Spur of the moment lesson

My kiddo has been sick all week so the lesson plans had to be tweaked to include pretty much the stuff I read to him. Fortunately, he enjoys being read to and liked the subject matter too!! The other stuff like grammar, spelling, math, etc will be left until later this week or possibly just moved onto next week's docket.

Yesterday, finally merited a trip to the doctor for a dose of antibiotics to cure what ails the little fella. Fortunately, it was just a severe sinus infection, so all the Mucinex and Netipot rinses were futile against the strain. Anyway, a day later he is better but weak but not too weak for me to incorporate some of my fledgling lesson plans. We still scaled back because he doesn't have too much energy or focus. To be honest, I had some things I needed to get done so, that added to the subtraction of the workload.  See how I did that?? I worked math into the "equation." LOL -- That's my attempt at humor.

Anyway, earlier this afternoon we received a shipment of ice cream that I had ordered from a local business. They delivered them in two nice coolers and packed both boxes with dry ice. My kiddo had seen dry ice but only at a distance at a summer camp he attended last year. Hubby decided that it was a good time for an impromptu science lesson including the merits of dry ice, the dangers of dry ice and the coolness (no pun intended) of dry ice!!

To be honest, while they were doing this little experiment of theirs, I was thinking they are nuts but then I realized that my kiddo was excited and he learned something all at the same time. It reminded me that everything in life and in the day can be a lesson. Granted we don't have dry ice delivered to our door step every day and this was a little out of the ordinary. But, why can't we make lessons out of the mundane and the extreme?

Kiddo loved it and we got science in today too and it was not planned all at! That's a win/win in my book!!

Misconceptions

People are talking about homeschooling quite a lot these days. Not sure if it is more than usual or if I am more hyper-sensitive to the subject now that we are a homeschooling family. Nonetheless, people have a distorted and often times, misunderstood view of what homeschooling is all about. I must admit that before I started homeschooling two years ago, I totally couldn't relate and held onto some these perceptions regarding homeschooling.

I thought that those kids that were homeschooled were less socialized and unable to function in society. Don't get me wrong, there are those kids in the homeschool world but the same goes for the those that attend traditional, brick and mortar schools too. Bottom line, a kid's personality has nothing to do where he/she is educated. Awkward, quiet kids will still exist right along side those out-going, confident types in any situation. I see it in church, at the park, and organized and unorganized function. But, I can honestly say that in my experience,  my kiddo has become more comfortable talking and interacting with people of all ages and levels not just those in his grade now that he homeschooled.

I thought that those poor homeschool kids didn't get to do all the fun stuff that their peers "at school" did, like field trips, computer class, art, music. In reality, my kiddo has gotten more exposure in those areas and many more choices that aren't even offered in the standard school format! He has blossomed in his two years at home. He has had the opportunity to take "normal" field trips and sit right alongside his traditional school peers in the same venue. So, in essence he hasn't missed a thing!!

I thought there was a uniform approach to homeschooling. In that same manner, I thought they were the folks that churned their own butter, made their own clothes and were very, very conservative. That is not necessarily the case. I have met homeschool families from many different backgrounds, approaches, ethnic and socio-economic levels. There is not one set "type" of family that chooses to homeschool.  I've seen families with very conservative dress and values standing alongside the tattoo-pierced bunch with no conflict. Diversity is an added bonus to homeschooling. It's not just the kids that exposed to it but their families too!

I honestly thought there is no way I could teach my son because I was not a teacher and certainly lacked the patience for teaching. To be fair, the patience aspect is still an issue that I am working on but the teacher complaint doesn't really hold water. After all, who taught my child how to tie his shoes, say the alphabet, to use the potty, to spell his name, etc? The answer is me and my hubby. From the day, the nurse layed that tiny bundle in my arms, my classroom opened and his mind began to expand. I can't give  up the teaching role just because he may go to a formal school, because once he comes home, the teaching continues with values, morals, expectations, and so on!

I have seen articles written by private school principals talking down the virtues, merits and contributions of the homeschool and virtual school approaches. Just today, I saw a post on Facebook from a news personality asking about "unschooling" and the comments were not at all positive and to be honest, not even remotely correct. Also, I have heard of families being openly criticized by their own extended families for choosing to homeschool. People just don't understand that there is no right or wrong way to homeschool. They assume we are doing our children a disservice. But now as a full-fledged member of the homeschool community, I know it couldn't be further from the truth!!

It is very easy to judge until a person has actually walked in the shoes of another. So, we need to do our best to shed light and explain why we homeschool to others so that they too can change their perception of the homeschool process. As I tell my friends, homeschooling is not for everyone but for those of us that are called to do so, have an open mind and realize that our mold is not necessarily a one-size fits all approach to life or education. That's the beauty of homeschooling!! It's the freedom to do what works for your family!!