Home Schooling Motto

I have a friend Christine, who has home schooled now for a few years. She never once said, "aw Anne, you know you want too, just home school, you can do it!" Because I would have freaked and ran a thousand miles away from her and cowered in a corner shaking uncontrollably.
Home schooling is now my life also! I search catalogs, web sites, listen to others victories and note their complete disasters in my ever growing memory banks.
Christine has this nifty picture for Home School Lounge on her website...(I'm not publishing her homeschool site, as I don't know if it is public, if she gives permission I will link it). I clicked it and what a marvelous place. I have the pic on the sidebar, but have placed it here with a nifty keen-o link so you can play there too!
They have LIVE chat! Now with homeschooling moms, this means tears, fears and encouragement! I seriously have gone in this chat room after kicking the cat, throwing the grammar books out the door and yelling school is out...go somewhere other than here! (okay, I didn't really kick the cat...because I can't get my leg that high, she sleeps on my bed)
There are ladies there with so much patience, and direction for homeschooling!
You see, my kids were public school their whole life. I was a public school advocate, I was schooled in the public schools. So when it came time for me to homeschool, all I did was move my kids location, not their focus.
Now, I hear of home schoolers that say, "oh well, we get up and eat and when we feel like it we start school." My compulsive organizing, schedule your life genes scream in rebellion.
Oh no, we start at 8am. Pledge, prayer, math, spanish, english, break, chores, science, social studies. Change on the hour, 1/2 hour and march with a good posture. My kids were doing fine, I was exhausted. I wanted to read books to them, have them read to me. I wanted to do science experiments, make cookies, go thrift shopping, play games, laugh, and listen to them. This school stuff kept getting in the way....
I babbled to a few ladies on how my girls were struggling in math, my one son was having a hard time getting something, and my oldest was breezing thru faster than I could give him work...what was going on!?! I had appointments come up, phones rang, ants infested my pantry, my husband was still sitting in the living room(why??)...didn't everyone know I was on a schedule??? If they didn't get it in the allotted time we had to move on???
or what??
they would have homework???
I had the same word pop up over and over...be flexible Anne. Go with the flow.
Now this is hard for me...very hard. I crave control, but had to change. so my logo:


I love this~Thursday, only two worked on math, and we worked together and had fun getting it...no stress.
Friday we were back to the schedule, but not with the insane...Time, move on regime I had going before. I even skipped lessons and had Gman do a test before he was officially there...gasp...he missed one!
Mr. E went t his standards there and pulled out the work needed to fulfill his grammar for 8th grade. We are gonna do what we have too, and put that book away. (This is the one that took the flight out the front door).
So just a little update on homeschooling!