I Used to Be Embarrassed

Yup....I was.

I was embarrrased to tell people that I homeschooled.

And now it's embarrassing to tell this to  you. I was always quick to clarify, .."but I don't bake my own bread".

As if that is some way kept me mainstream and not fanatical. "One of those homeschoolers." I'm happy to say, I've come along way since that first year of homeschooling.

It's not just your children who grow up, when you home school.

I chose to go against the conventional educational process and it took some time to feel comfortable in doing so.  And now I'm very proud of myself for taking that risk.

I didn't let my fear of what other people might think,

keep me from doing what I thought was good for my family.

One of the greatest things about homeschooling has been meeting so many interesting and diverse homeschooling families.

I love,

love,

love....

talking to homeschooling moms and hearing about their journey to homeschooling. One common thread resonates. They are all enjoying the time with the kids.

Are there strange homeschoolers?

Well, sure, but I've learned to appreciate them all. Because the  common thread we share is the fact that we homeschool because we love our children.  Just like any other mom. 

As my kids are getting older , I have more time to myself. Just the other day, I stumbled accross a recipe for artisan bread. And I made bread for my family.

I'm now officially a bread-baking homeschool mom, and proud of it.

Joann's Homeschool Discount

Jo-Anns announced today January 2, 2012 that they are offering a two day special sale to honor hard working teachers and educators.

This includes teachers at public, private and charter schools as well as homeschooling moms, dads and other family members and licensed childcare providers.

For two days only, Saturday January 7, 2012 and Sunday January 8, 2012 you will receive 15% off every purchase you make, both in our stores and at Joann.com®. 

Sonlight Curriculum-Pros and Cons

Sonlight Pros

Sonlight is a complete program that uses real books instead of textbooks. Everything is scheduled out for you on a daily basis so you can enjoy the fun part of homeschooling...intereacting with your kids instead of spending lots of time pre-reading and prepping. You have a choice between a 4 or 5 day program too.

The History books they choose are read in a chronological order along with a nonfiction book that chronicles the history. So you read about the American Revolution in addition to reading a historical fiction book with a great story that helps you remember the history.

Then you can mark things on a map to learn geography from the books that you are reading. For the American Revolution, you would be marking all the historical cities and towns on the East coast.

The writing assignments/dictation are pulled from the time period that you are studying and the books you are reading. You are given a summary of each chapter, questions, vocabulary, geography, cultural relevance issues etc-all the in the instructors notes.

Lastly, you can choose a science that relates to the same time period so history and science overlap too.

Sonlight Cons-

It's a little costly but here's how I look at it.

1. They offer a payment plan to spread out the cost.

2. I use the cores for teaching two kids in one school year.

3. I re-sell the core on Ebay when I am done for 70-80% of my purchase price-net cost around $100 ($50 per kid, per school year-not bad!)

4. If it's really a strain, consider just purchasing the instructor's guide and getting the books at the library. This would be a lot of work but worth it.

5. They have an incredible money-back guarantee so if it's not a good fit-return it even after using it for 1/2 a school year. They really believe in their products and want you to be successful.

We have used Sonlight for 8+ years and I'm so thankful a friend recommended Sonlight in our early years of homeschooling.

My sons love to read and have so many great memories of reading together as a family. And they test well on standardized tests for those of you who are just a little curious.