Though most homeschool moms won't admit it, we have an unspoken code, a knowing nod, a fierce pride, and some definite do's and don'ts in the secret-circle. Homeschool moms share a marinesque kinship, forged through days of homeschool bootcamp, homeschool bleedout, homeschool hell-on-earth, homeschool soul-ripping, faith-stabbing, self-questioning, sanity-questioning homeschool days where we despaired of getting …
Tag: homeschooling
From Your Mom: A Letter to Homeschool Students
Before we embark on another homeschool year, I want to clear up a couple of misunderstandings we had last year. Truth is, some school days I felt like a gladiator. You probably did too. Let's start fresh, and agree on the following... shall we? 1. Mom is not the enemy. Most homeschool students unconsciously operate …
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Smoking The Core
Did you know I'm a principal? It's true, according to the Ohio Department of Education. By way of explanation, there are two ways to legally home educate in Ohio. One of them is to become your own school, so to speak. We mavericks are called 08 schools: non-chartered, non-tax supported schools, which are granted autonomy …
Excellent, Not Perfect
My greatest challenge: teaching my children. I began more than ten years ago with the crushing pack of my children's education pressing down on my shoulders, and it has become a burden light and wonderful to carry. There are some days when the weight again seems unbearable and any mistake whispers the lie: "You're …
Come Home With Your Shield Or On It
The first week back to homeschool. One week down, 31 more to go. Week increments don't sound so bad. Like marathons... just 26 miles. Week 1. The bad news is that we had tears every day. The good news: they weren't mine. I'm reading The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, in which …
Running. Literal Running. As Opposed to the Usual Figurative Running.
Running the zoo race today, my first 5K. My goal is to keep up with Gabriel. This has me thinking of the goals and benchmarks we set up for ourselves. It is good to have extrinsic motivators. I like to use them for academic purposes too. Things like spelling bees or speech events-- any platform will serve …
Continue reading Running. Literal Running. As Opposed to the Usual Figurative Running.
The Prince and the Pupil
Were I a sailboat I'd presently be foundering on the homeschool doldrums. By chance I also happen to be reading The Prince by Machiavelli, a sort of rule book for tyrants. Machiavelli writes, "Men ought either to be well-treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot." So is it …
Homeschool Blues
Oh, Despicable Me! My minions were reeling at the injustice of having to do school on MLK day. Nevermind the fact that we have off on gazillions of other days when "the rest of the world" is in school.
KL Griffiths 