Topic : Homeschooling

I home-schooled my son in the 7th grade, while living in Southern California. I did so for a few reasons, safety being one of them. California has this "average daily attendance" thing going on, whereby trouble-making or otherwise dangerous kids are NOT expelled, since the school actually ends up losing money. Demographically speaking, most California Public Schools have a lot of "bad apples" in the public schools, even in affluent Orange County, where I lived. 

  

I now live in Florida, where the quality of education isn't much better than it was in California, and still far inferior to the education I received in Northern New Jersey. I suspect that they are about two or three grade levels behind down here (i.e. my 6th grader step-son is learning what my son learned in the 3rd or 4th grade). I would LOVE to be able to home-school again, since the internet makes it very easy to find the resourses. The only downside I see is the socialization aspect, but extra-curricular sports, dance or arts involvement or church youth group would take care of that. 

  

When it comes to education, the responsibility ultimately falls to the PARENTS. Follow your gut instinct here and you won't go wrong. 

I disagree that homeschooled children lack any social skills. I think the social aspects of school are mainly negative. That is only my opinion! We have the Y.M.C.A here and my 4 year old who is very social can go there for fun play 6 days a week. My 11 year old is not up to the social activity of the Y, so I don't force it. She does however like to do volunteer work, so we do that. She also has a paper route and flyers that she delivers and she has interaction with all sorts of people from that and she learns about money as well, as there is collecting involved. You do NOT need school to be social. We homeschoolers are not locking the kids indoors all day. We are out in our community as well. We are actually more active since being out of the school system, just in a more positive, happier way now.  

We make up our own curriculum, as I think that no one curriculum suits the needs of every learner. Also, there is everyday learning everywhere you look.  

I don't see any down side to homeschooling, but only positive aspects all around the board. 

Sherri~ mom of 2 

People are so obsessed with the idea that school is the only place were kids can meet other kids. I was talking to my mother about homeschooling the other day, and she asked me if I didn't think that the kids would be isolated! 

I think it's this idea that people have that the only ones who homeschool are some cultmembers out in the middle of nowhere. 

And also, I can't help asking, what about before "they" started public schools? Didn't kids ever play with anyone other then their siblings? 

I do not believe that school is the only/best place for kids to get socialization. Gee, they are sitting at their desks the biggest part of the day and doing work and listening to the teacher.yes, they have recess and lunch and gym class, but kids can play out side with others at other times other then school anad for longer times, thee are programs out sdie of school that kids can get ivolved in, some may cost but there are free activities as wellMy oldest will be 5 next month and she is in preschool 7 hours a week and she only talks about 1 friend, yes, she plays with others some, but the child is only there for 3 1/2 hours, 3 days a week. When she comes home, she talks more about her friends at church, or the neighbor kids or kids of our friends. she gets more socialization outside of school then she does in school. She's active and loves life and she is a head of her class already, and never once stepped foot in a child care or regualarly attend a sitter, her and her sister are home the majority of the time but yet they are more social and active then some of the school kids that we know. And as far as the public school systems, they will not enter one, definetly bettter places to learn and to make friends and to be "socialized".

I homeschool 2 of my children,   It sorda just fell in my lap,  this is what I mean , my 6 year old went to a public school last year   for the first 3 dayscame home and got really sick and ended up in the hospital.  She now has breathing problems, and has to take treatments efery 4 hours.   I was'nt sure about homeschool, but under the circumstances I did'nt know what to do.  After doing alot of research I found out that it's not so bad.  now when she gets really sick I dont worry about her missing school.   We work our own pace,   sometimes we only do a few things, and other days we do twice as much.   I'm enjoying her at home.  Someone had told me, you teach your child to walk, talk, go potty, eat properly, these are things we need to grow, so why not teach them knowledge.  As far as social skills go you can find support groups in your community and have play dates. or just go to your local library theres programs there where kids meet. well hope i was helpful and what ever your decision good luck. 

jakkay 

Yes, we are so brainwashed aren't we. I live on a street that has 128 homes and my 4 year old always has someone to play with if she wishes. My 11 year old loves her space and alone time. She reads alot likes to do her own thing and that's ok to because that's what her interest is at this time.  

"Children teach us more than we could ever teach them", we just have to listen. 

Sherri 

Hi I am new to this messageboard.  I am a homeschool mom of four children.  Currently I am only homeschooling two of them.  My oldest son, has severe autism and mental retardation so he is in a special school to help him develop life skills.  He is nine by the way.  I have a 7 1/2 year old daughter in third grade and a almost 6 year old son in first grade.  I homeschool both of them and then there is my infant who is nine months old, not quite ready for homeschooling but we do have alot of learning to play and babble time.  I use the Covenant Home curriculum and have ever since my daughter started kindergarten.  I love it.  It covers all subjects and seems to push just enough but not be too hard.  Both of my kids have done excellent and they are already way beyond their peers in education.  As far as socialization, my kids get plenty of that as they are involved in many activities through our park district and church.  They also have friends in the neighborhood.  I have to say, my kids seem so much better behaved then most kids I see, even ones that go to church.  Most kids today seem to be socialized negatively.  They are rude, condensending, bad language, selfish, mean, etc.  I cannot believe how some parents allow their children to behave.  Our homeschool doesn't just center around academic, we also grade on manners and how to treat others and talk with others using appropriate language.  Both of the children, I do homeschool also have medical problems.  My daughter has Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and my son has ADHD, sensory integration disorder, and auditory processing disorder.  I was terrified to homeschool my son but have found natural ways through behavioral therapies and nutrition to boost his concentration and focus and to get him to mind.  Plus, like others have said, you have to realize they are kids.  Boys especially seem to have a hard time sitting still.  I am reading a great book by Dr. James Dobson called Bringing Up Boys.  I highly recommend it.  I would love to see Dr. Dobson on Dr. Phil's show sometime.  

Hi, I'm new here. I have a 3 year old that we are thinking we will do homeschooling with instead of public school. This consideration was made before she was conceived! Now that she is here and we know what she is like we are becoming more convinced it will be the right thing for her. We hear a lot about how important "socializing" at school is but I doubt it will be the "socializing" that I want her to learn and have to deal with. I have two older children 26 and 24 years (yes you read that right) that went through the public school system. Within the first week of starting public school my oldest child came home with new "words" and "rhymes" that he learned at school that were rude and vulgar. His relationship with his sister changed from being loving and caring to high and mighty and mean. This was devastating to both his sister and me. We did manage to tame that down over time but it took strong consistency and work at home about how we treat each other. My second child went throught the public school system as well. But there were many times I considered pulling her out to do home schooling. I regret not doing it now. (At the time it was quite uncommon to homeschool though and I unfortunately listened to a lot of negatives toward it). Being a highly sensitive child she suffers to this day with memories of abuse from other children while at school. She is also a very bright child that actually often got frustrated with waiting for the teacher to teach because the teacher was too busy trying to get the class to behave. She'd often come have headaches from all the noise.I am hopeful homeschooling my youngest (she too is very bright and sensitive) will be the right choice, especially after seeing my two older children go all the way through the public school system and how it was for them. I totally understand that everyone has their own opinions about which way to school their children. I know many are not in the position to make the choice to home school. I just hope that times have changed enough that I won't get too much negative feedback for home schooling her. I've always said, we are the ones who know our own children best. It will be nice to read about others that home school and how it goes for them. Right now I am information gathering. And in reality the home schooling has already begun at a pre-school level.

Follow your heart and do what you feel is best for your child. forget about what society says! As far as the pubkic school system, no way will I send my children to one, they sit at the desk most of the day and what little socialization they do get, alot of it is negative and besides, they can get a whole lot more outside of the public system, schooling does start when they are very young and at home. My oldest will be 5 in a couple of weeks and though she is in a privet christian preschool, we are still considering onhome schooling, I out her in basically just to see how she did and all, and the child is way ahead of her class already and she is bored as far as the work goes, she reads on second grade leverl and doing math, she has a memory in a half and catches on pretty quickly onto things, she is a social little girl and I take her any where without any problems, my little one is well onher way as well, she isn't as advanced as her sister but is a smart, funny, active little girl and these accomplishments did not come from the system as I am a stay at home mom, parents, I believe are the best teachers. Some kids, also learn better on a one on basis as others may do better in the classroom environment, there are too many needs in the school systema nd the classes are usually too big, especially in the public school system. I know several kids who have been home school and they are doing very well in every assepct of their lives. Society has no clue when they say children cannot get social skills outside of the sytem. In my opinion, I think the public school system is the worse choice for schooling, too bad more paretns couldn't afford a good private or have the desire/time to home school, I think they would see a whole big difference in their child. Home schooling, i think rocks and the more research, ideas, and the more I see and hear the more I like the idea. I say go for it......................................

Wow. Thanks for your feedback. So is there still a strong negative attitude from parents that send their kids to public school? I can understand them feeling defensive if we tell them our reasons for home schooling our own child. (And often they ask what our reasons are.) But I hope I will be able to find a way of saying it without coming across in a way that leaves them feeling defensive. But lets face it. It will probably be hard. Not only have I had first hand experience with my first two children but there are so many others who have talked about their own experiences with public school. When I heard what happened with someone I know who put her kid in kindergarten I was shocked. In the first week the child was bitten by a classmate. Excuse me, bitten? She pulled her out and has been successfully home schooling ever since. I think there are lots of valid "reasons" that should not be dismissed.