So I am new to homeschooling this year and stumbled on something. You all have been so nice I was hoping someone would explain this to me. I was just reading another forum about homeschooling and was very shocked at the negative reaction to the term "School at Home"? Why does this have a negative connotation? We get up each morning and go into a "classroom". We start with the pledge followed by Bible and then we start our day. I have a white board and desk. The girls have desks and I have bulletin boards. If they are learning why does it matter how?
If it works for you, then Yayyy!! Every family is different, and so everyone's methods are different.
I second that...if it's best for your children, then that's what it's all about. I think that it has a negative connotation, because many choose to homeschool because the methodology of the classroom school was not working for their children. They started homeschooling so that they could offer their children something different than the classroom approach. Speaking personally, I started with a "school at home" approach with a rigid schedule, workbooks, etc., because I thought that I had to mimic what they were doing in the local classroom. However, for my children, that was sucking the joy out of learning for them. In homeschooling, we have the freedom to to put down the book about trees, and just go climb one, to abandon the math book about measurements and go measure the ingredients for cookies, bake them and eat them, to read a mystery snuggled under the covers in the dark with a flashlight, to learn multiplcation tables outside with a game of hopscotch and sidewalk chalk, to put on an impromtu play reinacting our favorite story, etc. So, I think that some may feel "school at home" misses out of the freedoms afforded by homeschooling. However, it is that freedom that allows you to choose to set up a classroom and do school there if that is what you think it is best.
Yes, there are some who detest the "school at home" method. These are mostly die hard "unschoolers" who believe children learn best when they are left to discover and explore on their own, using no books or worksheets.(I'm an unschooler in my heart, but not in practice!) I can kind of understand why so many are vehemently against "school at home". I too started out with a pretty traditional classroom approach. Then I remembered how much I hated school as a kid, and made our school the kind I wish I'd had as a child. We enjoy the freedom and flexibility, but I understand it's not for everybody.
I agree it has negative connotations. There is a very famous homeschooling author who's name has slipped who mentioned something about making his kids do school 6 days a week, and each day is started with a 2hr math lesson (or something similar). The kids sit at desks in the 'classroom'. Sounds awful to me... (although I think his kids went to Harvard? It obviously worked very well for them) BUT We ARE sort of school at home. My kids went to ps, and they are definitely trained in some areas here. I get my neatest handwriting from them when they can sit up straight at the kitchen table. Both pay much better attention at the table, too (a math sheet that takes ds 45mins on the couch will take him less than 15 at the table). They don't get as distracted, and are much easier to teach. It's a mindset more than anything for us. At the table, they feel and act like students. Anywhere else, and they are just my kids and I'm talking AT them. If that makes sense LOL. Agree though- you have to do what works for you! Personally, I've floated around and lurked on other boards.. I'm not much a part of the homeschooling community (except here) so I'm always kinda shocked at the mudslinging going on. Take it all with a grain of salt.
You are talking of Robinson.. which is kind of scary for reasons beyond what you mentioned. That one expects the kids to teach themselves while sitting at a desk quietly all day long 6 days a week. Now on to the original question. When we first started out I thought that we had to do "school at home". I used timers and kept a meticulous plan book and we sat at the kitchen table like little robots. I was adding in fun things and quickly realized that my oldest was learning more, balking less, and was way more engaged when what we were doing looked nothing like school. We started doing things how they felt best and have evolved from there. Every now and then I start to feel like I'm not keeping up with the Jones's and feel like we need to move back to the table.. but really we do best if I have a general plan of direction, we flop on my bed and read or sit at the coffee table and draw, or hit the kitchen to make a mess. We do spend time at the table with some things, but I try to stay away from the workbooks and text books for the most part. We are moving onto a more hands on/discovery approach to math (which we will slowly evolve from when we get to a slightly higher level), science is now nature study and science kits (magic school bus are fun), we are using lots of "living books" for almost every subject... there are great ones for all of them!! We go where the wind blows us (meaning if something catches a kids attention we head that way for a while) and I figure it will all come together in the end.
The people with which I'm acquainted who "school at home" miss out on a big part of the reason for homeschooling: They attempt to teach a la public school rather than guide a child to learn a la homeschooling. Therein lies the pitfall. Standing in front of a smart board "teaching" is a far cry from sitting next to a child while they discover the material on their own. Yes, it works for some people, but knowing how much MORE homeschooling could be is the rub. I don't think it's wrong, it's just selling the experience short. ETA: I think "school at home" is a safe zone for new homeschoolers. It's a starting point. I don't think it should be an ending point, though. I was much more "school at home" our first year, because that was all I knew! A lot improves over 5 years and now we're not. We're also not at all into unschooling. I think the pp's comment about that is inaccurate.
I agree with the posters who say "IF it works for you keep it! ENJOY IT!" we didnt know the term but thats what I wanted was a school at home. We loved the set up of normalcy and my kids didnt feel so 'weird' as they put it in older years when they knew they had an actual class set up in the house. They would tell their friends at church that they had a school at home. They had real school desks with thier books in it and had to clean them out before holidays and such too! I wanted as much the same with all the good stuff added in that I loved about school as a kid, and the important stuff as well in a home environment. Some folks thing thats doing it wrong, but I like it! 15 years here1 Weeeee hoo! I still set up the wall for ds' schooling area he loves that we have maps, science stuff and now Political stuff for his class work to keep him focused. And welcome to home SCHOOLing!
Thanks for the responses. I guess I was just so surprised with all the negativity when we all share the same goals of educating out children.
yep, I was surprised as well when I first heard it negatively stated... Its okay, just how some folks see it. :love:
Not being judged harshly is one of the main reasons I signed up here and not elsewhere. I've visited other boards where people are just mean. I haven't seen that here and it's nice that people seem to truly support one another. I agree that you should do what works for you and your children. Just like homeschoolers don't want to have to do things exactly like public schools, we also shouldn't pressure others to school just like us. It's a beautiful thing having the freedom to choose what is best for our own family.
As already shared, "school at home" is basically bringing the public school's traditional method of teaching home. If it works for your family, stick with it. Traditional methods do not work for Emma. We still said the Pledge of Allegiance, read the Bible, etc... Ems had a couple desks and they all ended up in a yard sale. :lol: She would rather read on her tree swing, do math at the park, workout problems on the window with dry erase markers. Yes, we use books and she writes her answers in the books or on paper. But she likes to work them out differently. When Ems was younger, she would rather learn about leaves and trees by making rubbings, and making photo albums of what she was learning rather than looking at pictures in a textbook. We busted down many recipes to learn fractions. We played in the mud to learn about soils. We took pictures of the sky to learn about weather and climate changes. We are currently working on the human body, mainly the skeleton. Instead of using workbooks, we are using a 5' skeleton we just bought. She will still label parts, but she will also be able to play with the skeleton and actually see how the bones move. A traditional textbook does not allow for this application. Yes, you can apply anything you want to a traditional "school at home" setting. But I have found that a "school at home setting" requires more textbook work and less time for application. Also, for some people, homeschooling is a lifestyle and not school. They make school revolve around life and "school at home" doesn't really allow for this. Again, it is traditional. Again, if it works for your family, keep it up. We all homeschool for different reasons and we change as we our children's needs change. I was traditional in my early days. I agree that it is easy to start off more "school at home" in the beginning and adjust as you go.
A lot of kids don't do well with school at home. There are also different degrees of "school at home". Some people may just use all traditional textbooks, some may use a strict timer system along with the textbooks. Some people may make their kids raise their hands to ask things, who knows? I think the problems sometimes come about with a strict "school at home" when the parents use all the worksheets, all the tests, all the activities, etc. that the curriculum suggests. The weird thing is that most public schools don't do all of that. I had to break free from school at home for my son. I don't unschool though. Here are some things I have broken away from: testing every chapter using worksheets for every grammar lesson going at the pace that the book says- he needs much more time with algebra doing everything in the book --uh, no way and I won't feel guilty There is something else to think about- how do we learn best? I don't know if anyone can answer for everybody with 100% certainty, but... Does anyone learn history (for example) best through a textbook and answering questions and taking tests? Well, some people do well and remember the stuff for years to come (maybe). Some people learn history better when they read historical fiction and living books (books written in a more interesting tone, not just facts after facts like in a textbook) and when they re-enact and/or discuss historical events. So, while it may seem that people who are against school at home are being harsh. It may be that they are so excited and relieved to have found other ways of doing things that they can't help but express that. If it is working for you, go for it. If in the future someone struggles with it, be willing to change.
Actually my dd was the text book reader and answer questions kind of learner but my boys not so much, so its been fun!
It also boils down to this: If the children are loved, they will know it and they will be alright with a myriad of methods. The Robinson method probably works for some families, if the kids are loved also. I watched a little bit of his video and he doesn't seem to be a tyrant. Who knows? There are the Duggars, who use SOS or Monarch or some type of Alpha Omega curriculum (last I heard). I don't like that curriculum and my son also didn't like it. They have a lot of love and that probably helps it work for them.
you are right. And I think the dynamic between teacher (parent) and child has a TON to do with it as well. My kids and I just don't have the sort of relationship where I expect them to learn by themselves. Maybe that will bite me in the bum further down the road and I'll wish I'd been more hands-off
We use a middle of the road approach. A little classroom like but not rigid. As far as the totally "unschooling" approach, I wonder if it prepares students for the world of "unwork" LOL Seems that at some point a shift needs to be made to more structure and traditional approaches. For example this past year it has become plain to me that I have not prepared my students to take "normal" tests and quizzes. There are skills associated with test taking when using standard testing forms that they lack and this would put them at a disadvantage should they enter another school or college enironment.
If the parent is diligent with unschooling, it works. I have seen it work for those who are true unschoolers. There are few unschoolers who were admitted into UC Davis some years ago. The principal said they are excellent students. They were able to keep up with the best of them.
