OK. I know it is ANOTHER tag, but this one is about homeschooling and how we do it. I thought it was nice to get all this information down on the blog! (At least this is my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

Why do you homeschool?
We decided to do this originally when we were pregy with McGee and planning on going out to work in Africa. We never ended up moving out there, but we were kind of hooked on the idea by then. It gives us the great flexibility to have time as a family when Dh is available, we can control the content of what they are learning and we can teach them when they are ready to learn, rather than when someone who never met them says they should be ready!

What technique or curriculum do you use?

We are very eclectic in our style and curriculum. It has taken us five years of trial and error to find what works best for us. We use a Charlotte Mason type of approach, mixed with some Classical teaching and Unit studies. We are semi structured with various curriculums. We use Math U See for Maths (of course!), Hooked on Phonics to teach reading, Building spelling skills for spelling work, First Language lessons of the well trained mind for grammar, Story of the World (plus other resources to add to it) for History and Geography, and we are about to start Considering God's Creation for a set Science program.  

Do your kids work above or below grade level (or both!)?
I think we are slightly below in some things. My boys were both slower to learn to read, which can affect what else you can do. They are coming on quickly now and I'm sure that McGee is now reading far beyond his grade level! I'm not bothered about actual levels since they are learning things at a pace that suits their emotional, mental and physical developement.

What is your educational level?
College/University Certificate.

Do you feel that your education level has an effect on your teaching (both limits and abilities?)
Not really. I have worked out most of what I'm using to teach them by reading about the subject. I wouldn't have gone to college for teaching so it probably wouldn't have helped much. Dh has two degrees but understands less about teaching the boys since I've done the research, so I think your willingness to learn about the job at hand is more usefull than a degree in Physics! (at least untill they want to learn physics that is!)

What does your daily schedule look like?
With our fostering and childminding I have to say that days vary greatly! I have found that my boys work better later in the day than in the morning, so we often are doing spelling tests after tea! They must do their maths work and some phonics/spelling/handwriting work every day. We cover the other subjects in chunks during the week.

Are your kids always polite and ready to learn?
Hahahahaha! That's funny! Well, they are if we go anywhere else, the manners slack a bit at home!  

Do the kids (or you!) get frustrated?
Honesty time! I think we all do some of the time. I get frustrated when they seem to shut off their brains and decide they don't know how to do something that they have learned for weeks or months! They get frustrated when they have to do subjects they prefer not to. I think it is normal, and it doesn't last long. (usually!)

How has this affected your parenting?
It is hard sometimes to not punish 'school' problems with family time things. I don't want school to be a totally seperate thing from life, but sometimes I need to distinguish between 'home problems' and 'school issues'. Hhhmmmm...

How much free time do they have?
Loads! Compared to school-kids, they have more time than they know what to do with! Only they don't seem to realise how good they have it. I sometimes am tempted to send them to school for a couple of months just so they will appriciate their freedom a bit more because they take it for granted.

What do they do during their free time?
Play knights, sword fights, build things, sword fights, draw, sword fights, read, make up stories and puppet shows, sword fights, and play Narnia stories! Oh, did I mention sword fights?

What hobbies do they have?
All the above play activities, Beavers and Cubs, Church kids club.

What difficulties and challenges do you have with homeschooling?
McGee is left handed so that has made teaching him to write more challenging because I'm right handed and had to learn a different way to show him. Combining homeschooling with fostering can be challenging at times, though it has worked really well so far. We just have to be quite disciplined at times to get the work done amidst the occasional bought of chaos!

What makes homeschooling enjoyable?
The freedom to plan our days the way we want. And being able to see ALL the boys first! I'll never forget their faces when they finished reading their first book, or when they figured out their first addition problem! They were beaming (and so was I, LOL!). The sense of family it gives us. We don't have to 'fit' family time into a few hours a day or weekends, we can BE family all the time. Being able to make the most of sooo many learning opportunities that come along during the day. They remember what they have learned so much better than if we had read it in a textbook! I could go on, but I'll stop now! LOL!

How do you get involved in the community?
Through the home-ed community and church, Scouts, and Dh's work in the college. They also take part in alot of activities at our local library.

When do you have opportunities to interact with public or privately schooled children?
Church activities, Beavers and Cubs, Library, Neighborood, Summer camp, grocery store, etc. (you know, all the places that other children have opportunities! We gave up on the shackles in the back room ages ago! )

Would you like more of these opportunities?
No. I think we are fine. Any more and we would have trouble figuring out when to actually DO any work! LOL!

How can they be created?
No need.

What is your least favourite homeschool stereotype?
I think it is the idea that it is a strange American idea (when Charlotte Mason who is called the Mother of Home Education was English!) and the fact that it seems 'traditionally' in England it has been the choice of 'hippy' people with 'alternative' lifestyles! We certainly aren't hippies! LOL! (and I don't feel this assumption is very acturate either. I think it is just the 'hippy' people who have been the loudest about it in the past!)

That was fun! It is nice sometimes to do something like this that reminds you why you started this and helps you to evaluate how it is going, what is good and what isn't! Let me know if you join in the one, it would be fun to read your answers!