Questions about Home Schooling?

Question

First and foremost, I do not home school. I am just interested in educational trends.

1) How long do you homeschool (through highschool?)

2) Does a parent that home schools need to have any educational requirements? (i.e. must have masters degree)

3) I am a fairly intelligent person, but have been stumped by my daughters 8th grade math questions. How do you teach something advanced unless you already know the work yourself?

4) How many hours per day of instruction (not counting "homework" do you give? How many hours of homework? Use the 7th grade as an example

5) If you have more than 1 kid, how do you divide your time?

6) If you have kids in the 6th 7th and 8th grade, are you in teaching mode 18 hours a day?

A lot of questions. Please answer whatever you have time or feel comfortable answering.


Thanks

Answer 1

1) How long do you homeschool (through highschool?)
However long you want to. Yeah you can go through highschool if you want. You can go between public and home school as it suits you.
2) Does a parent that home schools need to have any educational requirements? (i.e. must have masters degree)
I'm pretty sure no, at least in most states. But different states have different laws, so you'd need to check into that according to where you live.
3) I am a fairly intelligent person, but have been stumped by my daughters 8th grade math questions. How do you teach something advanced unless you already know the work yourself?
Learn it yourself. If you can't, then hire a tutor. Sometimes kids are bright enough to teach themselves. In some states, I think you can go to public school for just one subject, but be homeschooled the rest of the time. So you could do that.
4) How many hours per day of instruction (not counting "homework" do you give? How many hours of homework? Use the 7th grade as an example
However much you want. You can go as long as public school goes, six hours, or you can do fewer hours and just teach through summer when public schools kids have off. Just do whatever is best for you and your kid. And you don't have to follow the same curriculum as the public school. Teach whatever you think is important. Except in some states, you have to have a similar curriculum.
5) If you have more than 1 kid, how do you divide your time?
For a lot of subjects, there is no need to divide them according to age. History is an example. A ten year old and a fourteen year old could learn the same lessons. Also, depending on how you teach, the kids read a lot, which doesn't require your attention. So while one kid reads, you can be giving a science lesson to the other kids. Or you could have the kids teach each other sometimes. Kids like sharing what they've learned.
6) If you have kids in the 6th 7th and 8th grade, are you in teaching mode 18 hours a day?
No. Again, you could just teach like three hours a day per kid, going year-round, without summer vacation, and when you cut out recess and lunch break like public school kids have (that is to say, homeschooled kids of course have lunch break and recess, but that doesn't require you teaching them, so that doesn't count), so three hours is about right. But, let's say, hypothetically, that each kid has five hours of school a day. Say you have one hour on reading/English, one hour science, one hour math, and one hour on history and one hour PE or music. Think about it. You only have to teach math and science, and even that is just giving them a lesson, and then they go off and do worksheets or whatever, and you just have to be available in case they need extra help. English/Reading they do on their own - they don't need you to read a book or to write a paper. PE they don't need you - they can go for a run or play sports by themselves. History is mostly reading a history book. And it would even be cool if they were all learning the same history lessons at the same time to discuss it with each other. So you could lecture them all at once. It can easily be done with some thinking and planning.

Answer 2

1. Is homeschooling better than public school impossible to answer, as each school and each homeschool education varies 2. Can you pick your hours yes, in my state you can, some states may dictate that 3. How long is a day usually we're doing K right now, and hour or two a day. but we're always learning, so it's hard to quanitfy 4. Is there breaks in the day anytime you want, unless, again, you're in a state with more rigid requirements. 5. Is there homework kids work on their own at times if that's what you mean. 6. Is it harder, easier, the same again, depends on the school and on the homeschooling experience 7. Is it funner same answer as for question six. we have a lot of fun with our homeschooling. 8. Would it make my social life go down hill it doesn't need to, but then I know nothing about your specific social life 9. Do i get off the same days as the local public schools do depends on state standards/your preferences 10. What are some other things i should know before deciding on homeschooling or not what you want out of your education, what methods work best with your learning style

Answer 3

1) Yes. We did not begin until 8th grade.

2) I am a high school graduate. My husband has some college.

3) The classes my son takes are no more advanced than the classes I took while I was in public high school. If he decides he wants to take something I do not want to teach, we can do web classes at the fraction of the cost of private school. He will be able to take classes as dual enrollment at community college after he reaches age 16.
If you get stumped by 8th grade math, do a search on line for examples. We use Saxon, and there is an answer guide and solution book. It also explains each step.

4) All work is home work. He averages 4 hours a day on school work.

5) I have only one.

6) Teaching mode? No. We have learning moments possible 24/7.

The main goal for us is to raise a life long learner. Education does not end at age 18 or 21.

Answer 4

1) all the way through high school
2) Every state has different laws, check out http://www.hslda.org/ for each states laws concerning this.
3)We either learn it along with our children, or we seek out other homeschooler and help each other out ~ we are in a support group as well as co-op group.
4)we dont do * homework*, and as far as how many hours, we really dont keep track, we feel that homeschooling is a life style , therefore we are always learning ~ we make *everything* into a *learning- thing*
5) in our style of teaching/learning, we all work together. We use unit studies and what each child does is in accordance with his/her age/grade level. The older kids also now enjoy *teaching* the younger ones as well.
6) we are always in Teaching/learning mode :-) we are parents after all !

Answer 5

1) How long do you homeschool (through highschool?) Yes I plan on homeschooling all the way thru to graduation from Highschool.

2) Does a parent that home schools need to have any educational requirements? (i.e. must have masters degree) No most statees don't have any requirements like that.

3) I am a fairly intelligent person, but have been stumped by my daughters 8th grade math questions. How do you teach something advanced unless you already know the work yourself? Like any other intelligent person that has access to books and the internet. You learn it yourself or learn it alongside your child. There is so much information out there and they make it simple to learn. Also, note Teachers in the school system have to study up on things too and also have an answer key.

4) How many hours per day of instruction (not counting "homework" do you give? How many hours of homework? Use the 7th grade as an example 3 hours max a day for instruction and maybe an hour to hour and half for homework.

5) If you have more than 1 kid, how do you divide your time? I don't, but my sistre in law does and she gets one child started on their work and moves on the next and next until she has her class going. Little ones play while the older ones are working. She often has art out for the younger ones.

6) If you have kids in the 6th 7th and 8th grade, are you in teaching mode 18 hours a day? I don't, but my sister in law sets time aside during the day and calls it quits by 1 every day. That is family time and fun time.

Answer 6

1. So far we've gone through middle school, plan on going through high school.
2. No ed requirements in Oklahoma. Does it make you feel better to know I have a BS? ;-)
3. Covered the same way teachers do, by going over material before presenting it to children. I did have to brush up on trig before we finished algebra. I think it's good for children to see that adults don't know everything, and also that we can learn at any age. One question though, if you don't know it now, why is it so important for children to master?
4. We don't assign homework, but they do have independent study. We unschool our younger children, but our older son we spend about an hour a day going over college prerequisites together. They come to us with any questions.
5. I have seven children. Time is easily divided already with a schedule, and emergencies are addressed as they come up. They play together or work together while I help the older children. While the older children are working alone, i play with the youngers.
6. My son is in seventh grade. He's doing ninth grade work. I am in parenting mode 24 hours a day. I don't need teaching mode because my kids are excited to learn and i am their facilitator instead of enforcer.

Hope this helps. I'll be interested in seeing other's answers. This is an interesting question, thanks...I've been feeling blase about questions lately.

Answer 7

1. We intend to Home school through High school. My daughter will be dual enrolled at a community college in the 11th grade. She will be graduating High School with a two year degree if all goes well.

2. In Florida, parents need a High School diploma I believe. I am not completely sure if you even need that. You can check out the different requirements for each state at www.hslda.org.

3. A teacher’s key or guide comes with ever curriculum you purchase. I don't know algebra, but my daughter excels in it. Most programs are very self teaching. If there is a problem, we have a whole co op of parents and we all help each other out.

4. In 7th grade, my daughter was done with all her "school" in about 3 to 4 hours max. No homework to speak of, just independent study.

5. Scheduling in my family is a must. We meet and go over the work, the child works independently. I am always available to help if they get stuck. My kids "turn in" work at the end of the day and we go over mistakes or problems in the afternoon if we can or the next morning during our meeting.
I have 2 kids I home school and I run an in home daycare.

6. We are in the teaching mode 24 hours a day! 365 days a year. Everything is a lesson.

Beware; you may get naysayer in the area of socialization. My kids are exposed to all types and ages of people in the "real world" every day. Compared to the subculture of public school, where kids are grouped into same age groups and expected to sit at a desk, following sometimes rigid "rules," I definitely prefer it. My kids know tons about government, because we have seen it work first hand though volunteering and trips. They are also involved in several clubs and sports as well as church and just hanging out with their many friends. Some times I wish they weren’t so social!

Blessings

Answer 8

1) We're not sure how long our kids will homeschool. On the one hand, our daughter could probably be done most of high school before she'd be eligible to being high school, which would put her in probably gr. 12 at the age of 14 and I don't think that'd work out so well. But, then again, maybe it won't be like that and she will want to go to school. As for my son, I truly have no idea. He's such a difficult kid to figure out.

2) Here in Alberta, no.

3) Find some really good resources, teach the child how to search for helpful sites online, find a tutor. (No, haven't hit that yet.)

4) My older child is only in gr. 4. I assume by gr. 7 she'd be doing a solid 3 hours of work in the morning, plus extra time for other educational, non-core subject pursuits. She loves to read, write, draw and play music on her own time, but those are all educational activities, too. I do not give homework. The point of homework is to finish up what you've done in class or to help a child practise things at home or to help the parent see what is going on in class. We have all day to finish up what is required. Or we can decide to put it off to the next day since we don't HAVE to have everybody on the same page each day. There's plenty of time to work on things within school time instead of giving some worksheet to do "after school".

***ADDED: I just saw your answer on another thread. If you believe that your children are spending 6 hours a day being taught or ON TASK the entire time, you are sadly mistaken. There is so much waiting in a typical classroom and sitting in a desk "being taught" is often one of the worst ways to learn. (I'm a former classroom teacher!)

5) We do a lot of things together, with each one working at their own pace. Or I switch off--work on reading with one while the other one is doing silent reading or working independently on a project, for example, then allow the first to do something independently while I work with the other.

6) n/a However, I will say that homeschooling itself is kind of like being in teaching mode 18 hours a day. There's always an opportunity to tie in a lesson, even if it's not something you've planned or assigned to do.

Answer 9

Well, at least you are asking questions to educate yourself about homeschoolers instead of makeing assumptions.
So here goes (I'll answer as best I can)......
1) How long......we do plan to homeschool thru High School, my daughter is only in the 3rd grade but she has grown by leaps since we started, my son is 14 (soon to be 15) and entering 10th grade this year and we are entering our 4th year of homeschooling.
2)Each State has different requirements....I live in Florida and they DO NOT require the parent to have even so much as a High School Diploma.
3) While I do not claim to be the most intelligent person in the world, I at least try to have a good handle on a subject before I attempt to teach it to my children. Math was always my downfall and I truely worried for a time that I wouldn't be able to teach it to them properly, but I found a good program called Ray's Arithmetic and it goes from Primary grade all the way thru College (yes it teaches Calculus)......it explains it to where even a math dummy like me can understand it.
So I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are going to teach something then you should at least know what you are talking about. Either be willing to do the research so that you can teach it or find someone who might be able to help.
4) Homeschooling is not about setting a certain numbers of hours aside each day to teach, it is about being willing to 'teach' 24/7. A homeschooler uses any and all situations to teach....the most innocent remark or question can turn into a full fledge lesson when you lest expect it. Now 'bookwork' can take us up to 8 hrs a day to do (each day is different).
5) I have two children, my youngest is in 3rd grade and my eldest is going into 10th grade. Depending on the subject, each one works at his/her level and sometimes my son helps his sister. If my son is at an impass or we are starting a new area I will split the time between them (lesson time 1 hr: 1/2 hr each child) if more time is needed than so be it. There are times that I will leave them to 'figure' it on their own in an attempt to promote self-teaching, but I am nearby if they need me.
7) I am in Teacher/Mom/Housekeeper/Animal keeper mode 24/7.

My son (the Highschooler) wants to be an Army Ranger and my daughter (grade school) wants to be a Palentologist.
They are involved in Girl/Boy Scouts, Archery, Football,Soccer,Flute lessons, Ballet, Ice Skateing, Horseback Riding lessons, Civil War and Renassaince reenacting.

Answer 10

1) How long do you homeschool (through highschool?)

*** We will most likely HS through high school, but DS's high school will not look like a typical path - he'll be in community college courses before he's 12 (he's 9 now). He's already in Algebra 1. He'll also take many high school and college courses online.

*** Every family is different. Many do send kids to PS in high school and others don't.

2) Does a parent that home schools need to have any educational requirements? (i.e. must have masters degree)

*** Not in most states. In my state we just have to teach in English. There is no reporting and no testing or other requirements. We are a private school like any other, so we're exempt from the PS rules. DH and I both have B.S. degrees. The areas I'm strong in he's not and vice versa, so we make a great teaching team.

3) I am a fairly intelligent person, but have been stumped by my daughters 8th grade math questions. How do you teach something advanced unless you already know the work yourself?

*** You either re-learn along with the child, use a tutor, use a co-op class, enroll them in a teacher-led online class, or choose a curriculum that is self-teaching like Teaching Textbooks. As I said above, some parents balance each other. My DH is an engineer so math and science is not a problem, and I'm strong in Language Arts & history.

4) How many hours per day of instruction (not counting "homework" do you give? How many hours of homework? Use the 7th grade as an example

*** HS'ers don't have "homework", as all their work is HOMEwork. Homework from a B&M school just means "we didn't have time to devote to this in class and/or you weren't fast enough to finish, and/or I, the teacher, need you to do busywork."

*** A typical HS lesson, for example is a 1:1 (or a sibling or two, too) lesson, then time for the child to work **at their own pace** (15 minutes or 2 hours - whatever they need) to finish the work. Some parents say, "you need to be done in an hour and if not, you'll have to finish tonight" or whatever.

*** You cannot compare apples to oranges with "time in school. Seven hours in a B&M school is not all direct time with a child. There is all that wasted time taking attendance, changing classes, lining up, getting the class to calm down, going to lunch, having assemblies, etc. In a homeschool, a lesson may take 15 minutes that one in a schoolroom would take an entire 55 minute period. Even then there are kids who still won't get it - and there's kids who got it at 15 minutes and have to suffer through boredom for the next 40 minutes (probably daydreaming, passing notes, texting on their phone, making faces at others, etc), but yet they are "in school". In a home, you don't have all of those time wasters.

*** The average time a HS'ed middle schooler may do actual "curriculum" work (if they use one at all) is probably 5 hours/day. Also, many people like us do school year round, so we get in many hours equivalent to the B&M schools, but with less hours in a day/month. It is all relative to *each* child since they can go at their own pace.

5) If you have more than 1 kid, how do you divide your time?

*** I only have one that I HS, but most people "spin plates". They get one child set up with a math or reading lesson, have them do their independent work, move on to the next child, etc. Also, in multi-child homes, many of the siblings tutor their younger sibs. Or the family studies topics together with different expectations depending on the grade level. This is easy to do with non-core classes.

6) If you have kids in the 6th 7th and 8th grade, are you in teaching mode 18 hours a day?

*** No, as explained above. Most kids in middle school do the majority of their work independently.

*** Well, actually I'm in teaching mode 24/7 - education and learning are just part of life. We may have hours we use a formal curriculum, but we're all constantly learning - most of the time out in the community.

*** Thanks for asking honest questions for feedback. There are as many ways to HS as there are HS'ing familes.