Homeschool Mixer

One of my favorite homeschool bloggers, Tammy Takahashi of Just Enough, and Nothing More, is inviting homeschoolers to share their stories in Homeschoolers Tell All.  Tammy was inspired by Alasandra, Alasandra’s Homeschool Blog Awards, who invited homeschoolers to a mixer.  So, I’m playing along and answering these relevant questions:

1. Why do you homeschool?  I’ve talked about this in past posts, but here is some sort of summary (though it is not an inclusive list).  The main reason is freedom.  We have the freedom of making learning fun and exciting, the freedom of designing our own projects, the freedom to make sure that Tyler is actually learning in a way that is easier for him, etc.  The second reason is that there is no one else (except his dad) that is totally invested in seeing him succeed at life and education is a big part of that.  And I’d probably put that I know my child best third on the list.
2. What technique or curriculum do you use?  We are eclectic.  We use books, workbooks, the computer through games, educational cds and the internet, field trips, classes at libraries, museums and other places, and life in general.  We also try to make sure there is plenty of unscheduled time for learning to just happen.
3. Do your kids work above or below grade level (or both!)?  He is above grade level on most things.
4. What is your educational level?  Collage graduate, BS in Accounting
5. Do you feel that your education level has an effect on your teaching (both limits and abilities?)  Sometimes.  I feel confident that I can handle teaching him because I’ve already learned it at some point.
6. What does your daily schedule look like?  Hmmm…is this a trick question?  No two days look alike in our house.  We do try to do some book learning every day, but there are times when we are tired and it just turns into a reading day.
7. Are your kids always polite and ready to learn?  No.  It is especially tough when he is learning a new concept that is hard for him.  Then he’s sure that he hates school.  But then he gets it and everything is great again.
8. Do the kids (or you!) get frustrated?  Yes.  He gets frustrated when something is tough to learn.  I get frustrated when things get to be too much.  And our frustrations play off one another.
9. How has this affected your parenting?  Well, I am always on.  There is no downtime while the kids are away at school.  But I think it makes us closer because we spend so much time together.  Also the consistency of always being the one in charge means that he doesn’t test me as much on where the boundaries are.
10. How much free time do they have?  Tyler has A LOT.  That’s part of the reason we homeschool.  I’d say that book work is maybe a couple hours a day and he might have an activity for an hour a couple times a week.  The rest of the time is his to be creative.
11. What do they do during their free time?  Right now he reads a lot.  The main reading topics are Harry Potter, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, etc.  He is also making his own Pokemon,Yu-Gi-Oh! and Monster War cards, and designs his own gameboards and games to play with them.  He is also making a list of spells used in Harry Potter and creating some of his own.  Then there is the bug collecting, worm composting and model building.
12. What hobbies do they have?  Well, refer to previous question about what he does in his free time.  Then I would also include taekwondo, 4-H, playing games on his computer, watching educational tv and whatever comes up tomorrow.
13. What difficulties and challenges do you have with homeschooling?  Maintaining balance.  It hard not to jump to do every fun sounding activity or pick up every great sounding book.
14. What makes homeschooling enjoyable?  Being able to be together, being able to do it whenever and where ever, and seeing Tyler light up when he is doing something he loves or finally gets that hard concept.
15. How do you get involved in the community?  Taekwondo; 4-H; classes at libraries, museums, parks, etc; art classes; swim lessons
16. When do you have opportunities to interact with public or privately schooled children?  At any of the above listed activities because most of them are not limited to homeschool kids.
17. Would you like more of these opportunities?  I think we are good for now.
18. How can they be created?  Easily by talking with other people.
19. What is your least favorite homeschool stereotype?  That I am damaging my child by keeping him locked away at home with no social interaction and that I am not qualified to teach him because I don’t have a degree in Education.  Both are very far from the truth.