Practical Homeschooling

I have many wonderful ideas and beliefs about homeschooling gained through our 17 years of having "school at home." I'm not always good at getting my thoughts together so I thought I'd start sharing a tiny snippet of our days for those who are curious or are struggling to figure out what homeschooling really looks like.

Each year we sell an area coupon book as a fundraiser for our homeschool. I use it as a learning tool for my kids. They get half of the profit for each book they sell. Before we began today I sat down with M and S and talked them through their presentation and the qualities of a good salesperson. Making eye contact. Speaking slowly. Knowing your product. Carrying yourself with confidence. Then they practiced. Giggle, giggle. Then they practiced some more.

We were ready for our neighborhood! It was stifling hot outside but we trudged around the neighborhood for an hour and a half. They got tired. Frustrated. Irritated when I gave them pointers. They only sold four books but the lessons learned were priceless. All of our kids, but especially our RAD kids who often have trouble communicating effectively, can use these lessons. It wasn't particularly fun or on their list of favorite activities, but I use this as incentive to earn some money and take charge of their words. To me, that is learning at its finest.

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