Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Smith:
Today, we’ll hear from long-time homeschooling dad and homeschool leader, David Monk. Welcome to the program, David!

David Monk:
Hi, Mike! It’s good to talk to you.

Mike:
David, your parents’ and your in-laws’ involvement seems to have greatly enriched your family’s homeschooling experience. Was there some initial hesitation from your children’s grandparents when you and your wife chose to homeschool? And how did you successfully address any of those concerns?

David:
Well, yes, you’re right when you say that the grandparents in our children’s lives have really enriched their experience. There’s nothing that our kids love better than showing grandma and grandpa their latest report, essay, first grade math book, or even now their SAT test scores.

Our parents were not totally excited about our decision to homeschool at the beginning. But they came around. Both grandmas were teachers, so they were quite discriminating. And we would do things like invite them to our homeschool activities, we’d show them Iowa Test scores. We used the same curriculum that my mom used in her private school for some subjects, and one particularly fun thing we did during holidays was let the kids show off their learning by reading something that they had written. We made extra effort to also explain to them the vision behind our homeschooling. We invited them to our homeschool convention and they could see that we are not alone.

But you know what finally cinched it, frankly, was watching our success. Nothing wins the hearts of grandparents better than bright, respectful, and pleasant grandchildren.

Mike:
Well David, thank you for that tremendous insight today! And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.