Does Anyone Homeschool?

[Heidi]

My 5th grader would like to homeschool next year.

We have the option of a "virtual school" here, which my older two sons graduated from, so I do not have to plan lessons.

I am thinking free-range part of the day, and lesson time the other part (possibly at nap time). He is a very creative kid, and as long as he has no electronics and does the minimal "schooling", I think he will do very well.

Does anyone have experience with this?

[Michael]

We homeschooled both of our children. There are a lot of positives if you have the time to teach. Both our children are well mannered and do not swear or curse. They are well advanced in their studies than children they own ages. They have great social skills and that is the first thing people will question when you mention you teach your kids at home. Believe me, the family home environment is going to be better for them than public school. Your kids also get one on one attention and will be better focused. There will come a time though when you will need to use tutors.

Here are some more theads on homeschooling: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=homeschool

[Heidi]

We homeschooled both of our children. There are a lot of positives if you have the time to teach. Both our children are well mannered and do not swear or curse. They are well advanced in their studies then children they own ages. They have great social skills and that is the first thing people will question you about when you mention you teach your kids at home. Believe me, the family home environment is going to be better for them the public school. Your kids also get one on one attention and will be better focused. There will come a time though when you will need to use tutors.

Here are some more theads on homeschooling: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=homeschool

We "sort of" homeschooled my older two. They graduated from a state-accredited virtual school, so they have "official" diplomas, but learned at home. MY 21yo is now a hippie in California He is planning on going to college to become an english teacher. My 19yo is a sniper in the army. I DO NOT know how I managed to raise a hippie and a soldier :confused: but I adore them both.

My daughter homeschooled for 7th grade-same v.school. It was absolutely the best best thing I could have done for her. She had a year to "find" herself, gain her bearings, grow more confident. SHe is now a freshman, and loves public school. She hated every day of 6th grade. The endless teasing was just too much for her at the time. She has always been very "fashion forward", not something that is appreciated in our town of 900 people.

[AnneCordelia]

My siblings and I were "unschooled". All five of us have gone on to get university educations, three of us on academic scholarship. I had a great experience with it!

My mom started out when I was in 4th grade (oldest of 5 kids). She tried to run it like a classroom in the diningroom but that style didn't work for us. She opted for an unschooling approach and we thrived.

My own oldest two children are in the public system. I like my small town's school and feel that they are doing well there. If I didn't like the school and the experience we were having then I'd not hesitate to homeschool them. We're open to the paths we come to.

Do you have any questions from that perspective?

[themoorethemerrier]

Do it!

We homeschool with our 1st and 2nd graders (though my 1st grader is doing essentially the same level of work).

We're "free-range" (I like that term! ) eclectic Charlotte Mason style.

Lesson time for us (even learning time tables and division) is really short. My girls seems to get more from reading with or without me and work books.

We end up doing studies on things that really interest them. The latest one is chicken reproduction (uh, we live on a farm so it was kinda expected :: ) and the mighty egg. I've been noticing all of my archeology books laying opened on the floor so I have a feeling we'll be delving into that again soon.

I love how my kids are more able to study things that they want since their not constrained to "school" hours.

[Maddy'sMommy]

I read a book called "The Unschooling Handbook". It's a good read if you are interested in "free-range" type education at home.

[AfterSchoolMom]

Does your state require testing or do they monitor their progress in some way? I've been thinking of doing this for my younger child - he's not doing very well in public school right now and isn't really getting the one-on-one that he needs (not the teacher's fault, just the way it is).

[Michael]

Does your state require testing or do they monitor their progress in some way? I've been thinking of doing this for my younger child - he's not doing very well in public school right now and isn't really getting the one-on-one that he needs (not the teacher's fault, just the way it is).

We are long time members of Homeschool Legal Defense. Check this: http://www.hslda.org/hs/

[misspollywog]

Do it!!!!!! You won't regret it and neither will your child. My dc ad now specifically targets hs'ers because I love it that much.

We hs'd our three as well as a neighbor's son who was being incessantly bullied in school and they are now happy, healthy young adults who are just awesome people.

We did a Montessori-style of hs'ing and it worked brilliantly. They basically directed their own learning and were able to focus on the things that most interested them. We built our curriculum around THEM as people, rather than the other way around and we were able to incorporate the things THEY love most (art, music, martial arts etc.) into almost every aspect of their schooling.

IT WAS AWESOME AND I'D DO IT OVER AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT!!

My oldest is now in business management and quite successful, my middle son is going to college to be a child psychologist and my daughter has her sights set on law school. She starts college this spring.

Right now, the two youngest are my part time assistants and they love the dc kids and are sooo good with them. Our family has also started a non-profit for disadvantaged youths and we will be hosting camps in the summer together up here at Yellowstone. It was THEIR idea.


I'm 100% positive that they have gained the level of self confidence they possess and learned their compassion from hs'ing. By being in a supportive, nurturing environment where they could just be who they truly are rather than trying to fit in or be "cool" at public school has made them better people.

It also taught them how to get along with people of ALL ages, not just other kids who are in their grade or who were their specific age. Hs'ing your 5th grader while doing dc will give him this advantage, too.

There are sooo many other benefits, as well, I can't even begin to list them all.

Again, I know you won't regret it. We sure haven't!

[Heidi]

Thank you for your insights! The one problem I had with the other kids was that they still had to get a certain amount of "official" work done each semester, and there was a lot of nagging involved.

I remember when they used to LOVE learning. I have very inquisitive, self directed children, but they HAVE to be internally motivated, or it is a huge struggle.

I am really considering the unschooling approach, or 90% unschooling. It would blend really well with the emergent learning style I am trying to master for daycare.

[sharlan]

I hs'd my 15 yo granddaughter for 5th grade. It wasn't the best experience for either her or me. We went through the school district and there was so much paper work for her to do everyday. By the end of the year, we both hated it. It was something that she needed, though. She had a lot of social issues at school, coupled with a really bad teacher. She went back to public school the next year in another district and has thrived ever since.

Whenever she starts slacking off in school, my daughter threatens her with homeschooling, works every time.

I am now using a preschool program with my grandsons and it's much more laid back. So far, they are both enjoying it.

[Country Kids]

I did homeschool one of my children till this year. Something I wanted to continue but wasn't able to because of the childcare. To work 50 hour weeks and trying to also make sure they were getting things they needed was really to much for me anymore. It wasn't an easy decision to put this child into school but with faith we did it. Almost made a 4 point, teachers were totally amazed at conferences how well it was going and one even said that this child will ace high school.

It was a great chapter in our life but like I said trying to work 50 hour weeks and homeschool wasn't working for us anymore. Organization is the key and having your childcare run smoothly is another one.

If you would like to pm me I would be willing to talk to you further on some things to help you on this possible new journey!

[erinalexmom]

I homeschool. I wouldnt do it any other way. Part of the reason that I started the daycare was to help my daughter with her schooling. We do her work during nap.

[AmyLeigh]

My dd (3rd grade) has been in a virtual school since K. My ds started K with the same school this year. We may go independent next year for more freedom, though. We love it!

[MARSTELAC]

Homeschool

We started doing this in September (a week into the school year). We go the virtual route in our state (many states offer this option). I wish we would have done it sooner. The key is to stay organized. The only con is the noise level with the daycare. We are trying to figure out a better way..not a big house and two kids being homeschooled plus the daycare noise is not a good mix. It'll get better though!

My family couldn't be happier!