Chapter 14 of Educating the WholeHearted Child

I am so excited to be writing about Chapter 14 in Educating the WholeHearted Child!!

We are definitely a family that subscribes to having a large amount of what Clay and Sally Clarkson call Discretionary Studies. These are the activities your child and family do that are in addition to academics and help your child determine they want to do with the talents God gave them.

I have to admit, there were years, especially in high school, when my son spent A LOT of time on discretionary studies. Sometimes I thought it was too much. But now I look back AND I get lots of affirmation from the Clarksons, and I'm glad we spent so much time and energy on the "outside activities".

In fact, there were years when I'd tell my husband, "Ok, that's it, I"m tired of spending hours driving around in the car. We are staying home--only going out one day a week." Praise God that didn't work either!

When my son was in 4^th grade, I asked him what he wanted to study that year. He said he wanted to make a robot. So, I researched on the Internet and found the FIRST Robotics Program and the FIRST Lego League. That was the start of an 8 year involvement in FIRST robotics for our entire family. My son progressed through the teams and taught himself CAD, my husband taught him engineering concepts and about electrical wiring. I became the head judge for the state tournament, and my son helped me train judges, prepare materials, and set up for the tournament.

As a result, he found the college he wanted to attend, did what he needed to do to get in, and is now studying mechanical engineering and robotics.

The exciting part is that our son discovered what it was he loved and pursued it. The Clarksons write, “Too often, our hearts have been broken to see homeschooled children graduate and leave home only to get lost in a determined search to find out who they are.” P. 257

Over the past 12 years, we became involved in a number of activities to expose our children to things we hoped would help them discover what it was they wanted to do given what God gave them. Here are some activities we’ve enjoyed:

Junior Master Gardener – if you have a child who loves agriculture, this is a wonderful program. We did it as a co-op

FIRST Robotics – I cannot say enough good things about this program. There are no levels for all grades. www.usfirst.org. Check your local homeschool board for teams or a local science museum. Better yet, start one yourself at the K-5 level.

4H – We helped start a shooting sports team.

American Heritage Girls – We just started with a group this year and love it. This is a Christ-centered organization where the girls work to earn badges. (The Girl Scouts have done away with badges.)

Explorers – This is a program run jointly by The Boy Scouts and local Sheriff or Fire Departments. Our son did this with the local sheriff’s department and loved it. They learned about the law, the typical week of a law enforcement officer. He was able to attend a week-long law enforcement training academy for teens.

Martial arts - when the teacher realized our son was serious about reaching the highest level, he allowed our son to lead the class at the beginning when they did warm ups. He eventually was able to help assist the teacher. This was a great opportunity for our son to learn leadership skills and patience. If your child is involved in something like this, talk with the teacher and see if you can work something out like this.

I highly recommend the notebooks the Clarksons recommend in this chapter. I wish we had done this—it would have been helpful when preparing college applications and the resume my son needed for his college. We did do Notebooking for science and history, but it would be fun to keep one for their extracurricular activities as a remembrance as your child discovers who God made them to be and what He wants them to do.

I love how the Clarksons liken these discretionary studies as the roof of the house. They hold all your child knows and is together. The Clarksons explain that these studies help your child grow into an adult who spends their life becoming who God wants them to be, not searching for what God wants them to be.

Another important and "hot topic" the Clarksons cover is standardized testing. Here in NC, it's required. We did the Iowa tests through BJU Testing Service. Since our son told us he wanted to go onto college, we did spend time helping him develop his test taking skills. We also spent a lot of time on vocabulary, reading comprehension, and grammar--we did this via reading a lot of good literature and living books.

Don't get yourself or your child nervous about the test taking. Remember, you are the best teacher for your child--God made homeschooling a reality for your family, you are doing what He has planned for your family.

I mentioned above--that the Clarksons write--the important thing is that your child spends their live being who God wants them to be, not searching for what to be.

Enjoy helping your children explore their talents and interests!