Tell us a little bit about your family dynamics: Something that makes our family unique is that my husband was born and raised in Iraq. In 2002, when the Iraq Invasion was fought (after the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001) the United States Army was looking for translators from Iraq who spoke both English and Arabic. My husband was bilingual in these languages and enlisted in the Army. The military has a policy that if a foreigner works with them for two years, they can become US citizens. After serving for about 8 years in the military, Abbas immigrated to the United States. He became a US citizen in 2011.
How long have you been homeschooling? What was one of the main reasons you chose to homeschool? We have been homeschooling since our oldest started kindergarten. My husband was the one interested in homeschooling. I was skeptical at first, but I learned all I could about it before my son started kindergarten and decided to try it for one year to see how it would go. I fell in love with homeschooling because of the extra time with my kids, flexibility in our schedule, and learning together as a family.
In what activities does your family participate? My son has been involved with Trail Life since kindergarten. My daughter has tried several extra-curricular activities, including gymnastics, cheerleading and currently horseback riding. We are also involved with the Community Homeschoolers Co-Op in Morgantown. It’s a drop-off co-op where students learn art, music, science, and physical education.
What have been your most helpful resources? CHAP weekly newsletters, the annual CHAP Convention, and Homeschoolers of Lancaster County Facebook page.
What educational philosophy/curriculum do you follow? Sonlight Curriculum
What has been one of the highlights for you in homeschooling your children? In learning with them, I get to see the “lightbulb” go on when they learn something new.
What was your favorite field trip(s)? We loved going to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
What was one of the funniest things to happen during a homeschool day? During English class with my daughter (a 1st grader), I was teaching her how to make a story longer. Sonlight Curriculum had “Pat built a house. The house collapsed.” How can we make this story longer? Grace responded by saying, “Cement.” I burst out laughing at how clever she is! I then told her, not materials; to make the story longer, we need more details.
What have you found to be a challenge in homeschooling? Any tips in dealing with that challenge? Finding out my children’s learning styles. One is a visual learner, and the other is a tactile learner. I have to be flexible to teach them according to how they learn. My only tip is to get to know your kids. As homeschooling parents, we get to spend more time with our kids. Find out what their interests are: their personality, their love language, learning style, etc.
What advice would you give to someone who has just begun homeschooling? Try it for a year and see if homeschooling is a good fit for your kids, the parents, and the family as a unit. At the end of the year, you can evaluate whether or not you want to homeschool another year.
