Should I choose homeschooling?

Question

I am thinking in my son's future education. He is 3 years old. I am seriously thinking in homeschooling him. The reasons: avoid the atmosphere of public schools. I will be able to control of what he is learning. Flexibility schedule. However, what about the social life? Would clubs, piano classes, sports be enough to develop his social skills? Could anyone that have experienced this situation advise me, please? It sound like a simple an easy question but it is not when you are thinking about your child's future and what's the best for him. He is the only one btw.

Thanks a lot

Kim

Answer 1

Kim,

I identify myself with you. I was looking for information about homeschooling and I ended up in this discussion. If you have the resources for homeshool your kid, go for it. Social skills: they learn them at home watching their environment. Get informed as much as you can about it, as you said, this is a serious question. There are plenty of resources and information online such as guides, tutorials that help you homeschooling your kid. (Check this one if you are interested http://www.homeschoolingplus.com )

Good luck

Tina

Answer 2

I'm not a parent, but I was homeschooled for a year. Part of the reason I was homeschooled was because I was really far ahead of most of the kids in my grade and the school either couldnt or wouldnt move me a grade ahead. Home schooling provides a student with the discipline to learn and it really helps them figure out what they enjoy doing. That year I discovered that I really liked math and science seeing as those were always the subjects I did first thing in the morning and those were the ones I wanted to do. At a public school students can get "left behind" or lazy if their potential in a certain area isnt reached. And for private schools (I have attendend both) theres less of a struggle for a grade. Theres more time for the student to learn until they actually understand where as in a private school there is a lot of pressure for the student to do well. No. My only problem with home schooling is that students lose the social background and will loose some of the typical experience gained in that grade. Like for example when I started homeschooling I ended up skipping 3rd grade and doing homeschool for 4th grade and I missed a lot of the stuff you learn in those grades. Those are the grades where students get more homework and things like that and I missed out on that experience. Its just something to think about.

Answer 3

Home schooling can be a wonderful experience, but I would can the flexible schedule idea. Children need structure and stability and to a degree routine. If you don't keep a strict schedule as he gets older procrastination may become an issue. As for social development, that is a must. Children need their peers and also have to learn to take constructive criticism from adults. Sports like Karate and such create discipline and motivation. Scouts teaches them co-operation and civic duty (only children never have competition so sharing is never an issue). Keeping your child active and productive will create a well rounded human being.

Answer 4

Hi Kim,
I homeschooled my three kids for three years. When we meet relatives we haven't seen in a long time or simply strangers somewhere, they usually tell me how well behaved and outgoing my children are. That's before they know where they get their education. Obviously you don't want to lock your child into the house without ever seeing anyone else. We did school until the early afternoon, then it was playtime. Not too much later, the neighbor kids would come over and they all would have fun. I loved learning right along with my kids. For my oldest, who went to a Brick and Mortar School in first grade and was extremely shy and quite, home schooling was the cure. She wasn't afraid to express herself anymore and became actually very strong.
We recently moved to a small town and they are in public school at the moment doing very well academically and socially. The teachers remind me of that frequently. So go ahead and home school your child.

Answer 5

I was homeschooled for my junior high and high school years. Granted I did have 5 sisters (though some of them were already gone from home), but I don't believe our social skills were damaged or unnurtured. We were part of clubs; i.e. homeschool support groups, 4-H, softball, church and we had a lot of neighborhood friends. I honestly believe that all of the homeschool kids I met had more social skills than the public school children I met. They all seemed more confident in themselves, due to less peer pressure. They also had some awesome relationships with their parents and siblings. Of course, the final decision is yours, but my advice is HOMESCHOOL KIDS ROCK!!! I am now 25 years old and I have tons of friends and a great job!

Answer 6

Kim, I'd suggest seeing if you have some local homeschool support groups. Seek out more than one because they aren't all the same and one might turn you off homeschooling while the other one might have you think very highly of it! It'll give you a chance to learn more about what goes on in your community before you need to decide about school.

As for social life: what did kids in the past do to develop social skills? They did things with family, neighbours, in the community. As long as you make a point to do things regularly and to be his guide--especially since he is an only child (families with siblings have "built-in" social opportunities)--there will be no problem.

Answer 7

We pulled a 9-yr old out of public school to homeschool 3 years ago and started her younger bro on homeschool from the start. It is great for all the reasons you state. We had the same fears about a lack of socialization. But, we have found that the homeschool world is like an underground society -- lots of people, lots of support, lots of resources if you look. You can find other homeschoolers and do co-op school sessions weekly, have a weekly park/library "play dates" and there are more and more businesses catering to homeschoolers with special homeschool programs. Our kids take an art class and attend library events weekly in addition to sports and we joined a small homeschool group that provides interaction and builds social skills.

The way I see it, public school would build social skills -- but are they the skills you want your kid to have? Kids can't be completely sheltered from life, of course, but we want to help our kids develop a strong foundation of morality and self-confidence in their early and tween years -- without the negative influences -- first. Once they are strong people who believe in themselves, then they can learn how to handle difficult people, disagreements, personality clashes, peer pressure, etc. -- the negative side that comes with more intense social interaction.

Answer 8

I have some friends that are homeschooled and they love it. Most of them are very social. Overall, I don't think I would wanna be homeschooled. I mean, there's some days that I really don't wanna go into school and I just don't feel like it. But I get out and hang out w/ my friends. It's not so bad. As for the public school thing, I understand. I've never been to a public school. My parents don't want me in that kind of atmosphere, either. I've been in Christian schools my whole life. I like it, but private schools do cost quite a bit of money, but I'm glad to have had this privilege all my life. I'm a sophomore now. You still have undesirable people in these schools, but I don't think it's as bad as it would be in a public school. I think sports does help. I just recently started playing sports and it really helped me feel better about myself. I've always had really bad self-esteem problems and playing sports definitely helped me overcome that. I'm actually happy for probably the first time in my life. There were other things that went into that, but if your son is the kind of person that would like sports, I would say go for it. I wish my parents had encouraged me to play sports earlier because it is so much fun. Hope this helps!

Answer 9

NO one can tell you whether or not to homeschool. That is a choice based solely on your capabilities, patience and willingness to work really hard to not only provide academics, but to be involved in many extracurricular activities.

For example, we have five kids we're homeschooling (the others are too young) Not only do we have academics to balance, along with homelife (which is more difficult when you are actually home all day USING the space as opposed to dropping your kids off at school for nine hours then coming home), but we also have extras. We also joke that we have built in socialization!

We have band for two hours every Tuesday, orchestra for two hours every Thursday, Tae Kwon Do on Monday and Wednesdays for an hour, Baseball on Tues and Thurs for an hour, plus games on the weekend, Dance on Tues and Thursday nights, scouts on Thursday nights, 4H on Monday nights, Library club every wednesday afternoon, library day on Tuesday morning, and then field trips with our homeschooling coop. We have service projects we do every week, and then we have our own field trips and days out...it really adds up. But we're committed to all of those things, not only for the academics kids learn, for all the other skills like committment, hard work, socialization, etc.

However, the reward is excellent. My kids are thriving, even the two with autism. I love being with my kids all day, and they have a strong sense of self, of family, and of worth. Those were all things they lost in their years in public schools. Some kids do really good in public schools, some not so good. I think most of it starts at home, but I think a lot of parents just sign their kids over to the system once they start school. Then they spend years struggling to find the delineation between school and home. We don't have that problem anymore.

Answer 10

All people should be homeschooled, even if they go to public schools.

But here's a rule of thumb, don't let someone be in charge with your kid with more of your kid's time than you, or else your kid might not be longer your kid.

If your kid sleep 10 hours a day, spent 5 hours a day near you, 6 hours a day in school, and spent 3 hours a day on his own. You might need to adjust your kid's schedule.



As for his social life.

Get the closest nice group or groups of people at his age. If one of these groups happen to be a school or something similiar, then you need to consider it.