Homeschooling 101

Lesson 5: Record Keeping and Scheduling

Avoiding Overkill

One of the things we love to do is check out new places. This week has been no exception. We have been to the St. Louis Arch (The "real" name is: The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial), and the St. Louis Science Center, just to name a few places. For those of you who don’t know (I didn’t until I got there!) there is a wonderful museum at the foot of the St. Louis Arch, "The Museum of Westward Expansion."

I observed some pretty interesting things while I was there, but the most eye opening had nothing to do with westward expansion. I saw many children being dragged from one exhibit to another, being read everything the little plaques said, and then grilled on what they had just "learned." I even heard a few kids being told they couldn’t go to that exhibit they really wanted to because it wasn’t in chronological order.

Now I am all for taking your kids to a museum, and making them aware of things they might not otherwise be exposed to. The thing that bothered me the most was that these kids came in full of wonder, and by the time they left, they had no desire to even pay attention to what their well meaning parents were saying. We observed the same sort of thing at the Science Center, but this time it was also "Teachers" who were doing it.

Here are some clues to spot the parent (or teacher) who is trying to turn everything into a lesson.

• They have that high-pitched voice... "Well, little Jimmy, How do you think they cowboys found their food??"

• The kids are frantically taking notes.

• The kids have a pained look on their face.

• The parents buzz like bees from one exhibit to another, staying just long enough to confuse everyone within earshot.

Now of course, I am not making fun of anyone. Just trying to make light of a situation I have found myself falling into a few times.

Yes, it’s true. I was one of those parents. Guilty as charged. My kids hated going places with me, because I would try to turn everything into a "Learning Moment."

How do you break the habit? Well, it isn’t easy. The hardest part of homeschooling for me has been to sit back and let them learn. If you expose them to many different things (whether it is museums, far away places, or the grocery store) they will learn. I promise you!

For example, while we were at the Museum of Westward Expansion, my Six year old noticed that on the boat made of sticks and animal skin, the tail of the animal was still there! (I hadn’t noticed!) A little while later, we happened to be talking to one of the guides about something else, and Ethan mentioned the tail. The guide told us that it was left on because when the Native American family went hunting and gathering, they would fill their boat, which left no room for the children. They would flip the tail out of the boat, and the kids would hold onto it and swim behind their parents all the way home. Something we would have never learned if I had been so busy shuffling them from one exhibit to another!

My children never cease to amaze me!

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