Homeschool Anyone??

[Jeffro2912]

I personally was homeschooled and I'm not sure it is the best solution to be completely honest. The education I received was fine and I excelled in most subjects, but when you get to subjects that you don't understand and your teacher(my mother) doesn't possess sufficient knowledge of said subjects, it can create some issues. If your child wanted to be involved with sports, this can be another area for concern because they will be limited in what they can do and how far they can go with it. Also, make sure you read up and learn about applying to college and all of the in's and out's that go along with that, because this is another big area that can become a problem without sufficient knowledge of the processes involved. I'm not saying homeschool is a bad thing, I came out fine and I am perfectly functional in a social environment. As a matter of fact, most people are shocked when I tell them I was homeschooled because they expect the stereotypical awkward homeschooled kid. When my daughter reaches the age when she begins school, she will be going to a private school so I can have a little more control over the subjects being taught to her. This is my personal opinion, take it for what it's worth. (Please excuse any errors on here, I'm typing this up on my iPhone :/ )

 

[CCW]

Jeffro raises a great concern or two. As with anything, an education is only as strong as the teaching dedication and ability that is put into it. My wife will likely face some of the exact issues at which point I will help out more in which arenas I can. If it is still above me, there are many online teaching aids that will help tremendously. HS'ing today isn't like it was 20 years ago. The wealth of knowledge floating around online is amazing.

As far as sports, my kids can also enjoy sports, just not with the government teams. That is perfectly fine by me and them.

Jeffro, thanks for chiming in.

 

[cheddar_bob]

Actually, the travel ball teams have scholarship programs just like any other.

http://eastcobbfastpitch.net/?page_id=34#

 

[Laufen]

LOL, not if my life depended on it!

 

[meastt]

My 10, 11 and 12 year old children have never been programmed by the government and have been HS'd since day one. It was a tough decision to give up the wife's salary but the ability for her to focus on their education was priceless. My kids love learning and and as long as my wife stays 100% dedicated to it, there is nothing I would rather her do. Pass me your info and maybe our wives can learn a thing or two from each other.

Next, dont let any of the social robots here discourage you with all the ignorant jargon about "socialization" skills. Most HS'd kids socialize at a much more mature and "adult like" rate, which should be encouraging. There is one type of socialization that I do not want for my kids and that is one of "entitled children and teens who live solely to be cool". Of course, behavior is molded and fashioned in the home but being around 2500 other children, a large portion of which have no healthy socialization or solid parenting, is not supportive to a family who teaches honor, respect and dignity. I certainly understand that some families don't have the choice but education is not a place we wanted to sacrifice since we only get one chance.

We use several forms of curriculums for different subjects including A'Beka. One my wife recently found is called "Supercharged Science" and it is all project based. My wife is ranting and raving over it because my kids are more into history than anything, so some of the other subjects, including science, get a snarl. Not anymore. Every day I come home, there is a new experiment, project or something that they have done that teaches the in depth explanations of most all science. Everything from homemade compasses to static electric generators and more. We also shoot, hunt, fish, build, drive (tractors, ATV's, etc).

To the new homeschool dad; Your kids will stay a WHOLE lot healthier than they did in public schools (if they ever caught public sicknesses that were going around).

Finally, one of the last and most important things I wanted to share was that it is IMPERATIVE to be supportive of your wife as well as encouraging her to get out with her girl-friends. Staying at home, and never enjoying outside life can be detrimental for your wife.......and everyone around her. I literally have to chase my wife off from time to time because she is always planning the next lesson, grading work; and then cleaning, cooking, etc.

As you can tell, this is a passionate subject for me and I will be glad to answer anything from our journey thus far. I think the up and coming teen years are going to be a challenge but I feel as if they have developed a solid respect and maturity so hopefully they will not be "super" problematic. Of course, they understand the word "consequences".

CCW,
Thanks for sharing that. HS'ing is a topic my wife and I constantly talk about and have yet to commit (but we have time, my kids are 1 and 2). We want our children far away from the the indoctrination from our government.

I think the biggest hurdle right now is financially. We are looking at options and we will see what that brings.

 

[CCW]

CCW,
Thanks for sharing that. HS'ing is a topic my wife and I constantly talk about and have yet to commit (but we have time, my kids are 1 and 2). We want our children far away from the the indoctrination from our government.

I think the biggest hurdle right now is financially. We are looking at options and we will see what that brings.

Unfortunately, as programmed as our society is about our money, the financial aspect seems to be the most difficult for most people to get over. Not only are you cutting an entire income, but homeschooling isn't cheap. Media, supplies, curriculum, etc makes it much more expensive than public schools and you still have to pay taxes for other kids to go to public schools. You will save the lunch money though.

 

[Traderman2011]

Unfortunately, as programmed as we are about our money, the financial aspect seems to be the most difficult for most people to get over. Not only are you cutting an entire income, but homeschooling isn't cheap. Media, supplies, curriculum, etc makes it much more expensive than public schools. You will save the lunch money though.

My wife is already a stay-at-home mom for our 4 kids anyway, and my oldest is 6 and in first grade. The next just turned 6 but is in Kindergarten, and then I have a 20 month old and a 4 month old. There's obviously a ton we need to look at, but you can't really put a price tag on education unless it just doesn't fit within your budget. Think of it this way, you're prepping your kids for a lifetime of success rather than letting the public school system teach them day in and day out, simply to be able to pass a standardized "test" that says whether they can advance to the next grade or not! It didn't used to be that way, but with budget cuts and financial difficulties for all public schools, they have to do everything they can to make sure your kid passes that test so the school continues to be funded by our tax dollars.

 

[MissesC]

If your kid isn't learning basic chemistry, biology, and physics by the time they are 13, just forget it. They will not be in the 1%. Only the children of the top 1% will make it into the next century. They should be proficient with computers, able to draw conceptually, relay ideas with dynamic English, and be proficient in at least 3 languages. Forget about hunting and fishing. Most of our children are going to spend their lives figuring out how to clean up our mess / get off the planet. This is the real dooms day scenario, and radically super high education will be the only key to involvement.

 

[davidmu39]

My 10, 11 and 12 year old children have never been programmed by the government and have been HS'd since day one. It was a tough decision to give up the wife's salary but the ability for her to focus on their education was priceless. My kids love learning and and as long as my wife stays 100% dedicated to it, there is nothing I would rather her do. Pass me your info and maybe our wives can learn a thing or two from each other.

Next, dont let any of the social robots here discourage you with all the ignorant jargon about "socialization" skills. Most HS'd kids socialize at a much more mature and "adult like" rate, which should be encouraging. There is one type of socialization that I do not want for my kids and that is one of "entitled children and teens who live solely to be cool". Of course, behavior is molded and fashioned in the home but being around 2500 other children, a large portion of which have no healthy socialization or solid parenting, is not supportive to a family who teaches honor, respect and dignity. I certainly understand that some families don't have the choice but education is not a place we wanted to sacrifice since we only get one chance.

We use several forms of curriculums for different subjects including A'Beka. One my wife recently found is called "Supercharged Science" and it is all project based. My wife is ranting and raving over it because my kids are more into history than anything, so some of the other subjects, including science, get a snarl. Not anymore. Every day I come home, there is a new experiment, project or something that they have done that teaches the in depth explanations of most all science. Everything from homemade compasses to static electric generators and more. We also shoot, hunt, fish, build, drive (tractors, ATV's, etc).

To the new homeschool dad; Your kids will stay a WHOLE lot healthier than they did in public schools (if they ever caught public sicknesses that were going around).

Finally, one of the last and most important things I wanted to share was that it is IMPERATIVE to be supportive of your wife as well as encouraging her to get out with her girl-friends. Staying at home, and never enjoying outside life can be detrimental for your wife.......and everyone around her. I literally have to chase my wife off from time to time because she is always planning the next lesson, grading work; and then cleaning, cooking, etc.

As you can tell, this is a passionate subject for me and I will be glad to answer anything from our journey thus far. I think the up and coming teen years are going to be a challenge but I feel as if they have developed a solid respect and maturity so hopefully they will not be "super" problematic. Of course, they understand the word "consequences".

Thank you for the information and I agree with you 100% on the socialization issue. We participate in activities with other homeschoolers, in church, etc etc and we have control over who our kids socialize with. They are both very socially adept. The idea of grouping that many kids together for "socialization skills" doesn't really make sense to me. I read a question that was posed once, Exactly who felt it is a good thing to put several hundred pre-teens and teenagers together and expect them to "socialize" and learn? The issues of peer pressure do not exist in the home school environment. We have managed to turn learning into a game and our kids love to learn. The 4 year old, who isn't even school age, wants to "do school" everyday.

We also use every available "project" around the house as a learning experience. We are currently using Liberty Press for our curriculum. My wife uses it as a "base" but she does most of her planning from other resources not just "book based" learning.

I agree her time away is important and I'm guilty of not pushing my wife out more often.


maybe we need to schedule an ODT homeschool get together....

 

[davidmu39]

Yes, forgot about music. My boys take clarinet lessons (they don't care for it) and my daughter takes piano lessons (she loves it). That has given the wife a chance to meet even more moms that she has connected with.

Ballet is a big one for us.