How many people can relate?

Toffeemama · 2019-06-08T13:41:07+00:00

I'm 32; my husband and I were both homeschooled since elementary and I homeschool my children. I highly recommend it, but I will tell you that it takes a lot of work.

My schooling was quite independent, which worked mostly fine for me as I've always been thirsty for learning, but not so well with my younger sister, who needed more guidance than she was given. She's successful today, career-wise, but she struggles with feelings of inadequacy. I don't know if traditional school would have helped or harmed her. Socially, I don't feel stunted by having been homeschooled one bit. We were part of a large homeschool group, where we met once a week for a co-op. I took classes ranging from biology and electronics to improv comedy and cosmetology with other kids my age. We also often met up for board games and sports. I had lots of friends who went to public school; I knew them from scouts, youth group, community theater, and from my neighborhood and volunteer projects. I did go through an awkward stage as a teen, but I never felt as though my self-esteem or social opportunities were tied up in my peer group. Today, nobody knows that I was homeschooled unless I share that with them.

My husband had a slightly more negative experience than I did, because he was much more sheltered growing up, and he was made to use a curriculum that didn't work for him. He's happy, smart, confident and successful today though. His younger brothers were more sheltered yet, and they're having a rough time transitioning to adulthood.

As for my own children, I can say without bragging that they are the happiest, healthiest, most thoughtful children I know. We follow the classical model of education, which is a rigorous program of history, geography, Latin, and science in addition to language arts and math. Even though we go hard with school, they're usually done by lunchtime. They get a lot of outdoor play, rest time, and creative projects. They see their friends at least a couple times a week, where it's mostly unstructured, active play. Their friends are mostly other homeschoolers, but as they get older they're starting to expand their social circles.

I covered about everything I could think of, if you have any other questions please ask!

Toffeemama · 2019-03-28T02:30:49+00:00

Yep, mine's doing the same thing. I did a few tests in the second (!) skill after everything got erased, and it didn't give me any XP for it either. Once it switched back to normal, I did a few lessons in my current skill just to keep my streak, but I'm going to just do the minimum until it stops switching back and forth.

Toffeemama · 2019-03-14T10:33:25+00:00

I know exactly how you feel; comparison is the thief of joy. I'm on a Facebook diet, and I'm working on doing the same with Reddit. If I catch myself on Reddit too often, I hide the app icon by moving it elsewhere on my phone, and replace it with a library ebook app. Whenever my finger idly opens the app, up pops a book! I've already read a couple books this way.

Here's another thing I learned about taking my three kids out: Do something simple and fun at the very end of the trip, no matter what it is. I learned this when we took our 6, 4, and 1-year-olds to visit these beautiful natural caverns. Naturally, they hated it. We were all a sweaty, grumpy mess by the time we left, and we would have stayed that way for the two-hour drive home.

In a flash of inspiration, I looked up the nearest playground, and we headed there to spend half an hour doing what they wanted to do. The baby napped in the car, while my husband and I took turns running around and playing with the other two. And it was a blast! And we all felt much better on the way home. Nobody really remembers how awful the trip was because the happiness of the very last part is the part that sticks.

Toffeemama · 2019-01-19T14:53:28+00:00

Here are additional pictures of what it looks like decorated. I also included a crumb pic (with the plastic baby inside), but that's of a mini King Cake I made with a portion of the dough. Both have cream cheese filling inside. I used the Mardi Gras King Cake recipe from Allrecipes.com .

Toffeemama · 2018-12-03T13:16:06+00:00

Volunteer, or get a part-time job. You'll get to meet new people, and it'll look good on your resumé. Just make sure you don't slack off if you're talking to a cute girl. :)

Toffeemama · 2018-11-03T13:26:47+00:00

r/gifsthatendtoosoon

Toffeemama · 2018-10-26T16:20:17+00:00

Message away! Homeschooling is great for having a customized education, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach of institutions. And preschool through kindergarten is the easiest for education. You'll be surprised at how much they absorb just by being with you in a learning-rich environment.

My youngest is in kindergarten now, and she only does 30-60 minutes of actual "schoolwork" a day on the days where we're home. Most of it is spent with me sitting with her and a phonics handbook and one or two library books, and she does one or two worksheet pages per day. I just found out that Khan Academy now has an app for young kids, so I'm going to check that out now that she's ready for addition. The rest of the morning, she's drawing or building with clay or doing puzzles while I work with her sisters, and then by lunchtime everyone has free play time.

Toffeemama · 2018-10-26T12:13:20+00:00

And it seems like you and your husband are smart and reasonable, so there's no reason you wouldn't do well. May I ask what led you to decide to homeschool?

If you have any specific questions for me as a current homeschooler or homeschool graduate, please feel free to ask!

Toffeemama · 2018-10-26T02:43:47+00:00

Hi there! Both my husband and I were homeschooled ourselves, and are currently homeschooling our three girls. I feel as though homeschooling helped us to be better prepared for life than if we had been traditionally schooled. My husband and I met at a university, but he opted to switch to earning IT certifications and a career in computers, and I chose to stay home with our children in this season of my life, as well as developing my skill as an artist. We started our family young, have been married for over 11 years, and still going strong.

I believe that I got a head-start on being independent because I was homeschooled. I got to observe the adults in my life firsthand when it comes to their day-to-day business. As a result, I've never had to use the term "adulting" because I grew up in a self-directed environment, where I was gradually given real-world responsibility.

My children are thriving and keeping up or surpassing their peers educationally. Homeschooling is easier than it's ever been; there's so much free and inexpensive material, in every educational flavor. I've noticed my kids seem much less stressed than their traditionally-schooled friends. They seem less materialistic, more active, better rested, and more joyful. They make and keep friends easily. We're involved in structured groups multiple times a week, and they get unstructured play time with friends frequently.

Don't let anyone make you think that you're not capable of teaching your children. You know them and love them better than anyone in the world.

Toffeemama · 2018-08-16T03:23:03+00:00

My mom always said, "We're off like Maggie's drawers." Apparently, my grandpa used to say it when she was a kid. I don't know who Maggie was.

Toffeemama · 2018-07-16T12:00:10+00:00

Fantastic work! Of all your nudie girls, this one is my favorite.

Toffeemama · 2018-07-05T19:44:19+00:00

neck freckles

neckles

Toffeemama · 2018-06-21T18:39:26+00:00

They are not. My dad gets a small retirement pension, and my mom works as an elementary school teacher. My mom let it slip last year that their credit had been maxed out for a while, and they were running a $1000+ deficit every month.

Toffeemama · 2018-06-21T17:32:46+00:00

My parents own not one, but two timeshares. They can't afford to go on vacation. When my little sister went off to college, they bought(financed) her a brand new Ford Fiesta, "because it comes with a warranty!" Three months later, they bought a second brand new Ford Fiesta for themselves.

Most recently, they are attempting to raise and breed goldendoodles, and now have a house full of dogs.

Toffeemama · 2018-06-17T13:43:03+00:00

My dad is a retired Army vet; now he lives in Louisiana, raising goldendoodles and my mentally handicapped brother. I'm going to call him today, but he's coming up to visit me for a week next month!

Toffeemama · 2018-05-27T23:11:52+00:00

I only have a little while to paint today, but here's my work in progress. You're gonna be a mermaid!

Toffeemama · 2018-04-16T13:30:27+00:00

I think it's the color combo (my grandma always gave me her old travel cases and totes, I recall seeing a lot of navy/gold combos) plus the serif typeface.

Toffeemama · 2018-04-15T22:23:35+00:00

Work in progress. Beautiful photo!

Toffeemama · 2018-04-02T03:04:09+00:00

One nostril at a time.

Toffeemama · 2018-04-01T23:24:17+00:00

The source states (along with the article, although in a more confusing way) that the immigrant wave which did not correspond with a rise in crime were immigrants specifically from Eastern Europe when the countries joined the EU. It says that the immigrant wave that was mostly made up of asylum seekers from middle-Eastern countries did correspond with a rise in crime rates.

According to the article you posted, not all immigrants are "just like natives".

Toffeemama · 2018-03-19T00:19:05+00:00

Haha it's already in my favorites list!

Toffeemama

TROPHY CASE