Homeschoolers Tell All

What kind of people homeschool? What do they do all day? Visit these blogs where homeschoolers tell all the gory details of what it’s like not to send their children to school.

This is how Alasandra homeschools – “What does your daily schedule look like? Our schedule varies day to day. That is one of the things I love about homeschooling the ability to be flexible and take advantage of field trips, community events ect. as they are available to us.” Read more here.

This is how RoyalMom homeschools – “Are your kids always polite and ready to learn?” Not always “polite” depending on the frustration level within a sibling conflict. Usually polite to mom and dad and friends. They are always eager to learn because they direct their own learning.” Read more here.

This is how MomLovesBeingAtHome homeschools – “Do the kids (or you!) get frustrated? Umm… YES! 
How has this affected your parenting? It has made me a MUCH better parent.  It has helped me learn so much more patience for one thing.  It’s brought my kids and me so much closer together though.  We are such a close family that I can’t even imagine living a different way anymore.” Read more here.

This is how Christine homeschools – “We do our morning learning stuff all over the place (couch, floor, while eating breakfast, on the toilet! WHEREVER!). When I first started, I had a little table set up where we would “do school.” I laugh SO HARD at myself when I look back on that time. I meet person after person after person who did the same thing in the beginning, only to throw it out the window. There are others who actually have a school room or school table in their home and use it religiously. So what’s normal? All of it.” Read more here.

This is how Liese homeschools: “We had a co-op today called spy school. I’d tell you more about it…………but I’d have to kill you. No, just kidding. The girls got a file folder with all kinds of codes and instructions for how to by a spy.” Read (and see) more here and here.

This is how Shez homeschools – “How much free time do they have? What do they do during their free time? What hobbies do they have? They had too little free time last year. We’re fixing it this coming year. They will have at least 5-7 hours of free time a day. Ben and Shira play a lot. Their play is incredibly creative. They build sanctuaries, caves, skyscrapers, fairy glens, if you can think about it, they have probably built it. They spend hours a day drawing, painting and sculpting. Shira is also starting to do a lot of embroidering. Right now their bikes feature prominently in their lives, as does the pool and their cameras. They love to talk walks and photograph what they see.” Read more here.

This is how Rhicarian homeschools – “What is your educational level? Do you feel this has an effect on your teaching (both limits and abilities)? I have a bachelors degree in psychology and then 2 post baccalaureate years in the teaching credentialing program at San Diego State University. I don’t think my education makes me better prepared for homeschooling. In fact, the classroom management and lesson preparation skills I learned might be part of my struggle. There’s more to deschool, more to unlearn.” Read more here.

This is how my3boysandi homeschools – “He has gotten into Sea Scouts this year which I’m sure wouldn’t have happened had he been at school. He first joined so I could say yes hes being socialized. The opportunities they have come about because of it are wonderful. He also attends church and youth group. He has some home schooling friends and goes swimming on a Friday afternoon. He attends play group once a week, although this is a preschool play group he has become a helpful member. He has lead the music/singing time (this gives him the opportunity to speak/perform in front of a group) , the activity time and sometimes cooks for morning tea and serves it too.” Read more here.

This is how livingbylearning homeschools – What does your daily schedule look like? A daily schedule doesn’t work for us, at least, not for me.  Something always comes up that takes precedence over any set schedule.  Sometimes it’s a field trip with my daughter, or a special class or activity for homeschoolers.  There is always something going on. Instead of a schedule, I’ve set our daily requirements. Alex is required to practice his math and piano every day, and to complete some science and history work each week.  He also has writing projects that we work on regularly.  And, on some days, he has gymnastics, piano, or other lessons.  That’s it. Of course, he reads every day and works on his own projects just for fun.” Read more here.

This is how Leah homeschools – “We homeschool for several reasons. Not being able to find any school of our religious conviction is one of them. Having gifted children another. Add to that our parenting style (attachment parenting) and holistic lifestyle and you’ll understand that school just isn’t an option for us.” Read more here. (Note: Their eclectic/unschool curriculum is amazing. Check it out.)

This is how Tasha homeschools – “What is your educational level? I have a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology and my husband has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Do you feel this has an effect on your teaching (both limits and abilities)? I think it gives me a very healthy skepticism about what “should” be required. There is an amazing difference between what is taught at the graduate level in Education and what is actually practiced in most schools. Educational psychology has a lot of powerful things to say about how individuals learn. Unfortunately, schools can not implement most of it, because each class is a herd, and the teacher can’t spend much time with each individual. I find it interesting that what educational psychologist would term “best learning practices” can be very effectively implemented by home schoolers because of our very low student-teacher/mentor ratio.” Read more here.

This is how Kristi homeschools – “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.” Read more here.

This is how Karen homeschools – “Why do you homeschool? We began homeschooling in reaction to the education being offered at our local public school. Each of our children needed to homeschool for a different reason: Kat because of the psychological stressors occurring in her fifth-grade classroom and the lowering expectations of the girls in regards to academics, David because he needed more challenge than his second-grade classroom had to offer, especially in the science area, and Charles because his kindergarten class had too much violence occurring and we were concerned that he would gain the label of ADHD when he advanced to the more demanding level of attention that his upcoming first grade level would require. Those were the reasons we began homeschooling. They were not the reasons we continued homeschooling after the first year. Somewhere during that first year we began to realize how much the public school had taken over our lifestyle. Homeschooling afforded us the freedom to study what we wanted, when we wanted, where we wanted, and how we wanted. We were in control of our daily schedule and that was a wonderful feeling of freedom!” (Karen’s response is very in depth and three pages long. Link to the rest is on the top right corner.) Read more here.

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