LOL!  Okay, so in reality, I do not have fans, but I do have 1 person that *requested* an update on my blog (the person that least needs an update, LOL), so here is that update...

We finished camp without any major fiasco, after getting through the first day.  The kids had a blast and want to go back next year, so it must have been good.  I did get a glimpse, this week, of what life would be like if we had the boys in school rather than homeschooled.  We woke up every morning before the sun came out, packed lunches, dropped them off for 7 hours, picked them up, ate dinner early (because they were STARVED by the time they got home) and sent them to bed early (because the schedule was exhausting).  It was a weird week, because I am not used to feeling so left outof my own kids lives, ya know?  And Shawn literally only saw them in passing every day (with his work schedule, he was asleep when we left in the morning and leaving for work as we got back each day).  I'll be glad to have my kids back all day tomorrow!

I did manage some fun this week for myself.  Shawn and I went to lunch a couple of times with just Ella, and we went out once with friends.  We hit some yard sales and got the schoolroom cleaned quite well (yes, to me this is fun, LOL...  I'm sad, ain't I?  LOL).  I also got caught up on some things I needed to get done for McCheo and Community Co-op, which is a relief! 

Well, it is 9:15 and I am exhausted.  I am taking the kids to a waterpark tomorrow (to make up for not letting them go on the field trip to an even more crowded water park in a bigger, scarier city), so I'd best get to bed.

and Cody has been snoozing since 7:30.  What, you may ask, has caused the ***(insert our last name here)*** boys to be so exhausted?  Day camp, LOL.  We had to be up by 6:15 am and out the door by 7:30 am.  We picked up our good friends, Dawn (*Sunniebreezes* on my blogroll), Brandon, and Brianna.  The kids had camp from 8:30 until 3:30, so a VERY full day.  The two little kids had 'Just Add Water' and 'Chemistry Kids', while the older boys had 'Just Add Water' and 'Spy Science', and they LOVED it! 

We have only had 2 problems-  Deuce is stressed about going back tomorrow.  Even though he loved the classes, he is very frustrated by the misbehavior in some of the other boys in the class.  He said that class had to be interrupted quite a bit to deal with the discipline issues (he's never been in an all day class like this, and has never faced this type of issue before...). Hopefully it goes better tomorrow. 

Our other problem (a biggie) was that Cody and Brianna accidently got shuffled around and ended up in the preschool class for the first half of the day (they should have been in the 1st grade class).  How did no one notice?  Didn't the teachers take attendance?  Wouldn't 1 teacher notice 2 kids missing, and another teacher notice she has 2 extra kids???  We have to get this straightened out first thing in the morning, because we (all the parents involved) are not thrilled by this, as you can imagine.  What we think happened is that another friend noticed our kids and just assumed that they were supposed to be in the same class as her son.  When she took them to the class her son was in and put them in that class, I guess the teacher thought they belonged to her????  I don't know.  It just bothers me that it wasn't noticed that they were missing from their class, ya know?

Anyway, I need to go get lunches packed for tomorrow.  Hopefully I handle this better, LOL, as I was joking with Dawn that we should stay and follow the kids around all day.  They are having fun, though, and will benefit from the great science lessons they are getting all week.  I did decide, though, not to allow them to go on the field trip to a majorly crowded waterpark on Friday.  If my 6 yr old got shuffled staying AT the museum, what mght happen in such a crowded place???  I mean, I'm all for giving my kids a little independence, but I refuse to be stupid about it, LOL.  Please pray that we don't have anymore issues for the rest of the week!

And that is why I have not been posting much, sorry.  :-)  We have been taking the kids to the waterpark a couple of times a week, having cookouts with friends, and doing just a little school, LOL.  Here's some pics of Ella falling asleep in our friend's pool, LOL.  (Sorry, they aren't great shots...  I forgot my real camera and ha to get these with my phone)....

I couldn't figure out a good way to keep her asleep while removing her from the innertube, so I put hr on a boogie board to sleep, LOL......  the inner tube worked well as a pillow....

Now I am beginning to think about the next school year.  I need some more organization in my house, and thought that our school supplies would be a good place to start.  We have BIG schoolboxes full of schol supplies (one for crayons, one for adhesives, one for pencils, etc....)  Whenever the boys are working with those, they make sucj=h a mess because it's too many big boxes, so I made a couple of 'seat sacks' yesterday for them.  Each sack will hold their daily work, a box of crayons, a pair of scissors, pencils, colored pencils, and anything else they may need everyday.  Hopefully this will cut own on the big jumbled mess from the other supplies.  They both love Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (heehee, so do I), so I made Cody a Michaelangelo, and Deuce a Leonardo seatsack.  What do you think?

Okay, well now I need to run to the store.  The boys have day camp all next week at the science museum, so I need to buy some things to pack in their lunches.  :-)

and it turned out great!  I *think* we had 19 (?) kids at the party (it's hard to keep track of them all, LOL).  We had a Lego themed cake, and I made 2(!) pinatas- one for the 6 & under kids, and one for everyone else.  Here are some pics from a very fun day....

Here's the cake...  YUM!  My favorite part of the party!

Ella loved the cake too!  And she somehow managed to not get *any* blue icing on her dress!  (I forgot the bib, but she is a very neat eater normally)....

Here are some pinata pics-

Can you tell that Deuce really gets into his pinata swing???  Maybe that's from playing baseball, lol?

We went to the waterpark after the party (us and 25 of the guests from the party, LOL), but I don't have any pics from there....  The boys say that this party was even better than the Chuck E Cheese parties they have had, so I guess it went well, LOL.

Ella (and Cody, LOL.. this took two kids to get it right) picked a winner to receive The Schoolhouse Planner!

Here is Ella getting her supplies together, to write the names on the paper-

Here she is writing the names (my little *gifted* one, LOL)....

And here she is, selecting a winner-

Conrats to Jenna! 

Now, here's why it took two kids to pick the winner.  When Ella first picked it out, she picked 2 names by accident.  I told my husband (who was hoding Ella) to take the name on top (not knowing who it was), and it was Jenna.  We decided to redraw, though, because it didn't seem fair to just say 'Jenna' when there were 2 names drawn, but Ella seems only capable of drawing 2 names at a time, LOL.  So we called in a pinch hitter, Cody, and he was able to select one paper, and it just happened to be Jenna also.  I didn't know that drawing a name could be so difficult, LOL.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Okay, first off, don't forget to enter my contest to win a copy of The Schoolhouse Planner.  Every homeschooling mom should have a copy of this, and you might just be able to get a free one through this contest!  Check out my blog entry from June 28th for all of the rules.

Now, I need some help.  My boys are having a combined birthday party July 5th and they want it Lego themed.  I have always had pinatas for the parties, but could not find any at the local party supply stores, so I have to make them (2, to be exact).  Now, be honest, and be brutal-  does this, in any way, resemble a real Lego?  I still need to paint it, and I have 1 more to do, but I am hoping these will work well.  I am not a creative person at all and have been terrified to start this project.  What do you think???

And, don't even get me started on how *icky* paper mache is to work with.  I hate mess and goo, and, well, eewwww.  Deuce and Cody are going to do the next one, so hopefully I won't have to touch the sticky stuff again, LOL.

When this was first e-mailed to me, I just could not believe how much was in this planner. I opened the program and clicked on some titles in the index (it’s interactive, so I was taken right to the page I wanted to see first), and had to finally walk away to prepare dinner when I realized that my poor children were starving because I was taking too long, enjoying flipping through the planner, LOL. Finally, I just printed it off to put it in a binder so that I could get started with all of my organizing. I was so thrilled that I have already filled in as much as I possibly can to take my family through to Christmas break, lol. My kids have been laughing at me for being so excited about it, but they won’t be laughing come fall, when they realize that I will never again forget about an assignment that they need to turn in to me, hahaha.

Now I’d like to give you a chance to win your very own copy of this planner. That’s right, those fine folks at TOS gave me permission to offer a free copy of The Schoolhouse Planner to the person that wins the contest running on this blog. Cool, huh?

It’s really simple to join in the contest. Just write a post on your blog about this contest, post a link to my blog and then come here and drop me a comment telling me that you want to be entered, and that’s it! Next Sunday (July 6^th), right after church, I will come home and copy all of the names off of here and drop them into a bucket. Ella will then pull out the winning name, and TOS will send that person a free copy of The Schoolhouse Planner.

What are you waiting for? You know you want to win! J

but Ella has been sick and was in a TERRIBLE mood at the time.  Tonight she seems a bit better, but not 100% yet.  At least she's not running a 102+ degree temp.

I skipped church yesterday because of her feeling so yucky, and told Shawn when he got home that I could not go to a cook-out that we had planned with some friends of ours.  He insisted, though, that I at least go for a bit.  I was very confused, so he finally fessed up-  he had planned a surprise party for my birthday!  This is the first time that he has ever managed to pull off a surprise in the entire 12 years that we have been together.  My birthday isn't until the 29th, so I wasn't expecting anything a week early, LOL.

My friend, Dawn, baked 2 cakes for the party....

And my friends got me great gifts.  They know me too well, LOL.....  I got a Webkinz Tie-Dyed Frog that I named 'Tipsy' (Dawn and I are quite certain that he is a lush because he has a weird, half closed eye, LOL), and Jelly-Belly Beans...  YUMMMMMMM.......

Shawn got me a new cell phone (A pink Razr with a new green face plate) that will match the frog, LOL.  And Christi sent me a beautiful handmade beaded bookmark for my Bible.   This was an awesome birthday.  :-)

Ella, even being sick, found a troublesome way to entertain herself.....  'Oh, these look yummy...'

"Now, how do I open this box?"

"Awww man......  I dumped then all over....."

"I never realized that rolling in crackers could be so much fun!  Why hasn't mommy let me do this at our house?"

Oh, and I also got something else really cool.  Not as a birthday present, mind you, but it is awesome.  I got a copy of 'The School-House Planner' and I cannot get over how much is in this one planner.  I'll be writing a review of it next week, and running a contest to give away a free copy, so check back here for that.   This is, by far, the best planner I have seen for a homeschool mom.  You'll definitely want one for yourself,  :-)

This is one of my favorite weeks every single year!  I am on a VBS high right now, LOL.  I have always loved working with kids, but especially for Vacation Bible School.  I have a great group of third graders (we had 44 3rd graders today).  I have a whiney toddler, so I can't write much, but here's some pics that Deuce and I took today.

Ella was not happy about the thought of going to nursery today.

She was happier when she saw Miss Dawn, her favorite person in the whole world, lol.

She tried pretending to be 5 years old, so that she could stay in Miss Dawn's class, LOL.

This is part of the stage decorations.

This is the Lollipop Tree.  Kids that bring a visitor, and the visitors themselves, get to pick a lollipop off of the tree.

The kids earn tokens for being well behaved, or going the extra mile in being nice.  The tokens are then worth $5 in the 'store'.  You can practically see the dollar signs in Deuce's eyes, LOL.

The kids earn more money (Bug Bucks) by memorizing Bible verses.  This is what gets Deuce very excited-  he was born to memorize Bible verses, LOL.

This is a bit blurry, because we were bouncing and dancing.  Deuce was chosen to go up on stage and help demonstrate the hand movements to a song.

We had a 'bucket brigade' game today.  Ummmm, I think this is where my clumsy son dropped the bucket, LOL.  He gets his coordination (or lack thereof, LOL) from his mom.  :-)

Cody loves the arts and crafts.

Since I am the 3rd grade line leader, I had to sneak away for a moment to get a pic of Cody, and all I caught him doing was sitting in the hall waiting for his turn in the store.

Then Deuce snapped this of Cody while he was in the sanctuary. 

We are having such a blast!  I can't wait to go back tomorrow!  Are the aults *supposed* to be having as much fun as the kids?  Oh well, LOL....

How do we make sure that those poor homeschooled kids get the same socialization as the kids in public school?  I read a great method on one message board, posted by another parent, that I am considering implementing as soon as possible.  I'll copy and paste so that you can just read for yourselves, and maybe you'll be making some important changes in your homeschool soon, LOL.

"When my wife and I mention we are strongly considering home schooling our children, we are without fail asked, 'But what about socialization?--' Fortunately, we found a way our kids can receive the same socialization that government schools provide.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will personally corner my son in the bathroom, give him a wedgie and take his lunch money.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my wife will make sure to tease our children for not being in the 'in' crowd, taking special care to poke fun at any physical abnormalities.

Fridays will be 'Fad and Peer Pressure Day.' We will all compete to see who has the coolest toys, the most expensive clothes, and the loudest, fastest, and most dangerous car.

Every day, my wife and I will adhere to a routine of cursing and swearing in the hall and mentioning our weekend exploits with alcohol and immorality..--.. And we have asked them to report us to the authorities in the event we mention faith, religion, or try to bring up morals and values."

We all know that there is a great amount of diversity among homeschoolers (though, many *outsiders* don't realize this).  From the size of our familes to the types of curriculum we use, we are all very different.  Likewise, we all have different stories about what led us to homeschool.  I'd love to hear from you;  what pushed you to homeschool?  Did you always *know* you would homeschool or was it a sudden *need*?  Was your spouse (I know that I have acouple of guys that read and don't want to leave them out, lol) on board right away or did they need convincing?

When Deuce was 8 months old, I started reading about homeschooling.  I can't remember now why I had such an interest in it at that time, but I mentioned to Shawn that I'd like to try it.  He was, naturally, hesitant to do something so *different*.  I mean, public school was good enough for us, so why not send our kids to school?  Wouldn't our kids be *weird*?  Wouldn't they lack friends?  Aren't all homeschoolers socially backwards?

I just kind of left it alone;  I mean, Deuce still had a ways to go before kindergarten, LOL.  And by the time he was two years old, we figured that I would go back to school and finish getting my teaching degree so that I could go to work.  We thought that 2 was a good age to introduce Deuce to the concept of daycare;  he had all of the benefits of having an "at-home" mom for 2 years and could now make some friends and *cut the apron strings*.  We lived in a small town, so we figured that the local daycares would all be very friendly places, perfect for Deuce.

Boy, were we wrong.  Deuce did not take to daycare well at all.  He SCREAMED when I dropped him off.  When I would pick him up, I'd usually find him alone, sitting in a rocking chair or in a corner on the floor.  After a couple of weeks, the director told me that we were "being released from our contract".  I tried finding out if Deuce was being a problem, and her only issue with him was that he was a "loner".  She said that he spent all of his day lying on the floor, rolling toy trucks in front of his face.  (We had no idea, until Deuce was 6, that he was on the autistic spectrum). 

I thought that he just needed some time to mature, so we waited until the next year and enrolled Deuce in a local preschool.  Our thinking was that he just needed more structure than regular daycare provided.  Nah, it was the same thing.  After a couple of weeks, we found out that he just couldn't handle it.  He wasn't making friends, he was a nervous wreck and he just hated school. 

This was the point that I started to look at homeschooling materials, remembering that it sounded like such a good idea when Deuce was a baby.  Now that it seemed that Deuce and "school" just didn't fit, Shawn was easier to convince.  He said that we could homeschool through the elementary grades and then Deuce could start middle school at the local school.  Shawn wanted Deuce to be able to play sports, play in band, and have all of the other extracurriculars that are traditionally associated with schools.  At the time, we didn't realize that all that, and more, can be available to homeschooled children.

Now, we would never consider public school (or private school, for that matter).  Deuce is one of the most social children I know (amazing, given how he never had much interest in having friends when he was younger).  I can customize all of his lessons based on what he needs, and then turn around and give Cody exactly what HE needs, even though the needs are very different from Deuce's.  We see more and more as the years go by that this is the *right* way to educate our children. 

So, what about you?  Are you in it for the long haul, or is homeschooling just filling a need right now, with plans for other types of schooling later?  Doesthe need for extarcurriculars impact that decision for you in any way?  What caused you to choose homeschooling?

Your Ice Cream Personality:

You like to think of yourself as a fairly modest person. And it's true that you don't talk yourself up... but you're also pretty happy with who you are. You have a wild reputation, but you're not as wild as you seem. You take risks, but only measured risks. You are a very open minded, liberal, and flexible person. You love many things. You tend to have tastes that range from down home to cosmopolitan. You are a natural multitasker. You feel alive when you're doing more than one thing at a time. You are a serious and contemplative person. You definitely do your own thing in life.

Happy birthday to my princess! 

for the season.  He had his final game tonight.  Instead of playing t-ball, they played a coach-pitch game (which is what Cody will be doing next year).  The kids got cute little medals and certificates.  Here's some pics of my little t-ball player.

This last one is funny, because Cody is running to third and this other boy tagged him- but, look at the 3 fielders behind them.  See, the ball?  LOL....  t-ballers are so cute.  This little boy insisted that Cody was out because he had tagged him, even if he didn't have the ball.

I have to laugh at many of the stereotypes of us homeschoolers.  I love the one that we all have long hair (I do, lol), and the denim jumper is classic (I don't own one).  How about the one about our poor, *unsocialized* children?  Makes you shake your head, huh?  Like we never allow our kids out of the house long enough to see other kids.  Why, just a month ago, I let Deuce watch a couple of kids playing ball out back.  Oh, don't worry, I didn't let him *interact* with them, but I did want him to see other kids *socialize*, hoping he'd learn something.  (And for those that didn't realize it, that was COMPLETELY toungue-in-cheek).

Seriously, though, most pople have some sort of opinion of *all* or *most* homeschoolers, not always based on actually meeting and chatting with real homechoolers.  I read an interesting one earlier today, about us "white upper-middle-class moms not wanting our children to socialize with kids of diverse backgrounds".  I've heard that one a hundred times, and once I stop laughing about the 'upper' middle class part (you should've seen me scrambling to the bank to get $5 in my account so that I didn't bounce a check today...  I wish I was *upper* middle class), I just find it sad that people can actually believe that homeschoolers lack diversity. 

I live in a village that is mostly white and mostly middle/upper middle class.  If my children went to the local school, they wouldn't find the major diversity that non-homeschoolers think we should send our kids to school for.  Instead, my kids and I volunteer our time to help out people that aren't as fortunate as we are.  They interact with and realize that people are people, no matter their circumstances. 

Do you know what really happens to *poor* children in school?  Didn't you go to school?  When I was growing up, the poor kids got made fun of for not having the right shoes, the right brand of jeans and not having a pager (am I showing my age?  lol).  I don't want my children spending so much time with same age kids that they start thinking that it is normal to choose your friends based on what they wear (or, how much money they have) rather than *who* they are.

What about the one that 'homeschool moms are controlled by their husbands'?  Stop laughing.  People seriously think that about us.  Now, raise your hands and tell me, how many of you were *told* by your husband that you *will* homeschool no matter what?  Heck, my husband was not for it in the beginning at all, but he told me to do what I want.  Now, he realizes that it is the best way for our family.  People make the mistake in *assuming* that because we are at *home* (or, shopping, or at the library, or at the post office, or...  anything that doesn't involve us going to work every day) all day, we have no say in how our life goes.   My husband works 60 hours a week, I handle all the money, I drive the nicer of the two vehicles, I do what I want all day every day, and I am controlled how???  If this is being *controlled*, then I am quite happy to be, LOL.  Isn't it funny that the same liberal sect that is for a *woman's right to choose* gets so angry and put off when we *choose* to be home with our children?

I have two other *favorite* myths that I seem to hear a lot, and they condradict each other, LOL.  Last week I was told by one mom, "Oh, I could never homeschool Nick.  He's too social to keep home."  That cracked me up, because just the night before I was told by another mom that she 'has to enroll her 5 year old in school, because she is too shy.  She figures that school will *cure* shyness.  LOL, ummmm...  I don't know about you, but we had plenty of shy kids in my school an they weren't *cured* by public school.  Heck, school might've made the whole thing worse, they way that they were treated by other kids.   

I guess that as long as people choose to take our choice to homeschool personally (as though we are saying that they are bad parents for not homeschooling), there will continue to be *wonderful* myths made up about us.  Look at it this way-  at least the myths give us something to laugh at with each other, LOL.

So, do any of you plan to continue to homeschool for the summer, or will you give your children a summer vacation?  :-)  We continue to do *very light* schooling all summer long, to help combat boredom.  My tax rebate check is supposed to be here this week, and I am going to spend a small part of it at 'The Critical Thinking Company', getting some fun workbooks for the kids.  Deuce loves the riddle books and the 'Red Herring Mysteries', and is looking forward to starting those.

The library has started it's summer reading program and I took both boys to get their reading folders yesterday.  Cody read for an hour yesterday, and Deuce has been reading books to Ella all morning long.  Ella seems to be as much of a bookworm as her brothers, and will sit and listen to story after story.

Beyond that, we are not doing much else this summer.  We have a couple of activities planned for the co-op that we belong to, just fun stuff, and plan on going swimming a  lot (phys ed?  lol).  As long as the kids don't seem to get too *stir crazy*, I'll leave everything else alone for the summer.  But, so help me, if I hear "Mommy, I'm booooooooored", then I promise, they will have a full schedule again, LOL.  I refuse to entertain my kids, :-)

I have been looking at other blogs lately, and find it strange that people that are against homeschooling hang around just to argue against it.  Why?  What is really the point in a public school teacher hanging around to start a fight?  Does she think she'll change our minds?  Who knows? 

I wonder if those that are against homeschool really believe that, in general, everything is *hunky-dory* with the public schools.  Do they honestly think that the best *socialization* for a homeschooler comes from a class of 25 same-age peers, rather than the wide variety of ages that can be found in most homeschool co-ops, library story times, karate classes, etc?  I find that when I let my kids play more with kids, for longer periods of time (it *is* summer vacation, and my boys have spent a LOT of time with the neighborhood kids) I see more undesireable behavior come out of them.  There *is* a such thing as too much socializing.

My 12 year old neice attends a public middle school in a nice area.  This school district scores well on the state tests and it doesn't *seem* as though they have a lot of trouble in the schools, based on what I see on the local news and in the paper.  Funny thing, though, is that you don't always hear about the trouble from the news.  I could pull up link after link of abusive teachers, bullies, teachers cheating on standardized tests, etc.... but I won't.  Those are out there for everyone to read anyway.  I will, however, tell you about my own personal experiences.  My neice has asked me on several occasions to homeschool her.  I wish I could;  she has the sweetest nature about her, and I fear that she will be bullied as she continues through school, or pick up bad behaviors while trying to *fit in* with the *cool kids*.

I spoke with my mom on the phone today and she mentioned that my neice told her about a girl in her class that has had 6 abortions.  In middle school!  Middle school kids having s*x?  When you put so many kids together for so many hours a week, they get stupid.  Kids feed off of each other's attitudes and actions, and they go along with what they see around them.  See, if this girl has had 6 abortions, this means that there are boys in that school (11-14 yr olds, mostly) having s*x also.  And I highly doubt that this is the only girl *doing that* in the school.  So many kids with hormones going crazy locked together for so many hours is just begging for trouble.  Heck, when I was in high school I interrupted several different couples *doing that* in various places throughout the school, during school hours.  This is nothing new, but it does seem to be happening more often, and with younger kids.

A mom that I know through scouts and baseball has told me about her son and how he has been bullied for so long at school.  This poor child (going into middle school next year) has horrible anxiety because he has been so abused by the other students.  He has a hard time trusting new kids to actually be his friend because of his personal experiences in school.  The school officials have known about this and have done nothing.  What could they do?  They are required, by law, to educate EVERYONE, including bullies.  They say that the children being bullied need to learn how to *deal* with bullies.  In real life, outside of school, if someone is being abused by another person, they can get a restraining order and/or have the police take care of the matter.  In school?  The meek just have to deal with it, because bullies have rights too.  Messed up?  I think so.

How about academics?  Can people really believe that public schools provide a better education than the homeschooling parent?  How can a teacher, with a class of 20-25 students, really give each child the indiviual attention they need during the day?  The teacher has to gear her lesson to the average student, and then the advanced students are bored and the slower students can't keep up.  I got in trouble so often in school for passing notes and talking with my friends while waiting for other kids to finish their work.  The teachers didn't have time to come up with extra, more advanced work, so I got bored.  My oldest would be in the same position in a classroom environment, but here at home he can move at his own pace. 

Have you ever seen how homeschooled children are scoring higher on standardized tests?  People will argue that the homeschooling community only reports on the best scores, but check out the ACT scores.  They report on EVERYONE that tests, and homeschoolers score higher than average on that test also.   Doesn't the NEA (National Education Association) keep pushing for smaller class sizes?  Well, with homeschooling, you have that.  :-)  You can follow the lead of your son/daughter, and help them learn at their own pace.  How great is that?

The best part, though,  (in my opinion) about homeschooling is the relationships that you develop with your children.  School isn't  *the center of their world*, they don't get all of their advice from same-age peers;  they actually talk with their parents, and consider their siblings to be among their best friends.  I get to be there for all of those *aha!* moments;  when one child has struggled for so long to grasp a new concept and the FINALLY get it.  You can actually see the *lightbulb* light up over their head and it is the coolest feeling.  My children don't give the best of their day to a teacher and a class of kids that then send them home at the end of the day, tired and grouchy, needing some down time (and not getting it, due to the homework).  I enjoy being with my children;  I love helping them to grow into the amazing and wonderful people that they are becoming.  I love that when my kids have grown up and moved away from the house, I won't be left thinking, "Gee, I wish I had spent more time with them while they were little."  I will know that I have done everything I can to give them the best start in life.  Who doesn't want to be able to say that?

Why homeschool?  Well, why not?