ME TOO!! Every single day I have wondered if I was doing enough.. Am I Teaching it right.. Am I using the right curriculum? Some of you will remember that we don't homeschool in the upper grades.. 3 out of four of our kids have gone back to school.. The last to go was my 13 year old daughter this year.. I have taught each of them the way that I felt best for them.. I chose curriculums that I felt was best for their learning style.. And if we did use the same curriculum for all of them, I tried my best to make it fit them.. Last year my boys went back to school.. One did really well, the other not so much.. I REALLY started questioning if I had taught them well enough.. I started thinking that maybe I have no business homeschooling the kids at all. BUT then, Cailey went back.. She is super social, and is excelling in her studies at school.. She knows everything that the teachers are presenting to her.. She was so excited when she was able to explain to fellow students how to do the math that was just shown to them today in class. Today, my mind was put to ease.. I once again feel that I did in fact make the right decision to homeschool them even though it wasn't all the way through..
I felt like that till my kids took an exit exam from high school and both passed with high scores. I still have one left but honestly I'm not worried about it anymore.
With Rachael, NEVER! She was so easy! But with Faythe and Phillip, you can't believe how close I've come to giving up!
Ask an unschooler! LOL I truly believe in unschooling. I think it's an amazing concept. But it is very scary at times to implement it with your precious children, for fear that you will ruin them with your weird, hippie concepts that go against the grain... There are days I worry. But I've found it's usually triggered by things outside our home or people who think I'm crazy for unschooling. Never by actually living the lifestyle or my boys' weaknesses. My 6 year old is on or above grade level according to PS standards for everything. He's teaching himself to read. Teaching himself math. He asks questions and I answer. He asks to dig deeper and I help him do so. My oldest says he can't read, but he can, he's just not fluent and HATES to read aloud to anyone. My oldest varies some subjects he's light years above grade level, others he's behind a year or two. He learns on his own a lot. He asks more questions than a 2 year old on a 'why?' streak. I help him find answers. Truth is, my kids are bright, inquisitive, and creative. Both are progressing in all areas. So I try not to worry, but I'm a mom, I will always worry...
I'm a proud unschooler...and there's no question it freaks people out to think of approaching education SO DIFFERENTLY than what's been standard for centuries. Because of this, sometimes you question yourself. Of course you do. You see other kids bringing home homework that you don't have the foggiest idea about...or that seems incredibly over-complicated, or unnecessary...and you have that moment of doubt. That.."oh man, have I handicapped my child by doing this?" moment. It's human nature to worry...when you're operating outside the comfort zone of conformity. But let me ask you this. When a public school parent gets a bad test back, or a less than glamorous report card, do they beat themselves up and think, Oh Dear, this is my fault for using a conventional school? No...they don't. And neither should you. Kids are different. Some are going to make great grades and be academically gifted. Some are going to be more average and even struggle. That's just how the population is built...kids are like PEOPLE that way. There's a link. lol. I unschooled my kid. I ran the grand experiment of throwing conventional teaching completely out the window. And she turned out to be academically gifted...in spite of all my efforts to create a laid back hippy. She excels in the highest level classes offered at public high school on natural talent and a love of learning. I expected an artist, and ended up with Miss AP Calculus. Does this mean she's a brainy kid BECAUSE of home school? Nope. She could have just as easily made average grades, or been a struggling kid, or a kid with different gifts. Is she a better objective reasoner? Did she have solid character development? There are more reasons to home school than test results. Either way you do it...is a crap shoot. There's more than one way to screw your kid up, and there's more than one way to help them to become exceptional...or just...HAPPY PEOPLE...which is more than enough (to me, anyway). Do what makes sense to you. Do what fits your kids best. Leave room for re-evaluation and adaptation, but don't doubt yourself or fault yourself so much. There are worse things for a kid than intimate family bonds, involved compassionate parenting, and freedom from conformity.
ABSOLUTELY!!! Crazymama, completely agree!! I have always been intrigued with unschooling, but I honestly couldn't do it because my mindset and I'm too lazy.. But my daughter does do a lot of things on her own.. She LOVES doing research reports.. She begs for me to assign them to her and give her a deadline to get them done.. She loves hands on stuff and will explore much farther than I expected her to.. I love it.. This one has never been in public school so she has no idea what school is.. She just knows that she's supposed to learn and she takes it upon herself to do so.. I really hate to ruin this in her by sending her to public school when she gets older.. We will see how she does, this one may be the one I get to keep home.. My oldest started going to the Academy the beginning of this month and is LOVING it! Student lead and at his own pace.. He's excelling now.. Was struggling before because he was BORED.. He is probably going to be graduating THIS year or at semester next year.. If he stayed in the regular public school, he would have this year and TWO MORE to go.. Public school just didn't work for him,and,honestly, that's what I was trying to do when he was home.. We will be sending my other son there next year. Dd13, will stay right where she is because it works for her.. Different kids, different things work for them.. Totally get that.. It's SO HARD to get out of the public school mindframe though!!! I bet unschooling would have been perfect fit for my oldest.. I will say that I credit homeschool to my boys finding their musical talents.. They taught themselves guitar to fill in the time when all their friends were still in school and they were done with their work.. My younger son especially.. He is totally into his guitar and I LOVE hearing him play.. it's the most relaxing thing ever and now he's starting to sing and OH MY GOSH!! This kid HAS A VOICE.. Older son is getting away from it a bit, but he still plays from time to time at home as well as in their band.. I do NOT regret homeschooling them for a second.. Not anymore anyways..
I love that our kids have the time to develop talents....like your son's music. That's a priceless part of self exploration that can be cut short in the demanding schedules of conventional education. My daughter writes poetry. She competed in a local "Teen Poetry Slam" at age 12, and won second place for her dramatic reading of an original poem. I can't help but think she would probably not have had the time or inclination to do this otherwise. I really do think our kids get the best of both worlds
