Thinking of Home Schooling

Hi K.,
I am a SAHM of 4 boys and will start to school them in the summer (my husband was home schooled and has a bad taste because of his particular situation ~ his family was on the road for 4 yrs., half that time it was just him, while his father was an evangelist) to give it a trial run (my heart is already at ease with the decision to keep them home). I think you do have a long way to go until you need to decide what type of curriculum you will use and to find groups, but I think it's great that you are making this decision now. It breaks my heart that I have sent 2 of my boys to strangers to be taught by the world and the evils that they face everyday. I disagree with the other moms (we are all entitled to our opinions) that we can't protect them and that public schools are the best choice for some children. I believe that it is one of our jobs to protect them until they are able to stand firm in their beliefs to protect themselves from this world. Also, God chose each one of us to raise our children not someone in a public school because they have a degree, we are our children's best teacher. Who else besides God knows them better? Coming from a worldly view we live in an excellent school district and we have been fortunate enough to have a couple of Christian teachers, but the things that we have had to deal with and discuss no 9 or 11 yr. old should know. As far as sports, any extra curricular sports activity that the school has your children are able to participate in. Music wise I'm not sure about yet (still looking into), but someone suggested that someone in the church could offer free or reduced lessons. Hope some or all of this is helpful. Praying that God gives your family the strength and direction in this! Blessings ~ J.

I think to homeschool is wonderful and almost necessary today! There are PLENTY of homeschool groups PLUS "other" sources of the activities you have mentioned. I homeschooled my daughter (who just moved out about a month ago; she is now 23) and I got lost in the high school math BUT she actually figured it out on her own with VERY LITTLE help from the computer "homework help" (which is free and she simply talks to another student and had any questions explained to her enough to figure out the rest). I was a LITTLE concerned about how she would do on her first college placement test for NO reason. SHE DID WONDERFULLY. The curriculum we used was like "one up from the easiest" there was!! I would plan to do it from the start. I started my daughter in the middle of elementary school (christian school at that). I overheard the girls talking about boyfriends and thought, "way to early to start getting that in her head" and began homeschooling. It was fun. She is now working full time as an accountant and almost done for her degree in that. She has ALOT on her plate and is handling it beautifully. So.......good luck.. :)

I've been home educating for 8 years now, and I've gathered a lot of information and experience, and I've heard it all (both pro and con) regarding home education. What it comes down to is this: each family is different, so each home school will be different; stereotypes belie the true *variety* of homeschoolers.

That being said, I have one piece of general advice to *anyone* with young children: start from the very beginning!! You're teaching them from the moment they're born; why stop at that magical age of 5?? It's easy to do preschool, kindergarden, and 1st grade. As you get to each grade, it, too will seem "easy." Tp pull a child out of school involves a difficult transition period to undo the "schoolish" way of thinking the student has developed.

After a few years, you will have cried many times from frustration (no one said it would be easy!), but you will have found the way that works for your family. By that time, homeschooling will be such an integral part of your life that you won't be able to imagine anything else.

As an aside, I'd like to correct one of the many misconceptions regarding homeschoolers: We are not all religious or brainy. My family is quite mainstream: average kids (on paper--I think they're extraordinary!), don't go to church, voted for Gore. There are *many* reasons to home educate your children, and my reasons have changed many times over the years. But our lives are so full and so free that the idea of submitting ourselves to someone else's schedules and rules is simply preposterous. If people knew what it's really like, few would still oppose home education.

A. in Elkton, mama to Noah (almost 13) and Aengus (6)

Hi K.,

Firstly, congratulations on the pregnancy!!!

I have a 1yr old boy and my husband and I decided he will be put into private school or homeschooled. I was put through Private international School and my husband was put though Private religious school and we feel so priviliged for the type of education we recieved. Every time we take out son out and see children who are schooled publicaly, we are so shocked! They lack mannors and overall intelligence and we refuse to let that happen to our son. We met a woman with 5 children who are all homeschooled. They are absolutly wonderful children and very intelligent!! The children attend outside social/sport activities for more child interaction. The children are also religious. I think it's an absolutly wonderful Idea and I know you will find alot of oposition. American children are some of the least intelligent in the world with low math, reading and writing scores, Do you want that for your precious child?

I don't know the answer for you, but if you are going to homeschool, really "do your homework." I have yet to see a homeschooled child really excel here in my neck of the woods. They always have educational and social gaps. Especially if the child has a disability of some kind. Parents are just not prepared for that unless they have a degree in Special Ed themselves. That type of child needs to be in a public school. Private schools most often do not have special ed services unless you are paying big bucks. The only services your child would be entitled to as a home schooled child with a disability (God forbid that should happen) is Speech and Language therapy. You can't protect your child from all the evil in the world, but you can arm them with your faith and the knowledge of who they are in Christ. They do not have to be homeschooled in order to keep their faith and they will not necessarily be corrupted. I wasn't, and my kids so far are not. They are both doing very well, not without problems here and there - nobody's perfect, but the school staff are a great help (with only few exceptions, which you will get anywhere). As long as you keep in close communication with public school staff, that is what helps your child succeed the best. Keeping them in public school helps your family connect with your neighborhood and community better too. Just be a vigilant mom, like I am sure you will be. Be careful who your kids' friends are. Watch their parents. Be selective.

If you decide to homeschool, and there are those out there who think it is the best thing, check out all the resources and state standards in your area. You will be reviewed periodically and your kids will be tested in different areas to make sure you are educating them properly. It is not without cost too. As far as sports, sign your child up for local rec teams. That will work. I hope this was helpful - at least thought provoking. :)

K.
You know, I work from home and many of the women I work with home school their children. They juggle that with the business and everything else so they talk about that a lot when we're doing our training calls.

I understand why you would be worried because I worry about it too. I have a 20 month old little boy and it does concern me with all the craziness that goes on in our society these days. I'll look into home schooling more when my son gets a little older.

There are great message boards for home schooling moms you can check out. Babyzone.com or babycenter.com have message boards for this topic. I think justmommies.com does too.

K., you are REALLY ahead of yourself. Relax, and remember to not sweat these things until your child is closer to being ready for school. There are pros and cons for home parenting, but the important thing is not to fit the child to the schooling type, but to select the type of schooling that your child will be most successful in. For some, that is home schooling. For others, especially special needs children, public schools are better. For some, intensive schools work well but for others it is not their cup of tea. Enjoy your child as he/she grows and use your powers of observation to select what is best for him/her when the time comes. Find what works best for that child. And don't fall into that trap of wanting your child to do calculus by kindergarten, set your goals realistic. If a child learns how to interact with others in a healthy manner and not to eat the paste, then kindergarten is a success, lol.

On the subject of Home Schooling...just a piece of information re: actitivties for home shcoolers there is an indoor sports facility in richmond that offers instructional classes during the week website www.scor-richmond.com.