Homeschool Burnout

Recently on a Facebook homeschool group a mom was talking about getting discouraged and wondered what the rest of us do on days like this. I told her how I live right across the street from a fabulous public school and sometimes joke with my kids that they are driving me so crazy that I'm going to walk over and enroll them in school. Then I told her on extra hard days I remember that I'm not necessarily homeschooling because of my faith, but because of the freedom it affords.

I love that if one of my kids is sick I don't have to throw them all in the van to take x number of kids to school in the morning, pick up a kindergartner at noon, then pick up more at 3:15. I love sitting around nursing while reading to the kids, being able to watch educational shows that I pick out versus some stranger teacher or administrator picking them out. If we stay up late doing something fun as a family, we get to sleep in a little.

Field trips consist of all kinds of fun things and can happen anytime: the zoo, the farm, the circus, a kid art exhibit, a children's museum, to Phoenix where their dad is working, to Colorado for a vacation in September when there are no lines on rides. My husband comes home on his lunch break. My house is filled with happy sounds (and yes, sometimes the sounds of kids fighting and I yell KNOCK IT OFF !@#@#$). Oh, and how nice it is that if my kids aren't "getting" something in their learning, we skip it for a few weeks and come back to it and keep doing that until it clicks.

Also, we get to hang out with extended family as much as we can. And my hope is that my kids might be great friends when they are older because they are together a lot doing fun things.

My kids are only young RIGHT NOW. I want to enjoy it RIGHT NOW. I'm not saying that people with kids in school are not enjoying their kids. Most of my best friends do not homeschool, and we are not at odds in any way. I support them, they support me. But when pressed to come up with reasons why I homeschool and how I make it through every day, the above is what I come up with. I will never say that everyone should homeschool. But I also don't believe it takes a "special" or extra-patient person to do it.

You can do it. If you don't want to do it, don't. But please don't step on my choices. Let me take things further than I should, as I am prone to do. Feminists: you are pro-choice, right? So support my choice to homeschool and have a ton o babies!!!!

Blacklisted from the PTA

I have to admit that I am only in the middle of reading my advance copy of Blacklisted From the PTA, but I am totally in love. I have loaded it onto my sweet new sixth child, my Toshiba Laptop McLoughlin (yes, she has a middle name now, ElfMom!) and read it every chance I get. I love the irreverent humor, and you will, too! She says things we all think, like how we all need to date our hubby more, and she gives us tips, like to make sure you shave before you go out and don't tell him to order the diet plate. She also shares her brief foray into the world of cloth diapering (brief, as in hours!). I love Lela Davidson and can't wait to read more of her essays. She is going to be a popular writer, so watch out for her! If you want to know more, check out the links below to get her book in paperback, on Kindle, to follow her on FB or Twitter. I guarantee she'll have you laughing!

P.S. You gotta love the red pumps on the cover!

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936214431/?tag=hubp045c-20

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0054M8O8E/?tag=hubp045c-20

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BlacklistedFromThePTA)

Twitter @leladavidson, #BlacklistedFromThePTA, #PTAoutcast

Diversity Training in my Homeschool

This is a picture of Michael patiently teaching Sam to mess around with crayons on PAPER instead of WALLS. I love the diversity in my homeschool. We're around black people, white people, brown people, mocha people, purple people (just kidding!), bullies, crazies, oldies, babies, doctors, janitors, engineers, nurses, writers, mailmen and soooo much more. I suppose I am the best teacher for my kids (along with their dad) of tolerance and the fact that diversity is good. I'm NOT saying we tolerate being treated badly or watch as others are treated badly. I'm not saying that the diversity of a person who mistreats animals is okay, either.  Well, I've totally lost my point now, and that's just the way I am. Just enjoy the cuteness of my boys being sweet together.

Procrastinating Mommies

Do you procrastinate when you have too much going on? Sometimes I find myself dragging my feet when I have only a few minutes to get 5 or 6 kids fed and into the van and dressed for dance class. I find a dish to wash. I find a phone call to make. I hurry and get Sam dressed and then rest for a few seconds of well-deserved but ill-timed down-time (loving-the-hyphens!). I write a blog post. I dig around in my bag. Then I rush everyone into the van and we go. Sometimes we're a few minutes late. Then I rush the remaining kids to buy hamster food because the dang thing has been out for days and we've been feeding her things we probably shouldn't. Then we take their friend-who-spent-the-night home. Then we pick up Jordan, pick up the Activitied Child and head home. Or to the pool. No wonder I procrastinate. And this is SUMMER, which means there is LESS going on!

Rosetta Stone Free Demo CD

I called 1-800-349-5311 to get the Rosetta Stone free demo DVD. It rocks. Too bad my memory is so bad after having and caring for 5 kids over the last 10 years that I probably couldn't learn a new language at gunpoint. I have enough Spanish in my brain to get by ... I get to practice it sometimes here in Kansas City. I would learn more if I had to, just as I would easily learn sign language if I had a deaf child. As for teaching my kids a foreign language, however, I'm stuck. I always thought we'd easily learn Spanish together, but I have enough trouble fitting regular stuff into our homeschooling days.

What are your thoughts on foreign language learning? I know a lot of people who are teaching their children LATIN, for gosh sake. I think it would be cool but am so scatterbrained and disorganized that I don't know where we would fit it in. Tips?