Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it ben in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leave no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference.
There are many different paths to homeschooling. Some choose to homeschool for religious convictions, while others for educational, special needs, moral reasons many other motivations in between. Though everyone has their own reason for deciding to homeschool, we all have one thing in common; we have chosen a different path than our public and private school counterparts. At some point, we have all come to two roads in the wood and we have all taken the one less traveled by.
Deciding which road to travel can be scary.
Dannie from Mom’s Eye View fields many common questions about homeschooling from well-meaning friends and family. “Once you make your intentions to homeschool public, suddenly the experts come out ten-fold, and boy howdy, do they have questions for you!” Yes folks, she even tackles the “s word”! Read Dannie’s blog post But what about…?
Jessica from the
Teachable Moments recently chose to switch paths from active PTA involvement to living the homeschool life.
“My children learned chants about testing, they began art class with pep talks about testing, they were taken out of recess for testing and they learned very early on to loathe testing.” Read Jessica’s blog entry: Why I Blog
Even while on our journey of homeschooling, we often find ourselves at many different cross roads and paths. Choosing the right curriculum can be like coming across a jumbled intersection on a freeway.
Dave from
Home School Dad tells us about a handwriting program that is so effective that his children beg to do it on non-school days.
“My children hate to write. They would rather (insert gross disgusting boring or painful activity here. Ex: Have their hair set on fire) than practice their handwriting.
” Don’t believe him? He even has video footage to prove how successful it is! Read Dave’s blog:
A strange request for a day off.
“My last post attracted 41 comments full of great ideas for teaching students to write. Some mentioned a specific writing program, while others offered ideas that any of us can use, no matter what our curriculum or teaching style. This follow-up post features the best of the latter: writing tips and tricks for everyone.”
Denise from Blogging 2 Learn shares How to Teach Writing: Best Ideas from the Comments.
Melissa from the blog Bugs, Knights and Turkeys in the Yard tells us about a math curriculum that even challenged her! “Due to the fact that my son’s special needs factor into everything, when something works beautifully for both of my boys, I cannot help but share!” Find out which curriculum it is and enter her giveaway: Math Giveaway – Bragging about our math curriculum!
Everyday, we find ourselves facing different paths for homeschooling. Which hat
should we wear? How do we manage our time?
Diana from the blog
Life Curves in Homeschooling & Living for the Lord ponders her theory: perhaps we are SUPPOSED to live our lives a bit cluttered?
“So I jump into the kiddie pool and swim for a 1/2 hour instead of scrubbing my base-boards.” Read Diana’s blog entry
Ever have one of those days (years!)?
Jenn from Rational Jenn tells us how she learned some surprising things about her childrens’ interests and goals by having them create Things I Want to Know lists. “I view my role as resource provider/guide/chauffeur/perspective-adder/question-asker/context-pointer-outer/connection-maker.” Read Jenn’s blog and see her children’s list at: Homeschool Plans
Kris from Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers answers a reader’s question on teaching multiple grades at once. “How will I have time to do it all? How can I teach three grades at once, and still do pre-K stuff, as well?” Read her blog post Reader Questions: How Do I Teach Multiple Grades at Once and share your suggestions!
Katherine from
No Fighting, No Biting! shares a homeschool day that may sound all too familiar!
“So between babysitting for me and an impromptu invite for the big kids to go to the lake, the only school activity completed was piano practice.” Read Katherine’s blog entry:
He’s Already Skipping SchoolKristie from This Side of Eternity shares tips on choosing educational products in a frugal and financially responsible way. “When I first started to homeschool I had to have everything. After a that first year I saw how much stuff just sat on the bookshelf.” Read Kristie’s blog entry Frugal Homeschooling Works for Me!
Sometimes the smallest change of pace makes a big difference!
Sometimes, the smallest change of pace can make all the difference!
Robin from Crack the Egg shares her insights how to make a small change for a big impact. “This single element of making the effort to converse with people involved in what is being studied can make the difference between learning about something (static knowledge) and learning that leads to education (dynamic growth).” Read her post, History, Justice, and a Persistent Kid
Do you need to document your travels?
Do you need to document your travels?
Apollo’s Academy offers some insight into the perils of homeschool regulations and focusing on looking like you’re educating, rather than actually educating.
“After all, that was the point of all those pieces of paper, wasn’t it?…To prove that I wasn’t using my children as child labor while I sat around eating bon-bons?” Read the blog entry
Prove It.
Traveling with a guide, map or just a group of friends can help pave the way.
Traveling with a guide, map or just a group of friends can help pave the way.
Laurie from Queenofthehill shares a humorous post with information on how The Simplest Ideas are the Best. “I want to slap myself on the forehead 10 times a day and say ‘why didn’t I think of this before?’” We know you’ll laugh out loud. We did!
Carol from Everything Home…with Carol shares a valuable list of helpful resources. “Most of us have already started school for the year and the rest will be in the next week or two. Nonetheless, we never can have too many places to look for help along the way.” Read more in her blog post Homeschooling Resources.
NerdMom from the NerdFamily Blog has put together a collection of her posts in her blog Homeschool Omnibus. “In the spirit of fall I have put together a list of my homeschool posts that look at why and how to homeschool!” Be sure to take a look and offer comments!
Nancy from the blog Sage Parnassus shares information about her Co-op that covers fine arts, Shakespeare, poetry, composer study, picture study, nature study, hymns and folk songs and handicrafts. “Then one day… I thought to myself, ‘What if I could find some other families that wanted to study these same subjects?’” Read her blog post Beginning Considerations for beautiful group photos and information on beginning considerations for Co-op participants.
At some point in our journeys, we need to look back and reflect on how far we’ve come.
Marbel from Two Kids Schoolhouse describes the positive changes her son, a struggling learner, has gone through. “He is the reason we knew we would homeschool, long before he even reached school age.” Read her encouraging post Late Blooming.
Christina from Home Spun Juggling shares some learning moments in her life and explains that if we give children the opportunity, they will experience these profound learning experiences also. “Looking back on my life, there are many moments when I can say I truly learned something that made a profound impact on me.” Read Christina’s blog entry The Click.
This Blog Carnival of Homeschooling is dedicated to all of the families that have chosen the road less traveled. We hope you’ve founds support and encouragement from these wonderful bloggers!
If you’d like to join the Blog Carnival Family, submit your post for the next edition
here.
Traveling the homeschool road with a special needs child often requires additional emotional support and patience.
What about financing this journey?
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