Things have been busy around here (VaHomeschoolers College Seminar, cousin’s wedding, homeschooling, pets, you name it), so I thought that I would pull something out of my archives for those who have not been reading this blog from the beginning. From December 2005, Sheltering Kids:

We recently had a mom join our Nova Unschoolers email list who is not happy with how the school experience in going for her kids. She wanted to find out more about homeschooling and to help allay some of her fears. One of the issues she brought up was the fear that she might be “babying” her kids and that school is necessary for kids to be able to manage in the “real world” (where else will they be able to learn how to deal with those “hard knocks”?).

This is actually a very common argument against homeschooling. “Kids have to learn how to cope in the real world where everything does not revolve around their needs.” and “Kids need the discipline that school gives them”.

The funny thing is, do people really think that homeschoolers do not want their kids to grow, to be more responsible, and to learn self-discipline? That we don’t want our kids to be able to deal with “real life” issues? Of course we do! Thousands of kids are being homeschooled, and you know what? They are turning out to be able to function very well! Even without 12 years of school to “teach” them how.

Read more…

Even now, four (!) years later, I am finding this post to be very true for us. (Shoot, just realized that I missed my four year blogging anniversary of my first post back on October 30…)

You can find my monthly archive here if you feel like exploring some more or check out the categories in the right sidebar for more focused searching.

Enjoy…I hope to find time to post soon…