HOMESCHOOLING
I know when I think of homeschooling I think of the woman who's plain jane wearing someone from an earlier generations hand-me-downs with children who are messy and a little "weird".
Lover Boy suggested a few months ago that we homeschool our children. I laughed at the suggestion with my vivid picture in mind of what a homeschooler looks like and what her children look like. He informed me that he was serious and started pointing out some very important things to me. I kinda agreed with him for a moment, but you know my impressions that I have in my head have been there so long that I wasn't completely sold on the idea, regardless of how good it sounded.
Then I started noticing some of my friends have opted to and are homeschooling their children. Blogs that I stalk often refer to homeschooling and how everyone loves it. Is it becoming a new trend or has it always been and I've just never had my eyes open to it?
Have I been mistaken all these 28 years of life? Could there be something out there that I haven't known? Am I so naive to picture a person who homeschools and the poor children the way that I'd described?
I will completely admit that I do like the idea of homeschooling. Last night I spent over 5 hours reading pros and cons and different methods/styles of homeschooling and seriously I think I'm hands down all for it!
I'm not going to share why I now feel so supportive of homeschooling, I want to hear what your thoughts about the whole idea are. Will you judge me and my children and make fun of them or assume they are socially inadequate? If there wasn't such a stigmata attached to homeschooled children I'd pull Little Princess out of preschool right this second, ok really I'd wait til Monday when she returns to school. My concerns are just the stupid semi-unimportant "what will others think?" It is silly and stupid to care what others think, however others reactions and the way they treat others do affect us all and I don't want my child discriminated. So that is why I am asking for your opinions and thoughts.
Thanks in advance:)
9 comments:
Are you sure you want people opionons. LOL No I think if you can handle it and teach your kids what they need to know then great home school them. Me I need a break from the kids so I can get something done or just have time to hang with Carter who gets left out of the loop when Camden is running us around. I'm not smart enough to home school my kids past the time they are 8, and I do think they need to make friends and have a life outside of home. But with everything going on in the world heck yeah I'd love to have my little ones at home away from harm. But again if you can handle it and teach them then you go girl. Me I need that 2 hour 15 minute break 2 days a week so hang with Carter and relax. I can't wait till they are all in school. Best of luck on you in your decision.
I can always spot the kids out in the gym that are home schooled. They are socially off, so I would recommend some sort of social group. Also I HATE putting together lesson plans, that is something you would have to do everyday and what about the days you dont want to teach them? And your not getting paid. Plus you would have your kids 24/7, some kids I cant stand 1 hour a week. I think kids mind and behave better when the parents are not around. I just want to be really involved and make sure my kids are learning what they should. You have to deal with the sucky things in life sooner or later. You could try it a year see how it goes.
Yeah, homeschooling is a growing trend right now and I think it's because public schools can downright suck (not all of course). IMO, if done properly (which reqires a TON of work) I think homeschooling can be better for the kids. Good luck w/ your decision. Don't let anyone's opinion change your course -- just make the decision based on what you think is right for your kids. :)
So, when I was teaching I had kids come into my classroom who had been homeschooled. One particular little boy had beautiful penmanship, but couldn't read or do math. He soon informed me that he and his mom only worked on handwriting, because that is what he was good at and liked doing. Also, he didn't know how to behave in a classroom setting. Like when it was time to sit at your desks and work on math, he would go over to the board to draw because he didn't want to do math right now (I think he got away with this at home) He did have trouble listening when he was supposed to be listening and had trouble making friends. Now this is jsut one boy, I had another little boy who had been homeschooled, and he had a hard time at first adjusting to the school rutine, but after about a month, he fit in fine. There were some areas he struggled, but that can be said with any child. So I think if you do the home school thing right, and consistently (5 days a week and spend a good chunk of the day teaching) then it can work. But remember there are a lot of things to teach, so if one day you do decide to put your kids back into the regular school system, you do not want them to be behind everyone else. But as a parent, I totally understand wanting to keep them home with you and protecting them. This year Hunter is in the first grade and he is coming home knowing all these swear words and hearing things that I died when I found out he was hearing. So you've got to decide what would be best for your kids. I did have a student in my class, whose mom decided to home shcool his brother and eventually took him out of the school system too. For this particular boy I don't htink that was a good move because he was a mommas boy and would have rather been with her all the time as apposed to playing with friends. I really think he needed the social part that school brought. So whatever fits your kids best :) Sorry about the novel :)
I am all for it, but I don't think I could personally do it because I don't feel like I know enough to be able to teach my kids! And I am certainly not disciplined enough to be able to stick to it! I like that my kids go to school and make friends and have that interaction.
I am also with Mandy and Nate in that I like to have that break from my kids. I would go COMPLETELY nuts if my kids were home all day and then on top of that, I was trying to get them to stop fighting enough to home school lol.
for me, I think the combo of public schooling (for the social aspects) and teaching kids at home would be a great mixture.
I do agree with Shay though, do what YOU feel is right for YOUR family!
You need to do what is right for your family...No-one knows better than you do!! Me personally, I would never homeschool my kids. Sotera benefits sooo much from being in a social atmosphere. She is getting to an age where she thrives on being with other kids all day. Last summer nearly killed both of us. She was so bored with being home with me & I too was getting really ready for her to be in school. If you are really concerned about what she might pick up from other kids at school, there are some really great private schools, who keep on top of that... Although they are pricey.. At the same time, welcome to the real world, you can't keep them away from the wickedness of the world forever. I would rather my kids learn to adjust & know right from wrong at an early age, so they will adjust as adults!!
I totally get the stigma... alot of homeschooled kids are socially slower. I think if you have a kid that struggles in the social part or has a hard time with structure, homeschooling is probably not for you!! However none of our opinions really matter, you know your kids & you know what to do for them!!
i think it is completely up to you. you would be an amazing teacher for your children and you would know exactly what they need and be able to focus on those things. i have heard you have to be extremely organized and very self disciplined. these are two things you would have no problem with. my next door neighbor home schools her children. she does an amazing job and she has her children in some amazing home school programs that are available just for home schooled children. her oldest child is a very normal well socialized child. her boy is quite the opposite and a little bit awkward. i think it really depends on the child. her second child needs to be away from mom more often, she really needs to cut the cord with him. i debated the same thing when braylie was going to kindergarten. i actually gave her the option of which she would like to do. when i asked her she said she wanted to go to school and that she was sad for maddy that she had school at home. my neighbor has also told me it is very costly. she spends up to $2000 a year on curriculum for her children. i think it is all up to you and what works best for your children and yourself. you can always try it for kindergarten and see what happens. good luck and let me know what you decide. maybe i will send my children to your house for school.
It is interesting that you posted this at this time because I have been struggling with the same issues and my very reason for not homeschooling my children at this time is that I don't want people to think that I am weird. In my little town, there are quite a few home school children. You have your interesting kids, but you also have your very intelligent, normal, teenagers who are actually fun to be around. They have different priorities in life, good priorities. I am scared for my girls to go to middle school. I don't like the way that girls treat each other there and how kids change to fit in. I know that you can teach your children to make good choices and that they have to face the world sometime, but I also think that there are some situations that they don't ever need to see. I believe that you can do it and do it well. We are sending our children to school for the majority of their little lives. I often find myself thinking that I wouldn't get the things that I need to done, but, I think that it all falls into place. I am leaning towards spending more time with my children and keeping them home. I have already started working on Olivia. This year she really wanted to go to school,so I sent her. She is doing well in Kindergarten and enjoys it, but I have talked to her about things that we would be able to do at home together and I have heard her mention a couple of times that she would enjoy staying at home and having me as a teacher. I don't worry about her socially because I am aware that home schooled children can be socially awkward and I think that there are many ways to avoid that. I don't know, maybe we could do it together. I would love to talk to you about the whole thing. Good luck with your decision!
Trichelle, I was talking to your mom tonight and she told me you were going to homeschool Ivy for sure for kindergarten. I found this website the other day and I've looked at it quite a bit and I thought you might be interested (I'm not planning on homeschooling but if I was, I really like this lady's set up and especially her work boxes). Here's the link--I hope it helps you a little. The blog is http://confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com/
Good luck!! Erin
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