Home school

OK, so i took on the task of homeschooling almost 8 years ago now...whew! My oldest graduated in 2006, my second is a sophomore and my youngest will start kindergarten this fall. Just know a VERY important thing should you decide home school is for you...there is no easy answer! Each kid is different, each parent teaches different. there, i said it. Something that seems so stinking obvious, yet, we seem to forget it when we take on a huge task like homeschooling.

Success stories are always good to read though, so here goes. My oldest daughter never really had a favorite subject, that is, until her last year in school. She always did the work, but just never really enjoyed the classes. There was a class that actually had her do a 1/4 semester in each topic - cooking, construction, child care and one other i can't seem to remember. She really enjoyed the cooking and was quite proud of her skill in "planing" a piece of wood (i admit, it looked really nice when she brought it home). But, 2 subjects really had her interest - Astronomy and Photography. Both curriculum was by the same place, you'll have to email me and ask me the name if you are interested. She really liked those, and picked up a lot of knowledge from them. Sure wish she could have taken the course sooner...

second success: my son. the one who, even as a 10th grader, has not liked reading or writing. the one who i could not get to write a 500 word essay no matter what. Then, i had an idea - brainstorm each section of the story - main character, plot, beginning, end, etc. Then, i had him start connecting everything and all of a sudden, he was at over 800 words! He is still writing too, over 26 pages of binder paper worth of words. even if i estimate using a standard of 100 words per page (they are handwritten), that's over 2600 words...and, he is excited about the story. I was talking with a young man at church on Sunday and was telling him i was going to have my son work on the ending...he said "why? let him keep going." and i realized, he is absolutely right. I will keep checking to make sure he is looking ahead, but hey, why stop a good thing.

i really wish i had been able to find out my oldests' interest in astronomy sooner. but, it certainly helped me get outside the box of teaching.

You know, it's not for everyone. But, the alternative for me, well, i just don't see it as an option...

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