Hi! Someone from Crochetville (another message board) showed the way here. I've been looking for a homeschool board to post on. I'll introduce myself. My name is Libi. I'm a single-stay-at-home Homeschooling mom of 2. Samantha is 13 and Patrick is 11. We are currently in our 5th year of homeschooling. I am, unashamedly, a follower of Christ. I recently made the decision to step back from all children's ministry posts I volunteered in in order to focus more on my own children. I have already been blessed by this decision. We have, for the first time in 5 years, stayed on track for more than 4 weeks..lol There's not much else about me. I'm kinda boring. I enjoy reading, crocheting, knitting and spending time with my kids. I do have a blog that tells a bit more about my life and hobbies, but I'm not sure of the rules here, so I won't post the link until I know it's ok.
I've never met a homeschooler that is "boring", except maybe in her own eyes! We're usually so busy running from here to there and learning so much! I'm Jackie, and am starting my seventh year HS'ing three...DD 11, DD 9, and DS almost 6. I like to quilt, cross stitch, and play mountain dulcimer. I like to to these things, but rarely get an oportunity to! I hope to someday take lessons to play a Hammered Dulcimer (which my DH got me several years back). But for now, my life seems to center around Pre-Algebra, identifying trees, and Ancient History, LOL!
Hello I am Trish. I live in upstate SC. I have one daughter who is 7 and in 3rd grade. This is our 4th year homeschooling. I wouldn't trade it. I love to read and used to cross stitch but I don't have time anymore. Welcome aboard.
Hey! Hope you enjoy it here. Post if you find out about blogs...I have one, too. This is my 3rd year of homeschooling...ds9 and dd6. We are very ecclectic and relaxed. I'm hopefully going to be a SAHM again...as soon as dh gets a second job so I can quit mine. I enjoy singing, drawing, desktop publishing, graphic art, dog training, hiking, painting, and newly sewing...although I'm learning it as I go. I'm interested to hear more about you resigning from the childrens' ministry posts. I have been struggling with this very thing in my life, and yet there is nobody else to help with certain things and I'm not sure where my duty lies in that respect.
I had to come to realization that I was doing what God wanted me to do and to trust Him. If He wanted those ministries to continue, he would send someone to take them. If He didn't, then they wouldn't. But it would be His decision, not mine.
Libi and Syele....I was wondering if you might share some practical ways of homeschooling if you are single. Not that I'm planning on being single, but I've wondered what I would do if something happened to my husband. I'd just like to hear more of your stories to set my mind at ease. Thanks if you don't mind sharing.
Well I had to make a decesion of having less money (less than $1000 a month) and HSing or taking a full time job and putting Sami in school. I considered trying to have my cake and eat it too... working nights with a babysitter here and HS in the mornings and sleeping in the afternnons. but I wasn't sure I could handle that much on my plate all at once.. I also would have had to get a live-in nanny and I wans't sure how I felt about that. I choose less money. I look for jobs where Sami can go with me.. Teach classes where she can be one of my students, Teach at church (nursery is paid at my church) so she can go to sunday school, babysit at my house in the mornings, occasionally get a babysitter for an hour and teach a one-on-one computer lesson. Because she is four I could still get a part-time job where the state would help pay for childcare but the only pre-school I was willing to put Sami in for the time I'd be working only takes full-time kids. I was working at Chuck E. Cheese and discovered after I paid the diffrence on the Child care bill and for my uniforms I was $20 poorer than when my work week began! No good paying to work, and no good putting sami in an unsafe Daycare environment if I can avoid it. For HS supplies and Curriculum it's really hard, I just don't have the income to order anything, ever. I use the internet alot and the library and we have an awesome used bookstore here so I can get books for pennies. textbooks that normally cost $60 I get for about $3. I just have to grab what I can when it's there so I'll have it or later, you never know what will or won't show up in the store. that and the Dollar Tree.. they know me well there. LOL. I was super blessed recently because a local school closed and offered to let me take some stuff before they had a yard sale for just a small donation. Our HS schedule has to change according to my work schedule... if I have several kids to babysit we don't get alot done in the am and I have to do it in the evening. I was thinking about asking here about ideas for teaching all the kids I have here instead of just Sami.. main reason I haven't yet is they are not on the same levels and one of my kids(the only one who's here daily) is here cause she got kicked out of pre-school for behaviour and is still adjusting to having rules. I'm not sure she's ready to have an agenda that includes things beyond wearing clothes, no biting, no kicking or screaming, eat food at lunch etc. I catch alot of flack from friends and relatives. they think I should have taken the full time job option so I could live without struggling so much. I'm am satisfied with my choice though, Sami may not get fancy stuff, but I get to raise her myself... She and I get to really know eachother. I feel like otherwise she would have been in school or at babysitters all the time. So to sum up, it's not easy by a long shot, but I think it's still so worth it! What ever your reasons for HSing they don't generally change because you are single. kids are only kids for so long and then it's over. Whatever struggles I have with money cause I stayed here at home won't be the things she remember's most about her childhood, and having the latest toy or movie or fancy clothes wouldn't have been her best memories when she'd grown had I chosen diffrently... I thikn either way what she will remember is our little family and how we love one another and hopefully things about life I teach her... With hsing I just have more time with her for that good stuff!
Thank you so much for sharing with us. I know that I am supposed to homeschool regardless of my circumstances, and I like to think that I am as prepared as I can get should I find myself single. I hope your post encourages others who may be lurking and wondering if they could do it, too.
Sylele, are you a member of HSLDA? You might contact them. I THINK they work with single parents, and you might be able to get some scholarship money for curriculum. Since I'm not in that situation myself, I really don't know exactly what they do in that area, but the worst case scenario would be for them to tell you no, and you'd be no better off for the phone call!
I have been truly blessed in that I can stay home. I co-rent a house with my parents. My mom is disabled and my dad is retired. I'm a widow, so I recieve Widow's benefits, at least until my daughter is 16. Between the 3 of us (my mom's disability, my dad's retirement and my benefits) we're able to scrape by. That makes my homeschooling fairly easy. I can't use a packaged curriculum, as there's no way I can afford it, but we manage. I find many books at garage sales and used book sales. Plus friends who give me their stuff they no longer need. We had one homeschooling mom, not too long ago, bring her entire library to a park day and gave it away! What fun I had that day. I do buy some stuff, but I have to plan and really make decisions on what's best for us and what we will really use. For support, I have my parents, who both support my homeschooling, plus my sister and brother do. My church family also supports my homeschooling (Pastor has homeschooled his kids in the past), so I can go there too. And I lean mightily on the Lord. Seyle, Quick note. I call my Samantha Sami! She told me, when she was 4, that that's how she wants to spell her name, just like mommy's. Do you use www.enchantedlearning.com and www.abcteach.com ? Lots of free resources there for your Sami's age. We did our first year homeschooling from the internet, the only thing I paid for was paper and ink toner (I have a hand-me-down laser printer that I get 2,000-4,000 pages of print per toner cartridge). I am very passionate about homeschooling that age. If you ever need ideas, please, email me.
I have those sites bookmarked. I have no printer though... My mom gave me her old one.. even has a brand new ink cartridge but it's the too old so I need an adapter to plug it in and drivers and never manged to find them. Heh I picked Sami as a way to spell Samantha's nickname just because it had the least letters. & she was two when she became determined to write her own name. Jackie, I'm not a member fo HSLDA. Mainly because it costs to join. I will look into it though. there might be a way to do it somehow. Thanks for the tip.
I am jumping in a little late, but welcome! I hs my 7 children and just had #8 Aug. 31st. I really enjoy this site and the people that come here. Many of us came to this site from the old abcteach forums. I think you mentioned that you liked that site. I do too!
Hslda has a widow help site from what I have been told and pay for your books. Need to check into it. Lorna
