Homeschooler of the Week: Carrie

Posted by Nikowa Lee | 0 comments

This week’s Homeschooler of the Week honor goes to Carrie: the official Gremlin Wrangler!

So, Carrie, tell us a little about yourself.
I’m in my early thirties, been married for 11 years, have 4 gremlins, a dog posing as a hyena, and a cat posing as a jerk. I’m one of those creative people who can’t make up her mind what creative outlet to focus on the most, so most people think I’m really cool to have sooo much talent, but really it’s evidence of my schizophrenic mind. Currently my ADD is getting the better of me and I have so many creative tentacles out online just waiting for something to happen so I can quit my part time job and do something else for money and stay home all the time again.

I’ve been a Christian for a long time, but it didn’t really make sense to me until I was 19 and heavily involved in the occult. I went searching for God in all the wrong places, but He is faithful to seek out His own and eventually pulled me out of the pit I had fallen into. Nowadays, I’m lovin’ my thirties and have found it to be a swell time of finally being comfortable being my goofy self.

When and where do you blog? And for that matter why?
I blog at The Gremlin Wrangler, almost everyday. That’s almost. I just can’t contain the madness in my head and must get it out somewhere.

How long have you been homeschooling?
Since 2001. Roughly.

Tell us a little about those children of yours.
There are four of them all together; three boys and a girl.
Chaz is 10, and loves to debate every word that comes out of my mouth. I count that for school, since he’s following in the footsteps of Socrates. He’s also a budding filmmaker. He specializes in action figure actors.

Zoe is 8. She’s a creative genius. Complete with the mood swings that go along with being an arteest. She’s so much like me, it’s frightening.

Jack is 6 and probably the weirdest kid I’ve ever met. At any given moment you’ll find him dressed as a superhero and in the next moment hear him discussing what it would be like to pop someone’s eyeballs out.

Xavier is almost a year old and was a bit of a surprise. He’s probably the cutest baby you’ll ever meet. And maybe the happiest. God had mercy on me and finally gave me what I think might be the fabled “easy child” that every other family seems to have one of. We shall soon see.

I lovingly refer to my children as gremlins. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. But I’ve deemed myself The Gremlin Wrangler and find it a privilege to mold their gremlinhood into fine upstanding citizens of the world. You just can’t do that in public school, right?

Where do you do most of your homeschooling?
The floor, the couch, the table, the trampoline. We have a school room, but it’s mostly for the books. Although lately we’ve started using it since certain people can’t read with any noise going on. Poor baby. Someday he’ll understand my whole life.

Tell us about your typical day.
The gremlins whine a little, then they get their work done as fast as they can, while I spin around in a blur trying to be five people at once. If there’s anything typical about our day, it’s that we always, always get done by lunch time. I keep a very flexible schedule so that I’m never pressured to overwork everyone in order to catch up. I like my afternoons free and I feel the gremlins need that time to let some of that gremlin juice seep out for awhile without me judging them.

What is the hardest thing about homeschooling?
Dealing with bad attitudes. My gremlins have never particularly claimed to enjoy school, and before you start questioning my methods, you should know I’ve tried just about everything short of feeding them grapes and fanning them like royalty. They are all very strong willed, but I’ve found it’s the bookwork they protest. So we keep that short and then they have time for their creative pursuits. Which is also school, but not in their opinion.

And, of course, conversely, what do you love most about homeschooling?
That I can see some very strong strengths in them as far as future opportunities that I’m sure they wouldn’t be able to pursue properly in a different school setting. And I love seeing their gremliny faces everyday.

What is the strangest or funniest thing someone has said to you about homeschooling?
“You mean your kids are with you all day long? How can you stand it?”

Where do you usually buy your curriculum and other items?
I beg, borrow and steal. Just kidding. If I can find used items on Amazon, I’ll do that. Lately I’ve been frequenting Blue Thistle Books. They have a lot of really swell “living books.” We are a low income family, so there’s only one time a year (tax return time) that I can afford my books. Otherwise I use library materials and free resources from the internet.

And, ma’am, can you leave us with a little advice for new homeschoolers?
Don’t give up . By all outward accounts, well meaning people have thought it best that I get a break and put my gremlins into public school. But I have great faith, that my efforts will be worth it. I get very discouraged by the attitude issues, but every once in awhile I see a glimpse of greatness. And don’t compare your gremlins with other homeschooling gremlins! Simple learning is the best kind of learning and if you only get the basics done don’t beat yourself up!

Carrie can also be found sketching some amazing portraits at her etsy shop Wandering Ink Portraits.