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Not super offense but funny .my mother in law was worried about school pictures. At that time I was taking the kids yearly to get pictures at JCPenney ( long time ago ...) but somehow that was her worry. Overall I've had tons of support. And now with 2 adults in college I have some proof that it worked out well.

We always talk about how beneficial homeschooling is for kids but we don’t often recognize how beneficial it is for parents. Homeschooling has given me such a backbone and so much self-confidence. I think people look at me differently because I show up different.

Have you gone seeking permission or applause only to receive criticism or disappointment? This is going to be a touchy subject. I know that I have been guilty of it.

Happy Holidays! 🎉 Hope you have a wonderful week

Hi!!! I love timberdoodles tic tac toe game

You know we love games! Smart Games and Timberdoodle ALWAYS deliver! Their collection of single-player games is next level!! Please share your favorite games with us!

Thank you 🙏 I could probably do this in a couple of years. Would you recommend buying the full set?

Now I need to look into MCT!! 😅thanks for sharing

Our homeschool status is currently "it's complicated." We (I) over scheduled our fall semester with outside of the house enrichment programs. One program is not giving us the actual enrichment or social experience we were hoping for, and it's feeling like a waste of time. Im hoping that after the holidays, life will calm down a bit, and we will find our path. I am glad we homeschool year-round. It's the only thing saving me.

As a fellow Texas homeschooler, I 100% agree with everything you've said. Most homeschoolers I know are fantastic and are doing the best for their kids. But for the very few that aren't . . . those kids deserve better.

I feel very similarly, it was such a strange semester for us due to hurricanes, election fall out, work travel for my husband and new extra curricular activities that require more flexibility also. I feel like flexibility is one of the main pluses of homeschool but it does stress me out when I have to use it. I am not sure if we are where we should be in all our curriculum either, but I know we can recorrect in the new year. Happy holidays!

Authenticity is so nice. Very relatable ❤ We are moving through just the same this year.

We just moved, like last week. Things are off for us too. We will make it through the year and we’re learning, but not making as much progress as I would like.

We are not half way through but I don’t consider us behind. If some stuff has to be finished up next year or over the summer that will be OK. Especially the writing curriculum. I feel done thoroughly is better than finished on time. Remember the goals. It’s about learning not finishing.

Well..... here we are! Not the progress report I expected to give. How are you doing at this midyear point?

So when you restart your usual schedule do u plan to continue until you finish the books completely or just go until your school calendar ends?

💯% agree with you. There needs to be basic accountability and oversight for homeschoolers. A basic education is a human right for all children, and we need to be catching when children are not getting that basic right. I am in WA state, and our regulations are middle of the road. They are better than nothing, but they are still not very well enforced. I hate to get political, but current events show us just how severe the consequences are of not ensuring all kids learn basic literacy, numeracy, social studies, and critical thinking. Low-educated individuals are simply more vulnerable to being manipulated. This is the consequence we are paying as a society.

I'm in NY, one of the most regulated states and you are 100% right. It's all me sending in paperwork and test scores. But no one checks to see if those things are true. I know of so many people that simply lie on their paperwork and say they're teaching things and spending the hours when they aren't. I do sometimes wish that we could claim our costs on our taxes so that we could do more things. But you're right, there needs to be a system to make sure the regulations are actually being followed that is better than self reporting.

I made holiday folders. With all the free holiday-themed worksheets that I get it made sense to take it easy and just see what he knows and what he doesn't so I made a holiday folder for each subject and whatever he felt like doing that day we pulled out the subject and sat down and went through the folder. And it helped me see what we need to work on when we get back to regular school stuff in January and it also showed me how much he's learned. I think I'm going to do this every year because it gave me time to just take a break and we can sit in my bed or on his bed or on the couch and do them and we got creative with some of them and included Hands-On activities it just became fun School rather than homeschool. It was too much to try to keep up with all the doctor appointments all the school events (older kids public school) and shopping and holiday stuff and decorating and if I did homeschooling my house wouldn't be decorated and if I decorated I couldn't do homeschooling because I have a disability so my body wears out before 2:00 everyday. I'm definitely happy with the choice that I made and now we're using from today till after New Year's to only do computer schooling which is adventure academy, prodigy, nightzookeeper etc. He finds it fun.

SImple reminders, often to myself, can really relieve some of the stress of trying to do it all in homeschool! These are the little things that I need to hear to stay on track. Let me know your gems of wisdom that help talk you down when you stress!

Could not agree with you more!

I love this! We are in NE TX near DFW. Our kids are only 2 & 5 right now so we are still a bit off a way from getting into the nitty gritty of TX history but I will totally check out those resources & see what I can modify to fit our kids just for fun (not for credit). We did get a Houston science museum annual pass this year & will likely get it again in the future. We really need to take a trip again soon.

Girl, I could go on & on. My political views completely flipped from Jan 6. I decided to try to understand "the other side" better & started looking into all sides on certain issues & just listening. Well, almost all of my views have changed to some degree or another. To your second question...LOL...I live in Texas as well. It would be easier to ask me who in my life actually agrees with me on most political things. LOL Hint: it isn't many...essentially I can count one hand (maybe 2 more but that is only my suspicions). LOL

This video was soooo helpful!

Agree 100%.

I'm in California homeschool through a charter. It has not been bad at all. The benefits are worth the oversight. We meet with a teacher once a month. The first few years I unschooled never got push back.

I do not know how an in-depth look at our 3rd grade math slipped my mind for so long! Here is a look inside Math U See Delta. I do have a video of using this program for my oldest girl too! Let me know if you have any questions!!

Agree with you 💯. I live in Missouri where we have to document 1,000 hours and keep a portfolio, but no one ever sees it unless there's an educational neglect charge against you. And I've seen the local homeschool facebook groups. We need oversight.

In maryland, my county requirements are 7 subjects l (math, science, English, history, art, pe, music and health.) Testing is optional. Quarterly reviews sent in upon request. 5 (before sept 1) thur 18. Grades are optional as in 1st grade 2nd grade. You have to send in annual with the intent to homeschool.

We use to have regulations in Ohio, but this last October they dropped pretty much everything. You dont even need to have a HS diploma as the teacher. This is due to our amish population. We just notify to the school district once a year of who is being schooled and thats it. No birthdays or anything either. Its been a weird adjustment going from like 4 pages of things and testing to half a page now lol.

Yes, yes, yes! We have annual testing starting at age 7 in NC. We don't have actual subject requirements, but the testing is to help keep us on par. And you have to have a certain number of "types" of subjects for graduation (like 4 math courses for high school, but it doesn't have to be specifically algebra, etc). So, very loose regulation -- you have to register your homeschool the year your kid turns 7, and do annual testing until 16 (7-16 are the mandatory years for education). Additionally, the whole point of public education is education for the Common Good. We may choose to educate differently -- that's our choice. But we don't get to stop supporting the common good. Just because we don't drive on a country road, doesn't mean it shouldn't be maintained. Just because our house isn't on fire, doesn't mean the fire department should stop being funded. These are common goods that only work if everyone chips in. The biggest issue is that conservatism has abandoned the belief in the Common Good. From privatizing the mail or utilities, to chipping away at public education - -these are benefits to the whole of society. They don't make shareholders money, and they aren't perfect institutions by far. Public Schools have a ton of issues and can be really not-good places. Yet, they can also be amazing places (my husband and I both are exclusively public schooled and I have a masters and studied at Cambridge and hubs has a PhD from an Ivy League Uni). I also fear the neglect and/or abuse from families that homeschool as a way of keeping kids from the public view. Realistically, these things would be happening even with compulsory education, as we don't have enough foster families, and truancy is pretty low on most police lists. And it hurts my heart to imagine any child being harmed. I think some oversight -- like annual testing in late elementary and middle years, and then subject requirements for a High School diploma (like 3 math, 4 English, or whatever), would be useful. Then people can be as free as they want with subject content, as long as reasonable skills are being imparted (like math and reading skills). Anyway -- love this topic, glad you've brought it up! A little regulation can really benefit us all!

I wish I'd started researching homeschool everything at least 2 years earlier. We had a suspicion we'd homeschool but since it wasn't a fully committed decision, i wasnt very motivated to research in advance. I kept thinking there was time. And i was doing preschool stuff at home with him just from books and puzzles and workbooks and documentaries, and it started out harder than i expected but now that we've tried public school for kindergarten and then gone back into homeschooling i feel like ive really caught the bug and all i want to do is research ideas and curriculums and first hand experiences. And i feel so much more confident now with it. Theres still so much i want to figure out how to incorporate but it feels like he and i are so much closer now than we could be when he was gone in public school all day. I thought id feel overwhelmed by having him around all the time, because i was very overwhelmed during the 3 and 4 ys old. But now that hes almost 6 it feels amazing. Im actually really glad we have a second try at this, even though im also sad he didnt have more success socially at public school. Im really greatful to all you people who have these homeschool channels for me to binge and explore and get ideas from

I'm in Australia, and each of our states has different requirements. I'm in Victoria, and it's the best set up of balance in my opinion. We are required to submit a learning plan with registration ONCE per child, not yearly, you just notify if you're going to continue. They're a one page piece that basically demonstrate you've considered your child's education across 8 key learning areas. There's no dictation as to how this is delivered, provided you can identify learning if you unschool/life school/school-at-home. No one has ever been rejected from home educating, only ever requests for further information. They then 'review' something like 10% per year, and the parent can choose which child to review. It can be done by phone or email. And no one has ever failed a review, either. There's obviously a gap for well being investigations, but then kids fly under at mainstream school, too. I unfortunately was abused as a school, and even through duty of care and teacher reporting, the system still failed to come through.

The more I research history I think my ancestors with an 8th grade education probably had a better understanding of orthography abd arithmetic than kids in public abd private schools of today.

I have 3 2e kids and a special needs baby. Once the state vouchers open for every student in Arkansas I'm going to pull my kids to homeschool. Sure I could get cheap or free curriculum, but in that case I might as well keep them in school since we live in the richest county in the state. We make just above poverty and ALL extra money gets used up by all the baby's special equipment, so you better believe I'll take whatever money I can get for homeschooling. My kids consistently score at least two grade levels above their grade on the state testing despite constantly getting sent home because they're acting up in school. They act up because they are bored. Having said that Arkansas requires math, reading, science and social studies plus the yearly intent to homeschool letter. I think if you receive vouchers you need to do state testing, but I'm not worried about that since they already do so well. I think the requirements are fair. They make sure kids learn at least bare minimum, but they aren't breathing down your neck.

I'm in Wisconsin and we have limited regulations here. We need to let the state know we are homeschooling, cover the normal subjects, and have 800+ hours. We are a school of choice state and use a charter school, so I do the teaching on our own schedule and just email copies of their work. There is state testing here, but its optional.

💯 agree with you

Oklahoma here and we have ZERO regulations or requirements. Which is a nice freedom but we also have ZERO access to sports or other extracurriculars (even if we were to pay the fees associated with the activities). I don't mind testing if I'm getting something in exchange (like access to public school extracurricular activities). The tests measure growth and yeah if you have years of tests showing no growth that is indicating a problem and should be checked in on addressed. I think at a minimum we should need to tell the state that a child is homeschooling. One thing that we are seeing here is one side of politics wanting homeschool families to "police themselves because abusive parents are isolating their children from safe adults" the problem with that is that abusive parents also isolate from other homeschool families, so we also wouldn't see these children. Also the last I checked our DHS system has a multiple years long backlog 🤦🏼‍♀️

Texan here too and I like the freedom we have here but I also think *some* level of accountability would be beneficial too. We are rigorous compared to some of the other homeschoolers we’ve encountered and I think some kids would benefit from their parents being held accountable and ensuring they are actually educating their kids. But like everything it’s not a perfect world and I feel like any oversight from the state would have consequences that would outweigh the benefits 😑

I live in Illinois and we don't have any regulations other than teaching required subjects. My son is well above grade level on most things. The public school system taught me long ago that they can't be trusted. I didn't have a good childhood; being in public school didn't help me. I agree with trying to protect children but from what I've experienced, they fail way more kids than they help. There are always strings attached to everything the government wants to do. I love that they aren't involved in our homeschool and want it kept that way.

I'm in South Carolina. I was intimidated when we switched to homeschooling. We have 3 options, and I chose option 3. We have to take attendance and teach reading, writing, social studies, science, and math, and literature and composition in 9-12. We have to fill out a letter of intent every year and register under a homeschool association. We get to choose how we teach those subjects, and there are no requirements for standardized testing. We do have to keep number grades after 6th grade and save examples of our work, but we just started in April, so I'm keeping everything. There are details on what is genetally expected to be taught in each subject by grade, but I'm under the impression the order and grade level it's taught aren't super important. We joined lots of groups to socialize and do some form of socialization about 3-4 days a week with our charter school, homeschool, public school friends, or a mixture.

My fear is that state oversight will mean testing and I don’t like standardized test. I don’t think these test are beneficial to kids. I don’t mind listing our curriculum and showing some of her work in a portfolio. I just don’t want testing or anyone saying we need to do 6 hours a day of school. Vouchers IDK how I feel about that. Money would be great to pay for all the things but stings are worrisome if it goes too far. When we moved to Texas the schools thought my kids were gifted and I love my kids but they are typical. 😂😅

Would love for you to talk about what you did to get to this point. I’ve got twin 5yos, and would love your hours on the prep work to get to this point.

Would love to hear your take on the regulations you must adhere to in your state. If, like me, you have none or next to none, do you feel like that should change?

Oh I love this 😍

Love the gift of time.

Let's play a game! Put the timestamp and the theme in the comments when you figure out what these things have in common! Would love to hear your thoughts on all of these recommendations!! Your feedback is gold for me.

Hi! Thank you for the video. What was the cost of the tickets if you are a member? What do you save for having a membership? Thank you in advance.

I believe that what constitutes a “gifted” program is not necessarily being academically advanced, but more so a different and unique way of teaching/learning. Thinking outside of the box. My mother is a GATE teacher and explained it to me this way. So, in that sense, MCT is most definitely a gifted program :) Thank you for your MCT videos. There aren’t nearly enough of them out there!!

Thank you for talking about this! Parents need to embrace the shift from caregiver to facilitator and mentor! You're right. It can be done ❤