Jan

30

Bug Box City

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

January 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment

We’ve got a collection of boxes, some big and some small, hanging out in our garage. And I’m glad that we do, because anytime my kids and I are feeling creative, we grab a box and make something.
Yesterday we made a bug box. My kids are obsessed with pill bugs (they call them [...]

Jan

25

Tutor Or Not Tutor? That Is the Question!

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

January 25, 2009 | 1 Comment

As a homeschool parent, one must decide: “Will I teach my child every subject? Or will we seek outside help for certain topics?”
Now, my wife and I love to read. I teach literature and freshman composition classes. Yet, whenever I sit down with my daughter — she starts to feel this pressure [...]

Jan

23

Magazine Mosaics

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

January 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment

One of my favorite art / history projects to do with my kids is to make a “Magazine Mosaic” — it’s really just a collage, but the word mosaic gives it some nice alliteration, don’t you think.
Here’s how it works: save your old magazines (if you subscribe to them) for a few months. Certain [...]

Jan

19

Celebrating Martin Luther King’s “Dream”

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

January 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment

About a year ago, I sat my older daughter down and we had a long history lesson.  We flipped through a Life Magazine book of American History and talked about some of the more disturbing images: photographs showing the devastating effect of racism and segregation. (A very depressing but essential subject.)
Then, we spent the week [...]

Jan

18

Homeschooling Isn’t Always Happy-Schooling

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

January 18, 2009 | 1 Comment

If you’ve been reading these blog entries, then you have been learning about my families many happy experiences with homeschooling.  Most of the time, my kids have a great time.  However, I wanted to make sure I set the record straight.  Homeschooling has its ups and downs.  There are some moments when the children and [...]

Jan

12

The Boredom Chair

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

January 12, 2009 | 1 Comment

When I was a kid, Santa would fill up my stocking with a few presents (maybe a Hotwheels car and a Pez Dispenser), but mostly it was crammed full of walnuts and mandarin oranges.  Things were different at my wife’s house.  When she was a little girl, Santa loaded her stocking with lots of truly [...]

Jan

7

Digging Holes

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

January 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment

You might assume that the title of this blog entry is metaphoric.  However, it’s not.  My kids have been digging holes lately.  There’s a spot in the backyard that is great for digging. 
Why have my kids been digging a grreat big hole between the rosebushes and our evergreen tree?  Well, first they were looking for [...]

Jan

6

Are Homeschool Parents Too Over Protective?

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

January 6, 2009 | 2 Comments

One of the many criticisms regarding homeschooling involves the subject of the “Real World.”  Many opponents of homeschooling contend that public school provides time away from parents, allowing the student to gain independence.  In all public schools there are conflicts to face: bullying, drugs, peer pressure, sex, and the list goes on.  Avoiding some of [...]

Jan

2

Predicting the Future

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

January 2, 2009 | 1 Comment

Happy 2009 everyone!
It really blows my mind that we’ve made it to this year.  It sounds like such a science fiction sort of year, don’t you think?  According to the movies, by now we should have mastered solar-system colonies and scheduled flights to the moon via Pan-Am.
This week, I’ve been telling my kids about the [...]