tancowgirl2000
Head Chef
Has anyone gone thru this with their children? I'm thinking I should, I seem to have left things way too late but theres still a chance....What are your takes on it?
Home Schooling
- Thread starter tancowgirl2000
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
mudbug
Chef Extraordinaire
No way, no how! I don't have the patience for it. And I certainly don't have the knowledge for the math and science stuff.
Barbara L
Traveling Welcome Wagon
I know some who do it with great success, but I know some who just succeeded in getting their kids out of the public school system and nothing more. It takes a lot more than to just stay a few steps ahead of your kids. You really have to be serious about it, and you have to put a lot of effort into it if you want it to work. You can't just expect to hand the kids some books or a computer and expect them to learn. You have to model their lessons, and you have to adhere to the standards of your state or province. I don't know how it is in Canada, but in the U.S. I'm pretty sure they have to take the same standardized tests as the kids in public schools. There are support groups for home schoolers. You might want to contact one of them to find out more.
Barbara
Barbara
SizzlininIN
Master Chef
Never considered it. Afraid I'd get to something like algebra and they'd discover mom's not as smart as she thinks she is .
You might want to check with the colleges you want your kids to attend to see where they stand in regards to home schooling. You'll want to be sure they meet all achedemic and extracuricular activities.
Do you have a local city website that might have a message board? If so, you might see if there are any other families in your area doing homeschooling and get the pros and cons and any tips they can provide. Your local library and/or church may also know of families in your area.
Good luck! I certainly couldn't do it myself.
.You might want to check with the colleges you want your kids to attend to see where they stand in regards to home schooling. You'll want to be sure they meet all achedemic and extracuricular activities.
Do you have a local city website that might have a message board? If so, you might see if there are any other families in your area doing homeschooling and get the pros and cons and any tips they can provide. Your local library and/or church may also know of families in your area.
Good luck! I certainly couldn't do it myself.
OP
OP
tancowgirl2000
Head Chef
My kids are in Gr. 3 and Kindergarten....dont think I need to worry about that college thing yet or algebra for that matter! They'll be BACK in school when that comes along let me tell you!!!
Things are just in the air right now....it was a thought that just might work in our current situation....I HAVE to move again soon....dont have to but I cant stay here much longer...and I would really hate to put the kids into school then to uproot them again......
Things are just in the air right now....it was a thought that just might work in our current situation....I HAVE to move again soon....dont have to but I cant stay here much longer...and I would really hate to put the kids into school then to uproot them again......
mudbug
Chef Extraordinaire
It's probably easier to home school younger kids like yours, Tanis. However, here the 3rd graders start getting tested (state-mandated) on stuff. Don't know about Canada.
I can understand your hesitance to uproot kids just starting school in one location, but it does happen all the time. Think of military families, for example.
I can understand your hesitance to uproot kids just starting school in one location, but it does happen all the time. Think of military families, for example.
OP
OP
tancowgirl2000
Head Chef
They have mandatory testing here in Gr's 3, 6, 9 and 12.....dummies...sheesh....lol.....I know...theyve just been thru so much this summer is all......Guess Ill have to do more looking into it.....
mrsmac
Head Chef
You really need to consider their social needs as well. School is about learning to get on with others who are different from ourselves and learning to deal with different situations as well as the academic.
Children survive school changes quite well if handled calmly by their parents. When my DH was in the army we moved states and my daughter who was then 7 coped well. Then we moved back again!
You have to consider all the experiences that school can provide for the children and the fact that it would be a HUGE responsibility for you to take on if you home schooled.
I could go on for pages on this but I won't climb on my soapbox just yet!
Children survive school changes quite well if handled calmly by their parents. When my DH was in the army we moved states and my daughter who was then 7 coped well. Then we moved back again!
You have to consider all the experiences that school can provide for the children and the fact that it would be a HUGE responsibility for you to take on if you home schooled.
I could go on for pages on this but I won't climb on my soapbox just yet!
OP
OP
tancowgirl2000
Head Chef
ok ok ok ......I wouldnt want you to fall off......it was just something to spin in my head. I know they need school and friends and everything that goes with it.....ahhhh......nothing....
Barbara L
Traveling Welcome Wagon
LOL Tanis, don't be discouraged! No one is saying "Don't do it." What we are saying is, if you do it, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons, and make sure it really is the best thing for your kids. Also, make sure that your children have the chance to socialize with other kids. As far as telling you to home school or not, that is a decision only you can make.
Barbara
Barbara
Maidrite
Contest Winner
The Only thing I have against this at all is Kids don't interact very much as it is, What is going to happen 20 years from now when they take over ? We aren't nearly as interactive as we use to be. When I was 8 till my thirtys I was playing ball at the Parks and would still be doing it if I had others my age to play. I would love someone from this area to go fishing with or just to chat with. I mean I love this but I am a hands on kind of person. If any of you ever meet me you will find this to be true. I love People.
Zereh
Head Chef
Sorry, but all I have to say is "bull" to the naysayers.
Children have this innate curiosity that will carry them a thousand miles further than it will an adult. Every subject under the sun and then some can be "covered" in an educational way if you let yourself go there with them.
Children who grow in a nurturing environment, where they learn to follow their train of thought to a logical conclusion are bound to be more secure and self-assured than someone who spent their formative years being chastised because they didn't sit still enough in a chair while a teacher was in front of the classroom lecturing.
People romanticize the whole "school friends" stuff, when in reality school is a painful experience for a lot of them. Kids are not nice. Adults are not much better. If your skin is the perfect color, and you are the perfect size, and your questions and answers fit into the perfect lesson plan, things won't be too bad. But if you happen to be even a tish outside of the norm, well, let's just say it's ugly at best.
Do it! Do with pride and do it because you know your children better than anyone. Do it because you choose to be the biggest influence in your child's life instead of some stranger. Do it because in your heart, you already question the necessity of turning that responsibility over to someone else.
There are TONS of home-school resources out there. Way more than you'd imagine. Talk to your local school district (yeah, they'll probably pooh-pooh your idea, after all, your kids = $$!), talk to your local librarian, Google it, talk to your local bookstore (and read some of the incredible information that is available out there).
I'd give anything to have had the guts to have done that for my son. Unfortunately, I listened to all of the logical reasons not to do it. But I know in retrospect that if I had had the guts to do it, we'd both have been much happier.
Children have this innate curiosity that will carry them a thousand miles further than it will an adult. Every subject under the sun and then some can be "covered" in an educational way if you let yourself go there with them.
Children who grow in a nurturing environment, where they learn to follow their train of thought to a logical conclusion are bound to be more secure and self-assured than someone who spent their formative years being chastised because they didn't sit still enough in a chair while a teacher was in front of the classroom lecturing.
People romanticize the whole "school friends" stuff, when in reality school is a painful experience for a lot of them. Kids are not nice. Adults are not much better. If your skin is the perfect color, and you are the perfect size, and your questions and answers fit into the perfect lesson plan, things won't be too bad. But if you happen to be even a tish outside of the norm, well, let's just say it's ugly at best.
Do it! Do with pride and do it because you know your children better than anyone. Do it because you choose to be the biggest influence in your child's life instead of some stranger. Do it because in your heart, you already question the necessity of turning that responsibility over to someone else.
There are TONS of home-school resources out there. Way more than you'd imagine. Talk to your local school district (yeah, they'll probably pooh-pooh your idea, after all, your kids = $$!), talk to your local librarian, Google it, talk to your local bookstore (and read some of the incredible information that is available out there).
I'd give anything to have had the guts to have done that for my son. Unfortunately, I listened to all of the logical reasons not to do it. But I know in retrospect that if I had had the guts to do it, we'd both have been much happier.
Claire
Master Chef
Having no children myself, many will immediately not read this. So go past that right now.
On the other hand, I've had many, many, many friends who have debated this question, and many who have done it with extremely varying degrees of success.
Several friends took their kids out of the school system simply because the kids were .... well, what we'd call deliquent in another time. They simply could not get their children to get up in the morning and get to school, or when they did, the kids really didn't go to school, they disappeared. Some of these parents had a hard time getting their HS degrees themselves. In fact, all these kids (a half-dozen) wound up with GEDs eventually. THeir parents were not really prepared to home-school, although their intentions were in the right place.
A few took theirs out for religious reasons. I think you'd be better to send your kids to religious classes in addition to school, but then I'm a product of CCD, and like the little fish with feet. Most of these parents don't want their kids exposed to other religions and beliefs, afraid that they might fall prey to them.
Some parents took their kids out because they didn't think the school system was doing enough for their kids. I really wonder why they didn't think they could take their kids to the museum themselves after school hours? Or volunteer to take a group of kids somewhere.
It takes true dedication to home school kids, and usually parents do it for all the wrong reasons. In truth, I've not known too many who are real success stories. Few parents have the dedication to make sure their children are exposed to different cultures, to get them involved in athletic endeavors, to allow them to fail or succeed on their own merits.
In some cases, my friends' kids probably wouldn't have graduated at all, had their parents not home schooled them and managed a GED. So, they were right.
But the school system only gets worse and worse if you decide that the answer is to take your kid out of it and home school, when you could possibly work towards making your school system better.
On the other hand, I've had many, many, many friends who have debated this question, and many who have done it with extremely varying degrees of success.
Several friends took their kids out of the school system simply because the kids were .... well, what we'd call deliquent in another time. They simply could not get their children to get up in the morning and get to school, or when they did, the kids really didn't go to school, they disappeared. Some of these parents had a hard time getting their HS degrees themselves. In fact, all these kids (a half-dozen) wound up with GEDs eventually. THeir parents were not really prepared to home-school, although their intentions were in the right place.
A few took theirs out for religious reasons. I think you'd be better to send your kids to religious classes in addition to school, but then I'm a product of CCD, and like the little fish with feet. Most of these parents don't want their kids exposed to other religions and beliefs, afraid that they might fall prey to them.
Some parents took their kids out because they didn't think the school system was doing enough for their kids. I really wonder why they didn't think they could take their kids to the museum themselves after school hours? Or volunteer to take a group of kids somewhere.
It takes true dedication to home school kids, and usually parents do it for all the wrong reasons. In truth, I've not known too many who are real success stories. Few parents have the dedication to make sure their children are exposed to different cultures, to get them involved in athletic endeavors, to allow them to fail or succeed on their own merits.
In some cases, my friends' kids probably wouldn't have graduated at all, had their parents not home schooled them and managed a GED. So, they were right.
But the school system only gets worse and worse if you decide that the answer is to take your kid out of it and home school, when you could possibly work towards making your school system better.
OP
OP
tancowgirl2000
Head Chef
Im jsut going to leave this for a few days....so m uch to ponder, and so much thats confusing....Ill let you know what I feel when I know for sure.....thank you so much all of you for your inputs....
The Z
Head Chef
why heck tanis shure is funy that you post dis mah pa dun hom skoold me an i turned out ok
OP
OP
tancowgirl2000
Head Chef
OMGAWD!!! you kill me!!! Thats NOT the point! hehehe
you kill me!!! Thats NOT the point! hehehe
mudbug
Chef Extraordinaire
*gently correcting The Z*
not "i turned out ok", but "ah turned out ok"
not "i turned out ok", but "ah turned out ok"
Cyberchef
Senior Cook
Hey, Tanis!
I know of several families that have done the homeschooling thing. Some did a sort of "combination" thing and others did the whole ball of wax. I haven't seen any zombied-out parents or whacked out youth yet.
It is a decision and commitment and any decision that is well thought out and is true to what the decision-maker feels and wants to achieve has a great chance of success. Why? because if it is a real, honest-to-goodness decision you will have already, in your heart, committed to making is a success!
The trick is to do the research in your own area. Some schools (actually, most) offer the books and computers and support as well as physical access to sports, Physical Education and other extracurricular activities such as clubs and teams, shop or woodworking classes and (MY personal favorite) Cooking class. Check with your School Board and they will be more than happy to answer questions, give you really good feedback, help you to "design" a program that you can live with and offer support throughout the program that you choose.
And you know what? If you try it and decide that it is just not what you expected or what you want for you and your children - you can switch at any time.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best for you and your children.
I know of several families that have done the homeschooling thing. Some did a sort of "combination" thing and others did the whole ball of wax. I haven't seen any zombied-out parents or whacked out youth yet.
It is a decision and commitment and any decision that is well thought out and is true to what the decision-maker feels and wants to achieve has a great chance of success. Why? because if it is a real, honest-to-goodness decision you will have already, in your heart, committed to making is a success!
The trick is to do the research in your own area. Some schools (actually, most) offer the books and computers and support as well as physical access to sports, Physical Education and other extracurricular activities such as clubs and teams, shop or woodworking classes and (MY personal favorite) Cooking class. Check with your School Board and they will be more than happy to answer questions, give you really good feedback, help you to "design" a program that you can live with and offer support throughout the program that you choose.
And you know what? If you try it and decide that it is just not what you expected or what you want for you and your children - you can switch at any time.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best for you and your children.
