Do you have older kids? Tell me what you would have changed in your homeschool.

[Baseballmom]

Those of you who have children who have graduated or are close to graduating, what would you have done differently in regards to homeschooling? What things would you have kept the same? I would like to hear from those who have traveled the road before me.

[Sandy in Indy]

I have 3 dc. My oldest is a hs graduate and now a junior in college. DS1 is a junior in high school and DS2 is in the first grade.

 

I don't regret many of the choices we made in homeschooling! The one thing that always comes to mind when I see this question, though, is math. My oldest struggled with the higher level maths (beginning with Algebra). We didn't have the money for a tutor, and I didn't realize how frustrated she was with the material. I would have invested much, much earlier in a DVD-based program (or found something or someone to help her). Fortunately, dd is an English major so math wasn't a big part of her college career!

 

Foreign language is the other bug in our program. I still haven't found anything I'm entirely satisfied with.

 

What did we do right??? Approached literature from whole book perspective. Personally I don't think you get the whole picture reading snippets. My kids read whole books beginning in first grade. (Little House in the Big Woods) We do Bible in King James from K on...when they get to Shakespeare in middle school the rhythm and cadence of the language is familiar and they get it. (Something I never did, and I have a ms English teaching endorsement!) If a student can read and discuss literature, he/she can learn just about anything.

 

Later, we prepped well for the SAT test. I've never directly asked the college folks but it seems to me that test scores must be essential for homeschooled kids. After all, we could just put down an A for every course... Excellent SAT or ACT scores demonstrate that your student has really done something other than watching TV.

 

One more thing...by high school I had my kids take at least a few courses outside the home. I think it makes a stronger transcript to note that some of the grades are given by others. That, too, validates the grades that you give.

[8filltheheart]

I have 3 biggies......

 

1.........I have slowed way down and allowed bunny trails to control our younger yrs. They grow up fast and you realize that a lot of the things you stressed about were pointless.

 

2..........learning to accept that high schoolers really are on the verge of adulthood and that our visions for their future is not necessarily their vision for their future.

 

3...........realizing that homeschooling is a wonderful option, but there are other options that are equally valid. I use to be a bull-dog, die-hard "homeschooling is best" person. Then my kids became teenagers/adults and I learned I had to let go of my parental control and start respecting the bigger picture of the world outside of my bubble. :o

[Gamom3]

I would have changed Math, History, Spelling and English with him, if I could.

 

Math.. Saxon all the way through Advanced Math.

 

History... was all over the place, i changed history courses and still haven't found the right one!

 

English..I wish I would have found R&S earlier, so we could have used it with him.

 

Spelling...He isn't a strong speller, I used pretty much everything out there for him, but it didn't help.

 

Writing..wish I would have found Home2teach earlier.

 

I am still struggling with finding the right curriculum for my younger children and I feel like I am running out of time with them!

[5wolfcubs]

Have you seen this thread regarding Jr High on the High School Board? Very insightful to me!

[Baseballmom]

Thank you for the link to the Jr. High post. I will be printing it out.

[Karen in CO]

My oldest just received his first acceptance letter for college. My middle child is in first grade and I have a 3yo.

 

The things we did well -

 

• I outsourced his foreign language instruction and it was great for him. I couldn't have done as well at home.
  
• I made sure to include "fun" classes like art, philosophy, art history, and music . It helps to round out a heavy schedule.
  

 

 

Things I did differently in first grade with my ds because of lessons learned with my son.

 

• I am letting her explore things in the depth that she wants instead of at the speed my schedule demands.
  
• I make sure we have time to relax and play everyday. They grow up too fast.
  
• I am focusing on study habits and skills that lead toward independence. I don't want her to sit and wait to be told what to read or what she should be doing.
  
• We do not allow any TV or video game playing between breakfast and 4pm. Even if we are done with school.
  

 

 

Plans for future grades that are different than they were before ds and I started the college application process.

 

• Many colleges we looked at had separate testing requirements for homeschoolers. I am planning to have dd start taking standardized tests every year so she will be comfortable with them and then start taking SAT II tests starting in 10th grade.
  
• We will use a video based math for algebra 1 and higher. I really stink at teaching algebra. I plan to work through it with her so that I can know the methods that it is using to teach so that if she needs help with the work I can do that effectively. If that fails, I will set up a way for my brother in FL to teach her math because he is really good at it.
  
• I will outsource her writing just as soon as I quit being objective about it when grading.
  

 

 

Now at least I know that it is possible for me to homeschool a kid all the way to college so I am a bit more confident than I was yesterday.

[JennW in SoCal]

My oldest ds will graduate in December, I have another one in 7th grade.

 

I have no regrets over our journey, even though I still plague myself with second guessing and worrying about that road not taken!

 

The things I did that were right:

 

• Letting my kids play and explore and create while they were young. They were pretty much unschooled through the early grades, but we still did math, they learned to read. We explored their interests and they were happy little sponges.
  

 

 

 

• Letting them follow their interests even in high school. As someone has already pointed out, they become young adults who think with their own well-trained minds. Teach them logic and it comes right back at you! I had detailed high school plans written out back when my oldest was in 4th grade, and absolutely none of it has applied!
  

 

 

 

• Finding outside classes and volunteer opportunities in the middle school years. My kids needed someone else to be accountable to, needed some fresh perspectives. Having other adults in charge of them for a chunk of time also gave me the opportunity to see them from someone else's perspective, and it was very reassuring to see that they are pretty great kids after all!
  

 

 

Things that could be better:

 

• I absolutely want to outsource modern language instruction with my younger son as I have yet to see it work well with home study. I wish I would settle on one math curriculum and STICK WITH IT!!
  

 

 

It really has gone by so quickly. My favorite memories are of reading aloud together over the years, all snuggled up. Greek myths, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Charles Dickens. No purchased curriculum could have given us the rich experience that came with us reading together.

[Karen in CO]

It really has gone by so quickly. My favorite memories are of reading aloud together over the years, all snuggled up. Greek myths, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Charles Dickens. No purchased curriculum could have given us the rich experience that came with us reading together.

 

Yes and Yes. Reading together is the best and they grow up too fast.