I came across this today, and it fits.

I get told sometimes that by home schooling I'm doing a disservice to my kids. They aren't getting enough socialization and what not. i came across this conversation this morning on one of the home school chat groups I belong to and thought it appropriate to share here. 


Two women meet at a playground, where their children are swinging and playing ball. The women are sitting on a bench watching. Eventually, they begin to talk.

W1: Hi. My name is Maggie. My kids are the three in red shirts -- helps me keep track of them.
W2: (Smiles) I'm Terri. Mine are in the pink and yellow shirts. Do you come here a lot?
W1: Usually two or three times a week, after we go to the library.
W2: Wow. Where do you find the time?
W1: We home school, so we do it during the day most of the time.
W2: Some of my neighbors homeschool, but I send my kids to public school.
W1: How do you do it?
W2: It's not easy. I go to all the PTO meetings and work with the kids every day after school and stay real involved.
W1: But what about socialization? Aren't you worried about them being cooped up all day with kids their own ages, never getting the opportunity for natural relationships?
W2: Well, yes. But I work hard to balance that. They have some friends who are homeschooled, and we visit their grandparents almost every month.
W1: Sounds like you're a very dedicated mom. But don't you worry about all the opportunities they're missing out on? I mean they're so isolated from real life -- how will they know what the world is like -- what people do to make a living -- how to get along with all different kinds of people?
W2: Oh, we discussed that at PTO, and we started a fund to bring real people into the classrooms. Last month, we had a policeman and a doctor come in to talk to every class. And next month, we're having a woman from Japan and a man from Kenya come to speak.
W1: Oh, we met a man from Japan in the grocery store the other week, and he got to talking about his childhood in Tokyo. My kids were absolutely fascinated. We invited him to dinner and got to meet his wife and their three children.
W2: That's nice. Hmm. Maybe we should plan some Japanese food for the lunchroom on Multicultural Day.
W1: Maybe your Japanese guest could eat with the children.
W2: Oh, no. She's on a very tight schedule. She has two other schools to visit that day. It's a system-wide thing we're doing.
W1: Oh, I'm sorry. Well, maybe you'll meet someone interesting in the grocery store sometime and you'll end up having them over for dinner.
W2: I don't think so. I never talk to people in the store -- certainly not people who might not even speak my language. What if that Japanese man hadn't spoken English?
W1: To tell you the truth, I never had time to think about it. Before I even saw him, my six-year-old had asked him what he was going to do with all the oranges he was buying.
W2: Your child talks to strangers?
W1: I was right there with him. He knows that as long as he's with me, he can talk to anyone he wishes.
W2: But you're developing dangerous habits in him. My children never talk to strangers.
W1: Not even when they're with you?
W2: They're never with me, except at home after school. So you see why it's so important for them to understand that talking to strangers is a big no-no.
W1: Yes, I do. But if they were with you, they could get to meet interesting people and still be safe. They'd get a taste of the real world, in
real settings. They'd also get a real feel for how to tell when a situation is dangerous or suspicious.
W2: They'll get that in the third and fifth grades in their health courses.
W1: Well, I can tell you're a very caring mom. Let me give you my number--if you ever want to talk, give me call. It was good to meet you.


We have yet to bring home a total stranger and family from the grocery store, but we have had a friend of a friend from Pakistan join us and share a little about her Country with us, and that was interesting. Maybe one day we will meet more interesting people like that.

Considering moving my Blog

I blogged on MySpace for a couple of years and while the format was okay, it wasn't "great", if you know what I mean. I didn't have a lot of the features I wanted and I do like the way this is all on one page. You can see a little bit about me, but the main juice, the blog, is right there on the page as well, no clicking to find it, read it, go back to the profile, etc. I like Twitter for the simple fact that you can tweet little stuff about what you are doing on a constant basis, but I haven't totally mastered it and how you talk to other Tweeters, yet. I love Facebook, I really dislike the newest layout, but hopefully we'll be able to go back to the original if enough people complain about it? One can hope. And I've connected with so many lost friends, family and what not. But I can't blog on it. I can use notes, but it's again with the flipping back and forth between pages and whatnot. And while I blog mainly for me, so that I can get my thoughts out there and maybe try to make sense of things, when I get on my soapbox, it's nice to be heard, even if no one agrees with what I say, lol. So, I don't get here enough to actually blog, though. My conundrum continues. I guess eventually I'll figure out what I want to do.


The husband had to go and buy uniforms over the weekend. He's been getting pieces here and there where he's needed too over the last many years since he came back in, but it's gotten to the point where he's old enough now that his body just does not allow him to be a stick figure anymore. So it was time to make the investment. It definitely hurt, but probably not as much as it could have. He got full blues, full alpha's, and full evening dress and it was all a little under a grand. Of course that doesn't count medal mounting, but there are several places around here that do it on the off season (when it's more than 6 months before the next Ball), for decent prices. At least this way, he is totally prepared for anything that comes up and doesn't have to scramble to get what he needs, and he's got lots of stuff going on this year. 


As for everyone else, well, home school is well, it's going. Sometimes I wonder if I'm cut out for it or not, it tests my patience like nothing else, but I know the kids are better off in the long run. It's me I have to work on.


My goal of reading two books a month isn't quite going as I had planned. I'm finding the books harder to get through than I had anticipated. And it makes a difference when you don't have anyone to talk over the ideas that you are reading with. I'm used to doing that in a classroom or even a chat room, especially some of the material I'm ready, it's not just your regular run of the mill novels and what not. Oh well, if I can get one done a month, I'm going to try to be happy with that, until I figure something else out. I'm also not spending enough time doing my crocheting and getting items ready for my new store I want to open this summer. I am however, finally getting some things listed on Ebay, and if the first few auctions go well, I will continue to list until things stop selling. Maybe I can clear out some of this stuff. I can only donate and throw away so much, it makes sense to sell some things if I can, especially with young, growing children.


Anyway, I guess that's it for now...