Homeschool question

[Keishag]

I know some may choose not to answer this and that's fine but I'm just going through alot of things in my head and trying to sort it all out. Just this past week I've started considering homeschooling my kids. They are in K and 2nd grade this year. I'm scared that my motives are wrong right now though. My baby is starting K and I'm having a really hard time letting go.

So my question is why did you ultimately decide to homeschool? I know everybody has different reasons, and I've certainly built a list which consists of more than just my pre empty nest syndrome, but I'm wondering how everyone else decides that they've considered it long enough and it's the right move for your family. I'll be honest and add that one of the reasons I got fired up about it this this week particularly, is after we booked our trip for Oct. I started researching our district laws and realized I may be fined and taken to court for taking my kids out of school for 6 days for our family vacation.

Thank you in advance. I'm going to pick up the book by Lisa Welch, as I absolutely adore her, and I'll start there but wanted to also hear you guys out.

 

[Denine]

We have an entire thread here on the Family Board of us homeschooler's. Come on over and we would be happy to answer your questions.

However, in our family, vacationing during the "traditional" school year is a perk, not a reason.

 

[lilybrooke14]

Grrr....I had a response typed out, and then my computer ate it. Let's try again.

We're probably going to homeschool our DD for kindergarten next year. I'm not impressed at all with our local public school, and we can't afford the private one. If we were ONE street over and were zoned for the other elementary school, we might be making a different choice, but we're not.

We found a local homeschool group that offers co-op classes, group field trips, and a group recess once a week. We'll also have her in outside activities like art class and gymnastics for extra socialization.

I've done a lot of looking at curriculum choices, and I think I've settled on what we're going to use. We're going to do half days 4 days a week, and use the last day for field trips or extra projects.

I don't know if we'll do it after Kindergarten. We'll see how that year goes and decide after that. I've gotten a lot of good information and tips from Pioneer Woman's site (http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/). There's so much information online, it can be overwhelming. I think it's going to be fun though!

 

[Tiana]

....

 

[mom2att]

I have three children and am just starting my 10th year homeschooling. My reasons for doing so now are different from the reasons that I started, but suffice it to say that I love the extra time that we get to spend together as a family because we are homeschooling. "School" is integrated into our everyday family life and not an entity unto itself. Even friendships are a family affair, since my kids' closest friends are the children of my closest friends, and as families we do all kinds of things together--more like a big extended family than just friends. When I was growing up I had "school friends" and "church friends" and "band friends," all of them segmented into different groups and none of them integrated into my family life. I like that this is different for my kids.


I'm not trying to shelter or protect them or keep them apart--but I love the relationships that we are able to build given the extra time that we have together as a family. They'll grow up and be on their own soon enough--I'm certainly not trying to prevent or delay that. I do appreciate the fact that the time I have to influence, observe, and just enjoy the people that they are becoming is greater due to the fact that they are not in school for 6 - 8 hours per day.

Homeschooling is not for everyone. I am grateful that it is one of many choices available to parents because it is the option that works best for my family.

Best of luck as you begin your journey. I started when my oldest was entering K and figured we'd be ready for her to start school in 3rd grade. She's now beginning her freshman year as a student who has never been to traditional school, with her 2nd and 4th grade brothers following in her footsteps. I had no idea where this would take our family when we started, and I wouldn't change a thing.

ETA: As Florida residents the option to visit WDW anytime we feel like it is of course a great fringe benefit to homeschooling!

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

We started homeschooling 17 years ago. Yikes. Originally we chose homeschooling because i didn't care for the school system where we lived. We decided we would take it year by year. We have continued because it worked for us. I have one son working on his Master's. One a Jr. in college, one going in as a freshman. And 4 more at home, including a 1 year old! It is an exciting life if I do say so myself.

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't think that that one reason is wrong. I mean, she'll start K work anyway, just at home vs away. All the benefits with none of the downside, IMO. (K is when my good friend's daughter changed personality entirely and became a thoroughly UNpleasant child thanks to the attitudes she picked up there...she's the only kid I was around so much before and after so she's my only example apart from me, LOL)

 

[Keishag]

Thank you all for the very helpful and informative advice/suggestions.

I think I should clarify that the October trip wasn't a reason, it was the school telling me when I can and can't take MY kids on vacation, whether it be to WDW or to visit family. Just doesn't quite sit right with me.

I've got alot to consider this year before we make a decision, I don't want to make a rash decision and then regret it when my kids are the ones that are having to put up with it.

 

[worm761]

We homeschool DS again. The first time I decided to homeschool was when he was in kindergarden. He did K in public school then we did 1st and 2nd at home. The school he went to was horrible. DS has ADHD and Asperger's. They were going to put him in a basement room where they kept all the "special" kids. Those kids didn't eat with the other kids or play recess. It was awful. DS has a very high IQ and has never been in a special ed class. Then I moved to Florida. He went to a great school for 3rd to 5th. Then the public school for middle school has a no fail policy. Yep from 6th grade to 8th grade you don't have to do anything more than show up to class and you pass! Yeah, not sending my kid to that. So we went to private school for two years. DS started to develop anxiety problems and us and his doctors felt it would be best to homeschool him. I had issues finding a curriculum that we could both work with so we use a virtual school. We will most likely finish schooling him at home since there are only a few good schools for high school and they are very hard to get into.

 

[DreadpiratK]

When we took my oldest DS to meet his kindergarten teacher, and explained that he was reading, and doing addition and subtraction, her response was "Then this will be a year of review for him, and he can help teach the other kids"

Um, no. We knew he would have been bored to tears, and probably a discipline problem in that setting, so we kept him home. We had NO idea what we were getting into whatsoever, but 15 years later he's an honor student studying computer engineering at RIT, and without ever setting foot in a pubic of private school classroom, so somehow we did something right. I think that Ben would have excelled academically in any setting, it's just how he's wired, but I'm glad we kept him home to do it, and it hasn't hindered his pursuit of higher degrees in the least, it's given hime quite a few advantages. His sister and brother are both excelling as well, but in very different ways, ways that no public school would have enabled or encouraged.

Homeschooling turned out to be one of the best things we ever did for our kids, and our family.

Whenever people ask why we home-school I often say flippantly that it's so we can go on vacation in September. OK, it's not a reason exactly, but it's a darn important perk!

 

[MomofSixinSC]

My main reason for homeschooling is because the Bible says that I am to teach my children the Lord's precepts "when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deut. 6:7) To me this means as I spend each day with my children, I should be teaching about God. Hard to do if I am not with them.

 

[MiniGirl]

OP, there are almost as many different reasons to homeschool as there are families doing it.

When my youngest was about to start K, I asked my oldest about homeschooling. She looked at me like I had grown another head or something. There was no way. She loved school. Fast forward to spring break of that same school year...... she asked if we could homeschool the next year. We talked about it a lot, and I asked a lot of questions. It was important to me that she wasn't wanting in order to run away from something that might have been happening at school. I also talked to her teachers and would casually ask questions of her friends, and everything seemed fine. She was just bored in school and didn't like all the roughhousing, yelling, and picking (not even necessarily at her) that went on there. She was also at an age where she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was growing and it seemed was just really wanting to spend more time with me. I made homeschooling sound like an unattractive alternative. She'd have more chores to do, etc. She still wanted to homeschool but my youngest opted to stay in school, so we decided we'd commit for at least one year. If it didn't work out, she could always go back to school. Well, we loved it. The hardest part of the year was still having to follow the public school's schedule because of my youngest. She hated school that year and she stayed home the following year. We are starting our 3rd year now, and really enjoy this "lifestyle of learning." We are in Classical Conversations (the same program mentioned by a pp), and love it. I don't pretend to know all of the things the kids are learning, but they see me learning it with them; and we have all grown because of it. They see that we learn for the joy it brings us and the things it enables us to do -- not for a grade. I pray they will, long after their "schooling" ends, continue to learn and explore the world in which we live.

Homeschooling has turned out to be a great thing for our family. My dh travels a lot for work, and often on the weekend. It has been great that they are able to spend more time with him now. We are able to travel when we want and not worry about the school district coming down on us because the kids are missing too much school. We are able to stay up late and look at the stars or watch an eclipse or go to the beach and watch for turtles, and not have to worry about getting up early. My girls are able to be involved in more activities and still pursue new interests or old passions because they have more time. We can easily schedule appointments and not worry about them being during school hours.

Now, as with most things, you get out of it what you put into it. Meaning it does take some effort and some discipline to do it and do it well. For our family, though, it is well worth it. My girls were difficult toddlers (as most are, I'm sure) and there were many times I couldn't wait for them to go to school so I could get a break. However, they have turned out to be really good kids and a lot of fun to be around. I'm glad I am able to enjoy the benefits of all that hard work from earlier years. LOL!!