tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post741467992485489800..comments2023-05-16T07:24:27.145-04:00Comments on So a Blonde Walks Into a Blog: Homeschool Mom Steps Outside the Box—and Dances on TopBlondeBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914759722134808069noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-86469365901346143972009-03-05T18:57:00.000-05:002009-03-05T18:57:00.000-05:00Way too funny. My children went through Public Sc...Way too funny. My children went through Public School through first year of high school. Thought about Home Schooling, but couldn't take the step.travellingmomof2https://www.blogger.com/profile/06165879225452035515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-9468556637100247652009-03-05T15:41:00.000-05:002009-03-05T15:41:00.000-05:00My book is VERY candid about my relationship break...My book is VERY candid about my relationship break-up--everything I was thinking, saying, and doing (which most women would never admit in print)! LOL<BR/><BR/>The homeschool element IS in my book (as is my relationship with my son and what we went through), but it is NOT the main focus. My personal story "a woman trying to juggle it all, find love, and not lose herself" was the main point of my memoir.<BR/><BR/>As for your question about how an ordinary mom can learn to believe in her capability to homeschool, I think the #1 thing needed is a boundless love and concern for your child's success and well-being--and a desire to do whatever it takes to make it happen. (Maybe that's 2 or 3 #1 things.) ;-) <BR/><BR/>And it helps to be resourceful! ;-) I suck at math. A point my son made very clearly when I said I planned to homeschool him. But there are resources that can augment what you can't do. I used www.aleks.com for my son's math education.<BR/><BR/>I am college educated; my major was English, so I must admit, much of his more formal lessons from me were based on reading, writing, and spoken communication.<BR/><BR/>The majority of his lessons were experiential--field trips, hand-on activities which also included what I felt were "life skills"--learning how to set up and keep to a budget, read and understand nutrition labels, utility bills and sales ads, figure credit card percentage rates, do taxes, keep and balance a checkbook, etc. (There are workbooks available to help teach these lessons.) And I had already taught him to cook and do his own laundry from when he was in 3rd grade. (From then on, I never again had to put my hand into crunchy, red-dusty, little league socks to turn them right side out!)<BR/><BR/>Just the process of learning these things, reading, developing reasoning skills, it all creates a more well-rounded child. It prepares them for real life and it actually makes learning rote memorization (like what public school students learn in history, science, etc.) easier.<BR/><BR/>I mean seriously, how often do you use algebra and information about WWII history in your every day life? If your child has a passion for history or math or science, they will gravitate toward it and will pursue higher education to learn it and turn it into a career.<BR/><BR/>As long as they can read and write effectively, employ critical thinking and reasoning skills, and communicate well--they can do anything!Annettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13654832155676902636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-54809643716027392492009-03-05T14:33:00.000-05:002009-03-05T14:33:00.000-05:00If your book is anything like your comments I know...If your book is anything like your comments I know I will enjoy it to the max!<BR/>My children are all adults now but I would never have had the courage to try to homeschool them. I have a good friend who homeschools her two (13 & 15) and they are a joy to be around. She started homeschooling her son because he showed definite signs of social anxiety at a young age. Homeschooling has been perfect for him.<BR/>For those of us who are just ordinary moms with no special education or talent, how would you suggest we could learn to believe that we are capable of teaching?Betty Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10571711137078235274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-33690622137066647422009-03-05T10:37:00.000-05:002009-03-05T10:37:00.000-05:00Michelle,At that second conference, I was blown aw...Michelle,<BR/><BR/>At that second conference, I was blown away by the homeschool kids. They were mostly all "unschooled." The conference had a lounge set up in one of the conference rooms, but some of the older kids had organized their own activities at various places on the grounds: a talent show, a debate, a round-table discussion.<BR/><BR/>I went to one parenting session and there was a 20-year old boy (who was speaking) who had been only been interested in Civil War history while being homeschooled, so that was all he studied. By 20, he had been hired by a university as a history professor because his knowledge of that era was so astounding. (He had published in education journals, etc.)<BR/><BR/>There are so many homeschool kids who flourish from that teaching environment. Some of the stories are incredible. Of course, there is Zac Sunderland, the 16-year old boy who sailed around the world alone, and Christopher Paolini, the author of Eragon, et al.<BR/><BR/>I'd be willing to bet that all of these kids are kinesthetic learners... The public school system just isn't the best place for them.Annettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13654832155676902636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-86806515512719175112009-03-04T23:40:00.000-05:002009-03-04T23:40:00.000-05:00Very funny post! I work at a university and deal ...Very funny post! I work at a university and deal with all kinds of educators, including home schoolers, and yes, they run the gamut from all the women wearing matching frocks made up gingham and are subservient to all the men to open minded, articulate and mature 10 year olds.Lotushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02655523952663845886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-69965560725839385382009-03-04T18:16:00.000-05:002009-03-04T18:16:00.000-05:00Alice & Anon,It does matter! I'll let the ...Alice & Anon,<BR/><BR/>It does matter! I'll let the cover designer know you're diggin' her work! =)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-91249870952962716462009-03-04T18:04:00.000-05:002009-03-04T18:04:00.000-05:00Great story, title and book cover!theyyyguy@yahoo....Great story, title and book cover!<BR/><BR/>theyyyguy@yahoo.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-18790277125642654252009-03-04T16:45:00.000-05:002009-03-04T16:45:00.000-05:00This really sounds like a great book. I loved the...This really sounds like a great book. I loved the comments about how our job as parents is to prepare our children for the real world. Also - not important I know! - but I really love the cover of the book! Thanks for the chance - alicedemske at hotmail.comAlice Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11750626863255015363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-73494222285776280162009-03-03T13:45:00.000-05:002009-03-03T13:45:00.000-05:00Annette's take on homeschooling was both funny and...Annette's take on homeschooling was both funny and touching. Thank you!turboterphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16943377715352962169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-61585660467539148292009-03-01T12:38:00.000-05:002009-03-01T12:38:00.000-05:00sounds awesome i always like a bit of humor thrown...sounds awesome i always like a bit of humor thrown in the mix thanks for the giveawaymindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09596007480680945208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-41836713436271622502009-03-01T07:50:00.000-05:002009-03-01T07:50:00.000-05:00This sounds really heartwarming and funny. I think...This sounds really heartwarming and funny. I think I could really identify with it. Please count me in!KRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02773651679644201462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-64228465252857069552009-02-28T23:08:00.001-05:002009-02-28T23:08:00.001-05:00I have linked your contest at http://senalovescand...I have linked your contest at http://senalovescandy.blogspot.com/2009/02/sweet-lovelies.html<BR/>sena.sagani[at]gmail[dot]comSenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02671938934520490590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-19916463717398777652009-02-28T23:08:00.000-05:002009-02-28T23:08:00.000-05:00Your writing is lovely and funny, Annette! I would...Your writing is lovely and funny, Annette! I would really enjoy reading your book! Thank you.<BR/>sena.sagani[at]gmail[dot]comSenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02671938934520490590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-46479947928545907192009-02-28T15:00:00.000-05:002009-02-28T15:00:00.000-05:00I didn't have a problem with my son in his jr. hig...I didn't have a problem with my son in his jr. high years--or any really. Of course, he occasionally had the typical teen attitude flying like a national flag, but I had a strong enough personality to keep him in line. And it happened so infrequently that it wasn't an issue.<BR/><BR/>I think what helped is that I established open communication with him from a very young age, so it really limited the frustrations that come up between parents and teens--especially with regard to sharing thoughts and feelings about what the kids are going through at that age--emotionally, physically, etc.<BR/><BR/>My son was much more willing to come to me and talk about his challenges, fears, and everything else because I made that part of our every day conversation.Annettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13654832155676902636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-54925178042802941402009-02-28T14:47:00.000-05:002009-02-28T14:47:00.000-05:00WOW. Sorry to be MIA! My email never notified me t...WOW. Sorry to be MIA! My email never notified me that I had any comments! <BR/><BR/>I'm a total education junkie, so attending those conferences seemed like the perfect way to jump in and find out what homeschooling was all about. As you can see from what I wrote, it was much different than I expected! I was used to attending writer's conferences, so I was a complete fish out of water.<BR/><BR/>As for socializing my son, it wasn't hard. It's not like I locked him in a closet with a wooden spoon and a Tupperware bowl to play with. He had all the neighborhood kids, he was in little league for 9 years, and I joined a homeschool group, so he definitely wasn't isolated. <BR/><BR/>The most challenging thing about homeschooling was being confident that I was teaching him what he really needed to learn. I started with a stack of textbooks that covered all the disciplines (science, history, etc.) and rigid lesson plans. By the second year, I was mostly unschooling and focusing on life skills, writing, communication skills, and more experiential lessons. We even enrolled in a sign language class together at the local community college.Annettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13654832155676902636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-17223568027670211242009-02-27T14:30:00.000-05:002009-02-27T14:30:00.000-05:00Awesome post - I really enjoyed it!Awesome post - I really enjoyed it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-44318553520965270042009-02-27T11:24:00.000-05:002009-02-27T11:24:00.000-05:00I'd like to know how you socialized your son, too....I'd like to know how you socialized your son, too. It's the one thing that's really held me back from homeschooling my daughter.sybil lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13629349319977383547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-24352927240297679932009-02-27T11:17:00.000-05:002009-02-27T11:17:00.000-05:00My thought/question/comment is:Brass pole? *!!*I'm...My thought/question/comment is:<BR/><BR/>Brass pole? *!!*<BR/><BR/>I'm sorry, I didn't catch anything else there...could you repeat that?<BR/><BR/>; )John D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12382180111464792854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-45909614408759345162009-02-26T22:44:00.000-05:002009-02-26T22:44:00.000-05:00Hilarious and poignant... I really enjoyed this! ...Hilarious and poignant... I really enjoyed this! Sounds like you did an amazing job raising your son!Nevadahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02289114313925146678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-36682972247006195042009-02-26T21:59:00.000-05:002009-02-26T21:59:00.000-05:00Blogged: http://bunnymoney9.blogspot.com/2009/02/m...Blogged: http://bunnymoney9.blogspot.com/2009/02/more-fun.html<BR/>bunnybx at gmail . comBunny Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12373232612908606243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-32592749342210660702009-02-26T21:46:00.000-05:002009-02-26T21:46:00.000-05:00Tweeted: http://twitter.com/bunnyb/status/12565222...Tweeted: http://twitter.com/bunnyb/status/1256522249<BR/>bunnybx at gmail . comBunny Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12373232612908606243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-68612906375901971752009-02-26T21:45:00.000-05:002009-02-26T21:45:00.000-05:00LOL! Annette's post was really funny! I'm sure I w...LOL! Annette's post was really funny! I'm sure I will enjoy her book! :)<BR/>bunnybx at gmail . comBunny Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12373232612908606243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-23028341422681070572009-02-26T16:59:00.000-05:002009-02-26T16:59:00.000-05:00I can not believe she attended one of those confer...I can not believe she attended one of those conference things. Ha! Even I am not brave enough to do that. <BR/><BR/>What was the hardest thing about homeschool for you? How did you "socialize" your son? Jr. High is an evil world, what was the most challenging thing about homeschooling a jr. higher?Dapoppinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11170185334349270932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26885147.post-67164131900364653562009-02-26T15:36:00.000-05:002009-02-26T15:36:00.000-05:00Thanks for hosting my blog tour! I'll stop by to a...Thanks for hosting my blog tour! I'll stop by to answer questions and respond to comments, so bring 'em on! =)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com