A Faith-Free Homeschool Education
Locating Secular Homeschooling Resources and Materials
Examples for secular and minority-faith parents seeking resources and materials for their children.
For secular and minority faith-based families, finding homeschooling materials can become a daunting task. Creating a customized lesson plan can be both beneficial and rewarding.
Banned Books
Just as the children are permitted to explore their creative side, so should parents when it comes to seeking learning tools. The easiest to do this is to invest in banned books, which include such classics like Shakespeare's Hamlet, Anne Frank's story in The Diary of a Young Girl and even Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. Besides covering reading material that is required in many colleges and universities, it consecutively opens up discussion as to why certain people wanted them banned in the first place.
Journal and Record Keeping
Teaching children to write on their own is crucial to a well-rounded education. What better way to instill good writing habits than to provide them with spiral-bound notebooks and formal journals, for journaling and many other subjects. This includes language studies, science and even math. After reading and discussion, having the children write a page in their journal about the book’s theme will help them become better writers.
For those who live in states that require keeping stringent records, journals and three-ring notebooks provide excellent forms of proof, without the fear of a disheveled log due to a vast amounts of loose leaf pages. If a scanner is available, consider storing images of artwork and other projects, instead of numerous originals that may otherwise become lost or even destroyed.
Exploring Online
Those who have access to world-renowned museums are especially fortunate, due to the fact they are predominately specialized for hands-on learning, as well as have a positive, neutral slant in their presentations. If making the trek out to one is impossible, a quick search online will provide numerous links to museums all over the world. The Field Museum of Natural History is an excellent example, as it includes an extensive array of online tools, including an inside scoop of their scientists' research!
Websites such as Discovery.com and History.com are not only highly entertaining, but are also quite informative and insightful! Corresponding television programs highlighting religious aspects are done in a very congenial and open-minded format, paving the way for thought-provoking discussion. Keep in mind some of the programs can be rather blunt and straight-forward, since nature and history can (and oftentimes does) tend to be so. Therefore, parents of younger audiences should be discretionary when selecting programs.
Direct Exploration
Of course, nothing beats going outside for a solid learning experience for many fields of science. Use a journal to track the progression of an ant colony, including graphs and field notes. Note the similarities and differences between man and animals, create an evolutional theory and compare it to commonly accepted theories.
Besides observing nature, children learn about the world around them through contact and communication with folks from all walks of life. Taking public transportation whenever it is an option further helps children to connect with the community, since riding the bus is a passive activity that is conducive to observation. Have them note different languages people are overheard using, then explore foods and customs those people may observe.
