Interview with a Homeschooler

Meet Aaron Snyder. Punk extraordinaire.

He is my nephew.

He is the apple of my eye.

He is 13.

He loves Starbucks.

Your prayers are welcomed.

I thought it might be fun to introduce him to you today, since I speak of him so much. We'll do an interview, to give you his perspective of homeschooling.

Good morning Aaron....let's tell the readers a bit about you.

When will you be 14?

December 19th.

What do you want for your birthday?

Wii Fit Plus, Wii Motion Plus, and the Lego Architectural Series, Frank Lloyd Wright 'Falling Waters'.

How long have you been homeschooled?

About a year and a half.

Who is your favorite teacher? :o)

Of course, Marmie. (Aaron calls me Marmie...it's from Little Women)

Please tell us a little about your public school experience.

Ok, hopefully Mrs. O'Neil doesn't read this.....well in third grade Mrs. O'Neil was a very rude teacher, not so much rude, just very strict. She had me so anxious that I began to pull my hair out. In 2nd grade I had a teacher named Mrs. Pyle that would call the kids losers and make fun of their parents. I liked my other teachers.

How did you do academically in public school?

I was slightly below average.

Why do you think you struggled so much in the public school system?

Between the pressure of getting everything done, and everyone talking, and all of the visual distractions and decorations I found it hard to concentrate.

Do you think you have ADD?

Yes.

Why?

I'm very easily distracted.

What has been your experience with homeschooling so far?

Very fun. I get to show up in my pj's sometimes! I like it because there is more one on one help. You get to read books, snuggle with cats, and I like it that I can spend more time outside.

How do you feel that you've been doing academically since you've begun homeschooling?

I feel like I am doing better, and the lowest grade I've gotten so far is a B+.

What subjects do you enjoy the most?

Gym, Art, & Science

What do you hate to do?

Math and some history.

Do you feel like your missing out on anything being homeschooled?

No, not really.

Elaborate.

I'm still in contact with my friends from school, so I don't miss them. I'm not into sports, so I don't miss that either. I have many friends at church, and I see them a couple times a week.

What don't you miss about public school?

Bullies, possibly getting shot, or being beaten to death by a two by four. The lunch food, I don't miss that. It looked like it could crawl off the tray!

Ok Aaron, I know we are close to Chicago, but do you REALLY think that violence could happen out here?

It is possible, one of the kids at school had to go to the hospital for internal bleeding because he was beat up.

Do you plan on homeschooling through Highschool?

Well, I would like to, depending on Marmie's state of mind.

Hardy har har har.

Do you know what direction you'd like to go in after school is over?

Well, it's between doing hair or architecture.

What are your interests?

I like nature, gymnastics, photography, cooking, and designing houses.

Speaking of cooking and photography, let's show the readers a few of your photos, shall we?

Aaron cooked dinner last night. We received our copy of 'The Pioneer Woman Cooks' from Amazon.com, and Aaron plans on cooking every recipe in the book (except the clammy crap), and reviewing here on the blog (except the clam crap). It's a lovely cookbook. We'll be having her sign our book on November 19th when she's in the area for her book signing.

Last night, he made her "Comfort Meatballs with Creamy Mashed Potatoes, and a Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce." Oh, yum. It was so nice to have him cooking in the kitchen while I was resting my uterus.

We give all of those recipes a thumbs up! You can find them on her website www.thepioneerwoman.com.

Here's Aaron in action:

We weren't able to get an 'after' shot of the food. Blasted time change. It was too dark in the kitchen at 5:30, and we gobbled it up so fast there wasn't time to take a pic!

Here are a few of the pictures Aaron has taken. He really likes photography, and I think he's pretty stinking good at it.

As always, thanks for stopping by our little corner of the world.

It's time for Math now. :-)