San Antonio Home Educator Profile:
Nancy

Want to know what real home educators look like in the San Antonio Area?  The following is a brief overview of one San Antonio homeschoolers. Her real name is not used to protect her privacy.

How long have you been homeschooling?
Seven years

How many children do you have? 
I have 3 children. 

Do you homeschool them all?
I currently homeschool them all. However, there have been a couple of years when I only homeschooled one or two of them. 

What are their ages?
They are 13, 11, and 9

Why did you decide to homeschool?
We originally homeschooled our oldest son because he was still on a waiting list for a desired private school.  Today we homeschool all of our children because it is a lifestyle that suits us.

Did you try public/private school?
Yes. We have tried both.

What has been the hardest thing about homeschooling?
I think homeschooling can be isolating for the parent. There are times when it takes great effort to feel involved in the community when you are out of a ready made school or work community.

What has been the best thing about homeschooling?
The gift of time with my family and the opportunity to create lifelong friends.

Do you use a set curriculum?
I do not use a set curriculum.

What kind of curriculum do you use? 
I have tried a variety of curriculums over the years but have found that my children always seem to need just the opposite of what I think they need.

How did you decide on the curriculum?
I have learned to tell the kids that I would feel better if they learned x, y, and z within a certain year, and then together we decide what resources they do or don’t need to acquire this knowledge. If they humor me in learning certain pieces of information (for example the times tables), then I have no problem allowing them to pursue their own interests (say robotics).

What do you wish you had known when you first started homeschooling?
Not to take everything too seriously.  To trust my children more.

Are you a part of a homeschool support group or coop? Has it been useful for you?
Some years we have been more active than others.  This past year we simply hooked up with 5 other families in our area (about 45 minutes NW of SA) and together decided how to meet the various desires of the 15 children (ages 4-17) among us.  Examples of this would be a weekly Spanish class, an Odyssey of the Mind team, a weekly game day.  It has been nice to have this support system.

What would your advice be to someone considering homeschooling?
Read, read, and read.  Don’t be afraid to change plans mid-stream if something is not working.  Enjoy this time with your children.

What has been your experience in preparing/sending a homeschooler to college?
We are still fumbling through this with our oldest son (13).  He is currently trying to make some choices about taking dual-credit courses at a couple of nearby universities.  He has been given the opportunity to attend one university full time on a research grant, but feels he is still too young.  We are trying to buy him some more time at home to just be a teenager. 

Explain your family circumstances:
We are a family of five living in the Texas Hill Country. My husband has a chronic illness but at this particular point in time, he is still able to work. In order to afford the luxury of freedom our lifestyle allows, I run a small music studio out of our home. (Approximately. 30 students and a small jazz ensemble.)  I have returned to school part time on weekends, at O.L.L.U. to complete my BA in liberal arts. (I have had to complete my higher education piece-meal.)  I hope to start Texas Women’s online MA program in library science this next year.  I hope that by continuing my education while I am home with my children, I will be a little more marketable when they leave home. It would be nice to one day be a pay-check player again.

While all three boys have been identified as gifted at various times in their short traditional schooling journeys, they all have some specific special needs.  One of our sons has epilepsy, one has been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome, and one of them is dyslexic.  Being at home has given them the opportunity to not be the “epileptic, aspergers, or dyslexic” boys, but rather Austen, Colt and Brian.  We hope that during these years at home we can give them the skills they will need to develop lives for themselves that will accommodate their medical and learning needs.

Give a typical week of homeschooling for your family.
This, too, changes from season to season. This is the first time in 8 years that no one in our family played baseball.  It is also a small part of the year when we are not involved in Odyssey of the Mind.  Both of these activities can largely change our scheduling.  While I am always pretty insistent about math and reading, this particular week seemed heavier in math than some weeks.  Sometimes we emphasize science, sometimes writing, art, gardening, storytelling…..are we getting the picture here.  Okay.  Here goes.

The week of April 11-April 18

Monday:
8:30 We eat breakfast, make beds, put away laundry, etc.
9:00  Boys work on math. Brian (age 13) Saxon Alg.II, Colt (age 11) reading/illustrating Euclidean proofs,   Austen (age 9) Lifepac Unit 6 grade 3
10:00 nature walk, play catch, and drill multiplication tables with positive and negatives
10:30 boys play in river, build dam, chase water moccasins
12:00 We eat lunch on back deck, play cards and finish reading 21 Balloons  1:00  Boys play Mad Libs
 1:30 Brian reads Catcher in the Rye, Colt diagrams sentences, Austen practices the piano
2:00 Colt practices guitar, Brian and Austen work on building a tree-house
2:30 Colt holes up in his room to “invent things” (trying to make a robotic lawn-mower)
3:00 Boys help clean before after-school music lessons.  Austen starts dinner
3:30 Uncle Dave comes to tutor Brian in Alg. and Economics.  Brian’s friend comes over after school to work on computer program with Brian and Dave.  Mom teaches music lessons. Colt and Austen play with siblings of piano students.
5:30  Quick dinner before we take Colt and Brian to Scouts.  Austen works on a Lifepac Spelling assignment during older boys Scout meeting.  Austen reads a chapter of Science (Lifepac…he’s a Lifepac junkie).
8:00 Icecream with dad.  Boys help Dad build skirting around deck.
8:45 Showers, read History of U.S. (book 4) outloud.
9:00 Boys in bed, listening to audio-tapes or reading. Austen: Harry Potter, Colt: The Odyssey, Brian: Catcher in the Rye

Tuesday
7:00 eat breakfast. Drive to S.A.  Listen to audio-tape of The Alchemist in the car.
8:00  Grandma’s house. Colt works through a history workbook.  Read and discuss section on Hitler with Grandma.  Brian reads the last chapter of an Economics book and finishes Catcher in the Rye.  Colt and Brian both spend about an hour on math.  Austen and mom take his Language Arts and Math lifepacs and the book Ben and Me. We spend the morning at the neurologists office.
12:00 Lunch with grandma. Pick up a cousin and then back to Bandera. Another hour of listening to The Alchemist in the car.
1:30 Austen and his cousin spend the next several hours making “Super Penguin” comic books.  Brian and Colt rewrite a script for a movie they are making with neighborhood friends.
3:30 We go to a friend’s ranch.  Austen’s friend is building a weather station.  They check out the weather station and then play a game that this same friend made up.  After the game the boys go exploring for about an hour.
5:00 Colt and Austen have Taekwondo. Brian plays chess with his cousin.
6:30 Taekwondo for Brian.  Colt and Austen play chess until Dad picks them up.  They will help him fix dinner while Brian finishes his class.
8:00 Dinner and yard-work.
8:45 Showers and History of U.S.
9:30: bed with books or audio-tapes.

Wednesday:
 8:30 breakfast and an hour of cleaning
10:00 Everyone works on Math
10:45 Everyone practices instruments
11:30 lunch and we begin reading Emily’s Run Away Imagination
12:00 game day.  Boys play Scrabble and Clue with other families. Mom teaches violin
1:30 Spanish class
3:30 Boys play with neighborhood kids while mom teaches piano. Colt walks to his guitar lesson.
5:30 Brian works on programming, Colt continues with diagramming sentences, Austen works in Language Arts book
6:30 Everyone to church for Youth Group/dinner.
8:00 Showers and History of U.S.
8:45 Bed and books of choice (Brian: a JAVA book, Colt: Pokemon card book, Austen:book on horses)

Thursday:
7:00 breakfast and drive to S.A. (continue The Alchemist audio-tape)
8:00 Grandma’s house.  Austen sets himself up with all his LifePacs (Science, Math, L.A) at grandma’s kitchen table. Brian flops on her rug with a grammar book, programming book, and Algebra book.  Colt and I leave for Orthodontist. Colt plays Mancala and writes a letter to a cousin while he waits.
10:00 back to S.A.  We finish The Alchemist in the car.
11:00 Colt works at the library.  Austen and Brian check out some new books and then play at the playground until Colt is finished.
12:30 Boys practice instruments and then we have lunch
1:00 Mom teaches lessons. Boys work on their movie.
1:30 Colt and Austen have Scouts.  Brian works on a computer program. Mom continues with piano/violin lessons.
3:30 Boys have gymnastics
4:30 We throw dinner in the crock-pot and boys fix a sandwich.
5:00 Taekwondo for Colt and Austen.  Brian works on movie script and plays chess.
6:30 Taekwondo for Brian. Colt, and Austen work on comics and play chess.
8:00 Everyone eats dinner. More yard-work with dad.
9:00 Showers, History of U.S.
9:45 Bed and books of choice for Colt and Brian. Bed for Austen

Friday
8:30 breakfast, make beds, etc.
9:00  Boys work on tree-house and movie.
10:00 Austen goes to stables. Mom teaches piano. Colt and Brian work in math books.
11:00  One hour of cleaning…everyone. 
12:00 lunch, cards, read aloud
1:00 Colt back in room for inventions, Austen back to comic book, Brian back to programming
2:30 drive to S.A.  Discussion on various political systems throughout history, reasons we study wars, etc.
3:30 Uncle Dave’s house. Tutoring in Alg.II and Econ.for Brian.  Look through robotics stuff and play games for Colt and Austen.  Discuss strange herbs in recipes with Aunt Barbara.
4:30 Colt and Austen go to Grandma’s to garden and play. 
5:00 karate class for Brian
6:30 mom teaches violin lessons, Brian another karate class.
7:30 Dinner with grandma and grandpa.

Saturday:

Colt and Austen work with dad all day around the house, repairing cars and cleaning. They go to lots of garage sales.  They are garage sale junkies.

Brian spends all morning at karate.  Karate demo in afternoon, then finishes computer programming.

Mom teaches lessons and finishes laundry.

Everyone to Boys and Girls Club for Saturday night roller hockey.

Dinner.

Family camp-out in living room.

Sunday
8:00 Breakfast, showers
9:00 Church
12:00 Lunch
2:30 Brian to Uncle Dave’s for robotics and programming
6:30 Dinner and fishing.
8:00 Movie night.