Learning in Freedom - is the possibility of every homeschool family. It is within our reach to place our children into a learning environment where they can learn naturally by observing and engaging with the world around them. They will learn from whatever they see - and we have the privilege of being there with them - offering them encouraging words, cheering them on the sideline and admiring their efforts.
That's what this first set of Journey Cards is all about! It's about Learning in Freedom.
The educational quotes for this set are from John Holt, Carl Sandburg, Ruth Beechick, Marilyn Howshall and Charlotte Mason. (some of my favourite authors!)
Consider it your MONTHLY SPECIAL DELIVERY of ENCOURAGING QUOTES!
John Holt: "Children learn from anything and everything they see."
One of the joys we have as homeschooling families is that we can open up a world of exciting possibilities before our children and allow them to learn from anything and everything they see.
Every aspect of life - is education, so whether we are welcoming a new baby into our home or visiting grandparents, going to the city or grocery shopping, having a day at the park, kicking a ball, reading a book or watching the clouds, creating an experiment or building a paper mache castle, playing with toys or planning a party - all of these things are learning experiences.
As a parent, we can open the doors of exciting possibilities with planned ideas as well as unplanned life events and use these are memory makers and as discussion points in our lives.
Ruth Beechick: "Everyone thinks it goes smoothly in everyone else's house, and theirs is the only place that has problems."
I just needed to add this educational quote because it sums up a lot of our fears as homeschooling parents.
For some absurd reason, we feel that everyone else somehow has it all under control and we are the only ones who are struggling. We feel that their day runs smoothly - that their children are always obedient and that their kitchen is always looking tidy and under control.
But, we all know that's not true!
In my Practical Homeschool Advice page - I specifically mention the dangers of comparison. Others have also commented on Homeschool Burnout and the need to remind ourselves of the individuality of our children.
Just for fun - watch this cute video - we've all been there, trying to get our houses under control - but the reality is just different and if you laugh at this video, you also need to remind yourself to be a bit easier on yourself and enjoy the season. Your house may be chaotic and a bit crazy - but you are not alone!
Charlotte Mason: "Self-education is the only possible education; the rest is mere veneer laid on the surface of a child's nature."
We can design and plan a wonderful homeschool curriculum for our children, but we cannot educate our children unless they are prepared to educate themselves.
We have learnt a number of Greek and Latin roots and I thought we had memorized quite a few, but it only meant something to my daughter when she decided she wanted to learn them for herself. It was almost as if I had never taught her any or as if she had never heard of these roots before. I was a bit bamboozled by it, but it made me think - I might be having fun but the learning might not be happening!
The same can be said when your child explains something to you that you have no idea about. My son loves to explain how things operate behind the scenes on a computer. I smile and try hard to look interested, but in reality, I'm not going to remember what he said as soon as he walks away.
We might think of it as sad, but it isn't really. It's just the reality of learning. In order for learning to be real - the one who is to be educated is the one who must educate themselves.
My efforts will work for those who are keen and interested - but it will be much more successful, if their education is a self-education. The rest will look 'good' for a while - but it will be a veneer - just as the reflection in the journey card above. The top of the card shows the buildings in the city and the reflection is just a veneer - when it is disturbed, it has no foundation.
Carl Sandburg: "Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln never saw a movie, heard a radio or looked at television. They had loneliness and they knew what to do with it. They were not afraid of being lonely because they knew that was when the creative mood in them would work."
Educational Quotes might be encouraging, but can also be challenging. Last week, I listened to Carol Joy Seid's video on Media and Homeschooling.
If you'd like to be challenged about how we can serve our children so much better by giving them books rather than TV and other media - watch this from Compass Classroom.
Maryilyn Howshall: "You will not reap the fruit of individuality in your children if you clone their education."
If we are truly shaping individuals - if we want an individualized education for our children, we need to respect them as individuals. That doesn't mean that there won't be any curriculum that you could use for all of your children. It is about taking time to knowing who your children are and allowing them to develop into the person they have been designed to be.
Our role as parents is to guide and be cheerleaders - to direct, help, assist, teach, motivate and share the learning experience.
This set of cards comes in a sturdy postcard size (10X15cm). You may choose to display these in your own home, use them as conversation starters or write a note on the back and give them away to a friend.
Each set costs $10 including postage to anywhere in the world.
Each month a new set of Journey Cards will be available for purchase. Enjoy! Read some more about the encouraging quotes sent as a special delivery to your home for your homeschool encouragement: Journey Cards.
Helen Keller: "Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope and confidence."
Dr. David M. Burns: "Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism."
Martin H. Fischer: "All the world is a laboratory to the inquiring mind."
Claus Moser: "Education costs money, but then so does ignorance."
Plutarch: "The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be ignited."
John Adams: "There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live."
Theodore Roosevelt: "A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad."
Ralph Waldo Emerson: "The secret in education lies in respecting the student."
Martin Luther King, Jr. "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."
John Dewey: "Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself."
Aristotle: "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
Anthony J. D'Angelo: "Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow."
Robert M. Hutchins: "The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives."
Ray Bradbury: "I spent three days a week for 10 years educating myself in the public library, and it's better than college. People should educate themselves - you can get a complete education for no money. At the end of 10 years, I had read every book in the library and I'd written a thousand stories. "