Homeschoolers Are Quirky!

I mean that in the best possible way.

Wink!

I used to wonder if it was just our 

family but as time rolls on 

I notice it 

in the lives of and 

on the blogs of other 

home educators.

Their kids are just a tad

different too.

They are different in that they are not 

afraid to be so.

They wear funny hats,

they dress up and make movies

on a whim.

They might spend hours researching

an interest that no one has assigned

to them....just because.

I've noticed that homeschoolers 

often don't put themselves in an 

age range box.

If they are playing with younger kids

they aren't afraid to act silly....

all the while being perfectly comfortable 

speaking with their elders at church.

What's up with that???

LOL

I've noticed that home educated 

children tend to grow up 

to be unusually 

close to their siblings.

They are the best of friends 

in many cases.

Interestingly,

Many of our home educated friends

head into service and missions

not because their parents make them go....

but because they have heard through

their schooling years about missions

 

and have learned compassion

in a way that is as natural as breathing.

But, yes, there is no doubt at all that 

homeschoolers are a bit quirky.

And that is good.

They will not be pushed around

or led down a distressing path....

unless that is where they choose to go.

They are definitely 

a group who thinks for themselves.

A group who doesn't follow the crowd.

Must be the influence of parents

who aren't followers.

Parents who do the unusual

and do with less so that their

young people have this opportunity.

Parents who develop thicker

skin to deal with the stares,

the snide comments 

and the 

skeptical questions.

Parents who decide that some things

are more important than academics and

yet tend to turn out highly sought after

students for colleges all around the Country.

Yep!

Could be because the parents 

are quirky.

Just sayin'!

How Is Your School Year Going?

This year we got a jump on our school year by being in early August.  People were surprised and when they asked 'why' I told them that I like to give myself flexibility during the year.

This is how our year has gone so far....

August 1st - we had our first day. Most weeks after this we did 5 day weeks, but a few we only did 4.  

In early September we did a field trip to Hawk Mountain with some friends from church. Near the end of September the kids were able to be a part of making a commercial for Cherry Crest Adventure Farm.  Several of our kids participated in the Western equine events at the Lampeter Fair.  The next week we went on a fall foliage trip to New England and ended up with so many educational opportunities...we studied the seashore during low tide along the Maine coast, toured a Maple syrup museum, traveled from Vermont to New York on a ferry, hiked in the Adirondacks and experienced Whiteface Mountain and ended the day at sunset on Lake Ontario.  At the end of October we went to Florida for my Mother in Law's 90th birthday! We surprised her with us, a family dinner and a party with many, many old friends!  


We also managed an evening with Grandpa and his telescope and spent the evening looking at Jupiter and the four Galilean Moons.

Believe it or not we have 71 days of school under our belts, and with the schedule I have planned for the rest of the year, we will hit day 100 of school on December 30th.  

This has encouraged me to continue allowing for flexibility in our school year.  Frankly we have needed it.


This is the blessing of home education.  We can work hard and diligently and yet take advantage of opportunities to serve, travel, work, etc...this is like real life.


So how is your year going?  What things have you struggled with?  Any tips you'd like to share?

It Happened....

Chelsea,

 who graduated last May 

and who has been working 

on her music and enjoying

her new job,

came to me and said,

"I feel like I should be 

reading substantial books.

I want to keep learning."

Oh yeah!!

That is the fruit 

of years of introducing 

a love for learning.

Home Educators....

keep at it.

Even on those days when 

they are resistant.

When they tell you they aren't

"getting it".

They are getting something.

Most importantly a deep 

dependence on learning.

A desire to know more.

They are getting discipline.

It is so good.

Chelsea has been studying her

Bible this year....

intentionally.

Of her own doing.

These are the things that we parents

would love to "make happen"

but have to wait to see come to 

fruition.

What joy it brings

when it happens.

Want to share your 

joys?

I'd love to hear them.

Are you struggling right now?

Hang in there and share that too.

Others have walked those paths

and can share encouragements with you.

For Sale....You Get First Dibs....

Please pass the word to any and all homeschoolers....

our curriculum/books can be yours!

If they need to be shipped you'll pay actual

media rate shipping.

The American Republic

Second Edition

ISBN 1-59166-425-X

In very good to excellent condition

$8.00

America Land I Love

A Beka

Copyright 1994

Good Condition

$4.00

Body By Design

Alan L. Gillen

ISBN 978-0-89051-296-8

Very good Condition

$4.00

Anatomy Coloring Workbook

I. Edward Alcamo, Ph.D.

290 pages

ISBN 0-375-76342-2

Very good Condition

no marks or coloring

$5.00

Historic America Series of Six Books

all are hardcover with dust jackets in like new condition

I love the photography in the books!

The Mid-Atlantic ISBN 1-59223-118-7

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C.

The Northwest ISBN 1-57145-713-5 

Washington, Oregon, Northern California

The Heartland ISBN 1-57145-858-1

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, 

North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin

The South ISBN 1-57145-985-5

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, 

Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, 

Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia

The Southwest ISBN 1-57145-560-4

Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, 

Nevada, Texas and Oklahoma

New England ISBN 1-57145-857-3

Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, 

Rhode Island and Vermont

$15.00 for all six books

Signs and Seasons

Astronomy from a Christian Perspective

Jay Ryan

ISBN 978-0-9792211-0-1

Like new condition

$15.00

Biological Science - 1st Semester

Physical Science - 2nd Semester

Science texts/workbook in one

From  Landmark's Freedom Baptist Curriculum

New and Unused

$5.00

The Mystery of History Volume I

Creation to the Resurrection

Linda Lacour Hobar

Some writing in the book 

Some exercises are done in pencil

and I wrote some teacher notes.

Very good condition

$15.00

Books for general reading:

Empty Nest

Guidepost's Grace Chapel Inn Series

Pam Hanson and Barbara Andrews

Hardback

.50

Steady and Slow

Guidepost's Grace Chapel Inn Series

Ann Marie Rodgers

Hardback

.50

Eyes on the Prize

Guidepost's Grace Chapel Inn Series

Sunni Jeffers

Hardback

.50

As Time Goes By

Guidepost's Grace Chapel Inn Series

Annie Jones

Hardback

.50

The Way We Were

Reader's Digest Grace Chapel Inn Series

Judy Baer

Hardback

.50

The Girls of Lighthouse Lane

Thomas Kinkade/ Erika Tamar

Hardback with dust jacket

.50 each

Lizabeth's Story

Katherine's Story 

Rose's Story

The Lily Series by Nancy Rue

published by Zonderkidz:

These books all paperback and .50 each

#2 Lily Robbins, M.D.

#3 Lily and the Creep

#4 Lily's Ultimate Party

#5 Ask Lily

#6 Lily the Rebel

#7 Lights, Action, Lily

#9 Rough and Rugged

#11 Horse Crazy Lily

#13 Lily's in London?!

#14 Lily's Passport to Paris

Christian Heritage Series

by Nancy Rue

Ages 8 and up

.50 each

The Secret - The Salem Years(1690's Massachussets)

The Caper - The Chicago Years (1920's Chicago)

The Capture - The Chicago Years (1920's Chicago)

Maggie's Dare

The Great Awakening

1744 Sisters in Time

Ages 8-12

.50

The Saddle Club #39

Purebreed

Bonnie Bryant

.50

A Little House Chapter Book

Pioneer Sisters

Scholastic

.50

Misty of Chincoteague

Marguerite Henry

A Newberry Honors Book

.50

The Journal of William Thomas Emerson

Boston, MA 1774

A Dear America Book

Some Ink Marks on Cover

.50

Fun Facts About the American Adventure

ISBN 1-57748-058-9

Word searches, Match-ups, Riddles,

 Fill in the Blanks, Tongue Twisters

and Cool facts about American History

102 pages

.50

The Light and the Glory for Children

Peter Marshall and David Manuel

ISBN 0-8007-5448-4

Paperback

$1.00

Quiet Strength

Rosa Parks

Hard Cover with dust jacket

$1.00

Vocabulary for Christian Schools

Level A

ISBN Student Book 0-89084-396-1

Bob Jones University

Both Student and Teacher Answer Books

If You Sailed on the Mayflower

the Mayflower in 1620

by Ann McGovern

A Scholastic Book

$1.00

Send me an email at 

beckypfa (@) yahoo.com

with the items you want.

I will take them in a first come

first served manner.

Learning

I think there is a huge difference between

the education I received and what I gave my children.

I was taught to memorize for a test.

I learned to glean material to get "just enough".

It was common to spend 45 minutes in a classroom

where the only one speaking was the teacher.

There was no give and take.

Our home classroom looks lot different.

We don't take tests.

Because of our small class ratio I know what 

my children are learning and where they need more information.

We don't glean just about anything....

if we study something we go at it all the way.

Jumping into a subject with both feet.

With all of us researching and sharing we get a 

pretty good understanding of our chosen study subject.

Combining our various learning styles to 

completely ingest our given topic.

As for a lecture style classroom...

not at this school.

No way!

How in the world would I know what 

they were thinking or that they were engaged?

I totally get that in a classroom of 20 students

the kind of interaction we enjoy would make it difficult

to cover the huge amounts of material the textbook

requires.  However, I would rather have learned

half of the material thoroughly and in an engaging manner

than to have skimmed, memorized and forgotten.

Adding pets to the mix is always interesting...(wink)

Do you ever feel that you aren't getting enough

material into your children?

Ask yourself this.

Are they learning?

Are they learning how to learn?

Can they figure out how to find information to 

answer questions they may have?

This is much more important that you stuffing 

them full of dates and facts.

Homeschool parent,

I challenge you to let go of the old

classroom assumptions.

Teach by example.

Teach by conversation.

Teach by way of excellent books which 

inspire interest in a given subject.

Most of all....

teach the enjoyment of learning!

Creation Museum, Part Two

You may know that this blog is a shared venture

between Creekside Cottage and Hospitality Lane.

We don't keep up with it as we should but perhaps

now that the school year is upon us we will be

better.....

The folks at Creekside Cottage began their

school year today. I can just imagine them

all tucked onto the couch together reading

about history....or at the computer using their

Teaching Textbooks to do a math lesson.

It is our first year without a first day of school.

Chelsea and I will visit a local Bible College tomorrow

to speak with them about classes she may take.

However, I wanted to share more from our time

at the Creation Museum in Kentucky. So much fun....

from creepy crawlies to wonderful flower gardens.

Something for everyone!

If you get a chance to visit this museum

I am fairly certain you will enjoy it.

We found it fascinating!

The Creation Museum, Part One

 Do your boys love dinosaurs?

Ours were so fascinated by them as they grew up.

 Real turtles in the lobby area.

 

A walk through the first chapters of Genesis.

 

More photos to come...

I thought you might just enjoy seeing what we 

saw.  This in no way takes the place of a visit

for yourself.  You cannot get a feel for the audio and video

content...the planetarium, the speakers that have such 

wonderful things to share.

However, it is fun to see snapshots of the museum and 

will help you know what to expect.