Homeschooling can be daunting enough, but when you start searching Pinterest for Homeschool Rooms, you might get so overwhelmed with Perfect Mom Envy that you consider dropping your rugrats off at the nearest public institution posthaste.
Never fear, mama bear!
(Hmm. That rhymed better in my head.)
There’s this idea that is prevalent which says you have to have a dedicated Homeschool Room.
But that’s bogus.
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Do you ever feel ignored and inconsequential by your offspring?
Do you find yourself muttering under your breath,
Hello? Why do I bother talking at all?
Do you find yourself wondering if perhaps you are Bruce Willis’ character in The Sixth Sense and have been dead for a while now, and just haven’t accepted the fact?
Do I have a plan for you! Not really, no. But you can try what I tried one day…
I ran away.
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Roadschooling. Is it a thing? Schooling while on the road? Do you need a sketchy-looking, decked out schoolbus? Will any old Mommobile do? Can you really use your road trip times and not skip school?
It is totally a thing.
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Growing up, back in the day, I was homeschooled.
It was uphill to class, both ways, in the snow, and we wrote on a slate. True story.
Now, throughout the years, I have homeschooled my own gremlins (no snow, no hills, computers…my pioneer mama scoffs) and the combination has given me a unique perspective. Everyone knows about the obvious perks to homeschooling (no drugs, pajamas, no school shootings, no mysterious school lunches, pajamas, lack of bullies, customized education, pajamas), but let me let you in on a few secret ones you may never have even considered. Read more
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
For all you homeschool moms out there, a very merry Yuletide to you. Use this simple Advent Calendar to plan out all your holiday activities. Read more
If I was better prepared this would be a cute printable, but… it’s a school day.
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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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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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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
