Category: Homeschool (page 3 of 4)

Are You A Homeschool Bully?

My uncle ordered popovers
from the restaurant’s bill of fare.
And, when they were served,
he regarded them with a penetrating stare.
Then he spoke great words of wisdom
as he sat there on that chair:
“To eat these things,” said my uncle,
“You must exercise great care.
You may swallow down what’s solid,
but you must spit out the air!”
And as you partake of the world’s bill of fare,
that’s darned good advice to follow.
Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.
And be careful what you swallow.
~Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), from a commencement address.

One of the most popular reasons homeschooling parents choose to keep their children home – especially in this day and age – is to avoid the bullying and the peer pressure that inevitably comes with public schools. We don’t want our children to experience that kind of abuse, especially on a daily basis. Maybe some of us remember it ourselves and we shudder to think of our small sons and daughters being put through that type of pain and torment. Read more

Why Every Kid Should Have A Pony

When I was young – back in the olden days, by crikey – I longed for a pony. My longing would not be fulfilled by roly-poly bugs named Juan, or stray cats that refused to cuddle, or the occasional frog that was captured, named, snuggled, and played dead at all the wrong times.

You can’t even purchase saddles for pets that small, for goodness sake, much less ride off into the sunset, ponytails waving in the breeze.

No, what I needed was a pony. A mighty steed, a classy mount, a real life, by golly, horse. One that I could tie my saddlebags filled with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to, and gallop off to have amazing adventures. Read more

Date Night For Homeschool Parents: A True Story

After a day of wanting to eat her young,  an observant homeschool dad will take his twitchy wife out on a date.

He’ll have recognized the ‘crazy eyes’ and the frustration and despondency and also notice that his children take about eight billion times longer to write a report than is logically necessary, seem to retain any and all knowledge of math facts for about as long as guacamole stays green, and have a strange knack for using their school supplies as forts or weapons or anything other than what they’re meant for.

This is when he offers up the suggestion of a Date Night. Now while some couples religiously observe these, the rest of us forget to for about … oh, a decade or two, before we smack one another upside the heads and dig the Subway coupons out.

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The 10 Rules for My Commune, and a Cordial Invitation to Join

I crave simplicity and the homesteading life – this in spite of the fact that I can kill a house plant in six seconds flat and have never milked a cow.

Regardless of such a fact, I’ve decided to start my own commune.

My public-schooled, executive, non-religious brother already thinks I live in one anyway and he phones occasionally to make sure I am not wearing long dresses, marrying off my small daughters, allowing my husband extra wives, watching for comets, and drinking Kool-aid. (I stay mum.)

Of course there will have to be some rules in my commune. This isn’t a free for all! Breaking the rules will terminate our weird, crunchy, granola, hippy-dippy way of life, so try to adhere.

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Homeschooling Is Great (Except for the Teaching Part)

The hardest part about home educating differs from mom to mom.

Some thrive on organization but struggle with flexibility. Some worry about teaching subjects they are not proficient in.

Others can’t get a good flow going because of teaching too many grades at once and find it hard to settle into a groove.

A few have unsupportive friends or families and therein lies the rub. No one (despite their Facebook status or blog entries) has smooth sailing everyday, where they leap out of bed, dress the mice in mobcaps and aprons, sing to the canaries, make a wholesome breakfast, hear compliments from their obedient offspring all day about how wondrous their mothering is, plan amazing lessons plans, serve a fabulous dinner in a stylish outfit, and give her Prince Charming a foot rub.

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Cheapskate Homeschool Mommy & the $15 Craigslist Dresser

When you’re a Mommy, you learn to save money. And when you’re a Homeschool Mommy, you really, really learn to save money.

I have saving pennies down to an art form (though that makes me sound like I have oodles of it in my bank account, and I don’t want to mislead you: there’s nothing in there but spider webs, crickets, tumbleweeds, and $11).

One handy dandy cheapskate tip that I like to use is a little known secret called craigslist. Oh, you’ve heard of it? Well, I bet you haven’t risked your life and limb for it like I have … Read more