Peeking into other homeschools

As another school year approaches ...

As I finish up poring over catalogs, drooling over all the books I'd like to own ...

As I place whittled-down, budget-conscious orders (not of curriculum, per se, but of books, which are the lifeblood around here) ...

As I surf around to see other moms' ideas of what a homeschool is ...

I want to share some of those places with you:

Ann, at Mozart and Mudpies, has a terrific series on "Homeschool Entropy." Start here, and work your way backwards, or hop over to the sidebar and follow Anne's progress chronologically.

Ann's and my dining rooms have undergone similar transformations this summer, although I'd like Ann to stop by and paint mine. I didn't get to that. Oops. I also didn't get all the nifty before-and-after pictures. (I'm soon going to buy a whittled-down, budget-conscious digital camera and enter the 21st century with the rest of you.) But, I did get decluttering and reorganization done, and it feels divine. Ann also shares "Plan A" for the coming year.

Amy, at Among Women, has caught the FridgeSchooling bug. Here's what's on her Hagrid-sized refrigerator this week.

And, correct me if I'm wrong (as I so often am) but I think the fridgeschooling got started at Faith's wonderful Dumb Ox Academy with this post.

The always-inspiring Leonie is so relaxed, so calm and so confident that it will all happen naturally. I am often-to-sometimes relaxed, calm, and confident but in those times when I'm not, I turn to Leonie and breathe. And Leonie, incidentally, also makes use of her fridge for more than just food. (We do, too -- a micro-version of fridgeschooling, I suppose. Last year, I regularly posted our Artist and Composer of the month on the fridge.)

Elizabeth's offerings always inspire me, and can be transferred easily to a family with only three children. And be sure to click on those links to Rebecca's thoughts, too.

I'm out of time for now, but I hope these quick peeks give you a idea of how rich and varied homeschooling can be. They also give a peek into my scattered brain, as I bounce from style to style, season to season and structure to non-structure.

Chaotic, you say? Well, I've been known to call it schizophrenic, but today I prefer to call our homeschool lively and profoundly interesting.

Tags: homeschooling,
home education,
curriculum