Not Another Homeschool Blog

  There is a local YouTube sensation named Megan McGlover .  She starts out reporting (ranting) about the weather, then she goes off on tangents about other things in the news.  She usually ends her report with "don't be stupid".  She's got a point. Fifty years ago, Mr. Richard Eggers was stupid.  He was about 18 years old and he made a cardboard dime and used it to operate a washing machine. His "stunt" as he describes it landed him in jail for two days.  As far as anyone knows he has been a law abiding citizen ever since.  However, Wells Fargo, the bank Mr. Eggers worked for fired him for the 50 year old stunt . There's a whole bru-ha-ha about new FDIC laws about having people with criminal activity working at banks and banks being overzealous in weeding out

 Here I am drinking a Big Carl sized cup of water trying to force a tension headache out of my body.  I always get sick when I am excited... or when I am braiding my hair... both of which I am doing this week.  I am excited to be taking my daughter (and my husband and myself) to the Dragon*Con convention downtown.  It's funny how people react when I say I am going to Dragon*Con .  Makes me wonder if I should keep it to myself.  It's like I'm a great big freakazoid, going to hang out with the other freaks.  First of all, I never-ever professed to be anything less than completely crazy and wildly eclectic.  After all, I homeschool, don't I?  Isn't that a fringe activity?  My daughter did pageants during her tween years... another fringe hobby.  Why

Good Morning America announces homeschooling is going mainstream . But we already knew that didn't we.  The better news is that the piece, while a fluff piece, is overwhelming positive.  There's only one caveat:    " And while the homeschooling movement grows, educators are poised to see what happens when a new generation of homeschooled kids go away to college." Seeing that I know dozens of homeschooled young adults who have completed college and are now in the workplace, I gather they aren't looking hard enough.  Plus based on the number of homeschoolers at my son's college and they amount of visibility these kids have (there were tons helping with registration and orientation), i'd say homeschoolers are kicking butt on the college level, striving more so to be involved than than partying and obsessing over grades.   Still, it's good to have an honorable mention. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE   ahermitt.com

 This information is very timely seeing as I have a child just now starting college:  Going to college for the first time is never easy. Students have to say goodbye to their parents and prepare to begin their adult lives. Parents have to watch as their children leave the nest, potentially for good. This transition, however, can be even more difficult for parents who have homeschooled their children, sometimes for their entire lives. You are used to determining what your child will study, why and for how long, and it may be difficult to finally let go of the reins and allow your child to make those decisions. College is, however, one of the most special times in your child's life. So, once you get past the initial growing pains, the experience of supporting a college student can be one of the most rewarding transitions you've ever made. Here are some tips for starting out: 1. Try not to meddle in their coursework. Even though you are very accustomed to knowing exactly w...

 Now that my son is delivered safely to college (sob!), I can focus on my daughters senior year. I have been homeschooling for about a decade, and every August has been an experiment.  After all, I am a homeschool mom, not a curriculum expert, so sometimes I choose curriculums that don't gel with my child.  This year was no exception. This year the curriculum I had to shelf was at least free.  It was the packet from The Actuarial Foundation for Personal finance.  It is not a bad curriculum, but it does not do enough explaining, as it was designed for the teacher who actually already knows personal finance... not for the mom and child who don't really understand compound interest and mortgage amortization.  So we had a false start with math this year and

I looked back over my last post and thought "Oh my gosh, this year is going to crush my daughter!"  That's too much work! Then on  a yahoo group the question came up about how many hours the kids homeschool or are required to homeschool by law... so we did the math: In GA we are required to have an equivalent of 4.5 hours a day and 180 days.  That is 810 hours.  For academics, my daughter is doing about 600 working hours @ approx 20 hours a week.  She is working on 6 half credits and two whole credits, a total of 5 credits, so she is also meeting Carnigie requirements

We just got home from this years "school" meeting. We went over rules, regulations, dress codes, cell phone rules during class, and all that good stuff. We found out about all the new things that the homeschool program is rolling out. (Don't you hate it how things always get cooler and better just as you are done?... It reminds me of how mad I still get when I see the super-cool strollers that weren't available when my kids were babies.)  But they all grow up and things change. The most exciting news was Drama Club.. of course!  The fall play is undecided (almost decided) but it won't be held at our usual venue.  Instead, the kids will bring the play to the community.  They may do a nursing home, a school, a community theater, a major theater, or all of the above... who knows.  The second play will be a full school play... I won't say what it is just yet, but it will have kids of every age from