Any other Homeschoolers out there?

[ilovefh]

Thanks for the responses!! I wasnt aware that they could participate in activities at the school. I wasnt aware that they could be dual enrolled either. (I dont know much, except that its a tough job and I respect anyone who is willing to take on the task of homeschooling!) I am about to graduate and become a teacher, but I do agree that our public schools are in need of some serious help! I only went to public school through 8th grade, but then went to private school for high school because in public school the majority of our time was spent listening to the teacher discipline. I know this isnt the case everywhere, but I think it happens alot nowadays! I would love to homeschool my children if it is the best thing for them, but with both us being teachers, I'm not sure if financially we could afford it! I do think that the decision to homeschool or not is totally up to the parent. Its a personal decision and parents know their children better than anyone else! Whats good for one child may not be good for the other (ie. I went to private high school, my younger sister went to public because the private school only offered advanced classes, the public schools offered more classes at her level with more assistance) Anyway, I'm digressing from my point. Thanks for all the great responses! I commend you all for homeschooling!!

Elena

 

[ilovefh]

sha_lyn you have some very busy kids!! I think the homeschool group sounds like a very good idea!! Are there a lot of families in your area that homeschool?\

also...what is an umbrella school? I have never heard of this.

 

[sha_lyn]

The laws vary from state to state. Here they can't dual enroll or participate in school sports but they can use the school libraries. The atlanta area has a huge HS population and many groups have formed their own sports leagues. Most comunity sports programs go up to at high school , so sports are easy before High school.
Home schooling is so popular in our area now that many there is always a special activity going on. SciTrek (science museum) has monthly homeschool workshops. In feb there is a week set aside at the state capital for homeschool students. A local working dairy just had their homeschool days. The field trip there was wonderful.

 

[ilovefh]

This is a very interesting topic!!

 

[sha_lyn]

sorry we were posting at the same time. I didn't see your questions.


The home school population here is very large. I couldn't even begin to give you numbers, however I know several hundred thousand attended the home school expo in August. The large group we are in has 170 families in it. The smaller has about 30.

An unbrella school keeps reconrd and issues grade. Some are more like correspondence schools, all work is submitted to the school to be graded. Others like the one my son is in (www.greatbooksacademy.org) gives 1/4 exams. Greatbooks is very flexable and lets us pick the text books that we use. Some have their own boxed curriculum such as Calvert. Calvert comes with all the materials needed for the year, even most of the craft supplies. DD is listening to the music tape while I'm posting this. We are using Calvert K for my DD but I'm not using their grading service this year. I'll wait a few years for that. With them you send in selected workbook pages from each 20 lesson period from each subject and fill out a detailed evaluation on their performance. Other homeschool "schools" are online or computer program based. One such computer based program is Switched On School house. We use their GA history (it is the only state history program I could find). The programs can be used alone, or you can pay for their services and e mail assignments into them for grading.

 

[ilovefh]

thanks for the link!

 

[ilovefh]

I have one more ?
When you started homeschooling how old were your children?

 

[tmfranlk]

Thank you everyone for the helpful information. We are having a baby in February and my husband and I have already started talking about homeschooling. From the basic research I've done already, I'm guessing that it's never too early to start planning.

ilovefh, finances is also one of my big concerns about homeschooling. Currently, I work full-time and we receive a stipend from my in-laws so that my husband can write his novel. When he's done writing, he will probably get at least a part-time job to help cover expenses. Our tentative plan is to split the school and work days up so that we are both participating. I will work early morning to mid-afternoon and he will teach some during that time. When I come home, I'll teach for a little while in the afternoon while he writes or works.

Do any other homeschoolers out there split the teaching responsibilities with thier spouse? How does it work for you? We are in CA and I hear the laws here can be tricky for homeschooling. If anyone has any start up advice, I would love for you to PM me.

Thanks!!!
Tia

 

[Hsminnie]

Tia,

You will find that 30 min - 1hr will cover the early K and pre K. For 1-3 you may need 2 hrs. Even my 5th grader can do all of her 'work' in a few hours. Plus, the early years (until 7 or 8) require very little formal instruction anyway. I did teach my daughters to read and taught them math basics, but the rest is happening all around. See, everything is homeschooling. Are you cooking? Then you're teaching life skills, math, fire safety and health. Are you gardening? More math, science, nature studies, conservation, social studies. Do you read books? History, religion, science....you get the point.

Since you are beginning early, the best advice I have is to read EVERYTHING you can get your hands on about home education. There is no reason for your child, or any other, to learn according to an institutional guideline. The reason ALL third have to learn "X" in a certain school is continuity. They cannot possibly track the individual learning styles and progress of each child in the school. YOU CAN!!! It's a great benefit of home schooling!

Try to avoid 'school at home' and you will have so much more fun. It will be more work sometimes, but much more rewarding for all.

 

[sha_lyn]

Ds was 12 and in the 7th when we began. DD is 5 now and this is her first yr. Since last yr was DS's first yr HS'ing I decided to send DD to private preschool. One point that really influenced my choice of pre schools was the teacher. Her grandchildren are Home schooled and she tried to keep things balanced in metioning all options (PS, HS and private or religious school)when the subject of "real" school came up.

I handle most of the schooling here but DH does help. I know of a few families where the father in home durign the day. In one family the mother is a PS teacher and her DH is at home homeschooling the kids during the day. Another family the father works out of the home and the mother is on the road a lot. He in the only dad at our playdates, but he is just "one of the girls" to us when we stand around talking about home schooling.

here is another home school "school" that I'm looking at using for DD in place of Calvert. It just depends on how her learning style developes this year



Oak Meadow

Here is the
Calvert link just in case anyone want to check them out too.

 

[disneymom3]

When we go to WDW we will be doing some learning activiies in the car on the drive. And bringing the Leap Pad which is fabulous for hands-off schooling! On our last trip, DD and I went on Spaceship Earth like 10 times. After we left she decided she needed to learn more about Michaelangelo so we did. Right now she is obsessed with the Revolutionary war and Ben Franklin so that is what we are learning about. We are also focusing on US Geography and so the drive down will be a great learning adventure. I agree with the earlier poster who said she just can't make her kids stop learning!

We are very child led and also have a quick learner. I would say we spend about two hours a day on schooling This includes half an hour of silent reading and half an hour of the PBS show Liberty's Kids. We have been homeschooling for about a year now. DD went to PS for kindergarten, but got pretty bored with it and the kids who misbehaved really stressed her out. We started h's'ing on her days off (she did an every other day program.) All of us loved it, so one day I asked if she wanted to just do school at home all the time for first grade. She did so here we are. We are in two support groups. One of them focuses on a topic of learning for the kids and the moms take turns leading it. The other is playtime for the kids and an arts and crafts time and a conversation/support time for the moms. My DD also participates in dance and a community soccer team. Our local support group is also very active in getting group rates for plays, museums, etc.

I blushingly admit that one of the big draws for me when considering h's'ing was that I could go to WDW whenever I wanted to!

I enjoyed reading everyone's commments and the fact that those asking questions were very respectful. I think we are so blessed to live in a country where we can all choose what is best for our own families. No one thing is going to be the right thing for everyone.