Welcome

I’ve been keeping a personal blog for my family for a few years, but the other day a friend of mine told me that I should really do a blog about homeschooling here in North Carolina and all the great resources I’ve found and the things that we do. Seems like I’ve read so many blogs by other moms, what could I possibly say that would be new? Still, I do actually spend a lot of time researching, reading about, and finding things relating to homeschooling. Maybe some of that research could be useful to others? What is good for us may not necessary be good for all families, but maybe you’ll find something here that will be just that thing you were looking for.

First, a little bit about us. We are a secular homeschooling family in North Carolina. Though my kids were born in Santa Clara, CA, we moved to North Carolina seven years ago and we love it here! We’ve been at this homeschooling thing for four years and are about to launch our fifth. My two kids spent four years each in Montessori school before we ended up on the homeschooling track. Montessori ideas do certainly color my thinking, and I have a great belief and faith in the power kids have to soak up anything they are interested in like sponges. On the other hand, I truly believe that every kid is different and whatever works is free game.

Currently my daughter is ten, and though she is officially of fifth grade status, I would say that she is highly advanced in some things (like science, reading and writing), but in other things (like math), we are a little behind. My son is currently eight and officially of third grade age. He excels at all sports (especially soccer and basketball) and has a gift for math, but is just now becoming a true reader and is a little behind on his writing. I was trained in science and earned a B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Zoology before becoming a mom, and my husband works in the computer industry. We have a big black mutt named Maggie, a gerbil and numerous fish. Other animals come in and out (like frogs and catterpillars), but I try to limit things since we out out of the house so much of the time.

We are incredibly lucky to live in an area with multiple kid resources and a vibrant homeschool community. Our normal weekly activities include Secular homeschool Co-ops, activities and field trips with and without our homeschool group, and paid classes including Spanish, art, piano, karate, soccer, horseback riding, science, and a number of other things that come up throughout the year. My intent is to try to post often this upcoming year about exciting things we are doing and learning about, classes we found, curiculm we like, and so on. Enjoy!