I must admit that on some days I must constantly remind myself why I homeschool my children. I want them to always be as excited as I am about the new project we are doing. Or I would like for them to be content doing their assignments because learning is so important. Of course, this isn't always the case.
It seems that instilling a love for learning in my children has proven to be a task. They are taught so many wrong ways in our public schools today that it is hard to undo the mess. But, I have hope. I have a loving Father that I pray too and He guides me. He has shown me different ways to interact with and teach each child according to his personality, talents, gifts, and maturity level. It is a fascinating journey.
My oldest son (10) is very independent, goal-oriented, and pays much attention to detail. He is 
fascinated by the military and science. His great-grandpa and his uncle are both highly decorated military men. He loved spending time with his papaw learning about Vietnam and Korea and he was thrilled to get letters from his uncle while he was in Iraq. They have been a great influence to him. He loves to watch war movies, new and old. He loves to watch CSI, which I might add I have to fast forward through alot of nonsense just to get to the lab portions. I have learned to teach him geared toward these things and he doesn't even know that he is learning! I made him set up a mission to obtain evidence of a plot to assassinate a political figure, all imagined of course. In planning this mission he had to use a map to plot coordinates (geography), learn about the culture of the country and it's people (history), determine miles, how much food and water needed according to how many days it would take etc, (math), and once he arrived at the pretend location we had fingerprints, hair follicles, and such that were planted for him to study and determine the culprit (his little brother!) That of course was the science of the study. Throughout we also incorporated vocabulary, spelling, lots of reading, and writing. We also took a trip to Ft. Casey which helped stir his imagination.
His younger brother (8) was a bit more of a challenge. His melancholy personality is the source of his creativeness. His love is of art. I prayed and prayed 
about how to incorporate all of his subjects using art and then God showed me something. His grandmother is a gifted artist. She can draw, paint, and chalk some of the most beautiful pieces I have ever seen. I began to think of her and realized that she is also a very gifted writer. Then I thought, maybe, just maybe my son would have those combined gifts as well. So, I asked him to write and illustrate a story about my oldest son's mission! It was fabulous. He does have a gift for writing. It worked out so well! He is so descriptive in his writing and he definitely can see things from a unrestrained perspective. He was able to incoporate all of his lessons into one story and he enjoyed doing it. He still makes a fuss when he has to do regular lessons but he looks forward to his unit studies because that is where he shines!
Now the little one (6) .... He loves facts, he has a memory like an elephant, and he loves to read. He takes an interest in the oddest things. He is fascinated with monkeys (don't ask). He loves rainbow butt monkeys in particular. Now, I feel it is important to note that during my research I have found that there is no such animal as a rainbow butt monkey. There is however a really unique band called the "Rainbow Butt Monkeys"! Therefore, we cannot do a study on them. So, once I broke the news to him about it we decided to make an alphabet book with different things that related to monkeys. A was for apes, B for bananas, C for chimpanzee, D for dizzy monkeys (hey, that's what he wanted!) So on each page he drew a picture and practiced writing his letters and words. We also used numbers on the pages by putting 4 bananas, 6 trees, 9 fleas picked out of the fur, etc. I also used this time to explain creation to him and how the world teaches evolution and it is against God. He can now debate creationism vs. evolution! It was definitely a good experience.
Now, I also use text books for the boys. They are more like living books than traditional text but I love having them for reference and to give me an idea of how to present different things to them. We have since also completed studies on pirates, Wolfgang Mozart Amadeus, personal hygiene, cowboys, dinosaurs, skateboarding, and many more. Gevan's next mission will be to the moon, Jacob's next story will be about something he loves.... animals, and Brennan will be making a book about..... brown dirt! I suppose the alphabet will consist of things we find in the dirt like worms, rocks, grass, ewe... you get the picture. lol!
As I ponder these thoughts I recall my reason for homeschooling... I love them enough to teach them as individuals, with different talents, gifts, and desires and to mold them and shape them into men of integrity. I want their heart to be just as full of God as their brain is full of facts. That will make the difference.
Kids Are People Too....
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