I often meet people who have negative views on homeschooling.  I have heard countless horror stories, diatribes from offended parents/ teachers, and concerns about normalcy/socialization/testing, ...the list goes on and on.

I homeschool because it works for my family.  I do not homeschool to prove anything to teachers, former teachers, parents, or school districts.  We are a military family and as a military child myself, I know what it's like to change schools a lot.  I attended ten schools between Kindergarten and 12th grade.  It was a great experience, as I got to literally see the world.  However, I had trouble in one subject in particular and because I went through so many teachers and teaching styles, there was little consistency in how I was taught.  Obviously, there were a few other factors involved, but as a student who excelled in other courses, this became quite difficult to overcome when I got to college.

So here are MY responses to homeschool "naysayers" or those who just want to know.  I am not the type of person who likes to go back and forth, debating statistics and scholarly articles.  These are just my quick responses when someone gets a little too forceful with their commentary.  (I tend to ignore quite a bit of the comments unless actually directed at me.)

1. "My friend/sister/uncle is a teacher and said tons of homeschool students show up to be enrolled in school and are so far behind, they take forever to catch up."

- First, we don't know where the student was when they began homeschooling.  For example, a fellow homeschooler I knew personally, found her son had a developmental issue.  Because he was in a school district with tons of red tape, the assistance he needed was at least a year off.  So she began homeschooling until they moved to a better district and then enrolled him there.  So her child was behind the other kids, but only by about a year or so and only in some subjects.  Without knowing that he was actually almost two years behind before she began homeschooling, one would not realize the improvement that was made.

Second, some kids who are enrolled in school after being homeschooled, are there because the parents discovered homeschooling wasn't for them.  So while their child may be behind it doesn't mean every homeschool child is behind.

2. "My cousin homeschools her kids and they are super religious and only wear skirts and don't talk to other kids.  Your kids don't act like homeschool kids...they are normal".

(I hear this one a LOT and I know it's meant to be a compliment.)  Yes, these people exist.  I am not one of these, because that is not MY belief.  I often tell people that many of the homeschoolers who seem to shun secular or worldly things, are usually homeschooling for religious reasons and do NOT want their kids to act "normal".  Many...usually...not all.  The families who practice quiverfull for example, tend to homeschool.  They don't agree with a lot of the things that exist in the world and so they don't encourage their children to act like the kids you see in the world.  That does not make them wrong, but it also shouldn't be the gauge for all homeschoolers.  Even if someone is using a religious curriculum, that doesn't mean they are skirt wearing, long hair, double digit kid having families.  It can just mean they like that curriculum.

Disclaimer:  I use the word "normal" loosely.  Normal when it comes to kids always makes me laugh a bit.  What's normal for a kid from a large city is not the same as a kid from the country.  Trust me on this one (live this daily with my husband).  I am not implying that my children are more or less normal than other kids.
3. "I think kids need to be with their own age".

My kids are involved in activities outside the house.  We don't wake up, study quantum physics and then discuss world events.  My kids play with other kids, watch TV, listen to regular music, and play video games.  They are usually only recognized as homeschoolers because they have different amounts of free time compared to other kids, so doctor's appointments and volunteer activities are more open to us.

That being said, other than grade school, there is no other time in life where someone expects you to only be around people who are the same age as you.  As a college freshman, there were older and younger students in my classes.  Many homeschool kids tend to be a bit more mature because they are not talked down to on a daily basis.  I was often mistaken for a child who was older and I wasn't homeschooled, so these traits are not exclusive to homeschooled kids.

4. "Your daughter/son is shy/behind/having trouble with a subject because they are homeschooled."

This is one of the more annoying comments.  It implies that children who are in school are not shy, don't ever get behind or have trouble with subjects.  It also usually comes from someone who has mistaken shy for introversion, or thinks that having trouble with a subject is dooming a child to a lifetime of academic failure.

5. "What about grades or testing?"

So here's the thing most non-homeschoolers do not understand: homeschoolers can assess their children however they want.  Sounds like chaos right?  I mean how can we possibly know if our child is on target?! Many times, you just know.  I actually started homeschooling, because I was concerned about my oldest child's lack of knowledge on certain things.  I asked other parents, looked up the state standards, and even thought about when I learned certain topics.  I felt she was behind and I did not care for the methods being used.  The tests coincidentally said she was on target for her age, but I disagreed.  I felt the test was using the bare minimum (the methods had recently been changed), and I wanted her to be challenged more.

Some schools don't test, some don't give grades.  Obviously that is not a 100% sure way to assess a child.  There are other methods and many parents find that what works for one child doesn't work for another. Each state has their own requirements, each family has their own standards.

6. I couldn't homeschool, my kids drive me crazy.  I can't be with them all day.

My kids drive me crazy too.  I make sure to take breaks away from them.  I think any relationship needs that.  That being said, if you really think you couldn't homeschool, don't homeschool.  It's not for everyone and I don't judge people who decide to do it, not do it, start and then stop, etc.  It's a choice and it works for us for right now.

Now we're off to hang out at the attractions that are packed when other kids get out of school.

As we prepare for our fourth move in five years, I decided to look at moving tips online. One part curiosity (is there anything new out there), one part desperation. (I am hopelessly spoiled by always having to military move me which includes packing for us. )

I found a few new tricks, like this one for moving clothes in closets.  But most of the stuff I saw, was pretty routine.  At least for me after countless moves.  My pointers for moving your own stuff (movers pack however they want, in whatever order they want):

1. Pack the way you want to unpack.  For example, I have a eight drawer rolling cart.  I could just dump all eight drawers into a box or bag and call it a day.  But then I'll get to the other end and hate life.  So, instead, I dump them into ziploc bags or grocery bags and then unpack them separately on the other end.  Sounds tedious but after you've moved and unpacked all day, little things like this make you feel much better.  

2. We always, ALWAYS made the beds first thing.  Why?  Because when you decide that you've had enough for the day, that is not the time to start wondering where the sheets are, is the bed put together, etc?  

3. Try to unpack the kids' rooms first (or at least put them to work starting the job).  Even if this is just making their beds and unpacking toys.  It keeps them busy, out of the way, and makes them feel like they are part of the process.  It doesn't have to be right the first time.  

4. If you don't have frozen meals, make sure you budget for take out or delivery.  Trust me, you won't feel like cooking after a day of moving.  

5. Our movers always packed stuff we don't want them to pack, so we started locking things in the car that we didn't want them to touch.  I call it the "Car Box" because it usually was in the car with us while we travel.  It includes things like:  box cutters/scissors (needed to open boxes on the other end); a first aid kit; plastic utensils and cups/plates; napkins; toilet paper, toiletries; maps or directions; etc  You get the point.  Even if you are packing yourself, it helps to have this box in an easy to find location. 

(This includes all the hardware for your beds, desks, etc that can be taken apart.  As any military family will tell you, this stuff gets lost frequently.  One of my friends recently found out that ALL of the hardware was put into the same box.  Guess which box came up missing?) 

6. I saw several suggestions to keep everything as you had it in your old house.  Honestly, I think that's next to impossible.  For example, our last house had a "craft room", as I called it.  It held my sewing machine table, and two shelves.  Okay, It was actually a closet.  But our new house didn't have anything close to that.  We also had less closets and shelves.  So we had to reorganize where to keep linens, pots and pans, even spices.  My entire system had to be changed.  Our current house, has a Harry Potter closet (that's what we are sticking with because I have kids and we all love Harry Potter).  So we're currently deciding what to put in there. Be flexible.  


7. Color coding is awesome!  Not only does it work for the kids to recognize their boxes, but it eliminates confusion if you can't see or read what was on the side of the box.  *A side note:  I thought it was a given, but just in case: write on the SIDE of the box, not the top.  Once you stack boxes, you can't see what you wrote. (The downside of this is that not everyone follows the color coding rule, so we ended up with boxes for the kitchen in bedrooms.)


8. Because we move frequently ALL THE TIME, I have a moving binder.  It's separated into tabs like "travel" (directions, hotels), movers/shipping (contact info for the movers, contracts for rental trucks, etc), and contacts.  This is the big one for me.  I created a sheet that has the name and account number of companies, how to change addresses (some are very specific).  Then I have a checkbox to make sure it was done.  So how do I compile the list without missing someone?  I go through my email inbox for the last month, my bank accounts (who did I send a payment to recently), and my postal mail for the last month.  I still forward my mail, but honestly, stuff always slips through so I would rather make sure I directly change what I can.  


9. Most people know to forward their mail. But here's a BTDT tip (been there done that). Do not, EVER forward your mail to begin the day you are actually leaving/turning in the key, etc. Out of our last five moves, three times, in three separate states, our mail didn't start forwarding the day it was supposed to start. If I had not been still living there I would not have gotten my mail and realized it wasn't forwarding. Our most recent move, I had to make two different after the fact WTH inquiries.... one a full week after the start date. Yes, you can call over the phone, but it's much better to go in and deal with someone face to face. Which brings me to my next point...

10. Only use the USPS to forward the mail. I had never heard of anything else until I went to check out what was going on with my mail. The clerk dismissed it as useless because she said it was through some mail forwarding service. She said that people use that because it’s free (the USPS charges $1 online), but that it’s “really no good at making sure the mail was forwarded”.  Once I corrected her and showed her that my confirmation email was from the USPS and was a week earlier, she immediately straightened the issue out. That was so worth the $1 to do it online.

***I'm sure I will add to this as I unpack.