Curtis and I met in the first grade classroom…we weren’t 6…I was 19 and he was 24. I was attending junior college and had to accumulate 50 hours of classroom observation. My junior high science teacher became the principal of the school I grew up, and he assigned me to Mr. T’s 1st grade classroom every Friday. Let’s just say… I liked what I saw! Curtis taught first grade for 13 years and I taught a variety of elementary grades for 8 years. As public school teachers, we said “we would never homeschool our kids.” Well… you know how the saying goes…Never Say Never! Fast forward and here we are wrapping up our 4th year of teaching our children at home. Often times the first question asked is what curriculum I use. Fortunately, with my background in teaching, I am familiar with all kinds of online resources…a lot of free ones at that! (**I do not think you have to have a teaching background to homeschool. There are so many amazing parents who are rocking the education world at home and do not have a teaching certificate.**) My common response to the popular question is that I use a wide variety of resources and curriculums. Some people roll with that answer while others then ask if we use the “unschooling” approach. I’m not a big one on labels. I definitely don’t think in “one size fits all” terms. But after hearing the “unschooling” idea multiple times, I really started to think about it. Honestly, I don’t focus on “schooling” or “unschooling” my children. My focus is EDUCATING my children. Do my children sit at a work space from 8am-3pm? No - but neither do children in school settings. Do my children have a set schedule? No - but in school there is a lot of flexibility in each classroom. Do my children have expensive curriculums for each subject? No. I love giving attention to educating + learning. So what does “educating” look like for the Thompson Tribe? The boys read a chapter in the bible each morning, then they watch a Bible Project video that explains the context of the scripture. Every day the boys have chores. They learn to be mindful of the needs of others and animals. They learn the importance of consistency. Our family talks about current situations. We talk about mission teams, the work they are doing, why they are doing it, and show pictures of people’s situations they are helping. They learn to be compassionate. (My sister in law and niece just went on a mission trip to Mexico to build a home. We showed the boys pictures of their current housing. Titus looked at me and said, “Mom, our pig barn is nice than their home.” Talk about break a momma’s heart but also using it as a teaching moment.)In public, there are multiple opportunities for life lessons. Most currently, we were shopping in a local business and one of the boys knocked a potted plant off of the employees desk. They were super nice and insisted it was fine, but I made my son clean up his mess. Without making a scene, we simply went looking for a broom and dust pan, swept it up, and took care of it. We educate our children to be humble and to take responsibility for their actions. Another simple in public learning experience is giving each child a certain amount of money to spend. The older boys have caught on to adding tax to their totals. It’s not just about the spending but also about us allowing time to browse, shop, compare items, and make decisions. The picture with this blog post is from our recent trip to a store to buy seeds. Sawyer wanted to spend his $5 on watermelon, pumpkin and flower seeds. He loved having options and the “power” to choose what he wanted and not have to worry about being influenced by his older brother’s opinions. We talk about money. The boys know what it means to earn, save, spend, and give. Time is given for problem solving. The most recent example is the boys needing aerators for their minnow fish tank. One aerator worked ok but they wanted to get the newer one to work again. After some tugging, breaking, putting back together, and trying it out… they got they newer one to work even better than it previously did. With having animals, there’s been lessons about death. The lessons include it’s ok to cry. A lot of empathy is learned as well. But with the conversation of death comes the beautiful talks about life! Living life intentionally and with purpose. The importance of having a relationship with Jesus. They’ve learned how to jump in and care for a newborn lamb that’s being rejected by it’s mother. We have the hard conversations of why a mother would reject its baby. We allow time for learning life skills like backing a mower up to a lawn sweep, how to hook a 10 ft trailer up to a truck, the best way to load a mower onto a ramp, and how to build a fence. There’s also those indoors life skills that are oh so dreaded but needed. The boys know how to load and unload the dishwasher, the basics of laundry, and how to pick up after themselves. (Please be mindful that just because they know how to do all these things, it does not mean they spend each day doing laundry, mowing, working 24/7. We are super mindful of kids being kids!!)Speaking of which… they know how to have fun for hours without electronics. They have such awesome imaginations and come up with the most brilliant fun ideas all on their own while exploring the woods, building a fort, walking the creek, etc. Lessons about “You can do what you set your mind to” are common around here. One day Brant, Titus and Sawyer watched a guy do a back flip and they said they wanted to do that… 30 minutes later… all three were doing backflips on the trampoline…three days later… all three were doing backflips with ease!! We don’t limit their beliefs! Yes, we do math, reading, science, social studies, writing…Yes, the boys get worksheets. But…Some days math looks like cooking in the kitchen and using measuring cups for a fractions lesson. Science is learning how much heat a jar of plastisol can handle while making soft plastic baits. Social Studies is catching up on a missionary friends current situation and needs. The boys will write pages and pages of notes about the best fishing tactics. Reading articles about fishermen, hunters, authors and young entrepreneurs fills their minds! Is our way better than others - absolutely not! Is our way a fit for us - yes! Do I think my boys are educated - yes! Do I school or unschool - I educate! I think I’ll randomly insert here that I’ll NEVER go to Alaska… ha ha…only because I really want that to happen! Ya know…how those “nevers” turn out for us! Living a life set apart, RachScripture: Proverbs 22:6Train a child up in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.Quote: “Education is the most powerful tool which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela Homeschool