Not . . . → Read More: Homeschooling Can Encourage Socialization]]> Yesterday I wrote about how some non-homeschooling individuals are still worried about homeschooling and socialization. Serendipitously, I just read an article by a Marisa Chow, a Contra Costa Times Teen Correspondent and a homeschooled teen in the Bay Area of California. In Teens: Home schooling aids, rather than inhibits, socialization, Marisa states:

Not only does home schooling include activities outside of the home, it also allows — and even encourages — students to socialize with people of different ages, backgrounds and perspectives.

She then gives many examples of how homeschooling has facilitated socialization in her life.

It is encouraging to read articles written by homeschooled teens, seeing homeschooling from their eyes and experiences.

Do you worry about socialization for your homeschoolers? Do you worry about homeschooling through the teen years? High school can be as fun and interesting to homeschool as were the elementary years. Check out my articles on homeschooling through high school. And if you have a worry, please leave a comment here and let us see if we can alleviate your concern.

In an otherwise spot-on article about . . . → Read More: Worried about Socialization and homeschooling? Get over it!]]> We began homeschooling in 1996 and at that time, the one thing above all else that concerned those who heard we were homeschooling was “socialization.” Over the years, this continues to be THE concern most voiced, even though a generation of homeschoolers have proven it is a non-issue.

In an otherwise spot-on article about homeschooling this week, Why Urban, Educated Parents Are Turning to DIY Education, author Linda Perlstein quotes psychologist Wendy Mogel:

Psychologist Wendy Mogel, the author of the bestselling book The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, admires the way homeschoolers manage to “give their children a childhood” in an ultracompetitive world. Yet she wonders how kids who spend so much time within a deliberately crafted community will learn to work with people from backgrounds nothing like theirs. She worries, too, about eventual teenage rebellion in families that are so enmeshed.

“A deliberately crafted community” sounds like public school to me! Our experience was that our homeschooled children learned to interact with people of all ages, all backgrounds, via community sports, theater, and various other classes. And as for teenage rebellion, it is not always “eventual” but even if it does occur, it is certainly not any more worrisome in a homeschooled family than it is in a non-homeschooled family.

What do you think about the article? Do reporters/authors always have to stick in something about socialization just to “balance out” an article?

Impossible? No! Crazy? . . . → Read More: National Novel Writing Month November 2010]]> Have you ever thought about writing the great American novel? Or just have an idea buzzing around in your head that you’ve never tried to put to paper? Then National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) is for you! Thirty days in which to commit 50,000 words to paper (or computer document).

Impossible? No! Crazy? Maybe … but totally doable. You will start off the month with feelings of excitement and daring, then crash into gloom, doom and despair around day 10 as you realize just what you’ve set yourself up for. You’ll struggle through the Thanksgiving holidays, trying to squeeze in a few hundred words around turkey preparations. That is when your online buddies will keep you going, urging you to limp across the finish line. And when you do, you will feel such a sense of accomplishment. I know because I was a NaNo participant in 2006 and 2007 and I actually completed my great American novel in 2007 (which no one will ever see!). Even though I wasn’t enthused with my end product, it was a great experiment in daily writing and I proved to myself that I could write a book if I truly desired to do so.

NaNo also has a Young Writer’s Program, with a whole section of their website devoted to assisting and encouraging young writers. Many homeschooling families sign up all their family members and encourage each other throughout the month (young writers have a smaller word count goal). NaNo becomes a yearly participation event for them. Maybe this will be the first of several years of writing goals for your family!

Visit the NaNo website today. Sign up. Become familiar with its many forums and features and writing assists. You might also wish to join the HomeschoolNaNo Yahoo Groups email list. You will find this group invaluable during your NaNo Journey.

Public school students who wish to leave school at age 17 (prior to graduation) must have (1) Written consent from parent or legal . . . → Read More: Alabama Compulsory School Attendance Age]]> Alabama’s compulsory school attendance age was changed May 2009, raising the age limit for all students in Alabama from 16 to 17 years old. This was done via Senate Bill 334.

Public school students who wish to leave school at age 17 (prior to graduation) must have (1) Written consent from parent or legal guardian and (2) undergo an exit interview where the student and the parent or legal guardian is advised about the detriments of leaving school early (16-28-3.1). Church schooled (homeschooled) students are exempt from these enacted policies.

The wording of some sections of the code is confusing. Section 16-28-3 mentions an exemption for church schooled children; some areas still seem to indicate age 16 for church schoolers.

Here is HSLDA’s take on the changes: Home Schooling in the United States: A Legal Analysis – Alabama (2009-2010 Edition).

You may still find some church school administrators who are not aware of the change, as it was done very quietly, with only a minimum of attention on several of the statewide Alabama homeschooling lists. Also, many websites that include generalized homeschooling information for all fifty states have not made the necessary changes to reflect this new attendance age for Alabama.

It is always best to read the Code of Alabama 1975 for yourself and review it occasionally for changes or just to refresh your knowledge. To find the proper section of the code, visit ALISON (Alabama Legislative Information System Online). On the left side of the page, click on the “Code of Ala” tab. From there, click on the “view” option at the top of that left side tab. Scroll down to Title 16: Education. The Section most pertinent is Chapter 28, but some of the rest is pretty interesting reading also!

For more information about homeschooling in Alabama, check out LeapingFromTheBox’s Alabama FAQs and Alabama Homeschooling pages.

Disclaimer: In no way should any information on this blog be considered legal advice. I urge everyone to familiarize themselves with the homeschool (education) laws of their individual state (read the State of Alabama Education Code) and to seek out other web sites pertaining to homeschooling in their individual state. Do not rely solely upon what you find at any one site!

We have heard so much about the S-word (socialization) and homeschooling. People who send their children to public schools always bring it up, seeming to imply that homeschooled children sit at home in the dark all . . . → Read More: The Harm of Kids Raising Kids]]>

We have heard so much about the S-word (socialization) and homeschooling. People who send their children to public schools always bring it up, seeming to imply that homeschooled children sit at home in the dark all day like so many mushrooms. I recently read a very interesting article in the February 2008 issue of Psychology Today, however, that presents some strongly worded criticisms in the reverse direction.

In the article Skinny Sweepstakes By Hara Estroff Marano the author describes some of the social problems that kids face, starting in middle school. For example, psychotherapist Steven Levenkron observes that these days “…the adults essentially outsource parenting.” RAND scholar “Richard Hersh calls it the culture of neglect: kids grow up overly dependent on their peers-‘in essence, kids raising kids’ – without developing a strong sense of self.” He goes on to explain how kids need to be mentored by caring and demanding adults. On the other hand, he also realizes that adults should not see kids as helpless and shelter them from a wide range of experiences. It is sometimes a delicate balance, but one that homeschooling parents have a great deal of experience with.

The author of the article examines how schools and colleges are set up to contribute to eating disorders, anxiety and depression, through artificially restricting students to same-age peer groups. Although the thrust of the article centers on eating disorders, the message comes through loud and clear that as schools become more and more homogeneous in age, and often in culture and class, kids are getting a very skewed idea of what the world is all about.

Think about how schools have changed. My grandmother taught in a one-roomed school in the 1920’s, where children of all ages interacted with one another. Over time, the schools have gotten larger and larger and the age range at a given institution has gotten narrower and narrower. Even the local university now boasts that it has classes for seniors, conveniently located at the town library so no seniors actually enter campus.

What options do you have when sending your child off to college? This article indicates that the greater the diversity in age per grade level, the better off your young person will be. One option to consider is a community college. Community colleges often have students enrolled from a larger diversity of backgrounds, both age and cultural. The average student age is higher than at your typical university, which means the students definitely bring a wider range of life experiences into the classroom.

So, next time your ten-year-old spends half an hour talking to the librarian and you are ready to go, be glad that he or she gets to spend time in the real world interacting with people other than only peers.

The greatest gift a parent can give a child, Karen, is the ability to become independently happy.

And the greatest gift a child can give a parent is exercising that ability.

This is a good note for me today. I think I have mentioned previously . . . → Read More: Independently Happy]]> My note from The Universe this morning:

The greatest gift a parent can give a child, Karen, is the ability to become independently happy.

And the greatest gift a child can give a parent is exercising that ability.

This is a good note for me today. I think I have mentioned previously that our 2 year old granddaughter (2.5 in just a few more weeks) is living with us now, along with her mommy. Her mommy (our daughter) is going back to college for a degree, along with working part-time. So while Mommy is away from home and/or studying, Grandma (or rather Mum-Mum) gets the care of little Miss Munchkin. And it just so happens that Mum-Mum is in great demand even when Mommy is available. Most days, I don’t mind. Some days I do. I find it quite a different matter to have care of a toddler again at (close to) age 50 than I did at age 25. My patience level is not what it was and it seems that my hormones usually coincide with her bad days / teething days. Not a good combination, believe you me!

Miss Munchkin is normally pretty good at playing on her own, but she is only two and I have to continually remind myself of that as she pulls on my arm, wanting Mum-Mum to do this or that with her. Usually it’s just as I am attempting to click on something or do a cut-and-paste on the computer and the tug on my arm throws the mouse into some direction that I had no intention of taking it. Plus she is just beginning to string words together into full sentences and many words are still not decipherable without actually seeing what she wants or needs or having her give the ASL sign. But she’s gaining on the language ability and I will keep working on my patience level. I thought I had this patience thing down to an art with my own children, but I guess I need more practice in its application!

In the coming months I will be chronicling Miss Munchkin’s unschooling adventures here, since she is the next generation unschooler in our household. My focus for many years has been on unschooling high school (transcripts, resources, preparation for college), but our youngest finished his homeschooling this spring, at just about the same time that Miss Munchkin moved in. So now my focus has turned to toddlerhood and the preschooling years. So stay tuned — see how well Mum-Mum makes the mental and physical leap from high school to preschool – and what new insights on unschooling Miss Munchkin will give Mum-Mum!

So far we’ve mostly been cleaning up after a sick little toddler. Baths, showers, clothes … it’s been a long week and just when we think she’s on the mend, then she’s not.

We’ve also done some decluttering, moving extra stuff to the garage and hanging . . . → Read More: Today is Learn Nothing Day!]]> How are you celebrating Learn Nothing Day?

So far we’ve mostly been cleaning up after a sick little toddler. Baths, showers, clothes … it’s been a long week and just when we think she’s on the mend, then she’s not.

We’ve also done some decluttering, moving extra stuff to the garage and hanging some posters. So far I am pretty sure I have learned nothing new … how about you?