Very true. I'd be crazy to take on hsing my kids if the decision was based on the quality of education in our town. Our schools are excellent, among the top 20 in the state.... which makes the decision to hs very, very hard for me. Can I accomplish what my local ps can? I don't know, but I'm trying to figure that out. What I do know is that NO ONE will love or care for my kid's mental, spiritual and emotional health the way that I will. I know that the negative peer pressure in a privileged school district and affluent town can be fierce. And I do know that I want some sort of say in my children's education, and that's not easily accomplished in my district. I'll keep reading this post with interest!

Granted, I'm very new here, and haven't even begun our homeschooling journey... but I must say that many of these posts make me feel uneasy. Is it a case of "we were here first" and those of us who follow can't possibly live up to the expectations? Is it a case of hsing becoming more mainstream and thus not the renegade choice that it once was? Am I a sheep? Are my decisions to homeschool "good enough"? Surely even in the pioneering days of homeschooling, there were families that just scraped by or failed their children, just as there were families who did amazing things and prospered. How is that any different now -- except that the numbers have gotten larger? What if acceptance to a competitive college is not the driving force behind homeschooling? Not good enough? I can't imagine anyone choosing hsing because it's *easier* than sending your kids off to ps... Sorry -- not sure where I'm going with all this. Just trying to digest it all. :lurk5:

Homework? In KINDERGARTEN? Keeping her in for recess? That's HORRIBLE. :angry:

You ladies have been so open and your stories are so heartfelt -- I love reading about your decisions/genesis. Thank you so much for sharing part of yourselves with me.

We're actually saving a lot in gas compared to a few months ago: 1. The kids are home instead of at school, which was a 45-minute trip EACH WAY. We're sticking pretty close to home, with a few longer trips here and there (camping/beach, etc). 2. We traded off our Minivan and bought a Mini Cooper. My husband drives this to the train station which is probably 7 miles away, and then takes the train to town. He's always commuted by train, though, so not really anything new. So between getting rid of the van and not driving to/from school, we've seen a huge difference. I'm hoping my little Subaru will last another 100K miles...

I read Don Quioxte waaaaay back in college and loved it then... I should go reread it now...

Count me in! Maybe I should go find the CS Lewis stuff to start? (Sorry, no blog... no time)

OHMYGOSH, you are funny (and right!)... I might need that whip. I've actually joked before that he has a very hard time saying *no* to me -- I'm not terribly unreasonable and haven't demanded too much (Ok, the camper was kinda big, but we're ALL having fun with that). But I've never felt like there was so much at stake. I swear, as soon as I've posted enough to dole out rep I'll be visiting you guys! (Now where did that post of nothingness go to? ;))

I'd love to contribute, but I've got to RUN to the cabinet to give my two crazies two fish oil capsules before dragging them up to bed... ;)

Hee hee, thanks. It sort of sums up where I am in my life. :willy_nilly:

I think we were headed down the very same road that you traveled. I thought Montessori was *IT* and reveled in the fact that we had found such a kind and gentle educational process. What happened though, after we transferred him to a larger Montessori in order to go all the way through 8th grade, is that he got lost. And then he regressed. The kid that knew all his letters before starting preschool, now could only name about 1/2 of them. And he couldn't count past 11. And Montessori isn't the same everywhere. At his first school, the kids were warm and helpful to their peers. At his second school, I saw children being corrected for trying to help a fellow student. They took "independence" to a whole new level, and I couldn't believe that his teacher was telling a kid not to help another one... to leave him alone and go work on his own stuff. What was that teaching my son? Shame on me, for turning over the education of my children to someone else, no matter how kind or gentle. BTW, my DD will also be one of those kids who would be fine in school. She would be popular and would live the life. Heck, she was already the center of her class at the Montessori school, and she was just 3... scary. :eek:

Yes! I've embraced all the things that make my little DS so incredibly special to me -- and these are the things that just don't translate to the group dynamic. I can see him as being somewhat of a follower -- and I don't want him to fall into the trap of conforming to gain his place in the crowd.

Totally in agreement -- if I can find the strength in my own convictions, and find some eloquent ways to express myself, I hope I can at least have him consider it for a year. Take it year by year...

I love this! I admit to occasional thoughts on what DS will be *missing* and you've summed it up beautifully.

My application to join the fun here was approved last week ... ;) Thing is, I'm still struggling with taking the actual plunge into HSing. So here's the scene: DS just turned 5. He's quiet and sensitive, a very sweet little boy, a little quirky too, definitely marches to his own drum. He started Montessori school at 3.5, and we did that for just over a year and a half. We pulled him last March from Montessori b/c he was miserable. He seemed to be OK while he was there (the teachers never alerted me to any problems -- but admitted that he's the type that is easily overlooked as he doesn't draw attention to himself), and I did go in for several observations to try and figure out what was going on. He was fine there... but at home, he was a mess. He said he hated school. He said he'd be happy if he never went back, etc. etc. So we pulled him, and within weeks he had started to go back to that happy sweet kid that we remembered. Now he's on the verge of going to K at the local public school. Great school district -- we moved here for the schools (that's before I started thinking of HSing him). In our 2-block neighborhood, there are 5 other kids that will be starting K. Life in the neighborhood and the whole town revolves around the schools. No one could understand us putting him in Montessori -- I'm sure they'd be appalled at the idea of HSing. (BTW, I finally, after searching and searching, found one other family who is pulling their 9yo daughter out of a different elementary school in this town -- but that's it for HSers around here). DH isn't interested in the idea of HSing, but after spending so much of my time researching it I think he's willing to at least read up on it some. I can likely talk him into letting me "hold him back" from K for this upcoming year, but HSing indefinitely will take a lot of convincing. And it's hard to do that convincing when I'm still a bit torn up about it. On the one hand, I can't imagine sending my sweet little boy into a den of 24-25 other kids, where he's already proven that he's easily overlooked and he's intimitated by bigger, louder, faster kids. On the other hand, he's in a little camp this week for kids going into K and he's really enjoying that. What to do, what to do? I waiver between keeping him home for as long as humanly possible (take it one year at a time), or sending him to PS with the agreement that if we start to lose him again we will pull him out to HS him. Anyone else BTDT?

Timely post, as I just had my first green smoothie this week... I put a banana, some milk, a drizzle of maple syrup and a big handful of chopped kale in the blender and poof, instant fresh! Just bought some flax meal to add to the next one, and soy milk to replace the regular milk. Will also see what kind of greens I get from the CSA share today...

1. I, too, have spent ridiculous and gloriously wasteful amounts of time here with my new friends. 2. I have spent this gloriously wasteful time pretty much ignoring my kids. When they were shouting at each other in the back yard loud enough to bother me, I got up and made them stop. 3. I threw away a perfectly good bag of M&Ms (the really big ones) out of fear that I was going to eat the whole thing. Not fear so much, I guess, as the realization that I most definitely would. 4. I never got dressed today. 5. I made my DS cry when I insisted he eat one pea. 6. I pulled up weeds in the yard yesterday and then left them in a pile in said yard... Now, off to get that glass of wine...

I'm so terribly sorry, and so sad for you and your family. Hugs...

:smilielol5:

Love it! Love reading your blog, love the name Little Green... congrats on taking the plunge! Last year, we bought a pop-up (and the smallest one we could find), in order to have some affordable family vacations. It's a lot of work, but I'm loving it and the kiddos never want to leave when it's time to pack up. There's something so sweet about having no phone, no tv or computer, and filthy filthy happy kids. Last weekend, we had deer and turkeys walk through our site... Enjoy this time, and keep blogging!

Well, probably doesn't relate since it's not DIRECT sales, but I work PT as a rep for a couple baby/kid related products. I sell wholesale to boutiques. I sort of stumbled into it accidently when my kids were just 2 and 5mos. At that time, I could strap them in the double stroller and take them along with me. Now, my 5yo can handle going to stores with me, but I make sure to have my crazy 3.5 yo taken care of elsewhere. There's a HUGE potential to make a lot of money if you can work more hours, but I've scaled down to the basics so that I'm not always trying to stick my kids in front of the TV in order to get some work done. And I've been lucky in that I've landed some really great companies to represent, so it's never been very much of a "hard sell" to get a boutique to pick up a line.

I love the idea of my kids doing SOTW together, so I'll hold off on it for now. I'm awaiting my FIAR order -- so excited to see what that's all about. Thanks everyone for your common sense and opinions!

I think this is a fabulous, inspired and kick butt idea. Please be sure to post here to update us now and then. Just last week, I was scanning real estate sites and looking at smaller homes. I'd never get my DH to agree to it, but it sure would be nice to have less stuff, less room, less to maintain/repair. And (gasp), maybe even another HSer nearby... The books though... can't those count towards Life instead of Stuff?

My DS turned 5 in May, and we're hoping to do an easy, relaxed K program starting in the fall. I bought Saxon K, which so far he loves, and we're doing a crazy amount of reading. He just today read his first BOB book on his own! I've heard (on another board) that SOTW should really be started in Grade 1, but I've seen siggy's here that indicate some people might be using it as early as K. Should I wait? Or should I go for it? I have a 3.5 year old too -- so maybe there's a better time to start based on where she'll be? I don't want to go overboard and burn out, but it seems like it's basically just more, well, stories. Thanks!