Green Options

Whether you homeschool, are actively seeking summer bridge activities, or just want something to do with the kids every now and then, math is something that can be really nice to do together as a family. Especially if you’re not that into math yourself.

We all know the many benefits, for parents and children, of family-centered activities. But family-centered activities that are also learning-centered have additional benefits–they model good learning habits, and they make learning fun. They can also, if you, yourself, are a little dicey about a certain subject, go a long way towards NOT passing down that same leeriness in your children (It took my partner and I several minutes, and a paper and pencil, to figure out the per-comic price in a Classifieds ad in which a guy was selling 1400 comic books for $99–we do NOT want our daughters to grow up that fundamentally math-stupid).

Here are some of my favorite books that present fun math activities for young and old, for math novices and math experts:

Since homeschooling isn’t the norm by far, and especially because our entire culture is immersed in a school-as-institution mentality, homeschooling can seem completely incomprehensible.

Whether you’re contemplating homeschooling, know some homeschoolers, or just want to understand more about schooling options, books about homeschooling are, in my opinion, absolute must-reads.

Without reading about the huge variety of homeschooling experiences of other families, I might never have understood that my daughters writing “rainbow words” with markers while sitting at the table as I drink my morning coffee is just as legitimate (not to mention fun, and basically no work for me) as sending them to school to learn to write. Without reading about how other families homeschool, the infinity of methods (and non-methods) that they use, I might have never learned that I, too, would be capable of this.

Here are five good resources that got me started thinking about homeschooling:

I want to be a homeschool parent, and my daughter does too, but unfortunately I am one of those working mothers (part time) who has to work in order to provide her family with health insurance. If there was another option (my son is considered “uninsurable” by private health insurance companies due to his congenital heart condition), I would do it in order to provide my daughter with the individual education she deserves. I’m a credentialed teacher: I know I could do a good job.

For many families facing tough economic times during this recession, both parents need to work to provide enough income to survive. What does this do for homeschooling?

Apparently, nothing. Parents who homeschool are choosing night jobs over giving up homeschool. Homeschool mom Judy Aron of West Hartford, Connecticut explains:

Homeschoolers are pretty self-reliant. They’d rather cut back on other things…. They very vehemently don’t want to see themselves as victims.

If your family includes a preschooler and people who aren’t preschoolers (such as yourself!), it can be challenging to find a family art activity that can equally engage the skills and creativity of each family member.

In my family, which includes two people who are preschoolers and two people who aren’t, one of our favorite family art activities is to make more creations for our little girls’ felt board. Felt is easy to cut, holds its shape well and doesn’t ravel, can be drawn on with permanent markers and glued with hot glue, and, if you work with wool felt or an acrylic felt made from recycled plastic bottles, it’s an eco-friendly craft material, as well.

Simple fun.

CurrClick is running a super sale on homeschool and holiday titles, with prices as low as 85% off and your choice of 28 free items through December 1st.

How can you argue with free?

CurrClick was started (conceived) by two homeschooling moms, and their vision of ebooks for homeschoolers has a great mission at heart:

Our mission is to make homeschooling more convenient and more affordable to homeschoolers all over the world. We are

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License?

We don’t need no stinking license!

One of the most liberating experiences of homeschooling is the realization that you have the freedom to teach your children according to their own interests, needs, and maturity. It’s way different than a modern cookie-cutter educational style that assumes that physical, emotional, and psychological development are exactly the same for every kid of the same age. As homeschoolers, we can also tailor their education to be in tune with our values and morals, not society’s. That reason is a huge part of why we homeschool.

One of the things I hear from dads that don’t homeschool is while they have an interest in teaching their kids, they feel that because they work outside the home, they don’t have the time for it.

Fathers that work outside the home can still be active participants in their children’s education, even if their time for “homeschool” is limited.

In the summer, our school district’s central office moves to a 4-10 work week (4 days a week for 10 hours) to save energy and give employees longer weekends, an idea that originated during the 1970’s energy crisis.  Some schools have tried a similar schedule during the school year, in which children go to school  four days a week instead of five days.  As a parent and a teacher, I like this idea in order to give familes personal time.  As an environmentalist, it makes sense to cut down on energy use and transportation costs with such an alternative schedule.

Approximately 100 rural schools in the United States have adopted a four day a week school schedule, mostly to save fuel costs where buses travel up to 100 miles a day.  Districts are reporting up to a ten percent savings on fuel and four percent savings on facilities energy use.  I know from personal experience on our district’s budget committee that transportation is the largest expenditure in the entire budget (more than teacher’s salaries, etc.)