Adjusting to having college kids

It is tech week.  That means my daughter is in a play, and she has been in dress rehearsals all week, followed by numerous showings from Thursday through Saturday.  Normally during tech week, I fill up my car with gas, and prepare myself to fill it for a second time.  That is followed by buying tons of fast food as she will be "living" at the theatre that week, and also helping out with the productions costumes.  In the past, this also meant that my son was living in the tech room of the theatre, and so they were involved in the same activity.

This tech week it is something else entirely, as it has nothing to do with me.  Yes, she is living at the theatre, but I am not driving her anywhere.  I am not buying fast food. I am not working on costumes... at the single most crushing aspect that I am having a hard time to swallow- I am only going to see the show once!  Normally, even if there are 5 or 6 shows in 3 days, I see every single show and make it a point to  sit at a different spot in the audience each time so I can soak up every detail.

But not this time.  Instead, I am sending supporting texts, hoping that she will read them before each show.  I am crossing my fingers and toes for "good luck", and I am waiting until Saturday when I can use my comp tickets (for parents), to see her on stage.  Hopefully, I will also get a chance to stop by my son's college to give him a hug before going to my daughter's show.  And... not only is my son not working on the show, but he "doesn't have time" to see it either.

So enjoy the homeschooling years while you can.  They do eventually grow up.

In the meanwhile, I am officially, "homeschooling" my nephew for the next 6 months as he is studying for the GED, but also wants a portfolio to help him get into college.  I think the positive peer pressure of seeing his little cousin (my daughter) enter college is making him want the same thing.

Carnival homeschooling #414, Vlog hop edition.

I am happy to be posting this week's carnival of homeschooling, but since this past week was thanksgiving weekend, alot of our regulars were off giving thanks and didn't submit posts.  But never fear, there's still plenty to share.  We've found a couple of new bloggers to add to our carnival, and I want to introduce you to some of my favorite homeschool vloggers, and encourage you to give that a try too.  

I will start with a post of my own from last summer, as you can see, I posted the vlog on Youtube, and then embedded it into my homeschool blog.  Eeasy-Peasy.  You will find Homeschool Vlog Hop at Notes from a Homeschooled Mom, presented by me, Andrea. 

As you can see from my post/vlog, I am pretty much done with hands-on homeschooling of my own children.  The next post is from another homeschooling family who have a lot of homeschooling years under their belt with some children graduated, and some in progress.   Read about how Janine reflects on homeschooling and family time with Homeschooling and family time at Why Homeschool. 
Another vlog hop edition gives a tour of the home.  In this video, you may see a bit of your own chaos organization skills.  See the video below for more information.  








There are sooooo many curriculum choices as we discovered in our next vlog hop edition.  Parents had to post multiple vidoes to cover all that they had accumulated.  Here is a video that will give you an idea of what one family had to share. 


Now I would like to introduce you to Sharla at the Chaos and Clutter Blog.  Her wonderful entry shows us What a "typical" homeschool family looks like.  





Also, Laurie presents Ron Paul Curriculum Tip of the Week - SAT or CLEP?  at Trivium Pursuit.
If you've started poking around through the homeschool vlogs on youtube, you may have noticed that some vlogs are planned, with the suggestion of a title and everyone jumping in.  Others come from the heart and are more spontaneous.  In this case, encouragement for homeschool moms may inspire you, or inspire you to encourage someone else. 


Speaking of curriculum, Mystie presents the ever seasonal Advent Term Plans at Simply Convivial. 






The following post presented by Chris entitled Blessings and Miracles  at Home School vs Public School is also quite inspirational. 

If videos are not your thing, perhaps you can try adding pictures.  The blog post presented by Melissa entitled Day in the Life of Us, in which she details an entire day activity by activity, with lots of vibrant pictures, is very enlightening.  You can find more of this blog at The Corkums. 

Another subject also shared among homeschool vloggers is Why do I homeschool.  The reasons run the gamut. It could be anything from problems in schools, to wanting a unique or spiritual upbringing fro the children.  The following video is one such example.  





Last but not least, I had to ask this blogger for permission to add her post to the carnival, because it summarizes everything I feel about early education.  So please read Liz's post Play to be Happy at Lizness.com.  


I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Carnival of homeschooling.  I hope I gave you some ideas about different ways to share your homeschool experience, whether it be through vlogs, traditional blogs, or photo blogs.  To Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling use our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

worth the trip

What is normally a four hour road trip to pick up my two kids from college and return home took 8 hours yesterday.  I've been home for well over 24 hours and I am still tired.  I don't relish the idea of returning them back to their dorms on Sunday.  

But while they are home, I get to hug them, kiss them, style the girl's hair, and just enjoy their company, so it was definately worth the trip. 

Is your child's learning on schedule?

Yes?

No?

It doesn't really matter.  They WILL learn... eventually.

I've been trying to explain this to a nephew who is struggling with a slow learning curve.  I tell him that yes, he is behind, but the finish line WILL NOT MOVE.  He will get there.  And then, I bet he will soar.

This blog here is a great example of such a journey.