 Interview with Marilynn Griffith
Author and Homeschool Mom
Marilynn, tell us a little bit about yourself and your family?
I'm spend my days discovering the world with my children, writing articles and books and trying to grow into the woman God wants me to be. I have six children: Ashlie, age 10; Michelle, age 7; Fill Jr, age 4, Ben, age 3; and our twins, James and John, 15 months old. Currently, Ashlie is interested in origami and writing her first book. Michelle, our resident artist is ever exploring and planning all our birthday parties and celebrations. Fill has decided he'd like to learn to read, so he's working on that. Ben, our naturalist, can't wait to start our spring garden with Michelle. The twins keep us smiling and running behind them. My husband, our principal and science project coordinator is working hard learning how to build computers at present.
Why did you and your husband decide to homeschool your children?
In our church and in my work as a math tutor, I began to encounter some uncommon young people whom I never knew existed--homeschoolers. As they stopped our sessions politely--"Forgive me for interrupting"--to ask questions and share their ideas, I noticed that my own children lacked the same inquisitiveness.
I asked my husband if we could try it over the summer. It flopped. I tried to recreate school at home and drove my daughter crazy. After a dismal first grade, my husband wanted me to try again. This time, I threw out my preconceived notions and gave Ashlie a notebook to list everything she wanted to learn about. With that and a library card, we began our homeschooling adventure.
Describe a typical day of school at your home. Does your family follow a routine schedule everyday?
Oh my. I'd really love to tell you that we grind our grain at four am and hold family devotions in our school uniforms, but alas...we don't! We do follow a general pattern of things though. I'm usually either up early writing or sleeping soundly from meeting a deadline. In the latter case, Dad gets everything set up for breakfast, starts some praise music and wakes the older kids.
If I'm up we do breakfast, chores, Bible time, outside adventures, reading aloud and then the girls prepare lunch while read to the little ones. After lunch Ben and the twins nap (sometimes) and we do Math, Language, Art and Konos, a hands-on unit study we do for our co-op group. This time gets pretty wild! On Fridays, we meet with a group of families from our church to present speeches and do group activities.
What suggestions do you have for parents who want to know "where to start" with homeschooling?
First read two books:
- Dumbing Us Down:The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto
- Freedom Challenge: African American Homeschoolers by Grace Llewellyn.
Next, order a catalog from ElijaCompany.com. There's no better description of the different types of homeschooling (there are many!).
Then I'd tell them to find a friend that's been homeschooling four years or more and start hanging out with them. The internet has tons of information, but it's good to see a few families in action.
Go to a few homeschool support group meetings in your area as well. I went to homeschool Mom's Night Outs for a long time before I took the plunge.
Go to a homeschooling convention in your state or area and take a "Getting Started" workshop. It will give you all the info you need for your state's requirements.
Here are some other sites to start with:
Do you have any final words of advice for parents considering homeschooling?
Make a commitment. Each year, my husband and I pray and decide what about what we're going to do for the next year. Once we've made our commitment, we stick with it. Homeschooling is the most difficult, most rewarding thing I've ever done. My children aren't perfect, but they're confident, creative and able to think independently.
Lighten up. Your own institutionalized schooling will make you want to drag every benchmark and grade level in to your homeschool. Don't. Create an Individualized Education Profile for each of your children with their input--first. Then consult the scope and sequence manuals if you feel you must. What do you want your child to know when they leave your home? What should they be able to do? You have twelve years to focus on that.
Speak up. The biggest enemy to your homeschool is negative input from family and friends. If these weeds allowed to take root, things will start to unravel. Don't open discussions about what you should be doing or give the impression that you're wavering in your commitment (even if you are, save it for your support group). Just do your thing and keep your mouth shut. The results will speak for themselves.
What are your favorite resources for finding lesson plans?
Wow. That's a lot of information. Let's see.
Offline, I get resources from my public library and my mother who's always on the lookout for learning materials. Homeschool conventions are always a great bet for materials and my homeschool group has a curriculum lending library.
Thanks so much Mrs. Griffith for your time!
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