Not Another Homeschool Blog

I have always been intrigued by unschooling though I have never embraced it.  I have admired it, and have also feared it.  I have found it intriguing and misguided all at once. My personal fears towards unschooling are my own.  I come from a highly motivated background where measurements and getting into college are of utmost importance... never mind if college is the child's actual goal... that is the benchmark as to whether I have done a good job or not.  Reasonable or unreasonable as it may seem, I have never felt that unschooling was a good road to my intended goal. Still, I have admired the freedom from stress, from the measurements, from society's guidelines that occur with unschooling.  In many cases, unschooling has led to success beyond what can be achieved with rules and restrictions.  Other times, it can go no-where... that is my fear.  I fear that if I were to allow unschooling (past elementary years), that some serious slug-ness would ...

 I just updated our curriculum choices page .  As I see it, homeschooling will be pretty laid back and also pretty hands off next year. My daughter will be a Jr.   She will squeezing Geometry in over the Summer and into the fall, in time to take the PSAT, which she will also put some speficic effort into studying for it over the summer. She may take the College Math CLEP at the end of the school year, as it seems easy to pass after taking the SAT. For language arts, I will count the work she does towards her PSAT & SAT studies and she will also take a fiction writing course at her homeschool program. For science, she will take the online MIT course Kitchen Chemistry. We are skipping history this year opting to study government during her Sr. year, an election year. She will continue to work on Spanish (2a) and Mandarin (1b). Then there's a slew of arts electives such as voice, drama, instruments, art... *If she starts at a decent hour she will be done...

At the end of the homeschooling journey, after the child has learned their math, to read, and to write and to think for themselves, it is important to put all of that information into a homeschool transcript. Homeschool transcripts are used for college admissions and are essentially a substitute for a highschool transcript.  Where a college would gladly accept the word of a traditional school that a  student has completed a college prep scope and sequence, a homeschooler will use the transcript to show in detail that the same has been completed.  I highly recommend beginning the child's transcript in grade 8 or as soon as they begin taking high school level classes such as Algebra, Geometry, Biology, and Chemistry. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor Brighthub Contributor

Just because it is summer, does not mean homeschooling has to end.  Summer camps should be an integral part of the homeschool plan.  By picking your child's summer camps very carefully, you can move some subjects and extra curriculars to the summer allowing your child to have an easier school year.  Some of the cool summer camps available for homeschoolers are: Grapic Design Art Theater Computer Programming Writing workshops Space programs Science Labs Robotics Even AP math classes can be found for older kids. This will allow the child to concentrate on these areas of interest in the summer and perhaps give them a little break during the school year too. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor Brighthub Contributor

 I have been very, very ill since Wednesday.  I suspected I was getting sick during the day as my body thermostat went haywire and my teeth kept chattering.  But around 10pm, I got hit with a fever that knocked me off my feet, followed by several days of stomach distress.  During my week of inability, and with my husband out of town, my daughter (soon to be 15) quickly stepped into the caretaker role needed to get us through the week.  The only outside help I had to call on was for grocery deliveries in a desperate attempt to ease my symptoms. She not only assisted me, and kept my fever from getting to high, but she also checked on her brother was was also suffering, though to a lesser degree.  She made meals.  She sat nearby.  She was attentive, and I was well cared for. Is this something I trained her for as a girl who is homeschooled.  No. Not directly.  But I believe that her numerous opportunities to watch me and other family me...

As we finish our 8th grade of homeschooling and look forward to our 9th, It is interesting to reflect on all of the questions about homeschooling that have been presented to us over the year.  Like we have evolved over the years, so have the questions.  Here is a general accounting of them. 1. Why aren't the kids in school? In our early days when the kids were small children, all kind of people would sto us as we went about our day and grill me and the kids about why they were not in school.  Most seemed annoyed that children were invading their quet time at the library or supermarket at a time when they did not expect kids there.  My duaghter, who was quite tiny at the time, would pointedly say, "We don't go to school."  Then she would walk away.  Great fun! 2. What about socialization? This question came from people we knew who worried that our kids would become weird misfits.  My personal research about the subject taught me to not bother answe...

It's True.  Homeschoolers don't bother to get dressed until it is time to leave the house.  We literally spend the day in our pajamas... sort of.  Actually, my son prefers sweat pants.  I like yoga pants and t-shirts, and my daughter lives in scrubs. The scrubs she wears are the same medical scrubs you find on a doctor or nurse at the hospital. They are no-muss, no-fuss, wash and wear, and they are also great for sleepovers, and tech week wear, when you have spend every single minute at drama club rehearsal getting in and out of costumes.  I keep her closet stocked with these easy wear, easy care outfits by ordering them from stores like http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/ categories/Scrubs/ where they also carry the long sleeve t-shirts that I love so much.