Pros & Cons of Homeschooling

[JoseyJo]

I homeschooled my daughter from 7th grade through high school, and my sons from 3rd to 7th grades.

My boys decided to attend public school in 8th grade because one wanted to play football (they don't offer it here outside the public school system). My other son is very social, and didn't like doing his schoolwork all day, just me and him, so he followed his brother into public school the next semester (they are in the same grade). They are both thriving, with good grades, lots of friends, and the skill-set to make GOOD choices in a inner-city school.

I can absolutely say that it was the BEST choice I have ever made.

Homeschooling is the reason we started doing daycare, we couldn't make it without my income so I started watching a few preschool aged children and made it work by "schooling" them too

I loved the freedom to create my own curriculum based on my children's learning styles and my teaching style. We did use some virtual tools when my daughter was in highschool, but for the most part I re-learned along with them as I taught them. It was a LOT of hard work. But very, very rewarding.

If you love to learn then you will love homeschooling. I loved learning alongside them, especially when they got older, but even some of the base things like handwriting and phonics. I started college in the Spring of this year and I was able to test out of all the pre-reqs and go straight into college algebra and biology. Quite an accomplishment since I haven't been in school for almost 20 years! I got an A in both classes too


As for socialization, definitely check into the "groups" in your area, both homeschooling and other things like boy/girl scouts, youth groups, etc. Since I was also running the daycare sometimes I couldn't make the homeschool meets work (they want the parents to stay, and weren't always cool with 5 extra preschoolers running around). Boy scouts and youth group worked well for us, along with archery classes, karate, and dance (which can call be done after school/daycare hours).

[KiddieCahoots]

You mean the Utopia on FOX?

http://www.utopiatv.com/home

Lol! I just googled this to see what you were talking about.
My utopia is an imaginary island with a perfect political and social system. I have a feeling that may not exactly be the same for the Fox show, haha.... Looks interesting though.

[KiddieCahoots]

In your own experience.....

How much time did you find you needed for the prep work on the study?

How much time do you find you have needed for study with your child?

And how much time for the paperwork or documentation?

Sorry for all the questions, this is a little overwhelming, and I feel the more answers I receive from people that have already, successfully accomplished this, the better.

[LysesKids]

In your own experience.....

How much time did you find you needed for the prep work on the study? Depends on the age and subject

How much time do you find you have needed for study with your child? the beauty of homeschooling is there are no set times you have to work unless you are in a state that requires a minimum set hours each year. One kid flew thru math, while the other wanted to spend weeks on astronomy

And how much time for the paperwork or documentation? Again it depends on your state and THEIR requirements

Sorry for all the questions, this is a little overwhelming, and I feel the more answers I receive from people that have already, successfully accomplished this, the better.

The reason I asked for your state originally is because it does matter when it comes to doing things legal for Home school. The rules are so different in each state, there is no one size fits all for any part of it

[KiddieCahoots]

The reason I asked for your state originally is because it does matter when it comes to doing things legal for Home school. The rules are so different in each state, there is no one size fits all for any part of it

Ohhh......I see.
Ok, good to know!

[cheerfuldom]

Let me preface this by saying this has been my experience and my observations, they of course do not hold true to everyone and may not be the majority opinions. I know there are good schools out there and good teachers, I just paid thousands of dollars for my dd to attend college and get her teaching license so I am not in anyone blasting all schools or teachers. I do believe that our school system is quickly falling apart but that is another discussion.

I have homeschooled for the past 15 years and will finish in June when my ds graduates and as previously stated I have a dd that just graduated college that was hsed from 3rd grade on.

Pros-
I am very close to my children. I think that learning together gives us a unique bond.
They got to explore their interests and talents.
Ds is a competitive shooter and he could not have kept up with this schedule without being hsed (He is currently in Spain shooting the World Championships!)
It was easier to shape them morally and keep them away from things that I considered them too young to be around.
I have to say it as a provider- I always have an extra set of hands around. I will miss ds! The kids sometimes respond to him in a different way than they do to me.
We got to stay home. My kids are content at home. They have learned to occupy themselves.
No one put down their interests. My dd could still play with dolls at 12. My son could spend time teaching himself to juggle.
We could delay some of the "techie" stuff like cell phones and computer access.

Cons-
You must have a strong discipline system in place. Your children must listen and obey you.
You are taking full responsibility for their academic success.
If one way of teaching them doesn't work, you must be willing to explore other ways (tutor, community college etc)
paperwork- documentation
It is a HUGE commitment.

If you have any specific questions on how we did it etc. Just ask.

KUDOS to you for making homeschooling work! It sounds like your kids are educated, well rounded and thriving and if that is not a success story, I dont know what is. How wonderful!

[cheerfuldom]

You might also look into untraditional school options in your area. For instance, our town has a university model school. Meaning they mainly cater to homeschoolers and your child pays by the class like a college. This is great for higher math and science in high school! But for the primary, they have extras two or three morning a week. The parents are guided in homeschooling core subjects at home (if they need the help) and the school mornings are used to music, PE, languages, tutoring and other extras that parents may not be able to provide at home or things that can only be done with a group, like choir. It is a really great option that we are considering down the road so you really get the best of both worlds. The parents work together and support one another while also having the majority of the week to instruct their children as they see fit. You can take the state exams at the school or other things to see where your child is progressing in comparison to the norm.....but you dont have to. Everything is on a pay-as-go type basis and the fees are much cheaper than private schools.

[GKJNIGMN]

I personally spend very little time on prepwork. We have textbooks (like school style textbooks not homeschool curriculum) but I rarely touch them. I use them for Pennsylvania history which I am required to teach but since I'm not from here I don't know it and Science. Other than that I have a rough idea what main things I want to cover in each subject and I go from there.

I think the pros of homeschooling for me have been seeing what my son's actual issues are. The school could tell me but when I see it myself I have been able to figure out how he learns. We use a lot of worksheets I print from different websites.

The con for me was just how nervous I was. I worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with it or that I would fail - It really isn't as hard as it appears.

I spend a very tiny amount of time on paperwork. I live in Pennsylvania and have to have an evaluator review his progress at the end of the year. I put any work he does in folders by subject and I created a spreadsheet for each month and just check off what subjects he covers everyday. That allows me to see how much I am teaching in each area and confirms the number of days he was taught because we need to do at least 180 days. I also keep a list of field trips we take and books he reads.

As far as direct teaching, some days I do almost none with just him doing work and me clarifying any directions if he is reviewing things we have already covered. Other days I would say up to 3 hours is my max but it doesn't have to be 3 straight hours if I can find a block that large.

It's really an individual choice and, if it is a choice you make, you won't stop worrying until you are doing it and you see the progress.

[JoseyJo]

In your own experience.....

How much time did you find you needed for the prep work on the study?
I enjoyed the prep work so I probably spent more than necessary- but probably about 5 hours a week total

How much time do you find you have needed for study with your child?
Much more when they were younger (with a 6 yo I would think you would probably need to be with them most of the time they were doing work) when they were older only about 1/2 to 1 hour a day

And how much time for the paperwork or documentation?Depends on your state- in KS there is almost no oversight so very very little.

Sorry for all the questions, this is a little overwhelming, and I feel the more answers I receive from people that have already, successfully accomplished this, the better.

Good luck!