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May 21, 2004
A DAY IN THE LIFE Home school has positive effect on Pahrump family
By GINA B. GOOD
Three years ago, Kathy and Maciej Szczerbiak made "the desperate decision" to educate their two daughters, ages 8 and 7, at home. "At first, we put Alexandra and Gabrielle in private school," said Kathy. "That alleviated a lot of the worry that our children would be taught things we didn't necessarily want them to learn. But there is always peer pressure and other real concerns." Finally, the expense of having two children in private school forced the couple to consider home schooling their girls. "At that time making the decision to home school our children felt pretty desperate," remembered Kathy. "But ultimately, we decided we didn't want our kids raised by other people." "I really liked my friends at school," interjected Gabrielle, a precocious 8-year old. "But I decided to go to home school because I got to be with my mom more often. "I also get to be with my sister all the time. (When we were in school) if we were on different teams that was okay because we're only like ... 10 feet apart, right? But on the playground, we don't like to get very far apart. Even if we're just at a small park, we stick together." The children are now in third and second grade, respectively, and from their logbooks full of stars and completed coursework, both children are doing quite well. "Home schooling the children has been a good decision," said Kathy. "But you have to realize when you make this commitment that you will sacrifice. You don't realize how many things you'll have to give up and how your life will change, but the positive aspects of home schooling are so tremendous they far outweigh the downside." To give structure to the day, Kathy and the children attend school during set hours in their designated school area: the kitchen-dining nook. What used to be a pantry is now their school resource cupboard, filled to overflowing with colorful workbooks, math and phonics flashcards and projects that are over and above curriculum requirements. Subjects range from art to physical education and include teacher study guides. Slender, age-appropriate storybooks take up most of one shelf. As each storybook is completed, Alex and Gabrielle look forward to selecting another to read aloud to their teacher. A whiteboard dominates one wall, along with an alphabet poster, cursive writing chart, a cardboard clock face and various other teaching aids. The remaining walls hold test charts showing results of each day's accomplishments, leaving no doubt that this is the girls' classroom. Each school day begins with a short prayer. "When we start with prayer, we know we're not going to do anything at school that is not becoming to God. Prayer also helps me be more grounded," explained Kathy. "I take a deep breath and go, 'OK God, I can do this.'" The first subject of the day is math. Alex is working on multiples of 12 and still has 36 out of 360 pages in her workbook to complete before summer break. Gabrielle is up to multiples of 5 with only 19 more workbook pages to finish. Spelling is next and after completing their lesson - with today's new words added to the whiteboard - the kids remind their teacher it's time for a break. "We have a smoothie break," said Alexandra. "Smoothies have lots of vitamins and calcium and mama makes them home made." With chocolate fruit smoothies consumed and glasses rinsed, the girls begin creative writing and cursive writing practice. "We complete the exercises in our workbooks, or I might have them write a story about a trip we took - like what they saw at the zoo," said Kathy. "We went to the zoo twice, but not the same zoo," said Alexandra. "One was live animals and one was prehistoric animals." "That was the wildlife museum in Utah," corrected the teacher. "I remember," said Gabrielle. "That one even had real big bones." The day also includes language arts and Alex is currently learning adjectives. "She already knows how to separate the subject from the predicate. I enjoy brushing up on some of this," said Kathy. Toward the end of their school day, the girls alternate between science, history or a class called health, safety and manners. "We usually save art or music or outdoor activities for last," explained Kathy. "It's an incentive for all of us to get to that place." Today, a science project is scheduled and the children plant strawberry seeds and peanuts indoors in pots. Talk turns to hybrid plants. Previous science projects include planting a vegetable garden. "They pick carrots, wash them and eat them for snacks. They think that's fun. The girls also made their own weather vane and barometer when they learned about weather systems," said their teacher. "I've had the benefit of a lot of good advice from some very wise women friends here in Pahrump. They have passed along ideas that help me keep the girls engaged in the learning process. One incentive system we use is when one of the girls does 100 percent on a test she gets a sticker on her test chart. If you get 10 stickers in a row, you earn a trip." Field trips have encompassed everything from watching a cow give birth to special rewards like a motorboat ride down the Colorado River with dad. "Daddy let me drive the boat!" said Alex. "Me too!" added Gabrielle. "Dad works long hours at his regular job, then spends time in his home workshop with his custom knife business, so the girls spend less time with him than they do with me. But they do have time with him, whether it's helping him work on the car or while he's teaching them to use the computer." Sometimes the family has to confront prejudice. "Yesterday, I took the kids to the public swimming pool after school. I brought along some course work to grade and a woman asked the girls if their mother was a teacher. They said yes. When she asked what school they attended, the girls told her they were home schooled. The woman told them that doesn't really count. "That's just not true. Children schooled at home are required to attend school for 180 days like everybody else does. The days have to be logged with proof that you are keeping up with the curriculum. All of that is very important to me. Using our current curriculum, the girls will be well ahead of public school. By the time they are in 10th grade, they could be ready to graduate from a public high school and be intellectually able to start on college level coursework. "To home school a child you must register with the school district. They check the girls' tests. It's for the children's welfare - to make certain they are really being educated at home. "Some people don't realize parents are teachers, whether they feel like it or not. Parents are examples ... for good or bad ... and if you want your kids to be acceptable in society, then you have to teach them that. "I understand some people are uncomfortable with children being taught at home," continued Kathy. "At first, my own mother was worried about her granddaughters' social skills. But my husband and I make sure the girls are well rounded and that they know how to interact with people. "The kids are in a dance group and we're thinking about music lessons. Sometimes they join activities at home school groups so they are gaining socialization skills in various ways." Kathy recently started a part-time weekend position for a few months where her children join with a handful of other kids in outdoor adventures. "They have taken classes in personal safety - learning how to tell a person to stay back and stop. They've also learned to shoot a small .22 caliber Chipmunk rifle and taken archery lessons. They climbed the rock wall, took the children's rope course and learned to rappel. All those activities enable them to interact with other children. "There are days I feel overwhelmed, but then I remind myself what the long-term value is. And while every day may not be perfect, some days are." |
