Homeschool isn't for everyone

I have to give in to the above statement sometimes b/c you can't can't just go around being all preachy about the way you raise your kids.  Truthfully though the further i go on this journey with still so many more miles to go, I agree that homeschool isn't for everybody but home is still the best place for kids.  Unless a parent is seriously abusing a child then really the best place for that kid is at home.  The use of the word,"home" for this post means anywhere but in a tradtitional school. 
I keep traveling further and further away from accpeting that this is just what works best for our family and I keep running into example after example that this is really what works best for kids.  I understand the complete life change it would mean.  No more free babysitting, no more guarantee that  kids were learning the right thing at the right time and the right way(As if there were such a thing)  That must be a scary hurdle to jump but if we collectively can get off this Fred Flintstone highway of schooling kids and calling each new rule and obstacle and format , Education reform, then we can really educate the kids and no one need worry that the kid wasn't learning, "right" 
From the outside people think we homeschool parents are doing the job of parent and school. This is not true for most of us,   in fact we do only the one job, parent.  I mean I know several parents who send thier  kids to school but still feel like the primary educator of thier child, these parents assure me in light hearted conversations that thier kids will be fine b/c they, the parents, take the kids to museums or on educational vacations or play math games, or even spend hours doing with homework with them.  So why not eliminate the middle man who keeps messing things up? 
I do feel like this country could run so much more efficietnly if we didn't pigeon hole and quarantine off our kids for so many hours a day. 
Let them out in this big world to learn all the time.  Unlock the kids and get them on the streets.  If school is a necessary babysitter than let's call it that and not make anything that happens in there mandatory but just a place to go for some enrichement while mom or dad is at work. 
Take the self importnace out of the school and put it back on the family.  Reconnect with siblings and parents and let the certified teachers take second fiddle row in your child's orchestra.

Story of the world

We are having so much fun with this program.  We don't use it curriculum style b/c we can miss weeks if other things come up however it has so many fun actitivites that we just love it when we do get to work on it.

The Nile

This is ancient Egypt with The Nile.   I never said we were artists.  :)

My Homeschool village

Quoting an old African proverb Hillary Clinton was quoted as saying, "It  takes a village to raise a child".  I will tell you, I think people misunderstand this.  At the time I remember people taking umbrage at this b/c they didn't think it was OK for their neighbor or some other unknown to be telling their kid how to behave.  I get that.  I, as a libertarian attending a UU church with a high democratic population; as a homeschooling mother who believes in  letting the kids get dirty, REALLY dirty and take risks that might cause them some harm(tree climbing, fence climbing) I get that when some stranger reprimands you (or your kid) acting as some unknown authority that they know what's best, I get a litle indignant myself.

However I really do believe in "it takes a village" it's just that in this amazing fast paced world the village does not mean your neighbor in the wig wam, or igloo or even just the condo next door. 

 I have created a village for my children with our homeschooling community.  These are people with whom during a "playdate" the moms  (or dad but it's rarely dads simply b/c the dads are usually working in the day.  We do have some dads but it's few and far between )stay for coffee on purpose to chat. 

 My kids' friends are my friends' children.  So a playdate  often is a time for moms to catch up over coffee while the kids play. Sometimes the play dates are drop off if the "other " mom needs to run errands or has a change in a work schedule.  Since we know each other and the children pretty well few instructions are needed if any. 

  

My village, through my kids eyes, is place where they can play but also feel secure with the parent of the other kid.  They call adults by thier first names , some adding the formality of "miss" before the name.  The kids' lives, however are not seperate from the family even with friends.  The line between family and friend is slightly blurred .  As mothers and as parents we share the same goals.  We know each child's struggles nd personal history.  We know who is allergic to what thereby Birthday party offerings , such as, "Gluten free" "Peanut free" "No artificial colors" and "Vegetarian" reflect our intimate knowledge of each other's children's needs.

Our children learn and grow up together but not the same.  Sometimes they struggle to get along and maybe a parent helps to guide them.  Maybe they will be life long buddies and maybe they will grow aprt but the connection to the homeschool lifestyle is what keeps our village strong. The kids don't change friends each September.  Even as new kids are welcomed into our community the "old" freinds are still constsant.   We mothers lament over sibing discourse together , we share schooing ideas and parenting ideas.  We work together.    We are package deal and we are a a village even if we live miles and miles apart.