Saturday, May 16, 2009

Relaxed Homeschoolers

We attended the Middle Tennessee Home Education Association Curriculum Fair this weekend. I attended workshops at the conference on Saturday, two of which included Mary Hood's instruction on relaxed home schooling. She is the author of several books incuding The Relaxed Homeschool. For those mommies who stress about homeschooling and making sure they get everything done that's on their checklist, Ms. Hood invites you to unload that burden and enjoy homeschooling with your children.

She believes that a “relaxed home school” develops out of the mindset that you are a family, not a school; a dad, not a principal; a mom, not a teacher; and that you have individual relationships with your children, not a classroom. This mindset helps you to stress out less over school-like expectations, and relax and enjoy your family.


The children enjoyed crafts at the curriculum fair on Friday with a group called Kingdom Academy of the Arts out of Bell Buckle, Tennessee. The academy offers mini-camps and enrichment programs throughout the year. After glancing at their website, I would be most likely to choose from their fall events which include Pioneer and Indian Days. The mini-camps are $30/day for each participant and we would have to drive an hour to get there. The leader of Kingdom Academy of the Arts teaches at Whole Heart Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee.

Even as an "unschooler", I struggle with stealing the joy of learning from my children - by being too rigid when an educational thought pops in my head or by presenting a new concept to a child while the 2-year-old is demanding attention. May God lead us to teachable moments with patience and kindness!

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:31-34

1 comment:

Elle said...

Hi there, I'm not really commenting on this particular post, I was trying to respond to a comment you left on my Blog. You had asked for some feedback on a particular question, but you didn't leave a method to get back to you.

As for the Fiber Festival in Dickson, it's fun! On Saturday morning from 9-12 they will have a sheep shearer there which I think the kids will enjoy seeing as well as all of us fiber lovers. Otherwise, they have lots of fiber to look at, some raw fiber as well as yarn vendors. There will be people spinning, knitting and probably some crocheting being done as well. There are usually sheep and then some rabbits too, if we're lucky some angora rabbits. There aren't usually any alpacas but plenty of alpaca fiber. Come join us, I think you'll find it enjoyable, plus it's free!!