Not Another Homeschool Blog

I am realizing that my decisions not only impact my kids, but also my in-laws and my parents.  We can no longer make plans for ourselves and and our kids and go on along about our business... there are people who raised us who are not as independent as we would like.  That is a tough pill to swallow. So if the fact that we still have 18&20 year olds who are in college and not completely out of the nest is keeping us tied to home, and not allowing us to live full time in NYC, we are even more beholden to come home for hubby's parents... to check on them, spend time with them, and make sure they are OK.   The good part of this is that living part time in NYC will allow me to do the same for my dad.   Ideally, I'd like to have the inlaws live with us here, and dad live with us there, but first, hubby and I could use some privacy.  Second, both sets are wayyy too independent for that to work... and so lies the dilemma.  We have a lot to thin...

Welcome to the 457the Edition of the Carnival of homeschooling!  The theme this week is homeschool freedoms.  For me, homeschooling was all about freedom, but probably not in the way you think.  I will let the HSLDA to their job as they see it, and I will let the  lobbyers  lobby.  I am most  concerned  about  freedoms  on a much smaller and individual scale, to raise and educate my kids in the way I thought best.  This is important to me because as a homeschooler, I still see a lot of group thinking.  I don't really see a point in having the legal right to homeschool, only to check with everyone and their mother before deciding on a curriculum, event, or even a political stance.  Homeschooling is an individual endeavor, and I believe that while  input  and opinions are nice, they are just that.  We have to remember that as parents, WE ARE IN CHARGE.  So during my homeschool years I was very careful...

My youngest is a college sophomore.  I am really, truly, done homeschooling, so why I am still homeschool blogging.  Well, it is not for the reason some former homeschoolers are still doing it.  I have noticed some veteran homeschoolers still blogging about all things political, things that they think could impede on homeschooling in the future.  I also see veteran homeschoolers blog about all things conservative.  Neither of these are my concern.  I am still homeschool blogging to let people know that there is someone out there they can relate to who did it and so they can too. No.  I don't think I can relate to every single new homeschooler out there.  The types of bloggers mentioned above will surely appeal to a great deal of them.  But for me, there was on, single, solitary writer, who captured my heart and gave me the confidence it took carry on and get it done. Had I not read her book.  Had I not gone to a conference where she ...

I picked up the phone today and told a friend to come over with some file boxes this weekend and pick up any homeschool books she wanted.  I'd been giving her all my books one at a time anyway, and since I won't be living here full time,  I decided to turn my home office back into a guest room. It's kind of bitter-sweet parting with the homeschool books I have accumulated over the years... a few I even purchased after I stopped homeschooling... (hard habit to break). It is bitter because I am done homeschooling my kids.  It is also sweet because I am done homeschooling my kids! And what books exactly am I giving away?  Mostly standard high school textbooks.  In the end, they are what I enjoyed the most.  They tend to get to the point quickly and they don't cost much second-hand on Amazon.com.  We mostly used them as a spine or resource anyway as most of the kids education centered around research and educational websites. I really preferred teac...