by webturtle » Sun Sep 11, 2005 6:09 pm
I don't have kids and I simply can't imagine trying to run this enterprise AND schooling children (never mind remembering to feed them! LOL). My dear sister though, homeschools two boys, with toddler girl who will probably also be homeschooled.
They live in a small city, and knew they weren't putting the kids in the public school. The oldest boy is some kind of genius - he's got his own 'issues' around the fact that he's SO far advanced and the way his brain works. His little brother is a healthy, normal little boy. So she sent the oldest to the Christian school in town. And almost immediately, he started unravelling. It seemed that a lot of the kids who were in this class were really badly disciplined and misbehaving and the parents sent them there hoping that christian school would straighten them out. My nephew was like "oh, COOL! I want to be like them." So everything my sister taught him in the first 5 years of life was coming undone. And he wasn't learning, he was unhappy, begging not to go each day.
She is a licensed teacher, with a special education degree. She figured if she could have worked with severely handicapped kids, she could handle homeschooling. When the second boy was ready, he started lessons at home too. There is such an enormous community of homeschoolers in her area that those are probaby the best socialized kids in the world - they're in all kinds of activities, sports, theater, field trips with other kids, etc. And best of all, they're blossoming in absolutely amazing ways.
Case in point: Last year, at the age of 7, her oldest went into a whirl of activity one day and told her he'd let them in on it when he was done. At the end of the day, he hung signs around the house that said "Wires four sale" with arrows pointing to his bed. At the foot of the bed, he'd created a store. Basically, he'd gotten his hands on an old computer. Stripped all the wires and straightened them, cut into equal lengths and sorted by color. Then he packaged reds, blues and blacks together in plastic wrap and put them in jars. He took empty boxes and labeled one "Returns" (he was very proud that this stayed empty) and the other Cash "Register." His coins were neatly stacked in the box. Then, to their total disbelief, he handed them a piece of paper folded in half that said "Wire cadlog" - inside, he drew pictures of his 3 products and their prices.
But it gets better. He also had a small device there with a switch and a tiny fan, and a battery so he could demonstrate to people how the wires could potentially be used.
My sister and her husband (educators and scientists, not entrepreneurs) were FLOORED. He was very serious about his business too - and neither of them could figure out how he came up with this at 7! I mean, they didn't teach him about business or commerce or anything - he had apparently absorbed all this info his self. But, they called me and told me about it. I drove down there to see his shop for myself (I told him I needed to buy some wire) and the little bugger sold me MORE than I had meant to buy by convincing me that I could them in crafts too.
My sister kept saying "are you sure you didn't talk to him about having a store???" and I said "Nope - but just let me get my hands on him!"
Good grief! I don't think she intends to ever put them back in school, the way they are thriving. And I can't wait to see what he is cooking up by 10!