Warrior Training Explanation

This post is to help explain how we "do school" at our home. I attended a short homeschool moms' retreat this weekend and some were wanting to know more.

For the most part, we call school "Warrior Training." When we started this, we discussed character traits of warriors (determination, endurance, strength, responsibility, self discipline, leaders, perseverance, etc).  Of course, Jesus is our prime example of a true "Warrior." We often refer to these traits as we are "in training." For example, if someone tries to skip over difficult words instead of trying to read them correctly I might remind him of how sometimes doing little things that seem pointless lead to great results. For example: taking a very long time to sharpen an arrow will lead the hunter to make a quicker kill. Taking a few more seconds to say the word correctly will help you read better in the future.

For each "warrior" their weekly mission is given to them using the charts below. I print this out and have it in a sheet protector on a clipboard so they can use a dry erase marker to mark off what they do during the day.

Here is Jackson's chart (he is 7 and starting 2nd grade).

Here is John Gannon's chart (he is 11 and starting 6th grade).

As you can see, all of their "required" work is outlined for them using the charts. They are allowed to choose what they work on and when. The only boundary I have is that they must agree to do the subject I teach them together at the same time. I am only available from 6 a.m. until 3:00 for those things. (For us, those subjects are Bible, writing, spelling, vocabulary, history and science). 

We establish what constitutes completion of one task. For example, for John we decide how many pages he must read to make up 1 point of reading (sometimes it might be 30 pages, sometimes 70, or maybe the entire book--it depends on the difficulty of the book). When he completes the required reading, he marks off 1 reading. If he chooses to continue reading and completes the agreed upon number of pages again, he can mark off another reading.

Each week, I look at our schedule and decide how many points each warrior must earn in order to complete the weekly mission. For example, this week we are attending a walking history tour which will take up more time than we would normally be out of the house. So, I decreased the number of points required by 3. I actually have already marked off three things on their charts instead of letting them choose which 3 to omit. (If I allowed them to choose, they would always choose 3 of the most difficult things. Guess how I learned that :) 

Once they complete a weekly mission (all the points are earned for the week), they mark off one week on this chart. We do 32 weeks of school during the year. On this sheet, you will notice we have a few missions that "pay." I attended a homeschool conference this past Spring and one of the presenters suggested to offer money for them teaching themselves on their own. So far--it has not motivated my children at all. I will be incorporating these into our chart soon if I don't see any progress. Anytime you try an intervention, it is always good to give it a 6-8 week shot before scrapping it. We are starting week 4 of school this week.

During the week, each warrior is allowed to go beyond what my requirements are. If they complete more than is required, they can put those points "in the bank" to use during a week in which they may not feel good or want a break. For example, if Jackson has completed 5 readings instead of 4, he can put one reading point in the bank to use whenever he wants. I keep up with this in a notebook. I have a page for each child and just make tally marks by each subject to keep up with how many points they have in the bank in each subject. When they use them, I just scribble through one of the tally marks. So far this year, both of my warriors have things in the bank. This means that they have actually done more work that I have asked of them!!

Just a note: I am not home on Mondays due to work and the boys stay with my mother in law. They choose what work they want me to sent to their Granny's house for them to complete. They can choose to do lots or just a little that day. On Tuesday morning, we go over their work and fill in the amount of points they earned. 

Because each child chooses what they do each day, there are days they choose to do a little and days they choose to do a lot. I let them guide that. I know longer have to fuss and feel like they are disobedient if they don't finish. It is up to them. If they haven't completed a week on Friday, they don't mark a week completed to count towards the 32. So, the next week, not only do they have to finish what they didn't complete from the previous week, but the next week as well. It was all their choice. This means that in actuality, they may have to work during what would have been intended to be summer break. It is all up to them. They can get ahead or behind...they choose.

A few tips on implementing something like this:

• I had to give a few weeks of "practice" for us to get the amount of points right for a weeks worth of work. One time I had too few points required, another I had too many. You will have to play around and see what works best your each warrior.
• Fits, crying, and complaining now all become such teachable moments. One Thursday evening Jackson realized that John had finished his work for the week and was not going to have anything to do on Friday. He fussed and whined that "he had too much work left to do." This would have normally been a big deal. Instead, I just asked him what led him to the place where he had this much work left to do. He was able to identify it was because he didn't do much at his Granny's and on Tuesday he didn't work very long. We were able to link that back to several character traits and how those character traits can positively effect our lives and circumstances. Lesson learned.
• I don't limit schools to week days. They may work on weekends if they want--except on the things that I teach jointly or if they require individual instruction from me.
• Change the chart when something is completed. For example, John is getting fairly proficient at typing. At some point in the near future, I will take that off and change it to something else.
• Last year, I could not do this with Jackson. He did not understand it at all. I made a chart that had a list of things to do each day. This year, he fully understands and is able to do it.
• This system will not work for all children. It just happens to work for mine. 

It takes them a week or 2 to fully understand the benefits. I encouraged a lot during those first two weeks for them to earn extra points so they could realize the benefits of having things in the bank and completing tasks early so they can have extra time off, etc.

I will gladly answer any other questions you may have. Also, if you aren't thrilled about creating your own charts and you want to use this, I can email you copies of my charts so you can change and put your information in them.

Live a Meaningful Life!