my homeschooled kid

[MamaSheepdog]

Fun to hear of the other homeschoolers out there. I homeschool my 3 girls and am so thankful for the blessing of it.

It is a blessing. I am so thankful that we have been able to do this with our kids.

When I was pregnant with my firstborn, Firstpup, we were on shaky ground financially... not as bad as we are now, but it wasn't good. Both myself and Hubs felt that sending an infant to daycare was not an option for us and were considering selling our house and renting some place rather than do so. Thankfully , our finances improved and we kept our house.

But!!! When I sent my kids off to "school", it felt so wrong to hand them over to someone else and have their ideals imposed on them. I fought my Hubs tooth and nail (almost losing my marriage in the process) to get them out and homeschool them.

Like so many others, he couldn't understand why once we had "gotten rid of them" for X hours a day that I would want instead to bring them back home, thereby infringing on "our" time together.

Thankfully, he has had a total reversal on that position, and is one of my most ardent converts to homeschooling and "unschooling" specifically.

It was worth the fight, and the proof of how well the approach works is in our kids. They are truly amazing, and we aren't the only ones that notice the difference in them compared to conventionally *ahem!* "educated" children.

 

[Zass]

I had already signed my daughter up for school, but after visiting the kindergarten and talking to the teachers...I had a really bad feeling.
I was also under a LOT of pressure from Grandma and other family member's to send them to public school.

When I asked my husband about it, he just looked at me and said:
"It's not even an option. Your not going to send her. Tell Grandma and everyone else that I won't allow it."

Me: :shock:

He's really not the type to make decisions.
It's probably the only time in our relationship he has ever taken a choice away from me like that.
He knew what I really wanted...Yeah, it was kinda manly of him.

I was able to shift gears and figure out everything I needed to do. Both of mine are considered "advanced", although the cyber school doesn't even begin to test their abilities.
The teachers are always trying to pressure us into skipping grades.. They don't realize that I'm in no hurry to push them through their boring curriculum any faster....because teaching them three grades ahead wouldn't teach them any more then they already know.
(the school doesn't realize that they are learning independently),
In their case, it would just mean having to do more tedious assignments when they are younger. NO THANKS.

 

[Lopsided]

Being unschooled sounds fun :lol: I'm currently homeschooled with an online program.

 

[Galadriel]

When I sent my kids off to "school", it felt so wrong to hand them over to someone else and have their ideals imposed on them.

I was in a private school for a grade and a half. Y'know what? It fried me. I literally cannot remember more than a few flashes. Because nothing ever clicked enough for me to remember besides something on how sound carries through air, water, and solids. Mom tells me about my atrocious behavior and I honestly can't remember anything she says they said I did! Not that I don't believe her, but I am simply incapable of remembering anything of it! It's crazy! :shock: When she found out what I was doing that they weren't telling her about, she pulled me out and started over with me. Y'know what else? I still remember some of her lessons. :lol:

They are truly amazing, and we aren't the only ones that notice the difference in them compared to conventionally *ahem!* "educated" children.

:lol: :lol: :lol: Good for you!!! Wish I could meet them. Bet they could teach me a lot!

I'm currently homeschooled with an online program.

That was part of my homeschool, too, but even that didn't work very well, so we quit that and went to books, which I like a lot! :lol:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Being unschooled sounds fun :lol:

Unschooling IS fun!!!

On the unschooling websites, I have seen it likened to "summer vacation".

Basically, you are free to explore the things that interest you most, just as everyone does before and after they are subjected to compulsory schooling.

I'm currently homeschooled with an online program.

My son Firstpup wants to be a mechanical engineeer. We had a conversation with an almost-retired mechanical engineer at Winco (supermarket), and he mentioned the importance of higher math skills for that vocation.

Consequently, Firstpup started studying math through https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra and in three weeks has reached 97% of basic algebra skills (as well as over 80% mastery of geometry, etc.)... and mind boggling as it is to me, he actually enjoys it! :shock:

One of the core concepts of "unschooling" is trusting that the student will learn the things necessary to pursuing their goals when they need them.

That is a really hard concept to accept for most of us to relate to, since when we asked our teachers "Why do I have to learn this?" the answer was "Just in case you need it someday."

Unfortunately, since we didn't need it NOW, most of that "learning" was forgotten.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I feel the choice to "home school" should only be made by parents who are wanting what is best for the child, and willing to go the extra mile to get it, -- not by parents too lazy to get up and get the children ready and off to school, -- I have seen the latter situation a few times-- it is a disaster.

 

[Susie570]

My two were "unschooled" in Maine where it was fairly easy even in the early days.[\Quote]

Right, it's so much easier with the internet!

Some unanticipated consequences do occur. We didn't send our first child to school because she taught herself to read just after she turned 2 and I thought she'd be bored at school, thought she'd go to college early. But she started reading economics and announced at age 12 that she wasn't going to college because it perpetuated class privilege. She also became concerned about what we consumed and how the people and land were treated to produce stuff. Asked a lot of hard questions that restricted our shopping options. And wanted to learn to do more of the necessary work herself.
As things turned out, neither of them ever went to college and they jokingly refer to themselves as part of "the dark underbelly of home-schooling"--a phrase they heard used in a debate over Maine's homeschooling laws after various glowing reports had been made of things home-schooled kids were doing, describing the "other home-schooled children" that we should all be worried about

:lol: That's awesome! Inspirational kid you have there!

__________ Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:31 pm __________

I am both homeschooled and unschooled (whichever's necessary). My mom is indisputably the greatest teacher on the planet, and I'm sure your kids think so about you, too

Haha... I don't think my son yet appreciates the luxuries of being homeschooled. He's totally happy as long as I leave him alone to play minecraft and don't try to force him to clean his room. :twisted:

We're a very musical family here. We love music. I sing and play guitar, we even have a band. How old are you, btw?

__________ Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:36 pm __________

When I sent my kids off to "school", it felt so wrong to hand them over to someone else and have their ideals imposed on them. I fought my Hubs tooth and nail (almost losing my marriage in the process) to get them out and homeschool them.

Like so many others, he couldn't understand why once we had "gotten rid of them" for X hours a day that I would want instead to bring them back home, thereby infringing on "our" time together.

Thankfully, he has had a total reversal on that position, and is one of my most ardent converts to homeschooling and "unschooling" specifically.

It was worth the fight, and the proof of how well the approach works is in our kids. They are truly amazing, and we aren't the only ones that notice the difference in them compared to conventionally *ahem!* "educated" children.

I totally relate. So glad to hear that it worked out well for your family! I'm also rather excited to see so many homeschoolers (and homeschoolees) on here!! No wonder it's such a great group.

__________ Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:42 pm __________

The teachers are always trying to pressure us into skipping grades.. They don't realize that I'm in no hurry to push them through their boring curriculum any faster....because teaching them three grades ahead wouldn't teach them any more then they already know.
(the school doesn't realize that they are learning independently),
In their case, it would just mean having to do more tedious assignments when they are younger. NO THANKS.

Tell your husband he is made of awesome

I actually have my son held back a year, according to the BOE records. As you said though, it doesn't really even matter. He works several grade levels above where he would normally be and a lot of what they learn every year is 'review' anyway (my son HATES 'review' work, he says "this is baby stuff!!!") :lol: I can't imagine how he would fair in school. <br /><br /> __________ Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:47 pm __________ <br /><br />

I feel the choice to "home school" should only be made by parents who are wanting what is best for the child, and willing to go the extra mile to get it, -- not by parents too lazy to get up and get the children ready and off to school, -- I have seen the latter situation a few times-- it is a disaster.

I have to admit, the not wanting to get up in the wee hours to get my kid off to school plays into it. It's a small part, but it's there. One of the many true joys of homeschooling.

 

[Miss M]

As Galadriel said, we do a mix of homeschooling and unschooling. We do have schoolbooks for some subjects, but I have pretty much stopped testing except for in math... occasionally in grammar. They both have pretty much steel trap minds, especially if they are interested, so tests only slow them down. I already know they know the information, and don't see a need to test them on it.

In math, we use Math-U-See, which is wonderful for kids who have trouble with abstract concepts. Galadriel was homeschooled until second grade, when we enrolled her in private school to get her away from her very distracting little brother. :lol: I was doing a very structured curriculum at the time. Private school didn't do anything for her, though. She did very well academically, but had trouble getting assignments done and started misbehaving a lot. Her pediatrician wanted to have her tested for Asperger's. So it was during second grade that we discovered why she had so much trouble at home and at the private school with doing worksheets. We pulled her out just a few weeks into third grade.

Back home, I ordered homeschool curriculum samples from every company that offered them, and bought some little workbooks while I figured out what I was going to do. As the doctor who had tested her for Asperger's had said, I saw that written work was almost impossible for her. What to do? Knock out written work. We started doing reading and oral exercises for just about everything. I found Easy Grammar, which is mostly crossing things out and circling things instead of writing.

Bunny-Wan Kenobi, though he wasn't tested (his insurance dropped coverage one week before the test), is an Aspie as well. In math, they'll watch a video, and many times they'll just ask for the test. Sometimes, they'll do a day of practice, and then they'll take the test, but frequently it's just the test and then moving on. Why hold them back when they've got it? If they don't actually have it, I'll see it quickly on the test, and we'll go practice. That doesn't happen very often.

So most of their homeschooling is just reading. The rest of the time (unschooling), they're doing things that interest them. Galadriel makes jewelry. She'll take old jewelry, salvage the good parts, and make new things from them. Or she'll make a piece entirely new. She's trying to get her own little business going. Learning: jewelry making, properties of metal, photography, business, writing to sell, computer/internet skills. Bunny-Wan Kenobi is writing a novel series. He has five books planned for the series. I have a flash drive coming in the mail for him so he can take his book with him wherever and work on it (he has started the first one). Learning: history, research skills, creative writing, grammar, computer skills. Then, of course, there are all of the practical skills you learn around the house and farm -- home economics stuff like cooking, cleaning, finances, time management, sewing, caring for animals, clearing and burning brush, gardening, building...

Unschooling IS fun!!!

Yeah, like learning physics by riding an old car toy into a tree? :tomato:

My son Firstpup wants to be a mechanical engineeer. We had a conversation with an almost-retired mechanical engineer at Winco (supermarket), and he mentioned the importance of higher math skills for that vocation.

Awesome that he got to speak to someone in the area he's interested in!

Galadriel told me recently she wanted to get into computers. I let her know that I would be her assistant, then... as she built Memaw's new computer! Kinda shocked her, but I'll be right there.

Firstpup started studying math through https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra and in three weeks has reached 97% of basic algebra skills (as well as over 80% mastery of geometry, etc.)... and mind boggling as it is to me, he actually enjoys it! :shock:

We shall be looking into this tomorrow. Galadriel's intrigued. Math-U-See is good, but I'm always open to improving!

Unfortunately, since we didn't need it NOW, most of that "learning" was forgotten.

True, but at least my experience was that a number of things I don't use now still helped train my mind. Consequently, I at least expose Galadriel and Bunny-Wan Kenobi to a lot of things they may never want to study. The difference is that in public school, I was made to study it anyway. Here, they dip their toes in it and find out what's out there. I do require math, and reading in the sciences and history. Bunny-Wan Kenobi is getting an overview of literature. Galadriel... I saw many years ago that she needed no help from me to develop an interest in literature and poetry. Like she already pointed out, I just stock my shelves, and she does the rest. She loves history. Between Galadriel's love of books and my having him read through an anthology, he's now working on writing his own books.

I do agree with you, though. Government-mandated education is bad. While there are some who rise above the system, the system is in place to produce robots for the assembly lines. And the longer it's in place, the less it trains pupils to think, and the more it trains them to obey without questioning.

And while I do require science and history, they both enjoy them anyway. So it's not like I'm making them do something they hate.

I feel the choice to "home school" should only be made by parents who are wanting what is best for the child, and willing to go the extra mile to get it, -- not by parents too lazy to get up and get the children ready and off to school, -- I have seen the latter situation a few times-- it is a disaster.

I know people like this are out there, but of the many homeschoolers I've known, I have never met any of these. All of the homeschoolers I have known are passionate about their kids' education.

That was part of my homeschool, too, but even that didn't work very well, so we quit that and went to books, which I like a lot! :lol:

This was Switched-On Schoolhouse by Alpha Omega Publishing. She liked the videos and some of the games, but the subjects mostly had her lost. Especially math, which I saw as rather haphazardly taught (they may be much better by now). That's when I finally found Math-U-See, and I took her back to addition (she was at division) so she could see what the numbers were doing. We were able to move quickly through, since it was review, but she was helped immensely by using manipulatives and not having to do endless problems.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I feel the choice to "home school" should only be made by parents who are wanting what is best for the child, and willing to go the extra mile to get it, -- not by parents too lazy to get up and get the children ready and off to school,

The majority of parents (even those considered to be poor or indigent) want their kids to receive a "good education" and are willing to pay for it out of their own pockets, despite already paying for schooling through taxation.

For those that aren't... I have to wonder if those kids wouldn't be better off pursuing their own interests and educating themselves. :? Children inherently want to emulate the behaviors of adults in the social circle they aspire to.

I personally feel that children are not idiots and can therefore make informed choices (and not become crack or heroin addicts like their loser parents), so even those from "compromised families" have a fair chance at succeeding in life.

 

[Bandits Bunny Farm]

I am not quite sixteen, and I am somewhere between home/unschooled. I am not a fan of book work, I'm more of a hands on type of person, and that's how I learn. If I find myself really interested in something, I do my research, and that's how I gain my knowledge.

Before I got into rabbits, I wanted to breed dogs. I know a lot about dogs now. We went to a show in October 2012 and each time a dog walked by, I would almost always be able to tell the breed and a little bit about it. One of the judges even asked me how I knew that much about dogs.

My friend actually gave me the idea of breeding rabbits. He was doing Lionheads, Holland Lops and Netherland Dwarfs. I did my research and I have my Mini Rexes and my Mini Lops. I know a lot about rabbits, and a lot of it is from you guys on RT.

My family and I are Jehovah's Witnesses, and in our monthly editions of our magazines, the Watchtower and Awake, there's articles about history, science, we learn teaching and communication skills by going door to door in our ministry work, talking to people about God's promises for mankind.

On our website http://www.jw.org there are articles and videos for teenagers, there are cute little animated videos for younger children that teach important lessons, such as be neat and clean, say please and thank you, be kind and share, etc., as well as articles for couples and parents. It's really neat.

I'm hopefully going to take the CAHSEE and CHSPE when I turn sixteen

 

[Susie570]

there are cute little animated videos for younger children that teach important lessons, such as be neat and clean, say please and thank you, be kind and share, etc., as well as articles for couples and parents. It's really neat.

I wish my son could watch a video that would teach him to be 'neat and clean' :lol: I've been trying to get him to clean his room for a month now!! :roll:

 

[cmfarm]

I feel the choice to "home school" should only be made by parents who are wanting what is best for the child, and willing to go the extra mile to get it, -- not by parents too lazy to get up and get the children ready and off to school,

The majority of parents (even those considered to be poor or indigent) want their kids to receive a "good education" and are willing to pay for it out of their own pockets, despite already paying for schooling through taxation.

For those that aren't... I have to wonder if those kids wouldn't be better off pursuing their own interests and educating themselves. :? Children inherently want to emulate the behaviors of adults in the social circle they aspire to.

I personally feel that children are not idiots and can therefore make informed choices (and not become crack or heroin addicts like their loser parents), so even those from "compromised families" have a fair chance at succeeding in life.

I have seen first hand what the cycle of drugs and drinking can do. My husbands family have all followed the same paths as their parents. My husband is one of the few that have chosen a different life for himself.

 

[Galadriel]

How old are you, btw?

I'm 18 in body and 13 in mind. :lol: I still enjoy stuff that your average modern eighteen-year-old would consider "kid stuff". I'm not talking Clifford the Big Red Dog or Curious George (which makes me nauseous), but things like the Hardy Boys and the Transformers I can still enjoy. And when the library reading program requires some anime (which I don't watch), I watch an episode of Voltron.

The majority of parents (even those considered to be poor or indigent) want their kids to receive a "good education" and are willing to pay for it out of their own pockets, despite already paying for schooling through taxation.

For those that aren't... I have to wonder if those kids wouldn't be better off pursuing their own interests and educating themselves. :? Children inherently want to emulate the behaviors of adults in the social circle they aspire to.

I personally feel that children are not idiots and can therefore make informed choices (and not become crack or heroin addicts like their loser parents), so even those from "compromised families" have a fair chance at succeeding in life.

Good one, MSD.

 

[Bandits Bunny Farm]

I'm almost sixteen and I still like Blue's Clues, The Wiggles, and other stuff like that. I love Disney Princesses still, and I'm not ashamed of that

I have a friend who's going to be 18 in July and one of the last times I was at her house, we spent the first hour or so watching old episodes of Blue's Clues :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: of course, they were the ones with Steve, NOT Joe. <br /><br /> __________ Thu Mar 26, 2015 12:13 pm __________ <br /><br />

How old are you, btw?

I'm 18 in body and 13 in mind. :lol: I still enjoy stuff that your average modern eighteen-year-old would consider "kid stuff". I'm not talking Clifford the Big Red Dog or Curious George (which makes me nauseous), but things like the Hardy Boys

I'm not really a fan of the Hardy Boys, but I have read the whole Nancy Drew series. I'm also getting into this new series "Flavia de Luce" mystery stories. I'm waiting for the 8th book to come out sometime next year

 

[michaels4gardens]

I feel the choice to "home school" should only be made by parents who are wanting what is best for the child, and willing to go the extra mile to get it, -- not by parents too lazy to get up and get the children ready and off to school,

The majority of parents (even those considered to be poor or indigent) want their kids to receive a "good education" and are willing to pay for it out of their own pockets, despite already paying for schooling through taxation.

For those that aren't... I have to wonder if those kids wouldn't be better off pursuing their own interests and educating themselves. :? Children inherently want to emulate the behaviors of adults in the social circle they aspire to.

I personally feel that children are not idiots and can therefore make informed choices (and not become crack or heroin addicts like their loser parents), so even those from "compromised families" have a fair chance at succeeding in life.

in the cases I was referring to, the children were still completely illiterate at 18, they had very limited options, [my family [kids] helped one of them learn to read as an adult so he could fill out a job application and get a "real " job]. - he was finally able to get his GED at 24 - I knew the parents ... it was hard to be nice to them...

 

[Miss M]

in the cases I was referring to, the children were still completely illiterate at 18, they had very limited options, [my family [kids] helped one of them learn to read as an adult so he could fill out a job application and get a "real " job]. - he was finally able to get his GED at 24 - I knew the parents ... it was hard to be nice to them...

That's horrible... again, I knew there were "parents" like this out there, I just never have run across them.

Not to excuse them (absolutely not!), but the public school system is graduating functional and complete illiterates by the thousands. Many of the ones who can read learned almost nothing else, nor are they aware of current events except for celebrity break-ups and such.

Glad your kids were able to teach the one young man how to read so he could have more of a future! :hooray:

 

[Galadriel]

I'm almost sixteen and I still like Blue's Clues, The Wiggles, and other stuff like that. I love Disney Princesses still, and I'm not ashamed of that

I have a friend who's going to be 18 in July and one of the last times I was at her house, we spent the first hour or so watching old episodes of Blue's Clues :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: of course, they were the ones with Steve, NOT Joe.

I love Disney princesses, too, but Blue's Clues and The Wiggles I'm sure would drive me insane!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[michaels4gardens]

in the cases I was referring to, the children were still completely illiterate at 18, they had very limited options, [my family [kids] helped one of them learn to read as an adult so he could fill out a job application and get a "real " job]. - he was finally able to get his GED at 24 - I knew the parents ... it was hard to be nice to them...

That's horrible... again, I knew there were "parents" like this out there, I just never have run across them.

Not to excuse them (absolutely not!), but the public school system is graduating functional and complete illiterates by the thousands. Many of the ones who can read learned almost nothing else, nor are they aware of current events except for celebrity break-ups and such.

Glad your kids were able to teach the one young man how to read so he could have more of a future! :hooray:

he is doing quite well now,in his mid 30's, has a good job , a wife and 2 kids, and is a very good dad- some of his siblings are not doing so well...

 

[Susie570]

Not to excuse them (absolutely not!), but the public school system is graduating functional and complete illiterates by the thousands. Many of the ones who can read learned almost nothing else, nor are they aware of current events except for celebrity break-ups and such.

Exactly. It's scary how little the savers public school kid knows compared to most of the homeschooled kids I know. <br /><br /> __________ Thu Mar 26, 2015 10:56 pm __________ <br /><br />

I'm almost sixteen and I still like Blue's Clues, The Wiggles, and other stuff like that. I love Disney Princesses still, and I'm not ashamed of that

I have a friend who's going to be 18 in July and one of the last times I was at her house, we spent the first hour or so watching old episodes of Blue's Clues :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: of course, they were the ones with Steve, NOT Joe.

I love Disney princesses, too, but Blue's Clues and The Wiggles I'm sure would drive me insane!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

What drives me crazy are the kid shows where everyone uses this fake excited screaming voice. :evil: Those get under my skin really fast.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I feel that any parent that will take a little time with the child, help them find out what they want to know, encourage the child to learn important things, [like how to read well, and math skills ] and try to find answers to the questions the child has that we can't answer, will always provide a better education then the system. --but-- one of the biggest advantages the child , and parent will have, is that the child and parents can choose their own value system, and morality parameters -- and not have the state force "by close association" , "belittling " or "direct indoctrination" the aberrant, self destructive, self centered value system of the "educators" and "the system"