To Homeschool Or Not To Homeschool?

[Sprouts]

:confused:
Obviously this is a personal choice I need to make but since I value all of your opinions and experience I feel like this is the right place for advice!

Okay so my daughter should be entering kindergarten next year, in ny they legally don't have to be in school until 1st grade though.

My husband and I have been contemplating homeschooling ideas, I think it will be a lot of fun and I know there are many ways to socialize your child, it's not always us being stuck at home. On the other hand I have my 15 month old, and I am Expecting! Yup, just found out, so another prego on this forum!
So I feel like I may be overwhelmed too and I also have to worry about my child care downstairs....which may help I guess since I have assistants if I needed to have 1 on 1 time I could....but I don't know...:confused:


So for those of you, specially those with homeschooling experience while running a child care whats your advice?..

[Heidi]

Everything has it's challenges, of course, but I love having my son home this year. We switched to homeshooling at the 1st of the year, and he is in 5th grade.

My son had a lot of school related anxiety. He is very bright, but definately marches to a different drummer!

[cheerfuldom]

I will be homeschooling beginning next year but am not pregnant. I guess you need to figure out what all you will be able to handle. thats a decision only you can make. Have you explored your local schooling options and even seen what all is out there? Can you start kinder curriculum early or later and accommodate the extra time needed around the new baby's birth?

[Beach Baby]

I home schooled my son for first grade. He had a hard time transitioning from a smaller, private school to public; plus the transition from kinder to first. We used connections academy, a virtual school. I was happy we chose that, because it took a lot of stress off of me as far as lesson plans and making sure he was on track with his peers, etc. He went back to public school for 2nd grade because I had a newborn and his younger brother was also starting prek. My son is in 3rd this year and loves school and his teacher. I am glad I chose to homeschool when he needed me to. I didn't have a daycare at the time, and was not watching any kids, other than my own, so it was easy for me to spend as much time as needed with him for schoolwork. Kinder may not be so bad, but as work starts to get more complicated, you may find it hard to find the time to devote to teaching her. Of course, only you know what you can handle and what would be best for her!

[Sprouts]

I home schooled my son for first grade. He had a hard time transitioning from a smaller, private school to public; plus the transition from kinder to first. We used connections academy, a virtual school. I was happy we chose that, because it took a lot of stress off of me as far as lesson plans and making sure he was on track with his peers, etc. He went back to public school for 2nd grade because I had a newborn and his younger brother was also starting prek. My son is in 3rd this year and loves school and his teacher. I am glad I chose to homeschool when he needed me to. I didn't have a daycare at the time, and was not watching any kids, other than my own, so it was easy for me to spend as much time as needed with him for schoolwork. Kinder may not be so bad, but as work starts to get more complicated, you may find it hard to find the time to devote to teaching her. Of course, only you know what you can handle and what would be best for her!

I checked out the school but it's so expensive , but thank you. I will keep checking

[Beach Baby]

Really? We didn't pay anything for him to go to school there. Ahh I see now that you are in NY and they only offer private school for your state. Sorry about that. Not sure how you would feel, but I think I would be comfortable enough doing my own kinder lesson plans. Be sure to check for local homeschoolers, maybe you could meet up with some or just get some good info/ideas from them.

[Beach Baby]

Oh, and check with your public school as well! Ours recently started a virtual school for homeschoolers, so they could be on the same page as their peers and could jump right in if they would decide to go to traditional school.

[Cat Herder]

Check out http://www.k12.com/nyva/


I promise you will not regret it. My kids, DH and I did this until junior high. They IMMEDIATELY qualified for gifted services and are still in them two years after leaving K12. Doing this together made us a very tight knit family.

My DH taught Tues + Thurs and took them on In State field trips weekly. I did Mon, Wed, Fri and did BIG trips on my two week vacations.. Washington D.C., NYC Museums/Theaters, Atlanta Shakespeare Theatre/Museums/Emory University/CDC, Boston Harbor, Everglades, Keys, Maine State Parks, Battle Fields, College Campus's, National Cemeteries, Savannah Water Ways, Aquariums, Nature Centers and pretty much the entire East Coast to go along with the curriculum. If they seemed interested, we went. We are still planning a trip to Salem, Mass for Halloween.... If I win the lottery, I'll take them to the West Coast, next....otherwise, they can do that with their own.

I'd not give up this experience for anything. It was the best decision I made next to actually HAVING my kids.

I would have LOVED to continue through high school, but the extracurriculars were not well coordinated locally ...there were more resources available through the public brick and mortar schools.

In New York you should have so many more opportunities not available to public schoolers, though...

[Countrygal]

I've homeschooled for a total of about 23 years so far and am currently hsing my gs in K

Obviously, I love it.

A couple of things I always say to people who are contemplating hsing....

• Remember, it is a total lifestyle change. Hsing is not a 9-5 job, but is involved in every aspect of how you interact with your kids. That's one of the main reasons I love it so!
• I always recommend a husband/wife team (yes team) discuss it thoroughly and make sure that both parties are on board. It is pretty much impossible to do without a spouse's support
• I recommend you visit someone who has been hsing for more than five years if at all possible to see how they do it, get information, catalogues, sources, etc, etc. This can be an invaluable source of reference!
• There are so many more options than there used to be! Remember that if you sign up for a "canned curriculum" as it is called, you will normally be structured to go M - F and completely finish their curriculum. Sometimes it is a good way to start, but it is so much more fun to do it yourself!
• There are free options out there through your public schools, but again, remember that you have to completely complete their curriculum and do it on their schedule. In my state you even have to take THEIR days off. Not what I want for my homeschool
• Hsing offers so much more than conventional schooling - more one on one, more curriculum selecton, have you considered that if you make up your own curriculum you can include "life skills" and "cooking" and "farming" or "woodworking" at any age! You can even include any religious training.
• Most importantly, and you may have already done this, check out your state's hsing law. Each state's law is in full and encapsulated form through hslda.org
• When you've done all of the above, I suggest you draw up a complete list of what you want your homeschool to "be", the reasons for your decision, and how you would like to accomplish it. IOW - a statement of purpose
• Check for a local hsing organization and start going to their meetings. Again, the time is well spent! You'll learn more than you could anywhere!

Those are the best suggestions I've come up with for those contemplating taking the plunge! Obviously, running a daycare and hsing adds another dimension to the mix. You have to decide how much you can handle. There have been a couple of good threads on this very recently, might be worth a search!

Here's a site I've found very helpful!
http://www.homeschoolspot.com/ They have a great forum similar to this one!
Hope it helps a little!

[AmyLeigh]

When I started hs'ing my oldest, I had a 2 yo and was pregnant! So I have BTDT. Take it easy with K. Keep it simple and have fun. I found breaking up the work throughout the day worked for me that first year. Just 10 minutes here and there can accomplish a lot without overwhelming you or your student.

I have never regretted my decision to hs, and would miss my kids terribly if they went to school. I have learned and grown more through this experience than any other I have had.

[Countrygal]

When I started hs'ing my oldest, I had a 2 yo and was pregnant! So I have BTDT. Take it easy with K. Keep it simple and have fun. I found breaking up the work throughout the day worked for me that first year. Just 10 minutes here and there can accomplish a lot without overwhelming you or your student.

I have never regretted my decision to hs, and would miss my kids terribly if they went to school. I have learned and grown more through this experience than any other I have had.

[Preschool/daycare teacher]

I was homeschooled all the way through highschool. I highly recommend it! Just a couple bits of advice: It would be much better on your daughter if you started out homeschooling and then decide to place her in school than if you started her in school and then pulled her out to homeschool. In public school children are used to being told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. They have an emotionally un-involved party to answer to if they do not do their work. Public school is a whole different life for a child than homeschool. The children would need to be brought up and used to seeing their parents as the only ones they have to listen to for schooling, and have to respect them as the only authority figures, since they can't be sent to a principal, or have to answer to anyone else for uncompleted, sloppy, or lazy school work.
It worked really well for me, I think I loved being homeschooled. The flexibility it offered was great!
My structured curriculum schooling didn't even begin until I was in 3rd grade. Before that my mom was able to work in what I needed to know throughout the day through whatever we were doing that day. I remember some practice books that we'd work in sometimes, but those times were limited to just a few minutes a day, so I wasn't burned out on school yet when I entered 3rd grade. By then I was ready to go at it! I'd grab my curriculum workbooks and work on them in my room until it was finished. then I'd have the rest of the day to do "fun" stuff. I can even remember getting up really early in the morning, before my mom got up, to do my work. Then by the time she got up and told me to get started, I'd be about finished and ready for some play time! It taught me to be extremely self-disciplined and to think ahead, past the right here and now. We could take a day off as needed and do double the next day, or start earlier or later in the school year to accomodate any days/weeks we'd be taking off during the school year. Including vacations during the off season where there's smaller crowds, cheaper hotels, gas, etc. I plan to homeschool my children!

Back to your main worry: I think it would be fine to start your daughter out in Kindergarten (using a play-based approach, by the way ) and take time off when you have your baby. You can always extend the schooling into the summer if needed, and in Kindergarten you can easily do the play based approach, so your daughter would never notice that she was doing "school" instead of getting to play all through the summer days Homeschooling can be so much more relaxed in the younger grades, so a newborn wouldn't even affect it at all.

If you have any questions about homeschooling, feel free to pm me!

[Sprouts]

Thank you all for the really detailed and great advice, i am going to print and keep a copy for future reference

I am just curious to Amy and pre-school and daycare teacher, were you providing childcare at the same time or was your mother (preschool teacher) providing childcare? I am seriously contemplating if I want to continue with my childcare or just sell our house and downsize so we can afford to live on just my husbands income. ....

And also how did all of you deal with unsupportive family members?

Even though they do give us good advice i do feel like telling them to shetup too

[busymommy0420]

I am seriously considering home schooling my daughters. They are two now and I will be looking into more information soon. I love the idea of my girls being home with me. lovethis

[Countrygal]

I was homeschooled all the way through highschool. I highly recommend it! Just a couple bits of advice: It would be much better on your daughter if you started out homeschooling and then decide to place her in school than if you started her in school and then pulled her out to homeschool. In public school children are used to being told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. They have an emotionally un-involved party to answer to if they do not do their work. Public school is a whole different life for a child than homeschool. The children would need to be brought up and used to seeing their parents as the only ones they have to listen to for schooling, and have to respect them as the only authority figures, since they can't be sent to a principal, or have to answer to anyone else for uncompleted, sloppy, or lazy school work.
It worked really well for me, I think I loved being homeschooled. The flexibility it offered was great!
My structured curriculum schooling didn't even begin until I was in 3rd grade. Before that my mom was able to work in what I needed to know throughout the day through whatever we were doing that day. I remember some practice books that we'd work in sometimes, but those times were limited to just a few minutes a day, so I wasn't burned out on school yet when I entered 3rd grade. By then I was ready to go at it! I'd grab my curriculum workbooks and work on them in my room until it was finished. then I'd have the rest of the day to do "fun" stuff. I can even remember getting up really early in the morning, before my mom got up, to do my work. Then by the time she got up and told me to get started, I'd be about finished and ready for some play time! It taught me to be extremely self-disciplined and to think ahead, past the right here and now. We could take a day off as needed and do double the next day, or start earlier or later in the school year to accomodate any days/weeks we'd be taking off during the school year. Including vacations during the off season where there's smaller crowds, cheaper hotels, gas, etc. I plan to homeschool my children!

Back to your main worry: I think it would be fine to start your daughter out in Kindergarten (using a play-based approach, by the way ) and take time off when you have your baby. You can always extend the schooling into the summer if needed, and in Kindergarten you can easily do the play based approach, so your daughter would never notice that she was doing "school" instead of getting to play all through the summer days Homeschooling can be so much more relaxed in the younger grades, so a newborn wouldn't even affect it at all.

If you have any questions about homeschooling, feel free to pm me!

It's really nice to get some feedback from someone who was homeschooled. Recently my oldest dd who is 33 and I had the discussion about what she thought of being hsed. She said she was glad she had been and gave many of the same reasons you did, the principal one being taught to be self-disciplined and learning to think for herself!