Hello, everybody! Christmas is almost here, and that means our homeschooling life gets turned upside down. We bake, we shop (when the mall is relatively quiet!), we wrap presents, we rest.
It’s a bit of a slower month for us. So I thought I’d share some homeschooling thoughts and links that you can explore in your more leisurely time, as you get geared up for January.
Are you like that, by the way? I’ve excused a whole lot in the last few weeks by saying, “It’s okay! In January we’ll start full swing again and really get stuff done!” January has a lot of hype to live up to.
Anyway, here’s something neat. A new Canadian study found that homeschoolers (surprise!) do better in the long term than the general population. They studied a bunch of homeschoolers back in 1994, and then they went back and resurveyed them this year, fifteen years later. And what they found was surprising (in part). Read it here, but a few highlights: those who were homeschooled were far more likely to read a book than the general population. They were more likely to be university educated. They were more likely to be involved in their community, to have attended a concert or visited a museum, and to have volunteered. In short, they were more likely to be socially responsible and happy, which is exactly the criticism we get of homeschooling (they’ll end up socially pathetic). Not true. Go read it!
Want some reassurance that public schooling is NOT the right thing? Here’s an article on pressure cooker kindergarten. And here’s something I just wrote this morning on how schools favor girls, and often give boys ridiculous assignments. By the way, while homeschooling, if you come across an assignment you know your kids will hate, you don’t have to do it! That’s the beauty of homeschooling. So don’t be afraid to say no!
Speaking of the benefits of homeschooling, here’s a really sad, but inspiring story. Did you know that Jaycee Dugard effectively homeschooled her two daughters? She’s the one who was kidnapped at 11 and found this year after being held captive for 18 years. She gave birth when she was 14 and 18, and her daughters, who are now 11 and 15, never went to school. She herself never went beyond grade 5. But tutors say the oldest is functioning at the level of a high school senior. Jaycee did the best she could, under such awful circumstances, that are just heartbreaking. Good for her. How inspiring to know that she didn’t give up. She may not have had much education herself, but she did have wisdom, and that seems to be what counts. Read about her here.
Now that we’ve looked at homeschooling in general, ready for some Christmas links?
Wondering what to get your children for Christmas? Awesome blogger The Thinking Mother is pondering video games. She doesn’t like them; her sons want them. Any of you ever been there? Walk through the decision with her here!
I want to highlight some of our Homeschool Blog Award winners, so here’s a post from Beauty and Bedlam about how to decorate for Christmas. I love her ideas! I’ve tried the ornaments in a bowl thing, though, and mine never look that good!
Hanukkah’s almost over, but if your regular homeschooling is a slog because of Christmas, and you want to try something new, Robin from Heart of Wisdom has an awesome lesson plan, with printables, for the eight days of Hanukkah. You can start it late and still make it work!
Raising Olives has a neat post on how to turn dominoes into ornaments, which she does with her kids between bouts of morning sickness!
And then, if you want to gain weight just by looking at your computer, head on over to the Pioneer Woman Cooks and see what she’s cooking! I love the photos!
That’s all I’ve got for you today, but I’ll have more on my next Tuesday Tour! And in the meantime, please stop by my blog, To Love, Honor and Vacuum! I’m talking marriage, motherhood, the insanity of our culture, and more!
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