Making Home with MrsBettyTracy

The Age of the Expert is Over
I've been saying this for some time

Are You Barren?
Worship should be fruitful

There Is Too Much Stuff
Amen.

Are You Making These 7 Cleaning Mistakes?

For Your Best Health: 8 Things to Consider if You are Sick and Tired
The hot trend in smartphones? Not buying a new one

I won't be buying a new one for myself for some time. I have a phone, tablet and laptop. I simply have no need for anything else, newer, better.

10 Advantages Of Homeschooling That You Really Can't Argue With

What if home education could be really simple?

I have been homeschooling for some 22-27 years now, depending on if you start counting with the birth of my oldest or her 5th birthday. I have gone through several traditional phases where we bought complete (or nearly complete) curricula, and a Classical phase where we worked. A Lot. 

I began to hear a disconnect between what I would tell people about homeschooling, how its different than brick-and-mortar school, (how children want to learn and education should be in the direction they are interested in, how life is learning) and how we actually "did school." (lot's of books, subjects the kids weren't interested in, long hours sitting and working.)

And we have read enough biographies for me to finally begin to notice how those notable enough to get a biography were educated, and it seldom resembled what we were doing. 

I have been gradually backing off the "rigorous" education and going at this whole thing a lot more relaxed. 

I read, probably, an average of 1/2 to 2 hours a day, seven days a week. This includes biographies, historical fiction, science books, Tom Sawyer, Harry Potter, Narnia, The Little Princess, Little Women, Hank the Cow Dog, 101 Dalmations and Winnie the Pooh (the originals, NOT the Disney versions), lots of Cat in the Hat, Sir Cumfrence, and more, some new and trendy (sort of) and some "classics." 

I encourage them to look up the answers to any questions they have if I don't know off hand, and my older ones keep blogs (very sporadically). They all have their own "worlds" they are creating (crosses between Lord of the Rings and Star Wars with a bit of Dr Who thrown in). 

Of course, 4 of mine are graduated, though still living at home. But I like the results I see, over all. I do insist on math lessons regularly, and we do Bible devotions twice a day most days. Music and art are strongly encouraged, too. 

I do occasionally get embarrassed when someone asks my kiddos a question they don't have an answer to, but I think that is happening less with the younger ones than it did with the older ones. As if, when they aren't pushed they just kind of absorb information. 

So, yes, I think we need to "do school" much simpler and truly bring education home. Not School, Education.