Traveling down the road of socialization

What about socialization? If you have homeschooled for any length of time you know this is always asked.

Having to send my son to public school this year, against my wishes, I realized socialization was easier when we were homeschooling exclusively.

Why? Simple? You know your kids friends, you know the parents - or at least be able to recognize them in a crowd. You most likely have at least have said hi to the other parents, hi to the kids, and feel comfortable with being able to talk to the other parent if there is a need.

The boy has been in school now for 5 months. I have met no one. I know of names, he talks about them, but have met no one.

Tonight he was invited to a party, not by the host or the host parents, but by someone else that was invited. He was told about it today and came home asking can I go?

What was I to do? The party was to be at a local pizza place in just over an hour from when he told me. I do not know the parents, the kid who the party is for, and unsure if he really was welcomed.

Did the parents paying for the food really plan on my kid being there too? I have no one to call. The only contact info the boy has is the friend that invited him.

What about socialization? What about it? At least with homeschooling I knew parents, truly knew who my kids talked to. Not because I want control of that, but because I can say I know and with them being teens can say at least I feel like they are with good kids.... when they do things with their friends  I or another parent is not around.

I understand, with my 5 month exposure, how parents can know nothing about their child's friends. I dropped my son at the pizza place. However I did not do a drop and run. I am sitting here, alone, eating my dinner (and blogging) while my son is in the party room. It's been several hours now and seeing my son is in the party room I guess it was cool he's here ... but I still have not met anyone.  And I seriously don't think I will.

It blows my mind. If it was my kid's party and a child I never met showed up I would be asking is your mom or dad here? Is it possible to meet them? I would welcome the child, even if I didn't plan on having them there, but I would be looking for the other parent to at least say hi, introduce myself, and let them know how long the party would be.

This is stupid. Can I bring him home now?

I just want him home! 

It's been no secret that I did not want to send my son to public school this year. It was done because my husband and I no longer agreed on what was the best course for our son in terms of his education.

From day one I have had issues.

1. Not being allowed to go to orientation (students only)
2. Loosing his paperwork -- (physical forms I submitted and having to get them again from the doctors office)
3. History teacher handing out the books and telling them to put them in their lockers and do NOT take them out. -- I also have had other issues with how the history class is being taught
4. Biology class having the kids go meatless for several days -- because eating meat wastes water and we need to "reduce" our water usage.
5. The school not knowing he was on a school field trip and causing me to think (and notifying police) that my son was missing  -- I will take credit for forgetting this myself and not having it on our calendar -- but when I did the right thing and called the school they should have been able to tell me "Mrs. W. your son went on this field trip", or asked "Mrs. W, is it possible your son is on this after school field trip?" -- instead the school called the police on my behave to report him missing.  (This is part of the reason we decided to go with tracfone -- more on that in a future post)
6. Common Core Curriculum in general plus the data mining that goes with it.  Yes the data mining is very real. I, just from the last 9 weeks, have evidence of that.

Our latest issue is that the school, well I guess it's really Illinois laws, is NOT being happy with our son's vax records. Actually, not being happy with the DATE he received his first varicella (chicken pox) vax. Apparently, Illinois immunization rules for schools states that the first dose of the varicella (chicken pox) vax needs to be on or after your child's first birthday.  My son received the vax 48 hours before his first birthday.  So now I have to get the doctor's office, and they are not being helpful, to write a letter saying my son is adequately immunized. If I fail to get this letter from the doctor within the month my son will no longer be allowed to go to school.

Part of me kind of wants to just be like fine and not go through all these hoops again. I like my doctor, but the staff seems to fall short. When the school lost the physical paperwork it took forever to get the doctor's office to get me what I needed and them faxing the doctor that did the physical because they were not in the office the day I went in, because that doctor needed to resign the new copies, etc.  What should have been a 5 minute thing took 2 days to straighten out.

This time around what should be a 5 minute thing has already taken 2 days and I still can't get the paper work I need from the doctors office.

I'm not pro or anti vax. Yes, my kids have had most of the recommended vax but I fully support parental right to choose. I personally don't care if you vax or don't vax your kids.  I do know whatever vax my kids received as babies, toddlers, and 48 hours before their first birthday have outlived it's course and no longer effective. So it should not matter what the date of his varicella vax was. It should not matter if it was ON his 1st birthday, 48 hours AFTER his 1st birthday, or, in our case, 48 hours BEFORE his 1st. Birthday. -- whatever benefits the vax had is long gone and that would hold true for whatever the date of this vax.

And while I'm not pro or anti vax I am fighting this some. I do not want to give my son another dose of the varicella vax just because his first dose was 48  hours before his 1st birthday.  Yesterday, my doctor wasn't in, so the PA was trying to tell me my son needed to be vax again. I said No, I just need a letter saying he has been adequately vax. They called back again and I said he need to be vax. I asked them can he get a titer test if the doctor won't make the letter and depending on the titer test go from there.  A titer test would show if he's got the antibodies and from there they can write a letter ... I figured the issue was they didn't want to just write a letter saying he was adequately vax.

My doctor was suppose to call me today, but instead they sent my son's shot records to the school --bang head -- It's not a question of having the shot records. The school has the records they just don't like the date of the first vax so I'm having to contact the doctor's office again and explain to them again what it is I want.  Sigh! I hate. This is stupid. Can I bring him home now?

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Homeschooling is SO disappointing!!!!

In the car on the way home from having dinner at my grandparent's house.

Superstar: It's so disappointing.
Me: What's disappointing?
Superstar: Homeschooling!
Me: Why is homeschooling disappointing?
Superstar: There are NO snow days! There is NO reason to watch the news. I remember watching the news waiting for the Rs. My heart would start to race, the thrill of hearing there was no school. It's all gone now!

Yes, we are approaching the summer months and my son is reflecting on the absence of snow days thanks to homeschooling!! LOL

How can you homeschool?

I promised those that followed my facebook fan page that I would have this post for you later this week. I know as homeschoolers we get asked this all the time, but its generally coupled with about your education level? What makes you qualify to teach? About socialization? What about college? If you are a homeschooler you know what the common cliche questions are.

The question I received this week wasn't one of the normal cliche questions. It was  a new question. I have to admit that when the question started I almost didn't listen, because I was sure what the question was going to be before it left the questioners lips. However before I answered his question I actually paused to think about what was said and thought "oh wait my answer is not going to apply in this question".

I should have taken that lesson of the importance of fully listening and applied it other areas of my life this week, but that's another post for another day. Anyway.... The question was "How can you homeschool when HE (my son SS) doesn't know everything?"

Yes, how can I homeschool Superstar when he doesn't know everything? This question, once I stopped to actually listen to it, made me smile and chuckle and I asked the critic in reply "Well do you know everything?" The critic responded with "Yes, I do", but what I can expect from an 11 year old.

Yep that's right a 11 year-old question my homeschooling this week. His concern wasn't about my son being around other kids, or about MY qualifications, his concern was the fact that my son doesn't know everything, thus how could I homeschool him. How is that possible?

Out of all the questions we get asked, I never thought I would have to answer questions from a 11 year old. Not only that but that question didn't have anything to do with the normal cliche questions homeschoolers get. It wasn't really about anything, seeing we go to school to learn! So it really is okay that my son doesn't know everything, that's why he's being homeschooled!

Guest Blogger: Interview with a Former Homeschooled Student

I attended private and public schools my entire life, but I’ve always wondered about homeschooling. Do kids get the same education from a classroom environment? Is it difficult to concentrate while learning at home? Rather than succumbing to speculation about some of the questions I had, I decided to interview a homeschooled friend to get some answers! My friend received an education at home from preschool through junior high school, attended a public high school, and is now working on his MBA. Here’s what he had to say about his learning experiences:

What is the biggest misconception about homeschooled students?
We’ve all seen those TV or movie portrayals of homeschooled kids; they’re usually thought of as antisocial know-it-alls who can’t function normally in society. That’s simply not the case! Not all homeschoolers are awkward or introverted and not all traditionally educated kids are social and extroverted. I strongly believe that a student’s disposition is dictated by personality and not by classroom environment!

Is there a particular advantage/disadvantage to homeschooling that you’d like to discuss?
There are so many advantages, but the main one is flexibility. When I was homeschooled, I got to make my own schedule instead of being restricted to a typical 8-3 school day. This allowed me to go running or work out before studying, which is important to me. I’d usually sleep a little bit later and work on assignments a little bit later to make up for it, which I couldn’t have done in a public school. You have to work hard to do this right, though! Homeschooled students will definitely be at a disadvantage if they’re not motivated enough to push themselves.

Did you have any problems concentrating in a “home classroom”?
Not really, because I understood that my education is important regardless of my physical location. Sure, I could have turned on the TV or gone back to bed instead of working on my studies, but I knew better. Because I was the only student in that “classroom,” I was able to concentrate harder. I did my homework, studied, and met all of the requirements because I wanted to succeed—and I did!

How has homeschooling prepared you for “the real world”?
Although I can’t speak for everyone with a homeschool education, I’ve found that my experience has thoroughly prepared me for daily encounters. Because I spent more time with adults than I did with kids my own age, I learned how to carry on intelligent conversations pretty early on. This came in handy once I was in high school and college because I was comfortable talking to my teachers. I was also comfortable talking to interviewers once it was time to get my first job! In regard to preparation, I also learned how to get the right balance of discipline and freedom…I kept telling myself that I had to work first and play later.

This guest post is by Brian Clark. Brian writes and blogs for Quality Logo Products, a top seller of promotional items. When he’s not interviewing people, he spends his time playing hockey

Quote of the Day!

‎"Every child in America entering school at the age of five is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances to our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being...It is up to you as teachers to make all of these sick children well–by creating the international child of the future." ~ Dr. Chester M. Pierce, professor (now emeritus) of education and psychiatry at Harvard.

It is my understanding that quote came from Educating for the New World Order (1973).  If that was the thought then I shutter to think what it is now. I doubt that this line of thinking has done a 180; if anything it most likly holds true today as it did then.

I know that this is only one professors line of thinking, but I'm sure he taught this to the education majors and in turn I'm sure they either taught it or believe it. Thus I wouldn't be surprise if there are teachers teaching that honestly believe this, not only that but I'm sure HOW they do their job is greatly effected by it.

The Problem with Word Problems

I already shared recently what we use for curriculum. I like what we are using for math. It's simple but yet effective. At times there are what even I consider to be "too many" problems. However, I think it's better to have to many then not enough. It's easier to say will skip some of these then to find or come up with more problems.

Today's math activity required Superstar, 9, to look at a chart and to answer simple questions about this chart. This chart had 3 columns to it. The first for the countries name, the second for the population, and the  3rd for the year the data was collected. It's worth noting that each countries population number was collected in a different year.

His question: List the countries in order starting with the country that has the least population and ending with the country that has the greatest population.  Looking at this question Superstar announces that he can not do the work.

I ask him why, what's the issue. He reads the question to me, I point to the chart at the top of the page and tell him. It wants you to use this chart to solve the problem. "I know that Mom, but I'm telling you I can't do it".  Puzzled and confused, because I KNOW he can list numbers from the smallest to the greatest with great ease, ask "Why not?"

Superstar's answer: "They all have different years! So I really don't know which country has the least and which has the most."

I shared this tidbit with some of my local homeschooling friends. I had one that backed Superstar up and said well technically he's correct. If you are going to compare data such as population sizes then you should be using data that was collected in the same year.

In regards to my son's reaction to his math book problem my mom made a statement "Thank God you homeschool! And we wounder what is wrong with the public school system!" Of course my mom was being a little sarcastic when she made those remarks. LOL

I don't think math problems like those are the issue, but perhaps lack of free thinking and questioning why something is done like this; or how, what should have been, a simple math problem could not have been done because the facts given were not "accurate".  hmm....I don't think accurate is the right word there.... It's late and I can't think; so I'll just use accurate for now.

I told Superstar to just answer the question anyway with the data he had. I basically had to tell him to ignore the years the data was collected. He did do it, but the whole time made it known how it really wasn't an accurate answer and the problem truly could not be solved!

Happy Meals Banned!

Well no they aren't really banned but Santa Clara County in CA wants to pass an ordinance that would prohibit restaurants from INCLUDING a toy in a high calorie meal. Under this ordinance ALL of McDonald's current Happy Meals choices (including those with apple dippers and milk) would no longer have a toy with the meal.




I think the pot is calling the kettle black! I believe this because USA Today reported last week that the group Mission Readiness is concern with what SCHOOL lunches (Lunch/Breakfast programs at public schools) are doing to our children. According the the USA Today report 30-50% of a child's daily calories are consumed AT school in a SCHOOL LUNCH!

Mission Readiness has PDF To Fat To Fight. It talks about wanting the junk food out of the SCHOOLS! It talks about wanting Congress to allow the US. department of agriculture to establish NEW nutrition guidelines that would remove HIGH-Calorie, LOW-Nutrition foods out of the SCHOOLS!

Besides health issues did you know that obesity is a national security threat?

The leading medical reason why so many young people are unqualified to serve: A fourth of adults in this age group — at least 9 million young men and women — are too heavy, according to military entry standards, the group says in its new report, Too Fat to Fight.

"When that many young adults can't fight because of their weight, it affects our national preparedness and national security," says retired rear admiral Jamie Barnett, a member of Mission: Readiness.

Look, I think it's stupid that a government wants to point the finger at McDonald, Burger King, Wendy's and all the rest when the meals they serve DAILY in  a school environment is just as BAD!! And I would argue that it's even worst then the fast food joints because it's DAILY!!! Fix the school lunches BEFORE you worry about what Ronald and the King are doing!

Has anyone seen Food Revolution? It's on Friday Nights on ABC. If you have missed it then you can watch them on Hulu.

Do you want to join us for a pizza?

I know not everyone approves of homeschooling and thats fine. Everyone has to decided what is best for THEIR children. If you feel that sending them to a public school is fine, then great. If it's a private school, fine. And if it's homeschooling, so be it. All schooling methods have pros and cons, plus and minuses. What works for one child might not work for another.

However some people have such hatred for homeschooling and Christianity that their OPINIONS are over heated and they share those OPINIONS as if they are facts!

Recently I read an article that can pretty much be summed up in the opening statements:

Until the 1980s homeschooling was a benign activity that effected very few children. After homeschooling became dominated by right wing Christian theocrats, millions of vulnerable children (estimates are suspect because of poor reporting requirements) became virtual prisoners in their own homes, pawns in a scheme to overthrow the United States Government and replace it with a theocracy. (source)

See what I mean about hatred for homeschooling and Christianity? I shared the article with some of the ladies at THL: The Homeschool Lounge and asked them if they wanted to go out for a pizza when we are done overthrowing the USA government. LOL

So I really just wanted to post this here and ask you my dear readers: Do you also want to join us for a pizza when we are done overthrown' the government?? LOL We've decided that we are going to meet in Chicago because Chicago is the land of pizza! (Chicago Style Pizzas IN Chicago are the best).

Seriously anyone that thinks that homeschoolers homeschool to overthrow a government has some issues. It's really not worth debating with him because honestly when there is so much hatred you can't reason with them.

So what do you want on your pizza?

PS: going out for pizza is a bit of scarcism if you haven't caught on yet!

Are they behind? Homeschooling vs. Public Schools

A while back I gave my opinion about Public Schools, Homeschoolers, and Socialization. Now I feel as if it's time to give my opinion about comparing homeschoolers to public schooler in general. This like the other post is a bit of a rant! Let's just say you have been warn!

I love my kids and like most moms I think my kids are the best! I'm often very proud of what they can do, and perhaps time to time will boast about their accomplishments just like any other mother would do. I will also at times will compare what my kids are learning here at home to what some of my friend's children are learning at pubic and private schools. I do this really for myself and not as a means to say my kids are smarter, more advance, etc.

Honestly, I'm really sick of those types of generalizations. It makes my stomach turn in disgust. As my regular readers will know my son, Superstar, is recovering from ITW Surgery. Over all he's doing good, but does have a bit of a break down in the afternoons, evenings, because he's overtired. I made mention these break downs in a live internet chat recently. I even mention  that at one of these break down moments Superstar flipped out crying that he didn't want to die.

You see he was complaining that his leg itched and we offered to blow-dry it for him. DH told him how blow drying it would take the water away and that's when he lost it and started to say "I don't want to die". When asked why he felt that he said "I need water to live, so if you blow dry it away I won't have any". Cute I know! When I mention this in the live internet chat a poster came on and said something along the lines. Got to love those homeschoolers they are so smart!

Really? I just wanted to say hey, hold on, wait a moment.... My kids are not smarter just because they are homeschooled! Sure homeschooling has it advantages, sure test scores for homeschoolers tend to be better; but lets be honest, homeschoolers are NOT any smarter then those in public schools. Let's get of our high horse and have a reality check!

Public Schools are NOT evil! I sent my kids to a public school and I would do it again tomorrow if I felt that was best for them. I have no real ills again public schools. As a matter of fact I have a vested interest in how my local schools do because I still pay taxes for these schools. I care about what is taught, how things are handled, who the schools employ, because I still support these schools via my tax dollars. Let's not throw out the baby with the bath water okay! Sure, they aren't perfect, but how can they be? Even homeschooling is not perfect! Nothing is perfect...

I have seen homeschoolers posse questions like "Is it normal for public school children to be so far behind?" Behind compare to what? To what your little Johny or Janey is doing? I thought I read in the parent manual, that came the day the kids were born, that we aren't suppose to compare our kids to other children. That they all develop and learn at their own rate, blah, blah, blah.

We tell ourselves that. We say we shouldn't compare, but then they hit school age and it all changes. All of the sudden it's my kids can do this, mine can do that, we can explain how quantum physics work at the ripe age of 7. We can write a paper, have proper grammar, we can....the laundry list goes on and on and on.

IN GENERAL homeschoolers get annoyed when their kids are compared to public school students, especially if their child seems "behind". (Behind compare to what exactly?) If a person was to compare a homeschool child to a public school child and the homeschooler seemed "behind", the homeschooler would automatically tell you "Well we learn at our own pace. We have plenty of time to 'catch up', etc". In other words it's okay, no biggie. BUT at the same time if the homeschooler is "ahead" then it's a in your face attitude: Homeschooling rocks, My kids are so much smarter, etc. These were GENERALIZED statements. I know NOT all homeschoolers feel this way, but I'm seeing it more and more and I'm disgusted with the attitude.

Perhaps some of it's a natural defense to defend our children and our parenting choices. Perhaps some of it's just plan pride. There is nothing wrong with either one of those things, but lets keep in mind how we feel about those things, when talking about public schools and public school students. Let's get off of our high horses, accept people for who they are, and learn to help each other grow and not stand around comparing and gossiping about how so much better we are because of...

Yes my kids are homeschoolers! Yes my kids have areas they exile in, but they also have areas that they struggle in. Yes I'm proud of my kids and will boast about their accomplishments. However I want to be clear my kids are NOT smarter just because they are homeschoolers.They are smarter because I am their mother! (FYI: that's a bit of a sarcasm there.)

Honestly, the statement my son made about dieing and water was made because that is his personality. It HAS NOTHING to do with the education he has gotten or where he goes to school. I know my son, and I know, he would have made that statement even if he was in public school.

If he was still in public school I know that response to that statement would not have been "Oh public school kids are so smart"; The response would have been something along the lines of "What a sweet kid" or "Poor thing, to have so much worries right now"; or "I hope he feels better soon". Or my personal favorite "LOL-Kids really do say the darndest things don't they!". They would have a chuckle and moved on, not make a statement about his education or where he went to school.

I just wanted to end with if you are going to compare your child's education to other child's education keep some things in mind.

• 1) Not all schooling methods are equal
• 2) Not all curriculum are equal.
• 3) Not all homeschooling curriculum are equal
• 4) Not all schooling methods follow the same scope and sequences
• 5) Each child is different and despite what they are expose to will learn at there own pace.
• 6) Not all schools have the same priorities
• 7) Not all homeschoolers have the same priorities.
• 8) What seems like a valid comparison could actually turn out to be comparing apples to oranges.
  

Public Schools, Homeschoolers, Socialization

FYI: This post is a bit of a rant. So don't say I didn't warn you. What follows is MY OPINION! So please keep that in mind!

Every now and then I get this urge to truly share my opinions, this is one of those moments. Those that have followed my blog from some time know that I'm a newbie homeschoolers. Our kids did go to public schools. We are still friends with several of the families that we met via public schools. It's funny we purposely bought our house because of the public schools. We live in a pretty big metro area, in the middle of cornfields, and we didn't want our kids going to the neighboring public school district. The neighboring school district is a royal mess, so we knew we had to avoid that area, thus we bought were were are now.

As I have mention before I have always wanted to homeschool, but I didn't have my husband's support. Seeing I didn't have his support I couldn't pursue homeschooling. My husband's biggest issue with homeschooling was his fear of lack of socialization for the kids. He wanted to be sure they socialization with other kids. Which in all honesty made sense at the time. After all we had only 1 car, a car I could not drive, because it was a stick, and he took the car to work everyday. Even if I had found a group, I wouldn't have had a way to get the kids to the group gatherings. So we left it at that.

Then after 2 years of having our kids in the public school system. We realized that it wasn't working for them. It wasn't the best we could offer them. Homeschooling became an option that we would look into. We had 2 cars now. So I can drive the kids places. We also decided that we would give homeschooling a 2 year trial and if it didn't worked out we would send the kids back to public school.

As I've said we don't have an issue with public schools; it just wasn't what was best for our kids at the time. Why? You wonder. Well mainly because the teachers were teaching to the middle, which is what they have to do. As a result our kids weren't getting what they needed in certain subjects especially reading and math. DD wasn't grasping the math, and DS was being held back with the reading. It's easy to say just work with them after school, but it wasn't easy. The kids were "done" with school by the time they got home at 3:00 pm. We already had their homework to do, so trying to add on extra study stuff was an up hill battle with them. It really was because they were done with "school" They spent 7:00-3:00 pm @ school. It was a long day! It was the same way for kindergartners too.

The other issue we were dealing with was the "socialization" that they were being exposed too. Our DD (kindergarten) would come home wanting to know when she can start wearing makeup, getting her eyebrow waxed, and a bikini wax. Why was she asking us these things? She was asking because that is what her classmates were talking about and doing! Yes kindergarten girls were going to school with make-up on! They're moms had taken them to the salon for eyebrow waxings and bikini waxings. Was this covenant socialization that we were wanting for our kids? NO. I knew I had to deal with these things, but I figured that would happen in 4th-6th grade. I just wasn't prepare for that to happen at kindergarten and knew in our heart that there has to be something better....that something better for us was homeschooling!

This means that I have better control over how my kids spend their time. They can spend more time on those subject that they need more help with and less time on those subjects that come easily. It also means I have better control over who my kids spend their time with.

Does that mean I want my kids to only be around homeschoolers now? NO, of course not, and to be honest I'm really getting sick to my stomach with the generalized comments I'm reading regarding homeschoolers and public school students. Those comments include things like "homeschoolers behave better, you can tell when a child is homeschooled because they have social skills, they play better together"

I'm getting sick to my stomach with we are homeschoolers therefore we are better then you attitude that I'm seeing from fellow homeschoolers in my area. I've seen homeschoolers in my area that have seriously frown on kids being in y-care, so much so that they will not allow their kids to play at a playground just because those public school kids are there.

All of this attitude is sicking! Let's be honest! It wasn't the public school fault that my daughter's kindergarten classmates were wearing make-up. That came from the parents! It's not the public school fault that kids are into YouTube, internet, PS2. That came from the parents! A parents' involvement or lack of involvement is what shapes our kids. It's not the child's fault that they are in y-care or daycare. They are there because often the parents are working. Often because they feel they don't have any other options, especially if they are a single parent. Sometimes parents don't have options. Sometimes both parents have to work just to pay the bills, because of their income, debt, trying to keep up with the Jones. We don't know why both parents are working, nor should we cast stones and write off every parent that does work and/or send their kids to public schools as bad parents.

Just because a child goes to public school doesn't mean they are bad kids. We because of our local public school system have met several wonderful families. Families that we are proud to call friends. Children that my kids enjoy playing with...honestly to see these kids interact with each other you would never know it was a mix of homeschooling and public school kids. They ALL play well with each other. They ALL care deeply about each other. They ALL try to included the whole group! Why? Because that is how the parents are! We as adults care deeply about each other. We as adults have taught our kids to do that. It's not an result of homeschooling or public schooling, it's a result of parenting!

My first and primary job is MOM! I share that with any other mother regardless of where their kids go to school. I share that with any other mother regardless of she works or not. Being a mother is a blessing from God and when we embrace that blessing we see wonderful fruit. I know because I have people tell me all the time how thoughtful my kids are. Even my kids' public school teachers would comment to me all the time on how wonderful my kids were. How they were full of compassion, caring, loving attitudes.

I had my DS public school 1st grade teacher share wonderful stories with me regarding my kids. She would tell me how my DS, in May, would walk into the school with my DD. The two of them would go to his locker. He would put his stuff away, then would walk my DD down to her classroom. When they got to my DD classroom he would kiss her on her forehead and then walk back to his classroom.

I'm so thankful that my DS 1st grade teacher was a wonderful lady, a grandma herself, who could see the love my kids had for each other and allowed my DS to walk his sister down the hall to her classroom. All the teachers knew and thought it was so cute and great to see a loving big brother! A few times my son's teacher would watch them the whole time and realized that my son was doing it because he genuinely cared about his sister and it wasn't used to buy time, or to goof off, because he wouldn't play in the halls. Thus she allowed it all year, even the last day of school this what my son did. That is what also lead me to homeschooling. I didn't want my kids to loose that bound with each other. Clearly my son didn't get any slack from his classmates about walking his sister down to her room, but I couldn't guarantee that his classmates in 2nd grade would be the same way.

Socialization is always a hot issues. It's not a public school issue or a homeschooling issue. It's a parenting issue!! We need to be better parents! What social skills a child has or does not have is NOT a result of where they go to school, it's a result of the parenting that is done (or not done).

Do you? Do they?

Well we are wrapping up our first year of homeschooling! WOW that just blows my mind, I can't believe that it's been almost been a whole year. Just thinking about that just blows my mind!

The main questions I have been getting besides how do you handle being with them all the time: Is do they get spring break? Vacations? What about testing? (I did a post earlier about testing, so I won't address that again.)

So yes they do get vacations and breaks! Why anyone would think they don't is beyond me. The major difference between homeschooling, PS (public school), and private school is that when it comes to homeschooling and vacations I as the teacher, superintendent, and school board president can set the school days and vacations as I see fit!

Of course I have to be sure I follow my state laws, but truly I have the ability to set the days as I see fit. Daddy is home from work, then we are off of school. We feel overwhelmed with the schooling then we take a day or two off. No big deal!!

The schools here are on spring break, but we are still plugging away with school. Mainly because the kiddos want to be done by the end of April. They don't want to stop! Yes, we are going to be done by the end of April. One whole month then the schools here. However we started one whole month before the schools here!!!

Charter Schools

I admit that I'm NEW to the homeschooling world, but at least I can recognize a wolf in sheep's clothing! Okay, public schools are not all that bad! I did send my kids to them and most likely they would still be going if I didn't have this calling to homeschooling. I choose to accept and follow that calling vs. ignoring it or sweeping it under the rug.

One of the local PS (public school) systems here is looking to adding a Charter School. This will be the FIRST Charter School in this greater-metro area. What gets me confused is that I'm hearing local homeschoolers making a comments such as "many homeschooling co-ops use similar curricula to those used by charter school." I'm also hearing that MANY of the 400 students set to be apart of this Charter School are going to be homeschoolers "coming back" to the PS system.

So we have the PS system here cheering that they are getting this homeschoolers back! And homeschoolers saying it's just like homeschooling! Huh? How can public schools be just like homeschooling?? That's right Charter Schools ARE public schools!

There are so many charter school options, even VIRTUAL options. The virtual options allow the student to stay home and be "taught" by the "parent". Which many will calm that's homeschooling, they are being taught at home! But is it really homeschooling??

I know that homeschooling can be done for FREE and that's what the draw to these virtual charter options. The COST is cheap! And cheap is good for homeschoolers, because they are on limited income, especially seeing they are 9/10 times single income families. Am I casting judgment on those that are using Charter Schools?

No, not at all if that's what works for you then great! PS and/or Private schools are NOT for everyone, just like Charter Schools are not for everyone. I think I'm a little distressed about those that say they are homeschooling, but are using (virtual) Charter Schools for their children's education. I just don't understand how public-funded-public schooling = homeschooling. (Remember Charter Schools ARE public schools) So using a (virtual) Charter School is really just public schooling @ home. That may get some tempers up, but that's how this newbie sees it.

That doesn't mean that in order to be homeschooling you have be spend oodles of money. Homeschooling, without the aid of a Charter school (virtual or not), can still be done cheaply!!!

Pizza Hut Book-It

My kids have been reading books for Pizza Hut Book-It! They really enjoy being able to "earn" a pizza. I know that fall is some time away, but if you want to be in the Pizza Hut Book-It program for the 2009-2010 school year then NOW is the time to enroll.

Enrollment is FREE! They send you everything you need for FREE in September. This was one thing my kids did while in PS (public school) and this was the one thing they were happy to learn that can be done at home also!!!

Pizza Hut's Website has more info on Book-It for homeschoolers!! Personally I think it's awesome that it is open to homeschoolers too!!!

School Closed Today!

Growing up that was one things I looked forward too!! I lived for those Snow Days! Days were we would we would have no school due to fresh snow on the ground, days where we would then go out and play. It was every child's dream!! In all the years that I went to school (and my husband too) we NEVER had a no school day due to the cold weather. If school was canceled it was because of the HUGE amount of snow on the ground.

Our kids did go to PS (public school) for 2 years. It was then that we learned that schools closed because of the cold weather. The first time it happened we didn't even know about the school closing; I got the kids dress and ready as always and my mom called. She said "honey, I don't know if you have the news on or not but I wanted you to know that there is no school today for the kids". I was like what?? There is no snow on the ground, what are you talking about?? She then informed me that the school was closed because of the cold weather. I told her I've never heard of such a thing, and she said I know me either. (so my other prove that it never happen while I was at school).

Well here it is -21 (yep that's right 21 below) and the schools around here are closed do to the cold weather. i.e. due to the TEMPERATURE outside. It's not like we can go out to play in that kind of temperature so school is still on here. :) It's Friday. We will go ahead and finish our week as planned...we are warm in our house, even though we have to wrap up in some blankets...but we are doing good.

We will pile onto my bed, snuggle under the blankets, and get our work done. :)

UGH! The Screaming!

It's moment like this one that make me want to pull my hair out and go "What I'm I doing?".

So the bell rang at 8:00 (about 30 minutes ago) and I told the kids it was time for devotions. Both started to cry and say, "But Mama you said we have to finish our rooms today" They wanted to finish cleaning their rooms vs. school work. Who I'm I to argue with that?? Go clean!!!

In the mist of cleaning DD found in her room a little $1 electronic game. It's a little pocket thing, 2 buttons, mini screen, and you can play soccer on it. It can't be worth more then a $1. It's one of those generic games. She came out and said look mommy I found my "gameboy" (I have no idea why she would call it that.)

Well DS right away shouted from his room...well it's not a gameboy because gameboy's are for boys only. That's why it's called a game boy. It has the word boy in it. (LOL got to love the mind of a 7 year old) DD of course started to argue that with him. I quickly ended that arguement.

Shortly after that DS left his room to hand me something and saw what DD had in her hand: the so called gameboy (now mind you it's just a genertic $1 toy). He right away started in on how that is HIS toy and DD is saying NO it's hers and now the two of them are screaming on the top of thier lungs over who is the owner of this toy. I of course had to raise my voice over theirs to get their attention to tell them to stop. UGH....I have the toy now and I won't give it back until we can settle this...but seriously the yelling is driving me crazy!!! It's moments like this that make me wonder WHY??? WHY I am I doing this....why don't I just sending them to PS, at least I would have x many hours of no fighting!!!

Of course I'm not saying they fight all the time. They do not! Nor am I saying that I'm seriously thinking of sending them back to PS (public school); it's just the stress level here is high right now!! UGH!

Testing (ISAT)

I love my mom dearly and she is a good help and actually over all is supportive. (For those that my not know this is our first year of homeschooling; our kids were in PS {public school} we pulled them out). However she, like all good grandparents, is worried about how the kids are doing compare to their peers.

She called me this morning and in the course of talking to her my DS asked to play his video game. I had to tell him no not now after school. This of course prompted him to wanting to start school right then and there, but I had to tell him that he had to wait until I was off the phone. Mom being on the other end could hear some of my conversation with my DS so she asked what does he want. I told her to play his video game but I told him not now he has to wait until AFTER school. So now he wants to do school right now, but I told him that he has to wait until I'm off the phone. She chuckled and light heartily made statements about me cracking down the whip because right now the PS students here are still on vacation.

This prompted her to ask about ISAT and when I was going to have the kids take them. ISAT are the Illinois Standards Achievement Test. They measure individual student achievement relative to the Illinois Learning Standards. I tried telling my mom that I don't have to send the kids to testing. That I don't have to do anything like that by law. All she kept saying in reply, was then "How do I know that they are learning what they need to learn and that they are retaining it?"

I briefly mention that they are free sites and resource that tell you what your child should be able to do for each grade level. I also explained to her that every year the school district here on their web-page has an outline of what each grade is taught. I also went on to tell her that we are still friends with people that send their kids to PS, so I also ask them what their kids are learning, so I can compare. However, all of this didn't seem to matter she was still hung up on the testing.

Sure I could test my kids, there is nothing wrong with that. It's just that I don't want to send them to get tested by the state; especially seeing I don't have too. It's just one less thing for me to worry about. I'm thankful that IL laws are reasonable regarding homeschooling. It truly does allow the parents and child to have the freedoms to learn in a way that suits them best.

It's just hard to explain that to my mom. She love my kids dearly and like me want what's best for them. She respects me enough to be supportive of our choice to homeschool. I honestly believe that she feels that I'm doing what I feel is the best and she's okay with that. She is just worried and wondering if they are meeting the "standards".

Of course they are not meeting the standards. In some areas we are way above standards and in others we have some ground to cover. However, that's not because of homeschooling, we noticed we had some ground to cover BEFORE we pulled them out of PS. I'm not sure how they would do on a test, that's not how I measure if they know the material or not. Being able to communicate the material back to me is how I measure, being able to communicate the material to other people is how I measure.

What my Mom may not fully realize is that when this school year is done we are going to jump right into the next one. We are going to take a break but it will be a short break: 2-3 weeks no more, no less. There is no reason to have a 2 (almost 3) month vacation. I honestly believe it's those LONG breaks that cause information not be retained.