Hello, I am Recondite2020! I am a homeschool graduate with 11 years of homeschool experience (homeschooled since 3rd grade) and I found this site through a Yahoo! search for "Homeschool Forums". The reason I’m here is to do my homework and stay in “the loop” so I will be ready to homeschool my own children when the time comes. In other words, don’t be surprised if you see me pop into a conversation every now and then with a question.
Welcome Aboard! Welcome! It nice to have a real-life example of homeschool success here on the message board. Any advice for new homeschooling moms who are challenged about homeschooling their kids? Afraid that they will miss out on something (socialization? ...forgive me, ladies!) As a homeschooled graduate, do you feel you missed out on anything? Do you wish your parents had done anything differently?
Recondite2020's advice for homeschooling families: (I've been asked this question once or twice. :lol: ) 1.) Character development should always overrule academic development! 2.) Don't worry. 3.) Teach your children to learn, not necessarily what to know. That way they can easily fill in any "gaps" later in life. 4.) Don't worry. 5.) Socialization is overrated. All throughout history children have been stuck at home with their families away from their friends for most of their lives due to lack of transportation. So why should it be a problem today? It didn't seem to hurt our forefathers any. 6.) STOP WORRYING! 7.) Children naturally learn. They retain what interests them most. Kids tend to dump what doesn’t interest them no matter how hard you force them to learn it. My advice is to make trouble subjects secondary and focus more on your child's strong points. Be sure to try and mix it up a little. For example, your kid wants to be a rocket scientist and hates spelling. Make that kid learn how to spell things pertaining to rocket science. That way you achieve maximum retention! 8.) Did I mention that you shouldn't worry? As a former homeschooler I do not feel cheated in any way. Homeschooling was the absolute best thing for me and I am very grateful to my parents for investing that huge amount of time into me. My parents didn't do everything perfect and yet I still managed to turn out alright. (Dare I say better than my public school counterparts? ) No, not better, simply different. And that's the point. We are all individuals and we all have individual needs. Meeting those needs is something homeschooling can a does do 100 times better than the public school system any day of the week. So don't worry.
Awww shucks! You made me blush... :mrgreen: Thanks for the compliment. Homeschooling is something I feel really strongly about.
Welcome and thanks for the story it was neat and yes it's true stop worry, I try easier said then done hopefully this year will be better. I worry mostly about them not being with other children but like you said they made it before why can't they now. Can't wait to hear more stories to help us. YOu are cool thanks again
Welcome, Recondite2020! I love your advice for homeschoolers! I was homeschooled for six years and loved it. Being homeschooled was a big part of my reasons for planning to hs my children looooong before I met my husband and looooong before my ds was born! Blessings,
Thank you all for giving me the title of second generation. For it is only by your efforts that homeschooling is making such a strong comeback! (I say comeback because it was the way things used to be.) So many of you have worked so hard with your children and have gained so much ground in the area of re-popularization of homeschooling that I cannot thank you enough. I can rest knowing that I won’t have to face a lot of the things my parents had to face trying to homeschool me. And I hope you all can rest with those thoughts as well.
Recondite, does your first name start with S? You write like someone who's site I visited not long ago.
glad to have you I am glad to hear from you. I hope you can share more things that helped you learn during the hsing years. We need all the help we can get. Keep telling us not to worry. LOL Welcome Welcome
Nope, my name is Josh. Which I'm pretty sure doesn't start with an "S". But I was homeschooled so I don't know for sure. ;-)
LOLOLOLOLOLOL.....I don't know what's funnier, the spelling joke or the fact that I assumed you were female....I need to get out more!
Welcome, Josh! Your advice is great and insightful. I agree with all that you mentioned. I hope and pray that my children will appreciate being homeschooled like the way you feel. P.S. I'm sorry...I'm also guilty of assuming earlier you were female.
Hmmmm... Perhaps my first post should have read something like this so as to have cleared up any possible future confusion: "Hi! My name is Josh! :mrgreen:" Oh well. No harm done. Also, I have a question. Is there any way to use a custom avatar? I can't seem to find where I'm supposed to do that exactly. RECONEDIT: I figured out how to add a profile picture so if you're curious as to what I look like... There I am.
LOL I am sorry I don't why I thought you were a young female girl. You are a very nice looking man with alot of manners can sure tell you were homeschooled. I hope and pray I can teach my children just like your parents taught you.
