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In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Kind
Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa baraktu
I pray that this reaches you and yours in the best eeman and
health,
ameen. I am cleaning out my files and thought this might be of
benefit
in sha'Allah. It is a short article I wrote a year ago for Talib
Al 'Ilm
(muslim homeschooling newsletter). It may be of benefit to some
sisters
or useless ramblings to others (smile). May Allah reward all of
your
efforts, ameen.
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu
Umm Badr
Homeschooling a large
family.
Homeschooling seems acceptable when there is an only child but
when there is more than one child we wonder how we are going to
cope. Organization is the key when homeschooling more than one
child. Organization gives us a framework to complete our
tasks expeditiously and to allow us time for us to do the extra
things we enjoy. The following ideas may be helpful for
organizing and homeschooling more than one child.
You can choose which ideas may suit you and
your family in sha'Allah.
Organization Day
Many families find the week goes much more smoothly if they
designate one day for organizing.. They prepare the
weekly planner, decide the meals for the coming week, set goals,
review the previous week's work, have a general family meeting,
organize and review calendar. By having one day set aside for
these tasks they do not seem so overwhelming and it gives you a
clear idea as to what will be going on in the next week.
Family Meetings
Weekly meetings are a wonderful way for the family to get
together and share their feelings and opinions. This should also
be an opportunity for each member to partake in weekly goal
setting discussions. Each member discusses the goals they set the
previous week and if they were able to complete their goals. If
they were not able to complete their goals they discuss why they
couldn't. Each member also discusses this weeks goal and the
actions they are going to partake in order to complete these
goals. This is a time when children who can read and write can
read aloud or introduce some of their writings to other family
members. Parents can also partake in this exercise of language
arts. We use this time to read Qur'an and see how each others
recitation has progressed. We also share hadiths that we have
learned in the previous week and our favorite stories involving
the sahabah.
Lesson Planning
Curriculums make lesson planning very easy when you have more
than one child. Unfortunately when you have a large family money
is tight and the cost of pre-packaged curriculums are not always
practical. Many parents find creating their own curriculum to be
not only cheaper but much more rewarding. The curriculum can suit
the child's pace and interests. I know you are thinking I have so
many children how I possibly going to have the time to create
curriculums for them all. If for the first child, the curriculum
you create is thorough then you can use it again for the rest of
your children in sha'Allah. You need only to create the
curriculum once with slight modification if needed, to suit the
needs of subsequent children. Here are some more tips from
parents with large families to make curriculum planning a little
bit easier.
Have one binder for lesson plans. Use a certain colour of marker or pen for each child. This way the children can look at their own lesson plans and know what is expected.
One day a week decide what you would like each child to do. Pass on worksheets and lesson plans down from child to child. Put all worksheets in plastic page protectors and let the children use dry erase markers to complete them. When they have completed the worksheets, it is their responsibility to clean them and return them to the cabinet.
Utilizing the dining room as the education center is a technique many families use. They store all necessary materials in a cabinet or dresser. This prevents time being wasted for those objects that always seem to be misplaced.
Each child is responsible for the care and storage of their own supplies. Including such items as; their own pen, pencil, marker, and notebook(s). Have their names clearly marked on each item in sha'Allah. This prevents arguments on who has what and teaches the children responsibility.
Many large families find it easier to have 'school' hours. If you are unschooling then this would not be applicable to your family. They find that having the children work together at the dining room table at one time allows the parent to be available for any assistance they might need. This is also the time when assignments would be given and previous assignments reviewed.
'School time' is in the morning when the children are the most productive and the mind the most alert. All work assignments are to be worked on from 8:30 to 11:30. The day begins with Qur'an memorization, Islamic studies and then other relevant subjects. Many parents reinforce that this form of home education does not stifle the children's creative learning. The children know the expectations and after 11:30 they have 'free time' to spend in any manner that they wish in sha'Allah.
Infants are kept with mom because they will be quiet and content if held. Preschoolers can also participate in the 'education room'. They can be given their own tools such as crayons, paper and scissors. If they do not want to join then other toys can be made available in another part of the room. The oldest of the preschoolers is responsible for the younger ones but are not given free reign of authority. They are not permitted to punish their siblings without consulting a parent first in sha'Allah.
Older siblings can be vital support in home education. Having the older children teach the younger children is not only practical but has been found to succeed even more than adult instruction. Children do not feel the same pressure to perform with other children than they do with adults. Older siblings can find ways of teaching certain subjects that you may not have thought of in sha'Allah.
Housework
Housework seems an informatible challenge when you are
homeschooling a large family. Scheduling work assignments can
greatly reduce the workload of the parents. Give chores to each
child and make it clear what the chores entail and when they are
to be completed in sha'Allah. The rotation of these chores can
vary from weekly, monthly, or yearly. This is entirely dependent
upon your own family and their personal preferences to certain
duties.
Another technique used by many large families is the marking of dishes. Each dish and glass is marked with the child's initials. This makes them responsible for own dishes and eliminates any misunderstandings when dishes are left out.
Having the children responsible for their own laundry is essential to reducing the burden of housework upon the parents(who are we kidding, the mother). Each child from the age of seven (this is a common and general reference) is responsible for the maintenance of their own clothes. This includes washing, folding and putting away. My three year old is responsible for putting his clothes in the basket, putting them in the washer and finally folding them and putting them away. If you encourage your children to do chores from a young age their is no room for disputes when they are older. Children love to help mom and dad from a young age but we often discourage them because including them would take much more time and effort. It does take more time when they are young but it be rewarding in the long run in sha'Allah.