Homeschooling for life

Today I am delighted to share an interview with Hannah Girotti of Mountain Musings and Graceful Design Cards. I asked Hannah to share some of her experiences of homeschooling so that I could learn from her and also post the interview here.

How long were you homeschooled? Do you think this time prepared you well for your life now?

My parents began considering homeschooling when my older brother was 3 years old. My three siblings and I have been homeschooled from the beginning, and we continued through high school. I am very grateful for the Lord’s leading my family in this direction, and I know being taught from a Biblical perspective at home has had a huge impact on who I am today. In addition to allowing me to receive a solid academic foundation, homeschooling has given my parents the opportunity to pass down their love for the Lord and Scriptural values to me.

I know that you have particular interests in photography and gardening. Do you feel that your time as a homeschooler allowed you to develop your individual gifts?

Yes, I believe homeschooling can definitely help foster the development of talents and interests because of the ability to learn without distractions and focus on what is important. Studies and assignments can be geared towards a student’s God-given bents by parents who know them best. For me personally, I was able to invest time in areas such as music or homemaking skills during my growing-up years. My interests in photography and gardening actually have blossomed since graduating, as I have spent my time post-high school continuing to learn from home. But the thought is the same in that since I am not following someone else's timetable or expectations, I’m better able to explore new interests and pursue the gifts God has imparted to me in order to serve others.

What were your favourite subjects during your school years? Are there any curriculum plans or resources you would recommend to others?

I especially enjoyed English grammar and science; runners-up would be math and literature. You wouldn’t have found me complaining about diagramming sentences, and I remember with fondness our family spelling bees. Now, I appreciate good writing and have a penchant towards proofreading. My engineer dad taught us math and science in the evenings and made these subjects fun and interesting. For all our school subjects we used Bob Jones University Press curriculum, so I am unfamiliar with many of the other curriculum choices. Our family has also benefited from other quality Scripture-based resources, such as the materials from the Institute of Basic Life Principles or Vision Forum.

I know that homeschool graduates can also have a unique perspective on what to avoid when homeschooling! Some attitudes and practices can hinder the creation of a joyful learning environment. Is there anything you have observed that you would encourage others to avoid?

There can be a tendency among many Christian homeschooling families, who, in spite of their decision to educate at home, allow their children's hearts to be influenced by peers, instead of being turned toward their parents and the Lord. This can happen easily and subtly, and at any age. In my opinion, these children might as well be public-schooled! We all must be on guard against ungodly attitudes that can creep in and not view ourselves as impervious. Growing up, we spent a lot of time doing things together as a family vs. participating in many outside activities with others of our own age. This served to cultivate in me a heart for the home and my family.

Do you hope to homeschool in future if you are given the opportunity?

Yes! I would definitely love to be part of carrying on the heritage that I have been blessed with, if the Lord one day brings along a husband who is equally seeking to follow Biblical models of education and the family. Homeschooling for me has become a way of life.

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Healthy date loaf

I have been trying new foods for Elnathan as his appetite is increasing! I have found that he especially needs a good snack in the afternoon. Lately he has been eating an entire banana after his nap! Last week I tried a date cake recipe from Laraine Toms' Cooking for Your Baby: Fresh, health and enjoyable food for babies and children. I like this book because it presents lots of foods that are suitable for the whole family, including the baby. I amended the date cake recipe somewhat, and it turned out more like a sweet bread. It is sugar free and full of great fiber!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
3/4 cup wheatgerm (I used oatgerm)
1 1/2 cups chopped dates (I ran out of dates so used 3/4 cup and added a fresh pear)
1/2 cup sultanas
1 1/2 cups milk

This was the original recipe, but it seemed to me that you couldn't really have a cake without egg or butter! Here are my additions:

1 egg
Small amount of butter rubbed into the flour

Method:

1. Preheat oven.

2. Mix together flour and germ, rub in the butter, and mix through the dates (or dates and pear).

3. Place sultanas and milk in the blender and whiz until most sultanas are part of the liquid. I thought this was a wonderfully unique way to add sweetness to the bread! Add the egg and combine.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry and place in a greased loaf tin. Bake for 1/2 an hour - 45 mins or until cooked through.

I wanted to share this recipe as it is one of the few I have tried that are both healthy and very yummy. One friend who visited loves cake and she also gave this recipe a good report! Elnathan loves it, and ate about two slices on the day it was made. Now it is in the freezer and I can pull some out when needed.

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52 Week Bible Reading Plan

I have found it helpful to have a plan for Bible reading. Having a written plan makes it easy to know what to read next, and keeps me reading all parts of the Bible. It is great to be continually reminded of what God has done throughout history, not just in the New Testament. I am now up to the 25th week of the 52 Week Bible Reading Plan. The plan covers a different section of the Bible every day under the headings Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy and Gospels. The history section tends to be at least five chapters daily, while the poetry section is only 1 - 2. If you have a set amount of time each day for reading, this could be a problem. However, I actually find it a blessing to have variation in the amount I read each day. I usually read the Bible while breastfeeding each morning, and return to it later if I haven't completed the section for that day.

I recently attended a Bible conference for women. One of the seminar leaders encouraged us to read smaller sections and really think about them rather than reading big chunks. She also suggested that we take one or two verses and carry them with us throughout the day. Since I know that following a plan is encouraging to me, and this involves reading some large chunks, I've decided to also write down a verse or two each day to think on more deeply. I find that certain verses tend to stick with me anyway. For example, I kept thinking over Ezekiel 16:49 "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy". Wow! That was convicting! It has been true of me in the past and though I don't have "abundance of idleness" like I did in my teens, I need to use the time and money I have now to care about the needy.

What about you? Do you enjoy using a plan or just picking books and working through them slowly?

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Winner of the tomato growing competition!

On Sunday last week Dave's work colleagues put on a pizza making afternoon to celebrate the end of their workplace tomato growing competition. I'm pleased to report that the overall winner is David Michael Drew! This does not mean that we had masses of tomatoes, just that we ended up coming out on top after points were tallied for several different aspects of tomato growing. Organisers chose three varieties of tomatoes that each participant had to grow. This year these were yellow pear, grosse lisse and amish paste. It was a fun afternoon with lots of delicious food. We made our own pizza toppings and they were fired in an outdoor pizza oven. Dave and I also participated last year, and it was funny to realise that I was also pregnant at last year's pizza gathering! That is what happens when you become pregnant before your baby turns one! It was fun to tell people whom I hadn't seen for a year that I was pregnant this time as well! Dave's workplace is diverse in terms of the people's backgrounds and cultures, so it is always interesting to attend these social events and chat with people.

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A 10-week-old unborn baby

I searched for a picture of a 10-week-old unborn baby, the age of our new child. I love this picture from London's Science Museum. I always wonder how they get these pictures, and hope that the baby lived. However, it is wonderful to be able to know what your baby looks like in the womb. Look at those tiny fingers and toes!

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Saving seeds

One reader asked for my thoughts on saving seeds, and which seeds are the wisest to buy with this goal in mind. I don't know a lot about this topic, but will share what I have discovered so far! I have not saved many seeds for replanting, and those I have saved have not been very successful so far. I am sure that some of my readers know more about seed saving, and would love to read your thoughts.

Some seeds are easy to save. These include flowers like marigolds where the seeds are large and easily visible, pumpkins and squashes, and beans. I have successfully saved and germinated gem squash seeds. The seeds must be removed when the fruit is raw. Cooking will destroy the life in the seeds. You can lay seeds out in a dark place to dry and then store them in an envelope until the time comes to plant them. Be sure to avoid placing seeds into plastic bags as these retain moisture. Moisture can kill the seed. Bean seeds are very easy to save. Just leave them to dry on the plant and then store them in a dark, dry place. It is important to leave some space between varieties if you want the plants to be true to the original. Marigolds are supposed to be easy to save, but of those I planted only one germinated! I need to try again!

When saving seed, it is important to know that the original was not a hybrid seed. Hybrid seeds will not grow true to type when saved. You can buy from companies like the Diggers Club that specialise in non-hybrid seed. However, many seeds available at regular stores are also fine. It is just important to check before bothering to try to save them. Some vegetables are much better to grow as hybrids. For example, sweet corn hybrids are excellent and even the Diggers Club sells corn as hybrid seed. In this case, it is better to go for a far superior product even though you cannot save the seed.

Please let me know if you have any wisdom about saving seeds! We would like to develop greater knowledge and skill in this area. Seed saving is a wonderful way to be self-sufficient and make good use of what we have been given.

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Big news for a big brother

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Applying Montessori principles

It has been enjoyable to read through some of Barbara Curtis' Mommy Life posts about Montessori education. While I do not know enough about this educational method to comment on it as a whole, some of the ideas are fun and fit with our educational vision. Barbara emphasizes the importance of placing things on a level where children can access them, in order to create a welcoming home where they can learn easily.

Once Elnathan was nine months old, we found that he was always trying to take our books off our shelves. We were determined to train him not to do this. However, we also realised that it would be a good idea to give him some books he was allowed to pull off the shelf! Now Elnathan rarely tries to pull books from the shelves above this one. This is a great improvement from the prior situation, where we rebuked him many times each day for pulling books off the shelf. When he heads for the other books, we remind him about his books and direct him there. Elnathan loves his little shelf and will happily spend 10 - 15 minutes there several times each day exclaiming gleefully over the book covers!

Even though we had a shelf for Elnathan on our small bookcase, he still headed for the second shelf of our other bookcase in the living room. I realised that this was natural, as the shelf is just the right level for him when he is standing. I decided to replace the books there with books and toys for him, and he now happily plays there often.

Another idea from Barbara's posts is to place pictures on the child's level. When Dave went to South Africa recently for a wedding he came back with some posters from Elnathan's Gran. I decided to put these where Elnathan could easily touch and look at them. He has enjoyed this a lot!

When Elnathan is a little older I am looking forward to reading more about how Montessori principles can be used to train him to work well in our home. Montessori education emphasises the importance of training and empowering children to be useful. This not only helps the parents, but also gives children a sense of having a useful place in the world.

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