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Off the Deb End

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Off The Deb End

HELLO THERE!
by debbie harbeson

Hello everyone. This is the first of what I hope to be a series of articles written by me, Debbie Harbeson. (My name is where the title comes from. I have been dying to use that ever since I thought of it.) I am a homeschooling mom living in Southern Indiana. Some of you know me as one of the moderators of the IndianaHomeschoolers E-mail List. I have a daughter who is 18 and a son who is 17. We have been homeschooling for eleven years.

This will be mostly a column about my opinions, thoughts, and observations. It generally won't be about specific resources. This first article is an introduction of my plans for this space.

Let me make it perfectly clear that I do not do this because I think I have everything figured out and am some sort of "expert" Indiana homeschoolers should listen to. However, I am an "expert" when it comes to my own family and perhaps some of my experiences and lessons learned will be helpful to other homeschoolers.

My goal is that this column will be motivating, inspiring and affirming to other homeschoolers. Deciding to homeschool has been one of the best decisions of my life. I have no regrets. I want to remind other homeschoolers that they have made a good decision because I have found the need to hear that myself once in a while. Also, for families considering homeschooling, I want to show them that they can do it, it works, and it can be a very enjoyable experience.

Those knowledgeable about various homeschooling philosophies will understand what I mean when I say our family has basically followed the unschooling philosophy. I imagine it will strongly color what I choose to write about and how it comes out. I have found that even if you don't totally agree with that philosophy, it does include a lot of helpful information and strategies that can help anyone trying to homeschool.

My first article is over and I fear I haven't written anything very interesting yet. So I will get busy on next month's column and dream of it being so wonderful you end up giving it a place on your refrigerator -- right in between the drawing from your three-year-old, the soccer schedule for your nine-year-old and the expired pizza coupons.