Another unplanned adventure: New glasses!

Life is one big unplanned adventure, isn't it? At least, it seems that way raising three kids. Today's adventure took us to the eye doctor, where my youngest was prescribed her first pair of glasses.

My older daughter had been having some trouble with her distance vision for a while. We first noticed it in the late fall, but since she was in the middle of a rapid growth spurt, we put off her eye exam until the spring. After all, we're homeschoolers. It's not like we can't get her a seat closer to the whiteboard.

Puberty is a time of big physiological changes, and as your head changes shape, so can your eyes. Lots of kids experience vision changes in puberty, and their prescription can change rapidly as they grow. But after a few months of weed-like growth, my daughter's spurt seemed to stabilize, so we got her appointment scheduled with the eye doctor, where she was prescribed glasses of her own.

She was very happy with her new glasses, of course, because now she can see again! My son and younger daughter's eye appointments were scheduled for a bit later, because the office was very busy, but I figured that was okay, since they weren't showing any signs of problems.

Imagine my surprise when it turned out my 6-year-old could see well, but only with her left eye. Her right eye, according to the doctor, is lagging a bit behind in development, so she'll need glasses for at least the next year to help out. The doctor said this is a problem not uncommon to preemies who were born small like she was.

So, back we'll go to pick up glasses for her in a few days. They're pink. And sparkly. And, although unplanned, they're going to be totally cute!

What are my state's homeschooling laws?

If you're new to homeschooling, you might be wondering what the legal requirements are in your state. Homeschooling laws vary from state to state, with some being very relaxed and others requiring homeschoolers to submit to all sorts of oversight and regulation.

One of the easiest ways to learn about your state's homeschooling laws is to visit the website for your statewide homeschool support group. Statewide homeschool groups are not only the first to alert members about proposed laws, but they also work to actively inform legislators about homeschool issues and to rally opposition against bad legislation.

Another way to inform yourself about your state's laws, or to learn about regulations in other states is to visit HSLDA, the Home School Legal Defense Association, where current laws and proposed legislation for each state are analyzed in detail. It may be a good idea to join both your statewide group and HSLDA to stay up-to-date on proposed changes to existing laws and to give yourself some protection, especially if you live in a more highly regulated state.

For your convenience, you can also click the the name of your state below to go directly to its legal page from HSLDA. They are grouped according to the level of regulation you can expect to face, with those under the green heading being least restrictive, and those under the red heading the most regulated.

Bacon sandwiches and sappy TV make for a perfect girls' day

My husband took our son out fishing this weekend. We're not into fishing, even though I used to teach kids how to fish when I was working as a naturalist, but it's something our son really wanted to try. More than that, it was something he insisted he wanted to do with his dad.

So, my husband pulled the rod and reel his dad had passed down to him out of the back of his closet, bought some new tackle and supplies, and the two of them loaded up the car. Our youngest daughter didn't want to be left out, so she tagged along and they made a quick stop at the store to pick up a kid sized rod and reel for her, too.

That left just me and our older daughter at home alone all afternoon.

Bring on the BACON!

I knew exactly what I wanted to do. First, we'd have lunch. I made my favorite sandwiches in the whole world - BLTs. This time, they were extra good, though, because with just the two of us at home, and a whole pound of bacon to share, our sandwiches were colossal!

While we ate our bacon sandwiches, we watched part of the first season of "7th Heaven" on Hulu Plus. My daughter had never seen the show. She liked it.

The first episode featured a story line in which Lucy, the 12-year-old middle child, was dealing with the ups and downs of puberty. I found myself glancing over at my own 12-year-old daughter, amazed, because the last time I'd seen the first season she wasn't even born, and now, here she was, old enough to relate.

Spending time with the kids individually

Today was one of those awesome days when I got to spend time with just one of my kids, all alone. With three kids and a busy schedule, my husband and I don't get to do that often. It's important to make time for each of the kids, individually, though. They relate to us differently when their siblings aren't around, and they often talk fondly about the special times they spent with one or the other of us on their own.

I know bacon sandwiches and TV might not sound like an adventure, but you don't have to spend a lot of money or plan an extravagant outing to enjoy quality time with your kids. We had a very enjoyable girls' day, just the two of us, and my daughter didn't have to share my attention, or her bacon, with anyone!

Are your homeschool techniques keeping up with technology?

My kids love Minecraft! I do, too. We play together often as a family, and my son researches new tips and techniques on YouTube and other sites to improve our worlds. He's recently talked about wanting to learn coding, so he can work on developing games on his own. I think he should go for it.

A photo from my tutorial on how to easily find diamonds on Minecraft.

Our kids live and learn in a world of advancing technology. They eagerly seek knowledge that is relevant to them, and utilize devices and resources online that most likely pave the way to their future careers. But are we, as their teachers, keeping up?

A warning from the industry

Today I read an article featuring Dylan Collins, the CEO of SuperAwesome, a major children's marketing and research network that analyzes how developments in the digital world effect kids. He said:

"The change we are seeing with kids is the greatest change we’ve seen in a generation of children since the war. This is the generation of kids that is going to change everything. They are going to create. They are going to destroy.

"For the first time in our society’s history, we’re being presented with a generation of kids capable of exceeding our abilities while they are still kids. The reason Minecraft exploded was it allowed kids to create: it gave them the tools and empowered them. As a society, we are woefully under-prepared for this generation, I think.

"Now imagine what that is going to be like in five years time. It will be the new generation of kids, but it’s probably going to be the same teachers. How are we going to deal with that?"

Evolving as educators

It's important that we continually evolve and adapt our methods as teachers. What worked for us a generation ago isn't necessarily what will work best for our kids, and what's best for them today might not be in another year or two.

This year, a bunch of kids in my homeschool group are starting a Minecraft club, with the goal of creating a historically accurate replica of a Civil War era site. I'm volunteering to mentor them, but in truth, they already know more than I do about the technological side of the project, and probably will learn much more as they go.

I'm excited, though, because we'll be using the technology they love in order to study history, geometry, architecture, writing, and more. How are your kids using technology in their educational pursuits? Are you working to keep up?

Learning about fireworks on the 4th of July

I love taking time to learn about things in the moment, and the 4th of July is a perfect time to stop and learn a little bit about fireworks.  Last year, in between lighting smoke bombs and Black Cats in the afternoon and watching a professional fireworks display at night, my family watched some videos about how exactly fireworks work.

It was pretty amazing to learn about how the insides of a shell are packed in just a certain order, and how different types of fuses help control not only the initial explosion, but the secondary bursts in the sky.

This year, we're going to spend a little bit of time on the 4th of July making these cute decorative firecrackers I found on Fran's World of Discovery. They use recycled materials, and look like a perfect activity to do indoors when it gets too hot in the afternoon.

After that, I think we'll check out some of the many informational links on the same page. It will be a great way to have fun and learn more about fireworks all at the same time.

Did bad school lunches really turn us into homeschoolers?

One of the questions I have been asked the most over the years is why I decided to start homeschooling. Of course, there were all the usual reasons, such as giving my kids a better education than I believe they could get in public school, keeping them away from bad influences and bullies, and avoiding having our kids possibly fall through the cracks in overcrowded classrooms. But when my husband and I were weighing the pros and cons of homeschooling, one surprising factor figured heavily in our decision: school lunches.

I know you're probably thinking, yes, school lunches can be pretty disgusting, but can they really be bad enough to make a family choose to homeschool? A lot of kids would say that lunchtime at school is one of the worst parts of their day, but that's just part of growing up, right? 

Unfortunately, as we discovered when our twins were in public school, the problems with lunch in today's schools can actually jeopardize your child's health. That's exactly what was happening to our daughter, and it was becoming a serious problem. What were we going to do?

Making the decision to homeschool

My twins had just finished kindergarten when we made the decision to homeschool the next year. Of course, part of that decision was based on the fact that we'd just moved to a new school district, which was overcrowded. Realizing that our kids would have to go to an elementary school across town instead of the one just blocks from our house, we started thinking about other options.

We had also become very concerned about the fact that our daughter had lost weight over the course of her year in kindergarten. She and her twin brother were born preemies, and she was barely hanging on at about the 10th percentile in weight. It was dangerous for her to go a whole year without putting on at least a few pounds and even her doctor was growing concerned.

What did school lunch have to do with it?

I had tried hard during my twins' kindergarten year to help my daughter get enough healthy nutrition so she could grow. I packed her lunches, and made sure to send along snacks that she would like to eat in the afternoon. That helped to eliminate the yuck factor that was keeping her from eating the school's hot lunches.

But there was little I could do to help with the main problem, which was time. There just wasn't enough time at the lunch table, and what time there was came way too early in the day. 

Because the school had a burgeoning population of students, the kindergarten classes had to eat lunch at 10:45 in the morning. That was too early for most of them to be hungry enough for lunch, and left them starving by the end of the school day.

This problem was compounded by the fact that the kids got just 15 minutes to go through the serving line, find a seat, eat, bus their own tables and get in line for recess. I did not know at the time, but the USDA and many medical groups have recommended for years that students should get at least 20 minutes at the lunch table. Mine were getting less than half that.

Homeschooling made such a difference

Bringing my daughter home made a huge difference in her health. She was able to take her time and finish hearty meals at breakfast and lunchtime. She was also able to go to the kitchen and get a healthy snack whenever she got hungry midmorning or in the afternoon. Her energy levels were higher, and she began to gain a little weight.

We were leaning toward homeschooling anyway, but the problems with school lunches really were a significant part of why we finally made the decision to go for it. Now my twins are teenagers, and they're both healthy, vibrant, and although we hadn't originally planned to go this direction, very happily homeschooled.

Getting ready for the back to school rush

My kids and I are starting our sixth year of homeschooling this month. It's July, and the school supplies are on the shelves already, just waiting to be snatched up in the back to school rush. Pencils, crayons, paper, scissors, binders. Well, if you have kids, you've probably seen the lists. 



But the back to school rush means something entirely different to me. As one of the leaders of a homeschooling group that serves much of northeastern Oklahoma, this is actually one of my busiest times of year. Why? Because as the beginning of a new school year approaches, our homeschool group gets inundated with new members.

Not going back to that school

Sometimes it's because a child has just gotten old enough their parents either have to enroll them in school or find another option.  Other times it's because kids get stuck in a class with an ineffective teacher, or because they know they'll be going back into a bullying situation. Often it's just because the parents have looked into all the alternatives, and they've just decided at last that homeschooling is the best choice for their family. Whatever the reason, we always get a lot of inquiries in July and August.

A commitment to outreach

My co-leader and I feel a responsibility to reach out to new homeschoolers, whether they end up joining our group or not. So the past two school years, we have hosted informational meetings for anyone in our area who is interested in homeschooling. We've invited speakers from OCHEC, our statewide homeschooling organization, and passed along all sorts of information homeschoolers need to get started.

It's not always easy for new homeschoolers to find support, but in the midst of the back to school rush we do our best to help out. If you are a new homeschooler, or just considering homeschooling this year, I encourage you to look for a local group or contact your state organization to connect with others. And if the first group you try is not a good fit, don't give up. Homeschool groups are just about as diverse as the families that join them!