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| 12/24/2009 4:43:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | A glance inside homeschoolers' classrooms
Two families share their hands-on approach to education
Seven-year-old Nicholas Woods grins gleefully as the family cat purrs and rubs against him.
Ask him what he enjoys most about homeschooling and he'll say, "the class pets."
Nicolas's three older siblings and two cousins, who are also homeschooled with him during the day, give varied answers as unique as his.
Recognizing these differences, which translate into different learning styles, and spending time cultivating individual strengths, is partially why Keri and Jeff Woods decided to homeschool their children in the first place.
"I can focus on things that are taking them longer and speed up with things that come easily to them," Keri said.
The Woods actually began homeschooling their children six years ago when their oldest daughter, Jamie, who is now in college studying to be a nurse, disliked high school.
One year later, their kindergarten-aged daughter, Katie, now 11, ended her treatment for leukemia.
Keri said she wanted to keep Katie home to reduce her exposure to germs. At this time the other four children, and two of the Woods's nieces, gladly made the transition to homeschooling as well.
But Keri said the family ultimately made the lifestyle change as a personal choice, not as a way to escape the school system.
"We loved the school and the teachers," she said.
Another incentive to homeschooling, she said, was that it kept the family structure tight-knit and allowed her to assume a more hands-on role in her children's lives.
"I like being part of what they're learning," Keri said. "I realized I have pretty great kids and I like being around them."
She said the most rewarding part of her job is watching her children grasp new concepts, especially when she taught the two youngest children to read.
"I think to myself, 'this is something I wouldn't have gotten to see otherwise; the teachers would see it,'" she said.
Heather and Charlie Evenhouse, another couple in the Lakeland area that homeschools their six children, also said choosing this alternative mode of education was a personal choice, and was not due to external factors.
"The educational system takes a beating as a whole," Charlie said. "We have not heard anything negative about the schools here ... This was just a lifestyle we decided to pursue for family reasons."
The Evenhouses initially started homeschooling when they saw how well their friends' homeschooled children learned and developed both intellectually and socially through it.
"We saw the progress that happened within their family when homeschooling their kids," Charlie said. "We saw their kids grow up, become responsible adults, and excel and do well."
They also wanted to incorporate their Christian perspective into the curriculum, and now their faith is interwoven into many of the children's lessons.
The curriculum itself contains material similar to what is used in public schools, though the parent's approach to teaching may vary.
The women in both families act as the primary teacher for their children.
Though neither Woods nor Evenhouse have backgrounds in education, they both say the curriculum provides the tools necessary to teach the material.
"It walks us through everything so I feel pretty confident in how they're being educated," Heather Evenhouse said.
She said there are hundreds available for purchase online. Choosing one is a matter of personal preferences, and the learning style of the children.
Evenhouse said she uses a combination of traditionally-based curriculums called A beka and Sonlight, which focus heavily on reading from textbooks.
"As with anything, there's so many choices," she said. "We were guided by talking to friends about different options."
Evenhouse said her day is highly structured and divided by academic subjects.
But, she said she recognizes that each homeschooler has their own approach to teaching their children, and that one is not necessarily better than another.
"Everyone has their own flavor," she said. "What works for one might not work for another."
Keri Woods said her daily routine is highly structured as well, but that overall homeschooling has offered their family much more flexibility than public schooling in terms of the opportunity to personalize the curriculum and schedule.
"As time went on I realized they were actually learning more," Keri said. "Also, they didn't have to get up at six in the morning to catch the school bus."
Keri said her kids have been able to focus on what interests them, and have far more free time to follow their curiosity.
As a result, they've studied a variety of topics, from computers to bowling.
"I felt that there was too much homework before," she said. "The kids were in school all day and then they came home and had to do more school ... I felt I was teaching them anyway."
The children are now also able to take time off when they need to instead of following scheduled school breaks.
During the fall months they take hunting trips with their father, who has a full-time job, on his time off. They also took an extended break in November, when Keri gave birth to Cameron, the newest member of their family.
This flexibility has translated positively on paper as well; Woods said her 16-year-old son, Ryan, has taken requisite state standardized tests and ranked in the highest category in every subject.
Furthermore, she said the freedom has made the children more independent and motivated to take responsibility for their education.
That education doesn't have the limitations of a classroom, but includes all aspects of being a self-sufficient person.
"All of my kids have life skills that a lot of other kids don't have when they go off to college," she said. "They know how to balance a checkbook and do their own laundry."
Both of the oldest Woods children, Ryan and Meghan, have jobs at the Outdoorsmen in Boulder Junction, which keeps them engaged in the community and teaches them practical skills such as how to manage their finances.
The two are also part of the Monroe Virtual School, which entails completing online courses and working with a teacher who visits their house.
The virtual school is just one of the ways in which technology has connected homeschoolers to a wider community.
Their additional involvement in a range of activities, from sports to music lessons and Scouts, has further kept the family connected to the local community, especially to their peers.
In fact, both families said they try to keep their kids as involved as possible to negate what is cited as one of the biggest drawbacks to homeschooling; a lack of socialization.
"Some of the socialization can be a drawback, as far as they don't get invited to as many birthday parties or things like that," Woods said.
But she pointed out that all of the children interact with people of all ages throughout the community.
"Basically that's where we're striving to get them, because when they're grown they're not going to be in a community of just people their same age," she said.
Both families also have the distinct advantage of having large families, so the children learn to interact with one another.
"They have learned to work together as a team," Heather Evenhouse said. "Often, the older ones will help the younger ones,"
The Evenhouses said they used to attend a co-op, where mothers shared their areas of expertise by teaching classes to the homeschooled children in the area.
"There was one mom who was a writer, so she did a writing class, and another mom who majored in biology, so she did a biology class," Heather said.
Though the group was disbanded last year, the family is now actively involved in the Northwoods Christian sports club, which emphasizes character building.
They participate in a variety of sports during the summer months as well.
"There's enough that we can be involved in that they aren't feeling left out at this time," Heather said. "High school is a different story. I'm not sure what will be available then."
But, there's no long-term commitment with keeping the children at home, and the Evenhouses said they just may revert to conventional schooling in the future.
"We're just taking it year by year," Charlie Evenhouse said.
Leah Gernetzke can be reached via email at lgernetzke@lakelandtimes.com.
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