Meet My Stepmother

Guess what? My stepmother is also a homeschooler. I asked her if she would like sharing a little bit on my blog. She said, "Sure." So I asked her a few questions to introduce her to all of you.
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Hi, Cher! How are you this morning?

I am really good. How are you?

That sounded a little sarcastic.

I'm sorry, let me try that again.
{deep breath}
I'm really good, Katrina. How are you?

So I take it you're not having a great morning?

Oh, it's ok.

(I hear children in background. We get interrupted.)

Ok, I'm back.

Alright, tell me about who you homeschool.

I am currently homeschooling my two sons, David who's 9 and Brandon who is 7 and a half. David is going into fourth grade. Brandon is going into second grade. He's one of those children who has a December birthday.

What made you leap into this crazy thing called homeschooling?

Well, for me, it was something that I was interested in, because of my daughter (I laugh) and other people I knew who homeschooled. But, I guess I believed the lie that I wasn't qualified to homeschool. Then I became aware of the environment my kids were in at the daycare and school when I went to work there. I really believe that God put me there so that I would see it for myself. It was an easy decision to homeschool after that. And with much fear and trepidation and a great deal of prayer and encouragement from my daughter (another laugh from me) I decided to make the leap. This was before Brandon's Kindergarten year.

Am I the best daughter in the world? Nevermind. Don't answer that.

Yes.

Aww, you're too kind.

No, I'm telling the truth. I mean, what would I have done without your help? I would have had no clue about what curriculum to buy or anything. I would have been totally clueless.

Awww. I'm sure you could have gotten help from someone else.

{We are interrupted because I hear thunder. I go move the dog and my son out of the backyard.}

So tell me again, how long have you been homeschooling?

This will be my third year of homeschooling. So, I've homeschooled for two years.

Do you have anything you want to say about homeschooling?

When I began telling people that I was going to be homeschooling for the first time I got some great advice from a dear friend at church. She had taken her children out of a Christian school setting to homeschool them. She told me that when you decide to homeschool you have to commit to at least one year, because when you take your children out of school and homeschool them it can be a very difficult transition.

She told me what to expect: that they would tell me I'm their mom and not their teacher. There's an adjustment period and you have to be ready for it and aware of it. And she also said that it would be worth it. It was such good advice.

Other good advice that I received was that "on any given day of homeschooling you may not get everything done that you wanted to do, but that it's ok. Don't beat yourself up."

That is good advice. What would you say you struggle with in homeschooling?

Organization is my biggest downfall. Organization and preparation. I tend to think I have less to do than I really do. Or to think that it will be easier to accomplish than it really is.

I think my biggest struggle in homeschooling is teaching two children who are very different and have very different needs - and who are very close in age. They have different temperaments, different abilities, different learning styles - and they're very close in age.

What are your plans for the upcoming year?

I'm trying something new with each child. This year I've tried to focus their education on what their needs are. I've chosen A Beka DVD with my younger son, Brandon. He's spent too much time waiting for me to finish with his older brother to get what he needed. Now he'll be able to get instruction even when I'm busy with his brother. So in order to give David the attention he needs and Brandon the teaching he needs David will be doing A Beka with me.

I've also signed up David with Aleks math on the computer. Math takes up the most time in our school day. I think this will make the homeschooling experience more positive for everyone and help make our home run more smoothly. The math taking up so much time has caused everything else to slide.

That sounds exciting. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me.

You're welcome. Thank you for asking.

Can I ask back again for another interview sometime?

Certainly. Anytime.

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So there you go, folks. If you have any questions for Cher I'm sure she'd be happy to answer them. Just leave your questions in the comments.