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Plain Vanilla Homeschoolers?


Gil
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What a timely revival of this topic. Now that my temporary insanity aka new-homeschooler-mania is receding, I'm thinking less and less of doing new stuff or buying anything. I'm not sure what came over me, I was sort of carried away with all the glitz or something but I want to do something that can be maintained long term.

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We've definitely not been plain vanilla, but as I prep for our fourth year of homeschooling (grade two for DD), more and more we are falling in love with the beauty of simplicity. DD is very tactile and she liked flashy when she was just starting out, but now we are finding that we like curriculum that is simple, but well written. Who knew that my handwriting-phonic DD would enjoy dictation from a vintage dictation book. She loves literature...stories with sweet stories and morals. She delights in hearing poetry and fables and enjoys art study. Simple, but mind-enriching! 

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What a timely revival of this topic. Now that my temporary insanity aka new-homeschooler-mania is receding, I'm thinking less and less of doing new stuff or buying anything. I'm not sure what came over me, I was sort of carried away with all the glitz or something but I want to do something that can be maintained long term.

We are pretty plain vanilla here, but this is kinda where we are right now too. After a year(ish) of getting sort of swept up in a couple of 'dogmatic' kind of philosophies, we are now at a good place of wanting simplicity, slowing down, and finding something we can stick with through the long term.

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What a timely revival of this topic. Now that my temporary insanity aka new-homeschooler-mania is receding, I'm thinking less and less of doing new stuff or buying anything. I'm not sure what came over me, I was sort of carried away with all the glitz or something but I want to do something that can be maintained long term.

 

I just noticed your signature line.   Our homeschool name is "The Ruff Academy for Boys."   Our last name is Ruff, so it was an easy pick.  I will probably change it for high school transcripts, but in our hearts we will know.

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I just noticed your signature line.   Our homeschool name is "The Ruff Academy for Boys."   Our last name is Ruff, so it was an easy pick.  I will probably change it for high school transcripts, but in our hearts we will know.

When the boys finish elementary we'll be changing the name, to GIZMO--Gils Institute for the Zoetic and Mathematical Oddballs

:). Now, all I need is an excuse  er, acronym to call their Highschool GADGET and I will be complete!

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I don't even have a name for our school.

I don't blog.

My bookcases don't match-not a one. But they are being slowly filled with classic books. 

We use binders-sort of. We use a lot of loose-leaf paper and regular pencils. 

I don't do crafts. Period.

If it has more than one loose piece or more than two books to make it work, I'm less inclined to bite off on it.

 

I have toyed with calling us the Renaissance Rednecks, however. :P

 

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We've been using Dictation Day by Day. And then just this week I printed out Emma Serl's Primary and Intermediate Language Lessons. I had looked at them before and not seen the value. Lately I have been trying to streamline more and realized that this fit everything I was trying to do: grammar, copywork, composition, poetry, dictation, dictionary usage, picture study, memory work.....all in one. Free! :) We started using them and love them!

 

eta: justamouse actually got me intrigued to try PLL and ILL again when I was reading through one of the CiRCE threads.

Does anyone use these PLL or ILL on a n ipad or other tablet? It's been a long time since I've looked at them. I'm wondering how digital friendly they are?

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My homeschool is a memorial to my late grandmother. Or was and will be again next October, anyway.

I promise I will never blog and there is no question in my mind that I can keep that promise.

The glitz and the dogma and the smiling perfect people on the glossy covers of the catalogues get old after awhile because they were never the point in the first place.

 

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I don't do projects/crafts/bells-n-whistles.

 

We do the basics (3Rs) and I add in good literature and history, poems, music, but it is all in a pretty organic fashion.  In other words, there's no dog-and-pony show. I am rather Charlotte Mason in that I trust my child to make connections and I'm not going to be doing lapbooks, cutting and pasting, organizing crafty activities, etc.

 

I do have a schoolroom and bookshelves with classic literature, but that's who I am!!  Not who I'm trying to be against my own will, if that makes sense. 

 

I refuse to attend homeschool conventions, don't dabble in curriculum and regard the search for the magic bullet with a bit of skepticism.  We use what we have and make it work.  And keep it very, very simple. 

 

 

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I don't do projects/crafts/bells-n-whistles.

 

We do the basics (3Rs) and I add in good literature and history, poems, music, but it is all in a pretty organic fashion. In other words, there's no dog-and-pony show. I am rather Charlotte Mason in that I trust my child to make connections and I'm not going to be doing lapbooks, cutting and pasting, organizing crafty activities, etc.

 

I do have a schoolroom and bookshelves with classic literature, but that's who I am!! Not who I'm trying to be against my own will, if that makes sense.

 

I refuse to attend homeschool conventions, don't dabble in curriculum and regard the search for the magic bullet with a bit of skepticism. We use what we have and make it work. And keep it very, very simple.

Our homeschool is molding into something like mentioned in this post. It's so freeing! I was so out of place at homeschool convention....went to my first one a few months ago, and just didn't get it, lol.
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