imagination but if you give them a Galactic Star Cruiser complete with booster rockets, missile launchers and landing gear it can never become a car, a boat or a house because the form is too obviously a Galactic Star Cruiser and only that.

Doesn't that make so much sense? It's true that among all the toys my kids have their always find the simplest things to play with and stretch their imaginations so far! Recently they were using tubes of chapstick that were "people" and that a complete dialogue going on with these simple tubes!

I haven't picked up the teachers guides yet but I'm sure they'll be just as informative and eye opening. I am very nervous but excited because I feel like we have this awesome opportunity that she wouldn't have going to public school. I love knowing that she can learn at her own pace and that the desire to learn will always remain when kids are left with that inner desire. She learned to talk, to walk and to write her name. I didn't really teach her any of these things I just guided her along so I don't see why it will be any different next year!