Homeschooling Family Interviews: Sandra

Looking at this picture, you might think Sandra and her family are nuts. And you would be right; if you mean nuts about learning.

They live in New York, not a particularly homeschool-friendly state but that's not stopping Sandra and her crew from having a lot of fun. Sandra details it in a couple of blogs, one of which is On Living By Learning. You'll see links to other blog entries as you read the interview.

I'm craving some ice cream about now so I have to go, but you can stick around and read on...

1. How long have you been homeschooling (or if finished, how long did you homeschool)?

This is the second year that I’ve been homeschooling my son full-time, while my daughter attends a small private school. Before that, both kids attended the local public school; my daughter for the entire K-5 sequence, and my son just K-1. However, I’ve been homeschooling since birth, enriching and supplementing my children’s education.

2. One of the main benefits of homeschooling is the freedom and flexibility it allows. Can you give us a few examples of how this freedom and flexibility benefited you (your family)?

Even in requirement-heavy New York, there is a lot of freedom and flexibility in day-to-day home schooling, and we’re like kids in Dylan’s Candy Bar surrounded by a staggering selection. Any topic can open up a dizzying array of options, leading us in so many often unanticipated directions. We’re gluttons following the Lay’s Potato Chips Philosophy of Learning: “betcha can’t eat just one!”

Recently, my son was reading a chapter on China in his Ancient History book. I hadn’t planned to do much with that subject but I just happened to have a few related items lying around. One thing led to another, and we ended up discovering Chinese Folk Tales, Tea Rituals, and Painting. Alex has picked up a little Mandarin, using a book and audio tracks on his Ipod, and he’s practiced the language with his sister on a recent visit to Chinatown in Manhattan. Meanwhile, in the process of learning about Chinese history and culture, he’s also uncovered important related math and science concepts. Home schooling allows Alex to dig deeply into a subject, and to widen the scope so that he can unearth interesting connections.

Although I’m only homeschooling one child, the entire family reaps the benefits. In this case, all of us appreciated delving into Chinese Art, History, and Culture. From trips to local Chinese restaurants, to exploring New York’s Chinese heritage, to conducting a Chinese Tea Ceremony – all the family participated in the entertaining activities and learning opportunities. As a direct result of home schooling, our family is enjoying activities that bring us closer together while adding an element of sheer fun in our lives.

See:

On Living By Learning - Looking at Chinese Paintings With Kids
On Living By Learning - Mom’s Guide To Manhattan’s Chinatown
Alex and Leperdy’s Learning Adventures - Not a Traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony
Alex and Leperdy’s Learning Adventures - Review of Lon Po Po
Alex and Leperdy’s Learning Adventures - Kid’s Tour Chinatown

3. Another benefit of homeschooling is the fun factor. Can you give us a few examples of some especially fun times you had as a result of homeschooling?

I wish I could tell you that it’s all fun, and maybe it would be if I were more like Pippi Longstocking, donning scrub brushes to skate across dirty floors. Unfortunately, the mess factor is just not as entertaining for me as it is for the kids.

Sure, it’s fun for Alex to try new recipes and create flour bombs in the kitchen, but I don’t really get any pleasure out of scrubbing hardened bits of pancake dough. I would be happy to eliminate the mud trails, craft explosions, and assorted bumps and bruises that I’ve gained from letting the kids indulge in the project of the moment.

Still, I wouldn’t give up seeing those “aha!” moments when either child has created something from nothing. Almost every day, I get to see something interesting erupting from my child’s imagination:
Lighting Rod Projector 2000
Whingle,
Digesting Dragons
and scores of fantastical stories. That’s fun!

4. We all have funny experiences while homeschooling. Can you share one of yours with us?


Anybody who’s ever had the pleasure of accompanying me on a road trip knows that scenic detours are my gift, and finding incredible ice cream parlors is my talent. Combined, you might find yourself on a ten-hour road trip with four kids and a mother-in-law for a scoop of ice cream at the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory in Vermont. Need I say more?

Homeschooling Family Interview: Catherine

Today we interview Catherine, also known as Cat. She has a blog about her homeschooling life titled Tales from Cat's House of Homeschooled Kits! so I guess she's really decided to take this cat thing all the way.

She may regret this since my blog came along though. I'm not going to say what happened to her on Paint A Cat day; you'll have to ask her. But I will point out that when you read this post, you'll see that her "kits" have access to many art materials and some good mentoring, so just use your imagination.

1. How long have you been homeschooling (or if finished, how long did you homeschool)?

We started to consider homeschooling when our oldest son was 6 months old. We officially began with Kindergarten at our school district Independent Study Program. It's been 10 years. The boys are in 7th and 9th grade now. We are in a public charter ISP.

2. One of the main benefits of homeschooling is the freedom and flexibility it allows. Can you give us a few examples of how this freedom and flexibility benefited you (your family)?

Flexibility is key. My son went years with undiagnosed Sensory Integration Disorder. He had a very hard time holding pens and pencils. His public school ISP teacher suggested that he use a type writer or word processor. This would let his language develop while still shaping his ability to write by hand.

In the same vein, flexibility, the guys were into games and Pokémon. They wanted me to read these game guides over and over. I love a lot of things but after a hours of Pokémon reading, I was Poké-ed out. I told them that I would read for an hour and then they had to read what they could and I would help with the hard words. This totally paid off.

They are writers, readers, and story tellers. I have always felt that reading is the most essential skill in our society. Without reading you can't read the T.V. Guide to pick a show, find your way on a map, or set up your DVD player. That they are so confident in these skills is a relief.

The biggest feature is being able to study what you want, when you want, for a long as you want. That made the language, writing, and reading happen. They did it based on their desire, self direction, and with some facilitating by my husband and I.

3. Another benefit of homeschooling is the fun factor. Can you give us a few examples of some especially fun times you had as a result of homeschooling?

We have fun every day. It seems like there is something someone says, does, or points out that gets us laughing, talking, and brainstorming.

When they were younger we would play on the floor with Legos and tell stories with the things we were building.

They started drawing with my mother early on. She is an art instructor at a University. She'd get the guys use water colors, crayons, markers, whatever. We'd sit on the floor or on the grass at the park, drawing Plein Air as Mom says. We incorporated this into trips to Yosemite, CA., Mendocino, CA., and rural New York.

4. We all have funny experiences while homeschooling. Can you share one of yours with us?

Last year at the HSC Conference held at the Radisson Hotel in Sacramento, the guys saw Live Action Role Playing (LARP) for the first time. It looked pretty cool but complicated. We didn't participate but we did watch.

Then we went to a birthday party where LARP was the activity. They really got into it. I made all kinds of weapons when we got home.

I was at the video store and saw a documentary on LARP. I rented it and no one wanted to see it at that time. I rented it again. We were watching all these grown ups being monsters, vampires, clerics, fighters, and more! As a person who played Dungeons and Dragons, I thought it was very clever.

My younger son said, "No offense mom, but I don't want to be like them when I grow up."

Another time, my older son once said to my artist mother, "It's too bad you can't draw from your imagination." My mother, a representational artist, laughed out loud.

How To Think Outside The Box

Okay so I told everyone last week that my son sent in his entry from Paint A Cat Day. Now, the fact that this 24 year old young man, who is busy finishing up his Master's Degree in Operations Managment while also buying stuff for the Air Force as a Contracting Officer, did find the time to paint a cat is not surprising. Anyone who's read my book knows that, especially if you read Chapter 18, Life In The Third Dimension. He loves art and drawing and will always make time for that I guess.

No, the artwork itself is not surprising. What is suprising is how he interpreted the assignment. Look at his Cat painting:



This is exactly the sort of thing that always happened to me when we were homeschooling. The assignments and projects never quite went like I planned. He always had his own ideas. I'm used to that now and I have to say that this is not too bad in the painting department, I mean just look at that nice artistic swish in the lettering.

But where did he get the idea to use a bulldozer?

I guess it's just in his genes, in two ways.

One, his grandfather, my dad, worked for years for a company that sold Caterpillar Earthmoving Equipment. So I'm sure that's part of how he came up with this.

Second, this kid was raised by me, so of course he would think something like this would fit the silliness of the project.

But the question is, did he learn this twisted thinking from me, or did I learn it from him?

Homeschooling Family Interview: Jennifer Fink

Jennifer lives in Wisconsin and is all about boys. Probably because she has four of them running around her house all day. Heck, she's so much about boys that she has a blog called Blogging 'Bout Boys. Her two oldest boys, Nathan and Tyler, participated in this interview.

1. How long have you been homeschooling (or if finished, how long didyou homeschool)?

Four years. We pulled our oldest son, now 11, out of school mid-way through 1st grade.

2. One of the main benefits of homeschooling is the freedom and flexibility it allows. Can you give us a few examples of how this freedom and flexibility benefited you (your family)?

Nathan, age 11: "I can go fishing early in the morning!"

Tyler, age 8: "Mom can take us cool places, and not on a crowded school bus."

Jennifer: We're able to work and relax and learn in ways that work for us. Nathan can stay up and read til 11 at night and then sleep late in the morning. The kids can attend Dad's softball games and hang out gardening with him in the evenings and not have to worry about homework or getting up in the morning. And we've all been able to enjoy daytime visits with Grandma and Grandpa and uncles; those visits, to me, are priceless learning opportunities.

From an academic standpoint, the freedom and flexibility of homeschooling allows us to nurture our children's interests. We can also move at *their* speed, not the speed of the classroom or some predetermined curriculum. When Nathan got frustrated with reading, we let him take a break -- until one day he spontaneously picked up a Junie B. book and realized he could read it!

The children also get to be part of our family life. This week, for instance, the boys will spend time with their Dad tapping trees to make maple syrup.

3. Another benefit of homeschooling is the fun factor. Can you give us afew examples of some especially fun times you had as a result ofhomeschooling?

Nathan: "Fishing."


Tyler: "Going to children's museums."

Jennifer: Hmmm...the kids are right. I love going to interesting places with them during the day -- museums, performances, parks, trails, etc. We also always have a great time at the Wisconsin Parents Association conference. It's so refreshing to be around so many different homeschool families, and there are tons of interesting things to do (this year I'll be teaching a paper airplane class).

One of the best "fun" things is getting to enjoy the summer weather than lingers into the fall. Nothing better than biking past the school on the way to the park to enjoy a picnic!

4. We all have funny experiences while homeschooling. Can you share one of yours with us?

Nathan and Tyler: "We made up a song that's really funny: "Cookie, cookie! I want a cookie! Cookie, cookie! WORD!"

Jennifer: Apparently, my children have a sense of humor that's all their own!

Homeschooling Family Interview: Tracey D.

Today we talk with Tracey who has a blog called Learners At Home. Tracey and her family live in New Hampshire, where it can get pretty darn cold and snowy but she and her family know how to handle that: they love to have pajama days...

1. How long have you been homeschooling (or if finished, how long did you homeschool)?

We have been homeschooling for about 2 years now.

2. One of the main benefits of homeschooling is the freedom andflexibility it allows. Can you give us a few examples of how thisfreedom and flexibility benefited you (your family)?

The flexibility for us was two-fold, my husband traveled a great deal out of the country so we wanted to be able to travel with him and share in his experiences. Homeschooling our two boys allowed us the opportunity to do that if we chose to.

The other example of flexibility was to take two special needs children, bring them home and have thorough evaluations done and consistent, compassionate and appropriate remediation for my boys and their learning needs and abilities.

3. Another benefit of homeschooling is the fun factor. Can you give us afew examples of some especially fun times you had as a result ofhomeschooling?

We have pajama days where we stay in our pj's if it is snowy and do our school curled up in our den~ it is WONDERFUL. Also we are able to allow the children a more child led learning environment, learning what they like to learn about and squishing in things they may need to learn about.. we enjoyed our summer explorations, field trips to the coast and museums while learning the whole time.

4. We all have funny experiences while homeschooling. Can you share one of yours with us?

Funny homeschooling experiences I suppose would be when the boys were doing hands on learning...we play restaurant to learn our consumer math, we play computer games for "practice" in grammar, math and phonics.

I think one funny experience we have is when people ask us about homeschooling, they will ask "Well, what do you do all day?"

My boys usually respond, "Well, we pretty much learn and then do what we want the rest of the day!" People usually just look at them. :)

I've Been Snoped!

As word spread about my promotion of Paint A Cat Day, for some reason someone decided to check it out on snopes.com, the popular site for tracking unfounded rumors and urban legends.

Apparently some readers don't believe everything I write.

This skeptic wanted to see what snopes.com said about painting cats. And the snopes.com search found this.

Interesting, huh? So they claim all those picture are fake and the cats were not really painted. Okay, fine, maybe so. But that's not MY project. They haven't seen what I received from my readers who participated with me in Paint A Cat Day. Today I'm posting one below from Tammy and her family. Urban Legend? You decide.

But first, I need help. I need to know if you think snoped is a word. I think it has to be. I mean, what other word can I use to describe the fact that someone went to snopes.com after reading my Paint A Cat Day post?

It's also obvious to me that I need to classify snope as a verb. My post caused someone to go to snopes.com and check out what I wrote. Therefore, my post caused an action on someone's part and since verbs show action, this must be the form of the word, right? Of course I'm right. Even snopes would say so I'm sure.

If not, it doesn't really matter because I obviously will just go ahead and post it here anyway. Really, readers, you should ignore snopes.com and just come here for the real down-and-dirty unedited truth.

Which leads me back to Tammy's family and their adventure on Paint a Cat Day. Look at this marvelous artwork and I think you'll agree, they really did paint a cat. And if you don't agree, then just wait until I post what my son sent me.

Homeschooling Family Interview: Tammy Takahashi

Tammy Takahashi is the author of Deschooling Gently: A Step by Step Guide to Fearless Homeschooling, and the author of the blog, Just Enough and Nothing More. Tammy has been very involved in the homeschooling community in California and her family is just lucky enough to live close to Disneyland that they get to go there once a month. But she has nothing on us Hoosiers. After all, we get to go on amusement rides too, the kind where we slide our cars off the roads and into ditches several times a year.

1. How long have you been homeschooling (or if finished, how long did you homeschool)?

Our oldest is 10, and when people ask this question, I immediately think, "10 years." But, the answer that people want, really, is "5 years," because that's when we officially made the decision.

We had been thinking about homeschooling for a while, and decided to use our "freebie" kindergarten year to try it out. On the first day of school that year, we watched all the neighborhood kids walk to elementary school down the street, and our 5-year-old son obliviously played with his toy trains in the living room. I was more of a wreck than he'll ever know! (Or my husband, since I was the one who convinced him to try it out, and I didn't want him to know how scared I was.) That was the day we started homeschooling, officially. And we're still plugging away!

2. One of the main benefits of homeschooling is the freedom and flexibility it allows. Can you give us a few examples of how this freedom and flexibility benefited you (your family)?

Sleep. Oh, glorious sleep! We sleep when we're tired. Crazy, huh?

Food. We eat when we're hungry. Totally nuts!

Work. We work when we are the most creative and energetic. Amazing!

Travel. We go places when we have the money and it's off-season. Muuahaha.

Reading. We are book-a-holics, and read all the time. Woot!

Family togetherness. All of this freedom and flexibility allows us to be together for most meals, go with my husband on business trips, and do fun things together.

Oh, and as for learning, we have freedom to learn how we want too... I almost forgot about the "education" part. It's such an integral part of our lives, it's like breathing, so I sometimes forget we're doing it.

3. Another benefit of homeschooling is the fun factor. Can you give us a few examples of some especially fun times you had as a result of homeschooling?

Disneyland! We go at least once a month. And we can go when there aren't crowds. Like I said earlier, we also travel with my husband sometimes when he goes on business trips. We just really love life, laugh a lot, and are thoroughly enjoying our short visit on this planet.

4. We all have funny experiences while homeschooling. Can you share one of yours with us?

Oh boy. It's hard to pick. Mostly it's stuff that my kids say. For example, we were at the store, and like many of our visits out, someone asks, "You aren't in school today?" There was a certain age when my son "got" that we were homeschooling. One day, when a cashier asked him if he had the day off, he said, "No way! We're homeschooling silly. Didn't you know that?"

Another funny story: Last summer, my two oldest went to one week of summer camp. This was the first year that they went to an all-day camp, and it was one of those after-schooly type programs that wasn't intended to teach anything. Just to keep the kids busy while parents worked. I signed them up because I thought they'd have fun doing the activities and see some of their friends from the various city classes they've been taking.

Well, on Wednesday of that week, my son was so upset. Now, before I tell you what he was upset about, I want to say that this is one energy-full kid. He has to always be moving, singing, humming, talking, playing, fidgeting, something. The only time he sits still is when he's reading or sleeping.

So he comes home after camp one day and he is so upset. He was upset because his group (all 10-year-olds like him) was always last to get the afternoon snack, and so always ended up getting the least favorable of the snack options.

Why were they always last? Because the boys could NOT sit still or stop talking, and so the teachers were keeping them on the floor until they were quiet.

My son said, "I was quiet, and did exactly what the teacher said, but all the other boys wouldn't be quiet! It's not fair!"

The next day, he tells his friends that if they are quiet, they can get the really good snack. He even got snarky with a couple of the kids. And guess what, they were quiet that day and got the good snack.

Yes, the hyper homeschool kid who has no social skills or has any idea how to get along in a group was the one telling the kids how to behave so they could get a good snack. HA!!!! So there!

I guess that's not ha-ha funny. But I laughed through the irony of it all.

Homeschooling Family Interview: Lisa

Today we learn about Lisa and how she works hard to live a life of Joy with her husband and six-year old daughter. She has a blog called Perpetual Joy where she details how she does it.

So if you're ever driving anywhere near Bloomington, Indiana, and you suddenly experience a great feeling of Joy going up your spine, it's probably coming from Lisa's home...



1. How long have you been homeschooling (or if finished, how long did you homeschool)?

We have been homeschooling since birth. I say since birth, and not school age, because we have been deprogramming ourselves from the "mainstream" educational model since she was born. :)

2. One of the main benefits of homeschooling is the freedom and flexibility it allows. Can you give us a few examples of how this freedom and flexibility benefited you (your family)?

Homeschooling for us means we can do whatever we want! We can go to the park at a moments notice, or go to visit family in Toledo for a week, or watch TV all day if we want! We learn in each and every moment, so the entire world is a source of learning, exploring, growing and Being!

Basically, we follow our Joy! Having the freedom and flexibility to do this is AMAZING, and allows us to love ourselves for *who we are*. This makes us Shine, and is ultimately the most wonderful benefit of homeschooling.

3. Another benefit of homeschooling is the fun factor. Can you give us a few examples of some especially fun times you had as a result of homeschooling?

To be honest, homeschooling for us is about Joy! We are always having fun by following our interests and what makes us Shine! This doesn't mean that every moment is perfect or 100% joyful, and it also doesn't mean that our life of Joy is always easy. It is actually *a lot* of work, but our goal to be in touch with our Joy is worth it!

What brings us Joy really ebbs and flows- right now Kathrynn is really into Star Wars so she spends a lot of time playing with her Star Wars characters developing vignettes and new stories .

Two other things she really loves are swimming and pottery (haven't blogged on that yet)!

4. We all have funny experiences while homeschooling. Can you share one of yours with us?

Here are two related funny experiences that summarize a wonderful aspect of Kathrynn- her love of performance! She does not always love the actual performing- she often loves the planning and the decoration and costumes and the “idea” of events more than the actual content. But sometimes she loves the performance itself too!

In the first blog post there are some miscellaneous videos, but then if you scroll toward the bottom there is a section where she decided to pretend to be on different television channels. It was so funny for Wes and I to watch because we had no idea what was coming up- she just spontaneously created these vignettes/channels and out came her “show!"

The joke channel was particularly funny, as I hadn’t heard most of the jokes before. Since I was filming the show, I had to try to stifle my laughs, and that was *so* challenging!

The next experience occurred spontaneously the night of Kathrynn attending her first circus. She called Wes and I into our living room to tell us that she had a performance for us. She came out wearing an outfit that is for her baby dolls - a size 2T dress and bottom set!!! She is a petite child, so easily stuffed herself into this outfit. I videoed the first part of the performance, and unfortunately turned it off before it got to the good part where I finally realized what she was doing. She was imitating the performances of the clowns she’d seen that day. She was basically doing slapstick!

The costume was picked for the absurdity value, and then the crazy dancing with her doll was to show their zany antics, and what I didn’t’ capture on video was the funniest thing of all - she performed this slapstick routine that was very Charlie Chaplin-like: she dropped her doll's hat, then went to pick it up, only to drop the doll, which led her to picking up the doll, only to dropping the hat, which led her to drop the doll…. etc. So this went on and on and it was so amazing and funny to watch her portrayal of slapstick comedy. She did great with her facial expressions and her body language as well.

These are the kind of funny experiences that go on at our house at a fairly regular basis!
Here is the blog address for the second experience. The video clip is at the end in all its unedited splendor!

Roller Derby Is Back

The last time I saw Roller Derby was on television in the mid-1970s and I remember thinking those women were crazy. Well the new generation of crazy is here. There is a team in Louisville, Kentucky called the Derby City Roller Girls and I went to an event a couple of weeks ago with my husband, my daughter and my future son-in-law. They were playing the Rollergirls of Southern Indiana who were from Evansville I think.

We had a great time. Besides watching the girls battle it out on wheels, they played rockin' music the entire time which I loved of course.

My daughter and I sat in the bleachers and shot the video posted below. Husband and future son-in-law, however chose the "suicide seats," which means they sat on the floor right next to the edge of the rink. They said they wanted to be, umm, close to the action. They were terribly concerned for the girls' safety and wanted to be able to protect them from the hard concrete floor if they were knocked down in their direction. Chivalry is not dead.

When our family was homeschooling, we enjoyed many roller skating field trips with other homeschoolers and I often came home a bit bruised and banged up. Unfortunately it wasn't because of a good, hard-fought, competitive Roller Derby game. It was more due to something my doctor likes to refer to medically as NUTS Syndrome ( Noticeably Unable To Skate). What does he know? Listen, if I was ever on my butt in the middle of the skating rink, it was always because I meant to do it and simply wanted to take a break.

Homeschooling Family Interview: Tammy

Today's interview is with Tammy, who homeschools her two children in the Myrtle Beach area. She's a writer and avid blogger who obviously has a lot in common with me because one of her blogs is titled The Ramblings Of A Crazy Woman and another is Crazy Homeschool Adventures. This is one crazy mama. I wonder if she takes after her father?....

1. How long have you been homeschooling (or if finished, how long did you homeschool)?

This is our first year homeschooling. Our daughter is 10 and our son is 4. We did de-school for quite a bit before starting any real studies. Now we are leaning more towards unschooling.

2. One of the main benefits of homeschooling is the freedom and flexibility it allows. Can you give us a few examples of how this freedom and flexibility benefited you (your family)?

There are days when we seem to do nothing at all and yet those are the days the kids seem to learn the most. If we want to go some place, any place, we can do so when it is the least crowded. The best example is the fact we do not have to get up and rush to get on the bus in the morning, then make sure we are home before the bus gets home in the afternoon. Ok that is one of the best examples.

I felt like I was losing my daughter to the public before I was ready to let her go. I was seeing unacceptable behavior from her, she was tired and sick all the time. Worst of all this child so loved learning that when she all of a sudden didn't want to anymore it broke my heart. She had to wait to start school because of her birthday, then she started and it was wonderful.

But there was a problem. She moved through the repetitive material faster than her classmates. She would get up to help them finish their work since she had to wait for new work. This was considered disruptive and it was suggested we get her tested for ADD. Now, dyslexia I could see, and she was tested for that and hers is so mild they felt she didn't need any extra help because her IQ is so high.

I could actually write tons on all of this. But we have created an environment in our home that allows her to move where her interests take her. As for our son he is learning all the time, the world is still so new to him that he learns something almost every minute. Right now we are working on inside voice vs outside voice. LOL We gave up on him learning not to run through the house. He has two modes of movement, stop and go. Mostly go.

3. Another benefit of homeschooling is the fun factor. Can you give us a few examples of some especially fun times you had as a result of homeschooling?

Going to the park or some other place in the middle of the week and having the place to ourselves. The aquarium in the middle of the week, when there are not a lot of other people there, the kids get one on one attention from the staff. They had a blast holding horseshoe crabs, petting sting rays, guitar fish and watching all the shows. We were completely unfettered by anything and had an absolute blast exploring.

Building a fort inside or out has been absolutely awesome. Playing games, family tournaments of online games, puzzles, the list goes on. We are simply enjoying life.

4. We all have funny experiences while homeschooling. Can you share one of yours with us?

I don't know if this fits in with what you are looking for but will give it a shot. My son came up to me the other day and wanted to know when were we going to play in the mud and dirt. Now, this is something my children do almost every day.

His descriptions became more and more in-depth. His next question to attempt to convey his concern was, "When are we going to throw the smelly dirt out on the yard?"

It dawned on me, we hadn't had a garden last year because of circumstances. But the "smelly dirt" had to mean either compost or manure. So I asked him where the smelly dirt came from.

"From a horses butt mom."

AAhhh..manure. "Do you want to plant a garden this spring?"

"Yeah a garden, that's the ticket. But do we have to use the horse poop?"

"No, but it really helps the plants grow."

"Well just make sure they don't eat beans like Pa-Pa does."

He is being so serious and I am trying so hard not to laugh. "Horses don't technically eat the same things that Pa-Pa does."

"Oh, good, and mommy, I don't want to grow roses."

Here I thought we were talking strictly veggies. "Why not?"

"Because Pa-Pa said his poop smells just like them."

I couldn't help it at this point I laughed until I cried. My son looked at me like I lost my mind. We made a field trip to the local nursery so he could smell roses.

"Pa-Pa made a joke didn't he?"

"Yes, baby he did."

"His jokes stink."

The rest of the day was spent in such a way. He was so serious but everything regarding the topic of gardening and my father that the little man put together just came out this way. I don't think I had laughed so much in years.

Tammy Curry, Director of Chaos
http://tammycurry.blogspot.com/
http://crazy-homeschool-adventures.blogspot.com/

Homeschooling Family Interview: Susan

Susan and her family live somewhere in Central Indiana. In the middle of the prairie I guess.

1. How long have you been homeschooling (or if finished, how long did you homeschool)?

This is our family's sixth year of homeschooling.

2. One of the main benefits of homeschooling is the freedom and flexibility it allows. Can you give us a few examples of how this freedom and flexibility benefited you (your family)?

There are really too many instances of freedom and flexibility in our homeschooling to list them all, so I'll mention my favorites. One freedom is to vacation when prices are good and the family is beginning to "burn out" on education. We can take a break and come back fresh and ready to learn. We almost always manage to learn a lot of educational things while on vacation that we'd never learn at home. It is amazing how much science can be gathered from a day of play at the ocean!

Another favorite result of the flexibility of homeschooling is the ability to take as many field trips as we want, whenever we choose to do so. It is much more rewarding to leisurely pore over a few favorite exhibits at the museum when there are only a few other people there than it is to cram in the entire museum on a weekend when it is packed full of people.

Of course, none of that compares to the ability to change curriculum immediately when it doesn't seem to be effective. We have recently done this with both our math and writing curriculum. I can only imagine how frustrated we'd be if we were stuck with the "one-size-fits-all" curriculum that brick and mortar schools use for these subjects. I have found that if a student doesn't seem to "take to" a subject at all, changing the teaching/learning approach helps tremendously.

3. Another benefit of homeschooling is the fun factor. Can you give us a few examples of some especially fun times you had as a result of homeschooling?

As mentioned above, we had a great day of science while playing at the beach on vacation. We learned first hand about marine animals in general, crabs, dolphins, tides, tide pools, salt in the ocean, how the waves and sand erode shells, red tide, sea weed, how distance from the equator affects the climate, and much, much, more. The best part is that we learned it all while playing!

Another fun and productive school day was our hike through Mounds State Park. We learned a lot about the history of the Mounds Indians by observing the landmarks and reading the information posted around the park about the sites. We learned a lot about reading maps and using compasses, because I handed these tools to the children and told them to navigate our explorations. Of course, one cannot hike through a state park without learning multitudes about nature!

Unfortunately, it is not practical for our family to do all of our learning through such fun, natural, hands-on experiences, but it is extremely rewarding when we take advantage of the ability to do so.

4. We all have funny experiences while homeschooling. Can you share one of yours with us?

We have named our homeschool Walnut Grove Christian Academy partly as a subtle joke and partly as a means of avoiding hostility in anti-homeschooling environments, which we occasionally find ourselves in. The joke, of course, is that Walnut Grove is where Little House on the Prairie is set, and we thought it fit because we have a house full of three girls, ages 3, 6, and 12, and we have a small grove of walnut trees near the house on the farmstead. Our school mascot is a squirrel and our school motto is "protect your nuts."

When we learn and do outside activities, we almost always do them together as a family. One of these outside activities is 4-H. My youngest, who just turned three years old this spring, has been attending 4-H meetings with us since she was six weeks old and earning me disgruntled looks for breastfeeding her during the meetings. For the first meeting this year, the club secretary took attendance by asking members to tell where they attend school. After the roll call, she asked if there was anybody she had missed. My three-year-old promptly stood up, and very loudly and clearly stated, "Me, Emily! I go to Walnut Christian Grove...um, I'm homeschooled!" I wonder what project she plans to exhibit at the fair?

I have back problems from time to time, and when I need to see the chiropractor, my daughters go with me. One day, after I'd spent the day teaching the girls some life skills, I had a chiropractor's appointment. When the doctor came in, my daughter told him that we'd been doing something very special that day. It was something we NEVER do and he'd never guess what it was. He took the bait and guessed several things like going to the military museum or building a dog house before my daughter proudly said, "No. We cleaned the house!"

Today is Paint A Cat Day!

Two recent homeschooling family interviews reminded me of how much fun it can be to have kids around drawing on the walls (Chapter 18) and painting siblings.

And after considering Kim's daughter's adventure, I decided she was right, what could be a better canvas than a cream colored cat! Why, just look at the grand artwork I was able to do today:




I recommend everyone paint a cat. As a matter of fact, I just declared today Paint A Cat Day so get out there and fashion a festive frill to your favorite feline. Don't be intimidated by my artistic abilities, just go out there and do it because as usual, the most important thing is to have fun.

Feel free to send me any photos and I'll post them on the blog.

P.S. If you can't find a cat, then just use the nearest family member.

Homeschooling Family Interview: Carol

Today's interview is with Carol, who helps out with IHEN (Indiana Home Educators' Network). She is in charge of recruiting IHEN's County Contacts, individuals in each county who volunteer to help out new homeschoolers with any questions and helps them to find local resources that fit their family's needs.

Now, I know for a fact that Carol is a generous, giving person and that's why she's volunteering a lot of her time. However, truth be told, her real motive in doing this is because she enjoys coloring.

See, on this page, IHEN colors in each county that currently has a volunteer County Contact and since Carol can't stand an incomplete coloring page, she's on the case and positively determined to color in the entire state of Indiana. Go Carol!

1. How long have you been homeschooling (or if finished, how long did you homeschool)?

We have been homeschooling for 6 years officially, 10 unofficially.

2. One of the main benefits of homeschooling is the freedom and flexibility it allows. Can you give us a few examples of how this freedom and flexibility benefited you (your family)?

We are able to travel to visit my family whenever we want. We can go to the beach when it's not so crowded. We can sleep in. We don't have hours of homework. The kids don't have to eat nasty cafeteria food. We get the good appointments at the dentist.

3. Another benefit of homeschooling is the fun factor. Can you give us a few examples of some especially fun times you had as a result of homeschooling?

Lots of field trips, especially to the zoo. Time spent with Grandpa. Sleepovers in the middle of the week. Gymnastics class. Library programs at 1pm. Getting interviewed for Indy news. IMAX educator screenings.

4. We all have funny experiences while homeschooling. Can you share one of yours with us?

None of us could think of a particularly funny experience. If you know us,you know that funny things happen everyday in our household. We are one goofy group!