• Nov. 9, 2009 - I'm so glad I teach him at home
Every morning, I take my two dogs out for a walk, usually around 7 AM. I see kids standing out at the corner, precious few adults present...kids fooling around, and most of them yawning. At those times, I am so glad that my son is home sleeping, as my husband gets himself ready for work. I get to feed him breakfast, spend time talking with him, and if he needs extra sleep, so be it! No problem. The school kids just don't get that. And their day is so long. Most of the kids aren't home until 4 PM...by then we are done with school work, and we're out doing yard work, or riding bikes.
On top of that, I am so unimpressed with what the kids in school seem to be learning. A fourth grader came by and told me that she had learned in school that we eat plants. I looked at her and asked...'you knew that already, didn't you?'...and she said No! I asked he if she ate apples? Yes. Do you eat rice? Yes. Do you eat salad? Yes. So, did you know that you ate plants? She guessed so.
We go on field trips all the time...I guess pretty much anywhere we go can count as a field trip in reality. We go to the theater, the post office, the library, walks in the woods and through the cemetery, museums, and the aquarium....at least one 'trip' each week. School kids pretty much get 1-2 field trips for the entire year. And we get to do things according to my son's interests, not just what the school district says we should study this year.
When my son is asked about home schooling, he says that he knows that he is safer at home. He tells many parents that there are weapons in schools, and fights. I don't remember telling him about this, but apparently, he heard it somewhere! I let him go to the preschool at the High School for a while, but when I found out that the school could go into a lock-down, and I wouldn't be able to get to him, or get him out, I refused to bring him back. Why would I put my son in that position? As a preschooler, or any other age? I did allow my older kids to go through the public school system, but I was less than thrilled with the process. My kids were smart, and didn't have to work hard to pass...so they didn't work hard. They got acceptable grades, without any effort. They weren't challenged. They weren't interested. And I want to give my youngest better. I think I am. And I think that he is learning, and loving it. I am very happy that I decided to take this route. |
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• Sep. 3, 2009 - Getting ready for the new school year
After having a very busy summer of, guess what...VBS!.....I am pulling together my books and ideas for the new school year. I've already put together my IHIP, and submitted it. Now, I just have to convince the little guy that it is time to buckle down and get some serious schoolwork done! I have so many ideas, but have cut them down so that I might actually get most of them done. That is the trouble with loving learning...there is so much out there, and so much I want to teach her...and just so much time!
That is kind of what has happened with my home school materials room...everything I see has potential for teaching him something...and I just want to have it all, so that it is available when he is ready to learn it. I really have to cut down on what I have...can't find it all now anyways, because I don't have a good way to organize it all! Must use the library. Must use the library. Must use the library.
I can definitely see the attraction of unschooling. Teaching him about whatever interests him, as it occurs. We kind of do that anyway, just through conversation. There are things that he needs to learn, regardless of his current interest however....he really doesn't enjoy math yet, but that is the one thing that is mandatory, per my husband.
I have signed up at a website called Lesson Pathways, which gives you a guideline of things that you might want to teach your child for each year, and then gives you basically a unit study which should cover a week of time, with all the links and activities you could want to use for each study. I have gone through the planning stages of choosing what I want to cover, now I just have to implement week one. I'll try to post here after the first couple of weeks, to say how it is going. Looks interesting so far.
Home schooling.
Glad I'm doing it.
Glad he enjoys it.
Glad he's learning.
Life is good.
Praise God! |
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• May. 21, 2009 - Homeschool news and freebies
I just subscribed to Homeschool.com's new "Homeschooling in the News" daily news reports. These reports are short, well-written and very interesting. I highly recommend them. They're available at: Home School News.
While you're at Homeschool.com be sure to check out their new Podcast page too. There are over 100 free audio interviews with homeschooling experts and authors and speakers about getting started, homeschooling through high school, and information on the different ways to homeschool, are available free at: Homeschool podcasts
I also subscribed to the Homeschool Freebie of the Day, where you get all sorts of books and reports, one each day. Many of the books are long out of print, but that is the kind of material that I like to use with my son. They have stories that show how kids lived at the time of the writing, and the vocabulary is much better than the newer books. They are available at: Home school freebie of the dayI
OOH...look at me, adding clickable links to a post....I'm so proud of myself!
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• Mar. 7, 2009 - Death and growing up?
It has been a very long 6 months. We lost my aunt in September, my husband's uncle in January, my son-in-law's grandfather in February, our 3 year old cat died just after Valentine's Day, and I finally put down my aunt's cat the following week(behavioral peeing all over my house....couldn't make her stop!)
So, we've been to 3 funerals, and lost 2 pets. My son has been very well behaved at the funerals, and he knew that our little cat was dying. But when the little guy finally died, my son really had a hard time with it. He keeps asking me if he will see Smudge in Heaven, since Smudge never did anything wrong. And when I made the decision to euthanize Cuddles, he kept trying to convince me that all we had to do was keep her in a cage for the rest of her life, since he felt that she would rather live that way than die. I thought that he was finally over all of his tears, but they all came back again when we picked up Smudge's ashes from the vet. He carried the box home very carefully, and was singing to Smudge, and saying prayers for him. The next morning, he decorated the box, so that anyone who saw it would know that Smudge was a well loved pet.
I always thought that growing up meant that people you know start dying, but it is a hard lesson to learn at only 6 years of age....I hope that I did the right thing by allowing him to come to the funerals, and to say good-bye. Many parents leave the child home, I'm not sure if it because they are afraid that the child will misbehave, or that they will be unable to process the loss and grief. I tend to think that he is becoming more empathetic because of his experiences, and that it will serve him well in the future.
On a lighter note, after the second cat in a week died, my son stopped crying long enough to say...."Well, maybe now we can get a puppy...!" I must have been out of my mind...we now have a 5 month old Japanese Chin, who looks the same as our Persian cat, and has the bladder the size of a lentil. But that is fodder for another day....
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• Nov. 4, 2008 - Making room, taking time
For the past 3 years, I have had the intention of 'making my million' by selling clothing on ebay....but never quite got around to it. It takes me so long to get everything cleaned and pressed, take the pictures, load them to the computer, and write the description up...then wait and hope that someone wants what I am trying to sell. It was just way too much work. Add to that the new responsibility of schooling my son, and I am drowning!
So, I made the decision to cut my losses, and just donate all of the clothing to area non-profits, take the credit off of my taxes, and make some room in my house! At this point, I've bagged up 37 bags of clothing, and found 30 boxes of saved packing peanuts...I gave those to a woman who actually DOES sell on ebay...and I can almost get in my cellar again! Yes, it took time....3 days, to be exact, and I'm not done yet. I've still got my living room, and more in the cellar...but I can see actual progress now....and I am encouraged.
Are we getting any schooling done? Sure. We start each morning with reading and math. The afternoons are full of sports and outdoor explorations...and weekends are saved for sorting and bagging. Son is now thinking about sorting out his toys, so that he can give away the stuff he doesn't play with or care about....and that is part of education too...sharing what you have.
I still struggle with wanting to keep things, because I MIGHT be able to sell them and make money...but I SO want to have a neat home where we can come in and relax, instead of being stressed by not being able to even sit down without moving stuff off of the couch....how much stuff do we actually NEED, anyway? I just don't have enough storage places for it all, and can't find it if I do manage to put it away, because I've forgotten where I put it!
Thank you, God, for making me feel satisfied with 'enough', and for taking away my need for more. Amen. |
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• Sep. 28, 2008 - Free stuff....boy do I like to collect!
I am always looking for free things to complement my schooling...not that I need anything extra, mind you, but I just am a collector! I have always said that you can not have too many books(the more the merrier), and if one item is good, so I get a second one, and now I have a collection. Must feed the collections...! Anyway, I am modifying my stance now. Yes, you CAN have too many books, if you no longer have any shelf space, and no more wall space to put more shelves, and the boxes in front of the bookcases are full, and you have resorted to storing the boxes behind the couch, and promise that you really WILL get them sorted out and put away soon. Collecting can be good. I've had many collections over the years. But you need to be able to sort them, and put them away, and have a method of cataloging and finding them again!
Anyway. I found a great resource, mostly audio stories, but also a lot of pdf files which I can use for homeschooling...and they are downloaded to my computer, and printed up as I need them. They can be found every weekday at www.HomeschoolFreebieOfTheDay.com and all you have to do is become a free subscriber, and they will send you a heads-up newsletter on the weekend to tell you what is coming up for the following week. The things that they come up with are great, and don't fill up your book cases (until you print them)...and you can listen to great audio stories at your computer or downloaded to your mp3 player. Feel free to check them out, and let me know what you think! |
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• Sep. 15, 2008 - winners...
| Congratulations to Nikki, Lynn, and Mrs. Vick....you should have your books any time now, and we hope that you enjoy them very much. Thank you to everyone who participated, and we will join again next time. |
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• Sep. 1, 2008 - Homeschool Closet Giveaway
 I have 3 'shelves' to offer:
A Ballad of the Civil War by Mary Stolz
Give Your Child a Head start in Reading
Vacation Under the Volcano(Pompeii) and Voyage to the Volcano
Please put your name in the comments, and which book/s you would like to win. I will pick a name on Sat, Sept 6th, and mail out on Monday.
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• Jun. 11, 2008 - summer activities
| We love to do pretty much anything free! My son has gone to Vacation Bible School sessions at neighborhood churches each summer for the past 2 summers, as well as concerts in the park, fishing lessons(also in the park), and going to the library. We have memberships for various area museums, so we go there periodically, although they definitely are NOT free... Well worth it though! We have also spent hours watching workers doing their things...planting big trees, pouring sidewalks, roads being torn up, and sewer lines being installed. We make bread, jello, cookies, and popsicles, and hang out with his friends in the yard. Of course, watching, and catching bugs in the yard is an all time favorite. We listen to books on tape every time we go out in the car, and he likes to listen to them in bed too. Every little thing becomes a field trip, or has educational value of some sort. No end to things that we can do! |
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• Apr. 1, 2008 - Getting it all done
I've gotten myself frustrated again. Piles of papers covering the dining room table, boxes of books sitting in the living room, clothes covering the piano bench and the couch....and I didn't get to vacuum the rug again today. But I managed to get to my job at the office and get the bathrooms cleaned, emptied the garbage, vacuumed the rugs and floors, and mopped everything that needed to be mopped...all in 1 hour. It doesn't seem fair...I can do the office 5X/week, but can't get the beds stripped, and the laundry folded, ironed, or put away!
My newest idea? Schedule in the necessary chores, and pay myself for each day that they get done. Shouldn't take me more than one hour each day, and $5 per day is plenty....and then I can spend it as I wish on the weekend, without feeling guilty! Maybe that would help get my son on board with the chore thing too...I want him to help, because it is the right thing to do, but sometimes a little remuneration is a nice perk! I managed to get the bathrooms and rugs done yesterday, only got one bathroom done today, but did 5 loads of laundry instead of the vacuuming. I can't get it all done, but if I get some done every day, I'm still ahead of the game, aren't I?
So, chore charts for both of us....we'll have to iron out the details, and agree on payment, but I can see that this might help us get our acts together....and maybe build some good habits at the same time! |
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• Mar. 28, 2008 - Getting him motivated
We are working on learning how to read. I have been using a phonics book called Alpha-Phonics, which is pretty basic, but my son is acting a bit bored....OK, well, we are only on the 14th lesson, and still working on the combinations with the letter a....he probably knows about 50 words already, taped to our dining room door for reference, I just wanted to go thru a real program with him to make sure that we weren't forgetting anything. My problem is that he doesn't really have any interest in doing this work. He'll do it, so that I will let him spend time on the computer, or in front of the TV...but how do I get him to WANT to do the work, without bribing him?
We have the same problem with math, he wants to give up so easily, even though with the slightest bit of concentration he can accomplish all that I am asking of him. He doesn't seem to have a problem with concentration, as long as it is a topic that he is interested in...Magic School Bus computer games keep him busy for hours, and he is learning tons from them. He can watch How It's Made for hours, and tell us all about what he watched, and give plenty of details. But as soon as I say that he has to do some 'work', he shuts down. He's only 5! What am I going to do with him to keep up his momentum, if I can't get him to be internally motivated? I don't want to bribe him throughout all his school days.
I suppose that the problem is that he is not going to be motivated to do what I want him to do, until he wants to do it. I think that is really what un-schooling is about. When he is really interested in something, the learning happens at atomic speed. It is so hard to get out of the public school mind set, where everyone is being taught on a schedule, and you either learn it or you don't , and you may or may not come back to it at a later time. We go back to his favorite activities all the time...slime making in particular...and going out to explore the yard(and the mud...!)
I hope that I can learn to just let him learn....and just expose him to as much as possible, so that he can find those things that interest him....they all get his attention at some point! |
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• Nov. 15, 2007 - Collecting and teaching
I am in a quandry. I am a collector, and have now found a new thing to collect....books and materials for homeschooling! I have a beautiful collection of reference books about the process, and tons of books for teaching just about any subject you can think of-languages, science, history, art, math, phonics, and loads of cd's to teach at the computer, and lots of science kits and crafts items, for those days when the 'I'm bored" mood hits.
The problem is: when do I actually USE all of this stuff? We are so busy going everywhere, that we don't get to use hardly any of our books. I have them all organized on shelves by topic, but can't remember exactly WHAT we have. And I am always looking for more at sales. It is a compulsion. I want to own it all...and see the possiblities in everything!
On the plus side however, my son IS learning a lot, and we can look up practically anything that he has an interest in. We go on field trips often, so that he is exposed to new experiences. He tells anyone who will listen about his current interest, and his vocabulary is WAY above grade level. He is able to speak in a clear voice, and has great eye contact, so people can understand him easily. He invites children of all ages to participate in whatever activity he is pursuing, and he can stand up for himself when he feels that something is unfair, or if he doesn't understand something. Overall, I guess he's learned all the skills he needs as a kindergartener to be successful in the real world. That is really our goal, to make him self-sufficient.
So, I suppose I can continue collecting...as long as it doesn't get in the way of daily communication with my son...and the book cases don't collapse from the weight....just how many bookcases CAN I put one of top of the other? |
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• Jun. 13, 2007 - talking to the press
OK, so the title is a little misleading.
Seb had a chance to speak to a reporter after an incident in our neighborhood. It wasn't on tape, but my husband reported the conversation to me. Almost every day, someone asks Seb if he is on vacation, or if he is starting Kindergarten in the fall. He says no, I don't go to the High School anymore, I am being home schooled. We get a lot of surprised looks at THAT one...! He went to the high school's pre-K program for 2 years, 10 weeks each year. He was invited to come back this year, but he wasn't learning anything there, it was only to provide the high-schoolers an extra child to practice their nursery school program skills upon.
Anyway.
He was talking to the reporter about bugs, one of his favorite topics. She asked him what his favorite insect was, and he responded: butterflies. She asked him why he liked them the best, and he told her:
They start out as caterpillars, and eat things in our garden, but then they turn into butterflies and pollinate our gardens so that we have more fruits and vegetables.
She was very taken with his response, and commented that he was very smart. He acknowledged that fact. then she asked him about his schooling, and he told her that he was being home schooled. She asked if Mom or Dad taught him, and he said Mom...and that he was smarter than Dad...got a grin out of the reporter, and another wry grin from Dad. Dad does plenty of the teaching, but Seb doesn't realize when he is being taught...Dad's teachings are just more conversations in the every day life of the Calabro family!
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• Apr. 27, 2007 - Learning how to use the language
OK, we've been loosely homeschooling now for 4 1/2 years, which is my son's current age. People are constantly asking if he is in school yet, and those same people are nodding and agreeing that home is really the best place for him to be! He learns very well from videos, books on tape, and exploring the wild outdoors. I know that he is learning, because he comes up to me at least once a day, and asks me to explain a word or phrase that he has heard. He loves to be creative and is learning to play with language. His newest thing is similes. The two examples I have are:
Quick as a mouse (I put my shoes on quick as a mouse)
Clean as an onion (I washed my hands, they are clean as an onion)
I don't know how he came up with them. But they do show that he is learning how to use our wonderful language.
He also talks to everyone he meets, and tells them all sorts of things...they all shake their heads, and ask, "HOW old is he?" I think he could hold his own with any 3rd-4th grader, except that he can't read or write yet. But even that is coming along. He has started writing words all on his own. OK, not complete words. LBRE for Library, and PRT for party. But that's not a bad beginning for someone who only knows how to write his capitol letters. He has also started trying to sound out spellings for us when we tell him a word.
I'm so proud. And so happy that he is learning. I'm so blessed! |
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• Oct. 26, 2006 - How do their minds work?
My son woke up yesterday, crawled in bed with me, and once I woke up enough to have a decent conversation with him, he asked me, "what does manipulation mean?" Ok, he really is listening to all those stories we have in the car. I gave him the definition, and some examples from real life. Then he asked, "But how does a fan work?" I know, I should be used ot it by now. Anything he is currently looking at is fair game for conversation and exploration. He had been lying on his back looking at the ceiling fan while I answered the previous question. So, I went on to explain the fan by use of comparison to a car wheel and engine. He seemed to get that quickly enough, then promptly went on to ask me how a venus flytrap catches it's prey. Don't ask me where THAT came from! I don't have a clue.
Teaching my son this way has had good consequences. He is being taught 'where he is' right now. His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. And I am getting a much needed boost in my self esteem...I really know a lot more than I ever gave myself credit for! All of his questions bring out all of the information that I have stored away for the past 44 years, when I didn't really think I was learning much at all! I still have many bare spots-I don't know much at all about history or current events, and I'm a little sketchy on the upper sciences and maths, but luckily, my wonderful other half is willing and able to take up the slack!
Now, since my son has been exposed to this type of learning, I have been observing him teaching others. He is very willing to share whatever he knows, and he is more patient while teaching than at any other time.
He even taught me something the other day. I looked over at him, sitting quietly on the couch, and his hands were folded, and he was looking intently at them, and speaking quietly. He looked up to me, and said, " I am praying to God. Can you come sit with me?" I sat next to him while he finished, and then he told me, "It's your turn. Pray out loud." I normally think of prayer as being private, done silently, but I thought about it hard, and thanked God for the day, and asked for patience and for guiding our day.
Son seemed to like that prayer, because he heard me asking for help, and it had something to do with him. I find myself yelling at him often, usually because I have not allowed enough time to do something, and we are running late, but there are other times also. He will stop, and ask me if I will be happy tomorrow. It always stops my rant, I take a breath, and say, "I'm happy now." And I mean it. I can't always control my angry reactions, but God has given me this little boy to help grow my patience and gentleness. How can I stay unhappy? I usually explain what was making me so upset, I get a hug from him, and we go on with our day. My bad times are becoming less and less, with my son's teaching and God's graciousness. I hope someday to be the Mom that my son sees in me. He's already everything that I could hope for!
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• Sep. 27, 2006 - Why does that ant want to get out?
Seb has taken a definite interest in the bug life around our home. We have a beautiful spider that he named Charlotte(guess where he got THAT name!?)...camped outside of our back door all summer. We have watched her building and rebuilding her web, catching her prey and eating it, and looked at her web with rain and dew on it.
He has collected a dragonfly, cicada, honey bee, pill bug, and yellow jacket, all ensconced in an old baby wipe box, lined with kleenex. He picks them up to show friends, and can name them all.
We have watched butterflies all summer coming to our overgrown garden, with an overabundance of milkweed...so we had many monarchs this year, in addition to the other flutterbyes. He was in tears when one came by and he didn't come out fast enough to see it, but he is thrilled when we find one on our walks, and tells everyone what it is, and follows it as long as he is able.
Our newest aquisition is a bug house, which came with a small domed object, with a maze in it. He caught a carpenter ant, and put him in the maze, where we put a small piece of bread for food. The ant really didn't understand the object of the maze, he probably was really too large for it...he could walk over all of the blockades, and climbed all over the top of the dome. Seb told me that the ant didn't want to run into walls, so he just climbed over them. We kept that ant for about 1 1/2 hours(yes, the dome has air holes) and he never stopped to eat his bread, or to rest. The entire time, he tried to escape. Seb was trying to make sense of it. Why wasn't he happy? Why didn't he eat? and most important, why couldn't we just let him out anywhere?
So we discussed the fact that ants will kill any stranger that comes into their nesting area, because they are invaders. He wasn't happy because he wasn't able to do his job of gathering food for his family. He couldn't take time to eat, he had to get back to his job. Seb understood that the ant loved his family, because he fed them, and helped to take care of them. He was sad that the ant was so intent on leaving the maze, but he knew that he could not keep him any longer. We let the ant go into our garden, next to the driveway where he had been found. Seb put down the piece of bread next to him, and said that maybe he could bring it back to his home.
Altogether, it was a successful lesson. Next, he wants to catch a night bug, to examine it. His flashlight is ready, and so is his magnifying cup....May all our lessons be this easy!
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• Aug. 19, 2006 - VBS and home school?
We have had a very busy summer...my son has taken a week of swim lessons, and 5 weeks of VBS....I never thought before that I could send a child to more than one, we only over went to the week hosted by our home church. It has been great for him, he's met some new friends, and comes home saying "JESUS loves ME!:" which I think is great....
But...
All this talk about homeschooling my son, and I willingly give him over to other people to give myself some free time, and to let them teach him about Christ. Am I confused? Is there something wrong with my logic? I am home schooling him because I don't want to have him exposed to all of the behavior problems so prevalent in the schools, but since it is a church, I don't have to worry about that????!!!
Well, in general, I guess I think that this has been a great summer for him, and we got to meet people from different churches. We went to 2 Baptist Churches, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal...and they were all great fun. He's gone on treasure hunts, learned about the mission field, and celebrated a FIESTA, and he came home with new vocabulary words, and art projects.
Now, I just heard, Church of the Nazarene is hosting VBS next week, with a super hero theme...great for my budding super hero! So, it's off to church we go...!
But maybe next summer, we won't plan QUITE so much.
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• Aug. 10, 2006 - Losing weight, losing my stuff???
It took my son's question to get me started. Why are you so big? Why do you have a big butt? Why are you so angry?
For each pregnancy, I gained weight, and then lost some of it, but not all. Three children later, I have 60 pounds more than I started with!
So, one of my friends told me that she lost 70 pounds, after having 5 kids, once pregnancy being twins, and I asked her how she did it...she told me about Weigh Down, which is a class to teach people how to get away from their addiction to food, diets, exercise...I was in the orientation class today, and I loved it. There is great music, and online facilitator, and we get to chat online with each other, to give encouragment and advice. The main idea behind the class is teaching yourself to wait for hunger, then only eat enough to stop yourself from being hungry. But that is not the whole focus of the class. We have to change our focus, from the things that take all of our time, to God, who gave us everything. My new mantra is between "I am sufficient unto you" and " The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." I am finding that I am only eating, because it is time to eat, not that I am hungry. Were our parents doing us a disservice by enforcing mealtimes? I still want to spend time together, but if I am not hungry, I will only drink, and take my time with that!
So, now that I am losing weight(12 pounds in 3 weeks)...can I also focus on losing my extra stuff? I am a garage sale addict...and my home no longer looks like a home, but a warehouse...attic, cellar, garage, and everywhere in between. I love the thrill of finding the bargain, but I dread trying to find a place to put it when I get home! I do not need all these things, and I am finding that they are taking away my enjoyment of my home and my family....no longer a place of rest and refuge, but a place of tensions and strife.
So, God, please be sufficient unto me, take away the desire to own more, make my home a reflection of the best that we can have in you...Enough, not too much! Make my home a refuge from the outside world, a place where we can feel your presence by looking around!
And All God's people said....Amen!
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• Jul. 26, 2006 - Public School? Benefits? Where?
As a mom of 2 publicly schooled kids, I have to say that I am not terribly impressed. Both of my children qualified for the gifted and talented programs, but I never felt that they received much of anything for that 'honor.' The only exception to that was the Young Scholars program, offered by the BOCES program, which was a pull out program, one day per week, for enrichment activities. Lots of vocabulary work, lots of writing, and great projects. But the program was only for grades 4-7, I believe...
In the regular classroom, the teachers were WAY too busy teaching to the test, and trying to bring the low achievers up to a minimum level. The smarter kids were left to their own devices, either to excel on their own, or to coast by, and get just Ok grades. I happened to have one of each...a very high achiever, and a coaster. My daughter claims that being labelled gifted and talented had no positive results for her...it just put her in higher level classes, with WAY more work, but not more of anything interesting...just work!
And for those people who claim that socialization is such a crucial part of a public school education, they obviously never worked in a school. After 7 years of being a teachers' aide, I can tell you that there is precious little time spent on socializing. Because of the number of children given to each instructor, and the number of accompanying behavior problems, most of the time is spent telling the kids to be quiet and listen, in classes and in halls. Lunchtime? YOU try talking to your friend in a echoing room full of 200 screaming kids, and getting and eating your lunch in 20 minutes.
SOOOO, enter child number 3, I finally decided to take the plunge, and I am homeschooling him. OK, he only just turned 4, but he has the vocabulary of a 5th grader. He can only count to 13 accurately, but is now trying to figure out the 20's and 30's....he works on his own computer, loves magic schoolbus, and is an avid bug collector. Bet you can't tell that I am proud of him! How many 4 year olds can talk to you about nail beds and fingernails...and understand that they are made of the same stuff as your hair? Or, be able to tell you what anthropomorphism is?(Or even say it?) After thinking about it for 16 years with my first 2, I think I'm ready to home school. I'm still working out the details, but I think that we'll be fine.
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