About Me

I'm a flighty, often forgetful, well-meaning Mom who is trying to help her kids find their way, and in the meantime trying to find her own.

I like to sew, but I'm not great at it. I love to write, and sometimes I turn a nice phrase, but spelling and editing are not my strong points.

I love crafty projects, on occassion I even finish a few.

I use a Sony DSC-R1 to take a ridiculous amount of photos on a daily basis.

We are homeschoolers and get lots of questions about that, so whether you're thinking about homeschooling yourself, or just curious, here's our version of learning at home:

We chose homeschooling not because we felt that it was the "right" choice and all the other schooling choices were "wrong," but rather because it was the most "right" for us, for now.

Mainly, we did it to give ourselves and our children more time - time for being together, time for exploring our interests, time for pausing and working on the things that are difficult for us, time to figure out what it is that pleases us, what our passions are and time just to be still.

It is not always so serene though. Our house is often a mess, and some days are better than others, but all in all, we feel like the last two years of homeschooling have served our purposes, filled our hearts and our minds.

Here are some of the questions we get, and the best answers that I can summon:

Q - Are you classical homeschoolers or unschoolers, or what?

A - Neither, and both. We do use some textbooks and curricula, but we also follow our boys' questions and interests. We cover the basics, and the rest is fair game.

Q- So what curriculum do you use?

A - We have used Math U See, Saxon Math, Abeka Readers, Story of the World, Five in a Row, Phonics Pathways, Evan Moore, Kumon, Draw Write Now, and I'm sure others that I can't think of at the moment. We switch it up and pick and choose though, so I don't know that you could say that we "follow" any of them. We use them more as a resource than the be all, end all.

Q - What about socialization?

A - Ah, the age old question :-) In short, we don't really want our boys socialized by a group of their peers anyhow, so we're not real concerned about it . They are in karate, take music lessons, go to school one day a week, participate in Sunday School and Awana. They deal, day in and day out with their siblings, the gas station attendant, the grocery store clerk, the childcare staff at the gym, grandparents, cousins, family friends, etc. They interact with people of all sorts of ages and ideologies, and overall seem to be polite, kind, socially acceptable individuals. If anything, I think homeschooling gives us the distinct advantage of being there to give social guidance as the need arises.

Q - One day a week school? What's that?

A - The boys attend a school created just for homeschoolers that meets one day a week. The idea is to give kids a chance to participate in some activities that might be hard to duplicate in a home setting. Such as, chorus, theater, group games and language studies. Mainly, it gives them a chance to experience some of the fun parts of traditional schooling: Scholastic book orders, holiday parties, Christmas programs, hot lunch, carrying a backpack, bringing cupcakes to class on your birthday, school picture day. You know, fun stuff.

Q - How long will you homeschool?

A - We have no idea. We love it now, and I don't see us doing anything different, in fact, we have big plans to take our show on the road in an RV one day or maybe even living Japan for a year, but we keep the door open, just in case. Someday, if the boys feel the need to experience school, and if ,after careful consideration, we think it's a good idea, that's what we'll do. If it turns out that one of my kids learn in a way that is better suited to a school environment, we'll consider that too. We take it one year at a time.

Q - How on earth do you spend all day with your kids? Mine would drive me insane!

A- Well, yeah, sometimes they do. I try to remember though that this is only a phase of our lives, and one that is slipping through my fingers at light speed. I'm glad that I get to soak in all of them that I can, while it lasts. The good, the bad and the ugly. Being there to see the light come on when they finally grasp something, that's worth the noise and the complete and utter lack of time and space for myself, save for the wee hours. Knowing that I taught them to read, that I gave them that gift that will serve them always, well I wouldn't trade that for all the clean houses and quiet lunches in the world.

I know too, that not everyone has the desire, ability or means to do what we do, and that it is not right for every family. Good mothering has many different faces. There is more than one way to love and inspire a child. This is our way.

Q - Don't you worry that you'll miss something, leave something out, wreck them for life or at least wreck any chance they have of getting into college?

A - Well, I *am* a mother, so yes, I worry about stuff like that all the time. I'm pretty sure that I would question my choices no matter what they were though. I do the best I can. I love them with all I have. I pour myself into their raising and education, and I hope that it will serve them well, and that they will give me a little grace for my failures. Isn't that sort of what we're all hoping for?

Q - Are you crazy, hiding your kids from the world, hippies, anti-social, Evangelical whackos or what?

A - Um, I think the answer is no, but then, maybe in some ways we have been all of those things in fleeting moments. Sometimes yes, I want to hide my kids away, but sometimes I think we homeschool because I don't want them hidden away from all there is to do OUTSIDE of school doors. Sometimes yes, we are total hippies that want them to follow their passions and experience some uninhibited free thought, question authority and love openly. Sometimes yes, we get a little fed up with mindless culture and would rather pull away and do our own thing. And yes, faith is important to our lives, but no, we don't try to shield our kids from other view points, nor will we try to talk you out of your convictions.

I think we're pretty normalish. I don't think you could pick us out of a crowd as freako homeschoolers, if that's what you mean. In fact, if you're here, and you're still reading, and maybe you've found a thing or two in my blog to laugh over, share with your family or inspire you, then I'm pretty sure we could hang out and find plenty to talk about. I'd like that.

Now, if you still have questions, then you can shoot me an email here: blueyondergirl [at] mac [dot] com

Thanks for stopping by!