I am a middle aged woman married to a middle aged guy and we have middle aged kids. OK, they're not middle aged, but one of them is in middle school. We live in the country, where we homeschool our kids, garden, listen to the birds and fight to keep acres of blackberries from taking over our house like Sleeping Beauty's castle. We love our kids and our property. Some day we hope to show the house who's boss. Right now it's a toss-up.
1. What's your family like? Here's a short list of the major players in our little rural drama:
- Robin: I'm the mom, the teacher, the writer, the beekeeper, the dyer.. I put color on stuff. Mostly this means yarn and fabric, but occasionally color gets on the floor, the stove, the walls, the table, me [a lot] and on one memorable occasion, the dog, but that was really his fault since I had no idea that he would want to roll all over the huge canvas backdrop drying out on the grass in the yard. He was only green for a few days.
- Eric: The builder, the dad, the hauler of heavy wheelbarrow loads of gravel. And sand. And manure. I asked him what nickname he wanted me to use. He likes 'The Fixer-Upper' because it isn't clear whether he fixes things up or needs fixing up himself. I'm not so fond of 'The Fixer-Upper' as a nickname because the best way to abbreviate it lends itself to some not very G-rated interpretation. He also asked me if 'middle aged guy' means that he now gets to run around with a broadsword burning and pillaging. I said no.
- K1: Kid 1, Lily. She has a blog www.lilyjenness.blogspot.com. Go check it out.
- K2: Kid 2
- Tibby: the K9
- Blue, Dobby, Nell: the cats
- The ducks: the ducks
- The chickens: the chickens
- The bees: the bees
3. How much land do you have? We have 40 acres. Most of it is trees and brambles.
4. Can I use your photos? Maybe. ONLY if you let me know, give me credit and a link right with the photo. I will not be nice if you steal my work and don't give me credit. Trust me, I can be a real bitch.
5. Can I use your stories, recipes, etc? Maybe. ONLY if you let me know, give me credit and a link that precedes what you have excerpted from the blog. I will not be nice if you steal my work and don't give me credit. Trust me, I can be a real bitch.
6. Is homeschooling hard? Not at all - as long as you like spending a lot of time with your kids, as in 'attached at the hip'. If you like your kids and don't mind being with them all day, then homeschooling won't be a problem.
7. I want to know more about homeschooling. What are some good homeschooling resources? My favorite books are by John Holt: Teach Your Own; Learning All the Time; How Children Fail. These will give you the inspiration and the arguments you need to make the decision and defend it to all of your nosy relatives and friends who might try to talk you out of it.
8. What about homeschooling and socialization? All of the homeschooled kids I know are well socialized and more mature than their public schooled peers.
9. What about math? or science? or something I don't know how to do or don't want to teach my kids myself? The internet is a wonderful resource. There are hundreds of excellent computer games/programs out there to use for those subjects. In addition, there are tons of organized homeschooling groups around. Do a Google search to find one near you. Once you get involved in the homeschooling community, you'll be amazed at how easy it is to form co-ops or find tutors for the subjects you are afraid of.
10. Why don't you blog about homeschooling? Homeschooling is a very emotional topic. I've seen other blogs that talk about homeschooling and they frequently get hijacked by non-homeschoolers who think they know more than the rest of us. Lots of emotional ranting. Who needs the drama?
11. Why do you have the donate button? Because even though I love producing this blog, I still have to pay the electric bill. And feed my kids. And buy tomato seeds. And gravel. Lots of gravel.
12. Do you participate in any affiliate or advertising programs? Yes.
Amazon: Robin Edmundson is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
It is likely that I will also be adding some other advertising to the blog if the DONATE button doesn't generate some income.
