Top 5 Things That I Love About Homeschooling This Week

Hammock Tracks Home School Blog Hop
I am linking up to Hammock Tracks Blog Hop again this week.  Hop on over and see what the other homeschool blogs have going on.  :-) 

Cooking Together -  The other day B helped me plan a dessert and helped me make it.  We had to double the recipe for the fudge that we were putting on top of Rice Krispie treats.  Little did he know that he was getting a math lesson.  And we had a great time doing it!  Fractions are fun when you add chocolate!  OK ... anything is fun when you add chocolate.
Science Experiments -  B has really enjoyed our Science, especially the experiments.  He always gets excited when he has a blue box in his book that says Try This.  the picture below is where he had one egg in Tupperware with water and another without water.  It was to show why God placed that special fluid between our skull and our brain.  He got to shake it up and run around the room.  As you can tell by the picture, he had a blast doing it.

Rainy Days -After having perfect fall weather last week, yesterday and today have been cloudy and rainy.  Perfect days to not have to wait at the bus stop.  I love the seasons but I am really sick of the rain ...
Time Together -  We spend lots of time together.  There is never a night that B goes to sleep and I think ... I wish we had more time together.  No regrets of lost childhood.  It goes way to fast.  This is evident by the fact that I have a 10 year old who I swear was just 2 last week.
Going Over Every Mistake - Math work has some incorrect problems?  Go over each one together and do them again.  Book review was too short with choppy sentence?  Redo it.  Handwriting was sloppy?  Redo it.  B may not appreciate this ... it was too easy to get lost in the public school system.  There is no way that he is going to get lost in the shuffle and fly under the radar in homeschool.  I will make sure of that! 

The New Kid

Yep ... this is our happy school face! 

I knew that homeschooling would be great for my son.  I knew that he would be happier.  But I didn't realize how much of a change and how quickly I would see it. 

At the beginning of the school year we were happy that B didn't have the upset Sunday nights that used to plague us.  He wasn't anxious about school anymore.  He was a much happier and relaxed kid.  The times that we used to spend together were rushed and stressed, trying to get homework done in the short time before evening activities started.  Tension was high and tempers would flare ... I am not proud to say it was usually my temper.  Weekends would be rushed too.  Even when we didn't have a lot of things going on, there was always the anxious "I have to go back to school on Monday" feeling that affected B.  He wasn't a sullen, unhappy kid but he also was not what we have seen emerge over the past 6 weeks.

B and I have fun.  The other day my husband told me that he could see us growing closer.  I can see it too.  Our worst day of homeschooling (so far) is still  far better than any day when he was in the public school.  We have a special relationship.  I wouldn't give it up for anything! 

Why I Homeschool - This Week

I'm linking up with Hammock Tracks Blog Hop this week.  Go on over and check out what other homeschoolers are up to! 
 Hammock Track Homeschool Blog Hop

5 Reasons Why I Love Homeschool This Week -

Fun at the grocery store.  Yep, I said fun at the grocery store.  B and I went to the store together after his work was done and actually had fun together.  I'm not saying that we don't usually have fun together, but it is rare at the grocery store.  The grocery trips with kids in tow are usually frantic and tension gets the best of me.  Now we go the grocery store together during the day and laugh and enjoy ourselves.  Who knew going to the grocery store could be fun!

No doctor/dentist notes.  My two youngest are still in public school (only one more year - yea!).  They had dentist appointments today and when my husband went to pick them up he was reminded to bring a doctors note back so the absence is excused.  This really irks me and my husband.  Why do we need permission to take our kids out of school?  .... only one more year ...

Johnny Tremain.  B and I started to read this book this week and we have really enjoyed it.  I would say that it is our favorite this year, so far.  We are only on chapter 3 but I can't wait to see what happens to Johnny!  I love having this time with B!

Politically Incorrect Guide books.  I recently found these books on Rainbow Resource and I am really interested in getting some of them.  They are too old for B (they say 8th grade and up) but I would like to read them myself.  The books aren't actually one of my 5 reasons, but the ability to use all different resources to teach is.  I am sure that these books aren't 100% accurate, just like public school history books aren't 100% accurate.  What I love is having the ability to give B all different viewpoint and sources to learn from so that ultimately he can decide what make the most sense. 

Math.  We had a bad test last Friday.  That is obviously not one of my 5 reasons but reviewing what he didn't understand and ultimately giving him a retest is.  Last week his test had some word problems.  Word problems are the part of math that B hates.  He doesn't like them and doesn't get them. We are going over more word problems so that I can make sure that he fully understands them before moving on.  This would never happen in public school, unless the entire class didn't understand them!

Here is a little homeschool humor.  I just found this christian comedian and he is really funny!

Reason #6 - Socialization

I know that it probably sounds odd to use socialization as a reason to homeschool.  Especially since it is the first thing that everyone is really worried about when you mention homeschooling.  But, give me a minute to explain... 

Socialization ... the first question ... the main concern of everyone ....  Are you worried that your kids won't have socialization???  How are they going to survive in the real world without the socialization of a school setting???  First of all, my son has been in public school for 5 years and is as shy as they come.  I can't imagine the comments that we would get if he had been homeschooled those 5 years!!  Some people are shy.  It is his personality.  And public school didn't change that. 

We live in a neighborhood with tons of kids.  Every day we have about 5 knocks on our door for the kids to go out and play.  The kids also have their hockey team and church activities.  They have plenty of social interaction with kids their age.  I want them to have social interaction with people of different ages and that can be done while homeschooled. 

There are also two different kinds of socialization - good and bad.  As the kids get older, the bad socialization gets stronger... and it seems to happen earlier and earlier.  No, I don't want to shelter my kids.  And this is not the main reason that we chose to homeschool.  But it is a definite benefit! And believe me they hear enough in the hockey locker room!!   

So, if you ask if I am concerned about my kids being socialized and I say no with a little *giggle*.  This is why.  I personally believe that they will be more well-rounded socially by being homeschooled.

Reason # 5 - Faith

Deuteronomy 6: 6-7  These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

My children have worn crosses to school and talked about Christmas and God openly.  But, it seems that this is becoming a rarity.  The advantages of homeschooling in a Christian home are many.  We can have open discussions of any subject and not be afraid to include Christ.  We can learn ALL theories of how the world began and not just one.  We can learn about the faith of our forefathers and why they made decisions in history. 

I did not choose to homeschool my kids because I am a Christian and want to shelter them from any non-Christian influence.  But I don't like the idea of them being kept from any Christian influence for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week.  Just another benefit to homeschooling - freedom of religion!

Many blessings!!!

Reason # 4 - Freedom

Although this is not the main reason that we decided to homeschool it is definitely my favorite bonus - Freedom and flexibility. 

• Freedom to go on vacations whenever we want. 
• Freedom to choose our own curriculum and if we don't like it, change it. 
• Freedom to go on field trips of our choosing (when, where and how many). 
• Freedom of our own schedule. 
• Freedom to go as fast or slow as we need.

I remember taking the kids out of school for educational trips.  We had to fill out the forms that say why the trip was educational.  And the forms had to be approved a month ahead of time.  Also, the trips would not be approved when the PSSA's were being given ...  Ah the freedom will be nice!

I took a lot of time researching curriculum over the past year.  I am really excited about everything that I chose.  I think that it will all be great but if it isn't ... I can change it.  Even if a teacher in traditional school doesn't  like a curriculum, it is not easily changed (if possible at all).  We will have the flexibility.

This is one of the many reasons that I  love the idea of homeschooling!!!

Many blessings!!

Reason #3 - Academics

You can't get more individualized attention than in homeschool.  There are a lot of great teachers who care about their students.  But no one cares more for my children than I do.  Academically, traditional school was not working for B.  Sure, he got good grades...  always finished his homework on time... but it was a struggle.  It was a struggle to get the homework done in the short amount of time that we had after school before other activities.  It was a struggle to know if he was ready for a test the next day.  It was a struggle for me to help him with his homework (have you seen some of the crazy things they have kids do to solve math problems these days)!!


We started to do some light math over the summer.  I can tell you exactly what B knows.  I can look at a page and pick out the problems that he would get right and the problems that he would struggle with.  I know exactly when he gets something and we can move on.  I can tell when we need to spend more time on a subject.  We have the freedom to move at his pace. 


Just because B was doing well in school doesn't mean that it was working for him.  I want him to like learning.  I want him to know how to research a subject that interests him.  I want him to read something in a book ,realize that even textbooks where written by biased people, then look it up somewhere else to get more viewpoints and form his own opinion.  These are all things that I hope will come from homeschooling.  Thanks for listening!


Many blessings!!!

Reason #2 - Less Stress

I know what you're thinking.  How can being in charge of my kids education be less stress.  But I am talking about the family as a whole.  Rushing around frantically trying to get homework done before we have to run out the door was stressful ... for everyone.  I remember trying to figure out when we would have time to finish book reports (and we had weeks notice)!   

No I don't have an idealistic view of what homeschooling will be like.  I know that it will be hard.  I know that I am going to have a lot to do this year to make sure that B gets a great education.  But it's not stress.  It's exciting and I am looking forward to it! 

Many blessings!!!

Reason #1 - Time

In no particular order ... One reason I choose to homeschool is time.   Long gone are the days of the Waltons and Little House on the Prairie!  Nowadays,  kids are in every activity possible by the age of 6.  The family dinner is practically obsolete and the only time spent with family is in the car.  We tried hard not to fall into the "my kid will only be successful as an adult if he/she does every sport & activity available at his/her age".  We stuck to one sport at a time which is still a lot when you have three kids.  But then came music lessons ... and even one sport has several practices a week plus games ... Then the boys (B and C) wanted to play travel hockey.  We can spend quality time together on the road, right?  We don't want to deny them the opportunity!   What if they could make the NHL like .000001% of the population??  Seriously though, travel hockey has been great and it has created a lot of family memories.  Especially the tournaments - hotel with an indoor pool and all your buddies - priceless!  We wouldn't change it.  And so far we have been able to have the boys on one team which helps immensely! 

But back to my reason ... I love the idea of fitting school into our day instead of fitting our day around school.  No more homework (well all the work is technically homework, but you know what I mean)!!  No more wasted time watching movies with substitutes, doing busywork before holidays, waiting for 24 kids to finish before you can move on, PSSA's, preparing for the PSSA's .... Just getting work done and then getting back to ... Life and family! :-)  They are here (in our house) for a short 18 years (ok, sometimes longer ...)and I love that I will get to spend most of that time with them. 

Many blessings!!!