 It's coming! This fall 2019!
This summer, I have been sewing my little heart out and working on my favorite projects: historical period attire. While I was working I was thinking how satisfying and enjoyable it is to be able to sew whatever I want. Truly, I am most grateful for this skill. I reflected on the wonderful memories I have of how it all started and the influences in my life that allowed me to do it. Because of all of this, I have decided to offer sewing classes again in my sewing studio! My sewing class page will be available soon under "Classes" and you can find all the details, supplies, and sewing projects that you can learn. Although my sewing projects are fun in themselves, my emphasis is on the skills you will learn because skills, once gained, can apply across the board to many other projects. The more classes you sign up for, the more skills you will learn.  by Angela Jacobs "What do you do all day?" I have heard this question many times over the years. People who have never met a home-schooled child are always so curious and may have never heard of homeschooling before. Some have the mistaken impression that we sit behind a desk all day while our mother lectures us on all subjects as we fill out the corresponding worksheets. Others think that homeschooling means we attend an online classroom and our parents are rarely involved in the actual educating. Then there are some who think we do nothing more than goof around singing songs and painting pictures all day. While each of those types of homeschooling families definitely exist, they aren't what I have come to view as typical. What home-schoolers almost always have in common is not only the desire to provide their children with a better education, but to establish deeper connections with them as well. What better way to do that than to feed their hungry young minds? Home-schoolers realize that it's not how children learn that matters, but that they learn, and that their love of learning is not squelched. We combine whatever techniques work for our own children and, if we need to, make it up as we go. So what does homeschooling actually look like? It's riding your bike in the park for PE, and making a Home Depot kids' project for workshop. It's teaching your kids fractions as they measure the ingredients you need for dinner. It's using textbooks as a guideline, while taking every real-life situation as an opportunity to teach them new skills and reinforce old ones. Homeschooling looks different for every family because every family is different.  It looks like letter crafts at the kitchen table or literature on the couch with your favorite stuffed pigeon. It's seeing the planetarium exhibit when it comes to the local library and reading the history book out loud to your kids in a Starbucks.
 This article expresses the observations of one university professor regarding homeschooled students, but there are many similar observations from others.
"The following 16 weeks, she maintained eye contact throughout lectures and discussions, listened intently to me and her classmates, raised her hand to offer an observation, an answer or to ask a question when no one else would, followed instructions to the letter, communicated verbally and in writing more clearly than everyone else and received the highest grade on every assignment."  In high school, I had the great fortune to learn French from a great teacher. She knew what it was like to be a beginner and how intimidating it can be to speak a new language with funny and unfamiliar sounds and how self-conscious we would be attempting it. She taught us much vocabulary and grammar in a variety of ways, but her enthusiasm is what stood out and is still remembered today after all these years. No one in that class had to take French; it was an elective. I was already inspired, but she furthered that by teaching us about French culture and introducing us to French food. These weren’t in the textbook.
The following year, I signed up for French 2, but this teacher was formerly a P.E. coach and clearly, he wasn’t interested in teaching French at all! We learned lists of French words and phrases. We drilled and took tests. It’s a good thing I started with the other teacher because if he had been my first teacher, I am sure I would not have continued another year. For this teacher, teaching French was a punishment and we were all punished as well. It is incredibly likely that as a homeschool parent you will not enjoy all subjects that you need to teach to your child. So how will you be inspiring in that subject? How will you not be like French teacher #2? Perhaps you can find another homeschool parent who loves the subject and would be willing to have your children over to learn from him or her. Then you could teach something for her children that you are wild about. If that is not possible, you can find another way to show your gratitude. If you must teach the subject yourself, find the most engaging curriculum you can, and preferably one that is self-teaching, so that your children can still be inspired by the enthusiasm of the author of the curriculum. You may find a co-op that offers the classes you need. But for convenience, you cannot beat the online class. We offer all sorts of literature and writing classes live online. No driving in traffic or paying rising gas costs. No catching and spreading flu germs. Just time focused on your child and your needs from the comfort of your home. |
Renee MetcalfWhere will you find me when I am not teaching? For your reading pleasure!
April 2022
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