I know there has been some time you have mentioned something to a friend or family member and they have looked at you like you were crazy... We have all done this. But I just found out one word I can say that will drive many people absolutely crazy...
Homeschooling.
Yes, that word makes many normal and nice people cringe and look at you like you just let your son eat roadkill at the dinner table. :-) On one breath they tell you that the public schools do have major problems, but on the second breath they tell you homeschooling your kid is crazy!
They all have their various reasons for their dissent, but ultimately they seem to believe that people that homeschool are crazy extreme loons who have the education of a fruit fly, spank their kids with bibles, and believe that the earth is flat and was created by space aliens. Now why do they have this idea you ask? I don't honestly know.
Funny, but I know quite a few women who homeschool and they are college-educated, intelligent and absolutely sane. ;-) Heck, I have yet to meet a crazy extreme uneducated loon yet! Apparently we don't have any of those in Texas.
So now you know I am apparently a freak. I am not doing this because I think public schools are horrible, or have a political agenda, or want to indoctrinate my kids to believe that aliens created this earth out of fruit loops so we need to worship all boxed cereal... :-)
Nope, it is actually quite simple. My kids are fun. Sure, they can be pests at times, but we have such a great time together. We like to go on little day trips to museums, parks and the library. We enjoy doing little craft projects and feeding the chickens and just hanging around outside. We like doing things during the middle of the week when most kids are in school. I stay at home because I enjoy being with my kids and am fortunate to have a husband who works hard so I can stay at home.
And I apparently don't mind not having extra money. ;-) Yes, because of my kids I can't afford my Canon EOS Rebel T1i
or Canon EOS Rebel T2i 
. Oh well, if I had to work outside of home to buy the camera I would probably never be home to use it. And my Rebel XT is a great little camera that takes great images.I also want my children to get a classical education, like the ones taught in some of those exclusive private schools I can't afford (even if I do work full-time). I have this excellent book The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home
that has lesson plans and gives detailed suggestions for homeschooling. I also bought Phonics Pathways: Clear Steps to Easy Reading and Perfect Spelling
and I have been sitting down with my 5 year old (who technically won't be in Kindergarten until next Fall) and he is already sounding out 3 letter words. I love teaching phonics! We do math all of the time, whether it is counting things, cooking, or just talking. For example, I told Duke our family of four were going to go to one of those inflatable jumping parks. I said it would be $5 for each person, but adults were free. He instantly said "it is only $10?". I was pleasantly surprised!If you read my blog, you probably know I actually love to teach. And I do have a college degree. I also plan on joining a homeschooling group so I will have support and my boys will have friends with something in common. And I also know that I need to relax and not try to be an over-achiever in teaching. I want my sons to love to learn as much as I do, without becoming stressed out before they are six.
I completely understand homeschooling is not for everyone. Who knows, it might not be for me! I do think I am capable of homeschooling kindergarten and 1st grade. I have been brushing up on my colors, numbers, basic addition, and three-letter words and I think I might be good to go. ;-) And if it doesn't work out, my perfectly good local public school will take my kids off my hands without any questions asked.
Yes, there is something to be said for sending your kids off on the bus to let capable teachers educate them and not having them at home messing up your house and driving you crazy on those cold rainy days... Believe me, I see both sides.
I wanted to note that my little sis Heather homeschools (she has a six and a one year old) and loves it. My middle sis Jewels (she has a 6 and a three year old) doesn't and sends her son to public school and loves it. See, both sides are represented in my family. :-)
If you are homeschooling your children and have any tips, I would love for you to comment here. :-) Advice, book suggestions, ways to stay sane, reasons to not home school; I would love to hear it all.
So enough controversy, my next post will be a photography-based one!
