Home schooling??

Question

Just curious- how many of you parents out there home school your children? My daughter is 20 months old, and I've known since she was born that I want to home school her. Any websites, info sources, etc. that you can provide would be great! Also, what influenced your decision to home school? Have you found it difficult? Do any of you balance work/home schooling/housework/etc? How old were your children when you began homeschooling them?

Answer 1

People who criticize home schooling do not understand it. I will admit that there are some very weird home schooling families out there and their kids are just plain strange. But, for the most part, the kids are well behaved, smart and what you'd expect from a typical child.

We home school. My kids are 6 & 3. I am a former reporter turned elementary school teacher. The only problem is I realized I couldn't stand the public school system. I say this from having worked within in it. Kids spend all day in school and learn next to nothing. Then they get sent home with a ton of homework. I spend approx. 4 hours a day on sit down work with my kids and they learn more in that 4 hours than a child sitting in a classroom all day. We do sit down work for math and reading but all our other subjects are mostly hands on.

My 6 yr. old should have started 1st grade this year but we have him at a 2nd grade level. Our 3 yr. old started kindergarten this year but we're already seeing signs that we could move him to a 1st grade level. And the thing is...we don't push them! Our schedule is very laid back. We do math and reading three days a week. The other two days are for science & history and we throw in art, cooking and field trips too.

I don't find it difficult at all. You'll find you'll have days that you just aren't in the mood. Or maybe the kids are feeling burned out a bit. So, you take the day off. That is one of the many benefits of home schooling. You control your schedule. I use a schedule as a guideline so I still have time to exercise, do housework and run my home business.

My kids still have many friends. They are in sports and other activities outside the home. They are not at all lonely. They love learning and get excited to do their work. There are some days they'll come up to me and ask for more school work. The problem with elementary school is that they suck that thrill to learn right out of the child. A mother recently expressed to me that she felt the school might be squashing her child's spirit. Well, that is what they do. I've been there and I've seen it. I've seen a kindergarten teacher yell at a student for coloring a leprechaun purple instead of green. I've seen a 5th grade teacher read his newspaper rather than teach the kids. They used the time to socialize. And schools love to hand out worksheets rather than do anything hands on. Last year my son and I were working on ways people use the land. I could have handed him a worksheet. I had one. On this sheet he had to circle the examples of people using the land. Instead I took him on a walk where he pointed out live examples and we discussed them. Doesn't that make more sense? He can relate to the subject more because he sees it in his world rather than looking at it on a worksheet.

I think it is great you're planning on home schooling. I hope you don't lose that goal and don't let ignorant people try to sway you from doing it. Just remember to take it easy and to be laid back about. As long as your daughter is learning the basics the rest will flow. Follow her interests. We just studied pirates because my kids wanted to. Next we're talking about ancient egypt because they want to.

Also, we started both of our kids early because they seemed ready and that way if they we're behind in anything we had some leeway. My oldest was having trouble with reading but I could slow down since we were early anyway. Now he is right where he should be. Home schooling gives you that freedom to speed up or slow down. Your child isn't in a classroom feeling bored or left behind.

Good luck to you!

Answer 2

I homeschool my 10 yr old son and I have always done this and I plan on the same with my daughter. My decision to do this was based on the horrible conditions of the Chicago Public School system (and where we are now isn't much better) and knowing my son he benefits more from the one on one. Yes it is difficult... and its sometimes a pain the rear but its worth it, I don't work outside the home now but I did a few years ago and you just make time for it when you can and rearrange schedules. I started actively schooling him when he was 5 but if you think about it you are always teaching your kids from day one... Id research the laws in your state because some require you to do certain things.

*edit* I just saw one reply saying your child would be lonely and that is a giant misconception with homeschooled kids. My son is very social and makes friends very easily. And he doesn't have all the biases some school kids have. He is able and wanting to play with kids younger and older, boys and girls... and he also has a better imagination and is more active than some of his friends who go to school... all they want to do is play video games and watch tv - my son likes to do both but given the chance he would rather play outside and make up games and such

Answer 3

Homeschooling can be a great thing. Children tend to excel way above their peers because they aren't held back by the school curriculum. It is also good for slower kids because they don't feel rushed.

The most important thing is to find a home school group that does band, choir, and sports, and let your daughter get involved with other homeschool kids so she doesn't ever feel left out or lonely.

Answer 4

Do a search for the K-12 homeschooling program. A bit expensive but looks nice. I want to homeschool too because kids learn way more that way then they do waisting the day at school.

I wont be able to, but plan to use K-12 in addition to worthless public school at home.

Congrats, I wish I could do it too.

Answer 5

I haven't home schooled my kids but my mother home schooled my twin 14 year old nephews. There are alot of sources out there, and I mean alot. Try emailing HAEA-Houston Alternative Education Alliance through yahoo, they maybe able to help. Look up home schooling in your state on the Internet. I know that in Houston that the museums have classes for homeschoolers. Google - homeschooling in-----, homeschoolers in ------, homeschooler support groups in -----. The support groups really help because you don't feel isolated and they will help you sign up for the different stuff you need.

Answer 6

Okay so I'm not a parent, infact I'm not even an adult, but I just wanted to tell you that I was homeschooled from pre-school all the way to highschool and it's great as long as you get your child out into the social world aswell. I think I learned better being comftorble with who was teaching me (no reason to be embarassed about asking questions if it's to my mother! Plus I only had to share my crayons with my brother. :] ) BUT please do not homeschool your child for half their life then suddenly decide to throw them into the public school system! That happened to both my brother and I. I am still struggling just to get into the flow of a public school system after two years! My brother even dropped out because of it! I know many other kids that haven't been able to handle going from homeschooling to public school aswell. It's extremely stressful on us! So please consider it throughly.

By the way....
Socializing and making friends is deffintly an important thing for your child to develope, as it will be needed numourous times throughout their lives, but I mean honestly, would you rather your child learns the way they need to and has fun doing it so they proceed to have interest, or would you rather them have a bunch of friends?............
Homeschooling does NOT mean your child is not allowed to socialize. I don't know about in your state, but in mine (Washington state) the homeschooled children can even take certian classes at the public school, or sports! They can even partcipate in feild trips! Just explore your options. Public school doesn't offer everything, nore does homeschooling, what matters is that you figure out a way to make things work best for YOUR child.

Answer 7

Yes I homeschool both of my daughters.They are 15 yrs. old and 12 yrs old.I have been doing it for 4 yrs. now and they love it!..I love it for them.The reason why I pulled them out of regular school was because I didn't like what the teachers were teaching,rather the school just didn't offer the children anything to keep them interested.And it was so many children in a class,so I wanted to make sure my children get the full understanding of what was being taught.I took them out and did the homeschool thing and it is a beautiful thing I tell you.T he school my daughters are in is a christian school in a diffrent state in which we live!...I pay tuition for them both each year and get everything thing they and I need to complete their schooling.And no you don't have to have no degree of any type to do it okay.People may think it isn't legit but it IS legit,real and legal.So don't let anyone give you false info.Good luck!

Answer 8

My daughter is 2 1/2, I would like her to be home schooled, but I am not going to because she needs to have friends her age. I don't have any friends with kids her age and she is lonely and already begging to go to school. If you type home school in a search engine it will bring up some sites for u to explore. Good Luck!!

Answer 9

I have a friend that home schools all ten of her children. We agree to disagree on this issue. I feel children that are home schooled miss out on very important social skills and friends. As well as clubs like Scouts. Check out your school district now. Get involved. If it needs changes help make them. The only way our schools are going to get better is for EVERYONE to be involved!

Answer 10

I think that home schooling as a lot of opportunity for the mother's (teacher), But not for the student,, The human race is made to be social, it is in our nature,, Your child needs to see the world ( make friends and learn social skills that are needed in any career that He or She decides to do,, but that's just my opinion,,,