Big Changes At The Palace

I used to be terrified of change.

Even if I didn't love the situation in which I found myself, staying put was usually preferable to change and the unknown.

At least I knew I didn't love it.

Experiences of the last 2 years have changed that.  Some I've shared, some I haven't.

I certainly don't seek out change now, but I have come to appreciate it.  

Which brings me to this...  

We are homeschooling this year.  

I can't really tell you why.  I have loved our school.  There is no BIG THING that caused us to leave.

I simply felt a nudge in my heart that this is what we were supposed to do.

The Princess felt it, too.

There is no timeline or plan for how long we'll homeschool.  It may last a semester or the next 5 years.

We may clearly see why we needed to take this road or we may never know why.

All that doesn't matter to me so much.  

I just know that when God puts something in your heart, obedience needs to follow.

All that being said, I have a question for you.

We've chosen our curriculum.

We are just about ready to begin.

I've read lots of blogs about homeschooling which have encouraged me greatly.  However, most seem geared toward younger kids. 

The Princess will begin the 8th grade.  Do you know of any blogs focused on homeschooling older kids?  Or homeschooling only children?

I've found OMSH's posts on The Pioneer Woman's homeschooling blog to be very helpful.  

Edie's posts have also been very inspiring.  

If you know of any that I need to be reading, please send them my way!

Comments

[Lindsay @ BytesOfMemory]

Very exciting! We are homeschooling (but just preschool) this year! Weird unsocialized homeschooler blogs and her kids kid are older.. not sure how old though.

[Tiera]

I'm not helpful with the blogs, but would like to share our experience. We started homeschooling our only daughter in the 7th grade. She is waiting for her diploma in the mail. We used the A Beka Academy for our homeschool choice. The school she went to for elementary used A Beka so we were very familiar with it. There are not a lot of blogs that cater to older children, let alone, onlies. Please feel free to contact me for ideas on helping with this new endeavor. We also took it year by year and I am glad we did. Our desire was to keep her in Christian education and in our area there are no Christian schools that go through the 12th grade. If you haven't already heard of it the homeschool blogger site is a great place to find others for encouragement. Again, please feel free to email me with questions or just for moral support.

[Livin In Duckville]

Congratulations!! I loved homeschooling when I did it. In a way I wish I could do it again, but that is not my path right now. I can't give you any hints or any sites that would be helpful... However, I will be sending prayers your way on your new adventure. You'll love it.

[Heather]

http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/

This is a good blog. She has three kids, but the oldest is around middle school age, I think.

[simply heidi]

I don't know why, but I was wondering about you this morning. I opened my reader after a few days away and... new posts! I must be psychic.
I can't think of any blogs off the top of my head other than Jimmie's Collage - do you know her? She has a daughter in 7th grade. I think it would be a good fit for you.
I homeschool my only, but don't write about it exclusively. Can I recommend a book for you though? A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille. If you like it, you may be able to find some TJEd groups with older kids in your area.
Good luck!

[simply heidi]

Okay, I liked to Jimmie's Collage and it didn't show up. Here's the address: http://jimmiescollage.com/

[LoriB]

You go, you obedient sister you! We are homeschooling this year too as we have just made our transition to New Mexico. Looking forward to some fun :)

[Tonggu Momma]

I don't know of any blogs, but I wanted to make sure you knew about the Khan Academy - free on-line lessons, especially geared for math. My sister used it all! the! time! when she was homeschooling her oldest boys. It was started by a guy trying to help his nephew (niece?) with homework while living in another state, but it has grown into something so much more. People rave about it.
http://www.khanacademy.org/

[Kim]

I just wanted to encourage you to continue leaving it all in God's hands and letting Him direct you. He'll make it clear if (or when) He wants you to do something different.

When we reached the high school years we found a wealth of outside resources in our area. Our daughter was able to take a lab science class at a homeschool co-op, and she also worked with some other teens to create a year book for those involved in the co-op. There was a lot more that she chose not to do, like choir, sports, etc. That's one of the great things about homeschooling; you can pick and choose what you want to do "alone" and what to do with others.

Our son chose to take algebra at the community college (when he was 13 and his age was not an issue, at least at our cc) because the high school material was not very challenging for him. Our daughter took several community college classes her last few years of high school.

At various times during the junior and senior high years our kids also participated in community theatre, AYSO soccer, 4H, and were involved in a local youth chorale group.

Quite honestly, though, we learned early on to limit the number of outside activities to just a couple per year -- for our own sanity! It's easy to get involved in too many great activities and stretch yourself (and kids) too thin.

Our kids are grown (25 and 30 now) so I can't recommend homeschool sites or materials, but couldn't resist adding my two cents worth. I will also mention our kids loved their homeschool experience and plan to homeschool their own kids.

[Soliloquy]

Us too! Well, you know we home schooled until 2 years ago, but this year God put us all on the same page and Stink decided to withdraw from private Christian school! Hallelujah! Won't be easy, but God has a plan and a purpose. Besides, while the days feel long, the years they are short,

Staying tuned!!

[Jenny]

My daughter came to me, while in 6th grade at a middle school I HATED, and presented me with a list of 10 reasons why she should be homeschooled. We prayed about it and set in. We did the Sonlight curriculum with Math-U-See. She then went to high school 2 years ago because she really wanted the high school experience - choir, the prom, sports, theater, etc. It was a great decision.
So while I can't tell you about blogs to read, I can give you an invaluable resource for finding used material -- Vegsource.com. Go to their homeschool area and find a gold mine of people trading, selling, and wanting to buy books.
I loved homeschooling my fabulous, smart, beautiful, talented child (who is also a genius, did I mention that?) :) I know you'll love it too.

[David]

We have been trying to persuade our daughter to homeschool her daughter. We sent her to the Ursuline invent school but there is nothing similar where they are living. Homeschooling is often the best path for loving families to consider.