Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Without oxygen a fire goes out. Terri Camp, a homeschool mother of eight, talks with Home School Legal Defense Association Chairman and General Counsel Michael Farris about how encouragement keeps the fire of learning burning brightly, on this edition of Home School Heartbeat.

Michael Farris:
Okay, Terri, there are moms listening who see their kids losing that spark for learning that they once had when their school year started. What is the "oxygen" you suggest that they supply to fan that spark into a flame?


Terri Camp:
Well, Mike, the oxygen to a full-blown flame is the parent. A parent is ever watchful for that glint of spark in their child's eye, and then they go for it. Sometimes that might mean we have to change direction that we were intending to go in order to get a fire raging in our child. Or it might mean that we need to help fan the flames a little to get our children exited about something they're learning. An example of that would be creating some kind of game based on what we're studying, like if we're learning a geographic region, you could have your children go on a treasure hunt and the more information they find, the more likely they're able to find the hidden treasure. Believe me, kids love to find hidden treasure. But really the greater treasure for them is that they find they're really enjoying the quest for knowledge. We also use a lot of living books with our children. It's amazing to see a child who's being read a book, and you can almost see the wheels turning in their head as they want to know more about a certain subject or a region or a concept. And often, as they're reading, one good book will turn into another good book.