Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Frugal Homeschooler ISO Benefit of the Doubt

I am a homeschooler... with high standards and even higher hopes for my boys. On about $400 per academic year and multiple library trips I've managed to direct my older son (7) tthrough 6th grade reading comprehension, 7th grade spelling and 4th grade math. He also plays the violin (his working piece is Kreisler's Sicilienne and Rigaudon) thanks to his fabulous teachers (pas de moi). My younger son (3) counts from 1-20, knows his ABCs, and is just starting to sound out words. We're not messing around here. We're not those crazy hippie people that just let their kids start reading whenever it suits them; we don't engage in child-led curriculum. Think "Tiger Mother" meets "Mother Goose."

You may remember a homeschooled kid recently won the Intel Science Talent Search. My heart swelled with pride when I read that article... Those homeschoolers who perform in spelling bees, science fairs, college football (I'm looking at YOU, Tim Tebow) and other national-stage events enable the rest of us to keep teaching, legitimizing the homeschool process as something more than a Duggar kink or a Serial-Killer Nursery.  Under the tree of these kids' accomplishments, we forage for supplies to enlighten and demonstrate that which our babies need to know to thrive in This Modern World.

(Note to self: implement metaphor curric, stat: When Is Too Much, Just Right?)

I am not above dumpster-diving, neither is the Mister... Especially when it comes to doodads, gizmos, and assorted detritus with/sans power cords. ThinkGeek is literally GIVING AWAY stuff from their dumpster!  I consider the bounty of possibilities for the boys: robots, circuitry, DIY computers, the "What if?" conversations that lead to drawings and conversations late into the night... and all for free. No re-arranging the Target budget to accommodate sound cards, no wrangling one more season out of cheap-knit clothing so's to apply that Old Navy budget to a wary, tired motherboard.

Group website, blog, or other proof you'll use these materials for good, not evil *

How to prove our legitimacy and woooooorthiness of quarterly gadget dumpster-allowances? The beauty of living in Texas is that you don't have to prove much of anything to homeschool. If someone shows up asking what you teach, you show them what you teach... and it must include reading, writing, 'rithmetic, and citizenship (among other things). It's very simple, and there are no membership cards.

Errmmm, does this blog count? I could post a quarterly review of what exactly we do with ThinkGeek's goodies?  I could sign a waiver? Send a t-shirt with our official logo? Host an in-house Robotics Fair/BBQ?


 It would not be logical to create a bomb or interfere with the lives of innocents with these materials, Captain.