Not Another Homeschool Blog

 One of my daughters strange learning rituals. (Using large flat screen TV for computer, and surrounded by a  neat circle of notes) oh, and she's singing.  FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor Brighthub Contributor

 So before I even get started, I am going to say go read this blog post , then come back.  In the aforementioned post at Hip Homeschool Moms , the writer recounts her very first introduction to homeschooling.  She said something innocently, and was greeted with cutting sarcasm.  I think this happens a lot.  Are we all just so jaded that we can't tell an innocent question from a stupid remark.  When I think back to some of my earliest introductions to homeschooling, I shudder.  First there was the family that accosted us as a pool party, all happy, and shiny, and educated, and tried to convince me to homeschool Rambo style.  Then there was the time I tried to inquire into a homeschool group when I lived in New Orleans.  After describing myself to someone who agreed to meet with me, she almost abruptly hung up the phone.  We were having such a great conversation until I described myself as African American with braids...then it got...

Ever since we began homeschooling, I have felt like a strange egg in a sea of strange ducks.  I know I am not a typical parent because I don't have patience for a lot of the mom stuff, especially school stuff.  So as I homeschooler, you would think I'd fit right in... right?  Nope.  No. I hear all of these enthusiastic homeschoolers talking curriculum and such and my eyes glaze over, and I am pretty sure my lazy eye crosses because people start looking at me funny. Everybody wants to share tips.  Every body wants to make judgement on someone who they think may not be homeschooling just right.  Everybody wants to agree. But here's how I see it.  If I wanted to follow instructions, I would have left my kids in school. I have been visiting over at Rants From Mommyland for the past couple of days and finally, I found some girls I feel at home with... probably because they curse.  They're real. I especially enjoyed the few posts they have about ...

 Let me start by saying that I hate deleting blog comments.  Lots of comments make my blog look all lovoed and stuff.  But that fuzzy feeling of seeing 4, 5, or 6 comments isn't going to keep my from hitting that tiny garbage can icon if I must. When you read my blog post, if you actually read it, at the bottom you will see the words that say "spam free comment"... so what makes it OK to leave your spam?  I don't like it. Let's look at today's spammers for example: Rosetta Stone:  Really?????  You can't afford to buy an ad?  I'll gladly sell you an ad.  Why should I find three blatent links to your site in my comment box when I wake up this morning.  Don't you see my side bar where people actually respect my blog enough to purchase a stinking ad?  And... I'm cheap.  Plus, I like your product.  If you'd ask, I'd go through my blogs, find everywhere I mentioned your company, an put a stinking link... for next to nothing....

College #1 application is almost complete.  He loves this college so much that we went to an open house day and they told us to apply  last September, so his application has been in process for a year now.  All he needs to do is submit his art portfolio to increase his scholarship chances. This college has rolling admissions, so an acceptance letter will not mean he HAS to go to THIS school if he is accepted.  Our feedback so far is that his homeschool portfolio is awesome. College #2 application is ready to go out... just waiting for the early application deadline to pass so he is not considered early enrollment as they are not his first choice, just a comparison point. While is best friend is at the school, he says that will not sway him... it will probably come down to dollars and cents. There are a couple of other colleges that are pretty much ruled out, but he may apply to one or two of them for grins and giggles... especially the one that already sent a sc...

Looking at my 6'2" 17 year old homeschooled senior, I got a big nostalgic today.  I went back to the beginnings of my homeschool blog  and started reading.  This post reminded me of when homeschooling started looking like a good idea. I homeschool because I got mad! When I look back at the reasons I decided to homeschool my kids, I still get pretty angry. I first heard of homeschooling when my son was only a few months old. My husband came home and suggested that we homeschool our kids. A colleague of his was doing it with pretty good results. I wasn't happy to say the least. Nor was I kind... read more Here:  http://nfahm.blogspot.com/2005/12/i-homeschool-because-i-got-mad.html FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor Brighthub Contributor

I've been not exactly tagged by  Happy Elf Mom ! Ready? Here goes: 1. One homeschooling book you have enjoyed: The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia . It was used heavily in the first few years of homeschooling and is now still a constant resource for checking facts and brushing up on history. 2. One resource you wouldn't be without: a computer. Like Happy Elf Mom, it has been my single most important piece of equipment for homeschooling and beyond.  It has allowed me to work while homeschooling.  It has allowed my kids to homeschool more independently, and it has provided a plethora of free online resources. 3. One resource you wish you had never bought:   Language arts books by Stobaugh such as American Literature Teacher Text: Encouraging Thoughtful Christians to be World changers (Broadman & Holman Literature)   They are more Christian World View books than language arts.  That's great if it is what you want, but it is ove...

If I could change one thing about our homeschooling journey, we would be doing it in NY where I was raised.... or I would at least like to think so.  I am so jealous of this blogger at the cityschooling blog.  But then if I had never left NY, so many things would be different.  I may have never married my sweetheart who has dragged me all over the country.  I would have never seen education, or the lack of from so many different views.  I may have put my kids in the same Catholic Schools I went to and have been satisfied with it.  So, while I don't like to have regrets, I do wish my kids had had a city experience like I had.  But we are probably exactly where we need to be. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor Brighthub Contributor

Just spoke to the people at my son's top choice college.  They got his homeschool transcript and they like it.  They really, really liked it. Since they have rolling admissions, my son just needs to send a few more items and he will then know in 2 weeks time if he is accepted.  It will feel great not to stress about college for an entire school year. I will share more of the transcript process when I know that the process has been completely successful. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor Brighthub Contributor

Enjoy this video/slideshow of our very favorite homeschooling websites for high school students. And they're free. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor Brighthub Contributor

 This is interesting Georgia wants to overhaul its high school curriculum, making it more like college with courses tailored to what students want to do after they graduate. # Under the proposed plan, students would choose a "career cluster" that would lead them through the classes they need to either go on to a two-year or four-year college or to go straight into a job. The plan — which is expected to be taken up by the state Board of Education sometime this fall — would unravel the single-track approach instituted by former state schools Superintendent Kathy Cox that assumed every student was going to college.  Read more here: http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2011/sep/18/ga-wants-make-high-school-more-college/ I find this interesting because GA has changed it's high school curriculum just a few years ago, making high school so stringent that students not aiming for college would have no choice but to drop out.  I was wondering how long it would take to...

Every other Friday night when assignments are due, I find myself cyber stalking my kids accounts to make sure their courses are entered.  If they are late, they will lose 10 points a day. Daughter forgot one test completely, so I sent her to do it.  When she was done, the score had not calculated, when it finally did she had a low grade.  Fortunately, it was just one of several quizzes this week.  My problem is that we could not access the site for a couple of hours today, so I don't know if the site was still having problems, or if she did not know the material.  I have been on the internet for enough years to know how software glitches work. (I made a note in her notebook about the site being down, just so that when final grades are issued, I can compare my notes to her grades to see if there is a pattern.  If there is, I will adjust accordingly.) Speaking of the site being down for a couple of hours, my son announced that all of his work was comple...

Georgia Cyber Academy was profiled on the local news. http://www.11alive.com/news/article/205836/3/Going-to-a-virtual-charter-school  That's all find and Dandy.  It is working for a lot of kids, although I also hear from a lot of kids it does not work for.   But, if it rocks your boat, go for it. But.... Please don't call it homeschooling. If public school at home, and homeschooling  becomes synonymous, people who want to homeschool without the governments help will lose their rights. Ok... so I need to add a disclaimer here. My kids are using Georgia Virtual School, which is individual classes provided online to all kids in the state, should they want to partake. It walks the line between homeschool and public school.  It is taught by public school teachers and paid for by the state, but the parent remains in charge of what the kids take. (I dare say that if we don't agree with a grade, we could technically re-evaluate the kid and assi...

I just finished my son's homeschool portfolio for his application to SCAD.  Included in it as a short syllabus from every course he's taken (or table of contents from the books he's used).  A transcript, a reading list, a resume of activities and accomplishments, and a writing sample...  probably his best essay to date. He still has to submit his art portfolio in hopes of getting a scholarship and write his statement of purpose.  I will mail it tomorrow, and am getting everything else submitted.  We are hoping to have his application in by the end of Sept because I hear scholarships are first come, first served.  We will apply to his second choice college in October.   If we apply to others, it will be in November. Feels good to have it done. But it doesn't end there... getting my second child ready to take the PSAT in a month. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE   MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor Brighthub Contributor

Welcome to the September 13, 2011 edition of carnival of homeschooling. In reading the entries submitted to this Carnival of Homeschooling, I got to thinking about the different ways you can  categorize  homeschooling.  Then, I got to thinking that it's pretty darn impossible to  categorize.  After all, homeschooling isn't a segment of our lives, it IS our lives and to me homeschooling is more like living and breathing and less like a thing we do. Regardless, I did my best to present this carnival in bite size pieces giving you home stuff , school stuff , somewhere in between stuff , and other valuable stuff .  Enjoy! As a little bonus, I am including some FREE KINDLE BOOKS you can use in your homeschooliing journey.  You don't need a Kindle to use them. Home Stuff Cristina Payne  presents  Perpetual Motion  posted at  Home Spun Juggling , saying, "Contemplations on the loose tile in the bathroom." Fred L...

Actually, it's the other way around. So I have to confess that I just spent the last 3 days at Dragon*Con, " is the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe!" Thanks to my teenage daughter and her friends who turned us on to the fact that our fair city hosts this ginormous convention every year where you can dress up as your favorite sci-fi or cartoon character, and get involved up to your elbows in the culture of all things intelligent and nerdy.  Sure, there was a palpable level of downright geekiness involved, but that was awesome too. Each member of my family had different interests and so convention fed us all.  For me, it was Star Trek  most specifically, The Next Generation and Sci-Fi Literature.  For my son, it was Gaming (video games).  My daughter, costuming (costume designing) and Manga (Japanese Cartoons).  For my husb...