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March 24, 2008

For local woman, lessons are learned and taught at home

By ROBIN CAUDELL

PLATTSBURGH -- Home is more than where the heart is for Glenna Whittemore.

She and her husband, Joe, homeschool their children, DJ and Meghan. She also sews her daughter's clothing.

Glenna taught herself how to crochet and likes to make afghans. She also baby-sits for extra money, and she enjoys baking cookies, cakes and cupcakes with her children.

"It's a great learning experience," the Plattsburgh mom said. "We incorporate meals into schooltime. When we go to the grocery store, we make it a field trip. They plan a whole meal and shop for groceries. We give them a budget. They cook the meal, and we grade them on it. They like doing it. It's fun.

"They get to pick what they like. DJ likes shrimp. Meghan likes anything barbecue."

SCHOOLED AT HOME

Home schooling and home care takes time, and one has to make the time from Glenna's perspective.

"We have a schedule and try to stick as close to it as we can."

At one time she worked outside the home.

"(But) I love this so much. A lot of people think home is where the woman should be, and I agree with them. I enjoy that immensely."

A Baptist, she believes there is no one better to raise her children.

"I didn't have a great home life. I worked toward that, so my kids have a great home life. Education, according to the Lord, is up to the parents. That's where this philosophy comes from."

SEWN AT HOME

Glenna grew up in Saranac Lake and majored in special education at Plattsburgh State. She was a monitor at Lake Shore Christian School before her family relocated to Pennsylvania. It was there she and her husband started homeschooling.

"I can oversee the education they get and make sure they are understanding and grasping the material. The most important thing is their education."

DJ aspires to be a pediatrician. He will be a member of the National Honor Society next year. Both he and Meghan get an allowance for helping around the house.

"They wash their own clothes."

Glenna began sewing by making skirts for her daughter.

"The skirts (in stores) certainly were not long enough for our personal preference. I started making her clothes, and I enjoyed doing it. I taught her how to do that."

QUALITY TIME

Glenna had learned to sew in high school. Her father, Richard Hough, showed her how to use a sewing machine.

"My dad sewed. He did a lot of repairs. There were seven of us children. He was always fixing our jeans or something. He was a grocer for a long time. He just did odd jobs up until he died.

"He was a great guy."

Late last week, Glenna was making her daughter a blue-and-white Easter dress.

"It's a good way to spend time with her. My son knows how to sew a few things, too," she said. "He wants to be a doctor -- he has to know how to sew. He can do the basics, thread a needle and whip-stitch something shut."

Glenna taught herself how to crochet and creates afghans and baby clothes that she gives away. She also taught herself to cross-stitch, and she enjoys paint-by-number.

She has an affinity for just about any household pursuit, but she doesn't like to clean.

"It's clean because that's the way it's supposed to be when you live in a home," Glenna said. "I have perfected the lived-in look."

rcaudell@pressrepublican.com

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