Homeschooling Is My State-Regulated Right? Wait...What?!

October 30, 2013

1:32pm

How do the homeschooling laws differ across state lines? 

Living in Texas is not as bad as it may seem. Then again, I don't consider where I live to be "real" Texas. I live in a melting pot of a town, mixed with people from as far away as the Philippines. Texas homeschooling laws are very simple and straightforward. It has three basic rules: Instruct your child(ren) in whichever manner you desire. Use physical books (none of this e-business). Teach them reading, spelling, grammar, math, and good citizenship. (http://thsc.org/homeschooling-in-texas/state-requirements/) Pretty straightforward, right? I think so! We really hit the homeschooling jackpot when we moved down here and we didn't even know it! There aren't any formal record-keeping agencies or requirements for record-keeping, at least not until high-school level. Basically, if your child reaches 17 years old and he/she is on a sixth grade level, that's on YOU. 

Homeschooling down here is a BIG deal (makes sense. Everything down here is BIG). They have their own homeschooling coalition down here (www.thsc.org). There's also a Christian homeschooling group based in Austin (https://www.homeschool-life.com/tx/cheact/‎ ). We haven't joined with either group, because official membership cost money. Besides, the plan is to move back to Maryland when Stephan is done with his contract. That being said...

I looked up the laws regarding homeschooling in the state of Maryland. I must say, for it to be such a progressive state, I am less than impressed. Observe:

"A parent/guardian may instruct a child at home under the supervision of the local school system or through correspondence courses under the supervision of a nonpublic school.  A nonpublic school may be a school/institution that offers an educational program operated by a bona fide church organization or a school/institution that has a certificate of approval from the Maryland State Board of Education."

Under the supervision of the local school system? Are you kidding me?! For all that, I might as well re-enroll Jay into public school! The whole purpose of taking him out was to pull him from underneath the oppressive (yeah, I said it) and misguided government-regulated teachings of public school! I suppose some states have laws like this to ensure that all children receive the educational curriculum and resources they are entitled to, but c'mon. My child is MY responsibility and how I choose to educate him is MY right. Some people may not agree and think those laws are helping. To each his own. As for THIS mom, I will teach Jay and Madison what I want them to learn. No. I will teach them what the Lord COMMANDS me to teach. 

Maryland, my sweet Old Line State-

I grew up in you. I attended your schools. I still hace your state license. But, right now you're killing me. Your high taxes, progressive stance in "modern day marriage", and rules about homeschooling are turning me off. You have the bomb crabs though. And four seasons. And cities, suburbs, and country backwoods within a 10 mile radius. So, I'll be back. But, I won't be happy about it!

My Sore Spot

October 29, 2013
4:27pm

What sore spot? Are you hurt?

Here are some fun pictures from today.

My First Vlog!

October 25, 2013

11:43pm

Your first video log! Whatchu got to say?

In Other News...

October 24, 2013

2:01pm

You mentioned having other goals and ventures in one of your previous posts. Care to talk about them?

One of my biggest regrets is not finishing school when I had the chance. I tried going back a couple times after that, but I can't say that I accomplished too much toward obtaining my degree. I started off attending Hampton University on a music scholarship right after high school. A year later, I dropped out. I enrolled at The Art Institute of Washington a few months after Jay was born and took a couple of online classes. By then, I was living in Raleigh as a newly singled mom, working full time, and raising an infant. With so much on my plate, I could barely finish a semester. 

I decided to take some time off to focus on my son and work. It was a tough choice, but it was the right one. At twenty-one, married (but separated), and mother of one, I was far from being a traditional student. A couple of years after moving back to Maryland, I enrolled in the College of Southern Maryland in late Summer, 2010. I put forth my very best effort into the 32 credits I earned from there; halfway toward an Associate's Degree. Stephan and I had just gotten married August, 2011, and I finished up my last semester at CSM that Fall. I took another year off in 2012 to focus on my pregnancy with Madison. I haven't been back since. 

 The more I think about it and I look around at my life now, I can't help but to feel like I'm not missing out on too much. When I went off to school the first few times, my focus was to graduate and obtain a decent job to provide for my son. If and when I go back to school at this point in my life, it is more so to fulfill a personal goal. Life now is so different. It's almost like the Lord re-purposed everything, even though I know this was all apart of his plan for me. I am just thankful that He placed me back on the right track.

I had a conversation with someone the other day. We talked about what I'd do whenever we move back to Maryland. I guess the expectation is that I'll go back to work to help pay for bills. I wouldn't have a problem with going back to work if I knew that there was someone who is trusted and available to homeschool and babysit Jay and Madison. Stephan and I are dead-set on our decision to homeschool. The plan is to homeschool until they graduate. So, what then? One of my main goals throughout this journey is to inspire young parents to take charge of their children's education. It doesn't mean they have to make the decision we're making for our kids to homeschool. I want to inspire and help them understand that they can be their children's primary teachers, public school educated or otherwise. My mom was and is probably my greatest teacher. A full-time government career-driven woman, married and raising five children, she still made being Mommy a priority. She would taken us to museums, serve as our girl scout troop leader, and involved in band parent association. She did so much. I will always be grateful for that. I learned so much about being a woman from her. When I got married and became a mother, all of those caretaker traits that she possess manifested in me. Even though I learned basic math and reading skills in school, she taught me how to use those skills in the real world. She taught me how to interact with people. My father was just as monumental in my education. Daddy, being very logical and straight-to-the-point, taught me the art of quick and logical thinking. I get about 75% of my sense of humor and creativity from that guy, too. I model much of my parenting from what I've seen him do with me and my sisters. Dad worked full-time for the Metropolitan Police Department (How cool is that, honestly?). He put in some serious man-hours to provide for us.

My point in saying all of this is that in spite of whatever personal and profession obligations and goals my parents had, they ensured that their children to loved, nurtured, and educated. They raised five children. Four of us graduated college, and three of those college grads hold Masters' degrees. ALL of us are doing well. Praise God for His grace, mercy, and many blessings!

I don't ever want to hear a parent say that they are too busy for their children. Adults get so wrapped up in money, money, money, that we neglect what's really important: these babies. Everything is about money. And why? To pay bills? No. To put food on the table? No. Stuff. We want stuff. American society teaches that we have to claw and dig our way to the top in order to get what we want. Honestly, there isn't anything wrong with that if that's what you value. But, we mustn't take our focus off of our next generation of lawyers, doctors, politicians, entertainers, athletes, etc.

Anesha, where are you going with all of this? Glad you ask. I think I'd like to become a home-education advocate. Not homeschooling, per se, but just encouraging parents to educate their children themselves. There's so much we can do with our kids. They deserve our best. But, I have no idea where I'd even begin with that. I supposed this blog is a start. If I can inspire just one person, then I'd be happy.

Our masterpiece from Arts & Crafts Thursday :-)

Ladies and Gentlemen, Enthusiasm Has Left the Building...

October 15, 2013

5:38pm

What has changed in the course of a month?

It's not that we're (or I'm) being lazy. It's just that now that we have a steady rhythm going, we found that not everything needs to go exactly according to schedule.  Here's a reminder of what the schedule is:

Time		Activity
700		Wake-up
		Brush teeth
		Make bed
		Get dressed
730		Eat breakfast
745		Morning prayer/preparations
800		Warm-Up (Journal Entry)
815		Phonics & Reading
910		Break
915		Spelling and Vocabulary
1010		Break
1015		Math
1130		Lunch
1200		Outside Activity
1230		Come in/wash hands
1235		Penmanship
1255		Health (M/W)/Baking (T)/Arts & Crafts (Th)/Bible Story Hour (F)
1345		Snack
1355		Afternoon prayer/Clean-up
1410		Chores

From 7am to 2pm. Full day right? Well, now that we understand how the assignments flow and what we need to accomplish everyday, we can pretty much end our day by lunchtime. Awesomeness, right? We found that most of the lessons don't need the allotted time. We also don't need the frequent breaks. I scheduled them thinking that Jay would need that time to recharge his mind. At first he did, but he works so hard at all of his assignments, that he barely even notices the time (usually, he'll try to stick to the schedule). He's pretty good at voicing whether or not he needs a break. Most of the time, he just wants some music on, so I'll crank up Daft Punk's latest album Random Access Memories. Their music gets you moving! Anyone who's been a fan of theirs for at least the past ten years know good and well that they breathe so much life into an dreary, ho-hum day. So, that's what we do. 

Before you make any assumptions about us rushing through the work, let me be the first to tell you that Jay has learned so much! He's retaining so much information; much more than I thought he would. I love how the assignment books will revisit past lessons to keep the students' mind fresh. Good stuff going on in the Berry Household. Praise God!

Update: Jay baked a pizza today for his baking lesson. He made the dough, cooked the sausage, etc. His future wife is going to love him. *Lol*

Pictures From the Past Week

October 12, 2013

12:50am

The kids being themselves.

Finally got Madison's hair into some little bows!

Sunday after-church picnic at the duck pond.

Jay laid this out for me to cook. How sweeeet. Lol

Yes. This actually happened!

Maintaining Balance

October 7, 2013

11:03pm

You've been so involved in Jay's homeschooling over the last month. How do you maintain balance in other areas of your life?

It's tough. I admit it. Stephan and I had a long discussion prior to finalizing the decision to homeschool. We discussed our marriage, finances, how it affects Madison, and my personal goals. We also discussed having time to ourselves which is a big thing for us. I'll explain each of these areas.

Marriage- It's mind-blowing all the hundreds of reasons why people file for divorce-adultery, finances, disinterest, and so on. Children can be added to that list. Sometimes parents place more attention on their children than they do their own spouses. Pretty soon, one spouse begins to feel neglected and we all know where those feelings can lead to. Stephan and I consider ourselves a rock-solid couple, but we are fully aware that we're capable of falling into traps set up by the enemy. We are always in prayer, together and separately. I am always praying for him, his safety when he goes out everyday, his health, and our marriage. We tell one another that we love each other everyday and I always greet him with a smile when he comes home. Sounds foofy doesn't it? Well, I don't care. It works. I love him. Most importantly, I love God. Ephesians 5 tells wives to revere their husbands as they do the Lord. And that's what I do, ladies and gentlemen. I try to honor the Lord in everything I do. Marriage included.

Finances- Yeah, sometimes it blows not having enough money to buy myself a new purse or some cute earrings whenever I want. Stephan is a hardcore gamer, so he wants to be able to purchase all the latest games. We are a one-income military family, so a lot of that's out. But, by the grace of the Lord we get by. In spite of what many people think, unless you're an E-7, or higher, you're scratching for pennies. OK. That was a bit over-the-top. But, a lot of military families struggle just like everyone else. We seek out WIC benefits to ensure our children are receiving the proper nutrition. We grab cans from food pantries on post or out in town. Sometimes, if the situation is dire, we tap into the state's food stamp program.

Stephan and I were blessed. Extremely blessed. We have regular bills, such as cell phones, internet services, groceries, car note, insurance, etc. We also have other debt we both individually brought into the marriage. At first, our prayer was to have more money. The Lord gaveth and the Lord tooketh away. So, we learned to budget the money Stephan was bringing in. We came up with strategies to make our money stretch and to make sure every bill was getting paid on time. For example, I like to get gas from H-E-B (the major grocery chain in Texas), so we budget $100 every two weeks for gas only. I load the money onto an H-E-B gift card and will use that! Two perks of doing that are a) there are no pending $1 transactions reflected on my bank account if I use my debit card and b) H-E-B has perks for customers who use gift cards at their gas stations: you save 4 cents on every gallon! Win! Also, I'm a cook. A BIG cook. In addition to wanting my family to eat healthier, I started fixing just about everything homemade. I keep all kinds of ingredients in the pantry for whatever I need it for. It saves from having to spend money over and over on the same product. You know, I may have to blog about money-saving tips at a later date. *Lol*

Madison- We didn't have too many concerns about her. There's five and a half years between our children, so we are able to give Jay all the focus and attention he needs without slighting Mad, and vice versa. When she becomes school-aged, then she'll be homeschooled, too. By then, Jay will be 10 (Boo Hoo!!!!) and will be able to do more independent study, while I focus on her Kindergarten curriculum.

My Personal Goals- I'm a wife. A mom. A teacher. And a student of the Lord's word. I LOVE what I do! But, I do have goals of my own. One day, I'd love to go back to obtain my undergrad degree. I had the chance many times before, but the time has come and gone. It'll be back later, but now, I have other focuses. I'd also love to have a small catering business one day, just to have a couple of dollars in my pocket. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't mind taking a couple of non-credit financing courses. I don't care for numbers, but I do like coming up with different strategies for money-saving or money-investing. I'm no financing expert, but I'd like to help out low-income families in some way. I'd also like to volunteer with the USO. OK. I'm type-rambling, but I do have things I'd like to do. My time to do them will come. Right now, I receive joy and fulfillment from the blessings that are my husband and children!

Time for Ourselves- If I don't have time for myself to study the Lord's word and pray everyday, then EVERYTHING gets thrown off. I'm grumpy, irritable, and nothing seems to flow right. Stephan knows that I need that time to myself to ease my mind and decompress after a long day. Usually, once I've finished studying, Steph has long gone to sleep, and I open up the Netflix app on my phone to watch reruns of Scrubs or Psych (two of my favorite shows), play a game, or see who's doing what on Facebook. If I'm able to get a good book in, then that's always great. I also get great stress-relief when I'm cooking. Doing food prep gives me great focus on things other than all the goes on day in and day out. Peeling potatoes, dicing onions, sifting flour-all great ways. You know how some people sing best in the shower? Well, I sing my very best in the kitchen! *Lol*

So far, our challenges have remained pretty consistent. But, it shows that I need God every single day. You'd think we'd learn to manage these challenges, but we can't. We rely on Him everyday to get by. He balances me out.