Homeschool Mommas:
Christine Webb
Last summer I met a remarkable woman roaming around on cyberspace. I noticed her first for her incredibly keen mathematics sense. I have referred to her as the America Online Math Guru for some months now, and it seems to me that she and I and another woman named Joanne have taken it upon ourselves to rid the world of the horrors of Saxon Math. (The three of us are more commonly known as the Gag-Me-With-A-Saxon Coalition!)
In addition to her mathematics ability she has, time and again, given some of the best educational advice I have ever heard. She truly enjoys learning right along with her kids. And to top it off, she’s a really nice gal!
Christine Webb is a writer, president of the Oregon Home Education Network (a statewide, inclusive, nonprofit homeschooling network), and a homeschooling consultant (writing, testing, tutoring, resource planning, etc.). She is also a member of a statewide group working on issues surrounding alternative assessment, a former staff person for America Online (in the Homeschool Connection Forum), and a member of a statewide Advisory Committee on Homeschooling. Makes you tired just reading it, doesn’t it?
Christine lives in Oregon with her husband, Jeffrey, who is the VP of Finance for a food products company. They are right in the thick of raising and educating their three children: Adam, age 16; Lauren, age 10; and Alaina, age 9.
The Webb family likes to read, camp, hike, go to theater productions, play games, rollerblade, build things, and travel. Adam is a part time college student and has just completed his Eagle Scout project. [May I add that they also have an online bill that must be approaching mine!]
How long have you been home educating?
Off and on for eight years. We took a two year sabbitical in the middle when we all returned to school.
What motivated you to start?
Adam was having some difficulties in school (at third grade) and we just didn’t seem to be able to find another solution. It wasn’t because we thought homeschooling was a wonderful idea—we actually knew almost nothing about it.
How long do you plan to continue?
I don’t envision ever stopping at this point. It fits so well with the way we live our lives and the things we believe about family and education that I can’t imagine another way to live.
How would you categorize your homeschooling style or philosophy?
We’re definitely in the “unschooling” mode—we learn as we live. For us, this means that we try to provide all our family members (parents included) the opportunity to learn about and explore areas of interest. We are avid travellers and readers—there’s always something interesting to learn about or experience just around the next corner! As far as organization goes, we fluctuate based on our needs. Some of us need a little more structure than others so we try to adjust accordingly.
What types of materials do you use? What are a couple of your favorite educational resources?
I’ve already mentioned that we are all great readers. We also like videos, audio tapes, computer programs, and lots of real life experiences. All three of the children are avid writers. Lauren loves her old typewriter, Adam uses the word processor, and Alaina uses the word processor and a large notebook.
We watch a lot of videos—our favorites are James Burke’s Connections and Connections 2. [Now there is also a Connections 3.] For history, in addition to a lot of historical fiction, we have really enjoyed Joy Hakim’s History of US books. The children have memorized the entire score to the musical 1776 from watching and listening to it so often!
Magazines are very popular at out house—we have subscriptions to many. Some of our current favorites are Cobblestone, Kids Discover, Backpacker, and American Girl.
The computer also gets a lot of use. Ancient Lands is a big hit, as is Myst.
How would your describe a typical “school day” in your home?
Our days are all fairly similar in many ways—but no two really look very much alike. We don’t differentiate between “school” and “nonschool” days because we don’t do anything that looks like school. The only real difference is that Jeffrey’s home on weekend days so we try to do special things then that include him.
On a typical day I rise early and write or do some housework or just relax outside for awhile. Alaina is our early riser and often joins me for an hour or so before her sister and brother get up. We have breakfast together—I often read aloud during breakfast. Then we do whatever needs to be done that day, interspersing errand running, house cleaning, intellectual pursuits, and projects that need to be worked on. We each make our own lunch when we are hungry but make and eat dinner together.
We do our planning for the week over the weekend so we can put on the calendar those things that really need to be accomplished that week. Adam takes classes at the community college in the evening (German and math, two nights a week) and the girls usually take some kind of class (art, music, gymnastics, etc.). All three children are active in both spring and fall soccer.
Do you belong to a support group?
Yes, I belong to two. I belong to The Oregon Home Education Network (explained above) and to a local unschooling support group. We get together for social activities and learning experiences.
Is your extended family supportive of your educational choices?
Yes—they are very supportive. They still don’t really understand that we don’t “do school” at home (they live a long way away and rarely see us here). But they see that the children are doing well and are happy and well educated.
They have worried, over the years, about their ability to go to college, but are satisfied now that there won’t be any problem should that be the childrens’ choice.
What is the best advice you can give to someone just starting out or someone thinking about homeschooling?
Read everything you can and talk to as many people as you can who homeschool in different ways. Relax and enjoy your children—they will learn more from seeing that light of happiness and enthusiasm glowing in your eyes than from anywhere else. Remember that your family can be in control of your own learning experiences—all the experts in the world can’t come up with a better plan than you can just by listening to, and observing, your own children. You don’t have to know or do everything—there is great power in learning alongside your child or in helping your child to find an expert or mentor in a specialized field.
For every family there is a slightly different style of homeschooling, and it may take some time for you to find the one that fits you and your family best—and what fits today may not fit tomorrow as children grow and needs change. Be flexible, communicate as effectively as you can, and become a good listener. In your heart you’ll know what to do.
Is there anything else you would like to add to your story?
It took a long time for homeschooling to feel comfortable to me—before I could see it as something more than what we did because the schools had failed us so badly.
Then, one day, I realized that we were homeschooling because we all thought it was the best possible life and education we could create. I have truly learned as much as my children—much of it right in there with them as we all struggled to learn and grow together.
There have been rough spots, but in the end I think we are closer and more committed to each other than we could have been under any other set of circumstances. My children are responsible, capable, loving people and I love spending time with them.
Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense
Homeschooling Our Children Unschooling Ourselves
