As this is my first year homeschooling I am apprehensive about taking my kids "out" during what is considered the normal school day. I have done it but I am waiting for that one person to ask me why my kids are not at "school". Just out of curiousity has anyone had to deal with that?
I get asked that semi-regularly. I just say, "they are, we homeschool." That's always enough. But I am blessed to live in an area where homeschooling is quite common and fairly normal. I don't know what others' experiences have been. Either way, I'm not going to restrict our activities to "after school" times. Heck, part of the great thing about homeschooling is being able to do things like the zoo or science center when they are practically empty because 'everyone' else is in school.
This is really my first year to where I am getting the 'Is school out?' or something similar. Now the everyone is older it's easier to see that we are homeschoolers. I have no choice but to do out during the 'normal school hours' because I have bible study and gym classes. I have gotten more positive reactions to negitive ones so thats nice.
my kids are usually the first to speak up.. they tell the person we home school and we are either done for the day or on lunch break.
I've been doing it for so long that I usually don't even notice it! Actually, it works the opposite for me. My kids will be at piano lessons in the middle of the day and I'll be out doing errands and see older kids and think, "Why aren't they in school...?" Well, DUH!!!
When we started, I had just the opposite feelings. I intentionally was out with my kids during the school day so that when Daddy got home we wouldn't have anything else left on our to-do list. So glad we did, too! I did get questions at every checkout counter, but I smiled and told them we homeschooled. I always said it with a genuine smile and enthusiasm and most of the time the cashier had nothing but positive to say. I also think this helped my kids to be confident in our nonconformity.
lol Jackie, when I see those other kids I think.. wow I wonder if they home school? Then I want to stalk them to find out what their ages are and if they would be good friends for my kids hahaha! Okay I dotn really stalk them but I have been known to stay longer deciding what brand to purchase or what type of pasta I want just so I can listen to hear if there are any clues to home schoolers .. okay I amit that!
It's our first year homeschooling as well. I think it's so common here that most people are very accepting and don't question us in a negative manner. People have asked and they always seem very accepting when we say we're homeschooling. Several moms and a couple of grandmothers have asked questions about how to get started. I have no reservations being out in the community during traditional school hours.
My favorite answer of my daughter's is "We homeschool and we're done already". LOL!!!! I used to really be afraid of it, but we now live in an area that is FULL of homeschoolers. I see lots of kids out and about during the day. I would say in general that we don't go anywhere until school is done (usually), so we never leave before noon or 1p. BUT...sometimes we run an errand or two during "recess" time if we have too. Embrace it. As long as it is legal in your state, and you are following your states laws...there is absolutely NOTHING that anyone can do to stop you!
I get asked if school was let out early. Or sometimes we have people ask my kids what grade they are in. And who their teacher is.. I cracked up the other day when my dd5 said she couldn't remember her teacher's name.. I have no idea why she said that but she knows my name!! So I stepped in and said it's mommy! The ladies were very enthusiastic about my choice. Most people are accepting,but I have had one cashier who got very upset when I answered her questions reguarding the states regulations for our curriculum. The fact that we get to choose it ourselves and nobody approves it almost made her eyeballs pop out. But over all, most people are pritty nice about it.
I haven't had too many people ask us about it, and we are out and about a good bit. My daughter goes to work with me on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and takes her school work and does it there. I'm a church secreatary and the only people that come in while we are there are the prayer warriors on Wednesday. At first they were always asking "When does schoold start?" I would tell them when the public school was starting and then we were planning on starting. Now they come in looking to see what subjects my daughter is working on that day. lol.
It's more common than I thought (and this is my third year) for a lot of us charter school users as well as other home schoolers to be out and about and rarely get that question, plus or local ps system has only a 6 week summer vacation, 2 week fall vacation (that starts this week), 3 week christmas vacation and 2 week spring vacation. So, it seems pretty normal in our small community to see kids out and about all through the year.
It is funny I go out all the time and I hardly ever get asked. I think it might be because we live in a popular tourist destination. Alot of families come down for vacation throughout the year and I guess they just figure we are on vacation. I wish, we haven't been on a vacation in 5 years.
I am so far removed from worrying about what the school schedule is and I LOVE going out on school days! I don't mind the questions. My daughter handles most of them now days. I even have to remind her that the children she sees shopping with their parents might be homeschooled because it is a school day and, in the summer, I have to remind myself I am not seeing homeschooled children out with their parents but the schooled children on vacation.
I get asked if we homeschool In our county we are one of the largest group of homeschoolers in the nation from some statistic someone told me once. HSLDA is right down the road (in case you ever wondered WHERE Purcellville is - LOL - people do live here!) My son now answers people with "My mom's the teacher and she makes us do too much work."
This made me laugh! This response is the one get almost everytime homeschooling comes up for the first time, with friends, family, coworkers, strangers... everyone. Our province has no regulations, testing, reporting... nothing beyond a letter of intent due each year. People just can't stand that we're not being held to some government standard LOL
We are on our fifth year homeschooling and no one seems to care. There are a lot of homeschool families around so it is common to see kids during the day. I admit to being nervous at first but after I said we homeschool others thought it was great. I always mention to new people that we may be out during "normal" school hours we do some "school" in the evening or even on the weekend.
I happen to live in a SMALL town, about 1200 people, so the first year we homeshcooled, I was a little apprehensive about going out or letting my youngest ride his bike outside before 3pm LOL. We did venture out a few times, and got the usual "you're not in school today?" type questions, but we just say "we homeschool" and that's that. And I had a few people quiz me on homeschooling, such as why we do, what made us decide to do so....things like that. This is our 2nd year to homeschool, and I guarantee you I did a complete turnaround. We run errands during the day, and my son rides his bike between lessons LOL, and as a matter of fact, my oldest one works and hschools in the evenings. So, I finally realized that I am in control, not the government or my community. I've never had a problem from anyone. It's nice. I enjoy the flexibility of homeschooling and I'm not going to give that up. Now, on the other hand my mom and sister like to harp on me about things LOL. My sister gets so p.o'd at the fact that we don't have to take the TAKS test, and that I don't have to PROVE what we're doing. Both of her daughters quit school because they weren't going to be able to graduate because they failed the TAKS test. Of course her daughters support me 100%. My mom swears that it's unhealthy to homeschool, they need to be with other kids their own age. My oldest still runs with his public school friends, he's hardly ever home LOL, and my youngest is in Boy Scouts. And they're so much better behaved now that we homeschool I've been approached by several moms, either asking me how to start hs'ing, or asking me what I'd charge them to hs their kids LOL. Of course I don't hs anyone else's children but my own, I don't want to lose the ability to get up and go to the lake if we want, or to go to the mall when we feel like it, or to sit on the patio and build a dog house. Whatever suits our fancy
