Homeschool update: We are finished... but not gone

I made a video a couple days about about being done with homeschooling.  While we are done... i.e. my kids are finished being homeschoolers and are moving on to college doesn't mean we are done with homeschooling.  My daughter right now is investigating an opportunity to teach crafts to homeschoolers for a summer camp, and I am always her to answer questions and give advise.

 

FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE
ahermitt.com

First her diploma, then her drivers license

She got her driver's license this morning.   Seems like the third time was the charm.  Her nerves got the best of her on the date of her original road-test, which is when this photo was from.  Then she went back for a re-test (as a walk-in) because she didn't want to wait a month to schedule a new one, but they sent us away... we didn't get there early enough.  We got there at 6:34.  AM.  So today, we get there at 6:27, and she made the cut.  It was a long wait, but we found a nervous young lady to entertain and it helped with everyone's nerves.  They both passed with over 90 points!

So why is my child who has already graduated just getting her drivers license?   I have 3 reasons....
1.  She graduated young.  You probably already know that info if you read my blog.

2.  We the parents decide when they get to drive, not the government.  Sure she was legally able to when she first turned 16, almost a full year ago, but while the state says you have to practice for a year, mom and dad required more time.  While she didn't like the fact that she was the only Sr. whose Mommy escorted her her to homeschool classes this past year, that fact didn't phase me one bit, not even when she pointed out that the Jrs. were also arriving solo.  I neither made judgment on those parents who let their kids drive young,  nor did I feel the need to put  fire under my butt to help her get her license.  I knew that I'd know when the right time had come.  ...And it came.

3.  Permission to drive must be earned in my home.  It is not a right.  I needed to see dedication, order, and a mature attitude before I would share my car with a child.  Not to mention buying them their own car.  Who knows when that is going to happen?  But I can tell you when I do buy her or my son a car, they will surely deserve it.... or they will buy their own.

(By the way, her older brother doesn't even have his license yet, but that is more of his decision than ours. )


FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE
ahermitt.com

Examining again

I've picked up my activity at my columns at Examiner.com.  Here are some recent articles I wrote:

No child left behind reform is fuzzy

Should the Jackson family reconsider homeschooling after Paris' suicide attempt

Is time spent in class more important than how much is learned?

FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE
ahermitt.com

A grammar correction tool, a learning tool.

As a content writer,  I began using Grammarly to perfect my article submissions.  After all, it is very embarrassing to send in an edit request, when you notice a couple weeks after publishing, that you wrote "to" instead of "too".  The site is very effective for perfecting my work.  I find it most useful when I write late at night as that is when I make the most errors.

As a homeschool parent, and somewhat of an advisor, Grammarly helps me to catch spelling and grammar issues that I might not see at a glance.  You can use some features of the site for free, but a subscription will help you find not only spelling issues, but problems with conjunctions, adjectives, adverbs, subject-verb agreement, modal verbs, sentence punctuation, sentence structure, and commonly confused words.

Useful to both content writers and students is the plagiarism checker.  It will help you to prevent inadvertently using another's information in your work, and will also eliminate accusations that you attempted the act of plagiarism.

Another thing about this tool that needs pointing out is that you choose what kind of editing you want.  When I am writing for Yahoo, for instance, I use the "Business" option, and when I am checking a 13 year old's term paper, I use the academic option.  For my daughter, who likes to get creative, there is even a "creative option".