We usually go to the museum and playgrounds during the week. Many (not all) of the children happen to be homeschooled. They have always been very courteous to other children, i.e. one child's using blocks to build a huge castle and when my son approached, they greeted him and included him by telling him he could stack blocks on this side for the wall. Another example is when my daughter curiously looked at the waterfall maze they were playing with, one girl told her "Hey! Check this out, watch and...(didn't catch the rest of what she said) and included my daughter in their activity. They seemed proud to know something my little children didn't know yet and they ended up giving my children impromptu lessons without realizing it. At the playground, it's always "Here, I'll let him go first, then it's your turn!" They easily figure out a system of letting all the children have turns at whatever without parental help. I guess I got used to this courtesy in children because I am shocked from what happened today. :shock: At the museum, it was "Mine! Don't touch that! Hey! I'm using those blocks! Mommmyyy!!!! Waaah!!!!" and at the maze wall, they hoarded all the parts so that no other children could play too. :roll: In the body part (my SPD son loves crawling around in the blood vessels), the other children were running around at full speed and their parents just stood there chatting. Sure enough, one child ended up crashing into my son and not even an apology. Heck, not even a "whoops." At the playground, I asked the child on the swing if my child could have a turn after he did 20 more swings? Nope. So we stand there waiting for him to finish on the swing... and wait... and wait.... after 10 minutes, we give up and go over to the see saws, but I see him vacate the swing, so I point it out and head back. The same boy runs back and grabs the swing back and starts swinging again. At this point, my son is agitated to the point of headbanging so we ended up leaving. Does anybody else notice the contrasts? Or did we simply have a bad day?
I would say.. I notice this when my children mix with ps kids. Mine tend to ... idk, just act more calmly. That's just since they were homeschooling though- we've always encouraged good manners, but it's almost like as ps kids they were ramped up all the time... if that makes sense. The neighbor across from us babysits her ps nephew quite often, and has commented on how calm and well behaved my children are as well. Sort of cracks me up... I'm not doing anything different at all. They just aren't mixed with kids and overstimulated constantly. Their role models for behavior are adults, instead of dog-eat-dog kids. They mix with kids of all different ages (and have to be gentle with little ones) instead of just kids their own size and strength. So, I suppose imho yes there is a difference, and for reasons that are just fundamental to homeschooling vs. ps. But that's based just on the kids I know and my own (who are the only homeschooling kids I personally know so my report reflects that )
Yes, it does depend on the kids. There are some bratty hs'ed kids and some very sweet ones that are public schooled, but generalizations I would say you're right. My ds11, btw, would be the one to be including and showing things to the littler ones. One time we were at a conference, and this little one was crawling away from his mommy, and Phillip got on the floor and crawled with him, herding him back to where he belonged. And then he "raced" down the hall with him, both crawling!!! He's going to be an AWESOME father someday!
I believe it depends on the child and the upbringing they have. It's easy to suggest that public schooled children are exposed to every extreme but some home schooled children are as well... right in their own home
It depends but in general, homeschooled kids are more polite and know how to get along. Now I know some homeschooled kids (all from one family) that are HORRIBLE monsters but I'd say they are an exception.
As a whole, I find that homeschool children tend to be more polite because most of the parents take much care in the upbringing of their children. I have also come across some public school students who are also very polite but in general, while all public school students aren't necessarily outright rude, some lack manners here and there. Then I have met some nasty homeschoolers and public school children. They are so out of control and cruel that it makes me wonder if any of them have parents. lol
Well, the other week Dad took Phillip with him to my aunt and uncle's place in Wisconsin. Today Dad went with Carl and I to Rachael's soccer game. While we were watching the game, he told me that he was amazed at how well-behaved Phillip was. He said he knew Phillip was a good kid, but this went beyond that. I guess whenever someone said something to him, he was very quick to obey and went out of his way to be polite, such as holding doors open for people, etc. Dad said the only "problem" was that he doesn't care for wheat bread and it was the only kind my aunt had, lol! But Dad said he wasn't "bad" about that and would eat it when he had to. This is the aunt who said to Mom when Rachael was going into Kindergarten, "Jackie isn't REALLY going to keep that little girl out of school, is she?" Well, I guess I've shown HER, lol!!!
In our town, kids often end up homeschooled because they have special needs that the schools can't or won't address. So you'll see situations at the museum where the public school kids are lining up and waiting their turn and raising their hand to speak, while the homeschool kids are running around like maniacs and shouting out answers. It can be frustrating trying to do weekend enrichment classes with homeschooled kids, because they don't come prepared to learn. Sometimes homeschoolers don't understand that you're there to teach everyone, not just them. They also often seem to have social or learning issues that the parents may or may not choose to share with you. So... I think because in our neck of the woods people tend to homeschool because their child's special needs, rather than because of religious or academic reasons, it looks a bit different. Plus, our schools put a lot of emphasis on students being supportive of each other, sharing, and working with younger kids. From about Grade Four, they're all paired up with younger children to help with reading, etc. On the other hand, I do find homeschoolers tend to be a lot more egalitarian, seeing everyone as equals - adults and children of all ages and disabled kids. They're not as shy as public schooled kids (which I know is the opposite of the usual stereotype!). And they tend to be more self-directed, not feeling a need to ask permission before doing something (which can be great sometimes, other times not so much).
I think that in play situations homeschooled kids are nicer to each other, especially when it comes to younger kids. More than once I've had to reprimand an older PS student in the park for virtually running over a little kid. They just aren't programed to watch out for them. They are only with their own age groups all day. However, I have noticed as a teacher in a coop class, homeschool kids do not know how to wait their turn in class! LOL! Of course they don't, at home they have mom's attention most of the time! I have had to train and reinforce behaviors such as raising your hand, being patient while waiting for the teacher, and waiting in line to get supplies. This is one area where PS schooler are better behaved than homeschoolers. It's definitely an environmental issue. They learn from what they are exposed to. Edie
My daughter is like this. LOL.. This year she finally broke out of her shell in AWANA and would just blurt answers out. I had to remind her that she has to wait her turn to answer questions and to raise her hand and WAIT to be called on.
