Some updates. :)

I have to apologize in being pretty scattered with my posting. I haven't really posted any book reviews for awhile, and have been off and on with everything else. :O

I'm leaving for Ecuador in two days. I'm going on a missions trip with Susie Magazine and Big World Ventures as many of you may know. Because of that, I haven't been posting very much here. I've been busy getting ready for the trip. :)

I won't be posting here again until I come back from Ecuador. Until then, check out my blog for my trip to find updates, prayer requests and such. :)

♥

Homeschooling Q&A's, Part 4

I'm back with part 4!! If you haven't checked out Part 1 , 2, and 3, it would be a good idea to do so now. :) Same as with the others, if you have any questions, go ahead and leave them in the comments. :)


Extra Activities

1. Do you get to do any extra-curricular activities?

Yes, of course! I can sign up and participate in any kind of activities I'd like to try. There are homeschoolers in our group that take music lessons, ballet, gymnastics, horse-riding, soccer, swimming, tennis, bowling, art classes, karate, basketball, Awana, choir, musical theater, etc.


2. Could you do sports, music, etc. from a nearby school if you wanted to?

Again, this depends on where you live, but typically, yes. There are schools that offer classes, clubs, bands and sports teams to homeschoolers. Also, many towns have specialized homeschool bands, clubs, etc. In addition, there are tons of activities that homeschoolers participate in that are not usually offered at/through a school, such as pottery classes, Girl/Boy Scouts, choir, music lessons, etc.

3. Do you get to go to prom, etc. ?

Our homeschool group has a "Formal" at the end of the year, which is pretty much like a prom. :) Everyone gets all dressed up, it's usually themed, they serve dinner, and play games, dance, etc. I've never gone because I haven't really been interested in going before, or I had something else scheduled that day, but the option is available for anyone who wants to go. For towns that don't have homeschool groups, some public/private schools will allow homeschoolers to come with a friend. :)

4. Why would you want to miss out on the whole highschool experience?

What? You mean, driving back and forth to a big school building every day, sitting in a classroom, wasting time on "busy-work" papers, forcing myself to eat cafeteria food, etc? Or... something else? I feel like I'm getting a good highschool experience. I may not see my friends every single day, but I do talk to them, and see them often. I do schoolwork during the day, and I have extra things I do in the afternoons and evenings. I don't understand what I'm missing. ;)

About Socialization/ Friends

1. Do you have any friends?

Yes, of course!

2. Do you get any socialization?

Okay. Whenever someone asks me this question, I always want to say, "Well, if I'm talking to you, this is considered socializing. So YES!" :) But yes, I do get to socialize.

3.  How do you meet people?

I meet people in the same way any other teenager would. I meet people at classes for our homeschool group. I meet people at church. I meet people at gymnastics. I meet people at other activities and clubs. I meet people at camps.

4. How do you get socialized?

Well, I socialize at all the places that I've met people. If I'm at gym, I talk to my friends at gym. If I'm taking a class, I'll talk to the other kids in that class. And so on.



I'm not trapped in my house all the time,
like many seem to think. :)

 5. Do you ever leave your house?

Do I? To many homeschoolers, it seems like we're away from home more than we're at home (which isn't really true of course, it can just seem that way at times). Between co-ops (classes with other homeschoolers), ballet lessons, gymnastics practice, horse-riding, movie nights, art classes, etc. we get out of the house plenty. :)

6. How do you stand being around your parents/siblings all day?

How do I stand it? Well... I like it! :) I love my family, and I'm glad for the opportunity to be around them during the day. I know that if I went to public school, we probably wouldn't be as close as we are right now.

7. Do you ever get to see any other kids?

Of course! As mentioned, I see kids at all of my activities, at church, at co-ops, etc. I see kids my age every day. :)

8. Do you actually have a life?

Yes! I wonder what people are thinking of homeschoolers in general when I hear/see these questions. Just because we do our schoolwork at home, doesn't mean we're a different species! :) We do all the same kinds of activities that a public/private schooled teen might do. We have sleepovers, go to the mall, do sports, go to church, etc.

9. Isn't it boring not being able to see your friends everyday?

I don't think so. Even though I don't see my friends every day, I do get to see them at least a couple times a week, and I see different people on different days. On days when I have gymnastics practice, I get to see my friends from there, on days I have co-ops (classes with other homeschoolers), I see my homeschooled friends, and so on.

10. Do you ever wish you went to a public school?

Nope. I don't really see anything that I'm missing from not going to one, and I love being homeschooled, so no. I'm quite content. :]


[I found my pictures on Google Search, here, here and here. ]

Homeschooling Q&A's, Part 3

Well, here we go, time for our 3rd set of questions. If you haven't read my first two posts, please do. :) You can find them here and here . As always, feel free to leave your questions in the comment box. :)

How Does it Work? Part 2.

1. Are you in the same room as your siblings? Are you all in the same grade?

Nope, and nope! :) Sometimes my sister and I will work in the same room, but not always. I usually work at the desk in my bedroom, or the desk in the office. She usually just stays in her bedroom. :) And no, we're not in the same grade. My older sister is already in college, my younger sister in in Jr. High, and I'm in High School. We're all in the same grade we would be in if we were in public school. :)

2. Do you get to listen to music/watch TV/etc. while doing school?

We are allowed to have our music on quietly as long as we're not being distracted by it, and we're doing our work. We are definitely not allowed to be watching TV while doing school. We pretty much just focus on school when we're doing school. Just because we're at home, doesn't mean we get to goof off. :)

3. Can your parents give you a bad grade?

Yup. We get whatever grade we earned. If that's an A, we get an A. If it's a F, we'll get an F. (Although, thankfully, I've never gotten an F!)

4. Do you get days off (Presidents Day, Columbus Day,etc.) ?

We usually won't take off those kinds of holidays. Unless we have something planned with our whole family that we are going to go do, we typically just do our schoolwork as usual. Although, I do know some homeschool families who always take off all the typical days the schools around us do. It depends on each family.

5. Do you have minimum days?

We don't. There's not really any point to them, for us. When we were little, sometimes we would take minimum days and then go to the Zoo or something, but now, we usually don't.

6. Do you have to take tests?

Yes. -_- We have to take tests in each of our subjects, just the same as you. Chapter tests, quizzes, finals... :) We take the bigger tests as well, like the SAT and ACT.

7. I've heard there are so many laws that make homeschooling hard. Is this true?

It depends a bit on where you live. Some states are pretty easy to homeschool in, and don't have that many laws for it. Some states actually have benefits for homeschooling! Other states have a TON of laws for homeschoolers, where you have to do a lot of extra tests, or turn in a ton of papers, or whatever extras they might make you do. It also depends on whether you file your own affidavit (stating that you are your own independent school), or whether you go through a charter/umbrella school. In some states, it is easier to go through a charter school. I have heard stories of people who have had troubles with colleges not wanting to accept their transcripts, or wondering if the grades were accurate. Usually a quick interview, or a more thorough list of classes, books,etc. will do the job. In short, it depends a lot on where you're homeschooling at, but there usually isn't too much trouble. :)

8.  How does your mom know everything that she is supposed to teach you?

Well, first off, she taught me how to walk, talk, feed myself, write my name, etc. So moms make pretty great teachers, it's an instinct. :) But to answer the question, sometimes my mom is not always the main teacher for a subject. Sometimes another parent from our church or homeschool group will teach a class. Some families have Dad step in for a subject that he is good at. Some things, like math, for example, we have all the lessons on a DVD taught by a regular math teacher. I am sitting in on his class. I will watch the lesson, and then do the assignments for each day. My mom will use the teacher guide to check them, and when I get something wrong, there are explanations in her teacher guide that we can use. So even if I'm doing something that Mom may not know, I can still learn it from someone else. :)

9. How can you get into a good college?

The same way someone from a public school can. My mom will create a transcript, like a public/private school would, listing all my classes, grades, credits, etc. Also, we take the SAT tests, and we can also take the ACT test, which give colleges a standard to compare students to. Some colleges have different admission procedures for homeschoolers. A transcript may be not needed at all, or optional. They may want certain test scores, or an interview. Some want letters of recommendation. Most colleges don't give homeschoolers a hard time, in fact, some colleges actually prefer homeschooled students! *


*I got my information and stats in this section from this article: http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000017.asp
Mostly from the section titled: "A Positive College Experience"


[I got my pictures from here and here. Again, I found them both in a Google Search.]

Homeschooling Q&A's, Part 2.

Well, hopefully you've read the first post and gotten through the basics. If not, go there now. :] This is my second set of questions. Again, if you have any more questions, just leave them in the comment box. :)

I don't think I explained the purpose of this series very well, so I will now. A lot of homeschoolers, at one point in time or another, get asked some pretty humorous questions about homeschooling. Sometimes we get asked the same questions over and over, so I'm making these for people who are genuinely curious about homeschooling. And of course, for homeschoolers, who I assume will just enjoy reading it. ;) And just as a disclaimer, I do not, obviously, speak for all homeschoolers! I speak based on my own experiences with my own family. :) If something is different for you, or if you had an opposite experience you'd like to share, feel free to leave it in the comment box.

How Does Homeschooling Work?

1. Do you get a Summer break?

Yes! My mom needs it just as much as we do. ;) But we're pretty much on the same schedule as most of the schools in our area. I do know a few homeschoolers that school year-round, but they take a lot of breaks during the typical school year, so it evens out.

2. Does a parent have to homeschool you or can it be a family friend?

It could be a family friend, if that was what worked best for your family. It's just most often that a parent does the job. :)

3.  Do you get distracted with computers and TVs around?

It can be easy to get distracted, especially by the computer (for me), but you have to be able to limit and control yourself. It's something that you learn. Sometimes it can very tempting to use it if it's sitting right next to you, so what I do is just move rooms. Out of sight, out of mind. :)

4. Do you just get to eat and do stuff whenever you want?

Not really. This is a bit vague, but I'll do my best. :) I don't get to eat whenever I want, per se. I have to ask before getting a snack or something like that, but usually, if I ask to get a quick snack, I'm allowed to. The key word with that is quick... we can't just lounge around in the kitchen, munching away. Get something small, eat it, and be done. And if you just had something 10 minutes ago, don't ask again. It's not gonna happen. :) As for doing stuff whenever, that's mostly a no. There are many, many times when I'd love to just stop working for a while and go take a walk, read a book, take a nap, go online... those kinds of things. It doesn't happen.

5. Do you get grades?

Yes, of course. Our mom (or whoever is teaching us) gives us grades just like a teacher in a public/private school would, evaluating the work, checking the answers in the answer key, adding up totals, etc.

6. Are you going to be homeschooled in college too?

Another question that makes me smile. No, I'm not going to be homeschooled in college. :) I've wondered if it was even possible before, but no, I'll be attending a regular college. :)

7. Do you get a diploma?

Yes! There are actually places where homeschoolers can buy diplomas from. Also, if you use a charter/umbrella school, many of those will provide a diploma.

8. Does your mom teach you and your siblings at the same time?

Yes and no. She teaches us at the same time of day (from 8-3, approximately), but not the same subjects, or at the exact same moment. For example, if I'm doing math, she might be doing spelling with my sister. If I'm doing science with mom, my sister might be doing her reading.

9. When you're sick, do you get a day off?

Depends on how sick we are! :) Usually, we at least try to get some schoolwork done. If we're sick with a fever and stuck in bed, we won't do much, maybe some reading, if that. If we're well enough to move around and think (haha), we just do as much as we can, and rest in between.

10. Do you still have snow days?

Well, it doesn't snow around here, so I asked my mom, "If it snowed here, would you give us snow days?" and she said that she wouldn't. Since we wouldn't have to go anywhere to do our schoolwork, we would be perfectly capable of staying at home and doing it. So no. :)


(I got my pictures here and here. I found them both in a Google search.)

Homeschooling Q&A's, Part 1

I have promised this, but hadn't posted yet, sorry! I had a ton of questions that I was trying to organize, sort and answer. (: I'll try to post ten or so questions a day, and I'm probably going to have four or five categories. If you have any more questions I haven't answered, feel free to leave them in the comments.

The Basics


1. Do you get to wear your PJ's all the time?

Nope. I guess that each family is different, but I don't know anyone that wears their PJ's all the time. When my sister and I were in elementary school, the first rainy day of each school year was "Pajama Day". But now, we have to get dressed before we start.

2.  Do you get to sleep in however long you want?

Nope. We have to start school by 8am. Mom's rules. ;) 

3. Do you actually like being homeschooled?

Yes. Yes, I do. :)

4. Is it nice to be able to work at home with your pj's and stuff?

 It's nice to be able to work in my room, or somewhere else in the house, and not be squished into a little desk in an uncomfortable environment. But I almost never work in my PJ's. :) I can't focus well if I am [wearing pajamas].

5.  Do you just lay in bed all day?

No, of course not! :) I get up, eat breakfast, make my bed, brush my hair and teeth, get dressed, etc. I do my schoolwork either at a table somewhere, or at my desk in my bedroom. Laying in bed all day would make anyone feel stiff, sluggish and sleepy.

6. Do you do your hair and makeup each morning?

I do my hair every day, even if it's just a simple ponytail, because I like to have it out of my face. Also, it's makes me feel more awake and alert if I've gotten myself all ready. I don't wear makeup, even when I'm going out somewhere.

7.  Are your parents really strict?

I always laugh when I hear this question. :) My parents aren't terribly strict, I suppose. We have to follow Mom's rules, like getting up by a certain time, doing our work, etc. It's not like we're asked to be glued to our desks for eight hours straight, slaving over our work and translating Greek dictionaries, or anything like that. I guess I would say she is serious, but not too strict. :)

8. Is it a good education?

I guess that depends on your teacher. I know some people that homeschool that do barely any work. :\ But for the most part, homeschooling is a good education. The homeschooled student typically scores 15 to 30 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests. Homeschooled students also typically score above average on tests such as the SAT and ACT. So yes, I would say that homeschooling is a good education. There are other reasons why, but I won't name them all here. I may get into a few in a later question.

9. Who teaches you?

My mom. And occasionally, I will take a class with a few other homeschool families, and another mom will teach.

10. What's homeschooling like?

It's not as weird or different as it may seem. I wake up around 6:30am and get ready in about an hour. I usually start school around 7:45 or 8:00am. I start with my Bible work, and then move on to my other subjects. I do all of my subjects in the same order each day, just because I like to. I work on each subject for about an hour before moving on. Around noon, I break for lunch, which usually only takes 30 - 45 minutes. I have to be done with my schoolwork by 2:45 because I have to leave for gymnastics practice at 3, and it takes me about 15 minutes to get ready. If I'm not done by then, I have to finish my schoolwork when I get home from gymnastics, which is around 8:30pm. I have deadlines and tests, just like regular school, and I have to actually do my schoolwork, and not be goofing off on the computer or something. :)


(I got my statistics from here.)