Homeschooling

I wasn't sure where to post this, but it does rub some people the wrong way, so here goes.

We are planning on homeschooling Ryan & Kyle through elementary school, and then sending them to public school for jr high & HS.

Elementary school is just too 'one-size-fits-all' for me. Not that my kids are going to stand out at school, but they stand out to me...

As far as socialization, they are already very active with programs and the friends they've made through playgroups. (Plus there's the bonus of being a twin) so I'm not too concerned with that.

What are your opinions about homeschooling? Have you known any homeschoolers? Would you do it?!

-Jodi

[rainbabies]

i say do what works for you, your kids, and the situation you're in.

i was home schooled for a year and hated it. of course, at the time i hated my step-mom too.(who was the teacher)

Ooooh - you do like to stir the pot, don't you? We have some VERY devoted homeschoolers on this site, you know.

Personally - not for me. IF I lived in a place w/o access to a good school system or alternative, I'd consider it. (Like when dh was considering the job in Hazard, KY) But I know my own patience level, and I also know my kids. Jacob would be very resistant to learning schoolwork from me - Quinn would probably take to it better.

I can see the "one size fits all" arguement, and would hope that my kids don't start to get shuffled into that lump of humanity. Our schools keep the class size very small (under 20 is their goal), and I've not talked to one parent (so far) who has been unhappy with our neighborhood school. Again, if I were unhappy and not able to work through the system, I might consider it.

[Rapunzel]

Read my blog!



We will homeschool the kiddos through middle school at least.

Most of the homeschoolers I know go through middles school as a rule (and, in fact, I know many homeschooling parents that specifically only homeschool during middle school - but not the other years!).

For us the reasons to homeschool are myriad: From the academic environment to the social skills acquired to the general overall family harmony. It is also much, much easier for us to live life in an independent manner - taking trips when we want, not having moving become a traumatic experience, not living by some school district's arbitrary scheduling.

There are difficulties with homeschooling - and they mostly revolve around the parent(s). There are many parents that don't believe they could homeschool for just as many personal reasons. To be a homeschool parent you do have to go against the grain of society. You don't have whatever the average experience is when you find yourself with less (or no) children in the house during the day because they are off at school for seven hours (plus traveling time and after-school activities). A homeschooling parent's (ie the parent primarily in charge of hs'ing) coping skills and support outlets are going to be altered (sometimes considerably) from the standard in society. Life is different when you take a different route. Ohhhh, and I must mention that both parents really have to be onboard with this major choice in order for it to have any chance of success.

Interestingly I have heard non-homeschooling friends state that they believe homeschooling is more difficult than sending the kids off to public school. But, when I observe their lives - getting up very early in the morning in a rush, all of the traveling involved (through mini-rush hours!), spending much time volunteering in classrooms, worrying about the politics of the school, going through he** with bad teachers whom their children are kept with for hours every week, the afterhours activities (such as meetings, fundraising, etc.), the extra money for everything from field trips to fundraisers to having "cool" clothing - I just am boggled by all of the things a public school parent must go through!

For more reading on homeschooling here is a good list to start from (one that I put together for a pm on here):

http://www.amazon.com/Homeschooling-Ear ... 558&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Homeschooling-Boo ... 558&sr=1-4

Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto (a New York public school teacher of the year who is now a lecturer)

The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education by Grace Llewellyn

The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook: A Creative and Stress-Free Approach to Homeschooling by Raymond and Dorothy Moore

Deschooling Our Lives Edited by Matt Hern

And, an excerpt of a pm I sent:

The following books cover more specific home schooling styles. Keep in mind that there is nothing that states you MUST do something THIS way and ONLY this way. These are interesting to peruse right now but don't allow yourself to feel too overwhelmed. Just take what you like from what you read:

The Unschooling Handbook: How to Use the Whole World as Your Child's Classroom (unschooling method) by Mary Griffith

This article online is about Unit Studies: http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/teacher ... method.php

The Well-Trained Mind (classical education) by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise

A Charlotte Mason Education (Charlotte Mason method) by Catherine Levison
(Also see Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschool Series by Charlotte Mason)

School at home generally uses packaged curriculums from companies who provide everything - everything - you might need to educate your child. It is the most expensive method and also the easiest for many families. However, you can encounter problems if you dislike a portion of the set curriculum. Here are some companies to check out:

http://www.veritaspress.com/store/home.asp

http://www.aop.com/home/

http://www.sonlight.com/

Also keep in mind that there are TONS of curriculum companies out there that do not have "packages" but sell textbooks, workbooks, and other materials individually.

Anyway, in my blog I have a few entries on homeschooling - from the daily life (schedules, etc) to curriculum I have chosen, to some very interesting lists of influential people who have been taught by their own parents/grandparents.

I never knew what homeschooling was before I read a Newsweek article on the subject when my oldest was still a baby. It was quite an epiphany! And, while the movement is really growing (and, quite diverse culturally, politically, and, increasingly, racially) I still encounter individuals on a regular basis who honestly don't have any real information on the subject (plenty of opinions - but little real knowledge ).

It's a very large subject, really. And, I've enjoyed the last five years of my "officially" homeschooling the kids. Not that it is always easy (like anyone else we have our bad days/weeks) - but I have found it supremely satisfying and, judging by my children so far, completely worth it.

[spotty_dog]

Ooh, yay. I'm going to read back through what TR had to say and look at her recommendations.

I am finding that it is fabulously convenient to have an infinitely flexible schedule, so that when my husband has, say, a Tuesday through Thursday off of work, we can skip town and have a mini-vacation. When he has an afternoon or morning off, we go hiking. I've been thinking lately about how disappointing it will be to lose that flexibility because of having to conform to a M-F school schedule. I'm also gaining some unconventional ideas about education and learning that don't necessarily mesh well with mainstream schooling practices (eg. I'm seriously second-guessing the utility of graded schoolwork.) So, homeschool is an increasingly attractive option that I'm definitely looking seriously into. I probably won't make anything like a final decision until we're somewhat settled and I know what to expect from the local schools and DH's post-training schedule.

[fluffhead]

Before I had kids I thought it was a great idea. Now you couldn't pay me to try it. While I have a great relationship with my children, it is not one which will tolerate them sitting still and learning from me for hours a day. I applaud people who make it work - I'm just not one of them.

[DCJenn]

In my fantasy of parenthood, I could do it. In reality, I don't have the patience.

But, Nikolai will be starting at a co-op preschool where every parent is expected to pitch in and participate in some way. We call it the granola school and it is to a certain degree but I'm psyched that all of the parents have to participate in some way.

Honestly, if my husband had the time, he'd be an excellent homeschooling parent. (pediatrician and all that) but I just don't have it in me.

I think it's great for those who can do it though. My cousin had such severe allergies that she was home schooled until high school.

Lots of military families do it, especially those who move more frequently than we do. I read an interview once with a mom who said homeschooling was the only way to guarantee that her kids didn't have "dinosaurs" every year for three straight years.

Jenn

PS- we also moved one street away from one of the best elementary schools in San Antonio, on purpose.

I think I click with the classical education model the best; Wise's The Well-Trained Mind. I have some questions concerning it, but the overall structure makes sense to me.

Tabula Rasa, why is homeschooling during middle school so important? I figured by middle school the kids (and parents) would have more choices about what classes they take. Are your concerns more of a social thing? That would make sense to me, I personally HATED middle school. But I'm wondering what your and your friends' reasons are?

Also, thanks for the resource list. I need to read Gatto, his name has popped up repeatedly.

Why are some people so opinionated against it? The choice doesn't affect them personally. And I'm a little nervous about what some people might say/ask when they find out I was a public school teacher who chose to homeschool my own.

Jodi

[DCJenn]

Jodi-

anything that threatens other people's sense of who they are in the world can make them lash out. Especially if they feel threatened like maybe they should be doing this for their kids or that somehow you're the better parent.
or they think you think that you're the better parent.

Don't worry about it- they're your kids, you can only do what you think is right.

It's just like 7th grade except with mortages.

Jenn

PS- I'd have to say that middle school is when kids are trying so hard to 'fit in' that they can fall into the wrong groups. Heck- I somehow was convinced by my 'friend' Cindy that I should keep her pot for her. (and at that point I didn't even know what pot was!)

The father of the homeschooled family down the street (could be you TR: 5 kids, with #6 on the way, very religious - but not Mormon ... Mom is only 30!) proudly told my husband that he has no formal education at all. Apparently he was homeschooled the entire way through, and never went to college. He's a LINUX programmer for Sprint.

I think some people have concerns when it appears that people homeschool to keep their children away from the world as a whole. I agree that there are a lot of things on this planet that kids need to be protected from, but can see the point about the adjustment required when it's time to actually live in the world.

I take more of a "to each his own" approach. I couldn't do it -- but if it works for your family, then so be it.

[Phoebe]

I take more of a "to each his own" approach. I couldn't do it -- but if it works for your family, then so be it.

[Vanquisher]

I would consider homeschooling, if and only if I felt it was necessary and the much better option. I have thought about doing it during fellowship. Depending on where we end up, we will only be there for a year, and I can see how homeschooling would definitely be a good thing. On the other hand, my son will also be in 6th grade, and my daughter will be starting Kindergarten. I don't know if those are the best times to be witholding them from a more classic school model. :huh: It just depends where we end up, I think.

Mostly, though, I think homeschooling is not ideal. Sure the schedules are accomodating, but I think there is largley something missing there. There is NO way on this earth I could possbily think of or teach all the varied things that my kids get from the different perspectives of being influenced by all those different people. Songs, stories, anecdotes, social situations, history, culture, etc. Sure, I could teach the multiplication tables, reading, and the fundamentals, but I think its the tidbits in the middle that make a person well-rounded, the subtle nuances that would get left in the cracks and lost.

In Kindergarten, I never would have introduced criss-cross applesauce or the "Baby Bumblebee" song. In a strange way, I think these things are important to developing the overall human being that my kids will become. My son was on student council this year. He was voted in by his peers. I think that's astounding, and definitely something I couldn't have given him at home.

Of all the homeschooled people I have met, honestly, they all come off as socially awkward and weird. Certainly, I don't think this has to be the case or is always the case, but I have definitely seen it, and it is the general bias that I have, right or wrong.

I think there are definitely scenarios where I would consider homeschooling (though probably never in high school). Those would be when we lived in an area where I felt the schools were harmful, dangerous, or less than I could reasonably give at home, or if my child was struggling in such a way that it warranted it.

Just my .02.

I am finding that it is fabulously convenient to have an infinitely flexible schedule, so that when my husband has, say, a Tuesday through Thursday off of work, we can skip town and have a mini-vacation.

Alison, We have been thinking about homeschooling for this very reason. I think you'll find that many EM families homeschool. About 3 or 4 families in DH's group do. DH usually has about 15 days off a month....only 4-6 of those are weekend days. It would be wonderful to be able to travel on the other days or just spend time together as a family instead of sending DS off to school. I often daydream about taking DS to different cities/states/countries so he can learn about them firsthand....I think that would have a greater impact than just reading about them in textbooks.

We do have a great school picked out for DS, BUT homeschooling is still a very tempting possibility for us. I think one of the deciding factors for us will be how many children we have and how far apart they are spaced....I really don't know how I could focus on homeschooling one child while trying not to be disrupted by other little ones.....although, teachers have to do this everyday in the classroom.

Of all of the children I personally know who are homeschooled, each and every one is outgoing, polite, well-adjusted and intelligent. All excel in music, sports, art or all three. The ones who have graduated from homeschools have all continued on to excellent four-year universities.

Jodi....YOU know what is best for your children. Go with your gut.

[Flynn]

I take more of a "to each his own" approach. I couldn't do it -- but if it works for your family, then so be it.

This pretty much describes me.

I have reservations about homeschooling in general HOWEVER, I have met LOTS of high school kids (former teacher) I have had in class who were homeschooled and were everything you would HOPE a person at this age to be.

I think some families homeschool very well. There are no social gaps or academic issues when the child goes on to higher education.

I've also seen totaly disaster situations -- but you could say that about any group -- some do it well and some do not.


I'm NOT SAYING ANYONE ON THIS SITE DOES THIS -- but I have issues with people who homeschool to:

• shield their child from "the evil masses who aren't like us"
  have a schedule that works for the adult

]

I think homeschooling your child is a very important choice with LONG reaching implications. It's not for me but I've seen it done well and in those cases, more power to them.

[houseelf]

Before I had kids and when I was a new parent, I was mildly opposed to Homeschooling because I feel like education is more than just academics. Education includes exposure to different styles and ideas, even if they don't necessarily resonate with your own. Although we're only finishing first grade, my son has surprised me by doing well under two vary different styles of teaching: a teacher who was incredibly loving and gentle in kindergarten and a stricter first grade teacher who has high expectations for every child each and every day. If I'm honest, I know that I can't be all of those people, let alone his/her peer group.

With this being said, now that I have had a child in grade school and contemporaries going through the system, I completely understand why people homeschool. I get it now. To those of you who I might of offended with my concerns about homeschool in the past, my apologies.

Fortunately, we are able to afford a school which gels with our values and delivers an outstanding, individualized education. If I was not in this situation, I'd have to consider homeschool as an option.

My personal true confession as to why I would not make a good homeschool parent: I don't have the patience. I'm great at supplementing the educational process, but not so much at "having" to do it.

Nonetheless, if I had ever gone head to head with a school administrator about something like having to dope my kid because they thought s/he had ADHD, you'd bet your bottom dollar I'd pull them in a minute. (My kids are not ADHD, but I offer this as an illustrative example of the kind of things that would make my consider HS).

I think that if I homeschooled, it would be because I exhausted the other options or it would be for a short term period to get a child through a particularly rough patch.

But to those of you out there, hats off to you. I've parented long enough to know that there are multiple good ways to raise a child.

Kelly