For what reasons did you choose to homeschool your kids?

Question

Did you do it K-12? Or only partial? And how do you find ways to socialize the kids and what things do you consider in choosing these activies?

Answer 1

We are going to HS for many reasons. My 3 year old, is already at a Kindergarden/First grade level, so by the time she is old enough for school she will be too far beyond what the kids her age are doing and we don't want her to skip grades in public school. Even though she is bright, she is emotionally a three year old. I also think that 5 years old is awfully young to be away from me for 8 or 9 hours a day. I don't think that kids are ready to take on the world alone at that point.

We plan on HSing as long as it works for us; if that means k-12 then great, but we are willing to examine the situation as time goes on and if it is right for us to choose public or private school at some point then we will.

We socialize on so many levels with everyone, not just with people the same age as our children. Sometimes we have activities that are educational and others we do just for fun and playing. We have church and playgroups, when the girls are older they will take a martial arts class and get to choose another activity they can explore as well. They interact with everyone that I do when they are with me. During the election my girls went with me and learned about the voting process and spoke with most of the people who were there.

Answer 2

My interest in homeschooling began while teaching elementary school. My dh's interest in homeschooling began while teaching junior high school. The social atmosphere concerned us primarily, but later we realized that academically, being able to go your own pace (which you can do at home) is so much more beneficial.

Our kids are only 6 and 9--so far, only K-4. ;) We want to homeschool them at least until the end of grade 9. We'll all talk together about options for high school once we hit that level.

There are so many ways for homeschoolers to socialize where we live that it's a matter of making sure you don't do too much, to be honest. That may or may not be the case where you live. There are various homeschool support groups through which different gatherings, even classes and dissections, are set up. I initially started with an informal Yahoo Group I found online and branched my way out. My kids also do extra-curricular things that have nothing to do with homeschooling--group music lessons, skating lessons, swimming lessons, summer day camps...

Things I consider: cost, likely enjoyment of the child, likely benefit to the child, how much have we been out recently, how many other things are going on...

Answer 3

We started homeschoolinging our kids from the beginning. My oldest son is going to graduate in the spring and I would not have traded the time we have had together for anything in the world.

We wanted our children to have a solid education without all of the other stuff they would have come into contact with. The biggest reason for homeschooling was that they needed time to do other things.

To socialize the kids is also another issue. You should have a homeschool group in your area. They plan a lot of interesting g things for the kids to do together along with contests. Pick and chose carefully remembering what your kids are interested in.

Homeschooling is not for everyone. You must be able to stay on track and be able to do it consistently. Don't forget that they are not just learning math, reading, all the other academic stuff, they are learning good work habits and perseverance.

Answer 4

We decided that a) we didn't want someone else raising our kids 7 hours a day, b) that we weren't completely on board with the opinions that are presented in public school today, c) that my son would have suffered greatly in Kindergarten because he's very active (catalyst for the other evaluations) d) that children should be allowed to be children for as long as possible without worrying about bullies and the like.

We are only into elementary school but I intend to let my children choose if they would prefer to go to private school once they reach middle school age. It is their education after all and it needs to be a joint effort at that point.

We socialize in a variety of ways. a) one day a week from 9A to 3P they participate in a homeschool enrichment program that allows them to interact with other homeschoolers their own age. b) we are part of a homeschool group that does various activities together, park days, field trips, show and tell, etc. c) we take classes in the community; we are as a family enrolled in Tae Kwon Do and my daughter takes Dance class and my son takes Tennis d) we are involved in a church.

The things I consider when choosing activities are...is this something that contributes to my plan for their education as a whole, are the children we are going to be interacting with good kids with involved parents, are the activities structured such that my kids will continue to enjoy them over time. Above all will this activity be the tipping point that makes me over-scheduled. Which can happen very, very, quickly.

Great question, thanks for asking.

Answer 5

We chose to homeschool because we like it and we're happy. That and I disagree with the philsophy, purpose and execution of compulsary all-day group learning programs.

Where we live, social opportunities abound. We have to make sure to schedule in quiet time. The social part has never been an issue because we knew from the beginning that teaching our kids to get succeed in the "real world" is the true meaning of education.

So, we use the real world a lot to teach our kids. In fact, pretty much for everything. Heck, that's what we use for our own learning. We learn together about the world. Each in our own way. It's quite a fascinating way to live. We all like it very much, and have met some extremely interesting people along the way.

Answer 6

Goods reasons to homeschool your kids: 1) You want to. 2) You want to spend more time with your kids and be more involved in raising them. 3) You want to provide them a better social situation than at school. 4) You want to provide them with academics that are more suited to them. 5) You want your kids to have more time to be kids, have more freedom and flexibility. Many more. -- Is it better? Depends on who's doing it and what you mean by "better." -- Are there downsides? Depends on the family. For me, it's the negative comments and prejudicial attitudes against homeschooling. -- Why is it looked down upon? *Because too many people assume they know what homeschooling is--and never stop to think about if they would do the things they are accusing so many others of doing. Primary assumption is that you stay home all the time. *Because too many people assume that if they're incapable of doing so, all other parents are, too. *Because too many people assume that teachers are akin to gods and know everything they need to so that students will learn and assume that kids need to be taught everything. *Because too many people know just a few bad cases and assume it applies to all cases. And don't realize they've probably met totally normal homeschooled people and never knew it.

Answer 7

My oldest child was old enough for K, he was ready for K, but his birthday was 2 days past the deadline for registering for K. They would not make an exception, so we decided to homeschool for K and then test him in to first grade the next year.

Well, homeschooling worked so well for us, that we decided to keep on with it, at least through 8th grade. We now have our 3rd grader and grade K.

Our kids are in several groups. The Scouts, neighborhood sports, play groups, we meet other kids at the zoo, even the grocery store. We don't consider much. We join in the group, if it's a good match (kids getting along, learning from each other) then we keep going.

We decided to keep going because we found out about our local elementary school's tolerance for violence. And because I read a shocking statistic that stated 35% of all teacher's licenses lost last year was because of sexual misconduct with students.

Answer 8

When I was spending more time at school than my child was & the teachers knew less than they should have or could have about the real world. When the class sizes went over 20, I knew it was time to go. Tried private schools & they were just as dysfunctional as the public schools with a smaller classroom size (15) & people living beyond their means. By the 9th grade, we both were at our wits end with the system & dropped out after test scores showed grade level 13. Child requested getting a job & was happy until someone reported us for non compliance of state laws. Child is now 26 & it all worked out in the end, but it wasn't easy fighting the system & all of those "well-meaning" teachers & administrators. I never worried about socialization because the child preferred to be in the company of adults!

Answer 9

We've been homeschooling two years now, it'll be 5th and 6th for my oldest, 2nd and 3rd, 1st and 2nd, K and 1st, and now K for my five year old. We started because my oldest two children are on the autism spectrum and the school wanted basically to babysit rather than teach them any functional behaviors, much less academics. My next two are really advanced and they and I resented all the time wasted in class with them bored. We'll do it as long as it makes sense for my family.

We socialize through weekly playdates, 4H, Scouts, band and orchestra, our autism groups, tae kwon do, dance, baseball, library club and library days. My oldest also does various fun classes through the science museum, the natural history museum and the local air national guard.

We chose those activities because those are things that the kids expressed interest in. We choose groups in which they will learn something, have people around them, and have time to socialize. The teachers philosophy matches ours on education.

Answer 10

We chose to homeschool our son 7 weeks after entering him in kindergarten in public school. He was so far ahead from normal home learning and taking pre-k at a montessori school that he could have qualified for 1st grade. He was big enough and mature enough to handle to change, but because the school had taken so long to get him tested (I had been calling and conferencing and asking to get this done because everyday was a fight to get him to go and be bored) that it was too late to advance place him supposedly. If he remained in kindergarten he would have been taught on his level 40 minutes per week in reading group, and that would not have started for another 5 weeks. So we pulled him with the intention of trying to do advanced placement or above level or something the following year.

After a lot of run around we were unable to get him tested for advance placement and we were told there was no above level class offered until 3rd grade. So we just kept him out.

Since then we have decided we will always do this. In our district there is no recess from the 3rd grade on. PE is 30 minutes 2 times per week. There is no Art and music is overcrowded and underfunded. Lunch is not social. Kids have 25 minutes to get through a long line and hurry up and eat and be standing in line trash thrown away and ready to go to class so the next group can come in. Since this is rushed teachers found the kids needed to not talk and focus on eating, plus the cafeterias are filled ro capacity and that many children even talking quietly would get loud, so No Talking.

This means that by the 3rd grade after not being taught at his level for 3 years (had we kept him enrolled) my son would have been expected to sit still, behave, focus, and stay on task 3 days per week for 8 hours with no break. Since I don't know many adults that could do this and I look at my son and realize the impossibility of it, we chose to continue homeschooling.

Our schools have also lost the idea that teaching basic handwriting, grammer, and math skills are an important building block. There is no hands on learning it is all done with power point presentations. They teach for a test because if the kids don't master then the state will give the district less money, and since the district wants the money they have told the teachers that if they don't maintain a certain level of passing then they will be fired. So that is of course their focus.

Homeschooling also allows my child to be a child longer. He is not growing up faster than he needs to because everyone else does.

At this point we are planning to homeschool until graduation from 12th grade.

For socialization, we are active in church, my son is in the chior and they have had 2 plays this year where he has had a drama role. He plays on a basketball team. There are 2 other homeschooling families on our street with boys his age and he plays with them. But we really don't worry too much about this because Tyler is very outgoing and handles himself well with all ages of people. We choose most activities through church just because there is a lot available and we trust the content. Play time is supervised usually outside but if inside and they are playing video games nothing M rated and only T that we have previewed in advance.