Homeschool Sports

Please welcome Mary Nunaley! She will bring her knowledge of sports and homeschooling to Homeschool 101. I'm excited to have her on board! Mary would like us to know a little about herself and her family in this first post.

I'm excited to be writing a monthly blog post for Homeschooling 101. I thought I'd start today off with a little bit about myself and my family and then over the coming months, I'll be focusing on homeschooling a high school age student who also is interested in playing college sports. Of course, I'll also be weaving in tidbits from our homeschooling day since the two go hand in hand.

I'm Mary Nunaley and I've been homeschooling for 14 years. Our homeschooling adventure began when my now 22 year old daughter came home from drama camp and made the announcement that she wanted to homeschool. I was pretty surprised and we agreed to do a trial run over the summer to see if we could actually survive each other. It worked and she graduated as a homeschooled high schooler 4 years ago. She's currently in cosmetology school and following her passion. After homeschooling her, the idea of "regular" school never even crossed my mind for my son, Amadeus.

Homeschooling the kids has always been a bit of a juggling act as I'm also a single parent and have been since my son was tiny. Luckily, in the early years I had the help of a supportive dad and sister and a wonderful loving babysitter who treated my kids as her own. As they grew older, I changed jobs from working in the Hotel Business to teaching at a community college so I would have more time and flexibility to be with them. It all has worked out well.

Our homeschooling style has always been pretty eclectic, at least until high school age - then it's gotten a little more serious as I've had to look at academic requirements, especially for my son who wants to play college tennis. My first piece of advise for anyone who has a homeschooled student considering playing college sports is to check the NCAA website for the academic course requirements. You don't want to miss anything.

A typical day in the life at our house has Amadeus working on his coursework when he wakes up around 10 a.m.- this year he's working on AP World History, World Literature, Biology, Geometry (plus finishing up some algebra). He practices tennis during the fall/winter 2-3 hours a day- when I get home from work and we make the nearly 90 minute drive to where he trains. Weekends are typically spent listening to podcasts or audio books as we travel around the south to a variety of tournaments. My daughter pitches in quite a bit when she's not a work or school and our 5 cats have a way of keeping us on our toes!

I'll be posting more next month about traveling with a junior athelete and how we incorporate educational sidetrips into tennis weekends and I'll also start looking at some of the requirements for playing college sports. If you're interested in following our tennis adventures, feel free to check out our blog.

Socialization

Welcome to our first Wednesday. Wednesdays are set aside for articles and general topics that will help you along in your homeschooling journey. This week, our topic is socialization!

For new homeschoolers this is an important question, and a favorite of veteran homeschoolers. Before answering the question, however, ask yourself this question: How do we define socialization for our children? Do you believe your children function just fine with their peers? Do you believe children should be able to function in a broader form? Who do you want your child socialized with? Many children are socialized on a daily basis with people their own age - their peers. Are they reaching their full potential by only socializing with people in their own age group?


The misconception that homeschoolers are social misfits still exists today, unfortunately. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Homeschoolers usually look at socialization as a vertical platform. That is, they are able to socialize with everyone from infants to adults.


Definition: Socialization: to interact with others, to prepare for life in society, to be on friendly terms with someone (refdesk.com)


Many children are mainly socialized with their peers (the horizontal method) often become dependent on their peers for their values, dress code, language, behavior, and sense of self worth.


On the other hand, children who are socialized vertically have opportunities and skills they need to function in real life situations. They learn to be comfortable around their family, their peers, adults and younger children alike.


From National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI)

• The home-educated are doing well, typically above average, on measures of social, emotional, and psychological development. Research measures include peer interaction, self-concept, leadership skills, family cohesion, participation in community service, and self-esteem.

• Homeschool students are regularly engaged in social and educational activities outside their homes and with people other than their nuclear-family members. They are commonly involved in activities such as field trips, scouting, 4-H, political drives, church ministry, sports teams, and community volunteer work.

Ideas for ways to socialize your homeschooled children:

• Scout groups


• Church youth group


• Music lessons


• Local theater


• 4H


• Junior Achievement


• TeenPact


• Generation Joshua


• Homeschool groups


• book clubs


• writing clubs


• volunteer work

The opportunities are limitless!

For you new homeschoolers, remember: socialization is NOT as issue for your students. They just have more options - options that you, as the parent and directional advisor of your children, have control of.

A Day in the Life...

A Day in the Life... is a regular Tuesday column on Homeschool 101! Each week, we'll feature a new homeschooler and how they do it. We figure with 2 million plus homeschool families out there, we should have NO shortage of great families to feature here.

Everyone has something special about their homeschool and the way they do things. And we, as homeschoolers, have an insatiable curiousity about others who choose this way of life. (And let's face it... it IS a way of life and not just something that we do).

For this first edition, I thought I would start with my own family. I hope you enjoy!

Answers are in red


What state do you live in? Georgia - but mostly the state of Constant Chaos!

How long have you homeschooled? We have homeschooled for ten years.

How many children do have? We have five children (three shown). Two have graduated and are out living their own lives now. What are their ages? 3 (almost 4), 15, 15, 20, and 21.

Do you have special needs children? No, although sometimes Mom has special needs!

What is a typical schedule for you?

We try to get up about 7am and start school work by 8am. I am very schedule oriented so we try to stick to the schedule as much as possible. Like most homeschoolers, we have very full schedules with outside activities and with the two older girls being in high school, it's important not to let anything fall behind.

We try to finish around 2 or 3pm with our school work. Then, they are required to read a book I've chosen for the month for at least thirty minutes. This way, they get in the classics that I think are so important. After that, they can read for pleasure. I have one daughter who loves to read and one who could do without it - so the pleasure reading for her is not really a pleasure, but I still allow her (make her) choose a book of her own choice. :)

See Donna Young's Chore Calendar. It has really helped us stay organized. We adjusted it to fit our family.

Does it always work like this? NO! I've had to learn to be flexible sometimes.

How do handle teaching older kids with toddlers underfoot? I have some educational preschool software programs that I run on the computer for the three year old. She can do these while I sit with the older girls during their more difficult subjects. Sometimes I will do seat work with her to work on her letters and numbers. I have no problem using technology to help teach my kids. Technology is not going away, so why not use it.



How do you handle the high school subjects? I learn right along with my children. I often teach Homeschool 101 sessions to new homeschoolers and I always tell them you only have to be a day ahead of your child. Also, network! This is important for new homeschoolers and veterans alike. There is always another homeschool mom or dad out there who is better at and willing to help teach your children the more difficult subjects.

Or – do you plan to homeschool through high school? Why or why not? Yes! I have graduated two already and one is in the Air Force. Seeing the state of our school systems, there is no way I would put my children in public, or even private, school.

(Zach and his daughter, Faith)

What curriculum do you use and why? We use a mix of things. The Internet is a terrific resource for everything! We use some Bob Jones, Alpha Omega, and for our high school subjects we use Prentice Hall, McDougal Littel and Glencoe. In the past we've used Tapestry of Grace, which I loved. It is history based and you teach more than one grade level at the same time. Very easy for those teaching multiple levels!

Are you involved with a homeschool group? Why or why not? Yes. I am President and Founder of the South Georgia Homeschool Association. To me, it's important not only for the kids' sake to be involved with a group, but for the moms' sake, as well. The mom's need as much support and networking opportunities as the children need socialization opportunities. I highly encourage getting involved with a group - or start your own!

What outside activities are you involved in? We've been in Girl Scouts for several years. I've had one daughter play violin, one volunteer at a local equine rescue barn, and another in ballet. Now, we're very much involved in our local children's theater.

(This was taken at the Juliette Low House in Savannah, Georgia. She is the Founder of Girl Scouts and Savannah is where she grew up!)

Any special comments? I believe that homeschooling is a lifestyle - not something you do. As homeschoolers, you live the life every day, every second. You incorporate life as your classroom. Everything you see around you is a great resource for learning.

I am considering a Homeschool 101 monthly or quarterly session for new homeschoolers. I'll keep you posted if this comes to light!