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One of my
goals in our homeschool this year is to mentor my children, instead of
giving them a stack of books & workbooks to study.
When you think of mentoring, do you imagine a group of students around
a teacher, spouting off words of wisdom? Many conjure up a scene
with Socrates or Plato as they talk to their students. I'm sure
we all have our own idea of what mentoring would look like.
I believe homeschooling is truly a mentoring process. Some
homeschools look like a government classroom, with desks, posters on
the wall, and a stack of textbooks to be read and examined each day.
My idea of homeschooling/mentoring is much different. Let me give you a little glimpse of mentoring in our home.
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Sitting on my daughter's bedroom floor, discussing Dante's Hell with both my girls - laughter included -
Sitting with my middle daughter each week, with my cup of tea, discussing the lectures and books for humanities -
Sitting on my daughter's bed discussing which direction her research paper should go. -
Looking through support books about Jane Austen to guide my daughter with her research -
Discussing possible research topics and narrowing it down to three -
Sitting
on the couch, reading about how the gospel has spread across the
earth. Asking my son questions about today's reading and past
readings as he dribbles a basketball - Sitting on the
couch and looking over the shoulder of my daughter as she edits her own
essay. A chance to discuss what is best.
- Reading the same books my kids read silently so I can discuss them.
- Listening to my girl's weekly lecture in the kitchen while I fix breakfast so I can discuss it with them later in the week.
- Reading & discussing the worldview of the medieveal era as we fold laundry
- Developing my child's "interests" into a subject they can study in their high school years
Take
it easy and take advantage of informal times with your kids to discuss
worldview, readings, and lectures they have heard recently.
What other ways do you "mentor" your children?
Kerry Mentoring
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