THE BRAINY BUNCH

How a group of children attended college at an early age.

The Hardings claim that their 10 children are not special or brilliant or geniuses in any way. And yet, six of them were in college by the age of 12. The couple outline their methods for achieving this success in a straightforward, practical guide that takes an anyone-can-do-this approach. Their strong faith in God is the foundation for their achievements, they believe; another pillar is their deep love for their children and for each other. The Hardings turned away from public schools, where they contend too much time is wasted doing unproductive things like standing in line and children work at a pace set by the teacher, not the student. They wanted to gear the studies toward what interested their children, not what was deemed appropriate to learn at specific age levels. They also wanted to incorporate prayer and Bible studies into their curriculum. Through home schooling, the Hardings were able to attain these goals and much more, as evidenced by the success of their children. The kids, whose essays are included here, had a voice in their education, branching out and diving deeply into topics that interested them, limiting time spent on those subjects that did not. The Hardings outline what worked for them, answer potential questions people contemplating this route might encounter, give readers an idea of a typical daily schedule, suggest ways to incorporate math, science, history and art into a routine, and include an extensive section on resources for further information. However, they don’t closely examine the social dimension involved in sending children to college at such an early age.

Although strongly Christian-based, the methods defined here could work for others willing to buck convention and go the home-schooling route.