Not Another Homeschool Blog

My daughter goes to a women's college, and I noticed when stalking Pinterest images related to the school, a campaign for feminism .  It looks like this: and this and this. As I matter of fact, I had to work really hard to find some that didn't straight out say "I need feminism because I was raped or molested, or assaulted, and no one cared", but could not. .  If I was to sum up the gist of the majority of the captions, they said: "I need feminism because my rights to my own

I am annoyed by reports of a Utah School  doctoring yearbook photos to show less skin. My reasons: 1. The school district admittedly applied the rule unevenly. 2. The original pictures were fine, for the most part. 3. I dare say not one boy's photo was doctored. 4. Cleavage is one thing, but shoulders?  That is taking it too far. I realize my stance my be unpopular, but it often is, and I am ok with that. But I feel like we cross the line in asking our girls to be modest... and push the barriers into shaming girls for just being girls.  While I practiced modesty with my daughter from her pre-teen years through now, adulthood (18th birthday coming up), I don't believe in telling girls that some guy seeing a glimpse of an ankle or a (gasp) arm, is going to cause some guy to stumble in his faith. Meanwhile guys get to run around completely shirtless, and girls are expected to have no reaction?  I am sick of the double standard.  In encouraging (not dema...

For the past few months, I've been trapped somewhere in between leading a horse to wate r and beating a dead horse .  However, the horse has been neither thirsty, or willing to try something new. I often tell my kids that the m eaning of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting different results.  It is of course, not a true definition, but a symptom of insanity in which I have chosen to no longer participate. It makes me sad that a young, extended family member, with so much promise is dooming himself to not be his best, and to not do his best, but I have to take the onus off of myself, and place it where  it belongs.  Once you have offered opportunity, and resources, and nothing has changed... for months, and months on end, you just have to move on... And so I am back to working on me, and I am good with that. Almost done with the real estate course... And need to double up my gym time too, but I was giving that time to someone who did not app...

There are a group of moms making the talk show rounds advocating for legalizing marijuana, saying that weed makes them better mother s. What are they smoking??? Oh... wait. But seriously, I am watching three women on The View right now who are taking MEDICINAL marijuana.  They have serious diseases and canibus is the only drug that helps them function... and so that does make them better mothers. But... I think that there is a difference between using medicinal weed and having marijuana themed parties .  I feel that this crosses the line and makes the drug more attractive to those who don't need it.  Who in their right mind throws a party to take their medicine?  Glucophage soirée anyone? FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE ahermitt.com

It may seem unsettling to read that a homeschooler is not a big fan of kids, but it is the truth.  They are loud, sticky, selfish, and untrained.  They pretty much drive me crazy.  Fortunately, I adore my own kids in spite of all this, and that I guess, it what love means.  Because I love my own kids, I have made an effort to open my heart to other kids, so that mine would not end up living a solitary existence.  I found it easier to do one child at a time, developing a relationship with each child and their parents that my kids brought onto my radar.  This is because honestly, if I didn't learn to love these kids, I would not like them at all. So I understand it when a UK mother writes a viral article on how she regrets having children .  Well I understand how she didn't want them at first, but I don't understand why she relented to pressure to have them and then refused to open her heart to them.   Isabella Dutton, wrote things like" I fe...

Crazy Working Mom: Diary of a mother on the brink of snapping!: Lunch Time This woman's kids are apparently more observant and caring than mine. It only took a week for them to get the message.  A few years ago I stopped cleaning for an entire winter. It happened because i had been sick for a few days and when I pried my aching body from the bed and went downstairs, I got sick all over again.  So, I gave the kids chores and held my tongue as they made half hearted attempts at cleaning up behind themselves. When my strike was over the only person cured was me. I had gotten over my need for a pristine home and hubby was pitching in more because he realized that I just did not give a snot anymore. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE ahermitt.com

If you follow my blog you know how very important academics are to me.  When I talk about our homeschooling experience with other homeschoolers I often hear "that's nice, but we are not so competitive academically, it is more important to me that my children's values are in order.  I've always felt that such a comment was a slight towards me...  You ask me how my kids are doing in homeschooling, and I rattle off their academic achievements.  Then you make a smart -alecky remark that says what I just told you was unimportant.  Meh.  Whatever. I used to feel that people were threatened by the impression I gave that book-learnin was the single most important value in homeschooling.  Now I don't really care.  But, with that said, you should know that values are indeed very important in our homeschooling journey.  But if you ask me what my kids are doing homeschooling wise, I am going to talk about math and reading and such.  That's just ho...

I wrote what I wrote last night because it was heavy on my heart and had been itching to get out.  But a good night's sleep always brings perspective.  This does not mean that I am not any less scared, angry, dissappointed, and broken-hearted over the Trayvon Martin case,  because I am. However, I am also encouraged that so many people have stood up for justice of this young child.  I am not only seeing black teens and their parents mobilizing over this case, but I am also seeing white, Hispanic, Muslim, and all other nationalities pulling together to call for justice. So while this issue makes it painfully aware that we still have a long way to come in the matter of race relations, I am also happy to notice that we have already come a long way.  The only problem is that half-way is not far enough. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE

I hate talking about race but sometimes the conversation just can't be avoided. You would have had to live under a rock this month to not know the Trayvon Martin story.  Now I tried to be quiet about this issue until I had all of the facts.  I wanted to KNOW that this child was innocent BEFORE shooting off at the mouth and making assumptions about things I knew nothing about.  After watching the issue for a full month, I can say this much... I AM SCARED. Do I have a good reason to be scared?  Probably not.  But here's the thing.  I've got a big strapping dark-skinned, son who's built like a football player.  He could just as easily have been picked out as a thug in his favorite Eddie Bauer hoodie as he decided he wanted to run to the local McDonalds for a burger and walked back home through our gated community.  Should a neighborhood vigilante see his big hulking self, he wouldn't bother getting out of the car, he'd just probably shoot from...

The school-contracted illness in LeRoy NY may be coming to light. Dr. Siegel says it could be a chronic strep infection that causes the illness caused PANDAS, but it is being covered up.  Kids and parents are not being given the information on their illness.  This may actually be a public health risk but no one's talking. There is a serious problem when parents aren't allowed to get information about kids health issues. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE

I have been making it a point this year to network more with other homeschoolers, writers, and business women.  Today, I did both... in duplicate.  I had breakfast with a business owner/homeschooling mom and her daughter... my daughter of course was there.  Then in the late afternoon, I met another writer/homeschooling mom on her way through Atlanta from Detroit to Florida.  She took a little detour and we talked, and talked, and talked...  poor thing had to get back on the road...  She's a machine... I don't think I would do it.  It feels to great to meet with like minded women, who I have soooo much in common with.  Not that I don't have plenty in common with other homeschooling moms, but these two women were particularly  of a similar mindset as me.  Tomorrow morning I meet with one of my best friends that I hardly ever see.  ... after I drop the kids off for their Arts program. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...

Reading the Google News Alerts this morning, I came upon at a couple of blog posts or articles where parents complained about bad words and potty mouths for different reasons. In one instance the child in public school was tempted by the potty mouths of others and found himself using a few choice words. Another complainted about the potty mouths on sports teams . I can remember where I found the other... possibly a comment of agreement. Anyway, dealing with potty mouths is a part of raising kids. Maybe I was lucky, but I have not had to deal with this in a big way. Now I am not saying my kids have not dropped a bomb or let a word slip. What I am saying is that each time it happens it is a new word... they never repeat the previous word again. With each new explitive that I hear, I stop, find out where the word came from and in a matter-of-fact manner explain exactly what the word means and why it is not appropriate for civilized conversation. I think because I don't make a...