Back To School Fall Craft

Head over to Spark & Chemistry's blog for this AWESOME Leaf mason jar candle holder just in time for homeschool art class. This would be for junior high or high school aged students. These are super cute and actually pretty easy. No glitter involved either :)  I think the hardest part of this art project for me would be the raffia, I am not a great tying bows.

Pretty cool way to start fall, with some pretty candle holders. We love to light candles in our homeschool during those rainy dreary fall days. Makes the house seem warmer and the day brighter.

Enjoy!
Moe

Art Class & The Homeschool

 

Why is it that most back to school pictures and ads contain art supplies? Most public schools do not incorporate art into their education, so why should we? Are we as homeschoolers incorporating art into our home education? BIG gasp here!

 

I may have just stepped on a lot of toes here, but I think I fear art more than I fear Algebra! lol. I know nothing about color wheels nor do I have any clue about the critical pedagogy of art. Nevertheless, I do like to shop at Hobby Lobby and Michael's...lol...and I have a ton of art supplies, brand new and still in the package!

 

 

Nowhere in my home will you find glitter, I despise the stuff. I remember the day my little man got his official title of "Homeschooler." I breathed a sigh of relief and said to myself, "Never will there EVER be another glitter covered art project brought into this home!" YEAH!

 

You know the evil glitter; it goes everywhere, gets on everything, including our bodies. LOL...nothing like finding that you have glitter all over your face when you go out in public.

 

Often times I giggle inside when I am talking to someone and they have glitter on their face, I think, "That poor Mamma."  I am so anti-glitter that if I get a card in the mail and it has glitter on it, I won't even take it out of the envie...lol. I keep the card in the envie, read it while carefully prying the envie open and then toss it out.

 

So, what will your art class look like this year?

I'm thinking of asking a friend of mine who has taught art to be a guest blogger this fall. Got anything you want to ask about teaching art? She has taught all ages and she is good at what she does (shhh, don't tell, but I don't think she likes glitter either!).

 

Next time I will share how I, the anti-glitter homeschool art teacher has incorporated art into our homeschool.

Moe 

 

A No-No List For Homeschoolers

Lee Binz, The Home Scholar has got a great list of No-No's for us homeschooling Mothers.
I really think this list is good; it has some tough subjects and makes you think.

#3 Spoke to me, I was thinking that homeschooling high school would be totally different than homeschooling grade school but it is not.

I just shiver when I hear homeschoolers say that they will be putting their children back in school for high school. Why undo everything that you have done by putting them back in school?

There are so many resources out there for high school and it can and does work. Your child will have more time to explore the their passions and what drives them. They can job shadow and take part in real on the job learning, so that when/if they decide on college they will have a better understanding of what they need to be focusing on.

We have had so many doctors give the Homeschooled Young Man tips on what to do/what not to do as well as their thoughts on what they did and how they wished they had done things differently or focused on different things while in college/medical school.

High school is a wonderful time of growth and maturity for our children, why not be by their side to encourage them and guide them through this time.

I think a lot of what Lee Binz, The Home Scholar touches on in her list, is that we should not micro-manage our children. ZING! That struck me right off the bat, I remember when my 72 year old mother told me I was Micro-managing my child...lol...first off I was like "Mother, how on earth do you know what micro-managing is?" lol. Yes I was micro-managing my child and I have since worked very hard at not doing that.
Trust me on this one; it is much easier to have your child's day planned out, than to wait for him to do it. I am a manager by nature...lol...I think I get that from my BFF's son, he has taught me well...HAHAHA!!

Have a great school year!
Moe

The Price Of Home Education: Dollars & Sense

 

What is the true price of home education? Not in terms of dollars and cents, but in terms of what it really takes to home educate: dollars & sense. Are you willing to pay the price? Read on...

The Homeschooled Young Man's hero ever since the 4th grade has been Dr. Ben Carson, MD. If you get the chance watch his movie Gifted Hands, we have watched it several times and I am so not a movie watching person...lol. Dr. Ben Carson also has an autobiography book for younger kids and a book called America The Beautiful, which is good for teens and adults. A homeschool friend was able to help me secure 2 tickets to see Dr. Ben Carson speak. During that time the Homeschooled Young Man was able to meet Dr. Ben, shake his hand, get his picture taken with him and get his autograph. Let me just say that this might have been the highlight of his homeschooling career! I think this may be a close runner up to meeting Dr. Jay Wile, PhD, who authored the Homeschooling Young Man's favorite science textbooks.

Now mind you, we are not a well to do family, we live on one income, we follow Dave Ramsey's budget planning, save as we go and scrimp some months. We had to figure in gas, food, miles on the vehicle, hotel, tickets to the event and purchase of Dr. Ben's latest book. So as you can figure it took a bit of financial planning to make this trip to see Dr. Ben a reality.

I was talking with the executive director of our state homeschool group and he was asking me about the medical school program that the Homeschooled Young Man is in and the experiences that all that carries with it. And he said this to me in an email. "Do you understand that you can't separate that interview from making the sacrifice to hear Ben Carson? One is affected by the other. This is where so many homeschooling parents miss the mark. They want the convenience of slapping a worksheet down in front of their children but miss the importance of real life, usually because it comes at a price of time, energy and resources."

This is what homeschooling is all about. Yes, some homeschoolers have a set of state standards that they must abide by, but there is so much more that we as homeschoolers can focus on. So many more rich life changing experiences that we can afford our children. What are you spending your homeschool resources on? Worksheets only? What can you change up this coming school year that will afford change in your child's real life world? Homeschooling dollars & sense: it's what you make of it.

Are you considering home education for your child this coming school year? It's not too late, even if you have already registered them for the big yellow school bus. You can do it!! Let me know how I can help you.

Moe