It is true, as with all things, there are positive and negatives sides to homeschooling. I read an article posted on MiddleSchool.net where the writer outlined the negative aspects of homeschoolingThis post struck a cord in me though, so I am going to address the writer’s points one by one. I can’t promise that there will be a lack of snark. You’ve been warned. This is a republished post from two years ago. Time “When parents take the responsibility of educating their children at home, they may need to set aside time to make it work.” Wait—Do you mean to
secular parenting Earlier today someone asked me a tremendous question; it's a question that I often hear as a critical question from the religious and as a conundrum from the secular. The question came to me like this: I am wondering how to raise a child that is five years old saying they do not believe in a god. I am unsure if they really know what they are talking about. I come from a mixed family of theists, my oldest daughter an agnostic, and myself being an atheist. How do I help her transition into public school where they say the pledge. She seems very observant and I want her to be freethinking, full of imagination, feel loved, while still respecting others. I hope I can do the right thing for all my children. I love talking to parents. The best ones question everything, think of things to worry about or question, and seek out information to continue to improve. Never fear the not knowing! Of course, I can't speak for ATHEISM (no one can!), but I can speak to this question as an atheist parent. My simple answer is this. I am not raising atheists, I am raising children. It is not my goal in life to pass my atheist paradigm on to my children. It is my goal in life to give my children the freedom, the reasonable thought, and the information to make decisions for themselves. If their conclusions are that there is no supernatural diety (among many other conclusions, hopefully) well, that is a decision that they will come to after many years of truly exploring ideologies freely, changing opinions, improving their pattern of thought, living in an open world, and exploring this world broadly with eyes wide open. I can not see a five year old as having a personal philosophy. Can you? Five year olds generally know what they have been taught and they know how to please the beloved adults around them. The bad part of that: religions focus on kids at those early ages. The great part of that: they don't have to carry our baggage. The bad part of that: kids absorb religious messages is around them. The great part of that: our kids can explore so many things and develop their own philosophies about the world. The bad part of that: they are targets for mixed-messages and over-zealous family and friends who fear for their souls. The great part of that: they learn that self-contained belief systems never really remove the fear of this life, they only expand it. Raising children without religion is a journey. It is what makes parenting secular. Raising freethinking children? That is the goal.There is absolutely no magic bullet or magic moment, rather a series of moments. There are no manuals, no conferences (yet...or few of them), few groups you can join, few communities to be a part of, no esoteric knowledge. Rather, it is an ongoing question and answer period, an exploration of the grey areas of life, a place of peace and clear thought, and a celebration of choice! You will have ongoing and wonderful conversations with your free thinking children and they will amaze you! Never fear their questions. Never fear their confusion. Never fear their exploration of other belief systems. With your support they will know that they can explore ideas and accept them or reject them based on what makes sense. Man in the sky with an afterlife on the clouds? Hmmm, what can we see through this telescope? What do the astronauts see way up there? Scary, hot place under the earth where people forever? I see from my research that these miners can't live very far down. What do we know exists there and how do we know it? Afterlife? Hmmm...I can see this little bird beginning to decompose, sending its molecules into the soil to enrich it. What can we see happens next? You are offering them evidence-based information and teaching them that our nonsecular world has injected some very unnecessary and confusing messages into our day. They have the freedom to look carefully, think critically, pick out mythology from fact, ask the questions, and create a unique paradigm, uniquely theirs. So the short answer is that we aren't out here trying to raise atheists; we are out here raising freethinking human beings who have the luxury, the time, and the encouragement to figure out their own personal philosophy! OH! And about the Pledge of Allegiance, why not learn it ahead of time with her? Why not talk about what it actually means? Why not talk about each sentence, its meaning, and your daughter's options regarding if she wants to say it or how she might like to say it, or other options. Give her the freedom to make her own decision about the Pledge. Just inform, educate, discuss, and sit back and watch her amazing brain go to work! ...................................... You might also like this post: Charlie and Kiwi: An Evolutionary Adventure An Unfortunate Necessary Evil The Big Question: Death One of my Worst Days as a Parent
When that box of curriculum arrives it can overwhelming, but unboxing BookShark curriculum doesn't have to be. It can be fun and exciting.
(This post contains an Affiliate link to Amazon, please see our disclosure for more details) When I first began homeschooling, I wasted so much money on curriculum I didn't use and didn't like. I am convinced homeschool mamas are overwhelmed with trying to teach too much... My goal for "Charlotte Mason Mama" is to help
atheist blog
Want to see if a layer of blubber can really help you stay warm in icy water? Try this arctic animals science experiment to experience it.
So, today's post is completely out of the normal. Today I'm sharing some of my favorite homeschool memes. There is just something about memes . . .
The best homeschooling quotes and humor for encouragement and inspiration chosen by 2,000 homeschoolers.
atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog OK, so I love Pinterest and I love photo editing. Combined, they are the perfect storm for my late night moments of angsty atheism and meme making. You see, often I find myself so frustrated with the state of the country, this conservative and Christian country in which I live. I get frustrated with the good people of this country buying the codswallop that is so very divisive. I am angry and frustrated with this fractious nation. Two sides, moving further and further apart. No bridge in sight. The distance that some Christians and other believers have to go in order to maintain both their beliefs and to maintain the stranglehold of power in the places of authority is staggering. Facts, reality, and evidence are actually suspect in this country that worships faith over knowledge. I sometimes feel as though I am living in a George Orwell novel or in a Twilight Zone episode. We have a powerful political party in the United States that seems to reward blind loyalty, classism, racism, sexism, corporations over human beings, theocracy, reduction of personal freedom, the 1%, outright hatred of anyone different from wealthy and white, and overall extremism. How can so many adults in this country that I love support this??? What must a human being think to support this? Anyway, in my small way, I am spreading my love of true freedom out there through my memes. I have created dozens of atheist and freethought memes that can usually be found on Pinterest. I'm posting a few here, just in case you haven't seen them. Many of the following memes are a single example from a series of posts that all have a similar appearance. If you go to Pinterest and look for atheist parent or atheist memes you will definitely start finding my stuff. ...are wrong. Too Much?
Contraction No Prep Printables. In this set there are 3 printable pages, 2 which are similar re-write the sentences using contraction (they are differentiated to different level of students) and the 3rd printable is a puzzle with the 2 words that make a contraction, and the student writes a contraction for those two words. I created these printables for my substitute to easily implement while I am out. Hopefully you will find it useful in your classroom! Check out these other no prep resources: Spring Common Core NO PREP Math Printables Non-fiction LANDFORMS No Prep Printables Reading Passages with Comprehension Questions NO PREP Printables ____________________________________________________ Come read about me and my classroom!! Momma with a Teaching Mission
Whether you take a relaxed approach to homeschool planning or you map out every day in advance, knowing what works best for your family is paramount. Here’s the approach we’re taking this year.
atheist blog
The Canadian provinces and Territories can be hard to remember. Here's a handy printable Canadian Provinces worksheet for school aged children.
Part of the fun of homeschooling is learning things we didn’t learn when we were in school. Or re-learning them because we don’t remember them. This year, I knew that I wanted to cover modern history with my kids. I remember bits and pieces of it from high school, but in 15 years of homeschooling I have never covered modern history. Well, the girls used BJU history for a year and that covered a bit of it, but I was out of the loop because it was a text book and they were in different levels. I want my kids
atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog atheist blog OK, so I love Pinterest and I love photo editing. Combined, they are the perfect storm for my late night moments of angsty atheism and meme making. You see, often I find myself so frustrated with the state of the country, this conservative and Christian country in which I live. I get frustrated with the good people of this country buying the codswallop that is so very divisive. I am angry and frustrated with this fractious nation. Two sides, moving further and further apart. No bridge in sight. The distance that some Christians and other believers have to go in order to maintain both their beliefs and to maintain the stranglehold of power in the places of authority is staggering. Facts, reality, and evidence are actually suspect in this country that worships faith over knowledge. I sometimes feel as though I am living in a George Orwell novel or in a Twilight Zone episode. We have a powerful political party in the United States that seems to reward blind loyalty, classism, racism, sexism, corporations over human beings, theocracy, reduction of personal freedom, the 1%, outright hatred of anyone different from wealthy and white, and overall extremism. How can so many adults in this country that I love support this??? What must a human being think to support this? Anyway, in my small way, I am spreading my love of true freedom out there through my memes. I have created dozens of atheist and freethought memes that can usually be found on Pinterest. I'm posting a few here, just in case you haven't seen them. Many of the following memes are a single example from a series of posts that all have a similar appearance. If you go to Pinterest and look for atheist parent or atheist memes you will definitely start finding my stuff. ...are wrong. Too Much?
Younger kids are fascinated by animals, and our little students loved this class about pets. The teacher chose one animal to be the star of the show each week, and made sure that animal made a guest appearance. She started the class each morning reading a book about that day's animal (sometimes fiction, sometimes nonfiction). …
Are your kids intrigued by Stem learning? Do they own a telescope? Can they point out the various constellations? Then they will love this word search.
If you are a homeschooler you know how hard it can be to read your favorite blogs or books. Podcasts can be easier to take with you.
So, today's post is completely out of the normal. Today I'm sharing some of my favorite homeschool memes. There is just something about memes . . .
There are tons of electives that are sure to get your homeschooler excited about learning something new. Use
So, today's post is completely out of the normal. Today I'm sharing some of my favorite homeschool memes. There is just something about memes . . .
atheist blog
Before you develop or choose a 6th grade curriculum for your homeschool, it is important to understand the learning goals for sixth graders.
Okay, I admit it. There are a few ways homeschoolers and hermits are alike! But there are some important differences too! This is a humorous look at just how alike (and how different) homeschoolers and hermits really are.
A friend of mine has an online atheist parenting magazine called Bright Parenting Magazine. She recently put out a call for articles, specifically, on virtues. I started writing, but kept getting stuck. The more I wrote and thought, the shorter the list of "obvious" virtues there were. I started out considering the list from Bright Parenting Magazine: Humility, Empathy, Courage, Honestly, Openness, Generosity, and Gratitude. I was focusing on "HUMILITY". The more I thought about it, the less convinced I was that the traditional definition of humility was, truly, a virtue. What IS a virtue? Various sources define virtue as "moral excellence" according to Wiki, THIS from www.thefreedictionary.com: 1. a. Moral excellence and righteousness; goodness. b. An example or kind of moral excellence: the virtue of patience. 2. Chastity, especially in a woman. 3. A particularly efficacious, good, or beneficial quality; advantage: a plan with the virtue of being practical. 4. Effective force or power: believed in the virtue of prayer. 5. virtues Christianity The fifth of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology. That dictionary actually claims that CHASTITY, especially in a woman is a virtue! (KMA, thefreedictionary.) Other sources define virtue as "moral excellence; goodness; righteousness. 2. conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude," according to dictionary.reference.com. OK, so I'm willing to go with "ethical excellence", as I avoid the word moral at all costs. I don't care for the religious overtones, not to mention the overuse of the word. So, in my usual way of defining my own darn terms, we will refer to virtues at ethical excellences. Political correctness and brevity be damned. Now, let's look again at that list of ethical excellences. Are they truly signs of ethical excellence? Humility Empathy Courage Honestly Openness Generosity Gratitude Beginning with humility, I already have a problem. The church has always encouraged it's devotees to be humble, to exhibit humility. In other words, to view themselves as unworthy, despite one's good qualities. I have always detested this one. Must I be modest if I am a good person? Is it honestly a way to advance our culture and ourselves, by undervaluing one's self? Take a moment and go "Google" the word "Humility". Go ahead. I'll wait. If you get the same results that I did, you got over 39 million results. All of the top hits come from websites that are religious in nature OR that ascribe humility as a characteristic associated with Jesus. Seriously? Maybe the problem lies with the differing qualities generally associated with humility. Here are a few that I read from these top-linked websites from my search: meek self-effacing humble even humiliating one's self. Is it possible that this so-called virtue is simply not all that virtuous? If I am not trying to control you, having you be meek and self-effacing does nothing but make you feel like crap...right? Like you will never be good enough. Many traditional "virtues" have become obsolete as time has gone on. Perhaps some "virtues" simply run their course in history. Chastity, for example, isn't really the virtue it used to be. We no longer judge a person's "goodness" by whether or not they are chaste or sexually active. Besides, it occurs to me that this particular value seems to have always been in reference to women. For that matter, would "obedience" still be considered a virtue when no religion was asking for it? Ethical excellences, one would assume, are those qualities that denote exceptional goodness. Is humility even on your radar? So, let's strike off humility. Next is Empathy. Dictionary.reference.com defines empathy as: the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another. Listen, this is a good one. I like it when the people I am around are capable of identifying with my feelings and can respond to them. On the other hand, I have some friends who are exceptionally shy or socially-reserve. These are some terrifically good people. Although they are less likely to identify with and understand the feelings of everyone around them, some of these people are so good and kind and well-meaning that I can't not include them in the Ethical Excellence Club. And so, I'm sorry, but I am going to have to remove empathy from the list. Not because I don't see it's value and it's goodness; I do! But because I simply don't like it being on THE LIST. Courage. Are we saying here that people who are fearful or apprehensive or anxious can't be among the ethically excellent? I'm against this one on the list too. I'm sure that each of us knows of an anxious person who is so good that they almost break your heart. Listen, I get it! It takes courage to stand up for what is right. It takes courage to do the right thing in the face of opposition. As an atheist, I can totally relate. But for those people who have difficulty with this, I don't see why their inherent anxiety or angst makes them a less ethical person than the next guy..? Sorry, I'm going to have to strike that one too. Honesty? Gee. It's difficult to find the grey area of honesty. I will leave the research up to you, but there truly are different levels of honesty depending upon one's intended outcome. I have been seriously emotionally wounded by someone who claimed that their words were an attempt to be "honest" with me. Most of us, I am sure, can come up with similar situations. Is it possible that honesty can be judged based upon each situation? Situational honesty... The funny thing about atheists, though, with regards to honesty, is this. I find atheists to be honest almost to a fault. We try so hard to be upfront and clear that, often we tend to say a bit too much. Also, it's possible to be honest with everyone else except for ourselves. In this case, are we being honest? I don't know about you, but even honesty seems a bit of a murky subject philosophically. I'm going to have to scratch it as it no longer seems universally to be an ethical excellence list component. Openness... Aw geez, I know that you know where I am going with this. Does being an ethical excellence relativist make me wishy-washy? I dislike THE BOX, THE LIST, THE MAN, and The Authoritatively Correct Thing. Am I wishy-washy? Maybe. But I'm happy here in the grey. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ January 26, 2012: After thinking about this for several days now and reading as much on it as possible in these days, I would have to claim the following values: do no harm, integrity, empathy, reason, and kindness. These five values cover a range of other possible inclusions. Not a bad list, considering this is the first "research" I've actually done on this topic! Has anyone doubted your ability to be "good without god"? How do you usually respond to that?
Encore+ Post atheist blog If you are here from Google, or if you are looking for information about atheism OR if you are an atheist OR if you are looking for information about people who are atheists. Welcome. I am a full-on, no holds barred, non-agnostic atheist. The type that does not hold to anything supernatural. No devils, no destiny, no crystals, no chakras, no chi, no dream reading, no telepathy, no tongues, no candles, no singing, no spiritual warfare or end-of-times fears, no fasting, no prayer, no meant-to-be, no ashes and mumbled words, no need for intercession of any kind. No spirits, no hell, no eternal reward, no eternal punishment, no afterlives, no auras, no foot massages or body work, no universal life force, no feng shui, no alternative medicine, nothing. No ESP, no tarot, no spiritual connections of any kind, no supernatural power of any kind, nothing paranormal, nothing metaphysical, no angels or demonic beings, no ghosts, no vampires, no holy beings, no saints, no sinners, no tithing, no telling the future, no miracles, no astrology, no secrets or hidden things, and no need to figure out why a so-called loving deity would allow or create such pain and hatred in the world. No special rituals. No special books. No special clothing, chants, incantation, laying on of hands. No internal powers, no esoteric knowledge, no herbs or spices, no substances of any kind. No factions. No divisions between different groups of non-believers. No honor killings. No secret societies. No systematic bigotry. No ancient language or esoteric history. No martyrdom. No children born to sin. No religious leaders guiding thinking, no religious wars, no religious crusades. No need for redemption. No prayer requests. No religious chain letters. No hidden beings. No prayer. No secret handshakes. No hidden leadership. No hierarchy, No hidden plans. No secret words to utter. No faith. No special days of the year. No more dumbing down. No secrecy at all. Just the wonder of what IS. And I DO mean the wonder. It is an act of sublimity to look at our earth, at our solar system, at our cosmos and see it through the eyes of AWE, rather than through eyes that call it a miracle, finger-snapped into place by a deity. Instead, the vastness, the magnificence, and the incomprehensibility of it washes over me like a sacred experience. I feel connected to it. I am a part of it. My children are a part of it. We are star stuff. The wonder of that never ceases to move me. Our family is very science-oriented, specifically astronomy. Our opportunities to see deep space objects, to follow the movement of planets in our solar system, comets, and other objects help to support the all natural paradigm. The beauty of the natural works is truly without peer. Having rejected all religious dogma and all supernatural deities of all kinds, I can honestly say, the world makes sense! No need to rely on "faith" or to accept "mysteries" that defy logic, ethics, and integrity. I am an atheist.
Many say the psychological effects of homeschooling later in life are damaging. But that wasn't my experience. But, what does the evidence say about it?
For school to be successful, children must enjoy it.
The end of the school year -- a time of celebration for students and teachers alike! For my son and I, it is a little different this year. This last year was his first school year as an unschooled kid.
atheist blog
As we started back to school this week after taking December off, I’m feeling the push to “get something done”. It’s a trap we all fall into, this wanting to be able to have something to show for our time doing schoolwork. And it’s necessary. I sat down and wrote out lesson plans for the month of January (in pencil, always in pencil) and I see we are in our 13th week of school, and on Week 8 in our BiblioPlan lessons. On the surface, some may say we aren’t doing what we should be, but we know better. Spend
Organic homeschooling is natural, wholesome, and fundamental.
