Homeschool Diaries

Why Parents Drink

2008-05-09T07:27:00.001-04:00

I have been a busy bee lately. We just finished up our annual testing and will be leaving this afternoon for a much needed family trip. I am leaving a funny story for anyone who happens to stumble on by.

The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in s ick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper. 'Hello?'
'Is your d addy home?' he asked.
'Yes ,' whispered the small voice.
May I talk with him?'
The child whispered, 'No.'
Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, 'Is your Mommy there?'
'Yes.'

'May I talk with her?'
Again the small voice whispered, 'No.'
Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, 'Is anybody else there?'
'Yes ,' whispered the child, ' a policeman '.
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, 'May I speak with the policeman?'
'No, he's busy ', whispered the child.
'Busy doing what?'
'Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman ,' came the whispered answer.
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, 'What is that noise?'

'A helicopter ' answered the whispering voice.
'What is going on there?' demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
Again, whispering, the child answered, 'The search team just landed a helicopter .'
Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, 'What are they searching for?'
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle. ..
'ME .'

Finally, some recognition

2008-04-21T22:22:00.002-04:00

There was an article in our local paper on Sunday about home schooling. It was well written and painted the growth of home schooling in a positive light. Something that I completely appreciate. Read the article

While I appreciate everyone's concern regarding my choice to home school my kiddos, I find it quite amusing that so many people pigeon hole us as one single group of "religious freaks". This is noted several times over in the comments of the article above. The idiotic comments were almost as fun to read as the article.

Books Books and more books

2008-04-14T11:38:00.002-04:00

Whenever I need a recharge, I read. Today, I felt the need in a big way. I joined a book club. One of those personal ones where you get 5 books for your introductory offer, then you are required to purchase 4 more over the next 2 years thing. This one, I did all for me.

Found a bunch of vegetarian cookbooks, meditation books, yoga, green gardening, all that jazz. Nothing that my kids will want to steal from me. At least not yet. THEN, I went to the library. I grabbed 4 more. All home schooling related. I seriously need a recharge in that area. I am trying to locate one that will give me some advice on getting my act together. You know, the whole mom, taxi driver, event coordinator, educator, social guru thing. But without it throwing the bible at me on every page. For now, I settled on these:

The Homeschooler's Guide to ... by Vicki Caruana
Home Learning year by year - by Rebecca Rupp
The Homeschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith
Homeschooling for Success by Rebecca Kochenderfer

Now, if I could just find that one titled How to get them to eat all of their broccoli - I would be all set.

Is there a way ?

2008-04-09T07:25:00.002-04:00

I want to not be a part of our school system any more. Each year, we are required to send them a letter from a teacher that says that my kids are doing well. It's a total crock. Half of the people I know don't test their kids or have their portfolios reviewed. They know people. Certified people who write their letters for them.

Does the school board actually even pay attention to us other than to use us for a number when they need money for the state? I don't think so. Is there a way to enroll my kids in a "private school" without actually paying for them to attend someplace so that they can stop having to play a circus act and pretend to be a part of a school system that we didn't like to begin with?

I have friends that have been home schooling from the beginning. They don't have to answer to anyone. Don't get included in the numbers. The county doesn't even know these kids exist. I want to be one of them.

Does anyone else have this issue? These feelings? Or am I just that bratty?

Monday Schmonday

2008-04-07T11:54:00.002-04:00

Why is it so difficult to get things rolling on Mondays? The kids really don't want to do a thing today. I feel the same way. IOWA test prep and then a day of watching the Discovery Channel might be in order.

Does anyone else have this issue on Mondays? If we did away with them, then Tuesday would become our blah day. Then we would have to do away with Tuesdays. Pretty soon, nothing left...just me...my kids...and the Discovery Channel. If we could put the TV outside, right next to the pool, that wouldn't be half bad.

Responsibility & Subway Cars

2008-04-03T10:46:00.003-04:00

I was watching the Today Show this morning. There was a feature on about a woman who was in the news because she gave her son - who was 9 at the time, the freedom to ride the New York City subway alone. This woman was receiving hate mail etc. People were trying to get the state to step in and take her son.

Now, I can't say that I would allow my children to ride the subway alone. Hell, I wouldn't even ride the subway alone. However, this family lives in New York. This boy grew up in that environment. He is a mature kid. I think that the mom looked at this in a very diplomatic way.

Her argument was that New York is one of the safest cities for kids. It is. Studies have shown that. She brought up a valid point in that we are living in fear of the things that are in the media. We only hear about the bad stuff. We don't hear about the millions of people that ride the subways each day without incident. We hear about the one bad thing that happens. She stated that people are living in fear and that she is being chastized because she chooses to not live that way. Bravo to you lady. I wholeheartedly agree with her on this fact. We are a scared nation. It sucks. On so many levels.

Religion and Homeschooling

2008-03-31T08:03:00.002-04:00

Let me start by saying, I am not home schooling for religious reasons. Well, unless it's considered religious for me to thank god every day that I don't have to shop for school uniforms and back packs anymore.

My kids attend an enrichment program on Fridays. It is a Christian based program. Several of our friends attend there so it was a natural choice for us when we added that into our plan. On our first day there, I was told that I had to remove my nose ring. It was a chip really and not a ring but a facial piercing none the less. I also had to cover my tattoos. I have 3 of them. All beautiful pieces of artwork that reflect part of my soul. I agreed to the two conditions anyway.

We go through 2 semesters at this program. We loved it. The kids made friends. Now, we are faced with the end of our year. I contemplated applying to teach a class next year. A volunteer spot. Computers and web design. I look over the application to find question #3 asking about my church and question #4 asking what my feelings were about Jesus Christ.

I am not an atheist. I am not part of some satanic cult. I am spiritual and most of all, I am respectful. I do not offer up arguments about religion, I sit quietly while others preach, no matter where I am and I still bow my head when people around me pray. I am the picture perfect non religious person. You know, aside from the facial piercing and the ink. They won't allow me to teach a class because I am not what they consider a Christian. Their words, not mine.

All I want to do, is offer a class in web design for some kiddos. Nope. You aren't good enough to teach here, Queenie. I would be aok if they were judging me on my ability rather than my religious beliefs. I am good enough for them to take my hundreds of dollars each month but not good enough to volunteer to teach. Doesn't the bible tell people not to judge? Yet here I am, being judged.

I just don't get it.

Oh IOWA how I love thee

2008-03-26T23:13:00.002-04:00

We are getting ready for the IOWA standardized testing. My kids take this test in lieu of getting our portfolio picked over by someone we barely know. I have to say that I absolutely despise testing for my kids. Not because I don't think they are capable, but because I just hate tests.

I had a friend, during my first year of home schooling that argued the fact that I HAD to give my kids tests. She was insistent that they needed the pressure or they would not be able to succeed or function in the real world when the time came. "Testing teaches responsibility not to mention that it gives you a basis to evaluate them", she said. This friend was also passionately against home schooling.

In my house, I am the one who has to teach them. I am the one who evaluates them. I still use text books. If one of my lovelies is struggling somewhere, we simply don't move on until they grasp the concept. Why would I need them to take a test to prove that they know what I already know they know? Seems a bit redundant to me. I am utilizing immersion in every sense of our lives. Every moment is a teaching moment. Even though I don't like testing within our normal school environment, I still love the IOWA tests. My kiddos will do well this year. They aced last year. I will also be sending copies of our test scores to that "friend" that so lovingly supported me when I decided that we were going to home school. Teaching moment #5,859. This is how we tell someone that wasn't nice, to piss off. Gotta love it.

How many do I get?

2008-03-23T09:30:00.002-04:00

I am talking about mulligans. Redos. I find that I do them often, especially when it comes to parenting and home schooling. I find things that I think are great, only to discover after I try them, that they suck.

I am in the process of gathering my resources for the new school year for us. We don't really take time off around here. We just take a week or so here and there as a break. It works for us very well. Keeps the kids from losing their mojo. When we get burnt out or have a bazillion things happening, we take a break. No biggie.

I am just coming off of one of these breaks now. I was sick for a few days and things just fell apart. The house, school, the rest of our life. LOL! I took a week to get back in check. Organized, cleaned, rethought some things....

I get flooded with articles and what nots regarding home schooling daily. My email box is a constant source of chaos for me. PILES - I tell ya. I have decided that I am just going to post this useful and extremely entertaining info as I get it. Not worry about only posting once per day. Who needs rules anyway? Right?

Here come the crazies

2008-03-21T08:10:00.003-04:00

This is my third blog. Fourth if you count the Guild blog I have for World Of Warcraft. It's been a long time coming with an even longer time of me trying to decide what I wanted to do here exactly. I have at the time of this post, been home schooling for two years. I am a virgin. A babe. A newbie. In that two years, I have been reading everything that I could get my hands on about home schooling and child development. You know, so I could be sure that my kids wouldn't lynch me.

I am not a religious woman. We did not pull our kids out of school so we could be closer to god, find our purpose in life or walk with Jesus. We pulled them out of public school because our public system was failing my kids. They were bored beyond belief and were quickly on the road to becoming trouble makers. My son was the best paper airplane maker in all of 4th grade. He was proud. His teacher didn't think it was amusing. Considering that I taught him most of the models he would create, I was proud dammit.

My kids are creative, smart and simply amazing. I knew that I needed to save them. They deserve so much more than to be pigeon holed. So here I am. A home school mom. I don't have a clue what I am doing half the time. But I plan to blog about it. A. Lot. Hopefully, my trip into the oblivion will help someone...or at least make your morning coffee a bit more entertaining.

So, Zoe over at Chic & Sassy Designs got me all hooked up with a design that I love, that didn't break my bank account. She didn't cause me to rip out my hair and she saved my fanny when I didn't have the patience to install this thing properly. Thanks Zoe!!! If anyone needs a design, I highly recommend her. Easy breezy, friendly and just look at this place. Fab right?

So....here I go. Launching. Again. Fasten your seat belts.

Mothers

2008-03-16T11:40:00.001-04:00

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
' Because I said so, that's why.'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY.
'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
'You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.'

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
'Stop acting like your father!'

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
'Just wait until we get home.'

17 My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
'You are going to get it when you get home!'

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.'

19 My mother taught me ESP.
'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
'When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.'

21.My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
'You're just like your father.'

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?'

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!'

A Burning Question

2008-03-10T15:07:00.009-04:00

I need some advice. I know we are a home school family so our lines are a bit wider when we define our education but what I need to know is.....would this be considered music class? We just got it and I really hope so because it's all we want to do. I am thinking it may be tricky to get into our portfolio. What do you think? Ciao.

Freebie Fridays

2008-03-07T08:01:00.002-05:00

I receive newsletters and email from the Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Even though the magazine is Christian based, it is packed full of homeschooling information. On Friday's, they share a list of really nifty free offers for their subscribers. Today, I am passing some of those on to you.

Instructions to make your own Resurrection Eggs - Tell the story of the Easter using plastic eggs.

Easter Cookie Recipe - Make cookies with your children and learn the true meaning of Easter.

As a conventional home school family, I am constantly seeking things to add in to our education that aren't focused on religion. I made a choice this year to teach my kids about other religions and traditions of other customs. It has been an interesting year to say the least, but at least now, I can freely incorporate more projects and learning tools. Happy Day.

No, its not ToysRUs

2008-02-22T08:54:00.003-05:00

But its close. Yesterday, we spent about two hours at the book store. My kids love books. They love toys too, they aren't complete freaks. However, they love books just as much.

I have noticed that this seems to be the case with most kids that home school. My kids are slowly finding that there is always something cool at the bookstore. The big test came when they had the choice of hitting the mall complete with toy store, or heading up to the book heaven. They debated for about 2 minutes and then all 3 yelled "Barnes and Noble". We are hopeless geeks. I love it.

Ciao.

Is this Normal?

2008-02-18T07:55:00.002-05:00

Our kids are about as different as night and day. On a personal level, Des, is a brainiac geek boy, in a cool kid kind of way. We have successfully taught him to be his own person. And boy is he his own person. Bug - she is our diva. Always has a cool hair do, the niftiest of clothing, a boyfriend in her back pocket. Yep. A true princess. Snoog. She is my gross loving kid. If someone gets hurt, she wants to SEE the blood. She likes to get right in there and check things all out. She loves ewwy gross stuff that the other two can't stand. She is also my pickiest eater.

Now, all three have the same mommy. They all three manage NOT to look like me...even though I carried their fat little baby tushies around for 9 months...nourishing them, caring for them, allowing them to bruise my bod from the inside out. They all 3 deal with school totally different.

Bug, LOVES school. She is the first one at the table. She never complains and is always focused on whatever we are doing. No mater what. Des, HATES math. I can teach anything and he will willingly set through it, until math. Math comes and he shuts down. Pronto. Then I have Snoog. All she wants to do is learn about creepy crawly things and play with worms. If I can teach her math with spiders, she is all over it. If it involves the book - not any part of it. Thank god that our library is slap full of bug books or the poor kid wouldn't learn to read.

I am not sure if I should be more concerned that my sweet baby girl is into all of this gross stuff...or if I should worry that we actually own a worm farm.

Ahhh the joys of homeschooling.

A sad day

2008-02-15T08:11:00.003-05:00

I think it is only appropriate that I post about the tragedy in Northern Illinois today. I also think that it is only fair for me to also mention an incident that occurred in our taekwondo class last night as well. Both incidents are filled with violence. Something that I am sure keeps many parents up each night.

We are again a nation that is in mourning. What happened yesterday in Illinois can happen at any given moment in any given location. When my kids were in public school, it was the stuff that would haunt my dreams. I realize that this occurred at a college. Something that is still down the road for my crew however, the last time, it was at a high school, the time before that - a middle school, then another high school. What is happening to our kids?

Last night, in our TKD class, we had a girl who is in middle school. She was upset because as she put it she "was fixin to get jumped at school". What this meant to her, at some point during her Thursday, while she was supposed to be learning, she was getting notes passed to her that threatened to "gank her" and to "cut her up". She is in MIDDLE SCHOOL. 6th grade. The school was privy to the threats and has yet to intervene. How are kids supposed to learn in an environment like this?

At the beginning of our "school year" this year, I gave my kids an option. They could either continue on being home schooled, or they could go back to public school. All 3, without a moments hesitation, said they wanted to be home schooled. Thank God.

So many moments occur in my life that make me utter the words "thank god we home school". Thursday, I uttered those words more than once. I am thankful that I can give this choice to my kids. I am thankful that I have the ability to give my kids a safe and non threatening place to fill their brains. I am thankful that even though there are people who think that home schooling is somehow not a benefit, I still have the freedom to do what I think is right for my family. I am thankful that I home school. Especially today.

MULLIGAN!!!!

2008-02-11T08:47:00.000-05:00

That is what I say when I need to start over on something. I believe it is a golf term though. Not an everyday thing. I find that I used to want "do overs" more often. So today....about this blog....I say ...MULLIGAN.

I have good intentions here. I really do. I started homeschooling two years ago. Pulled my kiddos right out of public school the last day of the year. And we haven't looked back. I realized rather quickly that our nice little family wasn't in the norm for home schoolers. We made the choice to homeschool for the sanity of our family. Period. It wasn't religious. It was because our public school system was failing us and I didn't want to wait and watch that happen.

The decision came after I realized that my middle princess would be entering 3rd grade and she could barely read. My oldest would be entering 5th grade and he was bored stiff and that I would again have to hope that his teacher would see this quickly and not punish him because he was brilliant. My youngest had just spent her first year in an "extended foreign language" program and knew exactly three words in Spanish. I knew then that I could do better for my kids. Even without a degree.

And so our adventure began. I had no clue what I was doing. I struggled. We fought. I had to deprogram the kids. Oh how many times I heard that first year "That's not the way we did it in school". I wanted to choke someone. I questioned myself. But, I stuck with it.

Here we are, approaching the end of our second year and I feel like we have finally found our way. Finally. I am more comfortable. The kids are more comfortable. It is just all around better.

So, today, I am re-launching this place. My plan here is to fill it with all things mommy and homeschooling. I am self taught in just about everything that I do. I have resources galore on homeschooling and the things we are learning. I plan to share that all, here. Pardon the dust and the chaos. This is just us. Hope you all will enjoy.

Lesson Plans

2007-08-09T08:26:00.000-04:00

I set here this morning pondering my lesson plans when it occurs to me that I don't have much of one. I have a book, that I purchased where I have written down the assignments/projects that we are going to be doing but I don't dive into detail about the plan. Just pretty much hit it head on the day of. I realize that most certified teachers have probably had semesters full of classes about how to make a lesson plan properly. I don't think my little blue book would have gotten me an A. It does seem to be working for me though. My family is spontaneous. We fly by the seat of our pants through almost everything in life. I can't imagine having my day all drawn out in paper and ink down to the questions I will ask. Agghh.
So, I ask, what is your lesson plan like? Do you plan for months on end? Or a few weeks at a time?

Negative and Nice

2007-08-07T08:22:00.000-04:00

There was an article recently from Old Schoolhouse Magazine on how negative people can help you to grow out of being a people pleaser. It was an interesting article on several levels to me. It focused of course on people being negative about your homeschooling decisions. Boy can I relate there. But it also widened its perspective into the negative people in your life.
I have always been a people pleaser. All of my life. I make decisions that will keep the most people happy. Homeschooling my kiddos was one of the first things I did that was for my kids and myself. I have my husband's 100% support but he is not actively involved in the formal side of things. It has been a real struggle for me personally to deal with questioning people. I am lucky to be in an area of such diversity. When we tell people that we home school, there isn't a disapproving look. It's just accepted. I am certain this would not be the case in all areas of the country.
Home schooling our children has done so much for our family. It has improved our relationships, broadened our level of learning and now I can add that it has also helped us to grow out of people pleasing.

First day of .....School???

2007-08-06T07:55:00.001-04:00

I am setting at my dining room table. Drinking coffee. The house is quiet. At least for another 20 minutes. At which time, my 3 lovelies will be woken up. They will grumble. They will stumble through getting their teeth brushed, having breakfast, and making their beds. The girls will actually put a brush in their hair and my dear boy will simply put on a hat that matches his lounge pants. And then...they will come to the dining room table for school. Welcome to our first day of school.
I can't begin to tell you how home schooling our kids has changed our lives. There is no less stress. We don't spend hundreds of dollars on clothes and shoes and backpacks. Instead we spend those funds on zoo memberships, new skateboards and sunscreen. We have relationships with all 3 of our kiddos. THAT alone is worth every bit of doubt that I ever had. I love our life. It is work like I never thought possible. But fun and rewarding work is always ok to deal with in my book. Right?
I am curious, what is the first day like for you?