Yes, They're All Ours - Softcover

Marilyn Boyer; Rick Boyer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0970877013 ISBN 13: 9780970877017

Publisher: The Learning Parent, 1994

Synopsis

Written by the parents of twelve homeschooled children. This gives us a glimpse into what life is like for a big family of fourteen people. You will laugh with the Boyers as humerous events take shape and gain an insight into child training, family planning, and home education. If you love children, this book will help you celebrate the uniqueness of every family.

About this title

About the Author

Rick and Marilyn Boyer are pioneers of the home education movement, having taught since 1980. Their family numbers 14 children,including five who have completed high school at home and one college graduate. They have authored several books and are frequent speakers at home school conventions.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

We discovered home education by accident, or so it seemed. When Rick and Tim were four and three years old respectively, we sent them to our church's excellent preschool program. There were only a handful of boys and girls in preschool as our church was small and we enrolled only children of members for the most part. There were two and sometimes three adults working with the children and the training was very much spiritually oriented. We loved the things that were being taught and the wise, loving way the teachers treated the little people. We had no objection whatever to what was going on with Rick and Tim. It was what Nathan and Joshua were enduring that made us change direction.

I was in the bathtub one evening soaking out the kinks my body had collected during the day. Marilyn came in to talk (Henry Youngman used to say he wished his wife would stay out of the bathroom when he was in the tub because she was so immature. She couldn't resist the urge to sink all his boats). My wife took a seat somewhere and said she had something on her mind.

"What would you think about my teaching Rickey kindergarten at home next year?" she asked.

I gave my standard reply to unexpected questions. "Huh?"

"I'm wondering if I could keep the boys home next year and teach Rickey kindergarten myself. What do you think?"

It should be remembered that this took place back when I was young, approximately the same year the Ark landed. I had never heard of home education other than in the case of Abraham Lincoln.

"Why do that instead of sending the boys back to school? We've got a fantastic school."

"I know," she said. "It's getting them there that's the problem."

She went on to explain the problems of commuting. Although we were able to carpool to a limited extent, Marilyn was the school bus driver for our boys most of the time. The trip to school was made three times a week. Rick and Tim attended half days on Monday and Wednesday, Rick alone on Friday. So three days each week Marilyn buckled the boys into their car seats and made an hour-long round trip to drop off Rick and Tim.

It was tiny Nathan and Joshua who suffered most. They spent two hours each day strapped in their seats so that their brothers could have four hours in school. And I could see how Marilyn would chafe at all the wasted time. She's very efficient and would much rather be home with her children than out running around town. The situation really chopped up the day for everyone.

The idea of home education caught me off-guard but it wasn't hard to get used to. Marilyn had been an education major in college with the intention of being an elementary school teacher before she threw her life away and married me. She had done considerable student teaching while in high school and had been an excellent student herself. She had squeezed two years' college credit into one year's time (I squeezed two years' credit into eight years' time) and the superintendent of schools in her home town had told her before she left for college that she would have a teaching job waiting for her when she finished. There was no doubt she had the ability. And after all, it was just for kindergarten.

After a consultation with our school's administrator who assured us we could handle it, we finalized our decision. It turned out to be life-changing.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Learning Parent
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0970877013
• ISBN 13: 9780970877017
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 183