It's no secret - I LOVE the Internet! Don't you? Days like today make me love it even more. My 8 y/o dd asked me a question this afternoon why people are having "tea parties." She's heard people talk about it, including her mother, and she helped color a poster that was utilized by someone who attended. ;)
As always happens when they ask me a question, I used the Internet to help me explain. I know we've read about the original Boston Tea Party before, but she's just in second grade and it may not have made much of an impression. So, I used the above video that I remember from MY childhood to help explain. It was wonderful!
Think about it. When I was her age - too many years ago to even think about - I NEVER thought I would have a computer in my house where I could pull up information on any subject I wanted to know about almost instantly. I learned to knit on the Internet. I learned how to make a bunch of origami Christmas ornaments on the Internet. If I want a recipe for bacon chocolate chip cookies - BAM! - it's there! If I want to see what the weather is in Bora Bora - WHAMMO! - I've got it in mere seconds. If I want to know how to potty train a cat - video instruction is mine for the asking! ;)
As far as homeschooling goes, look in my sidebar and you will see many, many web sites with free homeschool materials. If you are having problems explaining a math concept to your child, just search YouTube for any math topic whatsoever and, chances are, you will find a video on it. These are put up by average people, students, and even professional math instructors. FREE tutoring! Then there are web sites like CurrClick, UnitStudy.com, Progressive Phonics, and Home Education Resources where you can get inexpensive homeschool or tutoring materials to download to your computer that are of great quality.
Seriously, there is no reason for a child NOT knowing how to read, not knowing their times tables - or not knowing anything else they need or want to know in this day and age. Most parents have access to a computer and know how to use one. Whether they use the computer in their home, at work, or at the local library. Even if your child is in regular school, but can't read well, or isn't doing well in math, you can get on the Internet and find what you need to help them. It's at least worth a try before they go through rigorous evaluations for learning disabilities, or paying out megabucks for a tutor, or before they are just passed on to the next grade without being ready.
People have asked the question of me, and others, how people who aren't real teachers can teach their children. I do NOT understand that question. If you know how to read yourself, you can teach anyone to read - especially with the Internet, DVD players and CD players that the great majority of people have access to. My 11 y/o largely taught my now 8 y/o to read three years ago. We used Progressive Phonics (download and print books) and it's scripted. Both girls wanted to do it, so I let them. I just thought of it as good experience for them both. I guess you could say we had some "cooperative learning" going on in our homeschool! ;)
My 11 y/o learned to read before Progressive Phonics was invented, so I used other mostly non-Internet materials for her, but we did use Starfall.com. We used the old technology of a tape player as well for Hear-See-Say Phonics. It's not rocket science. You don't need a degree in teaching reading. Teaching arithmetic is just as straightforward, and there are excellent Internet resources for that as well that are free or inexpensive.
It is my opinion that one of the most important things you can teach a child is how to be Internet savvy and how to discern if a web site is reliable or junk. This is the future of education. How do you use the internet in your homeschool?
