Last weekend I went to my first ever homeschooling convention, and it was a blast! There was so much good stuff going on, that my friend, The Kitchen Diva, and I didn't actually get to see everything we wanted.
We arrived a little late on Friday, having taken a right at Albuquerque when we definitely should have gone left. Check in was no problem and the hotel was clean and quiet.
We went out to dinner and then, like the diligent homeschooling moms we are, we reserved tickets for the IMAX showing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Once we knew we were getting to see Harry and friends on the largest screen in Richmond, we toured the booths of the various providers who had set up in the front hall and atrium of the Richmond Science Museum. There were several booths that impressed me. All of them were interesting, but I'm just going to give the highlights here:
Fun Books, a bookstore from up near Baltimore had a great selection of books and software for homeschooling. Most importantly for me, they had Rosetta Stone's Homeschool Japanese I on SALE!!! Wheee! That was definitely my biggest purchase.
DNA Depot had really cool science kits that allow kids to explore everything from fruit DNA to the effects of pollution on sea babies. I will definitely be looking into those next year.
And the booth that I probably spent had the longest conversation at was the one forCollege Solutions. Being financially strapped, right now, had me thinking hard about what I'm going to do to pay for The Girl's college. Really, there are only seven or eight years to go! (watch as I try not to panic).
College Solutions acts as rent-a-guidance counselors, helping parents to navigate financial aide applications, finding scholarships, and even helping students prepare for the change in living away from home. Karen and Julie, the ladies behind the company, were friendly and impressed me with their understanding of homeschoolers' needs and strengths.
But it was Friday night, and at 7:00 PM I turned into a Harry Potter Fan and didn't think of college finances again until the next day!
Next time: More booths, Presentations, and Earning opportunities that allowed me to take parts of the convention off as a business expense.
:->
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Scurry and Scratch
The worst thing about trying to homeschool and being a single parent has to be the tension that develops between working and educating you child. Working from home certainly sounded a lot easier when other people were talking about it. There always seems to be something that has to be done this second, and there never seems to be enough money.
So, what do we do? (Besides start a blog to whinge and moan in?)
First of all, realize that something is going to have to give. You can't do it alone. I moved 250 miles to be near my mother because I knew she would help with childcare. If you don't have a family member that is eager to watch your child on the days when you have to be out of the house, then try to hook up with friends, other homeschooling moms, a babysitting co-op, or in a tight pinch, a reliable babysitter for occasional days. (It's often easier to get regular days scheduled, so you might consider that as well, if you can afford it.)
Another thing to think about is ways to take your child to work with you. When The Girl was an infant I was lucky to have a job where I could take her to work with me. Now she is almost ten years old, and she generally knows how to behave when I have to have her at a job site for some reason. We often go to the library together where she can study and I can do research, get on the Internet to check mail, and work on other projects.
Finally, I have actually gotten a part-time job outside the house to smooth out my cash flow. Because it is only part time, I can still spend a lot of time at home working on my business and one our homeschooling projects, and my mom loves taking her most local grandchild on field trips while I'm out at the salt mines.
It makes for a hectic life, and a fair amount of running up and down the road in the car, but I wouldn't change it for anything.
So, what do we do? (Besides start a blog to whinge and moan in?)
First of all, realize that something is going to have to give. You can't do it alone. I moved 250 miles to be near my mother because I knew she would help with childcare. If you don't have a family member that is eager to watch your child on the days when you have to be out of the house, then try to hook up with friends, other homeschooling moms, a babysitting co-op, or in a tight pinch, a reliable babysitter for occasional days. (It's often easier to get regular days scheduled, so you might consider that as well, if you can afford it.)
Another thing to think about is ways to take your child to work with you. When The Girl was an infant I was lucky to have a job where I could take her to work with me. Now she is almost ten years old, and she generally knows how to behave when I have to have her at a job site for some reason. We often go to the library together where she can study and I can do research, get on the Internet to check mail, and work on other projects.
Finally, I have actually gotten a part-time job outside the house to smooth out my cash flow. Because it is only part time, I can still spend a lot of time at home working on my business and one our homeschooling projects, and my mom loves taking her most local grandchild on field trips while I'm out at the salt mines.
It makes for a hectic life, and a fair amount of running up and down the road in the car, but I wouldn't change it for anything.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Taking the Plunge
In my last post, I mentioned that I got a shock at the beginning of my daughter's second grade. I'm sure it was something that has happened to a lot of parents, but I couldn't believe it was happening to me. After all, I always reviewed The Girl's work and report cards, I went in for conferences when the teacher asked me to - which wasn't all that often. I helped my daughter with her homework (spelling words and math). I thought I knew about my daughter's school work and education.
Apparently, I was wrong.
My daughter's new teacher, Mrs. C, called me in shortly after school had started and explained that my daughter was almost a full year behind in her reading.
A full year.
Her reading level in first grade had hardly progressed at all - and I hadn't realized it. I found out later that her first grade teacher hadn't realized it either. The Girl is very smart and good at compensating. She didn't need to be able to read to get by in class. She had us all fooled.
That was when I started seriously considering homeschooling. Not because the school was falling down on the job - although I was pretty unhappy with things at that moment - but because I had fallen down on the job. I had abdicated the responsibility for my daughter's education to an institution, and now she was paying for it.
Luckily, Mrs. C was wonderful, and we all worked hard to make up for lost time. Eventually we discovered The Girl had a rather serious vision problem. The eye doctor was seen, glasses were bought, and The Girl began gaining ground quickly.
But I spent second grade living in her teacher's pocket, and The Girl was spending an average of two hours a night on homework - sometimes three - and she was in second grade.
There had to be a better way.
I started researching, talking to people I knew who were already homeschooling, and looking for curriculum. I didn't want to jump in unprepared, so I decided to wait a year. After all, I there was the chance my research would convince me it wasn't practical. More importantly, there was the chance that The Girl would have a strong opinion against leaving school.
Well, in just four days school lets out for the summer, and for the first time my daughter won't be saying 'see you next year' to her classmates and teachers.
Weird.
She's not leaving because she had a bad year - third grade has been wonderful. She's not leaving because she hasn't made progress - she's ahead in math and finally caught up to grade level in reading.
She's leaving because there are so many things she wants to do that she can't do if she stays in public school. (She is planning on starting Japanese in the fall, and is trying to convince me that she can do Spanish at the same time.) Turns out she does have a strong opinion about homeschooling - and is all in favor of it.
And I'm taking her out because I've figured out a schedule that will let me be in charge of her education. I want to do something more integrated, and with greater flexibility, and I think I have found the curriculum that will let me do that.
Most of all, I want to feel like I know exactly where she is at.
And so we are off! Stay tuned (and maybe wish us luck)!
Apparently, I was wrong.
My daughter's new teacher, Mrs. C, called me in shortly after school had started and explained that my daughter was almost a full year behind in her reading.
A full year.
Her reading level in first grade had hardly progressed at all - and I hadn't realized it. I found out later that her first grade teacher hadn't realized it either. The Girl is very smart and good at compensating. She didn't need to be able to read to get by in class. She had us all fooled.
That was when I started seriously considering homeschooling. Not because the school was falling down on the job - although I was pretty unhappy with things at that moment - but because I had fallen down on the job. I had abdicated the responsibility for my daughter's education to an institution, and now she was paying for it.
Luckily, Mrs. C was wonderful, and we all worked hard to make up for lost time. Eventually we discovered The Girl had a rather serious vision problem. The eye doctor was seen, glasses were bought, and The Girl began gaining ground quickly.
But I spent second grade living in her teacher's pocket, and The Girl was spending an average of two hours a night on homework - sometimes three - and she was in second grade.
There had to be a better way.
I started researching, talking to people I knew who were already homeschooling, and looking for curriculum. I didn't want to jump in unprepared, so I decided to wait a year. After all, I there was the chance my research would convince me it wasn't practical. More importantly, there was the chance that The Girl would have a strong opinion against leaving school.
Well, in just four days school lets out for the summer, and for the first time my daughter won't be saying 'see you next year' to her classmates and teachers.
Weird.
She's not leaving because she had a bad year - third grade has been wonderful. She's not leaving because she hasn't made progress - she's ahead in math and finally caught up to grade level in reading.
She's leaving because there are so many things she wants to do that she can't do if she stays in public school. (She is planning on starting Japanese in the fall, and is trying to convince me that she can do Spanish at the same time.) Turns out she does have a strong opinion about homeschooling - and is all in favor of it.
And I'm taking her out because I've figured out a schedule that will let me be in charge of her education. I want to do something more integrated, and with greater flexibility, and I think I have found the curriculum that will let me do that.
Most of all, I want to feel like I know exactly where she is at.
And so we are off! Stay tuned (and maybe wish us luck)!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Tipping the Scales
About the time The Girl entered school, I made friends with a woman that was homeschooling her two children. Let's call her D. At the same time, my brother and his wife were also homeschooling their two elementary aged children. Suddenly, homeschooling was very much on my radar.
You would think that talking about homeschooling would get me interested in pursuing the possibility for my daughter, but all it did was make me more certain that homeschooling was not for me.
D. and her kids are unschoolers, and while I admired how well it worked for them, I didn't feel like I could do it and provide all the skills and information my daughter needed. Unschooling is child led, and it seemed to me that parents had to be ready with all kinds of references and information for whatever happened to come up.
In short, I was intimidated beyond words.
My brother and his wife were using a curriculum that was more of a school-in-a-box. It worked for them, but as a single parent I didn't think I could earn a living and have a school at home.
On top of that, I had the classic "what about socialization?" fear. I did okay when she was home, helping her with homework and taking her on the occasional play date, but I was trying to build a business. How was I going to get anything done if she was home all day? I had visions of her sitting in front of the TV morning to evening while I typed. Not good.
Thus, it was decided. School was the best place for her to learn, no matter how intrigued I was by the idea of homeschooling.
I found out at the beginning of second grade that pretty much all my preconceptions were wrong. I look back on it now, and all I can say is... Oops.
Next time... More on throwing out preconceptions and looking for curriculums.
You would think that talking about homeschooling would get me interested in pursuing the possibility for my daughter, but all it did was make me more certain that homeschooling was not for me.
D. and her kids are unschoolers, and while I admired how well it worked for them, I didn't feel like I could do it and provide all the skills and information my daughter needed. Unschooling is child led, and it seemed to me that parents had to be ready with all kinds of references and information for whatever happened to come up.
In short, I was intimidated beyond words.
My brother and his wife were using a curriculum that was more of a school-in-a-box. It worked for them, but as a single parent I didn't think I could earn a living and have a school at home.
On top of that, I had the classic "what about socialization?" fear. I did okay when she was home, helping her with homework and taking her on the occasional play date, but I was trying to build a business. How was I going to get anything done if she was home all day? I had visions of her sitting in front of the TV morning to evening while I typed. Not good.
Thus, it was decided. School was the best place for her to learn, no matter how intrigued I was by the idea of homeschooling.
I found out at the beginning of second grade that pretty much all my preconceptions were wrong. I look back on it now, and all I can say is... Oops.
Next time... More on throwing out preconceptions and looking for curriculums.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Decisions, Decisions
It seems appropriate for a first post to discuss the decision that led me to take up homeschooling. Of course, I say that, and then immediately realize that it wasn't just one decision, but a domino chain of choices made by both my daughter and myself that has finally brought us here.
I was not someone who wanted to stay at home with my child and homeschool her from infancy through to her first Nobel Prize. I was afraid I didn't have the patience to do it, and I knew I didn't have the kind of money that would allow it. So it was with great relief that I put The Girl into daycare just short of her first birthday. She loved it. She had great teachers in a pre-school that was underwritten by a local ecumenical organiztion. The affordability and exceptional staff made it the perfect solution for us.
At that time I had left education and was working in the IT field. The hours got longer as I moved up the ladder, and eventually I found that The Girl was spending almost 50 hours a week in daycare. I decided that was a bit too much of a good thing.
In order to spend more time at home with my daughter, and to escape the stress of the IT industry, I moved to the country and started my own business, eventually combining the business with teaching part-time at the local elementary school.
While I was happy to be home with The Girl more, I still did not seriously contemplate homeschooling. I didn't feel up to the task, and I wasn't sure where I would find the time. The local elementary school was good. I liked the building, the teachers, and generally I liked the curriculum. It never entered my head that I might look for other options.
But now, here I am choosing a curriculum. More on how I got to this point in the next post...
I was not someone who wanted to stay at home with my child and homeschool her from infancy through to her first Nobel Prize. I was afraid I didn't have the patience to do it, and I knew I didn't have the kind of money that would allow it. So it was with great relief that I put The Girl into daycare just short of her first birthday. She loved it. She had great teachers in a pre-school that was underwritten by a local ecumenical organiztion. The affordability and exceptional staff made it the perfect solution for us.
At that time I had left education and was working in the IT field. The hours got longer as I moved up the ladder, and eventually I found that The Girl was spending almost 50 hours a week in daycare. I decided that was a bit too much of a good thing.
In order to spend more time at home with my daughter, and to escape the stress of the IT industry, I moved to the country and started my own business, eventually combining the business with teaching part-time at the local elementary school.
While I was happy to be home with The Girl more, I still did not seriously contemplate homeschooling. I didn't feel up to the task, and I wasn't sure where I would find the time. The local elementary school was good. I liked the building, the teachers, and generally I liked the curriculum. It never entered my head that I might look for other options.
But now, here I am choosing a curriculum. More on how I got to this point in the next post...
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