Thanks to Piwik and Feedburner, I know this blog has a nice following. And I'd like each one of you to know that I appreciate you. It means something to me that you want to read my writing.
I am less certain why you subscribe to my blog. Is it for resources? Or references to interesting articles? Or my (less than) brilliant commentary on homeschooling life? :) My best guess is that it is most likely my resource references. So, I'm always a little uncomfortable with getting too touchy-feely here. (Feel free to clarify by commenting. I'd be curious to know so I could pitch the blog to be more useful.)
So, I will try to make this a brief comment. It seems that we are going through a time of change here. We continue to work diligently toward a move to Seattle, never knowing what day the right job offer may come in, and what that move will look like. (Picture moving nine cats including a feral one, a burro, a hot-headed thoroughbred, and two goats two states away. If they don't get tranquilizers, I will need them. Nuf' said.) That alone lends a prolonged sense of uncertainty to everything. And homeschooling three seems to have raised the bar here as well.
It is more than that, however. I am also revisiting many questions right now. How do I want to homeschool the boys? What do I really want for them to get from this experience? What tone do I want to create in our home? What homeschooling methods best attain those goals? Does a charter still fit into that picture? How will these choices impact the boys' future if they want to attend a university? (It's a bit early for that last question, but it's still on the horizon.)
Maybe it's just my current mindset, but I found Kate Fridkis' article on Salon.com to be particularly refreshing, surprising and thought provoking. You might pause and rethink your homeschooling once you've read her perceptions of college after homeschooling.
I am less certain why you subscribe to my blog. Is it for resources? Or references to interesting articles? Or my (less than) brilliant commentary on homeschooling life? :) My best guess is that it is most likely my resource references. So, I'm always a little uncomfortable with getting too touchy-feely here. (Feel free to clarify by commenting. I'd be curious to know so I could pitch the blog to be more useful.)
So, I will try to make this a brief comment. It seems that we are going through a time of change here. We continue to work diligently toward a move to Seattle, never knowing what day the right job offer may come in, and what that move will look like. (Picture moving nine cats including a feral one, a burro, a hot-headed thoroughbred, and two goats two states away. If they don't get tranquilizers, I will need them. Nuf' said.) That alone lends a prolonged sense of uncertainty to everything. And homeschooling three seems to have raised the bar here as well.
It is more than that, however. I am also revisiting many questions right now. How do I want to homeschool the boys? What do I really want for them to get from this experience? What tone do I want to create in our home? What homeschooling methods best attain those goals? Does a charter still fit into that picture? How will these choices impact the boys' future if they want to attend a university? (It's a bit early for that last question, but it's still on the horizon.)
Maybe it's just my current mindset, but I found Kate Fridkis' article on Salon.com to be particularly refreshing, surprising and thought provoking. You might pause and rethink your homeschooling once you've read her perceptions of college after homeschooling.
I do enjoy when you share resources...but I am not afraid of touchy-feely either. :-) I believe you pull off a good balance between the two.
After reading Kate Fridkis' thoughts on college, my first thoughts were something along the lines of, "Should I really bother encouraging my boys to go to pursue a degree?"
I KNOW they will more than likely need a degree to get by in our society; not everyone can be a Steve Jobs. But how to make sure they find a college where learning is valued? That has changed my focus from HOW will I get them into college after homeschooling to WHICH college will be right for them.
:) Thanks for tolerating the touchy-feely stuff.
Fridkis said different things to me. And I think I'm still evolving in my thought process. I'm pretty sure the boys will go to college because they will need it to do what they seem to be inexorably fated to do. And I think Fridkis even suggested that she should have thought her college choice through a bit more. (For the record, college and graduate school were some of the best years of my life where I finally felt free to be my (bookish) self and could meet others like me. I'd like the boys to have that experience.)
I think what Fridkis' article said to me was to relax. Socialization wont necessarily be the issue in college. Standardized testing and a more controlled atmosphere might not be the problem. Something as crazy as boredom might be. Homeschooling really can work to prepare kids for the world. I can stop feeling like I have to think it all through and prepare them for everything. Some of it just might fall into place. Maybe, just maybe I can just enjoy the boys today.
Wow, I so want to share the article on facebook, but don't want to p!55 off all my friends who send their kids to school!!!! Great find!
I'm on Vancouver Island so you'll be much closer, I too homeschool/unschool my 3 brilliant in their own ways boys....
I read your blog because of the links and because you always state things succinctly...usually the things I am thinking too....
Thank you for so much for commenting, Mama Lou! It is so great for me to "meet" you. :) You live in a beautiful part of the world, btw.
Yes, I know what you mean about not wanting to tick people off. I'm not totally against public or private schools. I really believe that it's a matter of what's best for a given child/family. I just wish that everybody would feel secure enough in their choices so that they would not view it as a threat when others don't make the same choices.
Okay, I'll definitely keep an eye out for more good links.