If you are new, you should know...

[KF2000]

....(fill in your answer here!)

Sodalitas registration went live yesterday, and the event has me feeling a bit nostalgic for being a newbie to MP. Back then, there was no such thing as Sodalitas, there was not a single Core yet, and the Forum had never seen threads turn to such topics as ladies’ pantaloons, scrunchie hair bands and mix tapes, or heated discussions of some pretty famous books! (Maybe this needs to be an apology-post instead of a query-post!)

And it got me wondering what others have realized by using MP that they never expected...???

For me, it was all of those things...Sodalitas and the women I have become such good friends with because of it; coming to know MP folks as real, ordinary people; and cherishing the sense of community all those relationships have added to our homeschooling journey. I used to research and read posts all the time; but knowing people personally makes those posts that much more important to me.

Oh, and school is awesome too - but I was expecting that!

AMDG,
Sarah

[Melisa Burke]

....that even if you get sidetracked and leave MP for a few years, you can come back and get all the help you need on where to begin again. Plus, your friends on the Forum are welcoming, kind and supportive.

[CherryBlossomMJ]

... grade year does not have to equal annual school year.

[pickandgrin]

... That it's not expected that you complete every single question in every single guide in every single core every single year. (That one took me two school years to figure out.)

[pickandgrin]

Oh! And that there's a pretty distinct format break between primary (K-2) and third grade. It's wonderful, and, I didn't know that was what was happening for several years.

[pickandgrin]

... That teachers in classrooms are often new to the material, just like me.

[pickandgrin]

... That Mrs. Lowe started learning Latin when she was 40.

Ok, I'll stop. That one is a mic drop anyway.

[tanya]

I love this thread ...

Tanya

[Mom2mthj]

...that this is the most helpful, kind group ever. I wish I had known about it when I first started with MP. Come to Sodalitas, they are even better in person!

[Beorn]

....that the staff of Memoria Press *genuinely* care about you and your children. In all of my dealings that I have ever had, never once have I gotten the sense that I was simply a customer number or simply a consumer with dollars to be taken. They genuinely care, they sacrifice and give willingly (as able).

And the President of MP even opens doors at the Sodalitas gathering. True story! As we are taking our food trays over to the gym from the kitchen area, there is Mr. Lowe opening the door and helping out. Just a microcosm glimpse that aptly shows the heart and humility of this wonderful company, and more importantly, family.

[enbateau]

MP will make you feel more proud to be American (or at least thankful if you in a country that values and protects freedom of speech, assembly, and just governance). After so many years in public schools across the globe--9 schools in 12 years--and 4 years of university indoctrination, bereft of any philosophical underpinnings of American republicanism and democracy, I had become rather disenchanted with my home country. I somehow managed to grow upa and travel all around the world with teachers and friends from all stripes, and yet I was never taught why anything was the way it was, how America is great, and how truly exceptional this country is. MP set me on a collision course with some of the greatest thinkers of our time, and MP's Judeo-Christian emphasis is stamped all over the curriculum.

I just listened to an incredible speech by Candace Owens exhorting our next generation to return to the study of Western Civilization, giving them a highlight reel of its significance and explaining how this wealth of knowledge has been hidden from our youth in a most nefarious way. As Gen Z-ers are waking up from being woke and seeking this deficit of knowledge, I am hopeful that MP users won't be a bunch of fish swimming against the current too much longer.

Buying MP products from MP (supporting a small business I love) and teaching MP materials to my family helps me feel a part of a greater movement to restore virtue, integrity, faith and reason to our constitutional republic.

[pickandgrin]

...that almost everyone needs and utilizes outside help of some form by high school and many do this in middle school. This help includes options like live or recorded online courses, tutorial or co-op classes, bartering with other parents, dual-enrollment at a local college or online, etc.

Last year at Sodalitas I asked for a show of hands in the Veteran Roundtable session (last one on the page here, now free! https://www.memoriapress.com/streami...hering-videos/) to see how many, if anyone, did everything at home. Not. One. Hand. Now that certainly doesn't mean you can't fly solo through high school with a high level of parent investment and well-ordered materials. But that is not what most are doing. Most high school students are no longer being actively homeschooled by their parents. They themselves are the homeschoolers. Their experience more closely models college where they attend a class(es) once per week, whether in person or online, and then complete assignments and prepare during the week for the next meeting. Parents generally oversee the student's course of study and find opportunities that work with their plan, schedule, budget, and the student's outside commitments (interests, internships, jobs, etc.). Parents may teach their child a class or two in their area of personal expertise or passion. What that looks like varies widely. Parents keep the kids legal by reporting to the state or umbrella school as required and help with transcripts and the college application process, when applicable.

Our first six years of homeschooling we did everything at home with no outside help of any kind. I would have never guessed that this is what it looks like as kids age.

So if your oldest is a 6 year old and you spend afternoons hiding under the kitchen table breathing into a brown paper sack about teaching Calculus, Metaphysics, Dante, Cicero, and Chemistry, then take heart. Very few of us do that. I certainly do not!

[KF2000]

These are all so, so good!

I will add another that came to mind today:

....that your kids will moan and groan about every single aspect of school that they dislike; that their most favorite and least favorite subjects will vary by the year, the month, the week, and sometimes the day; that there will be eye-rolling over every thing that seems tedious; that they will ask to get out of at least some of their work every single day because kids (despite what you may have been told) are naturally LAZY;

AND.....

....that NONE of this is anything to be worried about!

These same kids that do all of these things LOVE their schooling, LOVE to argue and discuss, LOVE to pull things from what they have learned to try to win over someone else - even if its about the most ridiculous things - and that someday your child will come to you and thank you for giving him/her this education because it has prepared them so well for their next step in life.

There is so much tomfoolery about catering to what your kids want to do so that you don't squelch their love of learning. It's all hooey. Kids want to be smart - every single one of them. They want to know. But at the same time, they are kids and most of them do not want to work hard. Don't let that get in the way of challenging them to do their best on the hardest things. They are capable of so much more than they realize and the only way to tap into that potential is to meet them where they are and then challenge them to do more; to reach higher, to try again, to keep going. They will reach the end of the year and realize that they have done something really special, something they didn't think they could. And that feeling is addictive. It grows each and every year so that they come to expect great things from themselves for the rest of their lives. And that is one version of what is meant by "the pursuit of wisdom and virtue."

AMDG,
Sarah

[KikaMarie]

. . . that when the MP parents and staff tell you that you will find your family's own way to do MP, they are telling you the truth. Although it will take time, you will find your way and you will grow more deeply into the materials along with your children.

. . . that when you are tempted to go down a rabbit hole, you can go there on your own, without switching curriculum on your children. Read and ponder all kinds of educational possibilities if you are curious and let your imagination wander, but take your questions to the MP forum for input from these experienced educators. The parents on here have not only vast experience with MP's classical materials, many of them have tried various homeschooling/educational styles and philosophies and they have a lot of wisdom. Like Sarah noted above, there are universal truths about educating children and young people. We can save ourselves some pain by learning from the veterans.

A bit of an aside, I wandered down any number of rabbit holes before committing to MP and it put one of my children farther behind than he needs to be. So since committing to MP cores two years ago, I am seldom tempted by anything. But if you are new and haven't wandered down those paths, you can still learn about them, but stay with your MP commitment for your children's work, and present your questions and ideas to the MP forum.

This is a great thread - thank you!

Monica