FIMBY Homeschooling Video
Here it is folks, the video from our homeschooling presentation we did in our community a couple weeks ago. Damien taped my talk, made this video and was the technical genius behind posting this. I love having a computer-geek husband, thanks dear.
I'm slightly embarrassed to share this here. Unless you know me in person, a few of you do, you only see me in static portraits and carefully chosen glimpses of my home and family life. Watching this will give you a small piece of the bigger picture of who I really am.
A short haired, red cheeked (it was so warm in that room) woman who speaks with her hands, rolls her eyes up when thinking and liberally peppers her speech with "so" and "um", which sounds so unprofessional. Oh well, I never claimed to be a pro - at anything.
Watching yourself give a talk is an eye opening experience. If I start doing this more I may have to give some thought to my little quirks and hand waving habit. I must be part Italian or something, don't they talk a lot with their hands?
So here's the disclaimers: I am not a professional speech giver. I'm a mom, homeschooling my creative kiddos, enjoying it immensely (most days) and wanting to share that information with others who are interested.
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A relaxed approach to Homeschooling the Early Years
from FIMBY on Mon, 2009-10-05 19:01Months ago a reader asked:
I am curious as to what your reading lessons entail for your 6 and 8 yr old. I am (a) homeschooling mom, leaning toward unschooling, but with a partner who truly believes in structure, especially for reading and math. We are lo
Renee, I just watched your
Renee, I just watched your entire video (except I skipped a little through the legal stuff since I don't live in Maine)! You did a great job. I loved it. You caught me at a good time because I'm starting to do research on homeschooling. I want to make a very informed decision. I really like your philosophy, and I appreciate all the information you gave. It's so helpful. I also like what you said about socialization, which, of course, is a big concern, and I think it'll be the biggest concern from some of my family members when I tell them we're thinking of homeschooling.
Also, I think you're a good speaker. Very engaging. The "ums" and hand motions did not bother me at all.
Thank you for taking the time to do this and for having the courage to post it here! Maybe you've already done this, but I'd love to see a list of some of the titles of the books and other resources you use that you mentioned in the video.
Shelli, I'm so glad you
Shelli,
I'm so glad you enjoyed the video and that it provided some usual information and that I didn't look too silly waving my hands around. It's nice to get positive feedback. If you had said I sounded ridiculous I could of always deleted your comment, LOL.
Anyway, along the top header of my blog you'll see a Homeschool menu. If you click on Homeschool it will take you to my homeschooling page. Along the sidebar I have a list of resources, with links to all the materials we use with our children.
I recommend you check out Home Education magazine's free Introduction to Homeschooling booklet.
Let me know if you need anything else.
I like how you spoke about
I like how you spoke about homeschooling being a continuation of how they learned when they were little...such a great perspective! And I bet you still get just as excited for them to learn new things as you did when they were learning how to walk and other stuff!
I really am thinking about homeschooling...probably just because I love hanging out and connecting with my kid so much I couldn't imagine sending him off for hours at a time!
You did such a great job! How cool that you were able to share one of your passions with your community!
Renee you are confident,
Renee you are confident, beautiful and very informed. I hope this reaches many people who are considering this same lifestyle. :)
I loved your video
I loved your video presentation; watched/listened to it while making supper last night. (Sorry, you know how difficult it is for me to sit down and watch anything...:) I was so proud and impressed that this animated and confident speaker was my daughter and also inspired and motivated by your always-a-student attitude. I totally understand about wanting to learn when it's something you're interested in - at any age.
I'm SOLD! Now I just need to
I'm SOLD! Now I just need to work on the whole kid thing ;o)
p.s. In all seriousness, I think chicks with shaved heads are H-O-T!
p.s.s. I'm not trying to hit on you, I'm just sayin' ;o)
(blushing) gee thanks, my
(blushing) gee thanks, my husband thinks so too!
Oh and I'm glad you're sold on homeschooling, I was before we even had our babies. And I looked at everything I did with them (hikes, reading, crafts) from the time they were toddlers as part of their education. Their official homeschooling years are just a continuation of that interest driven learning.
I watched this a day or so
I watched this a day or so ago but didn't have time to comment right then but let me just say I thought you did a FANTASTIC job. Wow, you really should do more public speaking. You were friendly, in charge, had such great things to say...well done!! Heck, you wanted me to run off and hs right then, lol.
Renee, That was excellent! I
Renee, That was excellent! I was actually supposed to attend your talk but was sick. A friend happened to direct me to your site by chance. It's wonderful to hear about your family's journey with homeschooling so far. Thanks also for sharing your resources!
I can totally relate to you
I can totally relate to you about public speaking. I'm starting to learn more about it myself through the "try, try again" method ;0) You did a good job! I'm told that speaking as if you are confident is a large part of the so-called success or failure of a speech, so your big smiles and honesty and confident voice did wonders to cover up the "ums" and "sos".
Anyway, you covered a lot of ground in your video, that was amazing! Nemo is only 2 and I'm already looking forward to "unschooling" him. Well... I guess I already am! I'm certainly going to be telling my friends, who are hoping to homeschool. about this video!
Thanks Naomi!
Thanks Naomi!
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[...] For a more indepth discussion of how homeschooling the early years is natural, affordable and fun I recommend you watch my homeschooling video. [...]
Thank you so much for doing
Thank you so much for doing this! I love how natural and organic you are how beautiful your face glows when you talking about learning and teaching with your family! Thank you so much for doing this and I pray that it will bring many blessings upon your family for your efforts. THANK YOU for using your hands and saying, "um" and "so"! If you weren't real, it would have been terrible to watch, but you made it fun and engaging, as if I was sitting there. I also loved how you showed your kindness. You can tell you have such a kind heart and you are very SMART! :) I just wanted to encourage you! Thanks again for your time and help for all of us just getting started!
Coffee Addict, You're
Coffee Addict, You're welcome! I'm really glad it was helpful for you. And thank you for your kind encouragement. Watching yourself on video can be very uncomfortable - "do I really sound like that?"
thank you so much!! i enjoyed
thank you so much!! i enjoyed this video so much and stayed up waaay past midnight to finish it! i homeschool and this not only gives me more encouragement to follow through with our our chosen path (i tend to follow the Charlotte Mason style of teaching) but it also gives me the words. i have a hard time conveying my feelings and convictions to people who question how we educate our children. i lack the confidence. and you...well you just put it so sweetly- yet backed with so much info.
i found your blog through steadymom. i also enjoyed your post about new year's goals. i'm right there with you on the lack of holiday craftiness and whatnot. i have the my projects still sitting next to my sewing machine. oh, maybe next year, right?
:) thanks again,
a reader from california...
Renee, I came across your
Renee,
I came across your blog from Steady Mom... what a treat! This video was so beautifully inspiring. My oldest is of the age to start Kindergarten next year and this came at a perfect time. Thank you so much for sharing with the world!
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