Calling all Bloggers

[flowerbud]

I am considering starting a blog about our homeschooling experiences. My thought is that this will be a good way for me to end the day and process my experience, track and record the progress we have made, allow family check in (perhaps my hope is they can see for themselves the richness of ds's education without having to quiz me...or him).

I am new to blogging and was wondering:
Why do you blog?
What are your favorite blog sites and why?
How do you choose a site to start your blog?
Anything else a beginning blogger should know?

Thanks!

[LeftField]

I recently started blogging again after a hiatus of years. The old blog was just my sounding board for myself, with mostly stuff about my kids on there. The new blog is my official homeschooling blog. I'm doing it for reasons you describe, to be able to record what we've learned during the day and to be able to process those things. I'm a rather, uhm, wordy person, so the blog seemed important for kid things that seemed impt to me, but not things I might post on a list or email to someone. I post everything from "ds just asked me the funniest question" to details of day trips. It's been very relaxing for me and I've also been impressed by all the learning that's apparently going on in our house.

Oh, I use livejournal and I like it so far, but I don't know enough to compare. I used blogger in the past.

[Sasha_girl]

I started blogging as a way to record our homeschooling journey. You know how some people like to scrapbook? I guess blogging is my kind of scrapbook. It's amazing how many days there are that I feel like we've accomplished nothing and then when I sit down to blog I realize that we did so much that day! The kids are learning so much right under my nose, so blogging has given me a chance to kind of look at that better.

I chose xanga because, on the recent thread calling for blog addresses, it seemed like the majority were using xanga. I liked the idea of being able to subscribe to other people's blogs and read their entries after updating my own.

[RiceMomma]

I have a blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Manicmondaymomma/

It's fun for me. I use it to chronicle our adventures. Most of it probably isn't very interesting to anyone but me and close freinds and family.

[thrrrnbush]

I don't keep a "homeschool" blog, though I sometimes discuss homeschool in my blog. I have the somewhat strange standard of writing in my blog, for the whole world to see, those things that are so private I can't comfortably say them out loud; my dreams, my insecurities, my personal growth and rants. I also post silly personality quizzes and random observations when I can't get back to sleep after a dependent has woken me up. I don't polish it, I only censor what I think would hurt people other than myself if made public. It's very therapeutic but will probably prevent me from ever running for public office. It's like writing my innermost thoughts in a diary and then leaving copies at every bus stop in every major metropolitan area. I write like no one will read it and then I allow every one the option of doing so. I'm writing the exact same stuff at two different sites (LiveJournal and MySpace). I enjoy the LJ more as a whole, but I love the funky up and coming bands on MySpace so I haven't given up either. Well, again warning that it's unedited and uninteresting here are the links so you can check out the features of the two sites if you so choose-

My MySpace
My LJ

Thanks,
Crystal

Those should both work now, thanks.

[lilyka]

I blog for reasons I can't identify. well one is my ticked off rants. Someone reads it regularly but I have no idea who. That one is at Mysp[ace and i don't like that sight so much but don't want to move it now because I am watching a couple of people and it is just easier that way.

my fun mommy/homeschool blog as at www.xanga.com (if you want to read mine type /teenybopperwithin after the .com) and I love thier stuff. it is easy to use, free, has lots of cool editing tools, blog tools, and if you use photo hosting (www.photobucket.com) you can easily add as many pictures as you want for free. Anyway it is just s great way for me to process my day etc. Only 2 people in real life read it. the rest are internet friends. And I don't care what people on line think of me. It has also led me to some really intresting blogs.

[UlrikeDG]

Crystal, your LJ link isn't working. Is LJ freaking out, or is there a typo in there somewhere?

[riversprite_ca]

I have a livejournal too, but it's not a homeschool only blog. I write about anything, as well as do silly little questionairre things.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/riversprite_ca/

I do, however, keep a Word file that I write in what we generally do in a week, homelearning-wise. (this is mainly for dh to be able to share what we are doing, and just in case my province catches up with me, I'd like to have something to show a "record" of what we are doing.

[flowerbud]

Thank you

I am starting my blog...it feels a little strange to post our lives for all the world to see. Is this just me? Do people really read these?

Thanks so much for all the info and for sharing your blogs!

[lilyka]

I am stunned by how many people read mine. but only one person IRL and my husband read mine that I know. The rest are people from messege boards. how is it any different than this?

Also if you are doing one just for your homeschooling adventure it is a great way to share updates and pictures with family.

[atypicalandrea]

Yep, we do. Where's your blog, flowerbud?

[flowerbud]

My blog

is.....
www.xanga.com/Mom2SandS

Thanks again for sharing your ideas. Oh, also ricemama - I used one of your lines...'the world is our classroom - life is our curriculum' I LOVE THIS! ~Hope using it is okay.

[RiceMomma]

Go for it, Flowerbud!

I wish more people felt the same about education.

[flowerbud]

Thanks Ricemomma.

I've done 3 posts on my blog and now I am really checking out the site. I feel like I am ages behind in understanding all the language. What is a blogring and how does it work? What is the difference between signing a guestbook and subscribing?

[mommaduck]

I have several blogs going. Two are kinda hanging by a thread (at xanga). Another is for women of my faith that I switched from blogspot to xanga because of spam. And then there is the homeschool one at homeschoolblogger (southernpuritan).