Beth from Ozark Ramblings on Homeschoolers at Home on Tuesdays

Meet Beth of Ozark Ramblings. She’s dropping in today to tell us all about her homeschool and how she keeps her home together.

Kemi: Welcome Beth can you tell us a little bit about your children’s ages and grades?

Beth: I have an only son who just turned 12. If he were in public school, he’d be in sixth grade.
Kemi: Beth can you tell us what homeschooling method do you use?

Beth: I just got hired to work part time at our local library (a homeschooling mom’s dream job). (so true)

Kemi: Beth what does a typical homeschool day at your home look like?

Beth: I’d say we’re close to the traditional method with one subject following another and using textbooks as spines for our studies.  The textbooks are geared towards homeschoolers so they have Charlotte Mason leanings (with ample opportunities for my son to dictate what he’s learned).  I also log the hours he spends on merit badge work for school which is more “delight-directed.”

Kemi: We love to see where homeschooling happens. Can you give us a peek into your homeschool room?

Beth: Our large basement holds the title “school room” but we truly do school all over the house—kitchen, dining room table, snuggled in bed.  Our favorite place when the weather permits is the patio under our deck with the porch swing. Our Homeschool Room
Kemi: So you know that Homemaking Organized is all about homemaking or the details of home. We love to find out how others keep their homes. Can you tell us about your own homekeeping and how you manage to fit it in with homeschool?

Beth: Since I’ve started working, I’ve been struggling to make this work into my schedule.  If one of you were to knock on my door unannounced I’d probably run out the back door and come around to the front, announce that we were enjoying the backyard and invite you to sit on the porch swing.  My family suffers from what I refer to as “horizontal surface syndrome.”  If it’s flat, it probably has something stacked on it.

In the past when I was truly inspired to be tidier and more organized I found the Sidetracked Home Executives method worked best for me—writing chores on index cards and filing them by day, week and month according to how often they needed to be done.

Right now I’m truly feeling the need for my son to get some Home Ec. Training so he can help me out.

Kemi: Do you have any crafts or hobbies that you would like to share?

Beth: Would you call studying herbal remedies a hobby?  I’m taking an online course through Vintage Remedies that I’m finding absolutely fascinating.  I’m re-planning the vegetable garden to include herbs this year.   I’m a bibliophile and love to scour used book stores and sales for old treasures.  I’ve blogged about many of them in a series I call Rescued Books.  (amazing resource, if you’ve got reluctant readers check it out.)

Beth: I’ve been married to my husband for 13 years and our only son is 12.  We moved back to my home state of Missouri in 2008 when I began home schooling. Our rural home allows us to pick wild blackberries, watch for foxes in the woods, and study the stars at night.

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