So I've read a couple of posts/comments on a few forums lately about kids not wanting to be homeschooled, wanting to try PS or go back to PS, etc. So it got me to thinking, so I thought I'd ask my son if he liked being homeschooled. We're a month into our official start of first grade. So I asked and his little eyes lit up! He said he liked it. Today, our neighbor (7) came over with a friend (also 7) that used to ride the bus with her and my son. The neighbor girl is pretty used to the whole 'we homeschool' thing, (although I'm sure she's heard some wrong info from her mom-but that's another thread) but the other little girl was very interested in finding out about Ephram being homeschooled. She asked lots of questions. It was just a cool exchange between the kids. I told them we don't do much "school", that we like to learn by having fun. The little girl replied "we don't do anything fun at school" LOL My son is very social, so I was afraid he'd miss being with his friends every day. He hasn't said anything about liking or not liking homeschooling. I'm so glad he's loving it! So do your kids like homeschooling? Have they ever been to PS? Do they want to try PS or go back to PS?
Mine are fine with it. I'm sure there are times when they wish they weren't, but that's OK, too. My older two are old enough to recognize that it has advantages those in school don't get, and Rachael realizes how much better it is that she's able to learn independently. Phillip is only 5th grade, so I think he sometimes wishes he had a bunch of guys his age around him all day long, and doesn't realize that this is not always a positive thing. But he's OK with homeschooling.
Mine say they really like it, but every once in a while, one of them will say they would like to "test it out" regarding PS.
My oldest will she don't like school because of some of the work she has to do. What kids HS or PS gonna love all his/her classes. For mine going to PS would be all for the social part and hanging our with kids their own age. This is actaully hard to do since most kids are in school and then off to some child day care and then to a sport/club. Not many a free around the neighborhood like mine. They will all tell us that they want to stay home and not go to school. My youngest doesn't want to leave my side, my son doesn't want to get up early and my oldest doesn't want to ride a bus for a hour to and from middle school when that time comes.
My kids are so very excited about hs. They love to tell everyone. I am a private person and really don't want anyone knowing my business so I cringe. But, yesterday the day to find out who your teacher was in school. All the kids were calling. I didn't think a lot about it. But, the mail came and the kids went to mailbox. Found letter from their teachers in ps. First I need to explain that I didn't send in a letter of intent until about 2 weeks ago. The reason I was so late doing it. My ds had a horrific year in ps last year. So I was in the process of getting his school changed so he could have a fresh start. I also requested that my daughter attend as well. Since this is my first year hs I wanted to be sure that everything was set up just incase we needed it. Anyway, the kids came running over to me and said, "Ma your not sending us to ........ school are you??" I just laughed and said no just wanted to have all my ducks in a row. Their response was "Whew! We were scared" So I hope that the attitude stays this way as we move along.
My oldest is 3 so he doesn't know too much about PS except for staying with me a few times while I was working in a daycare. He's extremely shy and I think throwing him into a mosh pit of 15 other 3 and 2 year olds was pretty intense for him. We are taking the "school" lightly since we have a huge move and adjustment coming and I don't want to interupt that, plus the new baby coming. If I'm making my file folder games for him he asks, "Mama, is that for my school?" I say yes, and he says, "OoOoOoOo I like it!" or "I like my School things" so I think it's ok with him! lol
My son is 5 and in kinder. Loves HS versus PS, but hates that I make him do 30 minutes a day of sitting down with me to actually do "school". I have explained that in 1 week, he is doing way less than he would if I sent him to PS. I am very laid back and let him take the lead as far as science/social studies and any other interests, but want 30 minutes a day to go over math and reading (even if it is just playing a game).
The first two years of homeschooling, there were times when one or two of the girls would want to go back to public school. I think that's because we weren't involved in any regular activities where they could be around other kids, because now that we have a lot of activities and they have friends none of them want to go back to public school.
My son likes it and my daughter was the one who asked to be homeschooled - so if you ask her now (she's 20) she'll probably say she liked it too. My son knows that anything he might "think" was fun about regular school is really not the case. He's know that reading on the couch and doing school with his dog in his lap would not be possible if he was in school. Heck, I think that little dog enjoys school more than all of us. He gets very excited when my son sits down at the school computer!
My son went to PS for kindergarten and first grade. He hated school last year in first grade. There was this TV commercial that would ask "Are your kids happy in school?" and he would shout "NO!". He asked to be homeschooled because he has a homeschooled friend and knew it was an option. We've only been doing it for one week and he loves it so far. I keep asking if he wishes he was riding the bus or in school with his friends and I get an emphatic no. Of course, I ask him this as we're spending all day at the county fair, taking a nature walk or doing art outside on a beautiful, sunny day! LOL!
Our son has never been in PS & has absolutely no interest in going. I can't explain it well via text online...but he almost acts as though we're onto something that no one else around here is lol
My kids have always been at home, so they don't know any different. They say they like being homeschooled and having the freedoms that they have from being hsed. It is something steady and predictable in their lives.....when the rest of their life has been higglety pigglety. (unemployment/move to MN/living in a moldy apartment/buying a house/moving again).
LOL...when my son was like 5 we were sitting at the table doing school and my son looked at me and said "I don't struggle in school." I could only assume he was referring to the Sylvan Learning Center commercial that asked "Is your child struggling in school?" I was like - OK, buddy!
My kids have known nothing different. And, God willing, they never will (well, until college!). My oldest LOVES homeschooling because she is a competitive gymnast. She sees how her friends struggle during the school year (which is also the competition season) to balance the gym and homework. She's usually done in 4 hours, and has about 2 or 3 hours of free time before spending 4 at the gym. She LOVES having her free time to do Art stuff of her own choosing....which is really schoolwork! LOL My daughter is very much a box-checker - likes a workbooky style learning. I try to balance a Classical approach (using MFW) with a workbooky approach on the subjects that are not connected to the MFW (math, language arts, etc). My middle is not a big fan of school. Well, the sit down work. But he's a boy. And he's 8. So....although, this year, he's liking it a bit more. He loves his stuff that's on the computer...so I think I'm going to consider SOS for him for next year. I really think he'd benefit from a computer based curricula. He likes to read - a lot - so I'm not worried about him having too much computer time - although he'd spend equally as much time on a computer if I let him!!! My youngest just started official school and seems to like it so far. She's my biggest struggle to parent in general - she's quite free spirited and very very strong-willed....so if she starts bucking the system, I'm not exactly sure how I'll handle it. She, however, also seems the most like her older sister in regards to school, devours workbooks and would finish a whole one in a day if I let her.
Rachael is talking about going to PS next year. She has friends that have told her she can take PSEO...college classes while still in high school...and if she enrolls in the ps, supposedly they will pay for it. She would have to take the OGT (Ohio Graduation Test), but has been told it's simple for those that spent most of their time hs'ed and have actually learned something. I'm not sold on this idea. I don't think our district will go for it, and Carl has taught in the school that would be "her" school. There is NO WAY we'd even let her cross the threshold to that building!!!
Mine are only 5 and 6 but both of them say they like homeschooling. Neither of them have any desire to spend their day away from me so at the moment that is their main concern with public school. They really dont get why other kids go to PS. I try not to ask too much because in the end they really dont have a choice so I dont want to lead them to believe they do. This is the educational choice we have made for them, full stop.
Dd is 7. She went to ps for k and we started hsing last year for 1st. While she would prefer no school at all she does like alot of the aspects of hsing. We do a co-op on Fridays during the school year and she enjoys going to that and seeing other kids. She loves the fact that she can get done early and work in her nightgown.
My DD9 has no desire to go to school. Her quote to me, "We would never see each other and what kind of family is that? We are supposed to be a family and spend time together!" This was after struggling with her attitude and seriously talking about the fact that schooling was not an option and that PS was, indeed, an option. I think that with the first child there is a big learning curve to homeschooling. This year (her 4th grade year) I finally feel we are "in the groove." It took much longer than I thought, but we are there!
My DS was Ps'ed for Junior, Senior Kindergarten and part of grade one. That's since he turned four. I should have kept him home because he wasn't emotionally ready to handle the separation. Even though he is extremely social, his social skills are geared to adults. He LOVES being homeschooled. It allows him to be himself and not have to conform to fit in. He isn't into sports like most boys or other rough play. He likes building and using his imagination. He is my deep thinker who loves an in depth conversation on anything. It really was hard once grade one hit in PS to sit in a desk, not eat when hungry, not go to the bathroom when needed, and school rules contradicted home rules. So he wasn't meshing with the school. Further recess became a nightmare that usually ended up in someone getting hurt one way or another. Because one adult who stands on one side of a building CANNOT possibly watch 150 kids around three sides of a building and expect to have control of the situation. At home he can be himself, which includes his LOVE of learning and at public school I could see that his love of learning was dying in him and that WAS NOT o.k. with us. He doesn't always like his school work here but he understands the need for it now and he has grown in maturity so much. Also he knows here there is more emphasis on taking things in at a pace that fits him. PS was making him a nervous wreck, homeschool has allowed him to breathe and relax. As for my daughter who is younger she was allowed to finish her first year in PS JK because she had been so looking forward to going and it allowed me time to see how homeschooling would fit with my son. Now she is relieved not to have to take the bus. And when I ask if she wants to go back to PS she says no. She knows that would mean getting up at 7.00 am getting on the bus even on the coldest of days -30C with higher wind chills. And she knows if she stays here she has more time with Mom and she still learns. I am not going to say they won't choose to return some day to PS or that I wouldn't allow them to. I have no idea what God has planned in the years ahead. But I am grateful and so blessed to be able to spend this precious, short time with them in their early years.
I hope my kids will learn to love it! They both cried when I told them I was pulling them out of PS and HS them. DS spent three years at PS, and DD spent one. Like another poster mentioned, we didn't really ask their opinion if they wanted to or not - it was a decision we made for them. I do honestly think it's the right one, though!
