Re: Homeschoolers, Help Me

I am trying to avoid packing, so I am going to take a few minutes to reply to this.

1. What was your motivation for homeschooling? Was it based on religious reasons? Was is it based on curriculum - did you want more freedom in choosing what your children were being taught? Was it based on socializing - wanting to have more control in the people with whom your children came into contact with? Was it based on logistics - the nearest school being 20 miles away? What made you finally decide to go this route?
My oldest came home from kindergarten and told us that the kid that always caused trouble had been suspended for stabbing another kid in the head with scissors. We had been tossing around the idea to homeschool for a while and our decision was made right then and there. He will be a junior in homeschool high school this fall. (We also have a freshman and 8th grader.)

There is nothing more important to me than my kids and I will do whatever I have to do to protect them. We have been accused of abandoning the school system and not "sticking it out" until things got better. I can tell you that after all of these years, the school district that we pulled our kids from is worse. I didn't feel that I should sacrifice my kids for the betterment of the district. Selfish? Absolutely.

2. Don't hate me for asking this. How to you handle socialization? What steps do you take to make sure your children are around other children and adults? Are you active in a home school group? Do you spend a lot of time at church activities? Maybe you utilize the local Y for activities and they meet friends there?
I don't consider sitting in a classroom with 25 kids your own age being told not to talk socialization so I will ask you the same thing. How do you handle socialization?

I used to joke that sometimes we had so much socialization that we had to find time for school. We have done everything from Civil Air Patrol, Boy Scouts, 4-H, homeschool groups, hanging out with elderly neighbors and listening to their life stories, etc.

This question always makes me chuckle because one of my biggest memories from school is being told by the teacher "You are not here to socialize, young lady!"

3. Do you use the public school system for any part of your child's routine? Some children here come to the school for band or chorus, or maybe for science class. Do you send your child to the public school to take advantage of any of their programs?
Nope. We are all homeschool, all the time. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't if the need and/or opportunity came up.

4. Do your children begin and end school at the same time each day? Do they have a strict schedule, at least as far as waking up and reporting to the school area of your home? If not, when/how will you transition your children into following a more rigid schedule - awaking at the same time each day so that they can follow a routine outside of the home like for college and work?
One of the best things about homeschooling is that we don't have to follow a schedule, unless we want to. My husband works wonky hours, and we tend to work around those.

We have never had a problem following a rigid schedule if need be... we just choose not to.

5. How many spelling bees has your child won? Oh, I'm kidding. We all know most of the recent national spelling bee winners have been home schooled children. I just wanted to throw a little funny in there?
Ha! Doesn't that kill you? As a homeschool mom I am amazed that those kids! I have one who is a natural speller and two who couldn't spell their way out of a paper bag with spell check.

6. Do you have a sense of humor? It's probably a little late for me to ask that but...
Some may disagree, but yes, I do.

7. Where do you find your curriculum? Do you shop for it and order it? Do you create your own?
I have written my own, used things available on the internet, founds cool things at the library, borrowed from friends and bought online.

8. Do you have any worries at all about teaching your teenagers the higher level math and sciences? I, for one, could not teach chemistry to my children but I could probably teach them calculus. Is this a concern for you?
Nope. If I can't do it there is always someone out there who can.

9. What bothers you the most about the reputation home schoolers have? What things do you hate to hear people say about you for your choice? I really hope you don't say that it's my previous post.
Most people assume that we are Christian homeschooling for religious reasons or hippies homeschooling because we want to go against the man. Neither is true, and most people don't listen long enough to find out the reason.

It also bothers me when people assume that I am somehow incapable of teaching them anything. It really bothered me when they were younger... like I can't teach that 2+2 = 5. (Just kidding. There is that sense of humor you asked about...) I didn't know how to teach them to walk or pee standing up but we made it through that ok, too.

10. Be honest, do you, at least in your mind sometimes, judge those of us who choose public school? Do you ever think we are making a bad choice for our children? Are you vocal about that disapproval?
No. I don't judge people on their choices. I have a few friends who are sending their kids back to PS this year and I don't think any less of them for it. I have many friends who send their kids to public or parochial school. They are doing what is right for their family.


11. Is "home school" one word or two? I've seen it both ways. With spellcheck, it shows it as ONE word when used as a verb, but two words when used otherwise. Please enlighten me.
Your guess is as good as mine! For some reason, home school bugs me, though.

Hat tip to Doc