TOS Review - Big IQ Kids

Big IQ Kids is a web based program that focuses specifically on Spelling and vocabulary, math, and geography. The first time Nathan saw it he mentioned that he could see how this could be useful for our children. Obviously it's not a whole curriculum seeing as who it doesn't cover every subject, but it does provide a good supplement for the subjects it does cover.

This program can be used with children from Kindergarten and even up through adults. Their website professes being useful for K-99 :-). I can appreciate that! They've added spelling and vocabulary list that cover SAT words, so I'm sure older children will find this program useful and a nice break from rote memory.

I think what I really like about this program is that it has both a free and premium option. The difference is laid out here directly from their website:
"Our older spelling+vocabulary program is ALL FREE. Our math, spelling junior, states programs come with a FREE and PREMIUM version. The primary differences between the BigIQkids FREE and PREMIUM programs are the ability of the PREMIUM program to monitor the progress of the student and advance that student only when mastery of the subject matter has been achieved. Additionally, PREMIUM members have their progress tracked, saved, problem areas identified and these findings are reported via email to parents and/or teachers. The PREMIUM program offers students customized buddies, full game page access and the ability to save game coins and gaming high scores. These functions help double the fun while mastering core academic subject matter. The PREMIUM program has very LIMITED advertisement an no ads are displayed during lesson interaction."

So, even if you aren't able to afford the premium version, you child can still enjoy the lessons that BigIQ Kids has to offer. As long as we're talking money, premium programs start at $7.99 a month and a detailed version of their pricing per program and can be found here. (Yearly memberships make the monthly amount cheaper). You'll notice if you go to the website that the way the pricing is set up you can pick and choose what programs you're interested in and only pay for that. Which is great for me because....

I didn't like the math program :-). I know, I know, there's always something with me! It's really not them, it's me. The math curriculum that we use doesn't really mesh well "math drills". Obviously there is nothing wrong math drills, it's just not something that we do in this house, so we didn't play with this too much and we wouldn't buy a subscription for it.


I did really enjoy the geography program! The children were shown each state and learned major facts about them. They had a chance to click on where they were, practiced spelling the state names and also the capitals. I would use this one in the future for sure! I even learned a bit :-).



I also liked the spelling program. I was able to enter the words from our spelling curriculum into a database that then allowed the children to play games with the words they were already working on.

K.... now for more of my opinion. There are "teachers"/tutor figures that pop up on the screen to talk to your child about whatever it is that they're doing. These people drive me nuts! *laugh* They have these mechanical/robotic voices that seriously play with my brain. The children don't seem to mind, but it sure annoys me! Again, just my humble opinion, you can check it out for yourself and see what you think!

The other problem that I had was that this program allows children to earn coins that they can then use to play games. As I've mentioned before, my oldest child will do whatever he can just to get to the game.... and that doesn't necessarily mean that he'll focus in on the lesson to get there! He'll do the very least possible to get the coin and move on. So, that's more a personality thing, I don't know how your child will handle a program like this, but it's worth giving it a try! I also find it kind of funny that you're constantly bugged to get a "buddy" for your chid and then they can customize it etc., but that requires a coin :-)

Okay, and maybe I'm a little technologically disabled, but I find their website to not be very user friendly. They have great content, but the way it's put on the page and moving between subject etc., makes my brain hurt.... which means I'm less likely to use it.

Overall the actual information on this site is pretty useful and there is a lot that can be done with just a free account.... which I respect a lot. Go give Big IQ Kids a look and if you'd like to see what other bloggers are saying about the program you can go here.


*As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.**

Back to School!

Nope, not for the children... their school year is actually coming to an end since we officially start school every January and "stop"/prep for recitals/talents shows/review what we've done over the year/have our family Olympics come Thanksgiving through Christmas.

So, if not back to school for the children that means... ? Oh, right, BOTH of their parents are going back to school! *laugh* I feel like a crazy person saying that! I've felt for some time now that I need to go back to school and was pretty excited earlier in the year and now I'm T E R R I F I E D! :-D. Go figure! As for my husband, he actually has to go back to school if he wants to continue advancing in the military past his next rank. SO! I've been busy gathering everything together for both of us and dotting 'i's/crossing 't's and now we're all set up! Nathan will start work on his Masters in Intelligence (sounds kinda funny huh?), in October, and I'll follow in January.

While terrified there is a bit of excitement still buried within me. I think the terrified thing just comes from fear of the unknown, but I try to shake that off and remember that God wants me to continue my education and He'll help me. I certainly can't succumb to the negative voices in my head now! Anyway, my degree will be a Masters in History with a concentration in American History, and for that I am T H R I L L E D! I spent quite a bit of time "off topic" (i.e. I have an AA in Political Science, LOVED the field and was a semester away from getting a BA in it when I got married and then had to switch fields), so I've spent quite a bit of time in psychology. Which I like. And laugh that I have a BS degree. But now I get to delve back into what I LOVE and that's really wonderful! It took a lot of thought to really pin down what to study. Being a homeschooling mom of almost 5 under 6, with a very unpredictable husband work-wise, doing anything that required a practicum or internship wasn't going to work. And then my other problem was finding a work-field where I could use my degree and not get shut down for "lack of experience." After throwing this around I got some great advice from a fellow TOS blogger and my dreams of playing in the field of history/politics got new life! I've been hoping to teach through and online university (but again, they like you to "work in your field" for 5+ years etc.), I've also thought about community colleges etc. when the kids are a bit older, or if Nathan had a steady schedule or if something happened to him. I'm telling yah, I kicked around A LOT of things over the last year or so. However, this fellow mom that I was blessed to get in contact with is an online university professor and had some great advice. I finally came to the conclusion that "History" is not a necessarily a field where one works in an office etc. It is one in which people research, write papers, get things published etc. SO, that being said, I had a lightbulb moment in which I realized... hello?! I can essentially do all of that from HOME!!! Add to that university need for people that specialize in history to teach their history classes, and voila! A dream was reborn and a new path undertaken!

The scary part? Well, the unknown of actually turning in papers for a graduate degree etc., and how to factor reading and writing for those into my day when: Nathan starts his Masters in about 2 weeks, we have a baby due in about 8 weeks, we homeschool 4 children, and Nathan's job always has us on our toes as to where he and/or our family will be! So, I'm taking a deep breath, trying to prepare and create order wherever I can, and then come 2 Jan I'm just going to take a leap into my program and try not to look back! :-). The time has to go by anyway right? Might as well get myself focused and have a degree in hand in which I can use to help my family if needed. I have know idea why I feel this push, but I better stop ignoring it, and hey, I can't complain too much especially after figuring out that I already own and have leisurely read most of the required books! *laugh* Yep, I'm a nerd!

To all you fellow nerds, I hope you keep learning everyday too in whatever means and situations you may be in! Your family needs your "expertise" even if the world says you are no expert because you don't work outside the home. I refuse to believe that stereotype! I've learned more on my own over the last 5 years than I ever did in "School," please take the opportunity to do the same. We're made to learn and grow regardless of age, situation or environment. Let's get to work!

TOS Review - Time4Learning

I've had mixed feelings about this product.... and have thus literally waited until the last minute to actually post about it. So, let's just jump in shall we??

Time4Learning is a web based program that can be used as a whole curriculum in and of itself, but can also be used to supplement and reinforce learning. In other words, this would work great for homeschooler's looking for a complete online curriculum or for homeschooler's and public schooler's just looking for some added learning after school or over the summer.

In their own words the program includes the following:

"Online curriculum for grades Pre-K through 8th
More than 1,000 interactive animated lessons
Self paced lessons that kids will enjoy working on
Math & algebra tutorials & printable worksheets
Language arts, phonics & grammar lessons
Interactive, project-based reading activities
Science (grades 1st - 6th) & social studies (grades 2nd - 7th)
Detailed reporting for easy record keeping
Extensive lesson plans & teaching tools for parents
and much more...
Time4Learning is web based, so there is no software to download, no CDs and nothing additional to purchase. Members can access the program 24/7 from anywhere with a computer and an internet connection."

All of this comes for a monthly payment of $19.95 for the first child and $14.95 for each additional child.


So... what did I think as we used this? Well, let's stare at the elephant that causes me the biggest problem... that'd be the price. As a family with 5 children in order to use this program we'd spend $95 a month, and I'm going to go ahead and not multiply that by 12 because I may have a heart attack :-). In all fairness, it's just my daughter that I really wanted to try this program on and it worked out fine for her... but again, even a $19.95 commitment times 12 is on the pricey side.

Moving on, how did it function for us pricing aside? I had 3 accounts for a 1 month trial. Those accounts consisted of a first grade account, kindergarten, and preschool. I like that you can set the age range for your child in different subjects and that the program will adjust itself to make sure that your child is getting challenged etc., and that they provide reports of how the lessons are going so you can see how your child is functioning and at what level. For homeschooling parents this is also helpful because if your state requires reports and you need proof of something the website allows you to print off what you need from the site.

My oldest was on the first grade plan and I thought that the lessons were appropriate for where he is academically. However, for some reason the idea that there was a game to be played at the end kind of shut down his brain and instead of listening to the lessons and answering the questions he basically just clicked away on the pages and got through the bare minimum in order to play a game. My husband related it to a battery of tests that the military has... if you click enough eventually you can get through and pass with just enough. So, after a few sessions with our oldest in the program he ended up getting banned from using the program.

Our daughter was on the kindergarten plan. She was really the one that I had in mind when I took on this review. Lots of people that I have talked to (family and close friends) that have problems with dyslexia have told me that computers can be helpful in the learning process. So, even despite the cost, I was willing to use this for her if it made sense and was a format that made learning come alive for her. It was good for her in some ways, but I didn't think it was worth it. It wasn't worth it because she wasn't doing THAT much better at things and she would still get frustrated. And I had to be there to read to her the questions for the "test" portion at the end anyway. So, that being said, I like a more hands-on approach to teaching my children anyway so I didn't see the point of trying to get her to go through these lessons and then having to go over all of it again. It is definitely a lot easier to just stick to our regular programs geared towards kinesthetic learning that are not web/computer based.

Lastly, the preschool page was for our next child. I like the pictures and the setup of it, and honestly, for the amount of money that I hear people spend on sending their children to preschool I would totally recommend this instead! That $20 is all the sudden child's play after some of the programs in my area that are 15-20 a day... multiplied by 2-3 times a week. Yep, the heart attack just came back. So, I would ABSOLUTELY use Time4learning for preschool if you're thinking about sending your child to one and then just add in some "play dates" if you feel so inclined.

There is an option to try a free demo here so you can get an idea of how the program works. And of course you can always sign up for a month and see how it works for you and cancel without penalty if you don't feel like it's something you want to do.

I think by doing this review I've found that this sort of program is really not for me, and that has a lot to do with our style of learning. We learn as a family and I prefer things done as a group and not so much an individual or two at the computer alone. Granted I could be there holding their hand through everything, but that feels like it defeats the purpose since you're essentially buying a teacher/tutor.... so, maybe it made me feel obsolete and I'm just jealous? Who knows!

That being said, I can see this being beneficial for someone transitioning with their child from public school to homeschool or having no idea what or how they want to teach/what would work best for their child. I know people often have moments where something happens in the family and maybe a month or more with a web based program that does all the work would also be a great help, and this would certainly fit the bill! So, I say go try it out and see what you think... and if you realize that you're weird like me and it's not going to work then at least keep it in the back of your mind as something that could bail you out of a stressful situation while still providing a good education for your child (well, assuming that s/he isn't like my oldest or eventually snaps out of it! :-D).

If you'd like to see what other Crew Members are saying about this product please go here.

*As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.**

TOS Review - Nature Nuts!

Thanks to Griddly Game's I again got to expand my game collection recently! We were lucky enough to get the game Nature Nuts to review over the last month, and we've all enjoyed it.

I'll admit it though, this game is a trivia game... and while it does have 3 and 7 point questions on each card (the 7's are supposed to be more advance, sometimes I don't think that's true though!), I found myself good and stumped on more than one occasion! (I KNOW my questions were tougher than the others!) ;-)

Upon opening the game my first thoughts were that I really liked the box that houses the game pieces... it doesn't take up a lot of room and has a good strong magnet to keep it closed AND THE DIRECTIONS ARE WRITTEN ON THE INSIDE OF THE LID! (what you read there is that you can take it with you places, could make for a good car trip game! Love that!). My one turn off? ...and Nathan agrees, so it isn't just me being weird... is that the cards could use an upgrade. They're pretty flimsy from our point of view (then again we spend our days with a gaggle of little people, so perhaps our thoughts of what holds up is a bit different from others :-D). In any case! That's not going to keep up from buying other offerings from this company... Nathan already has his sights on buying a game that works similarly to this one but that is based on civilizations (a forte of his... can't imagine why he'd want that!)

So, how does it play?

First you decide on a point or time limit that you want to play to. We've played more for fun and to teach our children why the answers to the questions make sense, if they didn't already guess the answer, so we've never set up a point/time limit. We play until we're finished :-). There is a dice in the box that has a colored dot on each side: red, yellow, green, blue, orange and purple. The colored dot then determines what card stack you get to answer a question from: Earth, Animals, Planets, or a Wise Alec card (also known as the stack that has random questions, tongue twisters, exercises to do etc., these ones can be a lot of fun!) So, you get the question right you get the points, you get it wrong and it's the next persons turn. And that's the extent of the "rules." Are you in love yet? I love simplicity!!

My children are a bit young for this game (the recommendations is for kids 8+), however, they REALLY enjoy it! They know a lot about plants and animals etc., but a lot of these questions have set us off looking up answers and studying in a way that I didn't realize it would. So, perhaps we use this a bit like a curriculum of sorts? Who knows if that's what you would call it, but it's increased our knowledge and that gets a gold star from me!! Oh, and while it says that this is for 2-4 players, you could easily pull this out as a single person or play with the whole family and do teams etc. The more the merrier I say!

If you would like to check out Nature Nuts by Griddly Games I would definitely recommend it. The link above will send you to a page that has the product listed as well as a short video that will show you how to play (for all my visual learners out there :-D).

You can find Nature Nuts and other Griddly Games at various retailers both online and in-store. For a list of those retailer's please go here. I've seen this game for as little as $14.99 through Griddly's affiliates.

If you'd like to see what other Crew Members are saying about this product please go here. Enjoy!

*As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.**

TOS Review - Flea Circus

So... remember how I told you that Nathan and I were busy having fun testing out products?? In light of that, here's another review for you! (You'll get another one in 2 days too :-D)!

I was REALLY excited to get this product.... cause it's a game! I should seriously take a picture of our game closet for you, we definitely like a good game and add to that collection every year for our anniversary :-). Anyway! A game creator that I really enjoy is Reiner Knizia, and guess what?? This game is officially known as "Reiner Knizia's Amazing Flea Circus"! The box is even fun to look at!

So? How does it play? Very simply... which is BEAUTIFUL! The suggested ages of play on Flea Circus are 6 and up and it is meant for 2-6 players. This game is a card game, but it has a little bit of a twist that makes it even more enjoyable for the little people (okay, maybe the adults get a kick out of it too)... we'll get to that! :-)

Upon opening the box you have the following contents:
*55 cards (An assortment of "attractions", "free tickets", "flea acrobats", and "animal catchers")
*20 rubber cats
*20 rubber dogs
*And of course, the rules... which consist of one piece of paper folded in half... like I said, the simplicity is nice!

Did you catch the rubber animals stuck in there?? Ha! That's what makes scoring (and playing) this game interesting. Dogs are worth 2 points and cats are worth 1.... don't know how I feel about the how assessment on the worth of each animal there, but that'll have to be for another post!

Flea circus literally takes about 10 minutes to play and even my 6 year old caught on really fast. Once you know what each card does you're set! There's no other required reading as the cards are just pictures.

How do you play?
-Each person gets 5 cards in their hand and one at a time puts on a "show." A show is the pile that you start right in front of you to have dog and cat "spectators" come and watch. I like that there's a "math" concept hidden here where children have to figure out how many of each animal they are going to get in order to have the right number of spectators around. I.e. if my card let's me get 3 spectators and all I want is dogs in my pile, then I'm going to have to give a cat back etc. Or, I get 2 spectators this round... that means 1 dog or 2 cats right? And then towards the end of the game you find that you're having to do a lot more exchanging with the pile in the center to even get the proper amount because there aren't any of one animal any more, or not enough.

The game ends when all of the cats and dogs (that you got to dump into piles in the center of the table at the beginning.... my favorite part!) are gone. Then it's to counting up how many cats and dogs each person has to determine a winner.

My oldest son gave this game 2 thumbs up and his younger siblings are chewing at the bit to play. Personally I haven't started playing with my next youngest children because I can see how it could be a little confusing for them to think through, but honestly when it comes down to it all they'd have to do is put down a card and I'd just ask them if they want a cat/dog or combination. It wouldn't be a big deal. Who cares if they don't really understand what the cards mean? *laugh* After putting that into words I think we're going to have to play as a family today, I'm feeling a little guilty for not involving them sooner. In my defense though, I wanted to get my oldest's opinion free of "background noise." So his favorite things are:

**The pictures on the cards (which I agree with, they're fun and bright colored).
**The cats and dogs (They do add enjoyment to the game).

Do I have any dislikes? Not necessarily. I think I would prefer a little bit sturdier of a card, but they work the way that they are. There's also a few cards in this game that could cause, umm... a little friction. My husband and I played this a few times before my son ever got his hands on it and we quickly realized that a few cards/ways of play that allow a player to TAKE spectators from OPPONENTS could turn tables quickly and cause hard feelings etc. I don't think that's any reason not to buy it (I mean, what we normally play and are gearing our kids for are 30 min+ strategy games as well as games like chess.... pieces will be taken! Plans will need to be revised!), I'm just letting you know that this isn't just a kids game where there is no strategy or adversity :-D. It's really quite clever.

Would I recommend this game to you? Absolutely! It's great to feel like you can sit down and play a game with your child that they enjoy and that doesn't take up the whole table and/or afternoon. This is definitely a first pick for me when it comes to getting the question "Mom, will you play a game with me?" We can usually even get in 2-3 rounds.

The makers of this product, R&R Games, sells Flea Circus on their website for $15.95.....

BUT, as a special offer to you they are offering a 20% discount on all of their products through the end of the year!!!! The discount code to use on their website is CREW20.

If you like a good game and have younger kids at your house, you'll enjoy this one!

**As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.**

TOS Review - How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids

I was recently asked to review a new book put out by Apologia (which I had only known of as a company that produced Christian base science curriculums previous to receiving this material). Written by Rachael Carman, the book is called How to Have a H.E.A.R.T for Your Kids, it retails for $13 and is found under Apologia Press's Resources for Parents.... which I definitely think is appropriate placement! I am not one to shy away from any resource that will help me, and in most cases at least remind me, of the things that I need to be doing to ensure a strong relationship with my spouse and children. This book is no exception and I'm grateful for the opportunity that I had to read it and add to my "resources"!

I'll admit that I was a bit thrown off by the title of this book once I started reading the core of it, but I appreciate how the material is presented. It's no mistake that the word H.E.A.R.T is printed as such... it's an acronym that stands for Have a heart for the things of God, Enrich your marriage, Accept your kids, Release them to God, and Teach them the truth.

The introduction to this book is wonderful because you really get a feel for Rachael and her journey towards homeschooling. She's very relatable and candid as she describes how she went from dreaming of the time she would have to herself while her children were at school, to a knowledge that she was the teacher that their family had been praying for their children. From here she hops right into breaking apart the word H.E.A.R.T.

It's absolutely fitting that a book on having a heart for your children starts with addressing OUR personal relationship with God. However, I have to admit, I feel like the writing style and feel that I had when reading the introduction dropped off a bit here. Don't get me wrong, things did pick back up for me afterwards, I just didn't care for how this chapter was presented, despite the conviction that I feel that we absolutely DO need to assess and access our relationship with God before we can really be the parents that we need to be. Rachael states several times in this work how these children are God's and placed here for His purposes... so they're really more on loan to us and we need to be in touch with Him so we know how to help our children. I couldn't agree more! ... I'm just funny about how messages are put to me and for some reason this chapter was hard for me to get through.

Moving on! I could have ran up and hugged Rachael when I saw a chapter on Enriching the relationship with your spouse! I think this point often gets missed by people. However, children need to see a loving relationship between their parents and to feel safety and love. I love the attention that is given to the lessons that children learn from how parents treat each other, and how parents can show love for one another. I'm a pretty big proponent of treating your husband like a real man and Rachael reminds women of this need with way more tack then I'm sure I've ever come across with! You really need to read this chapter, it made me smile :-).

The last three chapters really rolled into one for me and were delightful to read. I'm a human and while I have 500 things on my mind, I can in no way keep the millions of things I've learned constantly on my mind... (I'm pretty sure that's why the scriptures remind us so often to remember things and that they're so repetitive... this stuff is that important!)... so it was really wonderful for me to be reminded that "Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Caleb, Gideon, Elijah, Samuel, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel", and other Old Testament prophets were all sent at just the right time to help lead God's people. (Yep, enter a huge DUH moment for me right here!) Rachael really makes you think about the things that you're praying for or what others are praying for i.e. righteous fathers, mothers and leaders, cures for illnesses, etc.... and then to remember that the answers to those prayers could very well be living under your roof. How's that for perspective?! Again, these children are not ours but are placed here for His purposes. I love the depth that she reaches into this subject through A.R.T and would highly recommend this book even if you only read these chapters.

On a personal level, my husband who hadn't read this book and didn't have any idea of what I was specifically reading in this book, made a comment to me one day a couple of weeks ago that really caused me to stop. He was taking note about how we try to raise our children with a strong base in the gospel and relate all things back to our Heavenly Father, and how we strive to have our children grow up different from "the norm." While that is the mission of many of you reading this I'm sure, he reminded me that when we were trying to have children that we made a promise in our prayers that we would raise them up to Him and how wonderful it was that we have received so much help from Him in doing so. Hello??? How could I have forgotten so easily!! I do remember the prayers we prayed and the sadness we felt when we weren't blessed with children in our time. We did pray earnestly that we would raise them up to Him and we meant it with everything that we had! How blessed and grateful I was to be reminded of this and to see His hand in these things, and then to turn around in How to Have a H.E.A.R.T for Your Kids and read the words that our children are God's and that we need to accept them, teach them truth and release them to God? We promise to raise these children up and release them to Him! Oh my, I was hit with full force on this topic!

Minus my little hiccup at the beginning of this book, I wouldn't have wanted to miss this read! The "ah ha" and "oh yah" moments that I had in response to reading this material have really helped me through a time where I was so tired I was starting to forget why I was doing the things I was doing. It's cliche, but I really am looking forward to tomorrow and the days ahead with increase vigor thanks to the reminders I got from this book (surely I'm not the only one who has moments that require this kind of kick in the right direction?) The world needs people to stand up for truth and right and we're absolutely responsible for raising children fit for the tasks at hand! We need them and God needs them! So, while we are learning to have a heart for our kids, we also learn that it isn't about us! Weird huh? :-D.

I promote truth and this book speaks truth. I hope you'll go to the Apologia website and read a sample chapter from How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids.

**As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here.**

He Blogs!

As a homeschool mom I'm very blessed to not have to travel the road alone. My husband stands as a great supporter to me, and has been helpful in giving straight forward answers when others ask questions (I tend to droll a bit and can't form sentences well... hey, I have years of research in my head... condensing is hard!). Anyway, my husband, who I guess you get to know now as Nathan now that he's gone public, has started a blog with dad's in mind. Maybe your husband wants to get access to the thoughts of another homeschooling dad, or maybe you just want to get some insight on things from a man's perspective or even ask a question that's been on your mind... in any case, he wanted to start blogging to share his thoughts on homeschooling, family, life, etc., from his point of view. So, if you're interested, go give my "Man of the House"'s blog a scroll through and see if you might want to start following him too :-)

2009 REPOST: Back to School Frenzy

In response to how annoyed I've been in the Facebook world and in everyday, I went and found a post that I wrote a couple of years ago and figured it was time to let it resurface. Seems like the longer we keep up with the homeschooling thing and the more we're in touch with our kids and God's plan for them, that my stance on this whole issue becomes solidified to the point where half the conversations in this house is about how grateful we are for homeschooling. Anyway! This is where I was in August 2009... you can just magnify my thoughts by about a thousand now :-).


There's something about the good ol' "Back to School" environment that makes me uneasy. I must first preface my thoughts with the mention that I am in no way anti-public school. I believe public-schools serve a good purpose to many people and are the right option for others, even though it isn't right for our family dynamic. I think watching the movie "Freedom Writer's" reminds us all how powerful an education, and a teacher that really cares, can be.

What I'm talking about here is the craziness that seems to ensue on the brink of a new school year. I almost had to cancel my Facebook account because I couldn't handle all the complaints mom's were throwing left and right about "what was needed" to get their kids off. Personally, I've seen the tax bill on my home and the amazingly large percentage (like 97%) of which goes to public education. However, despite the amount of money that people pay in taxes (in many areas, I know there are some counties that don't have property taxes or the money doesn't go into education... mainly I've only encountered that in AL though), parents and even teachers provide a good deal of the in-class materials, activities, and field trips for their students. We'd end up paying about $100 per kid to send them to public school just on registration day alone! I have a problem with this.
In any case, I've been bombarded with the knowledge that school supply lists are not only large, but very specific. Instead of parents being able to buy cheaper crayons, or tissues they're asked to buy name brands like Crayola and Puff's Plus with lotion. They're also being asked for specific colors of folders and other things that would be cheaper found in bulk or random finds. I've spent two weeks reading and hearing of these complaints of how these items are totalling around $100 and they still haven't found everything on the list, and how school clothes for their kids are racking up, and I ask myself.... why?

I'm a homeschooler... it's no secret... and yes, we're the weird kind! :-) Even reading about the stresses of these other mom's stresses ME out. Once all of those supplies are found and "YAY" school starts, then everyone is getting up early, mom is making sure homework is finished and everyone has the right things to take with them, and getting everyone ready, and lunches made, and, and, and, and, and then getting everyone into the car and back and forth from school(s) at different times and with different kids, and, and, and.... how does this not create ulcer's for others? I don't know how people with more then one kid do it! I know you "just do," but seriously, if you have 3 or 4 kids, chances are you're back and forth to the school an average of 6 times a day. And when you get home you get to do what 3-4 other people (your kids teachers) want you to do... which sometimes means 3-4 hours of work when you've already spent the day "learning" and if you try to throw in extracurricular stuff on top of that?? I honestly think public school mom's are superhero's because there are literally not enough hours in the day to do all that plus be a wife/mother/housekeeper/etc.

So, my big pet peeve that I set out to write about is this... "the frenzy." I HATE this time of year for one specific reason... and normal people are kept from this because I do try and censor myself in public, but this is one place that I put all my "PC" abilities away for a moment so since you're reading this, here's what I REALLY think and want to say..... "I am so sick and tired of hearing people rejoicing about sending their kids away!" It's honestly the saddest thing that I can think of. It's one thing to talk up how much fun they'll have, or how great a teacher there is, or whatever, but to just talk nonstop about how much having your kid around is bugging you and they just need to go away? How do you think that makes them feel that their own mom doesn't want them around?

I get so many mixed feelings around this time of year that I just want to hide in my house until its over. I'm overfilled with mom's so excited to get rid of their kids, and yet so irritated about what they have to do, and then whining about how much they wish they could get done while their kids were done but can't (because they're running to and from the school), and how hard mornings are...

Anyway! Onto happier thoughts. I like a good clean house like most people, and like most people that's easier to achieve when no one is around. Now, minus the times that space alien's come and abduct my children, I don't usually get to have no one around while I'm cleaning, but I get a lot in return:

-the kids get up when they're ready.... everyone is happier for this, and they get the rest they need. We don't have to wake people up from naps to go sit in line to pick up kids, and I think when our kids are teenagers, they're really going to love the fact that mom isn't going to come and beat on their door in the morning.

-School and "learning" is a year round event, and everyday holds new opportunities in the most average of places... like doing household chores, exploring outside, going to the store. I see my kids wondering and exploring their world and really truly learning things that will stay with them for a lifetime. They don't think of learning as something that starts and stops because of specific dates, but of something that is continuous and worth their attention.

-I'm very selfish and LOVE to watch my kids learn new things. I don't want to share this with anyone else! I want to be there watching them grow every step of the way. There's a light in their eyes that is worth every moment of "hardship" that comes with having everyone at home all the time. And they get to share it with you too! Homeschooling allows us yet another tying bond that brings us closer together and the kids can feel that.

-We get to choose what we're going to do everyday! My personality conflicts with trying to keep other people's time schedules. I dread having to be somewhere at a specific time and that's especially dreadful when I have to actually DO something that someone else wants me to. I know, I'm a funny duck, but what can you do? Trying to figure out someone else's homework assignment for my kids (especially if I don't see the utility in it and therefore it's just taking away from family time by providing 'busy work') doesn't bode well with me.

-My kids always have something to say! When dad comes home and asks about their day there's always something to tell him... and yes, building houses and towers out of lego's or putting together puzzles, counts! Normal school days are LONG, so, if my kids were going to be gone at one I would demand that they have something to tell me everyday. The statement "we're not really doing anything right now" is ludicrous! This could probably be minimized by school's having flexibility with their mandatory class dates... let's face it, starting school midweek or later isn't doing much but meeting their "days of school" requirements... and close to no one starts new curriculum right before a holiday.

Anyway! I'd best go and tend to things around the house, but it's been nice to hash out some of my thoughts for a minute! I don't know that there's any real "solution" to my problem(s), although, hiding in my house does tend to help! :-)

Good luck with the school year, whatever form it may take in your life. Try to enjoy it, and remember that school is a place of learning and learning should be something that is loved and encouraged throughout a lifetime!

Free Issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine!

I started my relationship with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine about 4 years ago when I thought to myself "hmm.... there's a magazine for everything, surely there is one for homeschooling!" And there was :-). My friend google brought them to me, and I've read many articles that have meant a lot to me and my family. They also frequently have free e-books for subscribers to their emails, and I can "blame" one I came across almost 3 years ago for an extra kick to change to cloth diapers as well as look into more natural cleaning etc. Which then reminds me, I can "blame" it for my making our laundry soap the last few years too!!! So, they've definitely been a blessing to me, and this year being on "the homeschool crew" has brought me in contact with things that I've NEEDED, not just wanted.

So... I'm VERY happy to share with you the free Summer issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine!!!



Enjoy!

TOS Reviews on their way!

My husband and I have had a lot of fun over the last little bit... and our children get especially excited when we get a knock at the door from the UPS guy or stop at the mailbox. As part of being a part of The Old Schoolhouse review team this year, we're starting to see just how fun and what a blessing it is!! Here are the products I have received and will start posting reviews of from the end of August through September. Many of these companies I had never heard of before, so I'm really excited to have the opportunity to share them with you and hope that I perhaps you'll find the curriculum, game and/or book that you're looking for!