This morning I took my two teen boys out for a gourmet breakfast of Eggs Benedict and Huevos Rancheros so we could talk about our home-school plans. I’d already done the same thing for my 13-year-old daughter last week, but she chose waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. I have always solicited my kids’ input before making any home-school plans, but I got the going-out-for-breakfast idea from A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille.
The idea is to lend legitimacy and weight to our kids’ plans for their own education. It’s like a business meeting, not just random thoughts around the kitchen table. We bring planners and take notes. We brainstorm. We make a list of all the things the kids want to do or learn over the next four months (keeping in mind long-range plans), even if it doesn’t sound like a school subject. In fact, the list is usually full of topics/projects like: “How eyes work” or “Learn about Islam” or “Sew a quilt;” rather than subjects a school board would recognize. We’ll worry about turning it into a transcript later. (more…)
