Homeschooling- A Viable Option

Here is an article about homeschooling that we wrote that recently ran in the Jewish Voice. If after reading the article you would like more information about if homeschooling is right for you, please leave a comment below or email me. We would love to host an information session for anyone who might be struggling with tuition payments, have children who just are not thriving in school, feel that they would like more freedom in their family life and child's education.

 Homeschooling- A Viable Option

            When it comes to education the debate runs deep concerning topics like teaching styles, cost of education, and religious philosophies of our Yeshivot. Most of us have never thought of homeschooling as a viable alternative. Homeschooling is on the rise nationwide, growing between 7 to 15 percent each year, according to the National Home Education Research Institute. It is estimated that more than 2 million children in the U.S. are being home schooled, a 75% increase since 1999.  

            Even with those statistics, we never thought homeschooling would be in our future, but after some online research and attending the annual Torah Home Educators Conference in Baltimore last May we decided to give it a try. It has been an exciting and challenging endeavor and we are optimistic about its future. Over the course of the year, we have received many questions and concerns regarding homeschooling. Here are our responses to the most common questions we have received.

 1. What about socialization? Aren't your kids going to be socially awkward?

            We must first debunk the myth that homeschoolers spend their entire day sitting around the kitchen table pouring over books. Many homeschoolers complete their lessons in just a few hours leaving time to pursue interests and chesed activities in social settings. Homeschoolers get together for field trips, organized sports, academic classes, park days, etc.

            The socialization that homeschoolers partake in happens out in the real world. They learn to navigate social settings with mixed aged peers and have more opportunities to learn proper behavior from adult role models. Opportunities constantly arise to model and discuss proper social skills like treating others with dignity, controlling our emotions, and dealing with hardships.

            Research studies conducted by Dr. Larry Shyers concluded that homeschooled children have fewer behavior problems and higher self confidence then their age-matched peers from public and private schools.

2. What about academics? How can a parent teach their child everything a school can teach?

            Each family takes their own approach to home education.  Some families feel more comfortable buying premade curriculums and having official "school" hours. Others follow the path of unschooling which believes that children have an innate desire to learn and by following their interests, self directed and independent learners are created. Many families find a balance between these approaches. Families can outsource for subjects they do not feel equipped to teach independently by hiring a tutor, rabbi, using online programs, or by joining a co-op. In addition, students can learn along with their parent or self-teach with appropriate curriculum.

            Research conducted by Dr. Brian Ray (2009) shows that on average, homeschoolers scored about 37 percentile points higher than the national average on standardized achievement tests. This study also revealed that factors such as student gender, parents’ education level, and family income had little bearing on the results of homeschooled students. These results are not surprising since homeschooling provides true individualized instruction, as Shlomo Hamelech advised "חנוך לנער על פי דרכו".

             

3. How do you find the patience to homeschool your children?

            It is a constant work in progress. We imagine teachers have good and bad days just like we do. What keeps us going during the trying times is our conviction that we are fulfilling the mitzvah of ושננתם לבניך. We feel grateful that we can spend this time with our family building a strong family unit, imparting a love of Torah, and using the world as our text book. Our children learn at their own pace and explore topics they are excited about. Much of our learning is a byproduct of living a meaningful and exciting life together.

            Part of the impetus for writing this article is to find those few families that would be interested in this challenging but greatly rewarding endeavor. When like minded families take on the challenge of homeschooling together a homeschooling community develops. This allows for pooling of resources and a plethora of social and educational activities amongst peers of similar values.

            To get a glimpse of what our homeschooling journey looks like, please check out our blog: http://jewishhomeschoolnyc.blogspot.com/.  If you would like more information about Jewish home schooling, please don't hesitate to contact us. In addition, please consider attending the Torah Home Education Conference on May 26, 2013 in Baltimore to get inspiration from other Jewish homeschoolers.

Ilana Masri, M.S.

Ilana917@gmail.com

Speech -Language Pathologist and Owner of Classy Crafts- a kids crafting and baking program

Daniel Masri M.D.

Daniel.Masri@gmail.com

Diagnostic Neuroradiologist

Parshat Acharei-Kedoshim and Charity

As a homeschooling family, we feel privileged that we have a seemingly endless amount of hours each day to focus on our children's character development. We address Jewish values in a twofold manner. We use the weekly parasha as our springboard for discussions and our real life experiences for putting the mitzvot into action. With this approach opportunities are constantly arising to work on middot like anger management, charity, perseverance, respect, etc.

           

           This week's parasha Acharei-Kedoshim focuses on the the topic of mattanot le'aniyyim  (gifts to the poor) and is addressed through the mitzvot of leket and pe'ah . Leket is an obligation on the farmer to leave the crops that fall to the ground during his harvesting for the poor. Pe'ah is the farmer's obligation to leave a corner of his land unharvested for the poor. Tuesday morning we discussed these concepts and then turned them into a role play scenario by using some toy food and Lego blocks. The girls each took turns being either the farmer leaving the dropped food on the ground or the needy person collecting the fallen crops. We then used Lego blocks to mark off a square farm land and made sure to leave one corner untouched for the needy. This led to a discussion about acknowledging that our possessions are gifts from Hashem and that we must not harden our hearts and be stingy with them.  

            This lesson transitioned beautifully into real life practice when we went grocery shopping later that afternoon. While at the grocery store, a woman pushing her son in a baby carriage walked over to us and asked us for tzedakah (charity) so she could buy some food for her child. I promptly opened my wallet and asked my older daughter to give the woman a dollar. The smile on my daughter's face was priceless. I knew she had made the connection between her act of kindness and that morning's lesson. What I hope to do in the future is have a special wallet set aside for my daughter filled with her own earned money so that she can get a sense of giving tzedakah from money that she feels a stronger attachment to.

           

Preschool Science Curriculum

The sun is finally starting to shine down on us here in Brooklyn and even though it is only 40 degrees outside, we are taking full advantage of "spring" by beginning our nature study.
 We are incorporating many ideas from Mudpies to Magnets: A Preschool Science Curriculum. Even with all the great ideas on Pinterest,  I truly enjoy the activities and layout of this book. Each activity come with well thought out reasoning, target concepts, and expansion activities. This guide is made for the classroom teacher but can be easily adapted to the homeschool family. Even with a copyright date of 1987, their activities are timeless.

The first activity we used from the book was the creation of a mini-museum. My 4 year old is notorious for collecting "treasures" while we are out and keeping them in pockets of sweaters and jackets. The mini-museum is a great way for her to display her finds as well as let her know that we respect the importance of these items and to encourage her fascination with the natural world. 

There are many ways you can set up your museum:
1. Ikeas's Expedit Shelving unit
 
2. Milk Carton Cubby Cubes
 
3. Cardboard case of wine cut in half

 We went with the case of wine since Passover just ended and we happened to have an empty case lying around.

It was really simple to make:

1. I just cut the box and the inner dividers in half.

2. I then glued the dividers to the walls of the box for added stability.

3. Paint and fill. 

4. Label the specimens (didn't do that yet)

 She didn't have enough to fill each cubby so she took some of her dad's "treasures". My husband also likes to collect rocks and other bits of nature he finds when we are out. The apple definitely does not fall far from the tree ;).

Happy Exploring!

 

Cardboard box dollhouse

Turning a cardboard box into a dollhouse is a project with endless possibilities. Admittedly, I got into type A mode and obsessed a little over this project so it became mommy's craft. Next time, I will have a box for each of us to decorate or I'll just "let go". I'll let you know how that turns out... 

First, I took an old boot box with lid and cut out windows and a door. I also added a floor in the middle and roof on top.

I then glued scrapbook paper to the walls, floors, and ceilings of each room and the roof. I painted the rest of the box with brown acrylic paint.  

 Living room- I added a sticker frame as wall art, glued silver ribbon to a match box, and to the wall to make a couch.

 Kitchen was decorated using blank note cards. The table stand was cut out of the box that held the note cards together. I will probably just glue pictures of appliances from magazines on the walls to fill in the room without taking up any more space.

 Bedroom  was decorated with scrapbook paper and empty matchbox for the bed. Headboard was cut out from plain white paper. Wall decor still needs to be added.

 Bedroom #2

Passover Crafts

If you are looking for some last minute Passover crafts, here are some ideas for you.

Take a glass vase, brush the inside with Mod Podge and shake a whole bunch of glitter into it, and voila! Let dry over night before filling with flowers and water.

Have the kids make some decorative wine glasses for the seder by using glue dots to stick on gems and glass paint to stencil on their names

Using two sheets of felt hot glued together, make an afikomen holder and decorate as desired.

Detailed instructions here.

Make a stencil out of freezer paper, iron it onto a pillow case (shiny side down), paint, and you'll have yourself an original Passover seder pillow:

 My four year old, painted this one, hence the smudge marks. The neater version of this pillow is tucked under my younger daughter's head right now and I didn't have the heart to pry it out of her crib for a decent photo.