Forbes just posted a snarky piece by Bob Cook on the subject. One observation:

The Tebow bills come from the mindset that because you pay taxes to schools, your children should be able to play sports there, even though they don’t attend classes. It’s like how I pay taxes to the Air Force, so even though I’m not in the service, I should get to fly a fighter jet.

Should Homeschoolers Play Sports at Public Schools is a post from: Learning at Home

From my column this week:

Still giddy from my scheduling success, I dove into the Internet looking for more ideas to improve our homeschool. I found a new (to me) homeschool system that was practically guaranteed to keep my children on task and on topic. I felt a little shiver of excitement zip down my spine as I read.

I do love a good schedule. Our home has been running so much more efficiently since I put ours back together. In our version, the schedule reminds us all of the activities that need to be done. It is a rough guideline so everything gets done in a day. Some items are specific (clean the bathroom), others are more free flowing (choose a writing activity).

As I dug further into this miracle system, I saw that there were workshops to attend, online tutorials to watch. This exciting learning opportunity would take several days of planning to implement. I couldn’t figure out what the children were supposed to be doing while I was off learning how to refine my educational system, and my enthusiasm started to wane a bit.

Then I saw the pictures. I beheld the prettiest homeschool room I could have imagined. There were charts with Velcro and color-coded schedules hung neatly on the walls. Zombie-like thoughts filled my brain. Must. Have. Now.

The images on the computer screen and the glowing testimonials made me think for a moment that a higher level of homeschooling was out there, a sort of homeschool heaven, waiting for us. This appealed to that little voice in my head that wants do to things “the right way.”

That little voice was soon overcome by the shouts of reality. The budget right now doesn’t have room for miles of Velcro, stacks of organizer boxes and color-coded charts. I started to wonder if I could use cardboard boxes and construct charts from paper and markers. It would take longer, but if the system really worked, the effort would be worth it.

And then I remembered. We don’t work like that, and no amount of fresh supplies is going to change it.

I kept reading, though. I wasn’t prepared to let go so easily. As I followed the links, I found what some former converts were saying. It seemed that the perfect homeschool system didn’t work for some of the super-organized folks, either. The moms confessed that it had been fun to set up. The new system kept the parents on track and occupied. There were stickers to rearrange and folders to fill, but the kids do what kids do. They worked on what the liked and conveniently forgot to finish the harder items that had been assigned.

The sweetest child in the world can look a parent in the eye and say, “Yes, Mommy, I finished my work,” and then skip off to play with all the work left undone. No organizational system with change these children. Parents do have to watch them closely, though, and guide them away from such tendencies; otherwise, those sorts of children are likely to grow up and become politicians.

At the end of my explorations, I concluded, once again, that there really is not only one right way to educate. Fancy folders, color-coded boxes, charts and stickers may work for some, but they don’t work for us. Maybe they don’t work for you, either.

Part of the fun of homeschooling is the exploration. Learning new concepts is great, but watching that process, finding out how a child learns and then feeding that hunger is priceless.

Can One System Fit All? is a post from: Learning at Home

More Games is a post from: Learning at Home

Now I feel compelled to go play again and try to get my time down. ‘Cause, you know, I have nothing else to do….:)

Geograhy–FAIL! is a post from: Learning at Home

However……I think using paper clips to do someoen’e root canal is a wee bit (!) over the top.

Ouch.

Ouch! is a post from: Learning at Home

I did submit to the carnival this week, my post about my daughter’s dinner. She’ll be doing a repeat of spaghetti this week since her concoction got such rave reviews last week. And I get a night off. Nice.

Carnival is up–Organizing Month? Who Knew? is a post from: Learning at Home

I know that similar efforts have been made here in the US. No time to rant now, so I’ll just go on record opposing any such idiocy.  Mrs. T. has a conversation started here.

Compulsory Preschool? is a post from: Learning at Home

Our schedule runs in thirty minute increments, so that can present some problems when a job takes more or less time than what is allotted. I don’t care. I’m militant about the schedule these days. If I went to the trouble of making it, by golly we’re gonna stick with it.

Having a schedule makes sure that everything we need to do is finished by the end of the day. This allows all of us to know who is responsible for which task, what schoolwork must be done, and it also means the children have play and discovery time that is set aside where they know I will not call them in for laundry folding or dishwasher emptying.

My kids have time set aside to prepare for coming events by choosing clothes or finding equipment before it is time to load the van. I get a nudge that reminds me to put out something for dinner the night before. When we are on schedule, I can’t imagine why I ever ran a large family without one.

Even though we successfully used a schedule for years, I resisted starting over. There are those days where a child starts looking something up and becomes entranced with learning. Every few minutes, that child will interrupt what I’m doing to come and tell me another interesting fact about tornadoes or killer whales or some such thing. I knew I could not schedule spontaneity, and I used that as one of many excuses to put off starting work on the schedule.

 I want our learning to be free-flowing, uninterrupted by ringing timers and switching tasks. I want chocolate truffles not to be fattening, too.

 The truth is, children do learn a lot on their own, but we all need motivation to stick with the hard stuff. They need the reminder that half of the process is settling down long enough to pay attention. Giving everyone a list of things to do with verbal reminders through the day wasn’t working for us. The difficult tasks got put off with a smile.  Setting a time limit helps the kids focus on what needs to be done, and I don’t have to nag. As much.

 Children have radar that tells them to ask for help with math when an adult is impossibly busy. Nothing else can be done while waiting, of course. To my children’s dismay, the schedule means help is available at set times, right when they have the most difficult subjects. “Get the help while you can,” I tell them, “because Mom has a coffee break coming up at ten.”

 In the time before the schedule (is it safe to refer to that time period as B.S.?), computer time was claimed through the age-old system of “I called it,” and “I had it first.” Now those arguments are reserved for who gets to play with the Legos and who gets to sit in the middle seat of the van.

 Have all the children embraced our new sense of order with a smile and a sigh of relief that they can now be more efficient? Of course not. Am I going to give up? No way. I scheduled the kids to make dinner while I take a break.

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Schedule is a post from: Learning at Home

Seven Lies About Homeschoolers is a post from: Learning at Home

Frozen Rose is a post from: Learning at Home