New Bee Homeschooler

Time for some New Bee love.

Before I share my article on things homeschoolers know, I am doing a flip flop post for you in case you may not need the love but want to know what is coming up. Because I do organize what I am going to share, I wanted to update you on printables coming.

I have planner printables for the student planner just about ready. One new thing about one of the pages is that I have a planner page where your child keeps up with their time in 15 minute increments. This was a request by a follower {ewww I don't like that word..anyway} and of course when I can and as I have time, I like to make ya happy. So those forms are next!

I get a little OCD when I need a planner so I have to share the life story of my blog planner soon too. I use my forms first before I put them on the site or share. That way if something bothers me, I can catch it. Well this blogger planner has been 6 months using before I got it right. Good grief you would think I would have it down before now, but I didn't. I have to share all the woes and tribulations of my planner and then of course you know you get that too. I will be sure to have one copy available for those that don't blog but could use the form for something else. No wasting a good printable.

Kelley and I have been planning our first field trip with our local group. It will be in a couple of weeks and we are having a not Back to School Geography Quest. Though I would love to share the country my kids will be doing a presentation on, I can't. It's a covert operation according to my kids. We have decided to surprise all the kids at the field trip. Each family picks out a country to do a presentation on and we decided to keep the choice of country a secret. Of course, I will have our pictures and printables to share with you on those countries after the covert operation field trip is done.

Also, I will be sharing some about Kitchen Organization in September. I have made some updates to the Home Management Binder, so I have some goodies for you.

Also, this is the month my New Bee workshop starts back, so I will have to sneak a few pictures of our group at one of our locations. When the workshops start I get sizzle butt because I am so excited to meet a new group of moms. I always say if you need to be on fire for homeschooling, meet with a bunch of new bee homeschoolers. Their enthusiasm for starting a new year is contagious.

Also, I have just slightly changed our school area, and will share those pics too.

Just a glimpse of what I have been doing..

Have you made a list of what you wish you could re-do if you started homeschooling again? I talk about do-overs in homeschooling in a previous blog post but I want to share some things that I hope new homeschoolers would take to heart. It would have meant less trauma but more focus on triumphs if I would have taken it to heart.

• Before worrying about high school for my 3 year old who is not too long out of the high chair, I wished I would have spent more time involved with play, dress up, music and art classes.
• Even coming from a family where my mom homeschooled my youngest sister, I wished my thinking was less of "I'm going to try it for a year and if I ever have to put them back in public school" worry and viewed it as an important life changing decision. If I had viewed it like my commitment to having a child, a new marriage or a big move to a place where you can't go back, I would have stressed less. Realizing more time should have been spent on making homeschool a lifestyle change would have been a better use of my time.
• Instead of focusing on extreme rules for our house like not having a tv and no video games, I should have worked more on finding a balance instead of creating extremes for our home. Realizing that some homeschoolers don't have a tv in their home by choice is good for their family but not ours. My family likes tv, video games and techie play things and balance was so much better for us.
• I wished I would have changed my school schedule earlier than I did instead of thinking that during the day I couldn't go out because it was "school hours". Little did I know that even though I lived in bodunk, U.S.A. at that time, that homeschoolers are oozing by the thousands. Most people have heard of it before.
• I wish I would have worried less about "proving my homeschool success" to my in-laws and outlaws and any other family relationship that I may not have wanted to claim kinship to and focused more on the "how to's" of teaching.
• Focusing less on "what if my children were going to get behind" instead of delighting where they were at would have helped me to teach and savor the "here and now moment".
• Understanding that field trips, homeschool conventions and open houses are not always in my back yard or even my side of the county, I would have attended more conventions, open houses and gatherings for homeschoolers.
• Earlier, I wished I would have found this quote by Sally Clarkson out of her book Educating the Wholehearted Child about the mountains piles of curriculum I bought and may not get to in a lifetime.

  It is nearly a rite of passage for new homeschooling families to buy curricula that ends up gathering dust on the shelf. Usually, it turns out to require more preparation and involvement than they are willing to invest, or it doesn't fit their lifestyle. It becomes an investment in experience. What we all learn, though, is that any curriculum is only a tool -- it doesn't really "teach" anything. The attitude and commitment of the teacher is far more important than the tool. So if it doesn't work, don't worry. Put your unused used curriculum on the table with everyone else's and buy real books next time. You're experienced now.

This is my short list of things seasoned homeschoolers know. How does your list look? Have you started one yet?

Kelley and I are concluding the conventions and open houses that we attend for the summer. We had our last open house on Monday. August has been busy, busy, busy. Is it just the 9th? So if we get a chance to snap a picture together before the open house starts, we try to.

Then former new bees start filtering in and it's always good to see old friends.

One thing about this group is that they know how to have fun at the Open House. We have attended a LOT of open houses and conventions over the years and we always have fun at this one. They have games for the kids, music playing so loud you try to talk over it and Boys Scouts feeding you BBQ sandwiches. That's what I'm talking about, take care of the vendors.

I was eyeballing this snow cone truck they bought in for the kids. It was a huge hit and they drove right in the convention. I am thinking ...mmmm what party do I have coming up where I can use that thing?

Well that was the last open house and convention for us. Till next year.

I was inspired by this quote today as I do try to reflect on each school year as I am grateful that I can homeschool. Accept what I could not do in the past, look forward to this year and never forget my growing list of things seasoned homeschoolers know.

"You're worried about how you're going to feel at the end of your life? What about right now? Live. Right this minute. That's where the joy's at."

~ Abigail Thomas ~

Hugs, you know I love ya,