Most Common Homeschool Questions I Get Asked... and My Answers

Everyone has something to say when they hear that I'm homeschooling my kids. Most of it is positive:
"Oh! That's awesome!"
"I wish I'd homeschooled mine."
"We homeschool too! We love it!"

Then there are usual questions such as:
"What kind of curriculum do you use?"
"We were thinking of homeschooling. Can you go over some state laws with me?"
"Do you like it?"

You also get some pretty strange questions. (Well... that's mean. I shouldn't say "strange." Please change that to "unusual." Thanks.) These are the most common questions I get asked and how I answer them.

1. Do you have a teaching degree/What kind of training do you have?
No, I don't have a teaching degree. Nor do I need one. Degrees are for other people to be allowed to teach my children. Degrees are proof that they know what they're talking about. I know how my children learn, and I know how best to teach them. I don't need a degree for that.
My response:
"I don't have a degree. I don't need one." And I smile. :)

2. Aren't you worried about them falling behind?
Behind who? We don't follow any state curriculum, and our state doesn't require testing. There's no one to compare them to, so who are they going to fall behind? But I don't say this.
My actual response:
"No. Our curriculum is pretty extensive."

3. Do you get dressed?
I get asked these questions outside of my home. In public places. Where we are very obviously dressed. So to look at us will answer this question. However, I'm going to assume they mean do we get dressed at home when we're not going anywhere. In which case, I shall answer thusly:
"Yes."

4. How can you stand your kids being home all day? I'd go crazy!
I so badly want to say "I actually enjoy my kids. Just because your kids are crazy doesn't mean mine are." But that would be so rude, and since I'm representing Jesus in my every word and deed, I hold my tongue and say this:
"It's challenging at times. But the rewards are immeasurable."
There. That's much better. :)

And... the biggie:

5. What about socialization?
Ugh, I hate this one! Public school is not the only place to socialize your kids! I teach them social graces and manners at home, and we have Cub Scouts, homeschool co-op, and baseball practice. Plus, I take them to the grocery store, to the bank, to the library, to the Creation Museum, to the zoo...
There are plenty of opportunities to get my kids around kids their own age.
Plus... I was bullied in school as a kid. Mercilessly. There were several pregnant teens in my high school. Several. Cliques are very common, smoking, drugs and alcohol are a huge problem, not to mention cheating and stress and competition over grades.
So to answer this question, I look them in the eye and say:
"My kids don't need the kind of socialization public school has to offer."

Young Living Essential Oils

Ok, so... I've kind of fallen in love with essential oils. But not just any essential oils, Young Living essential oils.

Why these oils? Well, these oils are 100% pure essential oils. The ones you get from the store nowadays are only required by the government to be 5% pure. The rest are fillers and additives. So while you're trying to be healthy, you're actually putting more junk into your body. Young Living is all natural, pure essential oil. These are the only oils on the market today that can actually be ingested.

They're also safe for use around your kids and your pets.

They're great! My family has seen some really amazing results from using them.

Click here to go to my website to learn more.

My Favorite Disney Songs

So... Ever since I was a kid, I've been in love with the magic Disney can create onscreen. The stories are intoxicating, the artwork is mesmerizing... but it's the songs that truly make a Disney movie. So this is a list of my personal favorite Disney songs. This is by no means a complete list of all the best songs Disney has given to us, just a few of my favorites I can't help but play over and over again.


I have to start this list with "Let it Go" from Frozen. This song is incredible. It means so much to so many people! I know in my life, I've tried so hard to please everyone else, and I often make a mess of things. But my living to please God instead of others, I've kind of "Let it Go," their expectations of who and what I should be. And I'm much happier.


Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi do such a beautiful job on this song! Love, love, love it!!!


My favorite part:
Now's your moment
Floating in a blue lagoon
Love it! :)


Talk about your motivational songs! And... is that Donnie Osmond I hear? Sure is. I just learned that. ;)


There are so many good lyrics in this song!
You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew
Respect for others right there. Good stuff. Also,
Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once, never wonder what they're worth
Appreciation of simple pleasures. Love it. And this:
How high does the sycamore grow?
If you cut it down, then you'll never know
......
You can own the Earth and still
All you'll own is Earth until
Respect the creation God has given us.

These are my favorite Disney songs. What are yours?

Songs I was Scared of as a Kid

I did a blog post a few months ago about characters that scared me as a kid. So that got me thinking about other things that scared me. I believe I might've been a scardey cat as a kid. Lol!

Ok, have you ever heard of a movie called The Electric Grandmother? Few have. But this movie is essential to understanding why I was afraid of the songs below.

The movie is about a family that lost their wife/mother. They are all very upset and woebegone. That is, until the children (I won't go over every detail of the movie) come to build themselves an Electric Grandmother. The boys take to her, but the daughter holds out. Near the end, their android Grandmother (SPOILER ALERT!) gets hit by a car.

It was at this point that my dad turned off the show and told my brothers and I that it was bedtime.

But... Wha...

Now, the movie first debuted on television in 1982, but since I was 4 at that time, I doubt this is when we watched it. It was probably more like 1986 or 1987. Making me 8 or 9. I was older, but it was still traumatizing!

Ok, on to the songs.

The Mr. Ed Theme Song


Now. When my dad turned off the movie, he didn't turn the t.v. off. He switched the channel to Mr. Ed. So right after I was aware that someone was hit by a car, I hear, "Hello. I'm Mr. Ed." So for a long time, I associated this theme song with being scared because someone was hit by a car.

These Dreams by Heart


When my dad said it was bedtime, my brothers and I were to go into the kitchen to say goodnight to our mom. She was cleaning up after dinner. And listening to the radio. And this is the song that was playing. So, I became afraid of this song as well.

Now, a few years later, we eventually saw the end of the movie. Being a robot, the Electric Grandmother was fixed, and all the children loved her. Awww.

But I was afraid of these songs for years. And years. And years.

Moral of the story: be careful what's on tv before telling your kids to go to bed. Lol!

REVIEW: Eat Like Jesus

At first, I thought this was going to be like all the other scores of diet/whole/natural/organic food books out there. I was wrong. I has to do with clearing up some biblical misinterpretations regarding food and eating. Some of the concepts covered are:
Clean vs unclean, eating with sinners, carnivorous vs vegan animals for food, etc.

It is very dry and hard to read. I hate to sound like a child, but there long sentences and big words. Lol! I told you I was going to sound like a child. Not that I'm unintelligent or incapable of reading, but these things make it very disagreeable for casual reading. It's more of an academic study than a book to read for enjoyment. I read for enjoyment.

I also didn't agree with some of the points made (for example, the author's interpretations of Adam's and Eve's diets).

I'm making it sound like it's not a good book. I'm sure it is. It's very well researched and it's presentation is very easy to follow. It's just not my cup of tea. If you're looking for an in-depth study on what the bible says about kosher diets, this is definitely the book for you.

I received a free .pdf of this book in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Every Waking Moment

Every Waking Moment by Chris Fabry follows the story of Treha (tray-uh), a worker at Desert Gardens retirement home. She had no family, no memories of her past. But she had a remarkable gift she used to awaken the elderly residents at the retirement home. Residents with dementia and such, and Treha helped "awaken" them so they could talk and function, if even for a short while.

A small team of (two) documentary filmers discover her gift as they are working on a documentary about the elderly. And they help Treha find clues about her past.

I really enjoyed this book. I had trouble putting it down. each chapter follows a different person, meaning chapter 1 follows person A, chapter 2 follows person B, chapter 3 goes back to person A, etc. This was kind of frustrating, as each chapter ended with a small cliffhanger of sorts. So it was hard to put down and get things done. lol!

However, this book really helps you appreciate 2 specific types of people: the elderly and the handicapped. The elderly have been around. They are not a burden on society to be cast off and ignored. They have lived. It's incredible to hear where their feet have walked, what their eyes have seen, what their ears have heard. They have stories of survival, enlightenment, and love.

The handicapped are not to be treated as a burden, either. One has no idea what amazing things they are capable of. Ms. Millstone (in the book) learned this lesson. :P

I will have to admit, though, I was a little upset about the ending. It didn't end the way I was hoping it would. But, I guess I'm a little selfish that way. This is definitely a page-turner. A very good book.

For more info about this book, please check Tyndale's Media Page.

Here's a trailer:

watch on tyndale.com

I definitely recommend this book! :)

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Making Paper

K, the first time we made paper was Wednesday, but I forgot to take pics.

I know. How could I? lol!

Anyways, so today we made it again. The boys were excited.

K, here's the materials you need:

 

• bath towels (or a workspace you don't mind getting all wet and messy - like a sidewalk outside)
•  a sponge (we didn't have one, so we used hand towels)
• a blender
• old newspaper
• a screen
• HOT water
• optional: a frame (an old photo frame will do)

Oh, and you'll need some helpers.

These are mine. :)

K, what you want to do first is tear up your newspaper and stuff it in the blender. Then add HOT water till it's a little more than halfway full.

Then blend it all up till it looks all nasty and feels kind of like that slime stuff they had in the late 80's and early 90's. (Remember that stuff? lol!)

 This is about what it should look like. Nice, huh? lol! This is called pulp. It's a lumpy, watery, gooey mess. :)
K, then you need to lay your towels down on your work area and lay the screen on top of the towels. This is when you'd lay your frame on top of your screen, if you want perfectly square paper. We didn't care about perfectly square paper. So we just poured our pulp on top of the screen.

Then we smoothed it out. This is a bit easier said than done. Little ones might need some help.

K, if you have sponges, now's the time to use them. If not, grab your hand towels, lay them on top of your paper, and press as hard as you and your little ones can! Paper is held together by pressure (which is why it falls apart so easily when it gets wet), so it's important you press hard. This also helps absorb excess water.

Push, push, push! My boys like this part. :)

Once you've pressed as hard as you can and have absorbed as much excess water as you can, carefully remove the towel.

Then let your paper dry. It needs several hours. I recommend doing this activity after dinner so the paper can dry overnight. You could put it in the sun, but it will dry too quickly and might warp.

When it's dry, they can write on it or draw on it. We're going to frame ours. :)

Thanks for reading! Have fun! :)