Creativity

"Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln never saw a movie, heard a radio or looked at a television. they had 'loneliness' and knew what to do with it . They were not afraid of being lonely because they knew that was when creative mood in them would work." -Carl Sandburg.

Why do we homeschool? There are so many good reasons, personal reasons, religious reasons, pratical reasons and so many factors to look into in making this decision. Setting all those aside for now there is one main facet of this way of education I loved the first time I saw it, it was CREATIVITY. That is what I want to highlight today. Note these quotes written by a homeschool graduate who is now homeschooling her children. I read them one day as I was looking into the idea of homeschooling our kids.  

"From time to time I meet young mothers who want to start homeschooling, but they are terrified by their own inadequacy. They’re afraid they won’t remember how to do geometry or be able to help their kids through the schoolbooks. So what? That’s what answer keys are for. Homeschooling isn’t about knowing the right answers; it’s about FINDING the answers. Leonardo da Vinci wasn’t the kind who knew all the right answers – he was the kind who questioned the answers and looked for new ones. Creativity is far more viable than knowledge. It has no limits, no boundaries. Creativity will take you beyond the status quo; knowledge alone will not even qualify you for hourly wages.

What is creativity in a practical sense? Making up your own pattern for a dress instead of buying one. Making up your own ABC song. Taking a six-digit number and scrambling it into a brand new number as fast as you can in your head. Making up a rhyme or a song, writing a story, coming up with a brand new recipe, asking questions about anything you can think of and finding the answer any way you can. " Rebecca  from her article homeschooling a way of life.

A great way to encourage creativity....ask

What do you think???

"My mother rarely impresses people as being an intellectual. But I am absolutely convinced she is one of the best teachers on the planet. Mom taught as continually as she breathed. She counted everything aloud in a singsong voice; steps, apples, money, fence posts. We saw the world in numbers because Mom counted everything aloud. She sounded every sign aloud and pointed out the letters as we drove by. We played games of finding all the G’s on billboards and signs as we drove down the street. She asked questions continually: “How much do you think this weighs? Do you think that’s more than a quart or less?” “How long does a cow carry its baby?” “I wonder what that weed is good for? I bet we could eat it.”
She answered our questions as best she could – even if the answers were still over our heads. Mom enjoyed learning for herself. She was continually studying something. I remember many of her projects: growing mushrooms, making dye, making a quilt, herbs, soybeans, drying food, writing a book, harvesting cotton, midwifery, and on the list goes. Mom made homeschooling a part of my life, something I will never outgrow."

"I don't know, let's look it up."
"One of the best things my mom taught me was how to search the library for what I wanted to know. My husband added to that by showing me how to search the World-Wide Web for everything from detailed maps of foreign countries to recipes and tips on growing avocados. I remember the thrill that came over me when I realized that I could find the answer to almost any question I could ask, and do practically anything I wanted to do, if I worked hard enough. Give that thrill to your children, and you will have succeeded in homeschooling them. " Rebecca from her article homeschooling a way of life.

Thanks Rebecca for this breath of fresh air. Gives one courage to begin and way lay fears of not being enough.