Welcome!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by - we're glad you're here! It is our hope that this website can serve as a place for anyone to come at anytime to find information, support and encouragement.  Also a good laugh or two.  Please take some time to have a look around. At the top of the page you'll see tabs for the different pages of this site.  Our goal is to compile as much information in one spot so that you have one place you can visit to see what's going on in the homeschooling community.

Whether you live in the Cleveland area or not, whether you currently home school or merely have an interest in the subject, we hope you'll enjoy being here.

You can also subscribe to the site so that you know whenever there's a new post.  And please use the secure contact form if you have any questions or if there's anything you'd like to see added.  Otherwise, please feel free to leave comments. All we ask is that you show others the same courtesy that you would want in return.

Thanks again for stopping by and we hope to hear from you soon!

~ Dori

Homeschooling Part Three: How I Lost My Mind

One of the main curiosities people seem to have about homeschooling families is in the "how" of it.  What, exactly do we do all day?  How do we stay sane when we spend so much time together?

Certainly every family who home schools will have different answers to these questions.  With a new baby in our family, our schooling this last year has been somewhat sporadic.  But that's okay.  Because we've all been able to thoroughly enjoy welcoming this new life into our family and I believe that's been more important than things like multiplication tables.  I see how much the boys genuinely love their new baby brother and am proud of the lessons they are learning in patience and compassion.  Life lessons.  The kind of lessons that will serve them well later in life.



There is no right or wrong way to home school - only what is best for the individual learners that make up the homeschooling family.

A Day In Our Life

Many people have expressed curiosity about what my “typical” day looks like.  They say things like “I don’t know HOW you get it all done!”  First of all, I don’t get it all done.  Not even close.  Second of all,  I have a rather serious chocolate addiction that helps get me through the day. But if you really want the gory details,  then read on.

6:30am – wake up to sounds of baby babbling through monitor next to my head. Alternately listen to him and attempt to continue sleeping for next 45 minutes.

7:15am – realize that happy babbling has turned to strong whining.  Stumble quickly downstairs to kitchen to get coffee brewing before baby gets serious with cries of hunger.

7:20am – get baby up and nurse him while other children slowly emerge from the depths of sleep and begin immediately demanding breakfast.   Reassure children that they can wait another 15 minutes for breakfast and will not die.

7:45am – put baby in bouncy seat and get other kids breakfast.  Continue with emailing/blog reading/facebooking/bill paying, stopping periodically to smile and talk to baby who rewards me with sounds of happiness.

8:15am – get more coffee and get kids second round of breakfast. Put in load of laundry. Talk and smile more at baby.  Bask in what an attentive mother I am.

8:30am – yell at ask children politely to get dressed because school WILL be starting in half an hour!  Get dressed, pick up some random things that are annoying me, clean up breakfast mess in kitchen.

9:00am – put baby down for a nap and pray that he falls asleep on his own. Switch laundry, pick up more random things around house that are annoying me.  Tell first grader to get ready for his school work.

9:15am – get baby up after it becomes clear that he isn’t going to put himself to sleep.  Hold and rock him while looking at lesson plans and calendar for the day.

9:30am – tell first grader that now it really IS time for school.  Get third grader started on independent work and sit down to work one-on-one with first grader.  Preschooler plays nearby or sits and does his own “schoolwork”, “reading”,  etc…

10:30am – nurse baby while first grader reads aloud to me.  Next have third grader sit next to me and work on English.  Put baby on gym mat to kick and play happily.  Play math games.

11:30/12:00 – give third grader reading assignment and make lunch.  Have third grader answer reading questions.  Put baby down for another nap.  Sit on couch and eat my own lunch/check email/attempt some quiet time.

12:30pm – thank God that baby is sleeping, switch laundry around, fold clothes, pick up more random things around the house that are annoying me and clean up lunch mess in kitchen.  Finish up schoolwork with children.

2:00pm – grocery shopping/scout meeting/play date/art class/gym class/errand running/library/doctor appointment excursion. Otherwise, time for everyone to do their own thing.

2:30pm – return phone call from friend who left me a voice mail many days ago. She happens to be out and about and would love to stop by.

2:31pm – panic.  Then begin frantically scooping up piles of things strewn about and shoving them into nearby closet while simultaneously yelling at children to please pick up their toys!

2:45pm – have lovely visit with friend and her little boy despite embarrassment at state of my house.

3:30pm – put baby down for nap. Feel guilty about lack of time spent with four year old and attempt to  make it up to him.

4:00pm – more laundry/random housework. Begin thinking about dinner as children declare that they are “STARving.”

4:15pm – get interrupted by friend calling to discuss Cub Scouts.  Make mental note to check email to see what the heck she’s talking about.  Enjoy laughing with her anyway.

4:30pm – get baby up from nap, feed him and begin more seriously considering dinner options.

5:00pm – yell at politely ask children to unload dishwasher and feed dog. Big brothers then play with baby while I attempt dinner preparations.

6:00pm – dinner.  Baby begins demanding attention simply to keep me from ever having a hot meal.

6:30pm – dinner cleanup, reload dishwasher with dishes that have been piling up in sink all day.  More laundry. More random housework.

7:30pm – nurse baby and put him to bed for the night. Pray he goes to sleep.Yell at politely ask children to start getting ready for bed.  Try to remember the last time each of them was cleaned and either tell one of them to get in the shower or get a bath ready for the younger ones.

7:50pm – finish helping kids with jammies/teeth brushing/potty-going. Read story. Or put them to bed without a story because I’m tired and ready to be done for the day.  Feel immense guilt.

8:30pm – husband gets home. Curse his timing.  Spend time relaxing together on couch.  Tell him about my day.  News Hour is on in the background but I’m pretty sure he’s listening to every word of what I’m saying.  Realize he isn’t and go take a shower.

9:00pm – remember that oldest child is still up reading and go give him his tuck.  Collapse on couch and watch tv/do computer stuff/talk with husband.

10:30pm – retreat to bedroom, grabbing baby on the way. Nurse baby while reading, then put him back to bed.

11:00pm – head hits pillow.

For the record, I think I maintained this “schedule” for approximately three days before giving up relaxing about getting schoolwork done while having a newborn. Have you had days that looked like this one?  Please tell me I’m not alone.

~ Dori

Homeschooling Part 2: Why I Lost My Mind

I wrote a previous post about the "when" of our decision to home school, so you may want to read that (or at least skim - I'll never know) if you haven't.    In short, home schooling my children was NOT something I had ever envisioned doing.  I'm sorry, have my kids with me ALL THE TIME without completely losing my mind?  Is that even possible?!  But, here we are, a couple of years into things and I'm incredibly grateful that I kept my mind and heart open to the idea.

My standard answer when asked why I decided to home school is that there isn't just one big reason, but many small ones.  Depending on the reaction and the circumstances surrounding the conversation, I'll either leave it at that or elaborate further.

Homeschooling Part 1: When I Lost My Mind

Many people have expressed an interest in the whys and hows of our family's education choice ("why do we do it?" "how do we do it?" "how much of a drinking habit have I developed because of this choice?" etc...).  Homeschooling is a very broad subject, and one I hope to explore in great detail here at Cleveland Homeschooler. For now, I thought I'd get the ball rolling with a series of posts about the very beginning of my homeschool journey.

If you had asked me years ago if I would consider homeschooling my children I would have laughed. Hard. Really hard.  Why on earth would I do that when I could send them away for most of the day and make it someone else's problem to educate my children? Even before I had kids, I could see the merit in one day having them spend time in school. Peace! Quiet! "Me" time!  Then one day I found myself the mother of a school-age child and suddenly the decision wasn't so easy.  As with many aspects of motherhood, how I thought I'd do things and how I've actually ended up doing them has often been very different.