Top 6 Homeschooling Questions

This morning, while going through my emails this came across in one of my homeschool emails from Intoxicated on Life:

▪ Will homeschooling prepare my kids academically?
▪ Will homeschooling turn my child into a social weirdo?
▪ How do I keep my kids focused on their school-work at home?
▪ What educational philosophy or approach to homeschooling is best?
▪ How should I plan my homeschool day when life is so busy?
▪ How can I buy homeschool curriculum on a tight budget?

I sat there staring at those questions. First of all, NONE of those questions even occurred to me when I took Honey Bunny out of the school system in 7th grade.  Not a single one. Perhaps, because we were running away to escape the bullying from students and teachers.  Perhaps, because I live life by the seat of my pants. Heck, I even just sit down, write what's on my mind Monday mornings and hit Publish and here you are, dear reader, reading my on the fly writing.

But I'm going to take each question one by one in case you are asking yourself these questions:

1) Will homeschooling prepare my kids academically? Reader, do you REALLY think the public (or private) school system is preparing them academically for the world they are going to live in? Are you high? We can't predict the future! Technology is changing so fast we don't know what the heck they need to know in 10 years, 20 years. That's why we unschool...so they learn HOW to LEARN.  On top of that, many school systems graduate young adults who can't read...how many? About 20% of the student population of the US can't read upon graduation. Please tell me how they are prepared....

2) Will homeschooling turn my child into a social wierdo?  Only if they already WERE a social wierdo. Everybody is different. In social situations as a kid, I was so shy I turned bright red and tried to hide in my desk when they sang Happy Birthday to me. Of course, it IS on April Fool's Day and I WAS very insecure. Point is, I WAS a social wierdo and I was in school. As I got older, I realized that being social is a game to me. I now have a social persona I wear like an actor does.  No one believes I'm actually an introvert because I play it so well.  It IS a part of me, this confident strawberry blonde who makes others laughs, but behind closed doors, I like to crochet, read, knit and bake. Yea, I'm not lighting the world on fire with those hobbies. :)

3) How do I keep my kids focused on their school-work at home? Wow. This one makes me smile. YOU FIND THINGS THAT INTEREST THEM!  I look at the World Book Encyclopedia Typical Course of Study for each school year, sit the girls down and we discuss which in topic in each heading they are interested in. Yes, we have some structure because it is required BY THEM.  So, Honey Bunny is going to learn about Ancient History because she feels the folklore and myths will help her with her dream to become a tattoo artist and Boo Bear is going to learn how to count money and give change because she likes to play store. Both are totally in line with what they are supposed to learn, but in THEIR style.

4) What educational philosophy or approach to homeschooling is best? That's a personal question. No one can answer that. We started out Radically Unschooling for three years then we have gradually grown into relaxed homeschoolers, which by the definition of unschooling is still unschooling because it is following the child's wants and needs. Most families do it the other way, they start out structured and become less structured and unschool as time goes on. Do whatever works for you. Best part of homeschooling? You get to try all the methods, keep those that work and junk the others!

5) How should I plan my homeschool day when life is so busy? Ah, great question. Plan it around your activities.  For us, Monday and Wednesday are therapy days. One in the morning, another in the afternoon. Then Tuesday has dance class and Wednesday also has youth group and Friday has 4H. We plan AROUND them. We have a basic "schedule" starting today. I have no idea how it's going to work. Theory is we will start with math, move onto history, then science, then literature and then free time to do the rest of the stuff they want. We'll try it for a few weeks and if need be adjust it. You see, homeschooling is about working FOR you not against you.  YOU are in control it, not it in control of you (like in public school where they call the schedule). Oh, and newsflash for ya'll..if you find you are too crazy going from activity to activity: you are in control of how many you sign up for. Stop signing up for so many if it is driving ya'll crazy!

6) How can I buy a homeschooling curriculum on a tight budget? Well, use the world! Use the internet! Use a great book that has 1400 free links for learning. Use your library! Use your....imagination. (Of course, I picture Spongebob and Patrick in their cardboard box when I say that word...imagination.)  Point is, homeschooling can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you want. Are you willing to do the work to track stuff down that your child is interested in? Great. It can be cheap. You aren't? Well then, buy it for pete's sake but don't complain about the cost if you aren't willing to do the leg work. Truth is, even unschooling is expensive because you can flit from interest to interest, class to class, book to book...it isn't free. Nothing in life is free.  Everything has a cost, some financial, some time, some both.  Tight budget just means more creative thinking..which as a homeschooler, chances are you already are good at.

Basically, dear reader, I find these 6 questions amusing. They touch upon our fears, not our fascination.  Here are my main 6 questions about homeschooling in year 4 of our journey:

*How can I help my children be prepared to be thinkers and problem solvers in this new world?
*My child is already a unique individual (social wierdo) How can I find a place to help him/her fit it and learn to love who they are for who they are?
*How do I keep focused on all the great things we want to do and help them get those accomplished?
*I've discovered the educational philosophy which works best for us, THIS WEEK, what will it be next week? Next month? Next year? Anyone have a crystal ball......?
*How can I get more hours in a  day? I'm planning but there is no time for laundry, dishes, cooking or cleaning. Again...crystal ball? Magic potion?
*Who has the winning Lottery numbers? I'm happy to split it....