I am involved with this organization that pays for my childcare, so I can work. Yes, I am a single mom who homeschools, so I have to work and homeschool, so I can take care of my children. Well, in this organization I have someone who handles my case. This person submits my schedules or changes and makes sure my childcare provider is given her contract and schedule. Anyway, this person is called a Case Specialist. Well, I recently got a new Case Specialist. The one I had before used to always get my information in late or not at all. She wouldn't return my calls in a timely manner, and often she wasn't able to answer my questions and would have to talk to someone else. Then she would still give me the wrong info. She also wouldn't make eye contact with me when I met with her. I thought it was just her personality and that she was just a flake or maybe had family problems.Then I recently was talking to my provider and telling her I was so glad I had a new Case Specialist who seemed to be on top of things and that I didn't know what the other lady's problem was. Then my provider said, very matter of factly, "Oh she just didn't like you because you homeschool your kids." I was shocked and thought, "Why would my provider say such a thing? That's so mean!" I even asked her why she was saying that and she told me that one day when she called my Case Specialist to talk to her about a problem we were having with my provider's contract, my Case Specialist told my provider that she thought it was wrong for parent's to homeschool. I couldn't believe it! I was so angry that someone who is supposed to be serving me and my family was letting her personal opinions control her service to me. I began to think we need a law to protect us from discrimination. I don't know if we already have one, but if we don't we sure need one. It's not fair that I should have so much trouble with my childcare because some lady doesn't agree with my lifestyle.

This homeschool group that we just got involved with meets at a park in town once a week for what they call "Park Day." Sometimes people bring books that they don't use anymore for others to take and use. Well, this week this one woman brought this thing called a Geosafari. It is an older version. But you put cards on it and it flashes a little light and you find the answer. Like matching Spanish words to pictures. Anyway, it has every grade from kindergarten to, I think, junior high. Anyway, I brought it home. It has some great stuff for all of my kids, so I am excited about. Sometimes I will be working with one of my kids on some school thing when another will finish whatever activity they are working on and need me to look at it. I know they will have to wait maybe 5 minutes, so I decided I will set up the Geosafari on the table with a few cards, and when something like that happens I will have them work with the Geosafari for a few minutes, so that they aren't losing learning time. Someone also brought Scrabble Junior, so I brought that home too. We have a math boardgame, so I have my kids set it up and in the middle of an activity that is a little more boring, like writing, when they finish a paragraph I let play a couple of rounds on the math board game. But I think they are getting bored with the same game over and over, so now I will have them use Scrabble and just alternate each day. My son is a terrible speller, so I hope his spelling improves. I just love getting new school things, and coming up with new ideas for the kids. I am thinking about also picking one day a week or maybe two that spend only on writing because my sons hate writing, but it is a skill they need to have. I think they dislike it so much because it forces them to think hard. They get frustrated with not only critical thinking type things, but then have to communicate that to someone else whether it is verbal or written. They both have trouble with comprehension and have speech problems, but I don't want them to use that as an excuse not to push themselves to learn, and that is what they try to do. They need to get past those things and learn not only to do them to some degree, but also learn the ways of communicating that work best for them each, so I push them to try to write and try different things to help improve their communication.

     Well, this is my fist blog entry. I don't know much about this site.But I was searching something online about single moms and one of the results was this website and something written by a user with the name maggieraye and single parents and homeschooling. I read it and decided I had to join this website.

     I am a single mom, and I homeschool. One of the biggest challenges I find with homeschooling as a single parent is keeping my confidence in myself up in spite of all the people around me who say single parents can't or shouldn't homeschool. I even find it a little offensive. For several reasons. One reason is when the comments come from close friends or family because of their obvious lack of faith in me. Another is because these people actually think I care what their opinion is? The last reason being, it's none of their business. But I try to understand that people are human and imperfect. I also don't want to turn people off from homeschooling or homeschoolers, as I am viewed as an example of other homeschoolers that other people will base their judgments off of.

     For awhile I was very withdrawn and pushed people away by refusing to talk to them about homeschooling unless they were intending to start homeschooling. Then people started giving me looks like they thought I wasn't confident in myself, which bothered me even more. I just don't feel like arguing with people. So what I have done now is made a little brochure, and I carry some with me everywhere I go. In my purse, in my car, in little bags I use, so that when people have questions I can just hand them the brochure to read in their leisure to answer their questions without having to subject myself to people who just  want to debate, argue and try shove their views on me. Now I smile and say in a jolly tone, "Oh! Here! Read this. It will answer all of your questions!" Well, I guess this is the end of my first blog. I hope it isn't too long.