COH - Week 93

Carnival of Homeschooling ~ Week 93
The Real Life Edition

Well, this is my third time hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling, and it seems that each time I host, I am reminded that I am not in control. (Imagine that!) The first time, my blog was hosted on Homeschool Blogger and their servers went down seconds after I posted. So, I started this blog on Blogger as a temporary fix to keep the carnival up and running. Well, I really liked a lot of the features on Blogger, so I’m still here. The second time, a stomach bug was running through our family, but I seemed to have been blessedly spared… until the time came to finalize and post the carnival. I was up all night (I’ll spare you the details). I got the carnival up at 6am EST then went to bed… for the whole day. I was amazingly better when I woke up in time for supper. Since then, we have moved to the Deep South, which is in the midst of the worst drought in almost 100 years. So what happens when I go to put the Carnival together? It storms, storms, storms and rains, rains, rains. Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful for the rain, but we are in an area where we can only get satellite internet so… lots of rain and heavy cloud-cover = no internet. Sigh.

But, isn’t that what life is all about? The unexpected popping up and us having to say, “Um, well, this is interesting.” And then we move on with life - just not exactly as we had planned. What else are we going to do? The children still need to be educated, work still needs to be done, laundry still needs to be washed, mouths still need to be fed, and carnivals still need to be posted. So, we grab the blanket and move on with the chapter book when a power outage keeps us from internet research. We pull out the grill and have hot dogs instead of the meatloaf we were planning. I pull up my Excel spreadsheet with all but the last-minute submissions and type up a carnival that wasn’t as creative as the one I was planning so that I can easily add those last few posts and cut and paste the carnival into place once I’m back online. Not what I planned, but not the end of the world either. I can live with that. I hope you can too, ‘cause here we go…

My friend, Aduladi’ (Aduladi’ & Co.), can sympathize with the feeling of frustration that arises when life derails school, but she also acknowledges that we shouldn’t let it if we take our commitment of homeschooling our children seriously. Kathy, at My Quiver’s Full, shares a day in the life at their homeschool showing that sometimes the life we are protecting is far from the idyllic one we imagined at the beginning of this journey. Elena reveals some of her tricks to balancing parenting, school and work over at My Domestic Church.

The Tea Party Girl shares that she and her children identify with hobbits in their love of tea, and, like hobbits, they are learning to love adventure as well.

Sometimes, getting the kids focused on their schoolwork is like pulling teeth, so you can imagine how Jennifer felt with her son’s insightful response to his history reading: “Lincoln – Same as always.” Please encourage her by letting her know that you have days like this, too. Just leave a comment at her blog, Tomorrow is Another Day. (Fitting title, eh?) The bad-attitude monster rears his ugly head in Chili’s household, too, and she shares all the gory details with her regular undefined readers… and you. Ann’Re (in Ann’Re @ Home) reminds us that sometimes we need to ask ourselves “Why did we choose to homeschool?” at those times when we need encouragement to forge ahead.

Terri, at Cricket’s Corner, wants to know where those grey hairs came from. (It’s a sign of wisdom, right?)

Ever wonder if what you teach goes in one ear and out the other? MamaArcher did until she overheard her son passing on knowledge to his sister.

Amy, In Pursuit of Proverbs 31, sings the praises of flexibility in the homeschooling life and reveals that what looks chaotic from the outside contains a skeleton of organization.

Christina, at Home Spun Juggling, compares teaching kindergarten then and now as she looks back to the early days of her family’s homeschooling journey.

Pretty much every homeschooler will tell you that their local library is one of their greatest resources. Shauna at Treasure Seekers shows us how to get the most out of our local libraries (and shares a tip about how to avoid those overdue fines).

Many of us use any resource at our disposal to help us in educating our children, but Summer reminds us that we need to be careful about letting the TV become the teacher of our children (especially our little ones) at her blog, appropriately named, Mom is Teaching.

Elisheva, at Ragamuffin Studies, finds some of the keys she needs to help her AS son by taking advantage of his tendency toward visual learning. Pop on over to Rain-Girl’s My Commonplace Book and learn why she educates herself (and why you should homeschool yourself while you homeschool your kids).

Stephanie shares how she educates by appealing to her kids’ senses through their trip to a wigwam (on her blog Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood) and by sharing her recipe for Civil War Fruit Cake (on her other blog Stop the Ride!). Busy lady. Amanda, at Hearts and Trees, has shared her suggestions on how to use fall leaves as part of a fall nature study. And while you’re outside collecting leaves, bring along some of the materials for a mini-unit on squirrels presented by Lynn at Eclectic Education. Speaking of squirrels, Mama Squirrel has turned Dewey’s Treehouse over to the turkeys in a new treehouse tradition… theme days.

Ever considered adding more students to your homeschool? The Headmistress of Riverfront Academy shares the nitty-gritty of hosting a foreign exchange student and enriching the educational experiences of your homeschool and a foreign student in one fell swoop.

Many of us like the side-effect that homeschooling has on our children’s self-esteem. They get to spend time developing their uniqueness rather than spending all day comparing themselves to others. But we are not immune to negative socialization. At Homeschool 2.0, Lynn shares resources from Dove that reveal the realities hidden in the beauty industry. Meanwhile, Marjorie at the Life Without School Community Blog points out a very important distinction: do we want to socialize our kids, or do we want to civilize them?

We all want our children to be well educated, but Timothy (who is the first to admit Sometimes I’m Actually Coherent… him not me, that’s what happens when I try to get creative), Timothy also wants his children to be good.

All homeschoolers know that just because it’s called “home”schooling doesn’t mean we’re always home. Just ask Tiffany of Life on the Road: Home Business, Homeschool, and Cats! She gives us the inside scoop on some great products to help us keep our kids safe while we’re out and about.

Jennifer, in Diary of 1, shows her family’s progress as they build their new home. (See, you don’t even have to have the house finished to homeschool!)

Denise at Let’s Play Math! always shares quotes with her co-op class, and she has decided to share the three most-recent quotes with us.

Toys, toys, toys… they’re everywhere. You love ‘em, you hate ‘em. You aren’t alone. So does Tonya at Domestic Entropy. Whether they play with toys or an empty box, Christine, the Thinking Mother, emphasizes the need for kids to have unstructured play time.

Books, books, books… they’re everywhere. You love ‘em. Here’s another one to add to your list: The Pushcart War. Read Kathy’s review at HomeschoolBuzz. And Loni, at Finding JOY in the Morning, knows that it’s hard to resist a free book; that’s why she’s giving one away. She also shares the results of recent research on homeschooling.

When we have books that you no longer need, many of us try to sell them (so that we can get money for books we do need). Melissa shares a new-found outlet for selling those books at her Idea Garden.

We all look forward to the day when our kids will be more independent in their studies. Kat at No Fighting, No Biting! shares the concerns she’s encountered while she searches for the balance between guiding her children and doing the work for them.

Accompanied by some humorous examples, Patti at All Info About Homeschooling stresses the importance of teaching our kids to proofread.

It is common knowledge that dads will do anything for their little girls, and Matthew has the video proof over at Play the Dad? No, Be the Dad!

Parent-teachers look forward to their children’s graduation since it reflects success for both our children and for us. Barbara reminds us that this time can be a difficult one for the younger siblings still at home.

Want to keep an eye on the thoughts and goings on of fellow blogging homeschoolers? Head on over to Principled Discovery where Dana shares information about a new homeschooling network.

Here in the US, we take the freedom to homeschool as a given, even if some states have tighter restrictions than others. Judy at Consent of the Governed wants us to make sure we hold tight to that right and shares a list of questions we should ask political candidates so we can learn and understand their positions on homeschooling.

What does Jacque do while Seeking Rest in Ancient Paths? She plans for school, of course! And while she’s planning, Dad is playing and learning with the kids.

NerdMom shares some great, frugal resources for math.

Two homeschooled teens shared posts this week. Jocelyn of Lothlorien shares a review of the movie Miss Potter. SuperAngel, at The Daily Planet, shares how she made history come alive through researching her own family’s place in it.

While Learning at Home, Rose tries to put the socialization question to rest once and for all.

Dawn reports how happy she is with their newest art curriculum at Day by Day Homeschooling.

New to homeschooling in California? Janine at Why Homeschool has helpful information for filing your affidavit.

Thanks for taking a break from your busy lives to visit the carnival this week and thanks to all the wonderful bloggers who shared their posts. As always, if you find any errors or dead links, they are mine. Please inform me so that I can fix them as soon as I am able.

A big thanks to the Cates at Why Homeschool who established the Carnival of Homeschooling in the first place and keep it running. Make sure to schedule time to visit next week’s carnival which will be hosted by Christine, The Thinking Mother.