California Steemians - Inspire(ation) for homeschoolers!
I must preface this post by saying that as hard as public school tries to meet (I wish) every child's educational needs, that task ranges from very difficult to impossible. Just like you can not prepare every gourmet dish in the same fashion (imagine what ice cream cake would look like if you tried to subject it to the same conditions as baked ziti) you can not prepare every child the same way to shine as everything that he is meant to.
Homeschooling allows the parent to much better tailor the learning experience to the child. What if there were a "public" school that could support you in your journey? I found just such a public charter school that allows me to be the best homeschooling parent I can possibly be. Inspireschools.org allows you to tailor the learning experience to your child's needs and interests. They serve TK-12 and they offer a variety of programs. My FAVORITE and the one I am using is the "Choice Plus" with my 7-year-old twin boys. Each student gets a stipend of $2600/year (high schoolers get $2800) and I, as the parent, am able to select the curriculum that I want to utilize. Let me tell you, Life of Fred for math and language arts, and Math U See and Spelling U See are the BOMB!!!
Inspire works with a variety of vendors so you can get and pay for a master musician to teach your child music, if that is her interest. Or...dance, karate, painting...imagine having the opportunity and freedom to provide the means to allow your child to follow their passions. I am a vendor with Inspire and work as a tutor to provide that extra enrichment and alternate perspective on a subject (math, reading, writing, German, French).
In just 3 weeks we are going for a one week immersive camping experience where my boys will learn how native Americans lived with and from the land. They will learn such things as building a fire, building a shelter, making a bow and arrows. Here you have community responsibility, science, social studies, communication studies, home economics in one integrated, HOLISTIC experience...all through Inspire. There are also workshops for the parents...not a bad deal! This is how learning SHOULD happen - in the flow of LIFE!!!
The picture is NOT my own - it's from the ElementsGathering website - an amazing image of what we will get to experience on our camping trip!
This is similar to the ancient education system in India(Gurukula). The student(shishya) lives with his teacher(guru) for years. I was born in 1987 in a small town in South India. The gurukula system was dead by then but partially alive where i was and so I got to build a 22 year old relationship with my guru who taught me South Indian Classical Music(Carnatic music). Now I am in Boston studying music. I feel like the education system here is way more efficient but ineffective and the opposite back home. The biggest difference i feel is in the quality of experience.
Wow! Thank you for sharing and expanding MY horizons, and offering a different perspective. I really appreciate it!
Enjoyed this - would love to hear more insights about mathusee and life of Fred. I am happy right now with Beast Academy for my 8 year old, but will need something for my 6 year old this fall. Do you think of your kids as mathy?
Thank you! I would not consider my boys "mathy", but they are not afraid of it, which is good, because I was for a long time...even into my adulthood. I am going to be posting a separate record of their progress with both resources starting in the next couple weeks. :)
Good! I'll be interested to see it.
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This is awesome, thank you!!! :-* And I voted for you as a steem witness.
Good intel! I grew up in MN and now live in CA and getting in to the age where I am thinking more and more about having kids (probably still 2-3 years out)
The public school scene in MN seems to be vastly different than in CA, so have thought about alternatives (should I remain here to raise my family). This seems like a great option based on your experience
It has been a truly wonderful, e-x-p-a-n-s-i-v-e experience. Good luck - keep me posted...:D
Choosing to home school, was the best choice for my children. Keep sharing. There are a lot of parents who will greatly benefit from your home schooling posts. Upvoted, resteemed and following.
Thank you!