Last night's meeting was awesome!

I just wanted to take a minute to comment on last night's SAFE Harbor meeting. It was awesome!! We want to thank Mary and Debbie for taking time out of their busy schedules to come and talk with us. For those of you who missed the meeting, Mary has five kids, ages 23ish -2 and Debbie has four kids ages 23ish to 7ish. They have both homeschooled their kids since the beginning and they both have kids in college, some pursuing bachelor's degrees, and some working on Masters degrees with plans to pursue doctoral degrees. These are the things that I got from what they said, and I hope that the rest of you ladies who were there can take a minute to comment on what you learned from Mary and Debbie as well. For me, Rebecca's question "What would you do different?" was a great question. And the answers were so encouraging. Debbie said, she would not do so many things that took time away from her family. They seemed important at the time, but looking back, she wishes that she had been more secure in her role as a homeschool mom. Mary said that she would worry less, especially about what others thought about how her kids were doing or how she was doing as their teacher. She also said that comparing your own kids to other kids is not helpful. Other things that they said that stuck with me are: Use travel to introduce topics for study. Take advantage of trips to teach your kids about the history of a place you are visiting. Don't stress the tests!!! Mary said to do the minimum testing that you are required to do and if necessary, do oral testing, or test your kids yourself, to remove a lot of the stress. Debbie is with an umbrella school that holds all test results for the eventuality that the school system asks to see them. In the early years, do a lot of things with the kids. Take advantage of the time when they are little to do things that will not only teach them, but build memories as well. Mary and Debbie both really like Dr. Nobel's Summit Ministries summer camp for the older kids. They said that it really equips the kids to go out into the world with a Christian worldview. Debbie even said that she wishes she could go!! As the kids approach 9th grade, start keeping a loose journal about what they are doing. This will be helpful when you are writing transcripts and applying to colleges. They said to record a reading list, a brief description of the curriculum you used (Mary said she just uses the publishers description), field trips, and all extra-curricular activities such as leadership roles, volunteer positions, summer camps, mission trips, etc. Mary and Debbie both recommended books by the Raymond Moore (Better Late than Early, is one I recall) , and a NY City teacher named Gatto. Debbie gave us a great quote, which I did not get down completely, but the essence of it was, teaching children in not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire. Basically, teaching them to love learning and how to learn. Debbie and Mary both encouraged us to give our kids heroes, and suggested reading Christian biographies. And they said that kids learn best when they are interested in what they are studying, so take advantage of your children's interests as learning opportunities. So that is my two cents worth! I can't wait to read what you got out of it! t