I am interested in home schooling my children and I am meeting with with nothing but negative attitudes about it. I have three children (8,5 &4). Currently my older children attend private school and my son (oldest) is struggling in the environment. He is an intelligent child but I think he learns differently in the sense of he is a very hands on child, he likes to build and create.
I see in him a lack of interest in the school work.

My concern is that my children are very active and to be frank, they drive me a bit nuts at times. I am not sure about this but feel it is worth investigating the home school option.

I need some insight into the process and how you handle it without going insane. I don't mean to sound rude but we all need adult time and personal time etc.

I am just kind of lost and it seems that home schooling is frowned upon.
I don't know what I am asking for here but if you have a word for me I appreciate it. Thanks.

Lenette,

My 11 yr. old DS is finishing up fifth grade in a private school but we are homeschooling next year. PLEASE head to your nearest library and get the book, "Homeschooling - The Right Choice" by Christopher Klicka. It really opened my eyes and heart to the homeschooling option. As far as the negative attitudes from other people, dismiss it completely! Thank them for their opinion, but YOU know your children and their needs better than anyone else. My son can drive me batty too, but homeschooling or not, we moms need to learn to take care of ourselves and carve out time for mom-time!! Homeschooling is all about organization and adjustments to one another as well as recognizing our kids needs academically. We have bought all of the curriculum for next year and it cost about $500 for all the subjects from 3 different suppliers. Much better than the $6,000+ yearly for a private school we have paid out the last 2 years. Public school is not an option for our son as he would get eaten alive in our local school. A great website to investigate is: homeschoolreviews.com

It is a website that lists tons of curriculum suppliers and you can read reviews from other homeschooling parents about the material and frustrations and joys of homeschooling. Please feel free to PM me if you need, too! Good luck!

I was homeschooled from 5th grade on up. Don't worry about everyone else's negative opinion. Like Christeena said, you know your children better than anyone else. They will say things like "What about their social life?" etc. I did fine. I went to college and made the transition without huge problems. I didn't get into trouble in high school (not saying that that never happens to homeschoolers, or that it happens to all public school students!). I went to our local high school to take the MEAP test (scholarship reasons) and scored at the top of the group, so no learning gaps. I had friends, was social, smart, unlike what most people brand homeschool children.

I have siblings 7, 6, and 4 that I help my mom teach. Yes they will drive you nuts. Yes, you will want to lock yourself in your room to be by yourself at times. But those times pass. There are so many positive things. Hearing "You are the best teacher EVER!" , listening to your son or daughter read their first whole book to you, trying to get her to write those 5s correctly, and trying to help them see the difference between the letters b, d, p, and q. (Can you tell what my sister is struggling with right now ) You can't beat it.

There is nothing wrong with sending your child to school. And there is nothing wrong with homeschooling either.

*I am NOT trying to talk down to those who send their children to school, just trying to be an encouragement to those who don't. Just wanted to clarify what with all the drama around here...*

Wow, I am so glad to see this thread. My DS-9 is ADHD + other learning disabilities. I dream of homeschooling. Here in NJ there aren't many rules, so I can do it when it fits into my schedule. I am working full time though and have no clue what I'd do with him during the day or if I could fit all of it in without causing him delays. I have done some research, but it is very hard to find any info on what to do, when to do it and where to get the materials.

I wish I was home and could pull my kids out of public school. The one in our town just plain is horrible.

The best thing about HS is that you can fit into your schedule as you don't have all the "fluff" that eats up a kid's day at public school. I only work part-time but our HS day is going to be about 3-4 hours long with breaks as often as my easily distracted son needs them. I am schooling him in Language Arts, Reading, Bible, Social Studies and my husband is handling the Math and Science. We have joined a HS group that does monthly field trips and twice weekly P.E. at the local YWCA. Please read Christopher Klicka's book - you will be amazed at all of the info in the book. Several of our Presidents and inventors were homeschooled!!

One of the first things you should do is look into the rules in your state because they vary. Some states make it harder to homeschool than others.

Consider the reason you want to homeschool and then look into groups that meet your needs in your area. I think that the groups are important for the kids. I don't homeschool partly because I'm not religious and all the groups around me are religious so my kids wouldn't fit in.


My aunt is the poster child for the wrong way to homeschool. She did it entirely for religious reasons and to protect her precious angels. Her youngest children who never attended a regular school either can't read or turned to someone else to learn, my brother taught one when he was about 12. Some of the others who weren't very far into school were rejected from the local community college and most of them went nuts once they were adults. The real irony is that she wouldn't allow them around us often because we were "bad" but none of us ended up being told our babies couldn't come home from the hospital with us because of drug use or have been put in jail for "illegally working and animal on film." Most of the kids barely talk to their mother now.


I think you hear more about the poor examples than the good ones because it's more fun to talk about them.

Here is a link to find out what your state requires

http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

This is another one of those topics that you will get lots of opinions on. I can sit on both sides of the fence as it depends on the family.

I've been home educating my children for almost 10 yrs now. I have 2 children graduated so far. My oldest 4 went to public school before we pulled them out. In the beginning I didn't home educate for religious reasons. We had other reasons to. Yes most of the curriculum out there is religious but you can find some that isn't. I would check to see if your state is holding a convention soon. You can find a wealth of information there or even on the internet. You can find local groups who do things together.

As far as finding sanity that can be done. When I had more little children we had quiet time every day from 12:30pm till 3pm. I valued that time as I either caught up on stuff that needed to be done or I relaxed. During that time the children had a choice of reading or coloring. Sometimes just finishing up their work.

Just remember you know your child more than schools do. You birthed and taught them everything they know until they go to school. You know your children more than anything. Just remember that.

Do what *you and your husband* feel is necessary for your child. Don't let others make that decision for you.

Let me know if you need any more info.

Michele

Thank you for your replies. My state seems to be pretty lenient as far as guidelines, I looked at that first thing this morning. I have not, however, found any local groups as of yet.

The reasons for wanting to home school are what I stated in the beginning, my son does not seem to fit into a traditional school environment for a variety of reasons.

I went to the library today to find some books so I will be busy reading those and researching the internet. Please keep me in your prayers so that I can make the best decision for the family.

Thank you.

Michele, I'd like any more info you can give me. I'm confused on how to find groups and decide on cirriculum. We're religious, but I don't know that I would say we are religious enough to want to base their learning around it. I go to church and the kids can learn that there. My dd is in 2nd grade and does well, ds is in 3rd, but is adhd and has learning disabilities. How I would love to quit work and pull them out!

HomeschoolInc.com is another great resource for home schooling. Google home schooling and you will be amazed at the sites to look at! There is also a book called, "Home School Your Child For Free", that is loaded with info about sites on the internet that you can download or print off for curriculum!

Hi Lenette,

We decided to homeschool at the end of DD's first grade. She had been going to a private school and we couldn't afford it any more. I also like having my kids at home and was interested in a Christian education for them.

It's been a tough year for us. Lots of adjustments and things to sort out, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Things are really improving with us. DD will be in third grade next year and DS will be in Kindergarten.

As many have said already, these are your children and you know them best.

The two best things I've done to help me along is to join a Home School Group. It's online and I receive a digest daily. This is a great way to get to know other HS families, participate in field trips/group activities and stay current on HS laws in our state.

The other is to participate in a HS Co-op. This is where HS families gather together once a week and provide classes in a class environment for the kids. My kids "live" for Wednesdays when we go to co-op. DD is taking a fitness and nutrition class and an art class. DS is taking a music class and a reading class (the teachers read stories and then they make crafts related to the stories). Lots of fun for the kids, lots of networking with other HS families and tons of learning.

Like I said, this is totally new for me, but if I can help in any way, let me know.

Are you a mind reader?, because I was thinking of opening up a Homeschooling support thread just last week.

I will be homeschooling my daughter (who's 4 now) for atleast kindergarten, and possibly a few more years (not high school though). (My decision was nudged along when I discovered an inordinate amount of pedophiles, male & female, in this State (some of them having been teachers). The penalty is pathetic, maybe a few months in jail, if that. But that's a another can of worms all together).

My main reason being that my daughter already speaks 2 languages, and can already play some piano by ear, so I think homeschooling would benefit her more (we can take field trips/art museums/ etc.). I'm not knocking public/private schools, this I believe would give her the best start.

I am not discussing this decision with family/friends yet because it's none of their business and I'm tired of people telling me that homeschooled children aren't socialized properly. My neighbor is 30, was homeschooled ALL through HS, and he is very sociable and outgoing. Besides, my daughter and I are always out in the neighborhood playing with other children her age (we are fortunate to have such great friends with kids the same age.)

I hope to keep learning through this thread... I want to give her the very best start and really encourage her to want to keep thinking outside the box.

I thought about homeschooling my children but I know my limits. I just couldn't do it and be sane. I'm blessed that I was able to do school of choice and my kids are in a wonderful public school that is more like a private school because of the size. It's also one of the top schools in the entire state. However, if it wasn't for the school (or if things change for some reason) I will re-think the whole homeschooling option.

I've heard so many horrid things about homeschooling. However, these are all from people who never have done it. Everyone I know (and there is over 20) kids that have been are all incredibly smart and even social. If HS is done correctly (and the parent actually cares about their children learning) then the outcome can be fantastic. It's the same as anything else, you have to put forth the effort in order to reap the results.

I think what everyone else said is right on. You have to do your homework first. Find out your state laws...homeschooling IS legal in all 50 states. And definitely go to the library and check out some books. I would also recommend a book called "Dumbing Us Down" by John Gatto. It is not a homeschooling book but one about the public school system.

I started homeschooling my 3 kids at about the same age as yours. 2 of mine were also at private school but I could no longer afford it for all of them. My son has been homeschooled his whole life. All of them will be in college in the fall and I'll only have my 3 year old here at home. I will be homeschooling him too.

I could go on and on about homeschooling. I've done it from start to finish, so if you have any questions, please let me know.

First I will say this. You will always have naysayers. Even my own parents didn't support me. They aren't saying much now that all three of my kids scored high enough on their ACTs to receive full paid college scholarships. Ignore the ones who don't support you and find people who will.

Second, don't ever think you CAN'T deal with your own kids. You can, you have raised them til now, taught them to talk and eat and put on their clothes. Of COURSE you can teach them math and reading. You know them better than anyone else and you know their needs better than anyone else.

Third, your active child, a boy, yes. Well, boys weren't meant to sit in a desk all day at 8 or 5 or 4 years old. Of course he wants to have his hands on things. He is a child. Mine did math swinging upside down on the couch or sitting by the window to look outside at the birds or sometimes gave it up to go run with his soccer ball outside. But he had the freedom to learn HIS way. He is going pre-med at college, nuf said.

You can do it! Discipline yourself to make this part of your life each day and it CAN be done.

I really like the fact that as a tax payer, I have the right to exclusively homeschool OR send her to public school for Gym, or math or after school activities, etc. When I read I had that freedom, I felt a lot better about homeschool programs.

I worked as a teacher for a few years (art teacher and 2 yrs with middle schoolers with behavior issues/abuse), so I've had some experience, even if teaching your own child is much different. I think it's worth it. I find that schools are cutting out the arts at an alarming rate, and I plan on taking her to symphonies, museums, theatre... and things the kids around here aren't exposed to anymore.

Art and Art history are important (like literature and Math) ~It's like that line from Mr. Holland's Opus: "take away art and music and pretty soon students with have nothing to write about."

Sorry I found this thread so late, but as I read it, it sounds like some parents are searching for curriculums to teach children in different grade levels. Another place to find these are on school district websites. Our district's website has every curriculum for every subject, for every grade on line. You can read it, or download it. It is written so that it matches the state standards and has goals, and specific objectives as well as the essential questions for each unit of study. They also have suggested materials to use. Seems that it might be a good place to start.