Mom Is Teaching

Hello, you have reached the bloggy message system for Mom Is Teaching. Mom is out for the day riding bikes, blowing bubbles, and chasing butterflies in the yard. There may even be a water balloon fight weather permitting.

At the tone please leave a message and Mom will get back to you as soon as it is too dark to play anymore. Or choose one of the options below for some great reading time.

Dana takes on College and the homeschool advantage. She does a great job at pointing out that college requires independence and self-motivation, something that homeschooled kids often have in abundance.

Homeschooler Savvy shares a whole year’s worth of Girl Scouts curriculum. Trust me, it’s worth checking out to see what all they have planned to do throughout the year.

Tammy managed to put together a reasoned and rational response to the Subway scandal that seems to have everyone talking. I’ve been avoiding it, mostly because the best I can think of involves a lot of sighing and shaking my head.

Over at Learning At Home a visitor gave them a chance to study what homeschooling looks like for them. I have to agree, it looks like a lot of fun to me too.

Not a specifically home education related post, but the political junkie in me can’t help but share. Obama on education, what his plans and ideas are if he becomes president. No matter what side you are on it’s always worth checking out all of the candidates thoughts on the issues.

Now go outside yourself and soak up some sunshine and fresh air. The world is too beautiful to be stuck inside at a computer all day.

blogging, home education, education, homeschooling

I’m a little late in sharing this week’s carnivals, but they are still worth checking out. There are some great posts all over the web so be sure to grab a cup of coffee and enjoy all the posts the carnivals have to offer.

Think about the end of the school year at the Carnival of Homeschooling up over at Walking Therein.

Enjoy a year-end luncheon at the Carnival of Education hosted by Bluebird’s Classroom.

The Memorial Day edition of the Carnival of Family Life is up at Colloquium.

Enjoy Learning in the Great Outdoors up at 10,000 Birds.

There is always something worth seeing at the Make It From Scratch carnival, up for the first time at The Miller Way.

If you enjoy listening to podcasts then you are in luck, there is a Carnival of Parenting Podcasts that you can browse through.

Be sure to take the time to stop by and see what each of the carnivals has to offer. and, as always, leave lots of comments. Everyone loves comments!

blogging, blog carnivals

Today Tiffany from Nature Moms Blog is withdrawing her son from school and officially starting their home education journey. Stop by and give her some words of encouragement today. She’s also got some great craft ideas listed that are eco-friendly and fun for kids.

I have heard that many parents who withdraw their kids from school spend their first few days with a giant lump in their throats and a knot in their stomachs. The nervousness of starting something new, stepping away from the familiar into something that is still seen as outside the norm. If you have any horror stories of shaking from nerves for the first few days share them. You might help others who are getting cold feet.

As schools are letting out all over, many have already let out, I’ve seen a lot of blog posts coming in through my Google alert of parents deciding to not send their kids back to school next year.

home education

Too often it is assumed that people homeschool to instill a Christian viewpoint on their children without exposing them to other religions. But what about when that same viewpoint is being pressed at the public schools?

“My daughter Arie told me about a Jewish child who brought his Torah to school when other students brought Bibles in support of Freshwater … He thought he was supporting freedom of religious expression, and the other kids just ripped him apart. ‘What are you doing?’ they asked. ‘You can’t support Mr. Freshwater, you’re Jewish’ … I don’t think people realize the depth of what’s going on between the students. It’s a mob mentality right now. It’s peer pressure. To not wear a T-shirt and to not bring your Bible when they say bring your Bible and wear a T-shirt, you’re asking for trouble … one of Arie’s friends wore a T-shirt to school that read, ‘I don’t need to wear a special T-shirt to be a Christian.’ That individual was reportedly pushed into the lockers and called a ’stupid atheist b****.’”

I found this story via The Wild Hunt. While I know there are some who would pass this off as nonsense, I know from experience what it can mean to go to public school as a religion other than what the majority believe. In a small town where there are almost more churches than trees being an “other” comes into play too often. The supposed diversity gets shoved out the window quickly.

I thought this story made an interesting contrast. The case is often made that public schools are hot bed of diversity while those who keep their children at home are sheltering them from it. I know that in my case keeping my sons out of the public schools probably allows them more diversity, religiously speaking.

Of course we have to look at this as not just a religious issue, but an age issue. This is dealing with middle school aged children, one of the worst times in terms of peer pressure and a drive to fit in or else.  Bullying, harassment, and worse for kids who do not fall neatly into their assigned roles and social class can be intense.

Just some thoughts from someone tired of being typecast and pigeonholed. As they say, things aren’t always greener on the other side of the fence. Or, in this case, things aren’t always so diverse on your own side of the fence.

diversity, education, religion, students, homeschooling

I saw a few people talking about this on a couple home educators lists I read. People are wondering what to do to mark the end of the year, or the passing from one grade to the next. Do you have a big celebration, do a small graduation ceremony with local home schooled kids, not even notice it?

In one group a mom mentioned that she takes a picture of her kids at the end of each year and lets them decorate a frame to hang the pictures in. She has a long row of images going down her hall showing off how they have changed. I thought that was a great idea, and I might steal it a bit for my own. Since I love to scrapbook I make a little  mini-book to showcase a few things from the year. A few pictures that I had taken, a list of the books we read, and a few notes here and there about interesting things that were done. Though something like that is more fun for me than for anyone else.

So what do you do to celebrate the end of another year? Do you have a family tradition that you do each year, or just let the kids decide how they want to mark the event? I’d love to hear what kids of ideas everyone has on this. Those who don’t do anything special I would love to know why not, if there is a specific reason or if you just don’t see a need for it. 

graduation, end of year, celebration, home education

Just a quick post to share a few of the fun carnivals this week that are worth taking a look at this week. Drop by and take a look at what people are sharing.

• The Carnival of Homeschooling #125
• The Carnival of Education
• Carnival of Family Life
• Mommy Blog Carnival
• Family Funnies

blog carnivals, blogging

Hat tip to Lapaz for this interesting conversation.

I came in late to the conversation, but it has been an interesting read. Over at Barefoot Meandering the lines between parenting, life, unschooling, limits, and more were explored very deeply. And sometimes crudely as well. It began when KathyJo, the blog’s writer, read an article on limiting video games for children and teens and had some rather blunt ideas about them. From there a fight sparked in the comments section that really led some people to explore their own ideas of parenting with and without limits.

And yes, there are some attacks flung about as well.

So, trying to ignore the negative parts and not continue on the fighting, I wanted to look at a couple things mentioned. In part of the discussion in the comments section there was talk about what makes an educated person. (more…)

Since I wrote about those awesome home school cruises I thought I would also pass on this article I read. It’s six ways to save money on your travel expenses this summer. The ideas work even if you aren’t planning on a typical summer vacation, and in fact the first tip is perfect for those who aren’t.

Traveling off the peak season is a great way to lower costs. Everyone is trying to encourage more people to travel so they lower costs to sweeten the deal. Which works in favor of most home educators as they are not trapped by the typical school schedule. When everyone else is heading back home and the rates are dropping you can take a much needed vacation. Cheaper and crowd free!

Any other adventure seeking home educators with tips for making travel easier and cheaper? Or at least some words of encouragement from those of us already getting the summer time wander lust? After a lifetime of traveling only during certain months it is hard not to be ready to want to do everything now. Vacation in the fall? that’s crazy talk!

travel, vacation

I have this beautiful dream where I’m lounging around all day pool side, drinking fruity drinks with little paper umbrellas, only getting up to go to my massage and facial. Sure it’s just a dream, but it’s my dream.

As I was checking my feed reader last night I found out that I’m not the only one with that sweet dream. Dayna Martin of Unschooling America is putting together an Unschoolers Cruise for this October. Five days of high seas adventures and relaxing moments surrounded by some of the funnest home educators you could meet.

Join your host, Dayna Martin, and other Radical Unschooling Moms at the Solarium for two-hours one afternoon, for joyful relaxation, discussion and a couple of cool drinks served to you in the Hot Tub.

Yes please, sign me up. Spending some time in the hot tub, a couple cool drinks, and some great conversations.

There is also the Homeschoolers On the Seas cruises available through Alumni Cruises. There are several cruises available there, such as Bermuda and the Caribbean.

The cruises can be pricey, so start saving your money now. But if you can afford to go imagine what a great experience it would be for everyone.

cruise ships, homeschoolers

As the weather warms up I find it harder and harder to sit down and write. Is anyone else having that trouble? Water wars, bike riding, lounging under trees, and digging in the dirt take up most of my time. When I do sit down specifically to write I feel so distracted by the sunshine and birds nothing much gets done. So, instead of trying to write something here I’m going to just share a few links that have caught my eye recently. Happy reading!

• How much homework do K-12 students need? - There is certainly a case against homework being presented by many people looking into education. This is a great article with some helpful links for exploring it more.
• The Education Industrial Complex - Commitment to education that involves more than just putting more money into the schools. What a radical concept. Except, it isn’t.
• Homeschooling Part One - Doc said this was a great post, and she was certainly right. A great look at one family’s coming into homeschooling from a hilarious mom.
• Family On Bikes - OK, so an entire blog rather than a post, but I realized that I forgot to do a shout out a couple weeks ago after I was left a comment so I had to share them now. One family, biking from Alaska to Argentina.
• The Price of Homeschooling - It’s been said before and deserves to be said again, home education does not have to cost a lot of money. You can do it for free with a little effort and creativity.

OK, now I’m going back to playing with the kids some more.

blogs, reading, writing

Last year Bryan from Sympathy Pain decided to rant about home schoolers. After a little back and forth I thought we cleared his misconceptions up, apparently not. I can’t begin to express how disgusted by his comment I am.

We have not stuck our fingers in our ears…at least not all of us. You keep saying these Stereotypes keep coming back…It’s because stereotypes exist for a reason. There are homeschooled persons out there, if you want to admit it or not, who continue to fit the stereotypes, end even create more negative images every day. Example: We had a young homeschooled girl come to our house and sell us magazines. She was socially inept and just plan annoying, but we helped her out despite herself…and never received the magazines. She told us some story about the death of a pet by a family member…while trying to sell us magazines and petting our dog. Then, on top of everything else, we have individuals like yourself who keep shout…”No, we are not like that and if you don’t agree, your ignorant and prejudicetic.” Great front people for the cause. If you want to change the stereotypes…ask yourself why they still exist instead of just saying “your wrong.”

I admit, I was so angry I was shaking.
Bryan there are stereotypes for a good reason, because people who are prejudiced like to show examples of one extreme situation and claim it is the norm. I never said there are not some home schoolers who do fit the stereotype, but that is not the norm. Just like not all black people are lazy and stupid, not all feminists hate men, and not all Christians are conservative. Yet those are the stereotypes people use. And yes, there are a vocal few in each category. I’m sure I could tell you a few stories about people who fit in neatly to those stereotypes. In any other instance I would look to my own prejudice and see where I was placing my own internal issues onto another person or group of people. However, when it comes to home schoolers you seem to be lacking that ability. Personally, I find that disgusting and I can’t help but wonder where else in your life you cast people into labeled boxes because it is easier for you to write them off then explore your own issues.

Finding one example, of something that I’ve seen a dozen times with public schoolers, and claiming that it represents all home schoolers only makes yourself look ignorant. Why does every child that is taught at home have to be an example of what all home schoolers are? Because people like you make it so. There are kids in public schools who are shy, anti-social, lie, are conservative Christians, never talk to anyone, and any other example you want to say. That does not make them examples of what all public school kids are, rational people can clearly see that each child only represents themselves.

Why do these stereotypes keep coming back. Bryan look in the mirror, there’s your answer. Because people like you won’t let them drop. Because people like you keep bringing them back up over and over again. Because people like you never learned to look at people as individuals with individual strengths and weaknesses rather than parts of the whole.

Frankly Bryan, people like you aren’t worth the pixels this comment used.

Homeschooling is one of the most misunderstood institutions in the world as we know it.

You can say that twice! Tiffany from Nature Moms, a great blog for the eco-moms, spent some time debunking the most common myths about home education. Sadly, these same myths have been debunked over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. No matter how often we scream or how loudly, the people against home education continue to sit around sticking their fingers in their ears and singing “lalalalala” as loudly as they can. Let’s be honest, they don’t want to know any different. if they were really interested they would have went out and searched for the facts by now. Instead they choose to spread misinfomation, lies, and stereotypes so they can feel good about themselves and their own choices.

There’s not much you can do about willful ignorance. You can lead a horse to water, as they say.

You can, however, try to take them down a notch or two. if for nothing else than your own personal therapy. Alasandra did a great job cutting through one closed minded mom’s view on home schoolers. Does anyone else ever notice that the most closed minded often claim home education creates closed minded people? It’s like those Chinese finger lock toys, the harder you pull away the tighter they become.

Stereotypes have been big in my thoughts lately as I’ve been labeled and shoved in the wrong box a lot this week. So I’m begging you all to make me laugh. What’s the weirdest, wackiest, flat out odd stereotypes you’ve encountered? Not even just with home education but with any other aspect of you life. What strange things have people assumed about you from small aspects of you life?

home education, stereotypes, people

My state’s newspaper did an interesting thing recently where they invited a group of teenagers to learn how to create a newspaper. It looks like an amazing experience for these kids to do and learn about. You can read the newspaper they created here at The Writer’s Strike.

I probably would not have even noticed if it wasn’t that one of the audio segments was a public school girl interviewing three home schoolers. It’s an interesting take on homeschooling teenagers. They tackled sports, socialization, going to the prom, and more. For parents worried about what it will be like with teenagers this is a great interview to ease your fears. They are articulate, intelligent, and friendly. Who knew teenagers could be described that way?

Oklahoma, teenagers, home education, journalism

My email box is in a sad state of affairs. Basically I’ve been over run by spam to the point that I can’t find the real emails anywhere in there. I have not been able to set up filters that work so I’m reduced to taking drastic steps. I’m erasing everything.

I know this seems a bit extreme, but getting back to zero is the best way. Clear it all out, start over fresh tomorrow morning, and hope that I can combat the flood better next time. Unfortunately this means that any emails I should have read are probably tucked away on page 17 between the emails for male improvement pills and announcements that I’ve won the internet lottery and they just need my information to send the check.

Or in other words they are all about to be deleted. If you’ve recently sent me any thing that I haven’t responded to, oh say in the last month (yes, it’s been bad for a while), wait a couple days then resend it. Hopefully this time I will be able to find it.

Sorry for the inconvenience!

email

If you haven’t checked it out yet there is a great parenting site called Type-A Mom.  It’s parenting advice by moms for moms on everything from breastfeeding to raising teenagers. No matter what stage of the parenting game you are in or what kind of a parent you are you will find something for you there. It’s worth bookmarking and coming back to often.

Now to be completely honest I am one of the editors at Type-A Mom.  I have been lucky enough to be given a spot to gab about preschoolers and all the joy that they bring. Shhhh, it’s all joy, I swear. Don’t let on about the hard parts to the moms not there yet. Yet even if I did not write there I would still recommend you stop by and see what they have to offer.

Here’s a special hint for you home schooling moms, the homeschool section is still empty.  Type-A Mom is hiring editors for the empty sections, so if you would like to share some wisdom apply and see what you have to offer.

Works For Me Wednesday, Type-A Mom, parenting