HomeSchooled in the Burgh!: Is It Suppose To Be Fun?

Can't Find a Good School for Your Kids? Buy One!

What does Will Smith do when he can't find a decent school for his kids? He buys them their own.

The actor recently paid $889,000 to lease Indian Hills High School in Calabasas, Calif., after failing to find a decent educational program for his two young children. Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, have been home schooling their brood until now. According to People:

"We started home-schooling our children probably six years ago," he said. "We found about eight or nine other parents that home-school, so we put them together. ... There's just very powerful educational concepts that we believe in, and we feel like 'I want to design the system that revolutionizes public education.' "

In 2005, Jada Pinkett-Smith told Essence that the decision behind home-schooling came from their dissatisfaction with current models of education.

"The school system in this country -- public and private -- is designed for the industrial age," she said. "We're in a technological age. We don't want our kids to memorize. We want them to learn."

Parents just don't understand, huh Will?

While most people will find it difficult to provide their kids with a school of their own, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be involved with your child's education.

source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/newsandviews/2008/05/cant_find_a_good_school_for_yo.html

I'm finding that homeschooling is Fun. Yeah, staying organized and on schedule need some adjusting but overall it's wonderful. I thought I was going to be stressed out, not one bit. I'm more relaxed if anything. I end our hs sessions with yoga everyday- it helps.

Well today I wanted to be a bit creative with our Music session and make a drum. One problem... I didn't have an oatmeal box to do this. But, that didn't stop my son. He grabbed some extra large paint brushes and we filled a small box with noodles to make a maraca. Turned on some music and around the house we jammed. We listened to the different sounds that the different items made- the table, wall, toys, & tv but his favorite was an old phone box we found. I wanted to record the sounds to review later. So I grabbed my camera and the recording began. Next time we'll use glass bottles & cups and fill them with water for sound.

If you're just starting out in homeschooling or thinking about it, try not to be so uptight, just let it flow and enjoy the moment while you can.

So is it suppose to be fun? I believe it is, how else will a child grow to 'love' learning.

Here below is a short clip of Lil' E singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star":