IN order to encourage many of us who are not quite done this year when we wanted to be.. due to injuries, illness or surgeries, etc... Why did you choose to home school? Why do you still home school? Would you begin and do it again today? ( state how many years you have been teaching your children at home What are your most important reasons to continue home schooling? What benifit does your child get? What benifit do parents get? How do you find a way to get them to college? Okay thats a lot of questions I will answer myself later but wanted to get this started! Teacher Mom
Being a newbie, at the start of the journey, I am interested in what you seasoned folks have to say. :love:
Okay. . so I'm verbose and can't answer this briefly. . .but I'll try! We started looking into it because there wasn't a program for gifted kids in our local public school that we found suitable. Plus it's a SURS school. We were also concerned that our children would not be exposed to the cultures in which we live enough. . .we felt like we could do a better job. There were other reasons but the key ones were academic. As we've gone on, the academic reasons are still there. I am convinced that there would not have been an appropriate place to meet the specific needs of their giftedness. However, we've also seen the added benefit of our kids watching us in ministry and being able to participate without the burden of traditional schooling. It is the ultimate fulfillment of Deuteronomy where it tells parents to teach their children God's ways, "as they walk. . .sit. . .lie down. . .etc." And our children definitely experience the culture in such a better way than they would've in school. Without hesitation! We've been homeschooling for about 4 years. As a Christian it is important to me to be able to pass on my values to my children without their being a mixed message. As a parent, I feel strongly that one of our duties is to raise up the next generation of leaders. If they're not well educated, what will happen to our society? I also think that homeschooling is the great mediator between the education the poor receive and the education the wealthy receive. Well, aside from just being well educated. . .they get to experience greater family support and closeness, they get to do cool things while their neighborhood friends sit in school. . .the list is endless! Are you kidding? I'm having a blast! I'm totally not worried about them getting into college one iota. My kids are pretty young right now but I really believe that colleges are looking more and more favorably on homeschooled students. Consequently, they are more willing to work around issues like 'official transcripts' and such. . .especially when the student demonstrates ample ability. When my kids get to high school, we will look at possible college choices, pick the most selective and find out what their expectations are for required work in high school.
I began hs'ing because Samantha who was in 4th grade was coming home crying everyday and she was falling way behind in math. She also had a teacher that picked on her. She had never been like that before. I did my research and decided to give it a shot. I waited until the end her the school year but I wish I would have done it sooner. There are so many reasons I continue to hs. I love that I can teach her Bible, I don't have to worry about her being molested by her teacher, shot by a fellow student, or bullied for years, or being a bully for years. She can get a much better education and really delve into things she enjoys and back off on stuff she isn't in to. I just completed my first year but it is the first of many to come. Grace will never go to a public school. We have become a very close family. We do everything together. We aren't split up and running a thousand different directions. I wish Samantha never would have gone to ps. It isn't always sunshine and roses. Yes we have hard days occasionally but hard days are going to happen no matter what. I love hs'ing and I'm so glad to live in Texas!!
I homeschool because: I don't want my kids socialized by a group of unfurtunately misdirected peers. I want my kids to have the benifit of learning and living their faith as youngsters. I don't have saint like virtues that could serve as an antidote to them spending 6-9 hours a day in our local public schools. Our local school system has a less than 50% success rate. I'll take my chances that they might miss out on something here and there if I homeschool them. It is the end of our second full year homeschooling. I have learned alot, and next year will be even better. My child can read at grade level, can do math at above grade level, and has understanding of world events, everyday life skills, that exceed her age/grade level. Yes we will home school again this year, and start the littlest on her preschool. If folks with GED's can get into college, my kids will be able to. I have tutored GED subject matter to folks, I can teach it to my kids. Harvard, Yale, MIT or the like is not going to happen unless there is a miracle, if God intends my kids to go to a school like that, when He comes up with the additional 2-3 hundred thousand dollars for that, He can take care of the Homeschool credential short fall at the same time. In the mean time we should be able to get our kids into and pay for a state college education. If they have to take the GED to get a diploma and get in, so be it. If one or more of my kids excels academically and wishes to pursue a highly competitive and or expensive college, we will make changes as needed to make that as possible as we can.
I homeschool because my ds (age 6 3/4) has very severe food allergies (peanuts, treenuts, shellfish). It is just not make any sense to us to send him to a place that would really be physically unsafe for him. No other teacher would be able to watch out for him the way we do. There are so many aspects associated beyond just him possible eating nuts (other children eating around him, craft projects, dirty tables, nuts on the playground, etc). You would be very suprised the situations we have had to steer clear of. Not to say school would put him purposefully in danger, but the possibilities are endless. He has not had a reaction since being diagnosed (at 2.5 years), and that is only due to us being careful and keeping our home totally nut free. It is just too big a risk to take,a nd totally unneccessary. I started shcooling him in preschool, and now do preschool for my 4 year old. So I guess we have been homeschooling for about 3 1/2 years. We all just love it.
This pretty much sums it up for me. I have been hs since the birth of my almost 5 year old. So I am really just getting started. I love it-- most of the time of course. I am still finding what works for us. My son and I have completely opposite learning styles. But I am adapting and trying to "figure him out" My child benefit from the great flexible education without frustrating him, he gets to spend time with his favorite people, mommy, daddy and sissy, and I can teach him wisdom from the Lord. He also gets the benefit by being the oldest child to help teach his sister and any other children we may have in our family. I get the joy of seeing my child grow in wisdom and Godliness and continue to see all his "first's" 1. First words 2. First steps 3. First reading 4. First math problem etc. I also get a deep satisfaction with myself knowing I taught him.
Why did you choose to home school? Our kiddo was in ps with an IEP and When in K was 1/2 yr behind and 1/2 hour a week of special ed. By 2cd grade he was 1 yr behind and getting 1 hour a day special ed. We wanted to have him held back so at his spring IEP meeting after getting told that it would be too traumatic and that we didn't need to worry about where he was now but when he got to 5th grade then we needed to discuss how he was doing;. That;s when we said forget it and took him out of ps right after spring break. We homeschool because it's better for the kiddos Why do you still home school? Oldest is ADD and non medicated. He does better with 1 on 1 instruction. His younger sister and brother are attending special ed preschool because of speech and behavior issues. They have 1 more yr of preschool and then we will homeschool them both. Our oldest does part time at public school (PE and elective) Our younger 2 will homeschool and take PE at public school along w/speech therapy When they are 6 and 5. They both will start K at same time. Would you begin and do it again today? ( state how many years you have been teaching your children at home.) I would do it again today in a heart beat. This is the end of our 3rd yr. What are your most important reasons to continue home schooling? Most important: time with family. My oldest it's easier for him to do academics at home. More individualized attention. What benifit does your child get? Field trips, fun, a great education. What benifit do parents get? Time with the kids. More emphasis on being a family. How do you find a way to get them to college? We got into the habit of keeping excellent records. And have a plan on what subjects etc. to take from middle school up to graduation. We looked at what is required for ps and also what colleges require. We have made plans for it but aren't too stressed over it yet.
We HS because: I can better prepare them for life than 30 other children the same age. It works for us. We have for several years now. It's better for them to be raised by parents than strangers. They get to be around me all day I get to be around them all day I am not worried about college. I could write a report but you did ask for short and simple
It has been the BEST decision we have ever made. The only reason we hs'ed is because we just strongly felt led to--that simple. Even though they were in a Christian school I truly felt that the school and it's environment was raising my children and not me. I dropped them off at 7:15am and picked them up at 3pm. We were home at 3:30, fought about homework for an hour, then dinner and into bed by 8:30. I wasn't being a mother. I wasn't being the mother I longed to be for them. Hs has allowed me to accomplish that. They gain an entirely customized education. I recieve the joy of seeing them learn. They now have an incredible relationship with each other and with me. I did worry about college, but the longer we hs the less concerned I am (just finished 3rd yr). The possiblities are endless (others posts have covered that). We will continue to hs because I know it is the best thing I could ever do for my children. I don't know if I covered all of the questions but I am certain this is long enough -so much for short
Why did you choose to home school? I had always wanted to give home schooling a try because we are military. This past year I had a feeling to take her out and I did. Why do you still home school? We all enjoy it. My daughter loves being home with her family. Would you begin and do it again today? This is my first year of officially home schooling. We just finished today! J Yes, I will be doing it again, starting August 6. I will have a second grader and two preschoolers. What are your most important reasons to continue home schooling? With all the moving and the constant visiting of family, I know that my children’s education will not be effected by it. I won’t have to deal with the, Are they ahead or behind. Or sorry your child must be held back because you left to visit your parents or great grandparents or brother. What benefit does your child get? She gets more one on one time if needed in certain subjects. More time to be a child no a mini adult. More family time. What benefit do parents get? I get to spend more time with my child before she grows up and starts her own life. How do you find a way to get them to college? I had to pay my way so my children will apply for scholarships and loans and get a job to go onto college. They will get to live with us if need be.
Okay to answer my own thread... I homeschool becasue I believe I can provide a more individualized learning system for my children, even with a packaged deal! I wanted my children to learn lessons not 'how to do what they want' which was our local grade schools policy. We do know a teacher from there who gets rave reviews and she is one of the REAL teachers who teach accelerated kids. So if my kid could have gone and had her for every grade, maybe I would have thought again. But for the most party, I also feel the Lord has given me the commitment to homeschool as long as I am still able. I still home school because I think my kids are doing good with it. IF as I said, I began to be lousy at it and stressed over it and burned out I would consider sending them out and writing more books to pay for it! Would you begin and do it again today? ( state how many years you have been teaching your children at home YES, and ds15 is my gauge so 11 years? He is going into 11th grade, so ten plus K =11! WOW! What are your most important reasons to continue home schooling? __ Stated that above. What benifit does your child get? What benifit do parents get? My children get to learn about things they are interested in more than just the basics that they HAVE to learn. They get a choice in the matter! They also get to work at thier own pace, I was schooled in Highschool at a self paced school and it was SOOO good for me! I know we dont all learn every day, so somedays we just need to take a break! Next... My benifits? I get to be there like someone said when they do firsts, and also for when they "get it" in math or language arts. Those are priceless moments! I often think of how much $$$ I could make if I were out in the working world, but the scales don't ballance for me. So How do you find a way to get them to college? Same as the rest of you! Savings for starters, then applying for scholarships, I express extreme importance in gaining a good talent or ability and honing it! Sports for ds9, we are working with him on that, though he is bright as anyone else, he is sports minded and loves to play. If he can get a sport type scholarship from hard work and determination that is great! It will pay his archetechual schooling! Dd creativeness and design plus her brain should be helpful for scholarship too, and older son wants to be a Pastor, so Bible College /University whatever he wants will be done the same way scholarship +Savings plus working his way through as well as some help from us as we can. SO far they all want to live on the west coast. I would do it again in a second! HA! So much for SHORT EH? AT least my questions were!
Okay, so this is not really going to be short and simple but I will do the best I can. Why did you choose to home school? Homeschooling was kind of chosen for us. We had never considered homeschooing. My sister and SIL both homeschool their kids but it was not for us- or so we thought. A little over two years ago our school district decided to do away with neighborhood schools. As a result preschool would be in one building, K & 1st in one, 2nd & 3rd in one, and 4th & 5th in another. The schools are spread throughout the city and the kids would have to be bussed from school to school. We did not want our kids spread throughout the city. We had them close together for a reason and we wanted them to know each other- not just see each other in passing. As soon as this decision was made by the school board, we made the decision to homeschool. We had really loved our school and the teachers. Most of the teachers were Christians and attended a Bible Study before school and prayed for the students. I also volunteered one day a week and was the President elect for the PTO. With our kids in different schools I would not have been able to be as involved in their education and would have no choice in the teachers. We knew that was not an option for us. Why do you still home school? The schools are still spread out here but next year they are closing down one of the schools. So there will only be three schools- preschool, K-2nd, and 3rd-5th. Some of the students have spent their three years of school in three different schools and will now have a 4th school next year. Even if the schools went back to the way they were originally, we would still be homeschooling. As difficult as it is, I love being with the kids all day. Watching them develop interests and grasp concepts is gratifying. I love watching the relationship between the four of them- they get along great and truly enjoy being together. I also enjoy the fact that when can spend time together as a family at night and on weekends instead of working on homework. Would you begin and do it again today? We just finished our 2nd official year of homeschooling. I did homeschool the older two for preschool before they went to public school but I do not consider that official. I would definitely do it again. In some ways I wish that we would have started homeschooling from the very beginning. However, I think that much of what we do and do not do now is influenced by what we witnessed in public school. I was in charge of the evaluations and testing for the 1st & 2nd graders which really helped me to learn the guidelines of the school district. Since I volunteered once a week plus after hours and PTO as well, I was very much aware of the curriculum choices and ins and outs of the school year. I am very grateful for that experience because it has helped me in our homeschooling experience. I am glad that our older two had the public school experience and still want to be homeschooled. I am also glad that we get to homeschool two of our kids from the very beginning. What are your most important reasons to continue home schooling? Our family relationships. I feel like we are a much closer family because we are together so much of the day and we are aware of what is important to each other. I relish the fact that we can take field trips and days off without consulting the school's schedule. Hearing our older sons read to the younger two and hearing the giggles and awes from discovering something together- there is no substitute. What benifit does your child get? Besides the relationships with their siblings and our family as a whole, they also get to have time with other family members that they would not normally get. They get the benefit of pursuing their interests and reading books that they are interested. They learn responsibility and accountability. They learn the importance of organization and priorities. They get the benefits of playing outside in beautiful weather and taking field trips in the middle of the week when few others are out. They get the benefit of amazing their friends with how much they know and teaching their friends cool learning tricks. They get to learn life skills such as cooking, sewing, typing, woodworking, gardening, laundry, and more. They also get to have hands on experience with running our business and helping my husband on plumbing jobs. They get to laugh out loud, sing at the top of their lungs, lie in the middle of the floor to do their work, where comfortable clothing, and I could go on and on with the benefits. What benifit do parents get? A strong relationship with our kids and a better relationship with each other. When you do not have the stress associated with school and limited outside influences it reduces the stress on the family. We have happier kids who are well behaved and respectful. We do not have to worry about what they are doing or learning at school. There is not a sense of competing for your child's time. How do you find a way to get them to college? Both my husband and I feel that college is not a necessity but if our kids choose to go- that will be fine with us. When the kids are in high school we plan to encourage them to try out any trades that they may be interested in. My husband and FIL are plumbers and you cannot go to college for that. We will also encourage them to try their hand at business as well. We own our own business and all of my siblings as well as my parents and in-laws all own their businesses. Our kids come from a long line of entrepreneurs so they have the opportunity to be involved in business from the ground up. If our kids want to go to college, we will encourage them to attend a junior college. We would actually like them to take a few classes at a junior college while still in high school so they can get a feel for what it would be like and if they want to pursue it. It would also give them the opportunity to earn some college credits if they choose to go to a four year college. I apologize for the length of this but short answers are a little difficult when it comes to homeschooling.
Our oldest began at home due to the semi~isolated area we live in then attended the local primary school. Over the years school discipline worsened & the teaching standard dropped. High school required up to 4 hours travelling each day. Our youngest was reading before school age so, after assessing the school, we just kept her home & continued to school her while we brought 2 of our older children home to finish their schooling. One opted to stay in public school & we felt this was a good choice for him & his twin did want he had always wanted to do & went to sea instead of finishing school. We have homeschooled off & on over 20 years. Our youngest has always homeschooled & is now in grade 7, so that is 7 years straight. The most telling comments come from my older daughter who is more than 6 years older than her sister & chose to homeschool: 'It's just like Christmas, isn't it?' (on getting her school work parcels through the mail.) & having being invited to join her peers for an event she opted to stay home because,'Sis, is more mature & interesting to be with.' Out of the mouths of babes...
Why do I homeschool? #1 PS was not helping my son, he just kept getting further behind and special ed was not the answer. (Especially when the teacher lets them play games, chat, and basically just have fun, instead of trying to teach or help any of them. So much for the ' No Child Left Behind Act'.) #2 Our family was tired of being sick all of the time. As soon as everyone was better and you would send them back to school it was something else. #3 My son kept getting bullied. A few times he came home crying because some kids had hit him. The school never did anything about it, so we went to the parents they did nothing, we finally went to the police and the other kids just got warned. Those are the main reasons for homeschooling. Now that I have started this I wish I would have started years ago!
Why did you choose to home school? Call me old-fashioned, but I LOVE being with our kids! Why do you still home school? It has become our lifestyle, I love the flexibility, and passing our family values on to our children. Oh, and did I mention I love being with our kids? Would you begin and do it again today? I'd like to think so! We just finished up our fourth year of homeschooling. What are your most important reasons to continue home schooling? It works for our family, and we feel it's where God wants us - it's our ministry. What benifit does your child get? Time with their wonderful MOM! They get to be themselves and be understood. They get to move around, not sit at a desk & be quiet all day. They are able to go at THEIR pace - whether it be faster or a bit slower - in each subject. They get to follow their interests and dreams and learn while doing it. They get to go on cool field trips, etc. with their homeschool buddies. What benefit do parents get? The joy of knowing we're doing the right thing for our children and our family. That we have God's guidance and help to do what He called us to do. We get to be with our kids!
Why? Because I don't want Jeannie in the school system her brother attended. Why continue? Because I haven't found a private school I like. Do it again? No. I don't feel well enough trained for this. Benefit/child? Well, she gets to pick subjects she'd like to study. She picked all our science last year. Benefit/parent? None! I have no life! Lol. When she moves out I'll be too old to cut the mustard!! College? Well, I think it would be fine if she learned a trade, but it's too early to think of that.
Lol, well ya I can relate to the "Got to life" bit, there are days when I have thought of the fact I would be fifty three when ds9 gets out of school, thats when I was all for dd doing the 2 years ahead of her self sprint lol. Now as I have sent one out, and one that is waiting for us to have enouh $ to get her out there too... well thats my reason for her being home next year if I could afford it she would be out. I thought of working out at the school but dh said "how will you teach ds9 if you are working?" so I had to default to still home teaching her another year. Then she will get to go to school out with her big brother for one year like she wanted. And ds9 and I will be the only ones left home. I feel kinda sad about that because my kids have become my life. I could make a T shirt that said "homeschool is my life!" and it would have been accurate several months of the year! Im gonna start a summer thread ( is there a limit to how many threads you can start?)
Yes, TMom, there is a limit to how many threads you can start. The answer to that is: Only as many as you can actually start! HAHA! (Did that make any sense? We've been so busy and we're all tired, so I'm warning you that what I think is funny, may really not be! My sis and I were just talking about this---what am I going to do after my kids leave home? They've totally been my life (well, them and my dh of course!), and I didn't keep up my teaching credential (don't want to be back in the classroom!), so won't be able to go do that anymore. It'll be so strange!
