Probably all
homeschoolers wish they could just take a peek into other
homeschooling families' days. How do they do things? How do they move
through the day? How do they organize themselves? (Or, is anyone else
disorganized like me sometimes?) We meet one another at homeschool
support group meetings, we visit one another at our homes, and we
talk and talk and it's a wonderful support. But that chance to really
see what happens on a real day at someone else's home--that's
something we all can only long for.
Nancy
Lande's wonderful collection of real days from homeschooling families
of all stripes can give us that opportunity. And the title is really
apt, as this spectrum of days is almost a crazy quilt of different
homeschooling styles and strategies. You will not find identical
families all doing the same thing at the same time--instead you'll
meet real families who are just as unique as you are and who just
don't readily fit into categories or stereotypes. There are families
with lots of children, or only one or two; families with home
businesses or farms, families where Dad goes off to an office job,
and families where Mom works outside the home and Dad takes on more
in the day-to-day homeschooling. There are families from across the
USA and from around the world; families with older teens working on
chemistry and algebra and foreign languages, and families with young
children enjoying the beginnings of learning about the world in an
active way.
With some
stories you'll probably feel right at home, and with others you'll
probably find yourself saying, "Ah! So that's why I can't do it that
way--that's just not us!" And with others you may find yourself
saying, "That's what I want to strive for--let me read extra
carefully so that I can see just what they are really doing." And if
you are a new homeschooler, or just thinking about the possibility,
you'll find much here to help you sort out what you might do with
your own children. Homeschooling will become more of a grounded
reality and less just a theory or idea.
I know these
families probably all learned more about what they do and how they do
it by taking part in this worthwhile project--writing up our days
makes us be thoughtful when we are usually rushed, makes us reflect
and think back and mull over things and see what it all meant. I
highly recommend any homeschool families consider writing up a real
day like these families have done, maybe every year--it will make a
wonderful memory and a great complement to the portfolios of work
many of us already keep. And you'll learn more about what you really
do.
So enjoy
this collection, this quilt of days. Put on some tea, put your feet
up, and relax for a while as you are welcomed into some wonderful
families' homes. Maybe grab a cozy quilt for your lap, if it's winter
like it is here as I write. And remember that the quilt image and
this book itself, takes us out of our own little circle of family and
gives us the bigger picture of the distinctive pattern that all
homeschoolers make together. It's a lovely and varied design.
Susan Richman,
Author of:
Writing From Home
The 3 R's at Home
Math By Kids!
Pennsylvania Homeschoolers
Nancy Lande © 1996