Homeschool Q & A

I've been asked a lot of questions about homeschooling lately and I thought I'd take this opportunity to answer a few of them.

1.  Why do you homeschool?
I actually wanted to homeschool The Boy from the time he was about three years old.  I wasn't homeschooled myself and I didn't know anyone who homeschooled, I just had the idea one day and it wouldn't go away.  I had a very close relationship with The Boy and didn't want to let him go, even for a few hours a day.  But I didn't think I could do it - I wasn't super smart, I didn't have a teaching degree, what did I know about teaching a kid anything?

As I've grown up and become more comfortable in my own skin, I've come to realize that as a parent, it is my right, responsibility and pleasure to teach my children.  Yes, they can go to public (or even private) school and learn the same basic information, but they'll learn it in a completely different environment.  Here I can control what they learn and at what pace.  If they're excelling, we'll move faster, but if they're struggling, we can take a few extra weeks or however long is needed.  I can also change the method of teaching for each child, to take advantage of their unique learning styles and interests.

So I guess the short answer is that I want to be with my babies as they're growing up and I want to give them the best possible education for them, individually.

2.  Is it even legal?
Yes, and in fact, Michigan is one of the easiest states to homeschool in. Here is a link to the Homeschool Legal Defence Association's guide to homeschooling in MI for anyone interested.

3.  How did you get started?
As I said, I wanted to homeschool, but doubted my abilities.  I wasn't sure I'd have the knowledge or skill or patience to give them the educations they deserve, so I sent The Boy to public school.  He did well in kindergarten, but by first grade he was struggling.  He's very easily distracted and sitting in a room with 30 other balls of energy did not make an environment conducive to learning.  By the middle of second grade, he was coming home in tears, we were being told he had ADHD and should be medicated, the teacher was sending home daily reports of his progress (or lack, as was more often the case) and he was being sent to see the school counselor.

Part of the problem (and I don't mean to brag, this is simply statement of fact) was that his reading level was well above his classmates.  So while they were reading things like See Spot Run, he was ready for Harry Potter.  The school he was attending didn't allow him to go to the more challenging parts of the library or bring his own books, so he was bored out of his mind.  It's easier to be distracted when you're bored.

The teacher/school tried things like headphones, weight vests, time outs, moving his desk to the hallway and several other things.  In the end, seeing my baby come home struggling every single day was just too much for me.  The weekend before Valentine's Day, during his second grade year, I called the school and told them he'd be staying home from now on. 

Then the panic set in.

4.  How do you do it?  Do you have to buy a curriculum?
We started by using the Comprehensive Curriculum books published by American Education Publishing.  The books were available at Walmart (where I was working at the time) and I thought they seemed like a good jumping off point for the basic subjects.  In the years since then, we've used lots of different books, but we've continued using those Comprehensive Curriculum books for the basics.  We've added in some textbooks that Bryant bought off eBay, a few other books picked up from garage sales and thrift shops, plus we utilize the library and Internet pretty extensively. 

The Boy is in high school now and we decided to let him try a correspondence course.  So far he's doing pretty well and enjoying the variety.  I'll do another post about his courses and school in the future, for anyone interested.

For everyone but The Boy, I write daily lesson plans and, to some extent, my own curriculum.  I use the Comprehensive Curriculum books as a sort of introduction to each topic whether it's synonyms and antonyms or fractions and decimals.  After we've covered whatever those books can teach, we move on to other sources.

Subjects that aren't included in those books, like history, science and health, are completely custom written.  I scour books and websites and put together a course of study that will help them meet their goals.  Which brings me to the next question...

5.  How do you know what to teach?
For the most part, I let them guide me.  When they are ready to move on to something more complex, we do.  It's as simple as that. 

But, to be sure we are meeting the state requirements and keeping up with other kids the same age or grade, I do consult several sources.  My favorite is here - World Book has compiled a general course of study, averaging requirements from across the country.  I like this one because it is fairly broad, not state specific and is drawn from a lot of various sources.

Another one I consult is here.  This one is the Michigan Department of Education and is obviously specific to our state.  Of course, following the law is important, so I do try to make sure they are following the state requirements.  This hasn't ever really been a problem though, so I don't stress about it. 

6.  What about socialization?
This question is one that always stuns me.  Parents of public school children ask me often how we socialize our children and I want to snap back at them, "How do YOU socialize YOUR children?"  Sitting in a room full of people at exactly the same place in life and being told what to do with every second of their time is not really socialization, in my opinion.  I'm sure some of you will disagree, but it is my opinion that after high school, that sort of socialization is useless.  We need to be able to interact with people of all ages and stages of life.  I want my children to be as comfortable talking to an elderly man in a nursing home as to a peer or younger child. 

So, in answer, we let them live their lives.  As an example, when we go to the library, they talk to other kids, parents, librarians and sometimes just random people (with supervision, though.  I don't let the little ones out of my sight in a public place).  They are learning how to have conversations and meaningful interactions with people of all walks of life, all ages, races and belief systems.  I'm certain this will benefit them later in life.

7.  What about college?
This was a huge concern for us in the beginning.  But after much research, I came to the conclusion that most colleges don't care, as long as the SAT and any other required tests are good enough.  Some schools even consider homeschooled kids to be better qualified as they are generally  more self-motivated and able to handle the college educational system better than their public schooled peers.

So there you have it - my little Q & A about homeschooling.  Feel free to leave comments or questions and I'll respond as soon as possible. 

Rotation

This post might not interest very many of you, but it's something that's been on my mind a lot lately.  In any household, there are chores to be done.  In a house with seven people, those chores get overwhelming fast if they aren't done on a regular basis. 

One of the things we really want to impress on the children is that being part of a group, any group, means pulling your own weight.  So they have chores from the time they're old enough to put toys in the toybox. 

It's taken us a lot of years to find a really good, workable chore rotation.  There's been lots of trial and error, throwing out methods that weren't working for us and even a few tears along the way.  But finally we seem to have a rotation that works for us.  At least for now.  As the younger kids get older, they're move into the main rotation and when The Boy gets a job, he'll have fewer chores.

So, here's the rotation that's working for us right now...

Dishes and laundry are done on a three week rotation, by The Boy, Scooter and Pibb.  Right now, Pibb has dishes.  He is responsible for washing, drying and putting away all the breakfast and lunch dishes by himself, except sharp knives.  The Boy has dinner dishes, so he and Pibb will work together to do the dinner dishes, wipe the counters, wipe the fridge and stove and sweep each day.  They'll also Swiffer once or twice a week, as needed.

Scooter has laundry this week, so her responsibility is to wash a few loads of laundry each day.  As long as she keeps up with it, she can do all the laundry in 2 or 3 loads.  Because Bryant's office is also the laundry room, the laundry person doesn't start their chore until he's done with meetings for the day.  Obviously laundry is the chore that's considered easiest. 

Also the dinner dishes person is allowed to choose one night to "slide" on their chore.  On their chosen day, the laundry person picks up the slack, doing double duty.  This allows each kid to have one chore-free day every three weeks. 

Midge and Pookie have their own rotation.  Their chores are to straighten the bathroom floor or help make beds.  They go every other week and whoever cleans the bathroom floor gets ready for bed first.  The person who helps make beds gets to sit next to me at the dinner table. 

In addition to the chores described above, they are all responsible for helping to straighten the living room and dining room, clear and set the table and each person has to make their own bed (Bryant and I took a cue from my Gram and Grandpa - whoever is out of bed last makes the bed). 

We also do "extra chores" such as cleaning under the couch, straightening the entryway or purging dressers as needed.  There is no assignment on those as we usually just do them all together. 

There are a lot of people who think we're too hard on the kids and that's fine.  To each his own.  But I know that when our children go out into the big, scary world, they'll know how to do their own laundry, to wash their own dishes and pull their own weight. 

Intelligence vs. Rote Memorization

An acquaintance of mine was recently complaining about his intelligence.  He said that every day was a learning experience for him because he knows so little.  He equated memorization of facts with intelligence.

The conversation really annoyed me because I know he has the potential for true intelligence.  And the more I think about it, the more it becomes clear to me that the difference is in attitude.

Yeah, I could memorize a library's worth of facts, but if I don't know how to use or apply that knowledge, I'm still dumb.  And if I don't know how to find more information when I desire it, I'm still lost.

My friend's attitude is that if there is information he doesn't have, he must be stupid.  My attitude is that there will always be information I don't have, but if I continue to try to learn and increase my knowledge, I'm intelligent. 

What is your opinion?

Opinionated Silence

I haven't posted here in a while, I know.  Part of it is that I was sick - I'd never had bronchitis before and it amazed me how much it knocked me on my ass.  I was just exhausted all the time and a lot of things got neglected. 
The other part of it is that I've been feeling extremely opinionated lately.  I understand that blogs are generally considered a great place to let loose and just say whatever you're thinking, but that's not what I want this space to be about.  I know that most of my readers are my family and I don't like offending anyone, especially people I actually care about. 

I also know that my opinions are often outside the mainstream.  And honestly, I just don't want to deal with the drama.

I want this blog to be a place where I can express myself freely, but also that you can come to find some inspiration or at least to feel a little uplifted - not offended or disrespected.  I wouldn't do it intentionally, but when I stop holding back, I tend to get mean fast.  I just don't want it to be like that here.

So until I have something crafty or recipe related to say, the blog silence continues...

Ups and Downs

It all started nearly two weeks ago with three simple words from a four year old - "My neck hurts."  He didn't complain about any other discomfort, so I wrote it off as his having slept funny or pulling a muscle.  Turns out he actually meant his throat hurt.  The next day he had a fever.  The day after that his nose was stuffed up and his throat hurt enough that he said, "I neck hurts so much I can't swallow my slobber."

Within a few short days the other kids started having symptoms and then Bryant and I both got sick.  We let it run its course and it is nearly finished now.  Pookie seems to be over it, Midge and Pibb are both at the tail end and The Boy is pretty well back to normal.  Scooter didn't really get sick except to completely lose her voice.  No pain, no other symptoms, just no voice.  Bryant is still feeling it, although he seemed to be getting better and I was nearly done. 

And then it happened.

I was eating a tortilla chip and apparently I didn't chew it up well enough because when I swallowed, it scratched my throat.

The next day, I complained to Bryant that my throat was really hurting, but just in that spot.  Pretty much from that moment on, I've gotten sicker and sicker.  Like all the healing I did was undone by that one tiny scratch. 

I know it makes sense - the scratch allowed more sickness into my body and it clearly was welcomed with open arms.  That doesn't make me like it any.  So while everyone else is on the mend or completely better, I'm still sitting here with a bottle of Zicam, a handful of cough drops and a box of tissues. 

Lousy, stinking tortilla chips!

Invitational

I had occasion recently to make some party invitations.  Now, if I'm making 100 invitations, obviously they need to be simple, streamlined and inexpensive.  But, if I need less than a dozen, I have no qualms about getting a little more involved and crafty with it.

So here's what I came up with....

(drumroll please)



An overview



Each invitation is a giant size Almond and Toffee Symphony bar! 

To make them, I carefully cut the paper label off of one and measured it, then opened a word document and created a cell the size of the label.  After I typed in all the party information, I simply printed my text onto the back of 7 sheets of coordinating scrapbook paper (not cardstock). 

Pretty papers!

On my sample invitation I played with different tag options until I finally settled on this one.  I think it turned out pretty cute.  For the white circle I traced a baby food jar lid and for the brown, the base of an ice cream dish from my Mom.

Depending on the colors of the paper, some invitations got a brown backed tag, like this one and some got a peach backed tag.  Scooter helped me decide what colors to use and she picked the brown ribbon.  We also bought some cream colored ribbon, but we decided to save that for the party favors!

And, just so you know, I am aware that several of you didn't get these invitations and here's why - this party is for my sisters and Moms only (and even of those it's only for the ones that live near here).  So please don't feel bad, you're still some of my favorite people! 

Here are a few more pictures, just because I like them...

That top paper is my favorite!

Cheese Stars

My kids love Lunchables, but I don't buy them.

I'm a mean Mom.

Instead, yesterday for lunch, I made my own Lunchables.  Pibb helped me set up an assembly line on the table.  He counted out a portion of crackers for each person while I used flower and star shaped cookie cutters to cut cheese and meat.  We used Swiss and cheddar, turkey and ham and Ritz crackers (I bought a box for a recipe and only used half of it - I don't normally buy them).

As each plate was filled up, Pibb added a handful of baby carrots and called the rest of the kids to the table.  Pookie was first and he was amazed that he got star shaped cheese!  The kids all agreed that shaped foods are just more fun to eat.

Clearly I need to use the cookie cutters more often...

Where have you been all my life?

I was perusing one of my favorite websites recently when I saw a post about apple nachos.  My knee jerk response was "Ewwww.  That just sounds wretched!"

But, then I realized what it really is - deliciously sweet and salty and tart and perfect Granny Smith apples with peanut butter, coconut, caramel sauce, etc...

So here's what I did...

I used my apple corer to remove the core from an apple, then sliced it into thin rounds.  I got about 10 per apple, but my apples are quite large, so you might get less.  You don't want the apple slices too thin or they won't hold the toppings well. 

After arranging the slices on a plate, I smeared a bit of peanut butter onto each slice.  Next, a drizzle of caramel syrup, a sprinkling of flaked coconut, a few mini chocolate chips and a small handful of salted, dry roasted peanuts.  Top the whole thing with a very thin sprinkle of cinnamon and you've got a decadent breakfast or perfect dessert. 

I served this for breakfast today and four of my five kids loved it and Pookie asked for seconds!  Midge said it was too messy and had too much going on for his taste.  He is quite picky, though, so I didn't worry too much, just gave him yogurt for breakfast instead. 

Of course, the toppings can be adjusted to suit your personal tastes and dietary needs.  Leave off the caramel and chocolate for a healthier snack.  Add raisins or yogurt, even a sprinkle of granola would be wonderful!

Scooter suggested that a scoop of ice cream topped with this (apples diced instead) would be amazing and you know, I think she's right!

So the next time you find yourself with a surplus of tart apples, give this a shot.  Or, go buy some apples just so you can make this.  It is delicious!! 

Twisted

On returning from a recent trip to Boston, Bryant told me about the complimentary breakfast offered by the hotel he'd been staying at.  He said it was a standard breakfast buffet except for one thing - the egg/cheese/bacon breakfast sandwiches were served on soft pretzels!! 

Obviously we had to try it.

I've made over a dozen different pretzels recipes in the last year or so and the one below is far and away the best.  I knew we were going to be out on Saturday afternoon, so I whipped up a batch on Friday evening.  When we got home from my Gram's birthday celebration on Saturday Bryant scrambled up some eggs and poured them into a large skillet in a thin layer.  As they cooked he "cut" them into portions with the edge of the spatula while I split the pretzels. 

We layered egg, cheese and bacon or ham onto each pretzel and let me tell you something - they were amazing!  Super filling, but ridiculously easy and delicious. 

Soft Pretzels or Pretzel Bites
Makes 8 pretzels or about 132 pretzel bites

1 1/2 C hot water
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp dry yeast (or, one packet)
3 Tbsp butter, melted
2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 1/2 to 5 C all purpose flour
A splash of vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray
3 quarts water
3/4 C baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp cold water
Coarse sea salt or additional kosher salt

Combine water, sugar, yeast and slightly cooled butter in a large bowl and mix until well combined.  Let this mix sit for about 5 minutes or until the yeast is foamy.

Add the salt and flour and mix by hand until well combined.  If you're using a stand mixer, increase the speed and continue to knead (with the dough hook) until the dough pulls away from the edges of the bowl.  If you're mixing by hand, knead on a lightly floured surface until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. 

Oil a large bowl (or spray with nonstick cooking spray), add the dough and turn to coat it in oil.  Cover with a clean, damp hand towel and allow to rise in a warm area for about an hour or until dough has doubled in volume.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Put the water in a large pot and set it on to boil.  While it's heating up, get the pretzels ready. 

Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured work surface and knead it for just a moment or two before splitting it into 8 approximately even pieces.  Roll each piece into a  rope about 22 inches long (I put a tape measure out on the table and use that to gauge my ropes.  If you're making pretzel bites, cut each rope into 1 inch pieces.  If you're making pretzels, twist the dough into the appropriate shape.

A friend recently told me that she has a hard time getting her pretzels to maintain shape when she moves them to the water.  If the dough is coated in flour, it won't stick to itself.  If you're having this problem, put a bit of cold water in a bowl and use your fingers to drip a tiny bit on the spots you want the dough to stick to itself.  Press the pieces together and let them sit for a few minutes before boiling.  The water will help the dough stick to itself and maintain shape.

When all your pretzels are rolled or your bites are cut, check on that pot of water.  If it's up to a good, rolling boil, slowly add the baking soda.  The soda/water will bubble quite violently, so I recommend you don't add the soda all at once - sprinkle it on slowly. 

If you're making pretzels, boil them one or two at a time for one full minute.  If you're making pretzel bites, throw a bunch into the water (carefully) and boil them for about 30 seconds.  Either way, remove them to a greased cookie sheet and just let them sit while you boil the rest of them. 

When all your pretzels or bites have been boiled, use a pastry brush to paint some of the beaten egg onto each one, then sprinkle with salt.  Or, after the egg wash, sprinkle on cinnamon sugar for a sweet pretzel treat.

Make sure they don't touch each other on the pan, then bake for 15 - 18 minutes for pretzels and 10 - 12 for pretzel bites.

Serve warm or room temperature with condiment or toppings of choice.  Bryant likes French's mustard, I prefer a whole grain mustard or cheese sauce. 

I think these should last a few days at room temperature, but 24 hours is the longest they've ever lasted in this house and they only lasted that long because we were sleeping or out of the house for most of that time...

Nettled

I'm easily irritated. 

It's true. 

For the most part I'm relatively easy-going and it doesn't last long, but it's amazing how often I feel a little spark of annoyance or petty anger over silly things.

Things like...

Wet counters - seriously, how hard is it to wipe up the water you just spilled?  Whether it's sticky or just plain wet, damp counters just drive me up the wall. 

Misleading recipes - I'm willing to accept that because I'm doubling most recipes I'll have to increase cooking time (sauce for 4 people will reduce a lot faster than sauce for 8 people).  However, I hate recipes that say they only have 15 minutes of cooking time, but when you add up the directed times it's more like 25 - that's a huge increase when you're talking about twice as much food/time.  Either get it right, or simply don't list an estimated time. 

Lack of chocolate - I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.

Medical professionals who think they know it all - I understand that the extra years of schooling probably mean that they know more than I do in general, but that doesn't mean they know my body better than I do.  As a big, fat for instance: the delivery room nurse who refused to believe I needed to push because they'd checked me 20 minutes ago and I was only dilated to six.  This wasn't my first rodeo, it was my fourth delivery and all of them were very quick once they got started.  I knew exactly what I needed (there's no mistaking that feeling), but she was convinced that I just needed to relax, I was getting ahead of myself and it was all in my head.  If I hadn't been so angry, I probably would have laughed at the look on her face as she ran out into the hallway and grabbed, literally, the first doctor she saw. 

Rosalie's eyebrows - In the first two Twilight movies, Rosalie Hale (played by Nikki Reed), had obviously lightened hair.  She had that darker roots, lighter tips look that is so popular and it looked reasonably good on her.  She was pretty.

In the third Twilight movie, Eclipse, her hair is completely bleach blonde, but her eyebrows are reminiscent of Eugene Levy!  Why, David Slade, why?? 

If you've read the books, you know that Rosalie is supposed to be this amazingly gorgeous woman, absolutely perfect, physically. And in the first two movies, she was quite pretty. 

But when I watch Eclipse, all I can see are her eyebrows. 

Misspelled product signs - I actually find it completely unacceptable to have a handwritten sign in a grocery store misspelled.  If you have the product right in front of you, there is no excuse for spelling it wrong.  When I worked at Walmart, an assistant manager was putting out a display of cereal and had misspelled "Honeycomb" to "Honeycome."  I pointed it out and he said, "Oh well, no one cares how it's spelled."  It took every bit of willpower I had not to scream at him that people did care, he was just an idiot.  When he went to lunch, I took  his sign down and replaced it with one of my own, correctly spelled. 

So there's a brief list of things that have irritated me lately.  What's bugging you?