Homeschooling

[rclouse79]

I understand not being a fan of public schools, but I think homeschooling effectively would be more than a full time job. I know there are parents who pull it off, but I have seen the less than impressive products of homeschooling. The last family who rented the house next to ours "home schooled" their entire pack of kids, but it was more like they were no schooled. They were basically a bunch of feral kids running around the neighborhood. I once saw their 12 year old boy pull his fingers out to add 8 + 8. Pubic education fails a lot of kids, but I would bet money those kids would have been better off in the school system.

 

[98XJRC]

We made the decision to switch over to an online Cyber School offered by the state for the past two school years. It's still a public institution, however we are much more aware of what is being taught to our children. Honestly if I could convince my wife to switch to a true homeschooling curriculum I'd be happy, however she has taken on the primary roll and is already difficult enough with an 11 year old and three 9 year olds.

Our children have flourished in the program with all 3 of the younger ones qualifying for honors classes next year and our oldest maintaining A's in all of his classes as well. Knowing that the ones who need pushed harder and challenged have the opportunity to do so even in elementary school is fantastic, however it is still a struggle with attempting to keep the 2 younger boys from getting distracted on their school computers. My wife is currently up in the air on if she will continue with this program next school year or send them back. She is aware of my opinion, however I am of little help in helping school them due to work.

 

[gbflyer]

Spent several years watching my wife and son go at it hammer and tong over home school. We put him back in public school this year as a freshman. Best thing ever for our home life. He was behind in math, but very advanced in history. I suppose that’s some reflection of his more classical education he got at home. We decided good character is much more important than straight - A’s. He’ll end up a working guy most likely and that’s ok with me.

 

[CoStick]

I think it probably depends on the kid, I have one who could do it. For the other it would a miserable experience. Thankfully we have good schools and they are doing great.

 

[280Ackley]

Best advice I can give is to find other families that are like minded. My wife tried by herself at first and it was miserable for everyone involved. Then she found a co-op and it has been unbelievable. She teaches the younger kids Math and science, while a few other parents teach the older kids. Gives the kids some time away from there parents but you are still in control of what they learn. By oldest just graduated with 5 other kids and my youngest is in the preschool ran by another mom. Also look into the dual enrollment with your local college, it is a great resource for the older kids.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

You have no higher obligation and responsibility in life than to that of your children. Government schools fail your children terribly, and condition them in way similar to a correctional facility. Homeschooling is an incredible gift to your children, allows for direct instruction tailored to YOUR child, and has never been easier given the resources available. We can knock out 3 kids daily lessons in approximately 1-2 hours, they spend the rest of the day learning all the things necessary to make them contributing members of our society. I will never subject my kids to state institutions of learning. I realize not everyone can financially swing it, my parents both had to work, but if you're both working in order to finance that second car, the RV, the media subscriptions, eating out all the time etc., it's time to prioritize.

100% agree. If it's within your means to do so, remove your kids from the state-run school system.

A common mistake made by many who try (or consider trying) homeschooling is thinking they need to mimic the format of traditional state schools (e.g., 8 hours a day, 5 days a week teaching straight out of a book). Some amount of structure is necessary, but embrace the freedom to tailor the curriculum, timing, and teaching techniques to your particular kids. A couple hours a day of "book work" should be sufficient, after that the world is your oyster...teach them how to cook a meal, grow a garden, change a tire, help their neighbors, and all the other practical life skills that the state schools ignore.

 

[JoMa]

We’ve home-educated our three children for the past 10 years. My oldest daughter just completed her first year of college, my son just completed his junior year in high school, and my youngest daughter just completed her freshman year in high school.

Home-educating requires a substantial investment from both parents and kids. A such, one of the most important things you need to consider is “why you want to homeschool”. If you have core foundational reasons for taking this adventure, then you will be more likely to see it through. For us, homeschooling has been one of the most challenging and rewarding endeavors my wife and I have taken on.

Every child is unique in their interests, abilities, and style and pace of learning. The beauty of home-educating is that you can tailor a very focused education for these differences in your children. It also offers the opportunity to encourage them in the courses and subjects that most interest them. My oldest daughter loves all thing animals and recently broke a BLM mustang to ride. My son loves hunting, basketball, guitar, knife making, forging/welding, and mountain biking. My youngest loves horses, painting/drawing, basketball, piano, and track. The homeschooling approach we’ve elected to implement is very unlike the one-size fits all public education system.

There are many different styles and types of curriculums to choose from these days, including selecting your own individual books/curriculum for each course, fully integrated curriculums, on-line courses, homeschool groups/co-operatives, etc. We’ve used some combination of all of these, but have primarily selected unique, individual books/curriculum for each course. You’ll need to find what works best for your situation. Also, find some other homeschooling families in the area that you can lean on for advice and support. Many states also offer annual homeschool conventions that are great for researching curriculum and interacting with other homeschool families.

I’ve often heard the criticism that home-educated children are not “socialized” properly. While this may be true in some cases, studies indicate that statistically most home-educated children are above average on measures of social and emotional development. My children are involved in sports, 4H, church youth groups, physical ed classes, volunteer organizations, etc. Also, as parents we have the opportunity to educate them on social issues rather than public school teachers or classmates.

As others have mentioned, the flexibility and freedom of homeschooling is a tremendous benefit to our family. Our day-to-day schedule has variability but is still somewhat structured for educational time in the morning. Most days, classes are completed by around noon. However, my son and I can take off on long weekends for hunting trips. If we want to take a vacation during the school year, we take our curriculum with us to continue schooling. We can also turn the trip into an educational experience for our kids.

This website has lots of great information on homeschooling: HSLDA - Making homeschooling possible

 

[Steelhead]

Also consider that if you take control of your kid's education you can be flexible and agile depending on your teaching abilities, curriculum and time. Where we live the education requirements are very open to alternative education such as homeschooling so YMMV.
We homeschool, but also employ a tutor for math and grammar. These subjects are taught completely outside of any established curriculum. Daughter is 16 now and we have used the tutor since she was 11. Working "outside" of a curriculum in subjects like these means she can progress as fast or slow as needed, or double down on areas she struggles on, without the constraints of a timeline or grade.
We use portions of a curriculum for other subjects and areas of interest instead of what the state mandates she learns or how the state wants it taught.
Our goal is to get her ether a GED or diploma and she is already very close, or already able to achieve those.
there are tons of benefits of homeschooling, but sometimes it makes sense to have a "third party" join, such as a tutor since, 1. they know their subject and teaching styles, and 2. your child/student might be less likely to push back or resist pressure when things get tough as they would in a familiar/parent relationship.
Its been working for us, not ever "easy" but we are able to provide her with the skills and education needed in life while also sidestepping the propaganda and social dynamic BS running rampant in schools these days.
We take it year by year. It is a sacrifice for both my wife and I, we could be making a lot more money on 2 incomes. Depends on where your priorities lie and of course what your financially or physically able to do.

 

[Seth]

We’ve homeschooled our two for the last 8 years with Classical Conversations. When we were first looking into it, we went to an open house at a local community. I was blown away by the quality of essays and presentations put on by these kids. It’s a lot of work, especially for my wife, but so worth it.

We have a community day once per week where several families meet, designated tutors teach the new material, and the kids can interact with peers. Every day starts with each kid giving a presentation. Public speaking becomes a very natural thing.

We can customize the curriculum, especially around STEM. As an engineer, that’s important to me. The beauty is the ability to craft instruction around each child and their interests. If they master a subject quickly, we move on. If they need more time, we can take it.

There is no one size, single model. Find a system and curriculum that works for your family. If you put the work into it, you’ll be amazed at the results. As another poster suggested, check out HSLDA for great info.

 

[hh76]

I don't know much about home schooling, other than the couple months we had to do during Covid. We're lucky enough (actually researched pretty hard to make sure) to have a great school system here, and I know I couldn't give our kids the same level of education.

What I do know, is that it is a real time commitment, especially with little kids.

You said you're both self employed, so hopefully you have very flexible schedules. I have an employee who chose to home school their kids while he was working remotely. He had a pretty flexible schedule, but still needed to be available to answer questions during certain hours. His wife did not work at first, and things went OK. She decided to get a part time job, and things went downhill fast. He thought he could keep up with work and help kids, but was failing.

 

[bojangles808]

Good luck

 

[bdg848]

My father in law was a public school teacher.....and all his kids were homeschooled...Both my parents were public school teachers and I they will also tell you that the government schools are cesspools. Everything you hear being taught across the country IS being taught in your child's school to some degree. If you agree with those teachings, then fine, but if not and If you love your child and can make it work AT ALL, homeschooling is the best bet for their physical and emotional wellbeing, If for no other reason than you LOVE them INDIVIDUALLY and will devote everything to their specific wellbeing and education unlike how a random adult will be catering to the class of 30 kids.

It may take sacrifice, It is a full time effort, one of you will have to stay home, but worth it. My son, when old enough, WILL NOT be setting foot in a government school.

Besides the ideological dogma the government doles out to the kids, Homeschool kids consistently score higher average test scores than public school kids, again I think that is because no teacher loves your kid or cares as much about their individual education as you.

 

[5MilesBack]

We were overseas when our two oldest daughters were of school age and we started homeschooling when they turned 4. By the time they were in middle school they wanted to try public school for the sports and activities. Both of them were immediately put into the TAG program because of how far ahead they were. They both graduated after having several AP and honors classes and graduated with close to 4.5 GPA's.

Our youngest daughter we did the opposite with. She started public school and then switched to home school a few years ago during middle school. So glad we did that before Covid, no messed up transition in the middle of a grade.

Our kids always had plenty of interaction time with other kids at church and in home school groups. Our home school group currently does field trips and other activities every month and we have a pretty good sized youth group at church as well......that always has something going on. My wife and I are involved with most of those activities as well.

It's nice that we aren't on an absolute set schedule every school year. We can travel whenever we want, my daughter goes hunting with me, and she can go as fast or slow as she wants. But the big thing is........we know what she's being taught......and what she isn't being taught. We use Abeka.

 

[cnelk]

Even though parents may home school their kids, they can also do preselected public school classes part time - if they wish.

Its not all or nothing. If a child attends public school for a certain hours/day, the student is 'counted' and the school district gets that pupil funding from the state.

 

[BigDawgWill44]

Just a thought, but have you considered private school?


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[Cowbell]

Look into Classical Conversations.

This is what we are looking at as we have several friends with high success with this and we just got a local home group in our town.

 

[Cowbell]

Just a thought, but have you considered private school?


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Don't have the option where we live and would still be on a daily schedule. I like the idea of us not being controlled daily by school structures. We ranch full time and it's a lifestyle that would be hard to structure with 8-3 schools and only seeing our kids much on weekends.

 

[Jimbob]

YOUR KIDS ARE WORTH THE EFFORT/INVESTMENT.

I teach at a private Christian school, my wife works there as well, and we pay tuition for our kids to attend. Before getting my job our kids attended public school and I could not imagine going back to that.

So nice to be part of my kids' education and know and agree with what they are being taught.

 

[Marbles]

I think homeschooling can be a good thing. I would not do it sole because of what happened in TX though. It is work.

I was home schooled. I just finished my Master's Degree from Georgetown University. Not bad for a kid who grew up in poverty in red dirt country with a sever speech impediment and ADHD (and in one of the worst school districts in a state that performs at the bottom of the nation for education). I owe my mom a lot for going to the effort of homeschooling me. My wife and I plan to homeschool our children, though they are not quite old enough to pick out a curriculum. My wife's aunt, who homeschooled all three of her kids says the UK has the best math curriculum.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Spent several years watching my wife and son go at it hammer and tong over home school. We put him back in public school this year as a freshman. Best thing ever for our home life. He was behind in math, but very advanced in history. I suppose that’s some reflection of his more classical education he got at home. We decided good character is much more important than straight - A’s. He’ll end up a working guy most likely and that’s ok with me.

It’s u fortunate when parents who homeschool focus on their own interests rather than making the kid solid in hard subjects. There is absolutely no reason why kids should be better in history and social studies than things like math and reading comprehension. While history is important, I find i sad when I review data only to see students below level in math and reading while knowing their teachers focusing social studies.