9 September 2011

Lots of Questions About Resources!

A Homeschooling Meme

Erin from Seven Little Australians and Counting and Suzy from Scraps of Starlight – A Soulful Life have tagged for me for a homeschooling meme. Thank you Erin and Suzy! I’ve never done a homeschooling meme before. Will I do it properly? Will I have anything interesting to say? Here goes:

·         One homeschooling book you have enjoyed.
I bet everyone can guess my choice. It has to be Suzie Andres’ A Little Way of Homeschooling: Thirteen Families Discover Catholic Unschooling. Close behind would be Suzie’s first book, Homeschooling With Gentleness. (see my sidebar for more information)
·         One resource you wouldn’t be without.
That would have to be our computers connected to the Internet. On those rare occasions when the power has been cut or our Internet connection is down, we have really missed:
o   access to our own blogs and other people’s,
o   being able to download an ebook as soon as we have found one we’d like to read,
o   renewing our library books or browsing the catalogue,
o   googling something we want to know more about,
o   accessing our ebooks stored on our computer,
o   emailing,
o   writing, I much prefer typing to writing on paper
o   working with our photos, scans, etc
I walk around lost when I can’t use my computer. Paper and pencils? I think I have forgotten how to write by hand. Though thankfully, I think my children still have some old fashioned writing skills.
  • ·         One resource you wish you’d never bought
I was tempted to buy subscriptions to a few online courses and websites which we never use. I bought a multi-user homeschool access to Brainpop and Brainpop junior and we have only logged on several times. All those attractive animated videos drew us in but somehow, as soon as the subscription was paid, we lost interest and never bothered to watch any of them . We’ve been too busy with other things.
  • ·         One resource you enjoyed last year.
Last year was the year of the ereader. I bought the girls one each and suddenly we had access to thousands of free ebooks. Also we have been buying ebooks, accessing books from overseas without paying postage costs or having to wait. I can pay for one ebook and download it on every ereader so we can all have a copy for a single price. The only problem is that with one click buying I can easily buy more books than I intended. I think, “Do we need this book? Maybe not,” and then I find myself clicking ‘buy now’ anyway. I console myself with the thought that books are good and ebooks are cheaper than paper books.
  • ·         One resource you’d like to buy
READ  The Right Kind of Home Improvement

I don’t think we actually need any new resources but I am always looking out for new books and DVDs. Our complete DVD set of Shakespeare’s plays and our Gilbert and Sullivan DVD set have proved invaluable. Similar sets of operas and ballets would be most welcome. Or for something different, perhaps a treadmill would be nice. Can a treadmill be a resource? I guess it could come under physical education and it would be lovely for us to be able to run on those cold and wet days without venturing outside.
  • ·         One resource you wished existed

That’s a tricky one. I never realise we need a resource until I see it and then somehow, I feel I can’t do without it (even if I can.)
  • ·         One homeschooling catalogue you enjoy reading

I don’t read any homeschooling catalogues. I get book ideas from different blogs and then I search websites such as Amazon and The Book Depository (thank you Natalie for telling me about this great online bookshop)
  • ·         One homeschooling website you use regularly

I don’t usually visit homeschooling websites but I do enjoy reading a few personal homeschooling blogs (there’s lots of good blogs listed in my sidebar). I use a few websites to download free ebooks.
All done! Now I have to tag 6 other homeschoolers:
And if anyone else wants to join in, please do!

Sue Elvis

I'm an Australian blogger, podcaster, and Youtuber. I write and speak about unschooling, parenting and family life. I'm also the author of the unschooling books 'Curious Unschoolers', 'Radical Unschool Love' and ‘The Unschool Challenge’. You'll find them on Amazon!

10 Comments

  1. You have done it…..Why is it , we post on the same day…I just don't understand. lol.I clicked on your blog to read your post as I had posted mine….Hope we can catch up in the holidays,
    God Bless Leanne

  2. I'm thinking I won't be buying you a pen or a writing set for Christmas;-). Maybe, a mousepad or a laptop accessory, instead…

    I enjoyed reading your ideas for resources, Sue!

  3. Actually, Vicky I do love good pens, the sort that glide along the page and feel good. But I must admit I write all my letters on the computer. The other week I received a real letter, actually the second real letter, from a friend in the US: handwritten and on beautiful paper. I was so thrilled and I can really see the value of retaining 'old fashioned' writing skills.

    I look forward to reading your resources list, Vicky

  4. Hi Sue,
    Thanks for tagging me. I hope to get this written in the next couple of days. The only problem is I'm not sure of any other blogs to tag at the end – all the ones I read have already been tagged!

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