Many of my friends are now married, have little children, and are in the early years of their homeschooling endeavors. I am amazed at some of the creative ideas they come up with! I am equally amazed at how quickly their precocious little ones pick up information and respond to training. More and more, it becomes apparent to me how influential all parents are in their children’s education – whether consciously or not. Education is taking place in some form or another constantly throughout every day. Here’s one example from our family:

My parents are both conscientious about proper speech. It is important to them that sentences are complete and  structured correctly. They always insisted on proper grammar, even when we were young. If I said, “Me and my friend want to play a game” I was gently corrected and told to rephrase my statement as, “My friend and I want to play a game.” Lazy speech was not tolerated. And all of us were challenged to employ good communication skills even in our daily conversations around the house. This is when and how habits are formed – in the daily construct of life situations. Thus, the most effective education for little ones is that which continually reinforces those skills and qualities which are desirable in everyday life.

I really enjoyed the recent Homeschool Heartbeat series on this topic, titled Teaching Young Children. In it, Vicki Bentley, the new HSLDA Homeschooling Thru the Early Years coordinator, shares some down-to-earth suggestions for parents who want to begin homeschooling their young children. It seems like so much has to do with a parent’s perspective and approach. When all of life is viewed as the classroom, the opportunities for teaching are endless!