Five Essentials for Homeschooling

Legal bit, covering my butt. Affiliate links: they don't actually pay out much for me, but they are here, don't cost you extra, and hey, I get a piece instead of the company getting it all.

Homeschooling is not an easy gig. Ok, it may be easier to not be on someone else's clock to get kids up, dressed, fed, and to school. But, to keep things interesting, functioning, and care for the needs of everyone in the family at the same time all day every day is no cake walk. There are a few things that I just could not do without at this point in our journey.

The Library

I don't even mean story times (because we don't do those, but I know plenty of families that enjoy it) but just the mass of information right there for us to gobble up. For the free printing we get every week. Librarians who work hard to fill our request lists so books are ready on the hold shelf when we don't have a lot of time, and ones who listen intently to my child ask about their current interests and lead them to more resources for expanding their knowledge. And I have hardly delved in to their website, media centers, and other programs they have available!

Homeschool Community

It can be in real life or online. Or both. Having other people to bounce ideas off of, gather new ideas, meet up for group activities, and generally share the praises and pitfalls of the homeschool life. By creating social circles beyond my geographic limitations, I have come across SO MANY new ideas that NEVER would have even crossed my mind. Just don't forget that even thought we might all homeschool, that can look VERY different for each family, and we don't need to compete with each other over styles.

Pinterest

Seems silly. I almost didn't admit to it here. But, it has been great to see what other families have found, organize links for later use (that I can access on any computer!), and sort by which child or topic. This is mostly because I (as previously mentioned) frequently use the library computers to print activity sheets and such. Find me!

Kids

Duh, right? Hear me out. I could plan everything out, schedule lesson plans, organize each day from sun up to dinner and keep track of all of the in between. That may work for other families (no judgement). But what we have found in our house: our children learn in leaps and bounds when we just leave them alone. Support their interests, create space for their projects. Because they create them all on their own when given supplies, time, and our belief that what they do is important work, even it it looks like a giant mess. Being that the main we reason we choose to homeschool is to offer them individualized education, it would be a little silly to just follow an arbitrary curriculum at home.

Books

Of course you need books. What I mean are a few particular books that really helped me take a look at what our goals were/are and as general guides on our path. This isn't to say that we follow these books to a T or even vaguely. They did have an impact on the directions we take and I am just sharing to give you the chance to see as well.

What kind of things do you depend on to make your child's education the best it can be? Even if that isn't homeschool, I would love to hear!

Healthy Child Summit

Have you ever felt overwhelmed when it comes to making the best choices for your family?

With all the hidden dangers lurking in our food supply, water supply, products we use daily, and even just in the environment, more and more parents are choosing to live a simpler, more natural lifestyle. But making the transition is enough to make any parent's head spin. And what about those soon-to-be parents who are just beginning their journey? All the research, websites, and books lead to information overload.

Introducing Native American Culture to Children at Natural Parents Network

I have a post today at Natural Parents Network about "Introducing Native American Culture to
Children."

That time of year has arrived. Harvest, turkeys, apple picking, pumpkin pies, and the story of the Indians and Pilgrims sharing the First Thanksgiving. It seems to be the only time of year we consider the historical or cultural impact "Indians" had on our lives: as a vague story of peace and harmony between the two groups who cohabited the area around Plymouth Rock. But, with November being Native American Heritage Month, more families are taking a closer look at the contributions Native Americans have made to our history and society.

Know Better, Do Better. Except When I Don't.

Welcome to the June 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting:
Parenting in Theory vs. in Reality

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants are sharing how their ideas and methods of parenting have changed.

***
I have taken care of children for almost all my life. My brother was born when I was two, and my dad says I took up caring for him from the very beginning. From siblings, to babysitting, to a homeschooling nanny, I had ample time to see the importance of parenting decisions, and most importantly how those decisions work out in the long run. Yes, there was a time that I thought spankings and other hurtful, shaming tactics were how you raised children. Then I saw their effectiveness fall to the wayside as the children grew and knew they were not teaching the lessons I wanted to teach my children. And by being a part of supervising homeschooling children, I would learn the true nature of learning and education. That it is possible to trust a child's intrinsic drive to explore and discover.

So, there were certain statements I made as I moved toward being a parent of my own children.

"I won't spank."
"If it is at all possible, I will not send my children to industrialized (public) school."
"I will breastfeed my child."
"I want to use cloth diapers."

And, I stand by these statements, even though all of them were shot down or laughed at by some people. So many people said I would change my tune when I was in the midst of parenting. Or well meaning people would almost give me "permission" to fail. That may be nice for some people, but when I set a goal I want SUPPORT, not naysayers.

Most importantly, I need support for when I loose my path to these goals. Because what I did find as I fell down the parenting rabbit hole was that even with full knowledge, education, and belief in these convictions about what kind of parent I want to be: all too often I fail. I can spout off all the reasons for my decisions, and support them with research and studies. But in the thick of it, sometimes I lose myself to the darker corners of my mind that recalls what my experience was as a child and forget that is not what I want in the present.

What I have had to realize is that I can't just make up my mind about what kind of parent I want to be. I can't just read about it. I need to surround myself with people who believe what I believe. Who practice the values I want for myself and my family. So we can support each other in changing how our brains process and move into responding in ways we may never or rarely saw growing up. And to laugh it off when we see a cloth diaper advocate with a babe in disposables and know that it means maybe she needs a little extra love in the moment.



***

Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• My little gastronomes — "I'll never cook a separate meal for my children," Maud at Awfully Chipper vowed before she had children; but things didn't turn out quite as she'd imagined.
• Know Better, Do Better. Except When I Don't. — Jennifer from True Confessions of a Real Mommy was able to settle in her parenting choices before her children arrived, but that doesn't mean she always lives up to them.
• Judgments Made Before Motherhood — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama looks back on her views of parents she came in contact with before she became a mother and how much her worldview of parenting has changed!
• A Bend in The Road — Lyndsay at ourfeministplayschool writes about how her visions of homeschooling her son during the elementary school years have changed drastically in the last year - because HE wants to go to school.
• I Wish Children Came with Instruction Manuals — While Dionna at Code Name: Mama loves reading about parenting, she's not found any one book that counts as an instruction manual. Every child is different, every family is different, every dynamic is different. No single parenting method or style is the be-all end-all. Still, wouldn't it be nice if parenting were like troubleshooting?
• The Mistakes I've Made — Kate at Here Now Brown Cow laments the choices she made with her first child and explains how ditching her preconceived ideas on parenting is helping her to grow a happy family.
• I Only Expected to Love... — Kellie at Our Mindful Life went into parenting expecting to not have all the answers. It turns out, she was right!
• They See Me Wearin', They Hatin' — Erin Yuki at And Now, for Something Completely Different contemplates putting her babywearing aspirations into practice, and discussed how she deals with "babywearing haters."
• Parenting Human Beings — Erika Gebhardt lists her parenting "mistakes," and the one concept that has revolutionized her parenting.
• Doing it right: what I knew before I had kids... — Lucy at Dreaming Aloud, guest posting at Natural Parents Network realises that the number one game in town, when it comes to parenting, is judgement about doing it right. But "doing it right" looks different to everybody.
• A synopsis of our reality as first time parents — Amanda at My Life in a Nut Shell summarizes the struggles she went through to get pregnant, and how her daughter's high needs paved the way for her and her husband to become natural parents.
• Theory to Reality? — Jorje compares her original pre-kid ideas (some from her own childhood) to her personal parenting realities on MommaJorje.com.
• The Princess Paradigm — Laura at Pug in the Kitchen had planned to raise her daughter in a sparkly, princess-free home, but in turn has found herself embracing the glitz.
• Healthy Eating With Kids: Ideal vs. Real — Christy at Eco Journey In The Burbs had definite ideas about what healthy eating was going to look like in her family before she had kids. Little did she realize that her kids would have something to say about it.
• How to deal with unwanted parenting advice — Tat at Mum in Search thought that dealing with unwanted parenting advice would be a breeze. It turned out to be one of her biggest challenges as a new mum.
• How I trained my 43 month old in 89 days! — Becky at Old New Legacy used to mock sticker charts, until they became her best friend in the process of potty training.
• My Double Life: Scheduling with Twins — Mercedes at Project Procrastinot was banging her head against the wall trying to keep up with the plan she made during pregnancy, until she let her babies lead the way.
• Parenting in the land of compromise — As a holistic health geek trying to take care of her health issues naturally, Jessica at Crunchy-Chewy Mama regrets that her needs sometimes get in the way of her children's needs.
• Practice Makes Good, Not Perfect — Rachael at The Variegated Life comes to see that through practice, she just might already be the parent she wants to be.
• 3 Dangerous Myths about Parenting and Partnering: How to Free Yourself and Your Family — Sheila Pai at A Living Family shares in theory (blog) and reality (video) how she frees herself from 3 Dangerous Myths about Parenting and Partnering that can damage the connection, peace and love she seeks to nurture in her relationships with family and others.
• 5 Things I Thought MY Children Would Never Do — Luschka at Diary of a First Child largely laughs at herself and her previous misconceptions about things her children would or wouldn't do, or be allowed to do.
• Policing politeness — Lauren at Hobo Mama rethinks a conviction she had about modeling vs. teaching her children about courtesy.
• The Before and The After: Learning about Parenting — Amy at Me, Mothering, and Making it All Work reminisces about the perspective she held as a young adult working with children (and parents) . . . before she became a mother.
• Parenting Beliefs: Becoming the Parent You Want to Be — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children discusses how we can make a mindful decision to become the parent we want to be. Decisions we make affect who we will become.
• The Great Breastfeeding Debacle — In Lisa at The Squishable Baby's mind, breastfeeding would be easy.
• What my daughter taught me about being a parent — Mrs Green asks, "Is it ever ok to lock your child in their bedroom?"
• Sensory Box Fail! — Megan at The Boho Mama discovers that thoughtful sensory activities can sometimes lead to pasta in your bra and beans up your nose.
• Montessori and My Children – Theory vs. Reality — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares her experiences with Montessori parenting and describes the results she sees in her now-adult children.
• I Like The Mother I Am Now More Than The Mother I Intended To Be — Darcel at The Mahogany Way thought she would just give her kids the look and they would immediately fall in line.
• How I Ended Up Like My Tiger Mom With Peaceful Parenting — Theek at The Laotian Commotion somehow ended up like her Tiger Mom, even though she purposely tried for the complete opposite as a peaceful parent.

From Hobbiton to Rivendell: A Family Cycling Tale

We are on an adventure. It started as a combined effort to save gas and exercise more. It became more. It made us rethink how we plan our grocery lists, schedules, time with our children, wardrobes, homeschooling, and diet. To motivate ourselves, we set a goal.

Our family is going to bike the distance of Hobbiton to Rivendell.

Our progress as of  May 29th, 2013.

We aren't going on a grand long distance, touring adventure. Mainly just in our hometown. Which just happens to be the perfect size for dominating by bike. Our set up includes 2 adult bikes, one pulling a double trailer and the other a trail-behind tandem attachment. We go to the library, park, grocery shopping, fishing, produce stand... if it is in our town, we almost feel ridiculous packing everyone into the car to go.  Then we just add it all up, working towards reaching 458 miles by my birthday on October 15th. We started March 19th, so we needed to ride about 20 miles a week. So far we are doing well, and have cut our need to ride average to less than 15 miles a week. If the weather cooperates, we may even make our goal by L1's birthday, a month early!

A Week in the Life: Wordless Wednesday

 This is a typical week in our home. Plus plenty of screen time (just being honest), but who takes a picture of that? It was pretty rainy, so we were inside a lot. We

Making letter shapes with a straw.

They are very interested in clouds right now.

I am going to hit the pie tin sideways off the jar. What do you think will happen?
Hypothesis from L1: The egg will wobble, fall, crack, then we'll be cooking the eggs to eat.

They are One and the Same

So, I managed a couple more poems from Hobo Mama's poetry challenge. I really have enjoyed (sweet, I tied in this week's theme!) a chance to stretch my fried brain in a different way lately.

Play:

Noise, Sound, Vibe
Hear it, Feel it, Live it
Music, Ambiance, Voice
Machine, Nature, Enviroment
Pulsing, Flowing, Absorbing
Need it, Want it, Love it
Blaring, Slamming, Obtrusive
Hate it, Fear it, Fight it
Noise, Sound, Vibe
Hear it, Feel it, Live it

Learn:

Everyday is new
Your smiling face reminds us reexamine our world
Every moment seems to be the first
We forget the old, and see them fresh
Everything we know
We learn again through your eyes
How time can change
This world we live in
How you can change
The lives we know
How we strive for
A better life for you
How Every deed is for you

Faith, Trust, and a Little Bit Of Poetry

I decided to give Hobo Mama's Poetry Challenge a try. Hope you enjoy!

Trust

Loving you before
I ever meet you
Trusting life will always be
The greatest lesson I could ever
Learn. Welcome to the great
Endevor. I have the greatest
Optimism that you will
Never be alone
Every hope is yours

Partners:

He loves me
For my eyes
My smile
My laugh
He loves me
For my hair
My body
My life
He loves me
For my strength
My endurance
My compassion
He loves me
For my fears
My anger
My faults
He loves me
Without change
He loves me
For me

Faith:

Life is always life
Always moving forward
Breathe, Eat, Sleep
Life is always life
Yet two are never same
Even one sees constant change
Life is always life
Some are grand or modest
Others sad or destitute; But
Life is always life
Each life is different
Each life a chance
We choose the paths
That change our life; But
Life is always life

Wordless Wednesday November 7th, 2012: Autumn at the Zoo!

Fewer visitors means more animals!

The Raptor Center: This is a remarkable bird of prey...

L3 and the river otter

Wordless Wednesday: October 17th, 2012

Our unschool group dyed play silks!

Wordless Wednesday October 10th, 2012: Harvest Time

Love that feeling.

Everyone helps.

Wordless Wednesday September 5th, 2012: Learning is Playing

I am a Ty-ran-sus Rex!