Never let your schooling interrupt your education.
Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and writer at Steady Mom
I often write that homeschooling is not for the faint of heart–it always takes courage to choose a different direction from the majority. And though there are serious benefits to the lifestyle we’ve chosen, there are also sacrifices we make when we decide to home educate.
Recently Weiyun Lee asked this question on my Facebook page:
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Written by contributor Lora Lynn Fanning of Vitafamiliae
A note from Jamie: This post originally published on August 8, 2011. Pinterest has grown substantially since then, and has become a popular spot for keeping track of homeschool inspiration! You can find Lora Lynn’s boards here and follow mine here if you’re so inclined. Enjoy!
Pinterest is the latest darling of social websites. It allows you to “pin” or bookmark pictures and posts that inspire you. You can then organize them into categories, creating your own lovely online bulletin board.
For homeschool moms that crawl the internet looking for craft ideas or inspiration, it’s the perfect way to keep up with each new page without creating a million bookmarks in an already crowded folder.
You can create a board for art ideas, one for curriculum favorites, and another for schoolroom inspiration.
Once you’ve pinned an item, just click on it again to be taken to the website where it originated. (Important note: if you pin items from a website or blog, make sure you are pinning from the specific post and note the entire site. Otherwise, you may not be able to find the information you wanted to save.)
Pinterest is also searchable, which means if you are on the hunt for a specific thing, like valentine crafts, you can easily find a myriad of ideas to spark your own creativity.
With the new school year ahead, here are a few ideas gleaned from Pinterest that might help you decorate your school room:
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wine and laundry–an excellent combination
And the winner of yesterday’s Oak Meadow giveaway is Samantha – Congratulations! If you didn’t win, make sure you take a look at Oak Meadow’s creative homeschool curriculum.
“Showing up at school already able to read is like showing up at the undertaker’s already embalmed: people start worrying about being put out of their jobs.” ~ Florence King
This giveaway has ended. Thanks for entering!
I am especially happy to welcome you to this weekend’s giveaway as it is a resource and company that has enriched my family’s personal homeschool journey–Oak Meadow Curriculum and School.
Their uniquely creative curriculum includes:
· Creative, artistic assignments for all learning styles
· Lessons integrated across subject areas for added relevance
· Flexible weekly lesson plans to accommodate travel, artistic and athletic pursuits
· A choice of assignments to encourage meaningful student involvement
· Adaptable for different grade levels in different subjects
· Print-based and online alternatives
Oak Meadow’s philosophy of education is founded on the following principles of learning:
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Written by Sarah Small of SmallWorld at Home
I keep counting on my fingers, so I must be right: we are beginning our 13th year of homeschooling. Thirteen years! And I have to be honest—I’m not always exuberant about starting back.
It isn’t that I want to send my kids to school or anything like that; I just like having lazy summer days. I am reluctant for all our activities to resume, and I really just want to go to the pool, hang out by the river, or travel across the country.
I recently co-facilitated a session for brand new homeschoolers. They were so eager! They shared ideas, suggested websites, exchanged email addresses, arranged play dates, asked about clubs, brainstormed field trips, and, of course, talked curriculum.
My kids are in middle, high school, and college now. I miss those days of anticipation, of bright construction paper and M&M math. I miss sticky crafts, our giant box of inventing supplies (e.g., toilet paper tubes, shoeboxes, and popsicle sticks), and reading by the sandbox while the kids played.
Some years I have missed being excited about starting our new year. With that comes the mommy guilt of lacking enthusiasm.
