Scope:
These are the things that are covered in educating our children
Though this is shaped differently than a regular scope of education you will find the regular things will slot into this framework. Taking a whole child, and heart focus in our education though does mean that our priorities are different. This list is written with those priorities in mind.
Relationships : Relationship with God and with People (includes Character Education)
Responsibilities: Time, Money, Possessions, Work
Intrapersonal: This is about the inner self: emotional, moral, social intelligence, as well as physical health, leadership skills, public presentation, self management skills, communication skills etc.
Talents: Talents, Gifts, Abilities, Interests of the individual child
Academics / Basic skills: Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic, Typing
Academics / Thinking skills: Research, Recording, Responding, also includes World View, Logical/Critical thinking
Academics / General Knowledge: History, the study of People; Science, the study of the World
Most of my writing about homeschooling is based on these areas (you’ll find them under ‘tags’ on my blog ). Should I need to write a report on my children’s educational experiences (such as in the case of a Moderation Visit from the government) I do so according to these categories. When I plan my children’s studies and activities I also use these categories to guide me.
Should this scope and sequence hit a chord with your heart please feel free to use it and make it your own. I’d love to hear from you and how this has helped your Discipleship of your family.
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Sequence of Development
This outlines the development of learning
The sequence of Development outlines the development stages our children progress through as they grow into independent learners. Generally children will progress from one to the next, though sometimes they may jumble these stages up and do it their own way. That is the beauty of an individualised education. The reason why it is important to understand this sequence is that it is easy to rush our children towards independent learning, and yet learning is our goal, independence is a stage – and it takes time to get there, but each stage is as valid and significant as the final destination.
Relationships and Character – Our children need to learn the skills necessary for healthy relationships (with God and man). Character (moral training) is also the foundation for any future learning activities.
Love of Learning – We desire that our children will be self disciplined and pursue learning from their own internal motivation. In order for this to happen we introduce the children to a broad general knowledge allowing them to narrow their studies when a keen interest arises. It is at this stage that the beginning skills of reading and writing are taught.
Study Skills – in order for students to be independent learners they require study skills, beyond reading and writing. They need to be familiar with Research, Recording, Responding.
Independent Learner – for learning to be lifelong a student needs to be able to learn independently – this is our ultimate goal for each of our students.
This list guides me in my planning decisions and also my expectations especially in the area of output. For example, a child who is primarily in the Character phase will not be expected to do a lot of written/paper work which would be more consistent with a love of learning stage. We can study together as a family, and tweak the output expectations for each child depending on where they are personally at with their learning skills.
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Homeschooling the Whole Child
Using a whole child approach means we can create a very individualised education for each of our children. We can optimise their strengths and work with them to grow in their weaknesses. We can spend time laying the foundation for learning instead of rushing with the particular skills.
