Homeschool presuppositions and confessions

Here's a pretty neat vlog done by homeschool brothers who are now in college.  They surveyed a lot of college students about their original thoughts on homeschooling, and also asked homeschoolers questions about confessions that revealed a bit of homeschool weirdness.


Every now and then you see a little bit of homeschool oddities coming from my kids in the unique
way they may decide to pronounce a word, or in that they are geeks and proud of it.

Personally, as a homeschool mom, my confession would be that I feel like I have NOTHING in common with most homeschoolers... except that I wore denim jumpers regularly before we started homeschooling, but tossed them out when I realized it was a homeschool "uniform".

My presupposition about homeschooling was that the parents I met seemed a little more involved in their kids life than I wanted to be.  I thought they should get a life and leave their kids alone. Turned out, I did get pretty darned involved and has been pretty enjoyable.  I still have my interests, but watching my kids grow up has been my greatest pleasure.  I am glad I got over my prejudices and jumped in.

So...
What did you think about homeschoolers originally?
Has that changed?
What are you/ your kids homeschool confession?

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Vocabulary for homeschoolers or people who slept through Grammar Class

About three years ago, when my kids were about 12 and 15 I overheard an argument. One said "Its pronounced QUEW-EE-YOU"  the other said "It's pronounced "QUAY-AWAY".  This went on for a while, so I walked up and say what word are you arguing over.  They showed it to me.  It was:

queue [kyoo] Show IPA noun, verb, queued, queu·ing. noun

1.a braid of hair worn hanging down behind.

2.a file or line, especially of people waiting their turn.

3.Computers . a FIFO-organized sequence of items, as data, messages, jobs, or the like, waiting for action.

I chalked it up to a homeschool mistake.  

I had a similar incident the other day with my daughter. We were watching the Dragon-con parade and I couldn't see the sign that a group of black colored elves were carrying and asked her to
read it.  The sign said "Darkened Facade", or something to that effect.  Only she read the word "Fay-Kayed" I had her repeat her self a few times till my brain picked up that she meant facade, but as most 16 year olds would do... when I corrected her, she argued with me.  I finally mumbled "homeschooler" and moved on to the next conversation.

 In my defense, there are some important words that I taught my kids at an early age.  Our very favorite words to teach kids (before they could wrap their small mouths around them) were:

• Facetious: not meant to be taken seriously or literally: a facetious remark. 2. amusing;
  humorous. 3. lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential,
  amusing
• Rhetorical: A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked in order to make a point and without the expectation of a reply.
• Scarcasm:  A harsh or bitter derision or irony. A sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark.

If you know my sense of humor, you understand why it was important for my babies to know these words so they would not grow up confused.  I remember my son at age 5 asking if that last statement "was facetious or rhetorical." 

Speaking of which, another set of words we all need to understand is:

Hyperbole: deliberate exaggeration used for effect: he embraced her a thousand times
Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance (but leaves out the word 'like').

(hence follows too much information for the average person)
Because I can't understand how so many writers could be in a tizzy over a wrap lyric. The big news is that Female wrapper Nicki Minaj has endorsed Mitt Romney, (which neither side wants) When Nicki Minaj says " I'm a Republican voting for Mitt Romney, You lazy b-s F-in up the economy".  She proceeds the verse with raps about how loaded, ...errr rich she is.  She follows it with the statement that she chill's (hangs out) with zombies out in Miami.. and then adds a bit of an incantation.  It's all ridiculous at face value!  But if you look at it like the poetry it is... (yes it is), you will see that first she says she's richer than all the other rappers, then she points out just how rich by saying she's a Republican voting for Mitt Romney...  Ok.  I don't get the Zombie part, but if I did the research, I gather she's still bragging about how utterly awesome she is like all rappers do.  Out of all the dozens of writers who wrote on this "breaking news", only one person got it. 

"Nicki Minaj Is Voting For Mitt Romney Because Everything She Raps Is Definitely True ...Considering that this is coming from a woman who has (at least) three rap personas, and in her next breath brags about "hanging out with zombies," this can hardly be considered a genuine endorsement. Could be that the Harajuku Barbie's fourth persona's a Republican voting for Mitt Romney, or that she just wanted something to rhyme with "zombie," or she thinks it's hilarious that anyone would waste their brainpower on overanalyzing this?" (from Jezebel site)

I know the average homeschooler probably doesn't analyze rap, but you'd be amazed how many grammar and poetry elements you can discuss through music. 

Metaphor

A comparison which does not use the words like or as. Metaphor example: "Life is a journey.

Read more about Elements of Poetry: Examples and Techniques by www.poemofquotes.com

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Texting with my baby girl

Just had a text session with my daughter.  She is so funny... I really miss her.  So glad she's having fun.  He has had a lot of first this week.  First she rode a horse.  Then she hiked.  Now she's planning on going rafting.

Yes, we're slackers... when it comes to physical stuff anyway.  Here's a snippet of our conversation that had me laughing. 

 Ps.  Yes, I still clean her room for her... at least once a quarter for a thorough cleaning.  Then she helps me with mine.

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The Dangers of Homeschooling

 Staying in the theme of my last guest post, here is a fun video called The Dangers of Homeschooling.  Enjoy


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Silly Homeschoolers

Everybody makes mistakes but when we make mistakes we like to blame it on being homeschoolers (in jest of course). Today, we had two doozies!

#1: After driving across the county twice, I stopped for a quick appointment that was supposed to take 5 minutes.  We were tired and out of gas, but it was important.  After 10 minutes waiting to see the person I had to speak to, I called my kids out in the car and told them to turn on the air conditioning, but watch the gas.  (Don't call DFACS, they're both teens).  As I walked back out to the car, I heard what sounded like someone trying to start a car, but the battery was dead.  Too bad I thought.  Then I found out it was my car.  To watch the gas, they only turned on the battery and drained it dead using the air conditioning and charging games.  We spent the next hour waiting, getting attacked by ants, and finally having someone other than roadside assistance starting the car.

#2:  We get home and I go straight to the kitchen to make dinner.  I look in the sink and it looks like we had a sewage back up.  I try to clean the sink and turn on the garbage disposal and it sounds like it's working, only muffled.  I asked my daughter who I knew was in the kitchen last if she noticed anything.  She says, "no, but a put a lemon down the drain to freshen it".  Hmmm I think.  I poked around a few more minutes, then it hit me.... she didn't cut the lemon up. .... yep, there was a whole lemon stuffed down my garbage disposal.  I fished it out, plunged it to get it going and sliced the lemon before putting it back down the drain.

Silly homeschoolers.



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Strange but true homeschool behaviors

Here are a few of the more interesting things my kids have reported about their homeschool friends (some of them lifted from facebook)

• Girl finds that someone put $70 Euros IN in her wallet. 
• A lightsaber duel breaks out in the middle of prom (it was the May 5... National Star Wars Day... May the Fourth be with you... never mind)
•  One girl has a notebook in which she records the most interesting comments.  Best quote of the year is probably "Who died and made you Jesus?"
• In a conversation about Ho's vs Bros, it was agreed that once a girl and guy become close, the girl moves from "ho" category to "bro". 
• There were very few actual dates at prom, most went in groups, and there were at least a couple brother-sister sets.... no one thought it was strange. 
• The Hunger Games are reenacted for a film class project.... lots of "blood" but no real deaths. 
• There's a serious discussion about dragons and unicorns in the bible
• A portable basketball goal was used to adjust stage lights
• fezes are cool!
• Kids request facebook friending from their friends parents

We like to keep things interesting don't we



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My first homeschool purchase

Happy Elf Mom asks what was your first homeschool purchase. Turns out I still have it, use it, and recommend it. It is the Kingfisher History Encylopedia I also checked out a ton of homeschool instructional and motivational books from the library, purchased a giant children's bible that my daughter takes with her when she babysits, and a childrens dictionary that I gave away to another homeschooling family when my kids graduated to a big kids dictionary.

These are the exact books I purchased at my first homeschool fair.
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Homeschool Resource Meme!

I've been not exactly tagged by  Happy Elf Mom! Ready? Here goes:

1. One homeschooling book you have enjoyed: The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. It was used heavily in the first few years of homeschooling and is now still a constant resource for checking facts and brushing up on history.

2. One resource you wouldn't be without: a computer. Like Happy Elf Mom, it has been my single most important piece of equipment for homeschooling and beyond.  It has allowed me to work while homeschooling.  It has allowed my kids to homeschool more independently, and it has provided a plethora of free online resources.

3. One resource you wish you had never bought:   Language arts books by Stobaugh such as American Literature Teacher Text: Encouraging Thoughtful Christians to be World changers (Broadman & Holman Literature)  They are more Christian World View books than language arts.  That's great if it is what you want, but it is overkill and takes far too long to complete a lesson.  If your child goes to church and/or takes Christian instruction in other forms, this is not necessary. Because I started writing in the books, I didn't feel I could sell them, so I used them as a guide instead of a curriculum. 

4. One resource you enjoyed last year: Hippocampus.org.  It helped my kids study history and science independently of me and each other, which they really appreciated.  I just wish they had created more subject guides.  We could use language arts, biology, and chemistry!


5. One resource you will be using this year: So I took a plunge and decided to try out Georgia Virtual School to get my kids used to dealing with teachers before college.  What was I thinking?  They already take classes for all of their arts and electives.  I think the program is harder on me than on them because I don't want them to mess up their GPAs, and this online school gives very little wiggle room on handing in assignments and the learning schedule is quite strict.  But if they can hang in there, they will be able to deal with even the most demanding of teachers in college.  Don't know if we are going to do this for semester 2 yet, but my daughter insists she is learning so much more this way, even if her grade doesn't show it.


6. One resource you would like to buy:  IPads.  No, we don't need them, we just want them.  I feel like school would be more portable, even more portable than with laptops.  I could experiment more with different online resources and learning games, and we could get rid of a lot of paper around the house.... I think.

7. One resource you wish existed: I wish there was a Time4Learning for big kids.... past middle school.  I think it is an excellent way to learn and frees up time for other activities.


8. One homeschool catalog you enjoy reading: The IKEA catalog.  Wait, that's not for homeschooling.... But it is for organizing.  So, that's my choice and I'm sticking to it.

9. One homeschool website you use regularly : KhanAcademy.org  Great for drilling and refreshing math skills. 


10. Tag six other homeschoolers: Ummm... Happy Elf Mom didn't tag anyone, so why should I.  If this looks like fun, just go for it. Enjoy, and let me know if you do this un-tagged post.



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I've been hit with a sunshine award.

Happy Elf Mom aka Mrs C. just gave me a sunshine award today.  Isn't it purty?

There are certain rules (though non mandatory) associated with said award and it includes telling 7 things about yourself and linking to other bloggers, thereby passing on the reward.

Trust me.  You really want to read Happy Elf Mom's entry... it is side-splitting.  I hope my is at least half as entertaining.  Here goes.  7 things about me:

1.  I'm bi-polar.  No, not in the diagnosed, institutionalized,  crazy kinda way, but in the "dang, that girl is moody" kind of way.  In the true sense of being a Gemini, I have moods, and my moods have moods.  You can't get to know me in one meeting, or even in a week.... you need a full year's exposure.  Still mostly I am happy because I choose to be... my reactions are just widely varied from "easy goes it" to "WHAT THE HAY!!!!!".

2.  My kids are as crazy as I am.  The girl may break into song and dance at any moment, or she may ignore you completely.  The boy is a little more balanced, he will either happy-grunt or annoyed-grunt.  I find it entertaining.,

3.  I love being around my kids.  I like sitting next to them.  Rubbing their arms, playing with their hands, and twirling their hair.  Every time I do it I realize that this may be the last time the let me... as they are growing up.  Sure they swat at me sometimes, but I have quick reflexes.

5. I am happily married for 19 years.  My husband deserves and award.

6.  I love learning.  This is probably why I am such a good match for homeschooling. I am thinking of going back to school when I am done homeschooling the kids... maybe get a Masters or PHD in education. ... or Pursue my art.  Maybe both... (observe the bipolar tendencies)

7.  I live in a big house, but that doesn't make me rich.  Every middle class family in Georgia has a big house.  When the kids are gone, I plan to sell it (if the market will move) and get a Condo in the city.

Now for a list of my favorite bloggers.

I would list Happy Elf Mom, but we could end up bouncing the same award back and forth forever.

I adore Sprittibee.  Her blog makes me giddy.  She's a homeschooling mom, but also has a life.

Rants from Mommy Land keeps me in stitches.  I kinda like a gal who's not afraid to cuss.

Darla at My Snellville Blog is my very special real life friend.  Her blog is hyper local and totally awesome.

MamaJulep likes to keep it real.  I never knew complaining about kids could be so entertaining.

So there it is... now you know me and you know who I like.  Guys it's your turn to pass on the sunshine award, but only if you want to.

(so nice I had to post it twice... I accidentally posted this at my Freehomeed blog by mistake.)
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Homeschool Funny (video)

Way  funny homeschool skit:



I only homeschool two kids so I am not going to confess to having a day like this one, but sometimes my kids display the habits of the two older girls.

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Where we homeschool

Nerd Mom at NerdFamily asked the question, where do you homeschool. I will start with where we don't homeschool. This is my kitchen table... We only use it for eating. It is usually too sticky for any other uses.

This next picture is where I keep all of our homeschooling materials. It is the sitting area of our bedroom. The room is very long, like a bowling ally, so I put the bed in the center of the room using the large headboard as a divider. I made the back half of the room my office. I used to use the home office, but my husband kicked me out so he could work from home... he rarely uses it though.

You can see my video camera set up on the table for you-tube-ing.

Next you will find my daughter in her favorite spot. Wrapped up in a blanket like a cucoon on the floor in the great room. She does the majority of her work here. (Don't tell her I took this picture of her with a wrap on her head!

My son's favorite space is in the basement where he plays with the dogs in between subjects.

So This is where we homeschool... when we are at home anyway.

Yes. My primary mode of exercise is running up and down the stairs from my office area where I work, to the great room where my daughter is to the basement for my son. I make them come to me when they need help as well.