Homeschoolers... have a couple of questions

pink_fortitude

pink_fortitude

Banned
Hey there! :) DH and I have been talking about pulling our kids out of public schools and homeschooling for so many reasons... I don't even know where to start! I was wondering:

What curriculum do you use?
How do your kids like it? Do you feel like they are learning?
How do your children respond to you being the one teaching them instead of somebody else?
Do you like it?
What are your reasons for homeschooling?
Has anybody started their kids in public schools and then pulled them out to homeschool? How did you transition and was it difficult?

I know that these are a ton of questions, but I am trying to gather as much info and insight as I can before we make the decision - I really want to do what is best for my kids. :D

Thanks!
Missy
 
hi missy,

I don't have kids but my sister and her DH homeschool and it has been AMAZING for the kids. My sister uses a variety of curricula (curriculums? :p). I know one is called Singapore Math. I can find the others for you if you'd like. I know that the first year was trial and error for her though. Now she is much more confident about what she wants to use.

The kids love it. And their progress has been amazing. My niece is 6. Before my sister pulled them out of school (private school actually) she was told my niece would have to repeat kindergarten because she just wasn't getting the reading etc. After one year of homeschooling she is reading wonderfully. In fact I just loaned her my copy of Little House in the Big Woods. She's also now a budding Egyptologist and is going as an Egyptian for Halloween! My nephew is gifted and he now is finally able to work things that challenge him. I think the kids love having mom teaching them. The are more relaxed than in school.

My sister loves it. The kids are exploring so much and get to be involved with so many things. They have 3 1/2 hours of school each day and tons of field trips and "life learning" things. I do fitness with them once a week. Yesterday I took them hiking, taught them how to follow trail markers/maps, and we also collected different mushrooms to catalog later.

My sister and her DH decided to home school because the kids were not learning well. My sister (and me too actually) spent a lot of volunteer time in the school and felt like the teachers spent most of their time trying to control behavior problem kids, rather than teaching. I mean, in 2nd grade my nephew would come home with one or two worksheets that he'd completed in about 30 seconds, and then spent the rest of the period doing puzzles. Now, he's learning Latin and Roman history. Also, they were opposed to the social issue "indoctrination" that goes on in schools, though it wasn't so much an issue in the private school. They felt that they should be the ones teaching the kids about sex, politics, religions etc.

HTH!!

Sparrow


Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow - what a ride!’ — Peter Sage
 
That IS helpful!

I don't even want to get into the whole sex bit - DD learned about sex from a friend on the bus when she was 8, and it was presented to her in a very disgusting and perverted way. The things that kids pick up at school - why should she need to even think about sex when she is 8?

I think it would be really fun the let the kids learn what they want to learn about rather than learn about what someone else says that they should - I mean, isn't that how we got resentful and started hating going to school? You learn faster and easier when it is something that you want to know.

How old are your nieces and nephews, and how many do you have? It sounds like they are really thriving! :D

Missy
 
Hi Missy,

I have 3 kids (ages 8, 5 and almost 3) and I'm currently homeschooling the oldest 2. We've been homeschooling since day 1, so I don't have experience with pulling kids out of school, but the kids and I LOVE homeschooling. There is so much variety to choose from. You can get boxed curricula that's very much like school at home, and some people go the complete opposite direction and "unschool" with no real curriculum at all. We use unit studies, following Five in a Row for my 5yo and Beyond Five in a Row for my 8yo. I add on math (using Math-U-See), reading (Reading Made Easy for 5yo), phonics (Explode the Code), spelling (A Reason for Spelling for 8yo), and handwriting (Handwriting Without Tears). Everything else is handled in the unit studies. It's been great :) You can custom fit your program to your child's needs. For instance, my 8yo DS is WAY ahead in reading but can't spell worth a darn. We've put down the spelling temporarily to focus more on phonics. You can't do that in a school setting. The extra phonics practics is really improving his spelling, so when we pick the spelling back up, I'm sure it'll be better for him. It's similar with handwriting. We're just now starting on cursive writing (he's in 3rd grade) b/c I wanted his motor skills to be more refined. I waited, and now it's very easy to teach him, vs. he would've been very frustrated trying to learn before when he wasn't ready.

As for the kids, they both love it. The other day, my DS wrote me a very lovely leter about how much he loved it :) I love knowing exactly what my kids are learning and know (makes it easier when they ask questions, too!) and knowing that they're each progressing at a pace that really works for them, so they're challenged in each area and not bored. There's lots of flexibility with time, too. If you want to take a school-year vacation, there's no make-up work. If you have to take a sick day, you can either still do school or not have to worry about making it up if you decide not to. It works for us :) Good luck making your decision and lmk if you have any other questions!!

Carol
 
Wow Sparrow. I am so impressed with you and your sister. I had no idea there were such robust people out there. You guys deserve a medal! It is nice to see people who take on this responsibility and excel!
 
Ditto to you Carol! WOW! You all have amazed me. I realized that many people were homeschooling but it is so wonderful to hear positive things about it. Our public schools around here do not impress me. It is sad but true.
 
well the credit goes to my sis and her DH! I am helping out as I can but really my sis, especially, is doing great things.

Missy, my niece is almost seven and my nephew 8. They just started their second year of homeschooling. They are truly thriving on it, I must say. I know alot of parents worry about the socialization aspects of it too, though my opinion is, socialization in itself is not always a positive, and there are a number of things in the public school arena I wouldn't want my DN and DN "socialized" in!! Anyway, that hasn't been an issue because home schooling is so popular, there are plenty of other kids to meet. The kids have both done town soccer and home school soccer league, library programs, and also do field trips with other home school families.

I hear ya about the sex thing. There was a 5 year old in my niece's kindergarten class who talked all the time about "squeezing ladies' 'big boobies' " ! Lord....

Sparrow


Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow - what a ride!’ — Peter Sage
 
Hi, Missy

I have been homeschooling my three girls since the beginning.They are now 9, 7, and 4. It has been the best decision for my family since the get go. I never really began to homeschool for any particular reason other than the fact I wanted to take a different appraoch to leanring, be more hands on and then in some ways prevent all of the bull@@@ that can go on in a school setting. Not to say it does not happen regardless of what you do but in many ways you can prevent some of that. Homeschool is a big undertaking and you really have to ask if it is for you and your family. You as the mom give up a lot but you also get back a lot in return. I love being with my girls and watching them learn.I have been though many cirruculum. It is such a learning process but one that is so much fun. You get to be with your children, expose them to what you want them to learn, get creative and so forth. I have used abeka, alpha omega, horizons, story of the world, real science, and math u see. There are so many options. I tailor my learning to the children as a whole. The 9yo has to do more than the 7yo and so on. As far as the children socializing which is one of the many quesiton you with get. I have my children in Brownies and Juniors. All my children are in soccer with children who go to public school. They do gymnastics in the winter and they love it. They socialize well and have many great little girl friends. If you need anything or if I can help you you can pm me. I would be happy to tell you about my experice. You many find that you love it. I have to say that my girls and I are closer becasue I can do so much with them ,plus allow them to do things with there friends. Who else can have a day where you do school in your pj's, bake cookies and read a good book plus draw a time line all in one day.

It's not for eveyone but it is for us.I wouldn't change it for the world. One day they will be all grown up and married and I will look back at these days when we were girlfriends and cherish them. I do have one sister who tried and sent her children back to public school Mostly becsue of time involved but I also have one sister who homeschools and her children are 16, 13, and 11.

One more thing, there may be many groups in your area that do homeschool functions. We have park day, go to plays and and some of us moms just go for coffee. You would be amazed at how many homeschool in your area. On my children's soccer team there are three other little girls who are homeschooled as well. E mail me. Karen
karen

www.picturetrail.com/karenvictoria
 
It took a couple years of research before we pulled our 5th grader (now in 10th)out of school.We don't do it for religious reasons, but for the fact that school and homework took over our lives and she wasn't putting it all together. I went to the 3 day weekend program at work - 12 hour days, plus teach yoga,and my hubby was able to work his schedule around mine. I highly suggest reading The Well Trained Mind by Susan and Jessie Wise Bauer...it is a "Bible" for homeschoolers. Curricula may be one you put together yourselves or a "canned" curriculum. Our daughter is using Keystone for high school, its convenient and nationally recognized. Our son, who we didn't intend to homeschool, learned to read one summer at 4, using "How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and after being miserably bored in Kindergarten, we pulled him out too...he reads on a high school level, and although age and maturity wise, he's still very much a 9 year old 4th grader, he is doing 5th grade...and my kids are average. Socially,homeschool kids don't seem to develop the "us vs.them" mentality with grown-ups and easily have conversations with all ages. As far as outside events, we turn DOWN activities because there is so much out there to do! Fitness wise, the homeschool kids are the thinnest in our neighborhood because they have ample time to run outside and ride bikes, swim etc. We get weeks worth of school work done in a day or two with one on one learning.
Above all, our family is close...we fuss and squabble plenty, since we're together so much, but we equally laugh and horse around too.

Email me at [email protected], and I'm always happy to chat about it!
 
I'd love for you to post or pm me about what you decide and how it goes - even if its not until next year. I applaud those that are committed to homeschooling. My 3 are all in public schools. Last year my youngest was ready for preK. I didn't want to send her , so we did "homeschool preK". We just set aside a couple of hours in the morning. She did worksheets, practiced her letters and numbers, read stories etc. At the start of K this year , she could write upper and lower case letters, numbers, count to 100 by 1's 5's and 10's , tell time to the hour and half hour, knew the value of money, did some basic addition, and could read her color and number words along with a few others. All in 2 hours a day.

Now she is at school from 7:45 until 2:45 , and seems to be forgetting everything I taught her! They divide up into "groups" for different "subject periods" during the day. I have now figured out that means that each small group has a turn with the teacher, the other groups are at play stations doing puzzles, etc until their turn comes up. She is exhausted at the end of the day.. Yesterday she fell asleep at 5:30 and slept through til this morning missing dinner and a bath! I don't even get to see her much!

Good luck! Marnie
 
>Now she is at school from 7:45 until 2:45 , and seems to be
>forgetting everything I taught her! They divide up into
>"groups" for different "subject periods" during the day. I
>have now figured out that means that each small group has a
>turn with the teacher, the other groups are at play stations
>doing puzzles, etc until their turn comes up. She is
>exhausted at the end of the day.. Yesterday she fell asleep at
>5:30 and slept through til this morning missing dinner and a
>bath! I don't even get to see her much!

Yes, that is how I feel! I did preK with all of my kids, too. They are in school from 9-3:45 and then they come home with 1-2 hours of homework - they are mentally exhausted and worn out and I miss them! The time that we could spend together teaching them to do chores or doing character building activities are choked out by school work grr! And when do they have time to run around the neighborhood and be kids? I don't want to miss their childhood, and I don't want them to miss it either. :( I will definitely let you know what we do.

Missy
 
Hi Missy: I am currently homeschooling my 2 kids(9 and 6). We have rough days and great days. I love it. But, as someone else said it is a big commitment for the one undertaking the task. My whole morning is dedicated to lessons for both. I do love doing it though. We are currently using the Abeka curriculum for both grades and we take classes at a local gym that offers a variety of homeschooling classes. My son takes tumbling and my daughter is in dance classes along with both of them in drawing, drama, pe and science classes. They love it and have no desire to go to public school. With all the classes they take they have lots of friends. They also go to the library once a week and have religious instruction Sunday afternoons. Friends and family are always commenting how smart they are and they get along with children of all ages. Which I like. Both kids were tested and are reading at about 2-3 grades above their level. I don't have any experience pulling them out as we have homeschooled from the beginning. My kids seem to do ok with me being the teacher as they have other classes that someone else teaches. One of the biggest reasons I decided to homeschool was that I felt that could learn more at home than a teacher could cover in a class with lots of kids (some get the instruction some don't) I also know when they get the lesson and when they don't. If we need to spend more time on a certain aspect of the lesson, we do. If they get it we move on to the next thing. It usually takes us about 3-4 hours and then we do our other activities in the afternoon. Another reason I homeschooled was to keep their lives free of bullies and bad influences( at least while they are young)..

Hope this helps. let me know if I can help anymore..
 
Hi Missy

I'm a homeschooling mom. My 25 yo was not homeschooled. I currently have 3 DS at home. One DS attended private K and 1/2 first grade and I pulled him once I learned of the HS option. The other 2 have never attended public or private school.

One DS has CP/HFA, one bipolar and one asthma/allergy issues. They each learn by very different methods and on different levels. My reasons for HS are several - religious; I do not see any proof that the schools would give any one of them what they need educationally or emotionally; and I want their values to come from family not peers.

I use "The Well Trained Mind" as my guide in HS and follow the trivium method of HS. I have no "set" curriculum but have chosen from different sources for each subject according to recommendations in the above mentioned book and through my own research. My 8 and 11 yo read on high school levels and my DS who deals with CP/HFA was never to speak, walk or have any measurable intelligence speaks beautifully, runs (well, when not in casts post surgery :)), and is very intelligent. I can't help but believe the one on one home environment of learning gets alot of the credit for that.

We include Bible study, reading (assigned and fun), math, History, memory work, copy work and dictation, English grammar, Latin and Latin grammar (and are about to add Spanish), Spelling, handwriting, Science which is very hands-on as well as documenting what's done, music, art, logic, and hands-on projects galore. My 11 yo regularly chooses Robert Louis Stevenson for his "fun read". I read the classics aloud to them and they also have classics assigned to read and narrate or write summaries.

I am happy to say my children have learned to think, know how to learn, and know how to research to learn about assigned topics or any topic about which they want to learn. They are able to have intelligent conversations with adults, but are definitely "boys" and are socially-appropriate with any age child.

HS is not for everyone, but I can't imagine putting the education of my precious boys in the hands of anyone other than myself and DH. My DH has years and years of experience in the Georgia public school system (various counties) and it is not an environment in which my children would thrive.

HTH. This was typed quickly, as I need to get back to my teaching duties:D , so I apologize for spelling and grammatical errors.;-)

ETA: My DSs at home are 11, 9 and 8.
 
This is a great thread. I don't have much to offer, but we plan on homeschooling our two girls. Right now we just use Unit Studies that are rotated between 8 other homeschooling families for our Pre-K and Kindergarden age children. I love to read other's ideas and what works for them. It is so helpful to find others in your area to connect with and that share your thoughts on homeschooling.

Good Luck!
Mary
 
Missy,

Have you read the thread I started on schools punishing with food??? This is the type of stuff I am dealing with (Tyler just started K). He comes home M-Th with homework. The other day, he had to go to study hall during 10 minutes of his recess because he was writing letters backwards. I was sooooo mad!!!! I don't agree with a lot of the stuff this school is doing.

My mom is a teacher and she recommends home schooling...if that tells you anything!!

Let us know what comes about....

Sara
http://www.picturetrail.com/saraburnham1
 
My post above said I do not use a "set" curriculum. I mean a prepared or packaged curriculum. I've decided on what and how to teach and pick and choose from a wide variety of sources to establish our curriculum.

Goodness, I often wonder if I make any sense.:p
 
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