Homeschool

A Day in the Life
Ever wonder what homeschoolers actually do? Do we wander in the backyard all day sniffing wildflowers and observing...stuff?

Not at our house! (Nor, by the way, at the house of any other homeschoolers I've met.) For the last two weeks, our third grader worked on a project in English. (Along with completing his other subjects, of course.) The assignment was to write a report that gave instructions on how to complete a task. I decided to include a cooking lesson in the assignment. He had to research, choose a recipe, write and revise his report, and "star" in his own cooking show. (Not to mention make the younger brother wish HE was in third grade, so HE could make a cooking show.)

I videotaped his cooking show. Most of the "script" came directly from his written report but he's showed a gift for improv that I hadn't expect! The beauty of homeschool: those stinking cute kiddos will surprise you time and time AND time again.
It was been a fun project, and even better-it was full of real life application!


The Duggars vs. Normal Folks Like Us

Say what you will about the Duggars, but I am a huge fan. Still, I find myself thinking that their portrayal of homeschool is just a little, teensy bit different than what goes on at my house. I mean, violin and harp lessons with each child meekly learning with a grin on their face—that’s just not what homeschool looks like at our house.

Here? It’s more like forcing a dehydrated camel to water and trying to wrestle him to the ground to get him to drink. I have normal kids. The ones who don’t really enjoy school work. The kind who say, “I don’t like____.” (Fill in the blank with whatever subject we’re currently tackling.)

Then why do it? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. Just because I am constantly followed every single minute by three young, energetic, noisy boys doesn’t mean I’m not happy. After all, I’m their mom. That is pretty much what I signed up for when we decided to become parents.

We homeschool because we know that our kids really are getting the best education—at home with procrastinating little me—they can possibly receive. (Lasater Academy has small class sizes and a great teacher. Trust me on that one.) Plus, we know exactly what values and world view they’re being taught. An extra benefit… I learn a lot, too. Don’t ask my husband about my geography skills—he’ll just shake his head in shame. (I try to reassure him that I often learn right along with the kids and that we haven’t gotten to that subject yet, but he’s still doubtful that I’ll ever learn Geography.)

As Christians, we homeschool because we don’t feel comfortable handing off this job to people who may not agree with our faith. Bible is one of our subjects. Plus, since the boys and I are always together, I get the chance to teach them Biblical principles in a real environment. For example, the boys were present when a customer made fun of an elderly patron at a store. This gave them a chance to see how disgusting it is to disrespect others. I may also be teaching them some things I’d rather they forget. Like when my three year old shouts from the back seat, “Just run the red light, Mom!” I can’t imagine a Duggar child ever saying that.

When our first son was born, my husband and I decided that, as long as God provided, I would stay at home with our baby. We felt that no one else could care for him like a parent could. Two more boys and nine years later, we still feel the same way. No one can care for, educate, or advocate for our children better than we can. Having school-aged kidsdoesn’t mean we’ve been relieved of responsibility.

Of course, we don’t have a problem with people who don’t homeschool. It’s obviously not for everyone. (For a long time, we thought it wasn’t for us. Honestly, it took Divine intervention for me to change my mind.) We also support traditional teachers and the important role they have. This is simply the decision we’ve made for our family.

So the next time I’m forced outside my house because indoors sound like a zoo, I won’t think to myself, “That’s not the way the Duggars do it.” (I figure my three kids make more ruckus than their nineteen kids ever could.) I’ll just remember: there’s more than one way to skin a camel.

Pirate Th-ar-sday

We've been holding Pirate Th-ar-sday in homeschool the last few weeks. (We were inspired by the book we've been reading: Treasure Island.) It gives us something to look forward to and a chance to sneak in learning while the boys think we're just having fun. We've been covering famous pirates (like Blackbeard) and their routes. We've studied the Jolly Roger and the various symbols. We've even incorporated math into Pirate Tharsday with some fun worksheets and activities.

I planned to have a pirate treasure hunt at the end of our unit on pirates (sometime next month), since we live near the beach and... well, who really needs another reason to dig up treasure? Then, I realized next month our beach will be invaded by the spring breakers who are great for our local economy and bad for everything else. (Especially bad for sanity when you're attempting to drive in spring break traffic and even worse for trying to teach your young boys that modesty is important.) Anyway, due to the spring break situation, our treasure hunt got moved forward significantly! Here's how it went.

This is said treasure. Complete with gold-covered chocolate coins, stickers, and chocolate crabs, of course.


The boys discover that the rolled up paper I've been carrying around is actually a treasure map.

Find that treasure!

Ahoy matey! It be pirate treasure.

Think you might like to hold your own Pirate Tharsday? Here are the resources we've been enjoying.
1. Free Lapbooking templates: http://www.homeschoolshare.com/pirates.php

2. Dividing into equal sets:
http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/PirateDivideByTwo.htm

3. Blackbeard information: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pirates/bbeard.html

4. Juice box pirate ships:
http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/transportation/mmilk_carton_pirate_ship.htm

5. The Pirate's Handbook by Margarette Lincoln (This was very helpful and informative!)

6. Treasure Island by Angela Wilkes (A retelling of Treasure Island for grade 3)

7. How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long

8. Backbeard: Pirate for Hire by Matthew McElligot (This book was funny!)

9. Cute and easy pirate craft: http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/pirates/mpirate.html

10. Pirate treasure map: http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/pirates/mmap.html

11. Don't forget your own treasure hunt. We painted a shoe box black and filled it with little treats. Don't live near the beach? Distract your kids and have someone bury the booty on your next trip to the neighborhood park. Don't forget a treasure map! (If you have multiple children, this is a good way to practice math skills since they'll have to divide their treasure!)