Not Another Homeschool Blog

My first thought this morning was: "What's best for my kids may not be in my best interest. Deal with it or don't procreate." It's an Andrea original, feel free to quote me. It sits on my Facebok page right now, awaiting backlash, but it is only getting likes.  That's good.  But I didn't mean for it to be a crunchy feeling thing, I meant for it to be provocative. I was thinking about someone in particular when it came to my mind.  Someone close to me hinted that I move their kid (across the country) in with me and have me homeschool them this year.  I didn't think

While having fighting skills to survive a Zombie Apocalypse or the possibility of having to participate Hunger Games is important, there are many things that kids should not have to deal with that I am glad to have been able to spare my kids from. Having schoolmates turn against yo u en-masse.   Having a teacher say, "she's pretty, let's see if she's smart (while pinching her). Having teachers purposely call you out of your name ... just to be hateful.  Having everyone know that you the lowest or highest grade on the test. Wanting to learn while watching the teacher deal with the kid who is acting out instead.  Being mocked for not having expensive shoes Being made to feel bad for being smart, causing them to purposely dumb down Having kids call you racist nick-names like Oreo, zebra, and other black or white specific words I won't mention here. (These were just the names I was given). Being reprimanded by a teacher or administrator without them hearin...

A homeschool friend had this on her Facebook page.  My daughter was gleefully happy about this image and asked that I buy a poster for her dorm room.  She is homeschooled and proud, regardless of what the outside world thinks about homeschoolers and their capabilities. On one of her college applications, my daughter was asked to write a "fictitious" letter to her roommate letter he know what kind of person to expect.  My child proudly wrote a diatribe about how homeschooling had shaped her personality and all of the nerdy goodness her roommate was in store for. The image above is in line with what my daughter feels are some of the many benefits of homeschooling.  It's kind of true.  The child owns a dagger, a sword, and a couple of Epee's ... and she knows how to use them. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE ahermitt.com

Best innocent face.  (From passenger seat!) Me: (in passenger seat)  The curb.  THE CURB! Daughter: (in drivers seat) What curb? (thump) Ohhhh, that curb (thump) I think she was more focussed on pulling into McDonalds than anything.  She wanted Monopoly game pieces.  We ordered what we thought would get those pieces and got home to find out there were none.  Bummer. I tend to vent a bit about my kid, but I love her to pieces.  She's funny, and talented, and I am glad to say that the ADD child (according to the school) that I had on my hands in Pre-k through 1st grade is now a mature-ish, beautiful, quirky, entertainer who has grown into her skin. I'm not saying she doesn't have her faults, because she does.  There is still some mental hyperactivity going on, and a level of distractedness (see above).  But if you look at the kid the schools claimed I was going to end up with, she is a superstar in comparison. So don't believe wh...

Did you know that when the latest unmanned vessel was sent to Mars that a recording also went with it to be broadcast back to earth.  Will I Am of the Black Eyed Peas penned this song and recorded it with an instrumental orchestra and an orchestra of school children.  I found it fascinating. I love how the guy in the black shirt (most likely a scientist) can't clap on beat.  But I am sure his other brain abilities outweigh his lack of rhythm. While this fascinated my pants off, the reasoning behind the song and the movement that has started is of important note to educators.  Please listen to the intent behind the project and the movement that this talented musician his spearheading. It's interesting how music is taken out of schools but yet, we worship performers. It might be because there is something in those performers and their work that inspire us to be more... to do more.  They set the example of an insane work ethic, in most cases, that I hop...

Stink eye This morning as I was trying to lay down the law for my daughter to stay on schedule, I noticed she was tuning me out.  So I said to her, "let's play a game....  let's play I'm the momma."  I got the stink eye. Later in the day, I was talking to her through her bedroom door and she said something I didn't agree with.  I replied "you're ridic" (as in you're ridiculous.)  She opened the door and exclaimed "NICE, mom"... then I thought about what I'd just said.  Say it out loud.  I dare you.  It sounded like I called her a really bad thing.  I collapsed in laughter.  I got the stink eye again.   I'm probably too old for cool abbreviations. My son gave me the stink eye just once in his entire childhood.  He was about seven.  The problem with his stink eye is that it looked exactly like my stink eye.  So when he did it I told him, "you can't scare me with my own face".  He never tried it again. I m...

If you follow my blog you know how very important academics are to me.  When I talk about our homeschooling experience with other homeschoolers I often hear "that's nice, but we are not so competitive academically, it is more important to me that my children's values are in order.  I've always felt that such a comment was a slight towards me...  You ask me how my kids are doing in homeschooling, and I rattle off their academic achievements.  Then you make a smart -alecky remark that says what I just told you was unimportant.  Meh.  Whatever. I used to feel that people were threatened by the impression I gave that book-learnin was the single most important value in homeschooling.  Now I don't really care.  But, with that said, you should know that values are indeed very important in our homeschooling journey.  But if you ask me what my kids are doing homeschooling wise, I am going to talk about math and reading and such.  That's just ho...