Hi All!! My DS is 7 and my DD is 5 and Im thinking that homeschooling may be the right choice for us. I live abroad and the choice of schools here is mediocre and you are forced to pay an arm and a leg for it. My DS is a bit behind his grade level but my DD is above average. So my questions are: 1- How do you help kids adjust to being home? They are very happy right now in school although academically Im not too pleased. 2- How do you have the discipline, on a day to day basis, to make sure you keep on track and on schedule? 3- Im worried that my kids may look at themselves as "not normal" since they arent going to mainstream school like all of their friends. How do you prevent them from feeling "different"? These are just a few that I can think of right now. Your feedback is soooo helpful!!
Hi Ladies..thanks for your encouragement. I am almost there but Im standing at the edge teetering, afraid of all that can go wrong but also excited about all the possibilites. Lol..Im not usually so poetic (if you can call it that!) Sgilli3, lol...we have "met" althouh I would really like to actually meet! =) :wink: What programs/curriculums do you all use? Im thinking of K12. Anyone use Calvert? What are your opinions? Thanks!
Hi Mumto3, I believe you are the lady I emailed yesterday. Am I right? The ladies on here will be able to give you loads of support and ideas. It is a little slower on here today, as it is Sunday ( rest day everywhere else in the world..except here..lol) Perhaps, post the question re curriculums also on forum below the introductions ,the homeschooling one. Chat soon x
Go for it!! Welcome!! I'm a new homeschooling mom and loving it. The only thing I can tell you is to go for it. Give the kids time off to get used to being away from the school routine. They're not going to get behind. I have a very disciplined daughter and she's thriving in homeschool. I don't just mean discipline as in behavior, I mean routine. She's adapted well and actually enjoys less stress and not being pushed. For the first time, she remembers what she learned at the beginning of the school year because something new isn't constantly forced on her, so she absorbs more. We actually have rules and grades in our schoolhouse and she likes it that way. If we waiver from them, it's easy to get back on track with nothing lost. Having an only child, I worried about everything homeschool, but I knew this was the only way for us to go. It's been the best for all of us in so many ways. Good luck!!
Hi Momto3, Welcome to the spot. I just started homeschooling early this yr even though my dc hv been seasoned ps students. They prefered homeschooling cos (this really their opinion):- 1) saves time 2) study on their on pace 3) flexible on school work(can negotiate abt how and when hw to be done) & time. (we can stop hs, fly to somewhere for field trip or hometown during off peak season) yes... saves a lot of $$ I encourage you to hs cos personally I felt closer to my dc (quality time together), I can impart life values to them as a parent, and I enjoy hs-ling them. My dc will play with school going kids at 4pm after they are back from school. That is about the right time after our dc hv done hs and chores. So far, no issue arise on dc being hs-ed in the neighbourhood. In fact, one mom asked me to tutor her int schooled child on Maths but my hands are full esp with a baby on board. Otherwise, wld be glad to help her. I notice that you also reside in Dubai. Interested in meeting up? I use Sonlight Curriculum in most of the subjects and you can hv a look at the books too before you decide. Actually I looked forward to a support grp here in Dubai but have not found one yet. Too bad Cynthia shifted to Sharjah before i could meet her. right Cynthia??
I'm a brand new homeschooling stepmom and so far our daughter loves it. She's thriving like she never did in school, we're finding the weaknesses that were overlooked in public school. We found she's behind, but the school never let us know. So had we kept her in school we wouldn't have heard anything until it was too late. She loves being different, and we explained to her that she'd make her friends at her many activities. Karate, gymnastics, swim class and at the park. Most kids love school for the social aspect, so if you keep a social aspect in for them they wont' miss school at all. Trust me.
Well, Im happy to say I am taking the plunge and going for the homeschool route! I cant wait! Thank you everyone for your advise. It really helped me make the right choice. This site is amazing..Im so thrilled sgilli3 directed me to it..thanks!!! =)
I will start with number 2. You always have to discipline your children, in school or out. Once they no longer have the bad influences from the school, they will actually be easier to deal with. At times, it might not feel like that because you don't have them all day, every day, right now. As far as a schedule goes, you will need to relook and reexamine that on a regular basis. You see, in public school, they never ever finish a book in a year (homeschoolers often do, usually do in fact) and they tend to skip over a lot when they feel they don't have time (most homeschoolers will stay on something til they really "get" it). So whenever you feel like giving up because you feel like you are not capable of so much, just remember this. Because by Christmas of the first year, it is highly likely you will have done more than what would have been done in public school. About #3, define "normal." Is "normal" meaning smoking cigarettes? Doing meth? cussing? dropping out of school? Have you looked at the stats in your area on this? Even amongst those who don't fit those stats, you have the jocks, the beauty queens/kings, the geeks, the intelligent ones, the artsy ones, etc etc etc. Which one is the "normal" one to go and fit in with? Do you see my point? Even if AT school, no child is ever "normal" because nothing IS normal. And then when you start comparing your children's lives to the entire world and not just what is happening in your town, it is a real eye opening. In fact, this might make a great opening to your school. Research what life is like all around the world for kids just their ages. This will teach geography and world cultures all in one. It might cause you to go off on some sort of science study! My daughter was planting her own gardens in her first year of homeschooling as she wanted to be like the Colonial Days. Now she knows everything about the Colonial days it seems, even though that was over 4 yrs ago. She retained it because she did it when it interested her and how it interested her. My oldest is still in public school and everything he studies is new to him. Oh..and remember this....you are leaving the school because you do not like the academics. Don't do what everyone else does at first (even me) which is go in and look over their textbooks and then go out and look for the exact same stuff for at home. Do you just want to bring the public school home? Or do something all better and different? My daughter went from being a social butterfly only interested in the kids at school (I thought she was happy back then, but lately, she tells me she had been very unhappy) and scoring below the 50th percentile on national standardized tests, which pretty much put her high up in the local tests. To being a very grounded person with a good sense of herself and at the 99th percentile for the last 2 years on the national testing (we use ITBS).
Really you have the largest interest in your children's success. That logically makes you the absolute best teacher for them. Good luck!
