Nathaneil Brown, 13, standing, helps his younger sister, Abigail, 7, find information about clown fish while their mother, Michelle, helps Timothy, 5, with his numbers. Most weekday mornings, Michelle helps the two youngest children with language and math while the four older ones do independent study. In the afternoons, the family has class together to study history or science. (Teri Weaver / Stars and Stripes)
YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — Michelle Brown has six children and this year, for the first time, she has six students.
Michelle and her husband, Kevin, homeschool their children: Matthew, 17; Elizabeth, 15; Nathaniel, 13; Hannah, 10; Abigail, 7; and Timothy, 5.
Michelle started home schooling the oldest boy 12 years ago. He’ll graduate from high school this year. The youngest boy began kindergarten in September.
On a recent morning, Michelle timed the kindergartner while he wrote numbers; helped Abby, in second grade, identify homonyms; and tried to help Matthew, the oldest, answer a question about longitude and latitude. In between, she moved a load of clothes from the washer to the dryer.
It all happens around the dining room table, where a Bible, fresh flowers, salt and pepper shakers, a butter dish, workbooks and a box of pencils all sit.
The Browns, Independent Baptists, feel traditional public schools are “anti-Christian,” she said, and find what they consider weaknesses in traditional schooling systems, such as grouping kids by age. “In the real world, you’re in groups of people of all ages,” she said. “Our kids don’t mind being with their younger siblings.”
She and her husband also share concerns of most parents, like peer pressure or teasing because their kids may have different beliefs than most others, she added.
“We don’t want them to have to go through that,” Brown said. Home is “a safe environment to let them be who they are.”
Each family approaches home schooling differently, said the families who talked with Stars and Stripes. A typical week for the Browns works like this:
Most weekdays, class starts at 9 a.m. with Bible study for everybody. By 9:30, the older children do independent study while Michelle works with the youngest ones on language and math. From 11 to noon, the kids have freedom to play, exercise or read.
At noon, either Michelle or Matthew makes lunch. Each of the kids have specified duties, from who clears the table to who takes out the trash. After lunch, the children fold laundry while Michelle reads aloud for about an hour.
Afternoons start with more formal classes. Twice a week, Michelle teaches science; twice a week, history. She teaches the kids together but says she caters to their abilities and grade level. Later, she meets one-on-one with the oldest children to discuss their homework, their problems and their next assignments.
Matthew said he’s liked his education because it lets him learn at his own pace but did admit some drawbacks. “I do miss some of the socialization,” he said.
“I think that’s probably one of the things I don’t like.”
Brown said she understands that people who don’t home school often assume the kids become introverts or don’t have enough friends.
She said her children sometimes are shy around strangers or in larger groups. She also said five of them are in a theater group.
The family uses the on-base military schools’ libraries but the kids don’t participate in any sports, activities or classes, she said.
Matthew is planning to attend a small Christian college in Tennessee next year, he said.
Most colleges, and the U.S. military, accept high school degrees earned through home schooling, Brown said.
To prepare for college, Matthew took the Scholastic Assessment Test — or SAT — and scored a 1540; the highest possible score at the time was 1600.
Nathaneil Brown, 13, standing, helps his younger sister, Abigail, 7, find information about clown fish while their mother, Michelle, helps Timothy, 5, with his numbers. Most weekday mornings, Michelle helps the two youngest children with language and math while the four older ones do independent study. In the afternoons, the family has class together to study history or science. (Teri Weaver / Stars and Stripes)
Abigail Brown, who is 7 and in the second grade, practices her use of homonyms, words that sound the same but have different meanings. Her mother, Michelle, asked her to make a sentence changing "write" into "right." Abigail stumbled a little until her mother said, with a smile: "How about, 'Mama is always right?'" (Teri Weaver / Stars and Stripes)
The Browns practice a religous song on a Friday morning in their home that they plan to perform at an upcoming project fair for homeschooling families. Most mornings, the family starts the day with Bible study. On this day, Matthew, 17 and the oldest, played the piano while their mother, Michelle (standing, second from the left) gave direction. The other children are (starting clockwise from their mother): Hannah, 10; Nathaneil, 13; Timothy, 5; Elizabeth, 15; and Abigail, 7. (Teri Weaver / Stars and Stripes)
