Hello all and thank you for your time. I am a concerned parent thinking of homeschooling my 7 year old son, but I have a few questions. First, I do not consider myself to be qualified to teach my son in all subject areas. I have heard that there are usually local groups that consist of parents who split up teaching classes to a small group of home schoolers based on their personal specializations. Where can I go to find out more about these groups? Second, I am concerned that a local group may not necessarily fit the requirements I am looking for in a teacher. I would be willing to teach a similar class through some kind of online e-learning classroom for the skills I have and would be willing to pay someone with the desired skills for a class I cannot teach myself. Are there others like me in this?
Welcome to homeschool spot. I think that your concern is common among people in the investigation stage of homeschooling. My immediate response to your concern is that you are more than likely extremely qualified to teach your 7 year old whatever subjects he will be learning. At that level, most adults have enough knowledge--or the ability to learn on short order--to teach their child the concept. If you still feel like you are not capable, many homeschool curriculums come complete with either the lessons mapped out for you word-for-word or even videos of the teacher instructing. There are even programs available for you to utilize the internet for interactive classes. I don't have much experience with those types of programs, but others here do. I'm sure you will be getting more detailed responses. Again, welcome!
What "requirements" do you have? You just might find that YOU won't meet THEIR requirements (which often are based on things OTHER than academics!!!) First of all, co-ops vary from place to place. If you live in an urban area, you're going to have more options than in a rural area, (generally speaking). Second, having been a classroom teacher, it doesn't take any brilliance to teach a 7yo. 90% of teacher training is classroom management, which the average homeschooler doesn't need to worry about. BTW, my oldest is 15. Last year and this, we joined a co-op for lab science classes, but other than that, she's been pretty much independent. And yes, she is college-bound. She has been homeschooled the whole way through.
I agree he is young and most the stuff you teach him you know. If you don't feel comfortable google homeschool groups in your area and call around and see if they have co op class if they do what they offer and the price. Good Luck and welcome.
If you get a chance to go to a curriculum fair and lay your hands on some of the materials available to homeschoolers now, you will see how easy it can be. You don't have to start from scratch and design your own curriculum and lesson plans; it's available and easy to teach. We learn along with our children which shows them that learning is a worth-while, life-time pursuit.
Welcome! There is SO MUCH out there to chose from. For example, my oldest is about to start higher math courses. Although I got As in Algebra thru AP Calculus and passed my AP Calc exam for college credit, I personally don't feel qualified to be her "only" Algebra teacher....because I didn't understand it as well as I want her too. So we're going to use a DVD program (Chalkdust Math) that also allows her to ask the professor questions when/if she (or I) need her too. But it's not a school type thing and they won't give her a grade. I'm still her teacher and still wholly responsible for her education....this is just instructional help. For a 7 year old, you have plenty of education or the ability to obtain it to teach your child (speaking as a mom of 3 ages 7,9, and 11...who have been in a Dept of Defense school and have now homeschooled for almost 3 years)....doesn't mean you won't want to be one step ahead of the 7 year old but as long as you can read and do basic math, you can find the answers.
You've received a lot of great advice, so I just wanted to say Welcome to the group! ps... you could always hire a tutor if you want someone specific to teach a certain subject. But honestly, from what I've seen so far in teacher's manuals, there aren't a lot of subjects I wouldn't be able to teach myself (and I'm only a college student myself), and the ones like higher math, are typically taught at co-ops or online courses.
Welcome, John. I'm like you- if I don't feel qualified for something, I go find someone to do it for me. I also go over to www.atozteacherstuff.com and ask those folks a bunch of questions. I've been homeschooling 5 years now. I'm not too proud to grovel to get the teacher I want, either! We have a music class this year, cause I did all but do the laundry of Jeannie's guitar teacher until he agreed to put a class together. I'm not qualified to teach music, but this guy has a music degree. I might just do his laundry someday, lol. Another thing that helped me was to see if your local YMCA has arts and humanities classes. Ours now offers sculpting, homeschool music and art, creative writing, several other art classes, and drama. See if your town/county has a Recreation and Parks department. Ours does, and they offer many art classes, sports, financial literacy class, modeling, and I forget what else! Your community college might also offer something for homeschoolers. You might also talk to the homeschool liasion for your school system. That person can give you a bunch of info on where to get what you need. They should be able to help you find groups, classes, and maybe even loan you curriculum. I wish you well as you search.
I had to go away and then come back and still I am probably going to put my foot in it. never mind. Read everything you can get your hands on about homeschooling. Be sure you and your wife have clear and reasonable goals that are simmilar. Discuss whose responsability what things are... enjoy your time with your son. You, as a man, can teach your son to be a man...only by being the kind of man you want him to be. because you are nervous about it, you are more likely to be overqualified, rather than under...to teach a 7yo.
Just getting to answer this and first if you have completed school your self you are qualified. Secondly I am not so sure that a local group will fit your time schedule but yes online courses may. I think they work well for some people who don't want to teach thier children themselves but want them out of the public environment for learning. Check out AOP.com for ALpha Omega Academy, there is also an Abeka program that does the teaching for you. For a 7th grader I would teach him myself because you do know what they need to learn already. But as your child progresses you will probably want to switch to an online school for your own assurance. I am sure you will do fine!
Now I'll put my foot in it! In our local public elementary school, almost every teacher was a woman, and all the children were taught as if they were girls. The boys were boisterous, craving activity, not wanting to sit still, etc., so they became bored and started to get into trouble. More than that, the boys needed male role models while in school! One year, the gifted program was rightfully clobbered for not including a single minority student, so they immediately added several children from minorities in the program. What few noticed, but my wife and I did, is that not one boy was in the gifted program. What does this tell us? It's not that boys are stupid. Instead, it's that boys are being let down in school because they are expected to learn the way girls prefer to learn. So, one of the blessings of homeschooling during middle school (which is what we did) was that I could be much more involved. I would take my children with me into the office so they could see what work really meant. They'd print things for me, fax things for me, see how people interact, and so on. Plus, all of a sudden, they knew what it was to be a breadwinner and how men should interact with other men and women in an office setting. In generations past, boys were, in effect, apprentices working for their dad, whereas girls spent time with, and learned from, their mom. Yes, this led to unnecessary stereotyping, and I'm not saying we want to return to that, but there is wisdom in a father being very involved in a boy's education. So, it's very encouraging to see you taking this route. I hope it works out for you.
John, the other thing the school system might help with is testing. My Jeannie went for reading and math testing last March. She was put in one of the third grade classrooms and took the test with those kids. She wasn't 'grilled', 'quizzed', 'questioned', 'traumatized', or any of the negative baloney the moms I talked to said would happen. She was welcomed in and envied, if anything. The kids thought she had all minds of free time, but she set them straight quick!
thank you all for your replies! I believe now that I should be qualified to teach for at least several years to come, but being a person who always thinks way too far ahead, it is the high school level stuff that worries me. I do not think I could teach AP level history for example, or even introductory level high school chemistry. How do people usually go about teaching these kinds of classes? Finally, to clarify a little bit further, when I said the local co op groups may not have the qualifications I am looking for, I mean on one hand perhaps technical ability but another example is that I want my child's biology teacher to be a devout Christian who will explain both sides of the story. Thanks again!
I send my children out for subjects, only because I don't WANT to teach them, not because I cannot. I have 2 at high school level who are college bound. Curriculum is just too easy to follow. And trust me, even the public school teachers do not just remember all this off the tops of their heads. They have to look at the books and teachers guides to teach it too. OK..there was one thing I sent out for that I could never have done at home...Ice Skating. LOL...even if I wanted to hose down my yard in the winter to make a rink, it just is not that cold where I live. But Ice Skating is hardly a subject one cannot do without.
for High school theres actualy thread goign right now too, but we use SOS and then also send them to a private school here I could teach it but did not like dealing with the Momisms and teacher attitudes that come out at the teen years. I gave them some help and let them do the yelling at their teacher away from home lol. Not really yelling but you knwo teens have to complain about thier teachers so it has been easier for me to have another teacher involved and that teacher gets the bunk of the complaints! Wee
I don't have the money for private school, what is the recommended places to take online classes? Sorry if this is already discussed in the other thread, I looked and could not find that thread.
