Homeschoolers are always grousing about a lack of support for what they do. Family, friends, neighbors, spouses, strangers in the grocery store, etc., always seem to be making nasty comments about how their kids aren't going to be normal because of homeschooling.
I've never had any of that and we're on year #6.
(Sheesh, have I really homeschooled that long?)
Anyway, I've been blessed by lots of supportive people in my life. Sure, I've spent lots of time answering questions about why we homeschool and how it works. People are naturally curious and I don't mind talking about it. Lately I've been noticing how *many* of my friends and acquaintances are homeschooling. People I wouldn't have thought would be interested and they're doing it for all kinds of reasons. It's neat to see how mainstream homeschool is getting and how many more options there are now than in years past. The curriculum choices are mind-boggling, support groups are popping up all over the place, and programs and classes are everywhere. It's much easier to homeschool when there are so many resources available and people to work with.
Our schedule for this year is mostly set. Mornings are spent working on our curriculum assignments and afternoons and evenings are for extras (except Thursday, which is reversed).
Monday - L has dance. K has softball.
Tuesday - K (I hope, still working on it) has band. L has dance.
Wednesday - Church night
Thursday - Community Bible Study. K has softball.
Friday - K has Science Olympiad (in the spring)
In between all those classes, we fit in field trips and group activities. Like today, we had two other families over and we dissected cow eyeballs. There were 9 children of all ages gathered around my table as we took turns with the scalpel and passed around the different parts of the eyes. We laughed and poked and prodded and asked questions. The kids were participating and engaged and afterwards they ran off and played together.
Next week there's a homeschool day at a state park in the mountains a couple of hours away and we've invited some friends to come camp overnight with us there. At the end of the month, we're planning another camping trip with different friends at the beach.
That's what I love about homeschooling. We go, we do, we learn, and we get lots of "socialization" in the process!
No comments:
Post a Comment