The Whys

Why this title, seeking learning by study, faith, and fun? 

      In the Doctrine and Covenants (revelations given to the prophet Joseph Smith) section 88:118, the Lord tells us: 

And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.

      As we started our homeschooling journey, actually as I started reading more about educational options and educational theories when my son was having a bit of a rough time in the local public school last year, I was reminded of this scripture. What does it mean to me? Many things, but here's a brief list:

1. Seek- we need to seek learning, it's not going to just happen. I wish I did more of that in school, and know I need to do it now to have a "scholar phase" as TJEd puts it. This means having a passion for what is being learned, wanting to know more, and doing what it takes to learn it.  
2. Seek learning by study- the only way to learn something is to study it! This year I'm working on nature and history studies, along with classics in literature. What are you wanting to study?
3. Seek learning by faith- I remember attending BFA (Kimber Academy now, which is a part time, religious, private school) and what a blessing it was to have the Spirit with us as we studied. I miss the inspirational moments where I wanted to learn as much as I could about a subject. We tried their distance program for about 10 minutes this year, but my 7 year old isn't quite ready for that. Instead we focus on learning with faith as we do morning devotionals including special holiday lessons (like a 30 day countdown based on the Living Christ), work on memorizing scriptures and poems, and as I renew my own faith-filled studies in the scriptures and religious materials. 
4. I'm learning that if we're really seeking learning, we need our minds and bodies to be healthy. My husband recently found out he has Type 2 Diabetes, and we're all working on changing our eating/exercise habits (which is so hard when you're a choco-holic!!). This has helped us in many ways. Though I wish we had started the changes years ago, I look forward to learning and growing more in this area as well as all of the others. 
5. Taking in the whole phrase, and thinking about schooling all together: for me, seeking to know God's will when it comes to education has been the game changer for me. Last Fall we tried doing a distance program with a charter school- which was a lot of hassle and brought a lot of frustration. Then we tried doing part time days at the public school, which again was a lot of hassle and frustration. Finally I felt the Spirit telling me that there is a better way for US (maybe not everyone, but for us) to learn and grow, and it's all about focusing on love. It's not a specific curriculum, and it's not set up like the public school, but I feel like it is much better for my kids and for me. When I feel like rushing or pushing too hard and feel frustrated, I get that little inkling and reminder that I need to remember the better way: where we work on the LOVE of LEARNING (Mister 7 is not a fan of academics YET, but it's my goal to help him LOVE it all, and Mr. 4 already does so the goal is to keep that passion alive), LOVE of NATURE (by spending lots of time outdoors and learning about God's creations around us as well as those neat animals/plants on other continents), LOVE of our FAMILY members (this is much harder than academics!!), LOVE of work (all types of work), LOVE for Heavenly Father, knowing His plan for us, and following Him. That is the better way for us, and finding that took SEEKING, with STUDY AND FAITH! Now I just need to use those same skills on a daily basis, seeking, studying, and building faith. Every. Day.   
6. Along with the above, from the view of a religious homeschooler, I'd have to say that if you're seeking knowledge about homeschool or education in any way, you'll need to study it out to see what is the best way to go (freedom can be good and bad, you have to figure it out because no one is going to tell you exactly what to do). It takes reading scriptures AND reading theories of education, praying and searching for answers, and if you don't do that, I think everyone misses out. It's what I've done, and obviously things change daily so it's a continuous study of what is the best thing for you and your family. 
7. I added the "fun" part to the end, because I want learning to be inspiring and fun for my kids, and for me! I want to fall in love with learning again, not have it be a chore, so I'm doing my best to think of ways to make learning exciting, at least for now since my children are still young. Later on I want them to be inspired enough to do the hard work of studying and searching on their own. 

      In all of this studying and researching homeschool, I realized that I need to become more educated myself, with more depth to my knowledge besides simply "studying to pass the test then forgetting it all" like I often did in school. I realized my need to have something more to "fill the buckets" of my children spiritually, emotionally, socially, and intellectually, so it has become much more than just "doing school" for the kids. Learning is for all of us! This blog is to document the great things we are learning, the joy we're finding as a family, the love of learning that is growing, and the thoughts we (mainly I) think about all of it. I'll be posting some of the things that I'm learning as I meet with a discussion group monthly, discussing classics and all things homeschool. I'll also post some fun things we do in a series I'll call, "Ingredients for a happy homeschool." There will be a few book reviews about kids books or the classics for me (maybe I'll pretend it's a book report so I can say I'm doing school for myself). I might also have some guest writers who write about their homeschooling journey, so feel free to leave comments with what has worked for you (and let me know if you want to write a guest post)! It should be quite the journey, and you're welcome to come along with us (literally homeschooling, or as you read these posts).