Homeschooled Kids Scare Me . . . in a Good Way

 

By Kevin Mark Smith, Esq.

I’m experimenting on a group of homeschooled high school kids, aged 15–18 years. Specifically, I’m dissecting their brains to determine how swiftly their neurons transmit data and how this physiological process translates into their ability to think logically. I am not a doctor. I am not a scientist. I am an attorney.

My scalpel is a metaphorical one. It is the Socratic method of instruction wherein one question leads to an answer, which leads to more questions and yet more answers, with the ultimate destination being the truth. After just four weeks of teaching these kids Constitutional Law, my experiment’s initial result has affirmed the wise choice my own family made many years ago to homeschool our own kids.

Homeschooled kids are brilliant!     (more…)

Dear Lonely Mom of Older Kids

Remember when it was easy to post photos of your adorable baby, or messy toddler on Facebook? Remember how you could publicly bemoan sleepless nights, and kids pooping in the bathtub? How your fridge was full of magnets and fingerpaintings that were impossible to tell what they depicted? You could talk to your friends during playgroups, and get support during those naughty tantrums? Remember how you could Instagram just about any part of the chaos and it was still cute?

It’s not that easy anymore.

It’s hard to snap a photo that your middle schooler will approve of you posting on Facebook. You don’t really want to share about your son’s behavior when you take away the Xbox. You can’t really talk about the grades – good or bad – because your kid will be mad that you overshared. Your sleepless nights are caused by worry, not teething. You wonder about the influence of peers, not playgroups. Toys are now cars and electronic games.

There isn’t a lot of cute in the chaos. Instead, there is acne and braces and attitudes.

It can be a lonely time.

Oh, yes. There is a lot of joy, of course. You wouldn’t trade your kids for anything. But you just want to know that everything is going to be alright. That they’ll turn out ok. That they’ll grow up and make good decisions and all your hopes and dreams for them will come true.

And where are the other moms?   (more…)

What Are Some of the Long-Term Benefits of Homeschooling?

By Zan Tyler

 

The phone rang early one Monday morning in January. I was already at my desk, writing and working. “Too early to be a telemarketer,” I thought. So I glanced at the caller ID on my phone and saw that it was my son Ty.

As a medical device salesman, Ty rises early and is on the road in the wee hours of the morning, traveling to various hospitals in his territory. I cherish these calls from Ty when he is traveling, as it is an unhurried time to chat, fellowship, and catch up on his life and his family’s life.

I picked up the phone and immediately sensed the urgency in his voice: “Mom, have you talked to Papa this morning?” (Papa is my 90-year-old father, whom we all love dearly.)

“No, Honey, I haven’t. What’s wrong?”

Ty continued: “He called me early this morning. He has hurt his back and can hardly move because the pain is so severe. He asked me which doctor he should see and if I could get him an appointment as soon as possible. I’m working on it now and I’ll call you as soon as I have worked something out. Meanwhile you might want to go check on him. He didn’t want to bother you this early in the morning.”

Wow. I hung up the phone, and as I reflected on this call, there was so much to marvel at on so many levels.     (more…)