why do you homeschool?

[My2CrazyGirls]

I am curious, what are your main reasons for homeschooling?

Live in an are w a bad school system?
Special needs child?
Live on a farm?
Religious reasons?

 

[Svhadden]

We homeschool for several reasons, and academics is way down on the list. We actually live in an area that is nationally recognized for its schools, but we know we're doing the right thing for our family.

When our oldest was about 4 I really started researching homeschooling vs conventional schooling. I read a lot (I'd NEVER make a major decision like this without researching it thoroughly), spoke to hundreds of ppl, and prayed with my husband many many times.

One of the books I read, "Inside American Education" by Thomas Sowell really opened my eyes. I completely recommend this book to anyone with questions about public education.

As to reasons, as I said, there are many. We like being in control of what our kids learn, and what they don't. We appreciate being able to have more control over their peer group--peer influence is CRUCIAL for character development, and I'd never just leave this to chance. But primarily, we wanted to be able to heavily address spiritual growth because it's my DH and my belief that spiritual and character development is more important than even academics (I'd rather my kids be ppl of integrity over geniuses ANY day). Fortunately, kids are naturally little sponges, so if all you do is put learning opportunities in their path, they WILL learn. Both of our kids read very early, and are learning at or above the levels of their conventionally schooled peers. That's typical of homeschooled kids. Finally, I just like spending time with my kids . Yes, I'm partial, but I think they're awesome little ppl, and we enjoy being together. I can't imagine dropping them off somewhere and spending 8-10 hours away from them every day.

I should say that my DH and I were schooled in very different settings. I'm a product of conventional schools, and hold a Bachelors and a Masters Degree. My DH went to private schools and also has a college degree. I never saw us as homeschoolers, but after having done it for 6 yrs, I wouldn't change it for anything.

 

[Nayan]

Because our public schools here are awful.

I wanted more for my son than to learn how to take a test.

I wanted him to question things, just not go blindly, accept them and move on.

I wanted him to have the freedom to learn at his own pace and if he got stuck on something we could take the time to study it, practice it and understand it.

And probably a whole slew of other reasons I can't come up with right now.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

I am curious, what are your main reasons for homeschooling?

Live in an are w a bad school system?
Special needs child?
Live on a farm?
Religious reasons?

None of the above.

We're fortunate enough to have a stay-at-home parent (Dad) and I own my own business and limit MY hours to 3 days/week. So we have the time and desire to homeschool because, after all , how can anyone teach our kids better than we can? We LOVE them and can help them develop their individual talents and interests.

Additionally, I travel a lot to conferences all over the US and Canada. I've always brought the whole family along both because DH likes to travel and because I've been nursing one or more of our 4 kids for 7 1/2 years straight... so can't be away from a baby for long. Traveling is an amazing experience for the kids and we love the freedom to take them with us without worrying they're missing something at school.

FYI... I was a certified elementary teacher before I went back to school to be a doctor of chiropractic. But DH does most of the teaching and the way we teach is not much like a teacher does in a traditional school (by choice.) It's much more learning by doing/experiences.
We also don't take a summer break. There is no break from learning. Children are always learning wheher or not it's something you intend for them to learn. That doesn't necessarily mean we have structured lessons every day though.

 

[memphismovin]

Our DS12 is behind in the public school and keeps getting dragged further along without the time to get back on pace. He had an IEP that was simply dumbing down the curriculum so that they can pass him along by their standards. He does not have behavior problems and has been throughly tested with no outcome of any LD so we feel our best option for him is to stop the pace of the school system and let him catch up without having it pointed out daily that he is behind his friends. We have talked to many others who have had great success getting their children back on track this way. We do hope to have him re-enter the school system in a couple years.

A fact that I learned this weekend at conference; because of all the organizational work and the number of children in the average classroom, four hours of classroom time is actually equal to one hour of 1-on-1.....this really illuminated for me the opportunity we have to get him caught up

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

You know as I read this I am thinking of a someone I know.....

Four kids, all homeschooled and have never gone to public school.

THis fall in HIGH SCHOOL two of them have to start public school the other two are in elemementary school so hopefully it will be easier.

And the reason.... we will be EXTREMELY lucky if mom lives to Christmas. In other words there won't be anyone to home school and she doesn't have the energy to do it this year.


These kids are having such a rough transition. I wonder if the decision not to do school was the right one in light of this. Hindsight is wonderful so I just put this out for parents to think about as they make the decision.. what happens if something happens to the "teacher"

 

[cglaura]

You know as I read this I am thinking of a someone I know.....

Four kids, all homeschooled and have never gone to public school.

THis fall in HIGH SCHOOL two of them have to start public school the other two are in elemementary school so hopefully it will be easier.

And the reason.... we will be EXTREMELY lucky if mom lives to Christmas. In other words there won't be anyone to home school and she doesn't have the energy to do it this year.


These kids are having such a rough transition. I wonder if the decision not to do school was the right one in light of this. Hindsight is wonderful so I just put this out for parents to think about as they make the decision.. what happens if something happens to the "teacher"

Transition from one way of life to another is difficult regardless. I think how a child will handle a traditional school setting depends largely on how the were homeschooled.

As for me, I homeschooled dd K-12. I say "I", but it was more of a we, because I had a network to rely on...Grandparents and friends that were better in certain subjects, etc.

When she was old enough, DD took classes in the summer at the local college. Mostly general interest things. Just to get acclimated to a classroom setting for when she started college.

I think getting a homeschooled child prepared for any situation is best. Getting them into any sort of group setting is great...from Sunday School, Youth Group, local summer sports, Scouts, etc. Anything that teaches them a sort of structured setting, and how to conduct themselves accordingly during that time.

As for me...I homeschooled because I wanted dd to learn how to think...not what to think.

This is a really great poem/story: The Red Flower

(Disclaimer: I'm not saying all schools are like that...)

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

When DD was 2 Dh asked me if I had ever considered homeschooling. Honestly it had never crossed my mind.

We talked about it - he and I had vastly different schooling experiences.

He is English and dyslexic - problem for him was they (English school system) didn't figure out he had a problem until he was a teen. So basically he struggled in school the whole time.

I on the other had was good in school and in fact frustrated/ bored to a certain extent (doodling in physics class because the teacher was explaining something for the 3rd time etc).

So we decided to homeschool so DD could learn at her pace and hopefully without frustration.

 

[Granny square]

You know as I read this I am thinking of a someone I know.....

Four kids, all homeschooled and have never gone to public school.

THis fall in HIGH SCHOOL two of them have to start public school the other two are in elemementary school so hopefully it will be easier.

And the reason.... we will be EXTREMELY lucky if mom lives to Christmas. In other words there won't be anyone to home school and she doesn't have the energy to do it this year.


These kids are having such a rough transition. I wonder if the decision not to do school was the right one in light of this. Hindsight is wonderful so I just put this out for parents to think about as they make the decision.. what happens if something happens to the "teacher"

They had far more time with their mother during their lifetime because she homeschooled. I can't imagine that being a bad thing. And if their parent is dying that might affect their lives whether there was a transition or not.

We homeschooled because we knew we could better prepare our children for life than the traditional school system could. And they, as adults, are proving us right.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I did used to know someone who took the plunge with her DH and moved to an extremely rural past of Louisiana from Massachusetts (she was able to telecommute and just fly into her job once a month). She drove with their teenage son to the local high school in August, visited the school, saw the curriculm and came home with tears in her eyes. She and their DS decided they would home school. This was about 10-12 years ago, and they'd never thought of themselves as homeschoolers before this. But as she told her DH "I can't do that to him. I just can't. And we can't afford boarding school, so what are our other options?" (I know the school in question as I had some college friends who were from that HS, and there's no way I'd send my kid there. Seriously. It's a mean, segregated, low-achieving little school.)

Her son did quite well, almost exclusively working on his own, and was accepted, a whole year early, to the same MA state college that she and her DH had graduated from, so it worked out just fine.

OTOH, I know someone who was in a similar situation in rural Louisiana and who had a child she'd been told by the school district was "special needs" and probably just below the cut off for Asperger's at a well-regarded school in the North before they moved. She found a great country school district composed of a bunch of poor, rural Louisiana kids. She and her DH nearly decided to homeschool based on everything, but sucked in their breath and tried it out.

That "special needs, almost Asperger's" kid today? Yeah, he's an Eagle scout with a 4.0 who tests at the top of the nation-wide achievement tests and has a big pack of friends. She puts it all on a school district and a community that care about their kids in a deep and real way - even though they don't have a lot of money - and is sooo glad she and her DH didn't decide to home school because his attendance at this little, accepting school was what he really needed to blossom.

As someone who doesn't have kids, I've objectively seen it go both ways to two very similar families. From the evidence, I think homeschooling is best in some circumstances and sending kids off to school is best in some circumstances.

 

[An_Island_Girl]

We do things a little different here, in that our DD8 goes to public school, but we also "after-school homeschool" nights and weekends.

Our local school system (which we adore) just lost gifted and talented funding. So rather than advance our daughter to the grade level she is working at academically, we decided that we would supplement her classical learning with more advanced areas here at home. So far she is loving it, and we can really see the difference it is making by having her feel more "normal" among her peers.

We have a wonderful group of parent volunteers and we all take turns doing pull-out gifted programs throughout the week (Junior Great Books, Competitive Math League, etc.) so that the teachers can teach the grade level fundamentals to the majority of the class and those children that have mastered the material aren't board. It certainly isn't a perfect solution, but it is working well for us.

Good luck to everyone struggling with the decision to home-school. So much of it depends on the personality of both the children and the parents as well.

 

[hsmamato2]

B/C I felt that ideally,becoming an educated well rounded adult required way more than a set, prescribed prepackaged curriculum could handle.
B/C when my son was 3, he had some issues with behavior due to sever allergies,and I couldn't see him adapting well to all day at school.
B/C we live in a community with wonderful resources available,and homeschooling gave us the flexibility to explore all the various options in life.
B/C I felt that I could allow my kids the time to give them what I felt was most important,time to grow in their own way,and an education that was tailor made to their interests.
I could have utilized the school system to get some of these things, I'm not 'anti-school' - but I still believe that the option to do things differently worked best for our family.
My goal was to raise thinking,productive adults. So far,so good. We'll see.

 

[ilovepete]

To be honest there are really too many reasons to list! None of the ones you mentioned in the OP, though.

 

[gillenkl]

I homeschool our DS with special needs - he wasn't receiving what we felt he needed in our school system. Best decision I ever made.

 

[Granny square]

Isn't "homeschooling after school" or before mandatory enrollment just parenting?

 

[donaldandpirates]

We pulled DD out in the middle of 6th grade to homeschool. It was the best thing we ever did in regards to her education, and I really wish we would have done it sooner. She is moderately dyslexic; struggled a lot; and we had many, many issues with how the school was run, curriculum, etc. Our school district allows the flexibility for part-time homeschooling, so she will be taking band and a couple of other classes at the public high school this year while we continue to homeschool her for the remainder of her core and extracurricular subjects.

DS is on the autism spectrum and has been in the public school system since he was three. It has been absolutely wonderful for him! However, I still do workbooks and stuff with him at home.

The lesson we learned from all of this: Do what is best for each child, whether it's homeschooling, public school, or private school. And it may be different for each child.

 

[DawnM]

Why are you curious?

 

[PA Princess]

The lesson we learned from all of this: Do what is best for each child, whether it's homeschooling, public school, or private school. And it may be different for each child.

I think that is really key...figure out what is best for your child and/or family, and be willing to flex as needs and circumstances alter.

We have done some of everything with our 4 kids from private to public to homeschool. No one answer was correct for every kid at every moment and we were okay with that and figured it out as we went along.

 

[An_Island_Girl]

Isn't "homeschooling after school" or before mandatory enrollment just parenting?

I wish! We're actually doing calculus and high school Honors Physics with our dd8 that would typically be in a 3rd grade classroom. I say all the time that if my daughter had a documented disability that she'd get all the extra help she needed, but by being labeled a gifted and talented child, none of her academic needs are met by our school system. A strange twist in the system, but true none the less.

I knew we were in trouble when she learned to read on her own at age 2 and called me "cantankerous" at 3 when I tried to hurry her along on her multiplication facts.

It's a journey that is filled with so many unknowns, but I wouldn't change it for the world!

 

[hsmamato2]

Yes..it is 'just parenting'... Island Girl details some of the things she's doing specifically for her kiddos needs.....whether academic in nature or otherwise,that IS 'just parenting'...... the 'just' is definitely sarcastic quotes from me..... all of it is 'just' parenting,but some of our parenting whether hs or not is targeted at education.....