Back in the homeschool classroom: Thomas Jefferson’s quote

                           Monticello. Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell)

By Lynn R. Mitchell

“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.”
– Thomas Jefferson to William Hamilton, April 22, 1800

During the years I served as newsletter editor for Parent Educators of Augusta County Homes, I would often use quotes, and one of my favorite was the one above by Virginia Founding Father Thomas Jefferson.

While these days it means more for political reasons, during my days in homeschool leadership it pertained more to our religious differences. Among those who had made the decision to educate their children at home were a wide range of religious beliefs. If we concentrated on those, we would devolve into disagreements about how the group should run and narrow our focus from the group’s purpose.

Back in the homeschool classroom: ’50 reasons homeschooled kids love being homeschooled’

By Lynn R. Mitchell

I loved this article, “50 reasons homeschooled kids love being homeschooled,” by Kris Bales who wrote, “I asked the folks on my Facebook page to ask their kids why they liked being homeschooled and let me know what they said. I asked mine, too, and compiled the answers for you.  Some answers were heard a lot. Some were pretty unique. Some got my added commentary, and some stand alone. So, if you’ve ever wondered why homeschooled kids like being homeschooled, here are the results, in no particular order after the first two, of my really unscientific poll.”

Reading the list brought back lots of memories of the 16 years I spent schooling with my children so, after reading the list and nodding and smiling about various ones, I emailed both my kids with the link. I pointed out that my daughter would very much identify with #15: “Being able to do school with pets. Have you seen the recent studies that show that reading to dogs helps improve the proficiency of struggling readers?” Her kitty, Palmer, was often curled up beside her as she studied or read.