Tulsa OCHEC Homeschool Convention 2012

17 May

By Rosanna Ward

The long anticipated yearly homeschool convention in Tulsa has come and gone. Both my sister and I needed the encouragement. Tuesday, the first day of the convention was awesome – my lovely daughter, Virginia, was home watching Leif so my homeschooling sister Elizabeth and I could be kid free for the day. The speakers were good, but the best part was just walking around the vendor hall researching our curriculum options and buying odds and ends.

It was such a great feeling to be in a crowded convention center with other homeschooling families! Wednesday was a little harder for me because I had to bring the little guy and wasn’t able to sit through a class, but again I enjoyed walking around the vendor hall. Elizabeth learned quite a bit in her classes.

Joel went to the kids program, which he loved! Virginia entered three photographs into the convention Photo Contest. Her black-and-white photo won first place: She received a ribbon and a Mardel’s gift card.

Once again my favorite speaker was Andrew Pudewa. I took his workshop on the Reluctant Writer and also on the Culture War. I had wanted to attend his workshop on teaching boys again but wasn’t able to. A new speaker this year was Kirk Martin and his son Casey, who have a ministry called Calm Christian Parenting. I attended their workshop called, “Are You at Your Wits End? 10 Secrets to a Stress Free Home.” They spoke about discipline: I picked up a few new ideas there and was inspired by the class.

I didn’t get a chance to attend any of the other speakers, but my sister Elizabeth went to a class on Reading Disabilities by Sam Oliphant and really learned a lot about how to effectively teach her daughter Faith. I hope she writes about that here on our blog soon.

Overall it was a good break and gave us some much needed motivation. I hope they get some bigger speakers next year, because I should be able to sit through more of them by then. But this year I got just what I needed — a little bit of education and a lot of encouragement!

— Rosanna Ward is a devoted wife of 19 years and mother of four children, two of which are currently homeschooled. Her oldest daughter is a homeschool graduate, and her youngest son is a toddler. Rosanna is a homeschool graduate and has been homeschooling for six years. Rosanna loves to study History and Genealogy, and currently resides in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.

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Ask a NextGen Homeschooler: How do you cope with burnout?

27 Mar AskLogo

Welcome to “Ask a NextGen Homeschooler…” It’s your turn to ask the authors of NextGen Homeschool — four formerly homeschooled moms who are now homeschooling our children — to weigh in on your homeschooling questions. From the practical to the personal, all questions are welcome — whether you’re a current homeschooler or just homeschooling curious!

This week’s question is one that many homeschoolers often face about this time of year: How do you cope with feelings of “burnout” during the school year? What works best for you during these times, and what if anything do you change to breathe some life back into your days?

There are many reasons why homeschooling parents can experience burnout during the school year: It could be seasonal (a long winter), topical (curriculum feels stale), or more personal (family crisis, illness). It may even get to a point that you feel like throwing in the towel, as Simple Homeschool’s Editor Jamie Martin recently wrote about in her post, “For When You Want to Quit” — which includes some great advice for coping with this feeling.

However, burnout doesn’t have to lead to towel-throwing! There are lots of great ideas and suggestions from veteran homeschooling moms out there who’ve endured periods of burnout and survived to tell about it that can encourage us all. Here’s what the authors of NextGen Homeschool have to say about coping with homeschool burnout:

NextGen Author Rosanna Ward
Was homeschooled since 8th grade
Began homeschooling in 2005

“In past years, I have suffered from homeschool burnout about this time of year. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I was also anxious that we weren’t going to get enough done before the summer break — and my girls really counted on a summer break. I would become tired of planning lessons and pushing the girls to finish them. At the same time, they would struggle to stay focused. Every year, the same feeling of impending failure — the “maybe I wasn’t cut out to be their teacher as well as their mother” feeling — would start to set in.

Then several years ago, Tulsa began hosting an annual homeschool convention in April. Oh, what a relief it is! I start looking forward to this conference as early as January. It isn’t just the workshops and the vendors hall: It is the whole atmosphere. It’s so refreshing to be surrounded by so many other homeschooling parents all there to be encouraged and learn new ways to do a better job.

This year has been difficult for me, but not so much in the homeschool arena. My daughter Virginia is a senior, and even though she can do her work fairly independently of me, she still needs direction, prodding and encouragement. Now it is March, and I am back to feeling like maybe we didn’t get enough done — and we have this graduation deadline looming. Which is totally ridiculous really, because she is only 16 and if we don’t finish everything, so what? We can just finish in the summer or fall.

Joel is in first grade and doing quite well, but I still feel this pressure (that I put on myself) to have him doing more seatwork. So much of how he learns is not done at the table, where it is easily analyzed and graded. I have to keep telling myself that his real world learning is so much better than anything he learns in his workbooks. He is a good reader, and his math skills are great. But he is above his grade level in so many other areas — areas that aren’t easily tested except through observation. He speaks articulately to people of all ages, although sometimes his innate shyness kicks in. He knows all about golfing. And his knowledge of our small business is astounding. I am constantly amazed at all he is learning just by being his dad’s sidekick.

All that to say this: The burnout I experience is because of the unnecessary pressure I put upon myself. I am so ready for that homeschool convention next month, and I am already planning next year’s curriculum, which I am very excited about!”

NextGen Author Elizabeth Thomas
Was homeschooled from K-12
Began homeschooling in 2009

“When you’re feeling homeschool burnout, take it outside: Pack up the schoolwork and go somewhere else to do it. If it’s nice outside, you can hit the park — or even just your yard. Enjoy the birds chirping, do some earth science. If it’s cold, find a library. I’ve even taken the girls and my laptop to McDonalds on a rainy day, that way my youngest Cadence could play and the girls could do their workbooks while I got things done online.

Here are a few other suggestions for coping with burnout:

  • Take a teacher’s day off — they do this in public school, and we should too. Take this time to read up and plan out new ideas.
  • Plan and take a fun field trip.
  • Read homeschool blogs and/or call other homeschooling parents that you are friends with and tell them how you’re feeling. They can uplift you and give you new ideas.
  • Spend extra time in prayer for motivation.
  • Go to a homeschool conference if possible. If not, buy some CDs or podcasts from a conference on topics that you need help in.
  • Revise your goals: I get new ideas from looking at my past goals and setting new ones.
  • Block out negative feeds, like comparing to that “one kid” who is doing so strangely well in public school.
  • If you’re like me and have parents that homeschooled, or you know veteran homeschooling parents who did this without all the helpful tools we have today, take a moment to ask them for some burnout advice.

Not every family homeschools on a traditional school year schedule (we happen to do math and science through the summer), but if you do, then you’re in the home stretch. Hang in there!”

NextGen Editor Renée Gotcher
Was homeschooled in 11-12th grade
Began homeschooling in 2010

“We are in our second year of homeschooling, and although we did experience some burnout in our first year, this year has been different. Last year, the burnout was the result of our curriculum and lesson plan methodology simply not clicking with our family. That wasn’t so hard to fix: I took the books that came with our package and reworked the lesson plan to satisfy both my girls’ need to spend more time on topics they enjoyed and my need to have more flexibility in our days.

This year, the curriculum and lesson plan changes I made as a result of last year have been working out quite well. The girls are enjoying the unit study approach, and I see them really stretching creatively and demonstrating a high level of understanding of the subjects we’re covering. The lesson plan has also been flexible enough to handle typical schedule interruptions like family visits, extracurricular activities, impromptu ski days, etc.

But I still experienced burnout. This time, it was personal. In January, I experienced a medical situation that threw me into a tailspin. For a Type A personality like me, feeling out of control the way I did during this time was extremely hard to cope with. I kept telling myself everything would be fine, and I found a way to muddle through the days that followed. But my joy and excitement for our schoolwork faded, and my physical energy seemed to vanish as well.

The first thing I had to do was face the reality of my feelings head-on and take them to the only one who could truly heal me body, mind and spirit: My Heavenly Father. I spent lots of time in prayer, reading His Word daily (along with a few books that provided further spiritual encouragement), and seeking the counsel of Godly women I could trust to fill me with their wisdom and prayer support. Praise God for His amazing grace in my life and how He has answered my prayers: He has been restoring me day by day — and I am deeply grateful to Him for my recovery!

During this time, I also had to figure out how to keep school moving forward without stressing myself out. The one thing I made sure of is that we kept our foundation intact: Our morning family devotion time. That time was especially precious to me, because as we put the Lord first in our day as a family, it gave me more confidence that no matter what we were able to get accomplished later, it would be OK! God was in control of our day — and that gave me peace.

On days when I was feeling overwhelmed, I dropped things back to the basics: The girls worked on the math and language arts workbooks for their grade level mostly on their own, with help from me when necessary. I also made sure the “book basket” was filled with library books for them to read, as well as educational DVDs on the topics we’re covering, so that they had plenty of learning activities to do without me.

I  also started asking my girls what projects they wanted to do — and just let them run with it. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much they will throw themselves into a project that they have initiated. For example, my 11-year-old Audrey decided to create a lapbook on the state of Colorado. She picked her own resources from the library, did Web research, drew some original art, and turned out an amazing lapbook report on a topic that’s not even in our lesson plan for this year! This also relieved me of the burden of feeling like I had to come up with a cool project for every lesson on the agenda.

Lastly, I think it’s really important to recognize when you simply must take a break. We took an “early” spring break in February to see my family in California and go to a friend’s wedding, and it was such a refreshing time for all of us. The beauty of homeschooling is that you’re not tied down to the traditional school year, so don’t be afraid of taking time off when your family needs a break. You can make up the required hours (if your state tracks them) later, when you and your family are re-energized and running at full speed again.”

NextGen Author Cristina Eklund
Was homeschooled since the 6th grade
Began homeschooling in 2010

“Sickness, family in town, over scheduling, bad communication week with the husband… these are just a few of the things that set our homeschooling days back. I’ve had my pity parties about it and rewritten my agendas accordingly. But it never seems to fail that “life happens” at least once a month.

So what do we do? We just go with it. We read a books, watch Leapfrog videos streaming on Netflix, play with Legos, spend extra time on things I usually just brush over (like piano), clean the kids room really good, do coloring pages… anything that is productive (in a way) and will keep me from losing it because of whatever is going on.

Since I usually have to crack down at some point, because I have to turn in work samples to my CT (Certified Teacher via charter school), I plan to do one great lesson with one assignment of whatever it is my six-year-old son Elijah needs to cover that month (such as birds, American symbols, etc.) before I see her. Then voila, we’re done, and I move on to the next month and hope it’s going to be less crazy.

I guess I’m learning that it is good to have a schedule, because you need a “home base” to get back to when days are smooth and easy. But there is plenty of grace to take the time that is needed to attend to “life” as it happens. Our children are watching our responses to our circumstances and learning more than we’ll ever know by how we respond. So rather than fall apart because we’re falling behind, I find the joy in the teaching moments that we do have and look to tomorrow, or next week, or even next month, to start fresh.”

_________

How do you cope with burnout? What changes (if any) do you make to breathe life back into your days? We’d love to hear what you think!

We are also taking NEW questions for upcoming “Ask a NextGen Homeschooler” features. Send your questions to nextgenhomeschool@gmail.com or post them as comments to this article (and let us know if it’s OK to quote you if we use your question). We look forward to responding to your homeschooling questions!

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Ask a NextGen Homeschooler: What Role Does Dad Play?

13 Mar AskLogo

Welcome to “Ask a NextGen Homeschooler…” It’s your turn to ask the authors of NextGen Homeschool — four formerly homeschooled moms who are now homeschooling our children — to weigh in on your homeschooling questions. From the practical to the personal, all questions are welcome — whether you’re a current homeschooler or just homeschooling curious!

This week’s question was inspired by a recent article on SimpleHomeschool.net called “Collaborative Homeschooling for the Whole Family,” which was followed up by another view on this topic in “A Mom & Dad Homeschool Team.”

What role does Dad play in the family’s homeschooling life?

Although we NextGen Homeschool authors aren’t in the same shoes as the author of the Collaborative Homeschooling post, Hillary Boucher, who is now working full-time while her husband handles the day-to-day homeschool duties (which was a role reversal for them), we appreciated the ideas shared by both posts because they raise great questions — and solutions — about parents working as a team in the homeschooling process. We realized that even though we moms are handling most of the daytime schooling activities in our homes, the roles our husbands do play are very vital to the success of our homeschooling efforts — and we are very grateful for that partnership.

NextGen Author Rosanna Ward
Was homeschooled since 8th grade
Began homeschooling in 2005

“I have posted before about my own dad’s role in our schooling when I was being homeschooled. (See “What Role Can Dads Play in the Homeschool?“) My husband Jason’s role has always been more that of a principal. He makes sure we don’t get too far off track, deals with any real discipline problems, etc.

I guess you could also say Jason is in charge of the business and work experience credits for my two older girls. Both girls worked at our donut shop several days a week since they were 13 or 14 years old. They both have a lot of experience in customer service, mental math, counting change, bank deposits, employee management, and the other aspects it takes to run a successful small business.

For my 7-year-old Joel, his dad teaches the golf portion of his schooling. They go golfing at least twice a week and talk golf nonstop. He also takes Joel to the shop with him sometimes and to go buy inventory, so Joel is getting a head start in business administration as well. Jason also likes Joel to read to him sometimes, and when I need to step away for a few minutes, he helps with math or whatever Joel is struggling with at that time.

I definitely couldn’t homeschool without Jason’s help; physically, emotionally, and financially. I know that I am blessed that I have spouse that works hard so that I can stay home and teach our children.”

NextGen Author Cristina Eklund
Was homeschooled since the 6th grade
Began homeschooling in 2010

“What a great question! I am so grateful that we live in a time in history when women can share the upbringing of the children with their spouses in more ways than having husbands solely funtion as the bread winners (though thank you very much to the husbands that do so!). My husband Jeremy is a high school history teacher, and when we went from two incomes to one (it’s been six years on and off that way), he has also added carpentry and landscaping side jobs to his workload.

First and foremost, Jeremy shares in the weight of homeschooling with me by fully supporting and even encouraging me in this endeavor. I decided before even attempting to homeschool the kids that if he was not 100% on board, it was a no go. Thankfully, he is fully supportive.

Jeremy says he really appreciates that I’ve taken time to read books on the subject of education (I’ve got at least 10 on my nightstand) and that he is grateful I am teaching his kids. This is huge for me, because he’s a teacher and I am a designer by trade. My job used to be to read fashion magazines!

Secondly, Jeremy picks up on a lot of the slack around the house: laundry, dinner dishes, bathing the kids, (many of which inevitably fall behind because of additional time spent on outings), planning lessons on the computer, filing schoolwork that is complete… You get the idea.

Thirdly, Jeremy reads a lot to the kids, and I usually slip in books I need to get covered for the unit we are on into the pile of books he is reading them. He also reads aloud on Monday evenings after dinner (a non-picture book to get the kids using their imagination a little bit more). After dinner or as they are finishing up seems to be a non-threatening way of accomplishing this, as well as providing an enjoyable time hearing the story as well.

Jeremy always attends field trips or special co-op meetings with me. Just having him there reminds me and the kids that we are a team. Lastly, I find I can easily fill my schedule with great “to-do”s for the kids, but talking to my husband about my plans and what our days look like, he always bring me back to what is important in their education right now (things we’ve talked about together in the past) and encourages me to cut out the extras.

Though the planning and day-to-day teaching of the kids is something I take care of, I feel a huge amount of support from my husband. Having the kids’ work ready for them to show him or a book we read for them to narrate to him at dinner keeps him in touch with what we are doing.

Recently my husband brought up that because of our son’s amazing memory (he memorizes picture books word for word, which my husband became aware of because of Elijah’s recitation of them to him), we should focus some time on training him to memorize large portions of scripture. I thought it was a great idea and will be sure to include my husband on deciding what portion we should start with, as well as what incentive we should use.

I feel that part of my responsibility of training my children is to include their dad, so that they know he cares very much about their education, as much as their mommy does.”

NextGen Editor Renée Gotcher
Was homeschooled in 11-12th grade
Began homeschooling in 2010

“I was intrigued by the ideas shared in the articles mentioned above because even though my husband works from home and could probably be more involved in the day-to-day aspects of our homeschooling, we hadn’t figured out yet what that should look like. I really appreciate the ideas shared by these other families, and they’ve given us a lot of food for thought. Right now, the question is still on the table for us because my husband Kenny truly does want to be more involved with our homeschooling.

What my husband has provided for us from the start has been 100% support — spiritually, emotionally and financially. Kenny was homeschooled along with my sisters-in-law Rosanna and Elizabeth by his father, and homeschooling was something we had both talked about doing years before we had children. Although we didn’t start right away when our eldest were school age (for more on that journey, see “My Biggest Homeschooling Blunder: Thinking I’d Be Ready“). My husband’s encouragement played a huge role in helping me get to the place where I was ready.

Once we made that choice and started preparing, he helped me sort through curriculum options and find what we thought would be the best fit for our family. When I started struggling with it midway through our first year, he helped me troubleshoot my problems and find solutions. He also helped me search for new curriculum and lesson planning strategies that would overcome those issues in the new school year. Like Rosanna said, I’d say Kenny is a great “principal” for our homeschool: He sets the standard with me and keeps us all in line (I need it too sometimes).

On a day-to-day basis, I currently do all the teaching. Since Kenny does work from home, he will watch an occasional presentation from the girls, come see a new skill they’ve just mastered, and eat lunch with us most days. He’s also available for those moments when I need a break from the girls to clear my head and want to talk to an adult for a few minutes. He has made a point of trying to attend most elementary presentation days and other important functions in our local homeschool group as well.

One of the biggest contributions Kenny makes to our daily life as a family is cooking dinner — yes, you read that right, my husband is the chef in our family! I am so blessed and grateful for his skills with food and his willingness to share them with us on a daily basis. He is a whiz in the kitchen, and not only does his preparation of dinner save me time and an extra thing to think about all day, it provides another opportunity for our girls to learn a skill from him, not just me. I do enjoy baking with my eldest daughter Audrey (who loves to cook and bake) from time to time, but I really enjoy letting my husband work his magic in the kitchen and let the girls learn his secrets in the process.

Things we are currently discussing for future implementation include Kenny teaching a class from time to time, his being more involved in our morning routine and some more of the fun things we do together, like watch educational DVDs as a family and go on our own field trips besides those provided through our local group. We also want the girls to get a better sense that he’s just as involved in the homeschooling planning and follow-through as I am, even though I’ll still do most of the teaching.

I look forward to reporting back again soon with news about what we implement and how it improves our homeschooling environment, both for our girls and for us.”

_________

What role does Dad play in your homeschooling life? We’d love to hear what you think!

We are also taking NEW questions for upcoming “Ask a NextGen Homeschooler” features. Send your questions to nextgenhomeschool@gmail.com or post them as comments to this article (and let us know if it’s OK to quote you if we use your question). We look forward to responding to your homeschooling questions!

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Friday Flashback: Blame it on the Rain?

9 Mar

By Rosanna Ward

This week you can find us at the homeschool blog link-up called “The Homeschool Mother’s Journal” hosted by The Homeschool Chick.

In our homeschool this week… We had one of those days. You know the ones — I’m sure you’ve had them too.

For the most part, I can’t complain. My 7-year-old Joel is pretty easy to direct. He may drag his feet some days about doing his math, but once he is on task, he sits quietly, focuses and gets the job done. And usually once he gets started, he has a good attitude for the rest of the school day.

I am thankful for this, because every once in a while, we have days like today.

Today Joel was bouncing around acting silly from the very beginning. It was our day to study at my sister’s house with her four girls, and, as usual, we made a stop at our donut shop. We started school at about 10 a.m. and by noon, he still wasn’t finished with his math — a subject that usually takes him less than 30 minutes. He just couldn’t — or wouldn’t — sit still.

This in turn kept Elizabeth’s girls distracted and made for a rough teaching day all around. No amount of “direction” — or nagging, blackmail, or bribes — seemed to help. His hyperactivity turned into whining, and it was like I was beating my head against a wall. I finally threw in the towel on math and gave him a book to read — which was fine with him, he likes reading.

By the time we got home, I had a headache and he was still restless and bouncing around. I still don’t know why he was so restless today. Maybe it is the rain.

The question I have this week is… What do you do on days when your kids just won’t settle down? What is the best thing that we as parents/teachers can do on days like today, when nothing we do seems to help focus our students on their tasks? Do we continue to try to force the subject, or do we switch tasks and just realize that our child is having a hard time controlling their actions that day?

On the one hand, I know my child needs to obey and be self disciplined. But on the other hand, I know how hard it is for a 7-year-old to sit still — and some days are just harder than others.

How do you handle these kinds of days?

— Rosanna Ward is a devoted wife of 19 years and mother of four children, two of which are currently homeschooled. Her oldest daughter is a homeschool graduate, and her youngest son is a toddler. Rosanna is a homeschool graduate and has been homeschooling for six years. Rosanna loves to study History and Genealogy, and currently resides in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.

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Friday Flashback: When Sickness Strikes

2 Mar

By Renée Gotcher

This week you can find us at the homeschool blog link-up called “The Homeschool Mother’s Journal” hosted by The Homeschool Chick.

In our homeschool this week… I had planned to start getting us back on track after a recent family road trip to California, but God had other plans.

My youngest Elise developed an ear infection on the last day of our trip, and this Monday, seven days into her antibiotics treatment, she woke up with a head-to-toe rash. Talk about an unexpected twist! Instead of resuming a normal school day routine, I was rushing her to the doctor’s office, waiting (and waiting again) for an answer, and running into Walgreen’s for some additional medication and ointment. We spent an entire day managing this mini-crisis.

I will admit that I’m a bit of a worry wart. Any health scare involving my girls usually consumes me to the point that I get almost nothing else done until the situation is handled to my satisfaction. Even though the doctor surmised that she was allergic to penicillin (she’d been taking amoxicillin), which means discontinuing the antibiotics and taking Benadryl would have started easing the reaction, the rash was looking worse two days later.

I kept digging around online for answers, and I finally concluded that she probably had an “amoxicillin rash,” which is more of a side effect rather than a true allergic reaction. The good news was that it would go away on its own. The bad news was that I couldn’t do anything to help it — the reaction would just have to run its course. I’m a first-born, take-charge problem solver, so I have a really hard time with “wait and see” answers. I kept poking around online for possible remedies, trying things like oatmeal baths and topical analgesics to soothe the irritation, and cut out a few planned outings to simplify our week.

All this to say that even though I tried my best to keep “school” running, I couldn’t really focus. My priority each day turned to making Elise comfortable and rearranging our schedule to keep her home. I shelved plans to start our new science unit study, keeping the girls busy with core work like math and reading instead.

What’s working for us… In the midst of the chaos this week, I discovered that my older daughters are developing a healthy independence when it comes to their schoolwork. Both Audrey (11) and Claire (9) had projects in the works that they completed on their own, and Audrey — my self-directed student – even devised her own assignment by creating a lapbook about Colorado based on some books she had checked out from the library recently.

I also find that when any given week is going awry, our core skills curriculum makes it easy to stay on track. Both girls watched their Math-U-See DVD lessons without me and completed the accompanying worksheets without missing a beat. We usually do a “show me” step in which the girls “teach back” what they learned to me and/or their siblings, but this week we kept it simple. The girls also have language arts workbooks, with four pages of work per topic, that are perfect for self-directed days.

The book basket really came in handy this week. This is a bin where I rotate in books from the library that are relevant to current or upcoming unit studies, hands-on books (like seasonal crafts, drawing, etc.), and some fun reading. When there was a lull in the day, or I was simply just not ready to focus on leading a new lesson or discussion, we turned to the book basket. This will be especially helpful as we embark on a new unit study, because the girls will have read a book or two to familiarize themselves with the upcoming topic.

Another comfort during the chaos were the weekly co-op opportunities that we participate with. It’s such a relief to be able to take the girls to organized P.E., book club, AWANA, etc., and know that they’ll be able to enjoy focused learning and social fun that is being planned and executed by someone else. This is especially helpful when I’m in a cloudy state of mind and can’t effectively plan or execute anything new myself.

My favorite thing this week was… watching the movie “The Mysterious Islands,” a documentary in which Vision Forum Ministries President Doug Phillips leads a Christian team of scientists and investigators to the Galapagos Islands. Joined by his 16-year-old son Joshua and noted researchers like Dr. John Morris of the Institute for Creation Research, Doug Phillips provides new insight and data that seeks to answer some key questions about one of the greatest controversies of our time, Darwinian evolution vs. creationism, with the backdrop of the visually stunning and mysterious Galapagos Islands.

This movie was a perfect “excite” opportunity to get the girls thinking about our upcoming unit study on creation science. The beauty of the islands and the mysteries of its unique animal inhabitants is captivating, keeping the girls engaged and interested throughout the film. The themes covered in the 90-minute span were easy enough to grasp and discuss afterward. I did have to pause a few times to make sure my 9-year-old Claire was comprehending some of the details, but the information was explained clearly enough that we could all understand.

The movie also sparked a few followup conversations throughout the week, and the girls and I are really looking forward to diving in to this topic in detail next week.

TGIF… Elise’s rash has finally subsided, and after a week of steady snow in the mountains, we’re packing up for a much-needed weekend retreat to my sister’s house near Beaver Creek to ski. I look forward to getting “back on track” next week… if possible!

— Renée Gotcher is an entrepreneur, writer, wife & home-educating mother of three daughters: Audrey, Claire and Elise. Renée was homeschooled during her last two years of high school and started homeschooling in 2010. She currently resides in Castle Rock, Colorado.

Ask a NextGen Homeschooler: Why Homeschool?

29 Feb AskLogo

Welcome to “Ask a NextGen Homeschooler…” It’s your turn to ask the authors of NextGen Homeschool — four formerly homeschooled moms who are now homeschooling our children — to weigh in on your homeschooling questions. From the practical to the personal, all questions are welcome — whether you’re a current homeschooler or just homeschooling curious!

This week’s question is one that we have all asked ourselves, and it’s one that we are constantly asked by others:

Why did you decide to homeschool? Did you know you’d homeschool from the get-go, or did you decide after trying traditional school first? And how did your prior experience being homeschooled influence your decision?

NextGen Author Rosanna Ward
Was homeschooled since 8th grade
Began homeschooling in 2005

“I have been thinking lately about the many reasons families choose to homeschool. I know for myself, the reasons we started homeschooling our girls seven years ago are a little different than the reasons we now homeschool our boys. (My previous post, “Why We Homeschool,” tells the whole story.)

Besides the religious and educational benefits, the reason we chose to start homeschooling our daughters when we did was for peer reasons. At the time, both of our daughters were in public school. Our eldest daughter was heading for middle school and already her attitude had started changing. She started to really worry about what her friends thought more than anything else — including good sense. School was no longer about getting an education but about making sure she was in the “right” crowd and that so and so was still her “friend.” On the other hand, our younger daughter was happy to start homeschooling with her sister.

For Joel, my 6-year-old son, homeschooling has just been a natural progression, but sometimes my husband and I talk about contingency plans and wonder about putting him in public school for a few years. I think about the reasons I homeschool him, and I see that it works well with our crazy donut shop schedule. He gets to spend more time with his dad. They go golfing several times a week, which he couldn’t do if he was in public school all day. And I will admit I really enjoy it: I love helping him learn and hanging out with him. I also appreciate the time he gets to hang out with his older sister and little brother during the school day.

My best friend homeschooled her two children for several years, but this year she put them in a charter school so that she could go back and finish college. Her daughter adapted to public school well, but her son started having trouble from the get go. In one semester, he had four different teachers for 2nd grade and they all had problems with him. He wasn’t finishing his work, he was disruptive, etc. She had him tested for possible ADD and put him through a series of tests with the school psychologist. Turns out my friend’s son does not have ADD but is a genius — and the psychologist actually suggested that the best thing for him was to be homeschooled. The schools in her area just don’t have the resources to handle someone with his needs. So now she is scrambling to research and learn how to best direct his intelligence without getting in his way.

I met a mother this week at one of our outings who had just started homeschooling her boys. She had been homeschooled previously like me, but her boys had gone to public school and private school until this year. She said it was something that God really had kept putting on her heart. Sometimes it takes a while for us to work things out in our own lives, but when God has a plan He doesn’t give up, gentleman though He is. He just keeps nudging us and whispering to our soul until we just can’t not obey Him.

I have talked to and read about countless reasons why parents choose to take their children’s educations into their own hands. Outsiders may think we do it only for religious reasons — which may be true for some, but that is most definitely not the only reason.

Some parents are tired of the peer pressure, the bullying, and the politics their children face in traditional school. Some families live in other countries or far away from the nearest schools. Many choose to homeschool for family growth, or to enjoy a schedule that fits them better than the typical school schedules.

Some children have learning disabilities and special needs. Some parents identify early on that their children have life passion that they want to focus on (such as acting, gymnastics, etc.), and homeschooling provides more opportunity to develop those talents. Some children ask their parents to be homeschooled because they want to work at their own pace, without spending six hours a day confined to a school building.

Whatever the reasons we choose to homeschool, the bottom line is that we love our children and want the very best we can give them. And for some parents, that means homeschooling.”

NextGen Author Elizabeth Thomas
Was homeschooled from K-12
Began homeschooling in 2009

“I’m not what I would call a typical homeschool mom — someone who got fed up with the public school system and made the choice to homeschool. Noooo, not me: I never wanted to homeschool my children!

The journey started after the birth of my fourth daughter. I had tried to go back to work after having her, and for the first time, I didn’t have to — which made it hard. One day my husband Tony said, “Please stay home.” That was all I needed to hear: I became a “housewife” from that day forward.

Then one day when Tony took the girls to school, he realized Faith (who had speech problems and, we would later find out, some dyslexia as well) was being put in the back of the classroom to “color.” The teacher had no control over her, and she was falling behind. She was “special,” so to the back of the class she went. She was in first grade at the time.

Tony came home and told me I should take her out and homeschool… wait, WHAT?!?!?

My parents made the choice to homeschool me, along with my two older siblings, when I was just four years old. My perception of the homeschool experience was different than my siblings: They seemed to have had a wonderful experience, while mine felt horrible. As far back as I can remember, I felt I had to defend my education — convince people that I could read, write, and do math.

I also thought I was missing out on everything: riding a bus, packing a lunch, having teachers, playing sports, and getting new clothes, shoes, haircuts, book covers, etc. Most of all, I was missing other kids my own age! Other adults would ask me about my “social life,” and I began to wonder if I had one. Homeschooling seemed like an isolation from the world to me, and I later began to rebel against my father, mother and God. (My previous post, “An Unexpected Path to Homeschooling,” tells the details of my personal story.)

When issues surfaced with Faith, I was not ready to homeschool. I marched right up to that school to talk to the principal. But after talking to the principal, talking to my sister (who offered to help), and knowing that my husband wanted me to and my father wanted me to (“But wait, what about me?” I screamed on the inside), I gave in. I just took her out — only her.

But soon the other girls were begging to be homeschooled too. It was so strange how it all happened, and I still have moments where I think, is this right? Can I do this? But I know with God I can do anything, even homeschool four girls.

I strongly believe in homeschooling now. It is hard work, but God gave me four daughters, and someday I will answer to Him for these precious gifts He gave me. I don’t want to say, “I gave the responsibility away to people who reject Your existence eight hours a day.”  All the knowledge in the world won’t lead you to salvation.

If I had to draw a map of how I got here, it would probably be a mess of scribbles, then a huge drop, followed by a lot of climbing uphill in zig-zag motions. The only thing I know now for sure is that teaching my kids is teaching me a lot. I don’t know if I will ever have to put my kids back into public school (I hope not) or if I will make big mistakes as a parent (I hope not), but I am thankful for the gift of today, and that today, I homeschool!”

NextGen Editor Renée Gotcher
Was homeschooled in 11-12th grade
Began homeschooling in 2010

“My first experience with homeschooling was in high school: It was the mid-80s, and my mother was inspired by the discussion about homeschooling at a biblical foundations conference we had attended. I really didn’t know what to expect — the idea was just so foreign to me. At the time, I was just two years away from graduating high school.

Even though homeschooling seemed to have lots of benefits, I couldn’t imagine what good it could possibly do for me at that point. I was already a straight-A student, in the AP programs, beloved by my teachers, socially adjusted and deeply engrossed in campus clubs and activities. I’d been on the drill team, softball team, swim team, and a cheerleader — as well as a member of the top academic clubs and student government. I felt pretty accomplished and well on my way to completing a great resumé for college applications and beyond.

But my mom chose to homeschool me anyway. As a student, I did enjoy the flexibility of homeschooling and the fact that I no longer “wasted time” with the drudgery that results from group teaching in a traditional school setting. It was also nice to escape some of the social pressures of being an involved teenager — I would realize much later how critical that benefit would become. And I appreciated my mom’s effort to put God at the center of our home, and felt like she had done a pretty good job of sending me off into the collegiate world with a strong faith and foundation.

Fast forward almost 20 years: I’m a mother to three bright, energetic daughters and married to a wonderfully supportive husband who, in fact, was homeschooled himself. I’m also a work-at-home entrepreneur. Though my husband and I had discussed homeschooling many, many times over the years due to our shared experience with it, I was content at that point to pass along the responsibility to the local Catholic school.

But God doesn’t give up when He has a plan for you. And the nudge in my heart all those years soon became a “squeeze” — His hand applying some uncomfortable pressure in my life to shape me even further.

The squeeze started out with finances: My youngest daughter was about to start preschool and add several hundred dollars a month to the tuition bill — yikes! At the same time, my business wasn’t producing as much income. Then the “squeeze” got stronger. After renting three different homes in the two years we’d lived in Durango, we were crushed by the news that we’d soon have to move again.

As we began to acknowledge God’s hand reaching down to take us in another direction, the subject of homeschooling became part of the discussion. My husband had been waiting patiently for God to bring me around. And now we had the perfect opportunity to make that change, so we did. (My previous post, “My Biggest Homeschool Blunder: Thinking I’d be Ready,” explains more about my personal journey to this decision.)

For a while, I felt some relief — and even excitement — because I’d finally arrived where God was trying to take me all along. And the destination was looking a lot more promising than I had expected thanks to the vast improvements in the homeschooling landscape. But I realized very quickly that homeschooling was more than just an alternative education method or a more flexible way to provide quality, focused education with a spiritual component. I began to ask myself: What was God uniquely calling ME to do as a homeschooling parent?

God has been faithful to answer me. I realized that He was challenging me to center my entire educational plan — from the method to the content and context — around His Word. That our focus on Him would radiate out into everything we do as a family — not just at Bible time, during school hours, or at church. After all, was my goal to raise excellent academic minds, or to develop hearts that are Christ-like and servants equipped for God’s purpose?

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

As many times as I’ve read this verse, it took on another level of meaning for me as a homeschooling parent. I realized that homeschooling was so much more than what I understood it to be as my mother’s student back in 1988. It was an opportunity to focus on God in all our ways (school included) so that He could make our paths straight — for our family right now, and for my children’s individual journeys down the road.

I know every homeschooling parent’s reasons for homeschooling will be different. I don’t expect everyone to view homeschooling the way I see it. But that is the beauty of it all: Homeschooling is about the heart of your family — how you uniquely operate. Whatever homeschooling means to you, trust that God has equipped you for your particular journey.”

NextGen Author Cristina Eklund
Was homeschooled since the 6th grade
Began homeschooling in 2010

“The reasons my husband and I decided to homeschool our two children are many. However, let me first start out with those things that were not our reasons to homeschool:

• Because we fear the public education system, though it is clearly failing.
• Because we think Christian education ensures our children’s future status of becoming Christians and remaining on a straight and narrow path, though it is our prayer.
• Because we think all Christians should homeschool.
• Because I love being home with the kids morning, noon and night — on the contrary, I actually love working outside the home, though I have felt called by God in the past two years to stay at home.
• Because I think I can do a much better job of educating my kids than a private school.

Now that I got that out of the way, I will share some of the thoughts that did lead to our decision to homeschool. Both my husband and I were homeschooled: My husband until the 3rd grade and myself from 6th grade through high school. We can both look back at our own homeschooled years and in retrospect, examine the pros and cons with sober minds. (My previous post, “Why We Homeschool,” explains more of the factors that led to our decision.)

One of the biggest factors that concerned us was the social side of school. Though I can trust another system or adult with educating my kids in the driest sense of the word, I don’t trust where my children will fall in the rankings of cliches and social prejudices among their peers. Yes, one day they will face the ugly reality of peers and peer pressure, but I want to do all I can to prepare them for it and develop their sense of self to stand firm when faced with such challenges.

Whether we decide to put them in school in fourth grade or in college, I want the most formative years of their lives to be spent learning who they are in God’s eyes, experiencing the small wonders of life in purity and being able to express themselves freely as they discover it all.

Ultimately we realize that it is our prayer and living a pure Christan life that will most influence our children toward becoming and walking as believers themselves. But may every moment we are able to share with them – and teach them — provide them with a storehouse of spiritual wealth they will utilize for the rest of their lives.“

_________

Why did you decide to homeschool — or not to homeschool? If you are still thinking about it, what reasons are drawing you toward the decision to homeschool? Did any prior experience with homeschooling have an impact on your reasons pro or con? We’d love to hear what you think!

We are also taking NEW questions for upcoming “Ask a NextGen Homeschooler” features. Send your questions to nextgenhomeschool@gmail.com or post them as comments to this article (and let us know if it’s OK to quote you if we use your question). We look forward to responding to your homeschooling questions!

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Friday Flashback: Field Trip to Civil War Reenactment Camp

24 Feb DSC09670

By Rosanna Ward

This week you can find us at the homeschool blog link-up called “The Homeschool Mother’s Journal” hosted by The Homeschool Chick.

In our homeschool this week… Last Friday my sister Elizabeth and I took our kids to a civil war reenactment camp in Yale, Oklahoma. Here is the description of the event taken from www.travelok.com:

“The Battle of Round Mountain is listed as the first battle fought in Indian Territory during the Civil War. This historic battle fought in Payne County saw approximately 1,400 Confederate soldiers under the command of Colonel Douglas H. Cooper pursue roughly 9,000 Unionist civilians led by Opothleyahola, a famous Upper Creek leader. These civilians were attempting to avoid an alliance with the Confederacy and ultimately chose to flee to the protection of Union forces in Kansas. Colonel Cooper set out on November 19, 1861 in an attempt to coerce Opothleyahola into submission. Each February, the town of Yale comes alive with the Battle of Round Mountain Reenactment.”

The day we went, the weather was overcast but temperate and the kids were all in a good mood. Saturday was the actual battle reenactment event, so Friday we just got to walk around and visit the different campsites and vendors.

Our favorite stops were the rope-making stall and a booth called Fennel’s Fancy’s. Each of the kids enjoyed making their own rope, and at Fennel’s Fancy’s, the girls made corn-husk dolls, bought lye soap and wood pencils, and tried to fry bread in a kettle over the campfires.

All of the vendors were dressed in period clothes, and Elizabeth and I drooled with envy. Elizabeth is determined to find patterns and make us some costumes for next time. We spent about two hours walking around and taking pictures.

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Spending the day at the civil war camp was a nice outing and fun hands-on opportunity for the kids, but next year we definitely need to wait and come on the day of the battle reenactment itself.

— Rosanna Ward is a devoted wife of 19 years and mother of four children, two of which are currently homeschooled. Her oldest daughter is a homeschool graduate, and her youngest son is a toddler. Rosanna is a homeschool graduate and has been homeschooling for six years. Rosanna loves to study History and Genealogy, and currently resides in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.

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