-by Mimi Rothschild

One of the concerns homeschoolers hear from other people, often including our extended family members and well-meaning friends from church, is that our children won’t have the opportunities for socialization that kids receive in public schools. This is a sincere concern, and giving it a serious answer can not only reassure our friends and family, but also help to correct misunderstandings about homeschooling.

First, where does this idea come from? Year-round public schooling in America became widespread and powerful in the 1920s, following the passage of compulsory schooling laws in the early years of the 20th century. Before that time, many children still learned at home, or in short spells of schooling with itinerant teachers. Others traveled to private seminaries and preparatory schools. The idea that all children would and should attend public schools came up for two main reasons.

First, the flood of immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century caused people to worry that the UnitedStates would lose its shared language and culture. If immigrant children continued to learn at home, they would speak only the languages of their parents, and not learn English. Second, the rise of factories gave Americans the feeling that an assembly line and the one-size-fits all approach was the most modern and efficient way to do everything, including educating children.

Public schools are still a good way for newly arrived immigrants to learn the language and culture of their new homeland. We’ve learned, on the other hand, that an assembly line approach isn’t necessarily the best way to teach children.

In either case, the idea that our children need schools for socialization is a hangover from those days, a time of different ideas and circumstances from our own. Supposing that your children come from a home where English is spoken. What kind of socialization will they get in a public school?

First, they’ll spend most of their time with others their own age. A homeschool student has the opportunity to watch and learn from adults and older siblings, to help and care for younger children, and to see how people of all ages interact in a natural way. In public schools, children may be almost completely segregated by age.

Second, they’ll spend most of their time in a strongly hierarchical setting. In a school, students in upper grades may feel that they have higher status and more importance than younger ones, and they may show that feeling in their behavior toward the little ones. Teachers may struggle to stay in control of their classes, shouting or threatening to keep the upper hand. Teachers are ruled by the principal, and the principal may bow to the school board. Students are often conscious of this pecking order. At home, the loving family strives to follow the model Christ gave the church. We may not always succeed, but we have a stronger starting point.

Third, they’ll be in a secular, worldly environment. The Apostle Paul gave a wonderful example of how to get along with different kinds of people. God wants us to be able to do that. God’s word doesn’t teach us that it’s essential for us to make sure that our children dress like the current pop stars, memorize the story line from the most popular TV show, or yearn for the latest materialistic fads. Yet this is often the center of social life at school.

Homeschool social groups, Sunday School, art classes, music lessons, and community sports teams all give opportunities for kids to interact with other kids and become comfortable in groups. A few hours a week, along with free play time with siblings and neighbors, is enough of that kind of socialization for our children. Otherwise, learning the excellent lessons the Bible has for us about how to behave toward other people is the best possible socialization.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12
online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

-by Mimi Rothschild

Both as parents and as teachers, we are charged with encouraging and uplifting our children. Children are like sponges; they soak up whatever their environment is filled with. This is the very reason many of us chose to homeschool in the first place, so that our children won’t be surrounded by things that are not desirable. But we cannot forget that in place of those negative things we work so diligently to remove from our children’s lives, we must provide love, knowledge, joy and encouragement. Children are, after all, a gift from God and we should treat them as such.

Proverbs 22:6 reminds us to “Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it.” It is crucial that our children be taught the word of God and His teachings. And we can certainly do this in our daily curriculum, as well as with family Bible study and devotionals. But we mustn’t forget that a big part of teaching includes continual encouragement for our children.

Do we as Christians not seek encouragement from God? Isn’t it an amazing feeling to know that God loves us so much, and that He will never forget or forsake us? According to Hebrews 6:10: “For God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have ministered to the saints and continue to minister to them.” If God, our Heavenly Father, provides us with the endless inspiration of His word, then how much more should we, as parents, be an inspiration for our own children?

Have you ever enthusiastically told a child what a great job they did, or how proud you are of them? If you have, then you’ve seen the way their face lights up, how their eyes shine, how their chest puffs and they beam with pride. Do you realize that nobody on this earth will have as big an impact on your child’s life as you? Children thrive on encouragement. And they should be getting plenty of it from you. Plant good seeds as they grow and they will reap the fruits of your labor as they continue through life.

This applies not only in day to day life, but also in homeschooling. When your child successfully completes an assignment, learns a new math rule, or spells a difficult word correctly, how do you react? Do you say “ok” and move on to the next lesson or step? Next time, take a few minutes to remind your students how smart they are, and what a wonderful effort they are making in their work (assuming they are).

Of course, you have to strike a balance so you don’t make your children over-confident. But by providing consistent, well deserved encouragement to them, you will raise intelligent, confident, productive and faithful adults.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

-by Mimi Rothschild

You’re at the library, and your darling child runs to you with a wonderful book she just found. She loves the picture on the cover, and she’s excited about reading it, but how can you be sure it’s at the right reading level for her?

It’s great when there’s a reading level number on the book. You can sometimes find these codes on the back cover at the bottom, or on the front, in a top corner. Unfortunately, these numbers aren’t uniform. One series of books will call their books levels 1, 2, and 3 while another calls the same levels “beginning,” “step one,” and “step two.” It can be useful to work through a series, since the books will consistently get more difficult as they move through the levels. When you’re mixing series, don’t rely on the numbers, because there’s no reason to expect them to match.

Books with numbers like “4.3” are more consistent. This generally means the third month of fourth grade. But there really isn’t a consistent definition of what a fourth grader reads. Your students may read more easily or less easily than the hypothetical kids those numbers are designed for. The good thing about this system is that if your child reads one book marked 2.6 comfortably, then he can probably read another one with the same ranking just as easily, even if it’s not in the same series or from the same publisher. Then you can move up to the next number, and the next, with confidence.

A great rule of thumb when there are no reading levels on the book is the Four Word Rule. Have your child read one page aloud. If she stumbles on or doesn’t recognize four or more words, then that book is too hard. Have her choose another one, and remember the more difficult one for the future.

If your child’s heart is set on reading a book that seems too hard or too easy, consider trying it anyway. When it comes to books that are too easy, consider that you probably don’t relax with Fyodor Dostoevsky every evening. Sometimes we don’t need a challenge. Reading for pleasure is an important part of adult life, and kids should develop that habit early.

The book that’s too hard? Let your child work diligently on a few pages, and then read some of the wonderful and challenging book aloud for him to enjoy. Later, let him read some more on his own. Learning to read is hard work, but the rewards are worth it. Shared reading can help kids get that lesson.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.