Open letter to new homschooling parents
First of all - take a deep breath! You’re doing fine. You WILL find a way of homeschooling that works well for you and your kids and everything will work GREAT!
Everybody has their own homeschooling style and they vary greatly - from very strict “school at home” to the very natural “unschooling” and everything in between. So, first I’ll give you my advice, then I’ll include my own opinions.
1. Read about the different methods of homeschooling. Some common ones are “distance learning”, “Charlotte Mason”, “Classical”, “Unit Studies” and “unschooling”. There are also several others. As you learn about the different methods, one or more will jump out at you as
something you’d like for you children and family. You can find GREAT, books that outline these at the library. Also, you can do an internet search for “homeschool methods” and see what you come up with.
2. Read other people’s homeschooling stories. There are entire books of people’s stories along the lines of “a day in our life of homeschooling” type things. They’re extremely helpful to actually “see” what homeschooling looks like in all sorts of other people’s homes. No two homeschooling families are the same. You’ll find little tidbits here and there that you would like to incorporate into your own home.
3. Join a local homeschool support group. This will get you in touch with people who are homeschooling right now, who are really nice and welcoming and more than happy to share their insight! There are all different types – religiously based, area based, co-ops (you get
together to give little “classes” and have your kids join some too, given by other homeschool parents and even teens), activity/outing based. Find one or two that sound good and join in! They’re INVALUABLE! Here is one site I found for groups in your state. I’m sure you can find more with internet searches.
All of these things will give you many, many ideas that will start to shape your schooling style. Your style will also adjust as you actually start to DO it, and as things change in your family
(additions, crises, moving, aging, etc.)
My own family’s homeschool has looked very different each year as we’ve gone through changes and even some major crises. But as we grow, our schooling grows, and adapts naturally to fit us. I started out with absolutely no money to spend on school stuff. We did that for 5 months and loved it. We’ve gone through a phase that included many text books and worksheets. And, now, this year, we’ve really finally settled into the groove that’s right for us. I really wish we’d been doing things this way all along, but you know, those first couple years were just a learning experience! The kids are better off for it than they were when they were in public school, and we’ve all grown together and are happy with what works for us.
You’ll start out somewhere, and it will be good. And as you continue, you will gradually change things here and there, and you’ll find your family’s niche too. And it’ll all be a wonderful journey.
Oh, I said I’d give you my opinions too. For my family, I LOVE the Charlotte Mason method! To practically use Charlotte Mason in your home I HIGHLY recommend the book “Real Learning” by Elizabeth Foss. I really liked the Classical ideas too, but it just didn’t end up being for us. I’m greatly intrigued by unschooling after hearing a talk by a man at a conference who unschooles his children. But it’s not entirely for us either, although I do believe it can work perfectly well.
I like to think we use mainly the Charlotte Mason method with a bit of my own stuff here and there and a whole lot of unschooling throughout the rest of our days. I personally, do not believe in the public-school-at-home type of programs. I definitely believe in catering the subject matter and ways of learning toward each different child.
That’s about it. Feel free to ask me any more questions you may have. I hope I didn’t overwhelm you with all the info! Just follow those 3 points I numbered above and you’ll find a wealth of info you’ll get
really excited about.
How to deal with annoying busybody parents!
My 9yo dd’s way of dealing with these situations goes something like this:
BusyBody: Do you know the capital of North Dakota?
DD: Uh, that stuff is so boring. Did you know koalas are the pickiest eaters on earth? There are several hundred different kinds of eucalyptus, and they will only eat the kind that is poison to
everybody else. It’s not poison to the koalas though. They have something in their stomach that makes it safe. Caterpillars are picky eaters too. They only eat one type of plant for the entire time they are a caterpillar . . .
I’ve never coached her to do this. It’s just something she tends to do on her own, so I haven’t bothered to interfere.
Filed under Homeschool | Comment (0)What Every Parent Ought To Know About Homeschooling! - Yeah Right!
I just have to vent about a conversation I had with my daughter’s best friend’s mom. I am 99.9% sure we will be homeschooling my 7 year old daughter next year. She is unhappy even in the private school she is currently attending. She has no conduct problems, she gets straight A’s but she is unhappy being away from home for close to 7 hours a day. She worries a lot and, because so much time is wasted in the classroom, she has plenty of time to feel anxious and worry about things. I see this problem getting worse as the years pass and school is less and less “fun”.
Not to mention that we are having to work extra hours just to send her to this school and that is causing all of us at home to feel anxious and tired. We believe it will be in the best interest of our entire family if we homeschool her (I have a 17 year old step- daughter with ADHD who is homeschooling this year and will return to public H.S. for her senior year).
Well….. the mother of my daughter’s best friend is also a good friend of mine and just happens to be a stay- at- home mom who has her degree in education. So,(can you guess what’s coming?)she felt the need to tell me her concerns about what will happen with Kelly if
I homeschool her. She thinks that Kelly will get worse with her anxiety if she stays home and we will just be reinforcing the “problems” she is having. She feels that her anxiety will worsen
if she stays home and doesn’t “get out”. She also said that children need the routine of school and that the comfort of that routine will begin to calm her.
Now just wait a minute! Does she think that I will not have a routine if I teach my daughter at home? What does she think I will be doing? Watching Oprah while my daughter plays educational games on the computer? Does she think we will stay inside and never venture out for play-dates and field trips? I am very irked and will say something to her when I can calm down. I actually tried to get a word in edge-wise, but was unable because she wouldn’t stop to take a breath between tidbits of “educator’s wisdom”.
I truly think that most of her “advice” was selfish. She is a great mom and a wonderful person, but I think a part of her feels guilty that she isn’t willing to offer her children an at-home education. Secondly, she wants my daughter to stay in school because her daughter will miss Kelly. They are quite inseparable. I fully intend to make regular play-dates for the girls so they won’t miss each other that much.
O.K. I know that I am over-reacting a little, but this is a decision that I don’t take lightly. It is not like I am just having a knee-jerk reaction to a few small incidences. This has been well thought out and purposeful. I truly believe my daughter will learn better at home. I just don’t need people with their own agenda acting as if I haven’t thought it through.
Thanks for allowing me to rant! I welcome any comments and encouragement. 
Top 50 Homeschooling blogs that you need to read
Top 5 ways to teach your children respect of things
1. When my kids play garage sale and put a ton of toys in one big messy heap I help them clean it up. If they don’t help or run out of steam I put the stuff up that they don’t clean up. We have a walk-up attic so I just put it in a bag and take it upsairs. Sometimes I threaten and they’ll clean up and sometimes they never notice. Sometimes I put it in our real garage sale pile and they never care. Too much stuff!!!! Get rid of some and save the clean up.
2. If they start playing long games and I don’t have two hours, I stop it before they’ve gone too far. I explain how we’ll be leaving in an hour and I don’t want the mess. They don’t like it but limiting the mess contains it. Sometimes I limit the size like “only two stuffed animals each” or “you can make a pile bigger than this box.”
3. They should be old enough to contain themselves from your stuff. A lock would work but might just create a power struggle. I would opt for putting my contacts in a box high in the closet that they can’t reach and don’t know is there.
4. I would have them help with the laundry. My kids like to put the clothes and detergent in the laundry. They also will put things into the dryer. I then make them take their clothes out and I’ll fold. Then, they put in their room. We do it when the clothes are warm so it feels good and they enjoy that. I also see how fast they can take the piles to various rooms and they more or less cooperate. Perhaps if your kids see the work, they’ll be more respectful. If they
continued to not put clothes up, I might tell them they can’t wear any clothes that have not been put in their proper place. If they don’t pick it up in a reasonable time, then the clothes get put away. Eventually, they run out of clothes and understand the need to keep things neat.
Children need to learn to be respectful of things and this is an essential life skill. They can’t go through their co- workers desk, eat the food in the break room if marked otherwise,
move a jacket saving a seat at church or a host of other unwritten property-rights rules. You have to help them see how their behavior negatively effects others.
While I type this message, my 4 and 6 year olds are “camping” complete with sleeping bags, blankets and a host of other toys and “supplies”. I think we’ll do movie night and they can’t watch a movie until it’s more or less picked up.
Filed under Educational, Homeschool | Comment (1)How do I do housework with a toddler?
Many people ask me how I manage to keep sane with the housework whilst having 2 toddlers running around:
My main advice is to keep you expectations low. People with small children are not SUPPOSED to have immaculate house. If the kid(s) get fed, clothes are clean (but not necessarily folded and/or put away), there are clean dishes to be found when you need them, and there are no hazards floating around in the form of overflowing trash cans or just random trash on the floor, you are doing pretty good.
Now how do you get to THAT point even? For me, the key has always been involving the kid(s). I have a play kitchen set in the real kitchen so my little ones can “make” things for dinner too. I go as far as let them play with salt and pepper shakers and small amounts of water so they have things to mix in their little pans so they feel like they are really doing things. My 3yo takes care of the clean silverware. I prerinse/wash the dishes while the kids are playing in either the living room or in their mini-kitchen (or occasionally napping) and very quickly stick them in the dishwasher when they wander into another room for a minute. I have them help bring me dirty clothes to put in the washing machine and, rather than putting clothes in the dryer myself, I hand them to the kids and they throw them in the dryer for me. For a while, I had a small plastic basket my son could use as his laundry basket, but it broke. (I may see if I can find something on clearance after Easter this year to replace it) When the clothes are dry, I have them help carry the clean clothes to the bedroom where the clean clothes laundry basket is. Now that ds is getting older (he’s three), I have him help me fold laundry by playing the “sock matching game”. I just throw all the socks in one area and he looks for matches. He gets super excited when he finds a pair, and I rarely have to fold socks anymore!!! When it is time to take out the trash, I have the kids carry small trash bags out with me. Plastic grocery sacks that have been used as small trash can liners are perfect child size trash bags. I keep bins (with snap on lids to help prevent frequent dumping) for different kinds of toys (dinosaurs, little cars, Little People, blocks, etc) right in the living room where they play, so pick-up time is easy…I can just line up the bins and quickly toss the toys into the appropriate containers (with or without help from small people). When it comes time to vacuum, I let the children take turns with me. I’ll take a turn for a bit to actually get something done, then I hand it off to the next person that wants it to play with while I tidy up a bit more.
Alternatively, an older child can be recruited/hired to watch a little one for a couple hours a week or something to help you catch up on your housework.
Filed under Homeschool | Comment (0)Top 3 Homeschool active activities
My son likes to dance a lot. Sometimes to kids music but a lot of time to my ipod (he especially likes They Might Be Giants since they have all kinds of funny songs like “Dr Worm.”)
If the weather is warm, I put a very large piece of paper on our fence and let him paint with temper paint. We got paper from a doctor’s office that works.
To help get energy out and exercise we often pretend we are trains and run all around the gymnasium at our gym. He follows all of the basketball lines.
So none of those things are sitting at the table things. Garrett recently started to really get into games and puzzles. He can sometimes keep himself occupied with those on his own. Like he can play Candyland with his pretend friends (stuffed animals) and do some 24 piece puzzles on his own, he likes that fishing game where the little fish open their mouths and you try to
catch them.
My Top 5 Homeschooling bloggers!
These are my top 5 homeschooling blogs as of today!
1.Homschool Zoo Annex
I followed this homeschooling blog for some time. However this mom has suffered a lot over the past few months and needs all our support. This is one of my favorite blogs to learn new education resources.
2.A day in the life of…
This homeschool blogger is called Hadias and has 4 kids. Some of the projects that she get’s involved with are amazing and defiantly one you should add to your feed reader.
3.Homeschool online
This place has some great curriculum ideas. The accidental homeschooling post really struck a chord with me! Check it out and tell me what you think.
4.Home Schooling mommy
I have talked about this blog before because i love it so much. The way this women writes is amazing.. I need this blog to help me through the day. To get a real sample of how good this blog then read this post
This blog is very pretty! Its has so many wonderful pictures, which make it a real joy to read in the morning. I need to take note and use more pictures in this blog.
Tell me why Homeschool is a good idea!
I thought I would contribute my latest discussion with a forum poster called Pooky. Male. Doesn't think homeschooling is a good thing, and that parents who homeschool are not thinking of what's best for their children. My reply to his comments follow.
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Pooky:
> I think homeschooling is ok if you have the knowledge and the know how to do it and make your child excel in their studies.
Little Tyke:
If homeschooling were about "schooling" then I would come closer to concurring with you. But homeschooling is not "schooling." Making children excel in their studies is what teachers are supposed to do, right? If parents, according to you, can't do "school" (untrained, uncertified, unaccountable, etc.) to your (or the state's) satisfaction, then by inference, you believe that only teachers can teach. So what are we to make of the cries and moans for parental participation in the public education process? (private schools seem to get much of the help they need) What are parents supposed to teach, if the teachers are the only ones qualified to teach?
I suggest, that what parents are supposed to teach their children, are the socialization skills necessary for their children to be able to get along in a group atmosphere and study … so that they might excel, so to speak. But wait! Isn't it SOCIALIZATION that detractors of home education claim that homeschoolers are lacking?
Finally, "excelling in their studies" is not the goal of compulsory government schooling. Attendance is what is required for children of the state. An education is up to the child, and the parent who requires her child to excel rather than slack off and drop out.
Pooky:
> But to homeschool to keep your child from the public school system because you
> do not agree with the schools educators or the curriculum or to keep them away
> from social interaction with other kids I think is wrong.
Little Tyke:
It's wrong for a parent to do what they feel is best for their children and their family? Public school attendance is mandatory. Compulsory to be exact. It's the institutionalization of all children because they are all a certain age. They are required to attend a state institution for twelve years, at which point they are free to go. The point of this twelve years of mandatory institutionalization is to allegedly educate the children at the expense of the state. Thankfully, a parent is allowed to enroll his or her children in another school at their own expense. Private schools have been around since before public schools. Family based learning has been around since forever. We are still at liberty to privately educate our children, whether you think it's keeping them away from curricula that we believe damages them or rapes their minds or even tells them aliens exist… children belong to their parents and families, not the state.
Dictating, moderating and encouraging "social interaction" is the life work of parents. Many fail it miserably, which is why you see children raped at sleepovers with families unknown to other families. It's why we see gangs of kids with parents who can't seem to control their interactions.
Pooky:
> My son went to public school and graduated from RHS in 2006. Yes he had some
> struggles in school with certain subjects and some of the kids during his
> younger years but I helped him with his studies and told him when he had
> trouble with kids stand up for himself. He never did start a fight but he
> defended himself and I was and still am proud of him and his accomplishments.
Little Tyke:
I get letters all the time from parents who were in the exact same situation. In most of these cases, the defending child got as bad a punishment as the aggressor. Is that what we send children to school to learn? Don't see why an uncredentialed parent can't just take his kid to a
bad part of town… maybe to the YMCA and have him "interact" with a clique of kids and get himself roughed up a bit. Here kid, here's a few bucks, go play pool and use that smart mouth of yours… see what happens. I'm here for ya.
Is this kind of school "socialization" part of the educational excellence you were talking about?
Something schools are good at? I'm glad your son did well. As a father, I'm right with you on the proud platform! But is it right that because I choose to not publicly school, that my opportunity at pride at our son's accomplishments be trashed as stilted or even damaging to him?
I help him with his studies, when he asks. When he has a conversation with an adult on matters that most public school kids are clueless on… or exhibits a vocabulary much higher than some college students, am I not allowed to be proud at how he's shaping up? My kids have never been in a public school, so I can't say I've had a problem with what a public school was supposed to teach them. Am I still backwards? Am I still doing something wrong in your eyes?
Pooky:
> I think public school educators want what's best for our children and you have
> to be willing to work with them to make your child's school experience a good
> one.
Little Tyke:
Why is that? Why is it so hard to make school a good experience? Shouldn't something so worthwhile, so empowering, so civilization building… be just the cat's meow?
What's the difference between the schools of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle, and the schools of today?
COMPULSION. Sure… the PARENTS are allowed to MAKE their kids go to school, but once the STATE took over that role, the parents then abdicated their inherent responsibilities in this matter.
The difference between public and private schoolers (including homeschoolers) today? Publicly schooled kids are REQUIRED to go by the state. Privately schooled kids are required to go (and excel) by their parents.
Pooky:
> And if you don't agree with what they think is best for the child you
> have to be willing to compromise and let the child decide what they think is
> best for them.
Little Tyke:
You're kidding, right? If some stranger tells me that my four year old needs a booster shot for VD, or needs to know where babies come from when there are two mommies…. and I don't AGREE with that… then *I* the parent, must COMPROMISE, and let my four year old make a decision?
Is there EVER a big problem with how schools teach the basics? You NEVER hear of a parent leaving a school because they teach math wrong. It's all because of the social engineering stuff. Again… you aren't making your case very well, that the schools are all about academic stuff.
I'll let that hang and move on. I'm just glad you don't run the public schooling gulag. You don't… do you? (You are, after all, anonymous.) 
Pooky:
> Some homeschooled children I know want to be in public school with their peers
> and with the activities going on but their parents have taken them out because
> of disagreements with the school system and they are unhappy because they
> cannot be with their friends.
Little Tyke:
Rewind… this has to do with academic excellence… how?
Just because the kids want to play with their friends during school… which last I heard, was no place to be socializing, doesn't mean that the parents are making bad choices for the children. Could the "disagreements" you speak of actually be about something like… the kids aren't being taught to read and write? Do the parents disagree that a kid defending himself in a fight must also be suspended?
And when you say "some homeschooled children I know" could we please have a number? I get so tired of hearing people saying that "all the homeschoolers I know are backwards dimwits" when in fact they don't actually KNOW any. It's always a friend of a friend. I'll agree that homeschoolers play the same game, but I'm not, so be kind and give up some numbers next time. Please. If this knowledge is really based on one family… then that hardly makes a case for the incitement of an entire segment of society, that for all intents and purposes gets along fine without the state socialization plan called 'school.'
Pooky:
> I would leave the choice up to my children because an unhappy child is not
> going to excel in whatever environment that is chosen for them.
Little Tyke:
Well! You just made my case! Children are MANDATED to go to state schools for twelve years of their lives. Whether they excel in five years, or never. They get a piece of paper all the same after twelve.
So… being smart little critters… they can probably see the hypocrisy,the loss of liberty, the unfair punishments, unequal justice, class warfare and peer pressure, the social and societal hypoxia that happens in these government asylums called school… and you know what… you're right.
They're unhappy. I'll bet you a dollar they are.
I'll bet they're down right ticked off. I'll bet a few of them might even act out, and cause violence, because their parents are making them go to this place that drains creativity, disrespects real learning, then flogs you if you try to leave before it's time.
You know… maybe we SHOULD be listening to the children. If your child asked if he could be homeschooled, would you let him choose that route?
If it made him happy of course.
Pooky:
> There are alot of pro's and con's to this but I would want what my child would > want not what I think was best for them because I was too stubborn to work > with the school on what they thought was best for my kid. I'm not sure what you're saying here, but I really am glad and proud for your son too… father to father.
Little Tyke:
And if you would agree as well, that even children can choose a path to educate themselves, like homeschooling… then I think we're on a pathway towards an enlightening discussion of the merits of the autodidactic lifestyle.
How to Homeschool during a medical crisis
Keep educational things and opportunities available and limit the 'brain-numbing' activities. Ideas: -Educational T.V., videos, DVDs -www.starfall.com for your delayed reader -online educational (free) games -leappad learning products (my youngest taught HIMSELF to read with starfall.com & a leappad! …& they have a complete phonics program.) -Have you considered educational laptops for their Christmas? (some companies that make them include Vtech, Oregon Scientific, Fisher Price, Smart Kids, & little Tikes... I even saw a generic one at Walmart in the section where the toys are labelled $5, $10, $15, & $20) -Keep the house full of books that are educational and in there interests (even if that means your dh stops each weekend or on the library's late night). -Its o.k. if this is a time for review for them!… printing review worksheets off free sites is better than nothing. -Educational Computer games like Scrabble, Boggle, Pharoah, Reader Rabbit, etc. -Educational Board & card games -Other educational "toys" (try looking at thrift stores for these) *play money (most Dollar Stores have this) *Leapfrog flashMagic Flash Cards *Leapster *Twist & Shout educational toys (Math & Spelling tools) *Hot Dots (self grading flash cards) I realize buying all these things new while dealing with a medical issue isn't necessarily doable… but sometimes just a few help. Don't be afraid to mention educational toys if family asked what to get your kids either.. even if they don't support homeschooling! If they start their mouths just point out that if they were TRULY concerned they'd HELP. On the cheaper end of things… Use those free online resources!!! There are LOTS out there. I have lots of links here: Falers resource (divided by subject). Some are entirely online Some are printables… including printable paper models they can build (from Canon).. that include a globe, historical monuments, and more. Oh course, if your dh can make time to help too that would be great! .. Ideal! Even if he just focused on one subject with thema day… it would lead to some progress. .. Or if he would focus on the two core subjects of Math and reading (once a child can read, afterall, they can seek information out independently). I hope you can find at least one or two of these resources helpful.
Filed under Homeschool, Little Tykes, Special Needs | Comment (0)
