Were you homeschooled?

[BrittanyM]

I find it interesting to see how many current homeschoolers were homeschooled themselves. I was HS K-12th (unschooled through high school) and DH was as well (although unschooled the entire time).

[AimeeM]

For a few years later in elementary, yes. I remember nothing of that time.

[regentrude]

No.

 

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

I was home schooled from 2nd-12TH and my 7 younger brothers and sisters all the way through. Well, the "baby" will be home schooled all the way through; she's in 10th right now. We were in Bill Gothard's ATI program for 22 years. (Gasp... :scared: Don't worry, none of us are scarred for life, the 4 older boys are all gainfully employed, the 18 year old is working on it, the 15 year old plans to get a job the second she turns 16, my sister and I worked until staying home with our own kids, none us are in the program any more, we all love each other, and we all either are or plan to home school our own kids.)

 

My husband was home schooled from 5th-12TH. His parents used Abeka video school. 

 

Our home school doesn't resemble either of our growing up experiences. We are much more eclectic than our parents were.

[Mystie]

My husband and I were both homeschooled and also unscarred. :) My mother-in-law was eclectic and my mom was a mix of textbook (Bob Jones) and unschooler.

 

Now we've got the baton and are trying to run it to the next relay point. Our parents homeschooled when homeschooling was unheard of and now we're merging classical into the good points of unschooliness. :)

[nerdybird]

I was not homeschooled. Went to public school the entire K-12 round. I did have a very involved mother and both of my parents highly encouraged reading. I was a later in life surprise child for them, so they had a bit more time and a lot more resources with me than they did with my siblings.

 

DH was homeschooled all the way through. My in-laws are Christians. They used Abeka, Saxon, and lots of books from the library, along with the KJV Bible with all of their kids. DH graduated from high school at 17, worked full time for a few years, and went to college in his early 20s. That's where we met.

 

Originally we planned to send our kids to public school since both of us had careers. Things don't always go as planned. DS1 needed extra help that the school couldn't provide, then we moved to an area with not-so-good schools, and now DH is concerned about their moral development. He's the concerned parent, listens to all of the hype at church, whereas I am more laid-back about things.

 

[Ameena]

I was homeschooled from 4th through 8th. We used a very eclectric student led program with a little of this and a little of that & workbooks mom made. I was one of those really bright kids that thrived in it.

[Lori D.]

Alas, DH and I are way too old to have been homeschooled. :(

 

But in many ways my mom was doing all kinds of things with my sister and I that I would now call after-schooling. We were just enjoying all the great books, logic puzzles, math puzzles, games, etc. :laugh:

 

Similar to the previous poster, my mom was super-involved in our public school education and in the after school mental stimulation, and both my parents were BIG readers, which really encouraged my sister and I to read a ton, too. My mom would have been a super homeschooler. I'd say she really "primed the pump" for me to go ahead with homeschooling.

 

DH's mom took him regularly to science and art museums. His family worked hard and scraped to paid for him to go to a prestigious Jesuit high school that was based on a lot of traditional/classical methods, so DH got a lot of the classics, and a lot of early exposure to art, music, science and literature. So in many ways, he, too was primed for being a WTM homeschooling dad. :)

[violingirl]

I was homeschooled on and off throughout my education for a total of 7 years. I went to a few different private schools for a total of 5 years, and public school 1 year. We moved around a lot. My husband went through a small town public school system for his entire education.

[BrittanyM]

Mystie, like how you said that, "Our parents homeschooled when homeschooling was unheard of and now we're merging classical into the good points of unschooliness." That would explain how DH and I have approached it as well.

 

It is very interesting to hear all of your experiences! I was super social growing up and sometimes wondered what it would be like to "go to school" but I knew I would probably not like it (I'm an against the grain type lol).

 

2ndgenhomeschooler, it is nice to hear your family survived ATI. ;) My husband survived an extremely conservative upbringing (and mine too, although not for so long) as well. Surprisingly enough all of my DH's siblings and himself have done fairly well in life despite some setbacks from unschooling and my IL's are now using Saxon and IEW with their youngest (16yr old) as they see the benefit of a more structured education.

[BrittanyM]

Oh and my Mom used a very eclectic assortment of curriculum with all of us. My education included Sonlight, R&S, Saxon, Beautiful Feet, Writing Strands, unit studies, ABeka, and etc. I got to try a lot of things!

[SilverMoon]

Yes. With ACE paces starting in mid-5th. Blech! :P By junior high I had sworn that I'd never, ever do something like ACE to my kids. That said, I don't fault my grandparents for those ACE years. There were about three curriculum options for homeschoolers then, and they were doing the best they knew how with a kid with serious baggage. Thankfully they took me to the library regularly and encouraged me to read as much as I wanted.

 

I also attended public and private. FWIW, I've never used any boxed/graded curriculum with my kids, and the idea makes me want to break out in hives. :)

[Butter]

I was homeschooled in high school with a mix of Alpha Omega LifePacs, A Beka, stuff my mom made up, and college courses.  I was doing college full time by what would have been my senior year of high school.

 

My parents looked into homeschooling when my brother was in 3rd grade (late 70s), but couldn't find anything about it except it might be illegal so they didn't do it.  My mom still says she wishes she had been able to find even just one person who did it since now she knows there were curriculum options out there back then, it was just very underground.

[BrittanyM]

I've always wished I could be someone who didn't need a boxed curriculum, but my personality just wouldn't be able to do it. I always loved reading as worksheets growing up. The year I did unit studies I hated it! I hope though that I will be able to adjust to my children's needs as well, even though it might not fit me!

[HS Mom in NC]

I'm 40.  I was not homeschooled. I was public schooled K-12.  I went to 1 elementary school, 1 jr. high and 1 high school.

My husband is 46.  He was not homeschooled. He was public schooled K-12.  He went to 3 different elementary schools, 1 jr. high and 1 high school.

 

I don't think you have to apologize for your personality.  If the boxed curriculum works well for you and your kids then find the best one that meets your academic goals and have a great time. Having lots of curriculum to choose from can be overwhelming, but it gives people choices so they're more likely to find something that works for them. I've been doing this long enough to meet people who homeschool every way under the sun-I've seen every kind of homeschooling done well and every kind of homeschooling done badly.  Most people are doing a good job, so I don't get upset by the odd ball disasters.

[OneStepAtATime]

I honestly had not really even heard of homeschooling except for medical reasons, or actors, or athletes.  My BIL was homeschooled for Middle School because of health issues, but really, there are VERY few homeschoolers where I currently live.  I went to public school k-12 and so did DH.  We did fine.  I had great friends, did well in most subjects (except math) and was actively involved in many extracurricular activities.  I am still friends with some of my old High School and Middle School buddies even though that was many states and many years ago.  

 

That being said, when we realized that brick and mortar was no longer working for our own kids, I happened to run into an old friend who had just pulled her kids out and was homeschooling.  We started talking, she showed me her curriculum, I started doing more research and we made the plunge.  I really admire the families that made the choice before it was even legal or even after it was legal but was not really accepted.  That couldn't have been easy.  Homeschooling saved us.  And I am grateful for the veterans who paved the way for the rest of us...

 

I ask both kids every year if they want to continue and every year they say yes.  If they ever change their minds we will consider another path.  But I am grateful that this one exists.  

[texasmama]

Public schooled 1-12. My mom did not send me to kindy and taught me to read that year. :)

 

I had a friend in high school who was homeschooled due to his family being traveling evangelists. We went to church together.

[WishboneDawn]

Public schools but when I was n nine and again when I was ten my parents pulled my siblings and I out of school and we traveled across Canada from about April to September. I'm pretty sure my mom got school books from the school but they disappeared pretty quick and we were effectively unschoolers for that time. It was formative and although we all slogged through school after that it meant that none of us ever thought learning was exclusive to schools and when I announced we were homeschooling everybody on my side of the family thought it was fantastic. :D

[kiana]

Yep, unschooled more than homeschooled, with the exception of math. 

[Loowit]

Nope. My husband's mom considered it but thought he wouldn't do well socially. I had never heard of homeschool except for my dad's cousin's kids. They were missionaries and my dad's family all thought they were weird.

[dragonflyer]

I was homeschooled K-9 using a mix of traditional school style options.  Then public school to finish off high school.

 

DH went to the same private school K-12.

 

We are just starting our homeschool journey, but are really excited to get started.

[Eileen Aroon]

Homeschooled on and off until seventh grade when my mom became pregnant with twins (#5 and 6). So they sent me and my siblings to private school for a couple of years. Then public school till I dropped out as a Junior and just went to college.

 

Growing up I remember a curriculum called Math-it. Hated that. Also Writing Strands. Hated that too. Tolerated Saxon math and loved the random projects we did together. We would pick any subject (Bach, gemstones, flowers, cats, china) and do a report, creative writing, art, and maybe a field trip. Unit study I guess. My mom also read aloud from vintage history books and let me read for hours on end. My dad taught computers and geography because those are his passions.

 

We lived in a close-knit Mormon neighborhood in the 80's so everyone knew everyone and all their pets. We had many friends, but homeschooling was still a bit weird at that time and place. I am so grateful my mom did that for us.

 

Private school was phenomenal. I really felt like I blossomed intellectually under the tutelage of several great teachers. I learned to love French, science, math, and especially Shakespeare and good writing. I worry that I won't be able to give that to my kids. I just trust that The Lord will provide what we need. I know in the middle of raising us, my mom probably thought it was all chaos, but it really feels like I got the best of all worlds.

 

EDIT: my husband was homeschooled from fourth grade on until he was offered a scholarship in 9th grade to go to a community college after he did something amazing to the state standardized tests. They mostly did Abeka I think.

[Peaceful Isle]

My mother homeschooled me 10th -12th grade...sorta :/

[Guest]

My short answer is "No", because we were never involved with the homeschooling community other than watching John Holt on Phil Donahue and reading the Plowboy interview in Mother Earth News.

 

However, I was enrolled in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln correspondence program for one semester, which I did not finish but it seemed to satisfy the authorities. I did not attend school after the age of 15 (not with my parents' blessing nor under their roofs), but I enrolled in community college right on time at 18 and graduated on the Dean's List and honor roll with dd1 in my arms.

[abacus2]

No, I was public schooled all the way through. However, as I have been homeschooling my own children, I am amazed how much of my education actually came from discussions and reading at home.

[Angie in VA]

Not here, neither DH nor I, and I would like to go on record as saying that despite being in public school all the way through, both of us are the most anti-social people we know.

 

So much for that socialization argument!

[IsabelC]

Homeschooling wasn't really a thing where I grew up. I don't think I even knew it existed at all.

[SarahW]

Yes, K-7. Though I had little schooling 5-7. 8 & 9 I was enrolled part-time in a local Christian school for Math and English - the rest of the time I read news magazines in the school library. And in 9th  I did a semester-long Biology homeschool co-op run at another Christian school. 10th I went to public H.S. and started PSEO. There are a lot of courses I've never taken, not even a lower-level introduction. 

[Cottonwood]

I was homeschooled only through high school.  Dh was not homeschooled.

[jbsoil]

Nope.  DH and I both went to public school through 12th grade.  I didn't hear about homeschooling until I was in high school and my neighbor's son was supposed to start Kindergarten, but she homeschooled instead.  I never knew there was such a thing.  I also never thought I would homeschool my children, but after dealing with public school for the last 5 years I'm excited to start the homeschool journey. :hurray:

[ScoutTN]

I am too old to have been homeschooled!

 

I did Montessori K, prep school 1st-7th and then boarding school through 12th.

[eternalsummer]

I am so surprised how many of you were homeschooled yourselves.  Surely this was generally at least 15-20 years ago; is it too nosy to ask if most of you were homeschooled for religious reasons?  I thought there was pretty much no non-religious homeschool movement back then.

 

 

I was always in public school; I went to 5 elementaries, 2 junior highs, and one high school.  I loved it, but 1. I was a girl and 2. Times have changed somewhat.  We had the kids in public school until it became obvious last fall that it wasn't the best option for them.  I never thought I'd homeschool.

[SilverMoon]

I am so surprised how many of you were homeschooled yourselves. Surely this was generally at least 15-20 years ago; is it too nosy to ask if most of you were homeschooled for religious reasons? I thought there was pretty much no non-religious homeschool movement back then.

Nope. My grandparents (my legal guardians at that point) were unhappy with the local school district and the seniors it was producing. They tried the two "best" private schools in the area before deciding to homeschool. ACE was the curriculum the last school used, they were familiar with it, and ACE would sell to homeschoolers. That's how it was decided. Religion was irrelevant to their decision.

[Peaceful Isle]

I am so surprised how many of you were homeschooled yourselves. Surely this was generally at least 15-20 years ago; is it too nosy to ask if most of you were homeschooled for religious reasons? I thought there was pretty much no non-religious homeschool movement back then.

 

 

I was always in public school; I went to 5 elementaries, 2 junior highs, and one high school. I loved it, but 1. I was a girl and 2. Times have changed somewhat. We had the kids in public school until it became obvious last fall that it wasn't the best option for them. I never thought I'd homeschool.

Keeping me away from people, was the reason I was homeschooled :) I homeschool because I like my kids ;)

[Peaceful Isle]

Yes, K-7. Though I had little schooling 5-7. 8 & 9 I was enrolled part-time in a local Christian school for Math and English - the rest of the time I read news magazines in the school library. And in 9th I did a semester-long Biology homeschool co-op run at another Christian school. 10th I went to public H.S. and started PSEO. There are a lot of courses I've never taken, not even a lower-level introduction.

I totally get you. It is hard to wrap my mind around how a parent can allow their children to not even take basic courses, but it happened to me and obviously you. :(

[eternalsummer]

Keeping me away from people, was the reason I was homeschooled :) I homeschool because I like my kids ;)

 

 

Hah, I like mine too :)  I remarked to DH after we brought them home that I hadn't realized how much I'd missed them.

[Guest]

Surely this was generally at least 15-20 years ago; is it too nosy to ask if most of you were homeschooled for religious reasons?  I thought there was pretty much no non-religious homeschool movement back then.

 

 

20 years ago was 1994. I had been taking my kiddos to a secular Park Day for two years then. Here are some links for you:

 

http://www.johnholtgws.com/gws-issue-archive/ <----You need Flash to view these magazines, but I am told that they go back to 1977

 

http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/at-home-schooling-zmaz80jazraw.aspx <--------1980 article that my Mom read

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxZEEBiTp-s <--------1981 TV show my parents watched

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0943914051/sr=8-1/qid=1397882971/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1397882971&seller=&sr=8-1 <-------© 1983 book you can pick up for two bucks if your library doesn't have it

 

http://a2zhomeschooling.com/documents/hsh1.pdf<-------A Homeschooler's History of Homeschooling; Part 1 covers 1700sish-1990ish.

 

Raymond and Dorothy Moore (Better Late than Early) were religious, but far less extreme than Rushdoony.

[Mom2OandE]

DH and I both attended public school.

[kiwik]

I am in NZ. Started school in 1974 at 5 and went to one primary (first 8 years) and one secondary. Quit the minute I turned 15 because I had been completely miserable for years. Did some night high school stuff and then went to university in my early 20's. Homes hooking was uncommon and difficult then (highly regulated) but it was legal and my aunt tried it once. I wanted to join them desperately - it is the only time I remember not accepting the first refusal. My aunt only managed one term which is what my father knew would happen. But it wouldn't have harmed me to have a year of school. My father despite all evidence to the contrary thinks school is good for social development (I suppose 5 out of the 7 of us weren't permanently damaged and 3 actually enjoyed parts of it and finished high school. Strangely (?) the two less academic and the most extrovert.

 

I don't home school either but i wish I could and hope things will change.

[abba12]

I am so surprised how many of you were homeschooled yourselves.  Surely this was generally at least 15-20 years ago; is it too nosy to ask if most of you were homeschooled for religious reasons?  I thought there was pretty much no non-religious homeschool movement back then.

 

The religious homeschool movement was very american to my understanding. In Australia we have had distance education (kind of like your public K12 program) for a long time due to remote communities who don't have schools. School for juvey kids, long term hospitalised/disabled kids, circus kids, performers etc etc all run through the state distance education program, so the concept of distance education done in the home was common enough.

 

My impression is this, but keep in mind with little internet that different states and areas within states tended to vary widely as the main sources of info were people within a few hours drive. Sometime in the 80s I suppose, a number of parents who found the distance ed system too restrictive and read a little about american homeschooling wanted to move towards homeschooling. In my personal experience there were two main groups, the natural learners (now called unschoolers) and the academically minded group which also included some families who homeschooled because of bullying. Both groups had religious families and non-religious families, though the extremely religious ones usually tended towards the natural learners and eventually that group seemed to split into religious unschooling and pagan/naturalist/unparenting unschooling.

 

My mum began teaching me in '96, and my mother in law began way back in about '89 with her first (and is still finishing up with her last two!) MIL was strictly for religious reasons, and was a weird academic unschooling hybrid where they expected their kids to be geniuses without any actual teaching at all (no, it didn't work). My mum homeschooled primarily because of severe bullying and later for academic reasons, no religious reasons at all, and she changed her homeschooling philosophy on a yearly basis. Unfortunately neither did a particularly good job, and DH and I are dedicated to making sure our own homeschool looks nothing like what our parents did. Many of our siblings are rebelling against homeschooling altogether but we suspect a number of them will decide to homeschool when they eventually have kids and can look back with a little more time passed and certain emotional wounds less raw.

 

Nonetheless, DH and I are absolutely convinced about homeschooling, it was a dealbreaker for us both when we were dating, neither of us would marry someone anti-homeschool. Despite our own very questionable experiences, we could list 1000 different reasons we thing homeschooling is great and we dislike public school as a concept (not in an 'all public schools are cestpools' kind of way, more in a 'the system is fundamentally flawed in so many aspects that even the most hardworking, dedicated teacher is fighting an uphill battle' kind of way)

[eternalsummer]

Ah, that was pretty US-centric of me, I apologize.  I forgot people outside the states existed :) 

[sbgrace]

Hubby and I were both public schooled. Both of us had fathers who were public school teachers, and I taught in public school for 11 years.

 

I hadn't heard of homeschoolers until long after I was teaching myself. I'm on the older end of things though (over 40) and in the midwest. I'm pretty sure homeschooling was uncommon here when I was growing up.

 

 

[IsabelC]

I would love to have been homeschooled. I never enjoyed school and for the most part I found it boring. A TWTM style education would have been heaven for me, cause I was the kind of kid who loved reading, writing and history and also liked doing things in an orderly, timetabled way.

[ForeverFamily]

Yes, I was homeschooled from 7th-10th grade.  I went to public school from K to the first part of 6th grade.  We moved about 1/3 into 6th and I attended a private school for another 1/3 of 6th.  Than I went back to public school for the last part of 6th.  I started the first few weeks of 7th at public school and for the rest I did homeschooling all the way up through 10th grade.  All the while I attended a few classes here and there at the public schools (i.e. art, music, etc.).  In 10th I decided I wanted to finish up highschool in public school.  So I went back to public school for 11th and 12th.  So yes, I have been all over the place :).  My mom needed to pull my brother out of school while he was in 3rd grade due to some academic difficulties, and I thought staying home for school sounded like a great idea so I begged and pleaded for her to bring me home as well and I am thankful that she agreed.  I woudn't trade it for the world. I don't know if I would have had the courage to homeschool my kids if I hadn't experienced it first hand.  I am inspired by all of you, like my mom, who have the courage to venture out into the unknown world of homeschooling. :)

 

ETA: I was homeschooled pretty much with a traditional curriuculum. So Classical Education is a new adventure for me.  But I am loving every moment (okay not every moment, but most ;) )

[armom]

I was homeschooled for a few years back in the early 80's when homeschooling wasn't heard of much  My mother used textbooks (boring) for our education.  She actually bought the exact materials being used in the school system at that time. 

[73349]

DH and I went to public schools K-12. My mom taught me to read before I started, though (not with a curriculum, just mostly by reading to me). I lived in a few different districts--college would be the only time I was at the same school 4 years--and DH always lived in the last district I attended.

 

We weren't impressed... with the academics or the socialization.

 

ETA: Other than one of my siblings who went to private school for a couple of years, all children on all sides of our family in all generations attend[ed] public schools, as far as we know.

[SarahW]

I am so surprised how many of you were homeschooled yourselves.  Surely this was generally at least 15-20 years ago; is it too nosy to ask if most of you were homeschooled for religious reasons?  I thought there was pretty much no non-religious homeschool movement back then.

 

I think my mother began homeschooling because of James Dobson. We began the '88-'89 school year (I think, I was in K, time was fuzzy then...), which wasn't long after Dobson picked up the homeschooling idea. But my mother was also heavily influenced by Gothard, I can't remember if Gothard came before shortly before we started, or if he followed shortly thereafter.

 

So yes, it was religious.

[8filltheheart]

I am so surprised how many of you were homeschooled yourselves. Surely this was generally at least 15-20 years ago; is it too nosy to ask if most of you were homeschooled for religious reasons? I thought there was pretty much no non-religious homeschool movement back then.

 

I started homeschooling my kids in 1994 and it had absolutely nothing to do with religious reasons. After my student teaching semester and seeing ps from the teaching side, I swore I would never put my kids in a ps. That would be even more true today than back then. I had never heard of homeschooling and it was not what we had planned. We were going to enroll our kids in private schools. Long story short, we accidentally fell into homeschooling and have never looked back.

 

OP, not only was I not homeschooled, but I grew up in one of those kinds of families where the parents are utterly clueless what their kids are doing in school. My mom and dad were disconnected from everything in my life. I made my own decisions as to what classes to take, whether I did my homework or not (my parents couldn't have told you what classes I was taking. The most they could do was answer what grade.). When I applied to college, they didn't know where, etc.

 

My own kids have all been homeschooled. Our oldest does plan on trying homeschooling with his kids at least while they are younger. Our dil doesn't know how confident she is about the older ages, but their oldest is not quite 3 (she'll be 3 in a few weeks.). Our oldest dd doesn't think she will homeschool bc she says it is too much work and she doesn't want to commit to it, but who knows. Life changes when the child you are looking at is your own. The other kids haven't really thought about it.

[Luckymama]

No.

 

My sisters and I attended a mix of private and public schools, depending on where we were living (moved seven times). My parents were very involved in our educations.

 

Dh attended Catholic school and public high school. His parents were not involved in his and his siblings' educations.

[Butter]

I am so surprised how many of you were homeschooled yourselves.  Surely this was generally at least 15-20 years ago; is it too nosy to ask if most of you were homeschooled for religious reasons?  I thought there was pretty much no non-religious homeschool movement back then.

 

I would have graduated from high school in 1996.

 

I was most definitely NOT homeschooled for religious reasons.  There was a lot of non-religious homeschool movement in the early 90s actually!  You just had to look for them.  We had quite a few homeschooling friends (and this was before the internet was a real "thing" so they were all local RL friends) and more homeschooled for academic reasons than religious reasons.  The super religious people wouldn't associate with us, though, because we're LDS.  My parents secularized Alpha Omega and A Beka and rolled their eyes at the random God-mentions (that didn't make sense).  Guess that's why I do the same today.  I was homeschooled for academic reasons and my parents wanted to homeschool my brother in the late 70s for academic reasons as well.

 

ETA: Our family has always been in the US.