tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-335712702012-02-16T14:36:23.973-05:00Thoughts on homeschooling from a decidely relaxed perspective colored by confessional Lutheranism and burnished by years spent with my wonderful children.Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.comBlogger551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-66150401613590961842011-04-07T08:38:00.001-04:002011-04-07T08:38:08.941-04:00

"Is it really possible for kids to grow up to be doctors or lawyers or brain  surgeons if they do not learn in scheduled/controlled ways?" This is a question lifted from a Facebook conversation. I decided that the answer needed to be a blog post, because it was getting too long. Besides, Facebook conversations are fleeting things, and this question is not unusual. The short answer is yes. If

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1231178259572402172011-04-07T08:35:00.002-04:002011-04-07T08:35:37.301-04:00

One of the ideas that Gatto mentioned that has really tickled my brain is that of "style." It was in the context of communication ability and how connections and associations provide opportunities. He talked about how freedom and play lead to the development of individual style, and that a distinctive style is priceless. My immediate reaction was to think about my oldest son, not to the

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-79109956229886161682011-04-07T08:33:00.002-04:002011-04-07T08:33:49.974-04:00

I had a new experience on Friday. After 14 years of homeschooling, and 12 as a committed unschooler--the first two were spent trying to figure out what we were doing--I was in a situation where being an unschooler was applauded. Wow. John Taylor Gatto, former New York Teacher of the Year, was applauding unschooling parents. That felt good. I've spent years feeling like I needed to defend what I

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-36185742566014413392011-04-07T08:31:00.000-04:002011-04-07T08:31:28.057-04:00

These are a few posts that I put on my main blog last year, but I decided that I want them here, too. Almost exactly a year ago, I posted some thoughts that I had upon reading John Taylor Gatto's Weapons of Mass Instruction. Gatto has long helped bolster the "why" of our homeschool adventure. Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend a homeschool conference where he was speaking. The session

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-18088340959874475332009-10-12T18:07:00.000-04:002009-10-12T18:08:28.075-04:00

I have received several requests over the years for a list of must-read books on homeschooling. Last week a friend suggested that this would make a great blog post. So here it is. There may be some newer books that are missing. Since we've been at this for fourteen years, some of these may not be the most current books. I'm sure there are other worthwhile books that I haven't seen, but each of

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-80843832255209470632008-03-11T19:18:00.005-04:002008-03-11T19:24:17.254-04:00

I have decided that I am not going to keep writing a separate homeschool blog.It has always been a bit of a struggle. And it probably never really made sense for me to try to separate homeschooling from the rest of my life in the blogosphere, since I don't in my every day life.I'm still going to write about homeschooling. It's just going to be on my regular blog:IndianaJane's Journal.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-9037089678970619502008-02-14T18:02:00.002-05:002008-02-14T18:24:58.278-05:00

Today as I was checking out some of the blogs in the Homeschooling Blogroll in my sidebar, I came across one that referred to strewing and linked to this site.I am not surprised that there is a name for this, or that Sandra coined it. (Sometime I'll have to write a post about Sandra and the HUGE impact that this person I've never met had on my kids.)I am surprised that in the last twelve years I

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-70151187555477809422008-02-13T13:38:00.004-05:002008-02-13T13:55:26.477-05:00

Ned Vare has a post at School is Hell about a subject near and dear to my heart, ADD/ADHD.I especially like this quote from his friend, Jerry Mintz, who has the website The Education Revolution.You got a person who has a psychiatric illness in a public school that requires medication from a multibillion-dollar industry, but when you put him into an alternative school environment, not only does he

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-56263451953080693402008-02-11T21:09:00.000-05:002008-02-11T23:56:32.756-05:00

I was out tooling around in the blogosphere, looking at some of the homeschool blogs outside of my usual rambles. I found a post that Dana at Principled Discovery had made a couple of days ago about Christian Education and Unschooling. Both her post and the comments were very interesting.As you know, I think that unschooling is perfectly compatible with Christian parenting. Christian education

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-650008044476203902008-02-07T15:40:00.000-05:002008-02-07T16:14:14.551-05:00

I don't give unschooling much thought. It's just what we do. But lately I've had several new homeschoolers asking me about it. I've had a couple of longer term homeschoolers who are to one extent or another relaxed ask me how we do a transcript. So it's been on my mind.I keep feeling like we aren't really unschooling anymore, but it's really just that our unschooling has changed over the years.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-75619725132863078152008-02-01T20:44:00.001-05:002008-02-01T21:06:46.883-05:00

It truly does. Each Wednesday when I teach my class and I assign questions for them to answer, every unschooly fiber of my being rebels.If I had my choice I would just let them knit, play with Bionicles, and do mock Mythbusters experiments the whole time. Each week the ""class time gets shorter. Each week the kids come armed with more of what they're interested in to share with each other.I don't

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-874648162816759002008-02-01T18:11:00.000-05:002008-02-01T18:31:55.301-05:00

If you know me you know I'm a pretty social person. So it's probably kind of strange that we have spent little time with homeschool groups in the past twelve years. That's not to say that we don't have friends who are homeschoolers, lots of them are, but we see them individually, not as part of a group.We haven't felt like we needed the group experience. The kids never really seemed to enjoy

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-21651548168721337672008-02-01T18:06:00.000-05:002008-02-01T18:10:08.380-05:00

I seriously considered killing this blog.I don't write here that much. I do most of my writing at my regular blog. But, at the same time, I like having this blog where I can focus on homeschooling.So I have decided that I am going to keep it and actually write here on a regular basis.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-68151946430354121072007-12-20T15:07:00.000-05:002007-12-20T15:48:18.740-05:00

There is a discussion about inclusive homeschool support groups at the Unity-N-Diversity blog. One of the commenters had a few things to say about IndianaHomeschoolers that I take think need clarification. You can check out the whole comment on the posting above. I am just going to excerpt and paraphrase.First, IHEN and the IndianaHomeschoolers list are two different things. They are affiliated,

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-49978386586166922232007-12-19T13:01:00.000-05:002007-12-19T13:22:03.692-05:00

Supporters of virtual charter schools often question the validity of concerns expressed by homeschoolers about the possibility that the existence of virtual charters could have negative effects on the homeschool community.The current goings-on in Wisconsin help to illustrate some of those concerns.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-84581496601408672572007-12-12T08:37:00.000-05:002007-12-12T08:40:39.856-05:00

I thought about doing a Christmas color theme for my blog, but I just like these wintry colors better.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-35498637128959453852007-12-12T08:28:00.000-05:002007-12-12T08:33:01.493-05:00

Really, it would be fun to enumerate the reasons sometime. I may have to do that.This month I love homeschooling because of the fact that when something happens that turns life upside down, we can go with the flow. My sons can take their books to the hospital. We can be flexible. And nobody misses school.By the way, if you follow the link and want to read more about what has happened with Abby

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-36695364333771448702007-11-28T09:33:00.000-05:002007-11-28T09:37:44.002-05:00

This blog suffers when my homeschool email list goes crazy.And it has been crazy for the past two months.It is amazing how one determined crank--it is tempting to say troll--can totally wreck the dynamics of a list. I am hoping that things stay peaceful so that I have time to write here.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-89526095480639415002007-09-17T11:34:00.000-04:002007-09-17T11:58:09.578-04:00

This is one of the weeks each year when I feel particularly joyful about homeschooling. The weather is fabulous. It is perfect for riding bikes, playing basketball, doing some planting and planning for next year, going to a park, picking apples, and just being alive.That's what my kids are doing this week.The rest of the neighborhood kids are taking the ISTEPs. The ISTEPs are Indiana's

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-9574001398387946972007-09-07T08:24:00.000-04:002007-09-07T08:29:06.988-04:00

Great piece at National Review Online.HT: Barb Frank

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-8730249523831081502007-09-05T13:40:00.000-04:002007-09-05T13:43:47.943-04:00

I love fall! Even though it's over 90 here today, I am declaring fall on my blog.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-83690720445285149252007-09-05T13:12:00.000-04:002007-09-05T13:22:19.769-04:00

Some of you will be disappointed in me today. Others may think that I'm just starting to get a clue. And still others will recognize that homeschooling can be a very fluid thing, always adjusting to what is needed at the time.Today is a bit of a cranky mom day. Choir started today, so Jonathan and Andrew have to be at a school 20 minutes away at 7:25. I hate 7:25! My rule is that if I am going to

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-58247804652462997762007-09-04T00:37:00.000-04:002007-09-04T00:42:20.103-04:00

The 88th Carnival of Homeschooling is up at Consent of the Governed. I'm sure this carnival will be full of good things.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-45851738019342063132007-08-28T12:16:00.000-04:002008-02-11T21:45:02.498-05:00

People understand school. They understand "education." They understand teaching. But what I've come to realize is that very few people understand learning.They have a hard time grasping the absorption and growth of knowledge and understanding absent coercion or the assistance of an outside expert.I was trying to explain to someone yesterday that, yes, my kids have learned to spell from reading.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-25493680331629042092007-08-23T08:50:00.000-04:002007-08-23T09:01:55.686-04:00

I've been hearing about all of the cool not-back-to-school activities that people have been doing. We did something really exciting this year. We went shopping!Yup, shopping. We spent over six hours searching for three items: a pair of black dress shoes for #2 son, and a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of black dress pants for #3 son.The tennis shoes were easy. The black dress pants were almost

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-10425935476878203892007-07-25T12:49:00.000-04:002007-07-25T12:55:54.829-04:00

I am going to be teaching a class for homeschoolers this fall at our church. We are going to be using Around the World in 180 Days as the basis for the class. I'm excited about the class, because history and geography are my thing, but I'm nervous, too, because this is a very UN-unschoolish thing to do.I'm planning for it to be fun and interactive. It looks like we could end up with a pretty big

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-19412951145718389302007-07-18T21:55:00.000-04:002007-07-18T21:56:56.307-04:00

I was debating which blog to post this on, and decided since I have some readers who read only one or the other to put it on both.One of the great things about being a homeschool mom is that reading books is part of my job. I have been able to revisit some of my favorites from childhood and young adulthood, as well as encountering many wonderful books for the first time as an adult.I love book

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-71326970803358859272007-07-05T17:43:00.000-04:002007-07-12T20:24:01.171-04:00

One of my fellow Hoosier homeschoolers has given me the nod as a blogger who makes her think. I really appreciate that, as well as the nice things she said about my beloved email list! (I didn't write the self-aggrandizing description on the list page.)The rules of this are simple:1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.2. Link to this post so

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-78868361180215610912007-07-02T16:44:00.001-04:002007-07-02T16:48:30.447-04:00

This is one of the most dangerous times of the year for a homeschooling mom who likes to shop. I got my Rainbow Resource Center catalog last week. Wow!Not only does this thick catalog send me to the edge of a book-buying frenzy, it also never fails to make me feel completely inadequate because of all of the things that I'm not even trying to teach my kids!

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-59435806943690445672007-06-30T08:47:00.000-04:002007-06-30T09:27:13.660-04:00

Back to Mrs. Teacher:I have had responses to Mrs. Teacher running through my mind off and on for almost a month. Some of the things that she said gave me insight into reactions that I've gotten from people who were not as outspoken as she. Some of the things she said fall into the category of nutty.I'm not even going to worry about the nutty, like us taking up room in a good school district. But

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-40241657659849114912007-06-27T09:08:00.000-04:002007-06-27T09:19:03.990-04:00

I am not in charge around here.That isn't, I suppose, completely true, but my kids have always had a tremendous amount of input into what they learn. When our pastor started offering Greek for homeschoolers the boys all jumped at the opportunity. They have taken to it with varying levels of commitment and success, but have all learned quite a bit.Now they want me to teach them Latin.Latin.I've

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1982853871043887292007-06-08T00:00:00.000-04:002007-06-08T00:29:12.830-04:00

Of all of the ridiculous things Mrs. Teacher said, I think my favorite was that my kids won't be able to function in college or career because they aren't accustomed to getting up for school.There are just so many problems with this statement. First, the assumption that it is necessary to get up early to succeed in college or career. If someone chooses to live the life of a night owl, it can be

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-47863966535285380892007-06-05T11:08:00.001-04:002007-06-05T11:31:39.265-04:00

Before I start talking about the misconceptions about homeschooling that I posted about last time, I have to add some more that I ran into today.I go, once a month or so, to a place where I can prepare a number of meals for the month very quickly and reasonably-priced, while leaving the mess behind. This morning as I was paying for my session the very nice lady who owns the store asked if I had

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-10023861155848688482007-06-04T09:06:00.000-04:002007-06-04T09:24:17.213-04:00

Over the next several postings, I want to address some of the doubts, questions, and misconceptions that others have about homeschooling. Before I do that however, I want to tell you about a conversation that I had last week.I've been running into more negativity about homeschooling lately than I have in years. I've been trying to figure out why, and I think I may have been given a clue."I find

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-28875533966394581922007-05-22T09:52:00.000-04:002007-05-22T10:17:51.366-04:00

The Carnival of Homeschooling is up at The Lilting House. I haven't joined it for ages, but I joined it this week because of my extreme desire for unity the the homeschooling ranks.I know that there has been an issue with a post being censored because the host didn't like the rest of that blogger's blog. But it has also been agreed that that person will not host again. I have always been

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-23935309311830441472007-04-13T23:46:00.000-04:002007-04-14T00:07:28.591-04:00

Things have been really busy the past couple of months and the IndianaHomeschoolers list has taken most of the time and energy that I have for writing about homeschooling. Mostly it has been rather mundane hand holding and question answering for newish homeschoolers.I enjoy it when subjects come up that I can really sink my teeth into. Unschooling is usually good for that. Today someone on the

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-72326784402008753032007-02-22T11:03:00.000-05:002007-02-22T11:38:43.946-05:00

Last week as I spent a couple of hours just browsing the shelves in our new library, I was again overwhelmed by the vast amount that there is to know. I was caught between elation and discouragement, elated by the certain knowledge that I will never run out of books to read and yet discouraged that I will never run out, because this means that I will never know or understand all of the things

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-4027780241839798892007-02-18T13:42:00.000-05:002007-02-18T13:50:00.942-05:00

We're having a good winter. All of the boys are reading great books. They're all doing their Greek, although not all with the same level of enthusiasm. The national and international news provides constant fodder for discussion and debate. Andrew has built a light box and is getting ready to start some tomato seeds for me. Watching past seasons of Gilmore Girls has led us to new authors. A little

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-80524529181133540342007-01-11T13:34:00.000-05:002007-01-11T13:48:42.667-05:00

Today I was answering an email on our state homeschool list. As I wrote I realized the the reply would make a great blog post. Every parent, unschooler or not, has goals for their children. I think that part of the distinction is which of our goals and desires are important enough that we in some way require that our children achieve them. In our home, those goals which are requirements

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-32734963005908795672007-01-05T23:11:00.000-05:002007-01-05T23:16:54.233-05:00

I've gotta admit, there's been a whole lotta loafin' goin' on 'round here. The past few weeks we moved from laid back to practically comatose. We watched TV, ate Christmas cookies, played computer games, read books, and slept in.Of course, this was all more exaggerated than usual because Mom was sick and Dad was off work for over a week. Next week things will get back to normal. The Christmas

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1166280011911124602006-12-16T09:38:00.000-05:002006-12-16T09:40:11.923-05:00

If you like making gifts for Christmas--or other times--and are still looking for some ideas, Scribbit has some good ones on her blog.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1166066658083022542006-12-13T22:19:00.000-05:002006-12-13T22:24:18.100-05:00

For those of you in the Fort Wayne area, this may be of interest. Pastor Petersen will be teaching a Greek class for homeschoolers starting in January. More details are on his blog.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1164810982017837652006-11-29T09:32:00.000-05:002007-01-05T23:02:20.824-05:00

I wrote this a year ago, but someone said it to me again yesterday so I have to laugh again and revisit the subject.There are two things that people say to me often that make me laugh. The first, when they find out that we homeschool, is, "You must be so patient!" The second is, "You must be so organized." Now that my kids are older they laugh, too.So, to set the record straight, I am neither

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1164598613388466692006-11-26T22:31:00.000-05:002007-01-05T23:01:57.585-05:00

My friend Susan has an excellent three-part post that started on Saturday titled Is It Selfish to Fight for Homeschooling Freedoms? She makes some great points.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1163869181121984292006-11-18T11:54:00.000-05:002006-11-18T11:59:41.136-05:00

Word went out a while back that Dr. Phil was doing a show on homeschooling and that it was going to be a hit piece. Apparently that piece is going to air Friday, and from the preview on the website it doesn't look pretty.If you're curious look under Next Week on Dr. Phil and click on Friday.I don't like Dr. Phil, but I'll probably watch it next Friday so that I can see what he says.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1163693212752864712006-11-16T09:44:00.000-05:002006-11-16T11:06:52.770-05:00

I had a comment on my last post that really deserves a post of its own in response. I see a definite difference between what the commenter is talking about and the "gimme" types and I want to clarify.Beth states that in Illinois homeschoolers can join in individual classes at the local schools if they are not full, and that her child has taken several classes in this way and that she has

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1163265272498294582006-11-11T11:35:00.000-05:002007-01-05T23:00:36.075-05:00

A post that I read at Mom is Right has gotten me thinking about something that has really been bugging me lately. There seems to be a growing group among homeschoolers who have the gimmes.Most of the homeschoolers that we have known over the years--numbering in the hundreds, if not thousands, of families--have just wanted to be left alone to educate their children in the way that is best for them

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1163215822907297672006-11-10T22:27:00.000-05:002007-01-05T23:00:16.778-05:00

The best of the content from my former homeschooling blog is now here.I had completely stopped doing any homeschool-related blogging because I didn't want to be on homeschoolblogger any more but I just hadn't had time to make the change. I'm looking forward to more homeschool blogging.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1163215144463558612006-11-10T22:16:00.000-05:002007-01-05T22:59:02.052-05:00

Originally posted Feb 2006Just before my unplanned hiatus I received an email from a homeschool mom who wanted to know how I could square being an unschooler with being a Christian. This isn't the first time I've heard someone question whether the two are compatible, but it is the first time I've tried to come up with an answer.So what does it mean to be a Christian parent? The simplest way for

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1163214927658909012006-11-10T22:12:00.000-05:002006-12-07T14:43:12.443-05:00

Originally posted January 2006I've posted before about why we started homeschooling and about some of the difficulties we faced, but the reading issue was a huge problem for us. Patrick couldn't read when he was six. Or seven. Or eight. Or nine.My oldest child had been reading since she was four. When she was in school she had a hard time getting them to let her check books out of the library

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1163214602574629432006-11-10T22:08:00.000-05:002006-11-10T22:10:35.106-05:00

Originally posted Dec 2005In those first years of homeschooling, I dreaded those times when out of the blue my husband--who travelled a tremendous amount and commuted three hours a day and was not only uninvolved but largely clueless--would ask one of the kids, "What did you learn in school today?"THEY knew we didn't "do school" but I had never really explained to him what unschooling was or how

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1163214388910300362006-11-10T22:03:00.000-05:002007-01-05T23:04:51.047-05:00

Originally posted December 2005Before I tell you this LONG story I need to give you a picture of my son in the present. Patrick is 15. He is a dream son. He is polite, respectful, smart, funny, helpful, and loving. He is very serious about his faith and loves acolyting at church. He is a voracious reader (currently reading Les Miserables) and loves politics, movies and sports.I firmly believe

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1163213628066690852006-11-10T21:48:00.000-05:002007-01-05T23:10:30.930-05:00

Originally written Nov. 15, 2005I am sure that I was not the only homeschool mom asking that question on the first "official" day of homeschooling. Even you parents who have homeschooled from the start have had the moment or moments where you are pulled up short by the realization that you have taken the responsibility for the education of your children into your own hands.I was not completely

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1163213170405304562006-11-10T21:38:00.000-05:002007-01-05T23:03:23.308-05:00

Originally posted 10/10/2005:We get tons of questions over at IHEN and the IndianaHomeschoolers list, and by far the most frequent question is, "How do I start homeschooling?"Often people really want us to be able to point them to someone who can just tell them what to do. This is the beginning of the paradigm shift. When you are homeschooling, you need to learn to be comfortable with making

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33571270.post-1156910410343830372006-08-29T23:58:00.000-04:002006-08-30T00:00:10.356-04:00

Another day, another blog.I'm moving my homeschooling blog for reasons which will be explained.

Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14984938560695736640noreply@blogger.com0