(tug don't read this post)
Yesterday while the girls were in gymnastics I was playing bball with {j}, {s} was in the stoller nearby. There is another mom there who has kids in gymnastics and a daughter who is about 5 that was out playing with us. {s} had a little ball that someone wanted to use so I was going over to get it from her when
girl: You can't take it from the baby, she will get sad!
me: Oh, that is ok. We will just give her something else. ::take the ball:: See, now she is happy again ::hand her water bottle:: She is used to it. She has things taken from her all day.
other mom: You are a homeschooler aren't you?
WHAT? I have never spoken to this woman about school (though I have spoken to her maybe 2 other times) and she doesn't really interact with my school aged kids since they are in gymnastics (and the girls haven't told her kids that we homeschool, I checked). Why would she ask me that?? I then said
me: Why? Am I awkward and antisocial?
other mom: ::laughs:: No, I just had a lot of friends in TX who homeschooled.
I don't know what to think of this and it is honestly troubling me. Yes, I am being superficial and silly but I never saw myself as the (wrongly) stereotypical homeschooler. Tug is getting annoyed asking if I would rather be identified as ::insert strong words here::. Then, to top it off, the girls said in judo the other night a girl asked if they were homeschooled. Do we have signs on our foreheads? These are both activities done at night, not during school hours. I know it is silly that it is bothering me, but it is.
What do you think?
15 people are laughing with me:
It was only a matter of time...
totally kidding homeschooling friends of regina. :) carry on being good mothers while i dump my children off at public school.
I would definitely take it as a compliment. We get the question in the store, at the Puyallup Fair, etc. Once when I asked how they knew, the questioner responded, "I could tell by how you and your children relate to each other." Another time, it was based purely on family size.
I know I'm biased but I believe that homeschooled children appear to be better adjusted (don't know for sure that they are, but that's how it looks). I know there are a ton of well-adjusted school kids out there, but by-and-large homeschooled kids get along with their siblings and others better. They aren't as competitive.
I have had that happen to me too. I was at the bread store, not during school hours and the clerk asked if they were homeschooled. I said yes, feeling a little odd, and then she said, I could tell because of how well behaved they are.
LOL
So, I would take it as a compliment. I know that I am not too big on labels either, but I wouldn't think of it as a bad one at all. You were being an example of diplomacy and teaching your children that the world does not revolve around them... shocking as it may seem... :) She was probably impressed with your logic and how you handled the situation. I know I am!
It's a compliment - accept it as one!!
but the thing is she wasnt around the homeschooled kids. that is why i am so confused and bothered. it was a reflection of me. what about me says homeschool mom? i know, brain wise, that it is a compliment. but ego wise i am struggling. superficial...idiotic i admit it, but still
r
Were you wearing a denim jumper? j/k.
I'm sure it was just because you took the time to explain to the little girl AND the fact that your little one is used to having her siblings around all the time to take things from her!
Be proud to be easily identified as a homeschooler! It shows we're doing something right. I'm sure you're a good witness without even trying.
i think you're a dumb-dumb ;)
honestly, some people [imho] see many kids and see how well behaved they are and just assume/know. I would not have taken that as an insult at all.
Oh that is a good point, could you have hinted to it when you said that she is used to it?
I think it was mainly your logical brain that helped her deduce your ability to successfully homeschool your sweet and good natured children. How could anyone NOT know?
I vote for the denim jumper giveaway!
Actually, there's something...odd..about homeschoolers. They stick out like sore thumbs.
Obviously Tug was not homeschooled because he is ignoring directions and reading this post.
Would you rather be associated as another type of mom?
Perhaps;
Are you a welfare mom?
Are you the type of mom with weak faith that believes the government is better prepared to educate your kids?
Are you a soccer mom?
Are you the type of mom who puts kids in daycare to pursue a career in order to feel like a valid human being?
You should be proud that your main focus is raising children who learn about their faith alongside school subjects. You should have responded with an emphatic, "YES WE HOMESCHOOL!"
Get over it, and go make my children some clothes!!
Tug
I am so laughing over the picture in my mind of Regina in a "denim jumper"!!!
I'm guessing that it is your awkward and antisocial personality. Did you ask her if she wanted to meet at McDondald's for lunch sometime?
Uh, DEFINITELY your denim JUMPER! Or, maybe it is just that you ARE a homeschooler and it seems to eeeek out of our skin!
As I am not a homeschooler and I have no kids I think you should take it as a compliment. If by some miracle of God; I don't end up as the old lady with 30 cats (as my lovely sis is prone to tell me), I get married and have kids I would want to home school or send them to Catholic school. So stop stressing about it and just accept it (demim jumper and all :))
I know whatcha mean exactly. I'd take it as a compliment and an opportunity to show the world how wonderful homeschoolers can be (it's not for everyone) but I'd still be a little weirded out.
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