Public school is not a protective, educational twelve year womb that spits out well rounded, capable individuals in a graduation cap at the end of its gestational period. - Sandy Walker

I am proud of myself for summing up my thoughts and responding to an astoundingly offensive anti-homeschooling article. Here is the link if you have the stomach for it. I can't even quote the most ridiculous or offensive parts but I did respond to the author of this drivel. I might not be as educated or grammatically correct as the writer is but I could not not respond.

If you homeschool you should read it. Inaccurate, ridiculous and condescending as it is I think that it might just be a case of ''BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW THAN THE DEVIL YOU DON'T.''

There Is No Substitute

Recently I was having brunch with some other mommies whose children were in elementary school. They were discussing what the qualifications were for a substitute and the chaos of their child's classroom when their teacher had been temporarily replaced.
As the only homeschooler in our group I didn't have much to add to the conversation but as I sat and listened I realized just how glad I was that I was in control of my child's education. Not to say that there isn't occasional chaos in our home, there is but it is a controlled chaos. Two children and one mom is a far cry from 25 children and one unfamiliar stand in who doesn't know they schedule or even their names.
For our family there is no substitute for homeschooling, we love it but there are times too that I am not feeling well or am totally overwhelmed. That is when I call in my substitute, Grandma!

Dinner With A Side Of Science

Last night we went out to dinner with a friend and her two children. With kids in tow you are in better shape if you pick a kid friendly place. Red Robin is a good choice for us. Kind of noisy but they have kids meals, menus, crayons and my daughters favorite part is they give you a balloon when you leave.

Usually I am rather annoyed by balloons when they are bobbing around and the weird sound when they get near my ears freaks me out. Last night though my daughter was intrigued by her balloon and so we spent about an hour discovering what the balloon can and cannot hold and still stay aloft.

We kept a log and discovered that the balloon would carry one dime but not a nickle, penny or quarter. It would not carry Daddy's wedding ring or six paperclips but it would carry five paperclips. After we were done we weighed the string down with a glass on the table so we could see if it was still floating as high in the morning. It wasn't. Today it couldn't carry the things it did yesterday.

This sparked a whole new realm of questions from my daughter and necessitates another trip to the library so we can find the answer together. This is what is great about homeschooling. You never know when a learning opportunity is going to float by.

ALOHA

I bought this dress last year at Old Navy on sale for six bucks. I was so excited and thought it was cute. Laramie would not wear it. Would have not a thing to do with it. I almost threw it in the Goodwill box but then thought that it might still fit her the next year. (Good thinking Mom!)
We have been learning about Hawaii and volcanoes this spring. When warm weather hit we got out the summer clothes box and I brought out the dress. ''Look! A Hawaiian dress! " I asked her to try it on and told her we would read her favorite volcano book again. It worked like a charm. She loves the dress now.

No School Today?

If any of you who read this have ever been pregnant you might have experienced boundary disordered people who due to brain stem injury, lack of oxygen or IQ points equal to the amount of times the Cubs have won the pennant think it is within reason to touch your protruding stomach or pepper you with questions in a manner more suited to maceing a mugger. When are you due? Do you know if it is a boy or girl? Do you want a boy or girl? Unless you are using their DNA or they are an OB/GYN how could they possibly think it is any of their business? Once I was done having children I thought this annoyance was a thing of the past, thankfully never to be revisited.
Then I began homeschooling.

Who knew there were so many educationally inquisitive store clerks?! My children and I simply cannot experience an outing without someone questioning why they are not in school. Granted it does not take a great amount of physical energy to answer a question or two (or three, sometimes four!) but it does require more patience than I seem to have to keep answering the same questions when really it is no one’s business why I homeschool. Whether we are getting an oil change, buying shoes, grocery shopping people feel compelled to question us. Not a simple exchange such as ‘’No school today?”
‘’No, we homeschool.”
“Oh, very nice. Have a good day.”
I could handle that.
Perhaps I am still in a snit because the education specialist masquerading as a store clerk at the Fareway today practically grilled my six year old and even had the audacity to ask if she had done any school work today. Thankfully I am not prone to violence but if I was it could easily fulfill a Health/PE requirement for my children to learn First Aid and tend to the people I wallop when they ask me stupid questions.
I could make a badge that says ‘’Homeschool Field Trip” or get a t shirt made that says ‘’ Tell me your weight and I will tell you why I homeschool’’ but that would only be effective on some of the offenders.
If I was the first homeschooler to grace the face of the Earth I could understand but there are approximately two million homeschooled children in America surely others must have heard of this phenomena before.
Meanwhile I will hold my breath and count to ten next time we are asked “No school today?”

A New Book For Laramie

I love books and I love to buy books about as much as I love to buy shoes. For those who know me, you know what that means! It is no surprise when I come home from the store with books or get (yet another) box from Amazon but the book we received in the mail today was special. Rain Fordyce's I AM LEARNING ALL THE TIME.
It was special because it is different than any book we own. It is for Laramie and it is the story boy who is homeschooled.
When I told Laramie what the new book was about she stopped in her tracks and wanted it to be read to her. I told her I was saving it for bedtime but she wanted me to read it to her NOW. She paid attention to every word as I read to her about the central character Hugh who is homeschooled. Hugh's story unfolds much like Laramie's from people in stores asking why you aren't in school and having just a twinge or two of envy that other kids get to ride in the big yellow school bus. It has scenes common to probably most homeschoolers such as playing in the park with their other homeschool friends and vacationing during other parts of the year.
When I finished reading it Laramie said ''Ok, you can send it back now.'' Surprised at her reaction I asked her why she wanted to send it back. She replied earnestly '' So all the other homeschool kids can have a turn reading it too." What a sweet heart she has. I told her it was ours to keep and she skipped to the bookshelf and put it with her other books.
I Am Learning All The Time is very true to life so if you homeschool or know a homeschooler I highly recommend this book. I ordered it from Rain's website at http://homeschooladventurebooks.com/ . Rain also has another website that is rather interesting http://www.authentictimes.com/.
Enjoy! Tell me what you think of it. Have you read any books with a homeschooler as a central character? I would love to hear about it!

See Ya Later, Alligator!

Homeschooling a six year old calls for repitition and patience. In trying to help my daughter retain information we play games, sing songs, make up stories and use memory drills. She is doing pretty well with addition and the ABC's.
Currently we are working on States and Capitals and the Presidents. She knows the capital of Nebraska is Lincoln but is disappointed that the capital of Montana is not Hannah but some lady named Helena that she has never heard of and doesn't have her own show.
We will come back to that I tell her and start working on the Presidents.
Great!
She knows George Washington is the first President. Who is the second president?
Blank stare
I prompt her...John....
John Hericks?
No, that is your cousin. John Adams was the second President.
There are a lot of people named John.
Yes there are.
Was John Hericks President?
No, he is just your cousin. Who was the third President?
Do alligators believe in Jesus?
Huh?
Do alligators believe in Jesus?
Uh, no. They don't have to. Answering these questions on the fly is not easy. Animals are God's creatures so only people have to make the choice to believe. All animals go to heaven.
What if they eat a Christian?
Hmmm... then I guess they are in trouble.
See ya later alligator!

Ok. Let's try this again.
Who was the first President?

Socialization

To any homeschooler the term ''socialization'' is like fingernails screeching down a chalkboard. People who make assumptions about what social needs homeschooled children might have are of the same ilk of those who don't have children themselves but know all about parenting. They don't have the personal experience to back up what they are talking about. After having my son in the public school system until the beginning of ninth grade I saw first hand the type of ''socializing '' he had access to in school.

This past week we went on a ''Homeschoolers Field Trip'' hosted by the Durham Museum in Omaha. We have gone on these field trips before and have always had an enjoyable time meeting other homeschoolers from the area and learning more about history. This week though a public school group (for reasons unbeknownst to me) joined our homeschool group. There were six children and three chaperons. The very patient Durham employee who led the field trip repeatedly had to keep those kids in check. Constant reminders to not climb on exhibits, to not crowd in front of the other children, let other children look at the display case, take turns to touch the hands on display, keep quiet while she was talking, not touch the displays that were labeled ''do not touch '' , stay with the group and I seriously could go on and on. Meanwhile the three chaperons rarely corrected their children and mostly talked amongst themselves. They were such a distraction that after the field trip three of the homeschool families (including myself) went back through the exhibits so our children could see what they had missed out on.

I wish I had a video tape of this field trip. I would show it to anyone who ever misused the word ''socialization'' with me again.

Field Trip!

There are many positive reasons to homeschool and definitely one of them for me is taking field trips. This past week we went to the annual auto show at the Qwest Center in Omaha. The very nice gentleman at the ticket booth didn't charge me for my sweet smiling six year old so I just had to pay admission for Luke and I. Being sixteen Luke enjoyed the day more than Laramie and I but we all had a great time. We sat in incredibly small vehicles and Hummers. Ooohed and ahhhhed over the Mercedes and BMWs. It wasn't just a good time, we learned about sticker prices and options and the difference between economy and luxury cars. We enjoyed speaking to the representatives of the Smart Car and hybrid cars. The current economy has greatly affected the automotive industry and many of the representatives held different opinions as to where it was headed. Only one dealer questioned why mine were the only children there that day. When I explained to him that we homeschool and this was a field trip he asked if he could show me a minivan. I guess many people have that stereotype of homeschoolers as the uber-evangelicals with a passel of conservatively dressed kids.

So we learned about more than cars that day, we learned how funny and inaccurate stereotypes can be.

Do Poker Chips Have a Place In Homeschooling?

I am not teaching my kids Texas Hold 'Em. I don't even know how to play that or any poker game for that matter. I have found though that the cheap , plastic , colored poker chips can be a great resource in my overflowing bookcase of nifty homeschool stuff.

Math: these chips are great for addition and subtraction. Using two different colors can help the child see what they need to do. Two blue chips plus three red chips is much easier than using 5 of the same objects such as mini marshmallows, baby carrots etc. (Yes, I use food too for math).

Probability: with poker chips and a brown lunch sack you can help your child understand the concept of probability. If there are 4 chips in the bag and 3 of them are red then there is a 75% chance you will pull out a red one.

Fun: with a sheet of paper draw out the tic-tac-toe (or use straws or uncooked spaghetti noodles) Pick your color of chip and play. Games are great fun, a good bonding time but can also teach your child strategy, sportsmanship and patience.

Air-ish hockey: tape a paper bag to each end of a kitchen or coffee table, don't block each other's shots but see who gets the most out of ten chips in the bag opposite of them with just flicking the chip with their finger.

Teaching your kids can be fun and cheap if you use your brain and things you find around the house.

Andrew Wyeth July 12, 1917 - January 16, 2009

How sad that Andrew Wyeth passed away today. Famous American realist painter, his works even hang in New York City's Museum of Modern Art.

In our homeschooling my children and I are studying artists and plan to go to the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha for a field trip in a few weeks. How fortunate that they house one of his works. We will have to make a special point to view the painting of Wyeths that is on display there. Half Bushel was painted in 1959.

A fact that many people do not know is that Wyeth was homeschooled and viewed it as a ''great opportunity''. What a terrific view of homeschooling and a valuable lesson for our homeschooled kids. You can be anything you want to be even if you are not on the treadmill of the public education system.

You Gotta Love the Lunch Box

For many of us just the sight of a lunch box brings back reels of memory tape of our elementary school days. I remember every fall getting a new metal lunch box with a coordinating thermos inside. I loved my Dukes of Hazard lunch box. It was so cool. My mom put milk in the thermos, peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a banana or cookie for dessert. Often she would write Love, Mom or a smiley face on the napkin. Ah, good times. As a homeschool mom I don't send my six year old daughter off to school everyday with her lunch in tow but old habits die hard and I still buy her a new lunch box every fall. The thermos comes separately now and there is more variety to choose from Various styles and colors. Soft sided, plastic, old school tin . The thrill is still there. Sometimes she packs a lunch in her horsey lunch box to go to her Grandma's or puts toys in it if we are going on a road trip. She loves her lunch boxes. Guess she gets that from me.

The Write Stuff

I am anxiously awaiting my latest find in online shopping. I recently ordered Spencerian Penmanship. With my two children being ten years apart and homeschooling them both it is a juggling act except for one crucial area. Handwriting. Laramie is six and is progressing relatively well but Luke continues to struggle as he always has. Since being diagnosed with dyslexia (along with dysgraphia and dyscalculia) when he was Laramie's age every year that he was in public school we had allowances in his IEP (Individual Education Plan) to make things easier. It really didn't get easier for him and now that he is in his second year of homeschooling I think it is time to address the handwriting. How much can it improve if any? I know he is self conscious about it as he asked me for help. Good for him for doing so! Many of the programs, books etc that I perused were too childish and certainly not anything a 16 year old would want to spend time on. Then I landed on the Spencerian Penmanship set. It has the look of an antique book from the 1800's. Probably because that is exactly what it is. I hope it helps. My kid has had a tough road with all things academic. I am looking forward to seeing how he fares with this. I will have to post before and after writing samples if it works!

EASIER SAID THAN DONE

Sometimes homeschooling is like trudging through mud. It is tough but not impossible and best if you keep chugging along. It is when you get thrown off track or lose your balance that make it tough to get your footing back and get in the groove again.

Our home school group breaks for seven weeks beginning in mid-November which occurred right about the time as my son's 16th birthday and Thanksgiving. We took a short enough three day trip out of town to see family, shortly thereafter we had family come visit us. Throw in some Christmas preparations and well, I am a bit off schedule with my homeschooling. OK, a LOT off schedule. There goes my ''HOME EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD''. I might not have exactly been in the running for that one anyway. Being a stay at home mom is wonderful and sometimes it is just exhausting. It is easy to get off schedule with errands and household chores but remind myself of what is most important. My children aren't going to succeed in life because I vacuumed and dusted. They are going to succeed because I am going to impart upon them love and knowledge. So I will ignore the dust bunnies and get up to speed on our curriculum. It is easier said than done but it will get done.

My Support of Public Schools

I got a parking ticket on our latest venture into Omaha. I didn't even notice the meter. I was cold so I rushed into the store and didn't give it another thought. I obviously should have. Much to my dismay I had a parking ticket on my windshield when I returned to my car. Bummer. I was sure that it was going to cost me an arm and a leg. I have only received one other parking ticket before and that was years ago at an airport. That one cost me $25.00 so I had a sinking feeling that this one was going to be a whopper. Wrong. $16.00. That isn't too bad. Of course I could have avoided it by sticking a couple quarters in the meter but I was relieved that it was under twenty dollars. The ticket comes with an envelope and states I have two weeks to pay it. As I was writing out the check today I noticed the instructions indicate to make checks payable to the Public School Fund. I chuckled at the irony of an avid homeschooler such as myself has to pay a ticket that benefits the Public School Fund.

IMPERIAL NUTCRACKER

Last week the kids and I took a field trip to Omaha to see the Imperial Nutcracker at the Orpheum Theatre. The theatre itself was worth the trip. Built in 1927 and later restored in 2002 the Orpheum is breathtakingly wonderful. Gorgeous velvet curtains, ornate lighting fixtures. What a grand theatre. Its beauty just adds to the experience.

While waiting for the performance to begin I took the opportunity to discuss the architecture with my son and daughter. I wanted them to see and appreciate the difference between the Orpheum and the typical cramped movie theaters they are more accustomed to.

We enjoyed the Imperial Nutcracker very much. The set designers did a fantastic job and the costumes were perfect. We were all enchanted with the dancers, their costumes were a perfect compliment to the set and storyline. We had a fantastic experience that afternoon, one we won't soon forget.

How do you verb?

Recently I have been working on reading skills with my daughter. Her reading is improving slowly but surely. Her brother being ten years older is of course working on a much higher level. It is difficult at times to work with them both at the same time but this week I had a light bulb moment. (I love those!)

I wrote a few mad lib stories. These are little stories just a paragraph or two in length. Leave out a couple words from each sentence. Without reading the story to them I asked them for the specific types of words I had omitted such as noun, adjective, verb etc.

What a great way to learn the parts of speech. My daughter quickly caught on to ''a noun is a person, place or thing.'' and ''an adverb is how you do an action'' or as she said ''It is how you verb!"

The three of us had a great time laughing at how silly the stories ended up and I love how it was a great tool for learning as well.

Time for school

It finally feels like November. The temperature is dropping and we can hear the wind howling. Outside our windows we see the chilly gusts tossing the leaves around as our neighbors scurry their children to the car.

It is time to for school to begin. I draw my daughter into my lap. Our big comfy recliner is a great place to start. We wrap up in a blanket and start our reading lesson. We are reading Little House on the Prairie. My daughter can recognize only a few of the words so far but loves the story. The blanket is not the only thing that warms me as she pleads with her eyes and says ''Oh, one more chapter Mom, please?''.

I wouldn't want anyone else to experience this with her. I am so thankful that I get to be her mother and teacher.

Homeschooling is not easy and it is never ending. Days like today make it all worth it.

Great Idea

I love a great idea and will admit I didn't come up with this on my own. Another home school mom in our Classical Conversations group gave this tip to me.

Cut four inch circles out of different colors of construction paper. Have your child use each circle to write words in their own handwriting that they know. Use one of the circles to draw a face for the word worm. Tape it to the wall where it can be easily added to as they learn more words.

My daughter is so proud of hers. Every time someone comes over she shows it to them and reads the words. Every repetition helps when it comes to learning.

The Great Indoors

Although I love fall and walking in the crisp autumn air is energizing it is getting too chilly to spend lengthy periods of time outside. This is a great time to look at your community to see what it has to offer for indoor opportunities. Eastern Nebraska is brimming with wonderful museums.

The Joslyn Art Museum has a children's area as well as terrific backpacks to check out. We had a great time with it. Ours was specific to the Impressionists gallery. My kids loved it and bringing art to their level helped make it so much more meaningful to them.

We purchased a Home Educators membership from the Durham Museum. They asked for something that identified me as a home educator. I simply replied '' these are my children, I am their teacher''. That was sufficient for them. The Durham also offers home school educational events at the museum. The latest session we attended was $6.00 per child. As a member/chaperon my admission was free. The session explored Laura Ingalls Wilder, pioneer life and included a craft. It was a terrific learning experience. My daughter is currently reading Little House on the Prairie so she was especially enthralled with it.

Fontanel Forest also has backpacks for children to check out and currently has a designated play area ''Acorn Acres''. The leaves are beautiful this time of year so it is a great time to go for a hike there before it begins to snow.

The Strategic Air Command museum is a bit further away but well worth the 20 minute drive. To see the many aircraft up close is exciting for every age. The SAC also has temporary exhibits that are always interesting. The flight simulator is always a must when we go. My son especially enjoys the in flight sensation.

We have so many more museums and local historic sites to visit. I am sure we will have plenty to keep us busy this winter inside and out of the snow.