If you could homeschool/afterschool just one subject per year, and the rest was PS, what would it be?

[umsami]

So pretend that your kids had to go to public school, but you still had time to homeschool/afterschool one subject per year.  What would it be?  Would you stick to math or language or logic for all of the years?  Would it depend on the kids?

 

We've afterschooled when I couldn't homeschool all of the kids, and honestly, it really depends. I've usually supplemented math of some sort (Beast Academy).... we've done art/music/philosophy.... but I've yet to get into high school years.  

 

Perhaps this should be phrased, what do you think is most important topic/subject to cover each year but often isn't in public school (or isn't done well)? 

[Arcadia]

Math and science at all grade levels for my school district. Students that are doing well have parents and/or tutors who could after school them. My district high school is decent for art and music (band/orchestra and theory). Mine were in public school and has been after-schooled.

[Seeking Squirrels]

It's a hard call between math and science for me. I guess I'd say math because my kid is science-obsessed so she'd be begging for it and finding ways for us to do it anyway, so it would be done on weekends and free time even if we didn't call it "school". So yes, it would depend on the kid. If she wasn't so into science, I probably wouldn't see it as quite as high of a priority because schools here seem to do an okay job once in high school, it's just nearly non-existent in elementary. Maybe if it was a time issue I would alternate if there was more than one thing I really wanted to cover. Spend a few months on one subject, then switch focus. 

 

I can only speak to elementary since that's where we are. In high school she could take real science classes and hopefully advanced math classes, so those may not be as high a priority anymore and we could instead focus on any interests or problem areas that weren't being covered at school. I guess I'd have to decide a year, or even term, at a time. 

[AK_Mom4]

It would have to be math here because DD15 is just finishing Calc BC and the school doesn't offer anything higher.

 

Math has always been her most advanced subject, but when she was younger, if her math had been at grade level we would have been after schooling history. They do very little of it in the schools (compared to what we covered anyways) and she always loved the stories and projects.

[Guest]

It would depend on the kid/s' interest to some degree. It would also depend on the weakness of the school.

 

In the district we were in, math

In meeting the kid's interest, and because I think it is generally shortchanged today, history.

[Arcadia]

It would have to be math here because DD15 is just finishing Calc BC and the school doesn't offer anything higher.

My district would have paid up for Multivariable calculus (calculus 3?) at my district's affiliated community college if I "kick a fuss" but parents would have to provide transport. I don't think my district would pay if we opt for some other provider like the state university or online high school.

 

ETA:

My district would expect AP statistics class and exam to be finished before paying for multivariable calculus for their students, because it is exhaust all offered high school math first.

Edited March 27, 2017 by Arcadia

[bettyandbob]

Math. My kids have gone to public school. Thankfully after I built a good foundation. The schools in general are not teaching math well. Calculators are being introduced before students really have an understanding of what operations are doing. Kids in upper level honors lasses are memorizing formulas, not understanding them by deriving them. It's not a good foundation for college level work in math or science if a student has a desire to go into a field which requires math or science.

[DawnM]

Disney and Universal

 

So much to learn   :hurray:

[J-rap]

English, because that's the subject we all thoroughly enjoyed doing together, and I value good books so much.  Often when I hear the books the schools are reading, I cringe a little... 

[bettyandbob]

Adding on: I don't consider doing a lot of reading, visiting museums, historic places, and some other stuff afterschooling even if it is educational.

 

That's just stuff my family does. We go places and continue to learn wherever we are. Even when we are loading : a beach trip might include a nature walk and talk with a ranger, an aquarium, a trip to a naval history site, etc. At night in our tent or condo we might look up shells we collected or read books together. My brother thinks it's weird that my family doesn't turn off learning.

Edited March 27, 2017 by Diana P.

[historically accurate]

I'd probably add in historical field trips often, read great lit out loud, visit some art museums, and add in music lessons. 

 

I know me; I'm lazy! Although I'd have great intentions, I can't see adding math or science teaching to an already long day for them and me (I'd be working if the kids were in school).

[FaithManor]

Math. Always math.

[Guest]

My background is in mathematics, so probably math.

[Kalmia]

In elementary and middle school: chronological history.

 

In high school: extensive reading in literature, one good or great book after another with no writing component. Our high school completes four to five novels per year. One is Shakespeare. The other three are for appear random choices by the teachers. Graduates will have almost no knowledge of the great books or sense of American Lit or British Lit or World Lit through time. I aim to have my child reading an additional 10 to 20 novels a year.

 

All three: 10 minutes here and there for art appreciation (one painting a day) and reading a poem a day. No associated writing. Just pure appreciation.

Edited March 27, 2017 by Kalmia

[Carol in Cal.]

Festivals.

At least in theory.

If I were home, with kids in school, I would support their educations but I would want to impart a sense of celebration to life.  That means celebrating the Church year, the seasons, national holidays, memorials, equinoxes, solstices, anniversaries of significant events, and made up days.  

[Pam in CT]

Well, whatever the school was weakest in.  My kids have mostly been brick&mortar schooled, with only brief interludes of homeschooling for specific time-bound reasons.

 

My eldest spent most of her primary school years in a marvelous Quaker school that I adored and respected in so many ways... but I could not abide their loosey-goosey, wonder-led, if-it-doesn't-spark-curiosity-and-delight-it's-not-worth-doing attitude toward math.  So my deal with her was, she could attend the school so long as she did a full-blown Singapore Math cycle alongside.

 

My middle son attended a specialized school for kids with language-based learning disabilities for three years.  ALL THEY DID was intensive rigorous Orton-Gillingham based reading and writing, and math.  With him, I supplemented history at home and outsourced art.

 

My youngest is an artist.  Her school has a pretty good art program, but my biggest job for her, as cheerleader / coach, is to seek out mentors, access to new media and museums particularly with sketching times, and particularly studio time with live models.

[Guest]

Math. Full inclusion whole class instruction has meant less time spent on math in public school,and currently with Common Core the pacing doesn't allow nonremedial students to advance much -- there are at least three years of review. What material there is is extremely basic until Alg 2, which is where those who didn't afterschool choose between memorizing and learning how to learn.

 

Music and art are well done here, as fine arts are one of the diploma pathways.

 

Elementary science is diy here,but scouts and 4h have picked up a lot of it.

 

Language arts has been substantially reduced for nonremedial students, but students who read independently have no trouble with AP English. Some do need spelling instruction, assistance in finding appropriate lit, and most are picking up the omitted from the curriculum grammar units when they prep for SAT/ACT.

Edited March 27, 2017 by Heigh Ho

[AmandaVT]

Probably math because our local school uses the TERC investigations program which seems to be the worst math program in existence from what I can tell. 

 

Science would be a very very close second though because they don't teach science in elementary school here. Like none. 

[wintermom]

#1 English

#2 Math

 

English, because I want to choose the literature and reading/writing instruction. This would mean I take my child right out of the school's English class, though. Otherwise they'd still be forced to read the same junk as the rest of the school.

 

Math, as long as a good teacher was available, it would be fine to have someone else handle this. However, it's evident that this is often not the case. 

 

Edited March 27, 2017 by wintermom

[kroe1]

Science. All subjects can be taught through science.

[SparklyUnicorn]

math

 

 

which I have no business teaching, but that was not the question.... :lol:

[Laurie4b]

Around here, math in public schools is excellent. So my choice would be history. 

[Janeway]

It would be something in the fine arts. 

[Julie Smith]

Reading Out Loud

 

If you don't consider reading books out loud a subject then;  

 

Math Fact Drill

 

That wouldn't take long, because it isn't even a full subject. Not math, just ensuring the math facts are memorized, and checking on it ever so often so that they aren't forgotten. That leaves more time for fun, play, and reading out loud. Which after a long day at school, and possibly homework - I feel is, in most cases most important. 

 

[Reefgazer]

Without question, Latin.  Latin has positively impacted my kids' education in so many ways.

[Mergath]

Math, because that's the one so many public schools seem to bork, and it's also the one where being able to work at your own pace and slow down or speed up if necessary is such a benefit.

[umsami]

Disney and Universal

 

So much to learn   :hurray:

 

LOL  Living in FL, that is one subject the public schools do cover.  Kids go to one of the parks almost every year as an end of class trip.

[EmilyGF]

Math again here. 

 

Emily

[luuknam]

Would depend on the kid, and on the school. For my oldest I afterschooled phonics with a program that used nonsense words in the summer between K and 1st because it was really necessary (kid had a great memory for learning words by sight, so was slightly above average in reading, but...). I afterschooled math in the spring of K with him as well because he liked math and so did I, and it was nice to work on something he was good at because there were so many areas he struggled with (he seems to be 2E). I don't remember what I may or may not have afterschooled in 1st/2nd grade - I mean, I continued with the phonics a bit, and I think I did a little bit of math, but not much. 

 

So, I don't know. If the kid is really struggling something such that it is necessary to afterschool it that would probably be a priority, but I think kids should also enjoy working on their strengths, as it is demotivating to only work on your weaknesses. But getting the kid too far ahead in a school subject just makes school more boring, so maybe some subject not covered in school (like Dutch) would be higher on the list. 

 

So glad I don't have to choose.

[Audrey]

So pretend that your kids had to go to public school, but you still had time to homeschool/afterschool one subject per year.  What would it be?  Would you stick to math or language or logic for all of the years?  Would it depend on the kids?

 

We've afterschooled when I couldn't homeschool all of the kids, and honestly, it really depends. I've usually supplemented math of some sort (Beast Academy).... we've done art/music/philosophy.... but I've yet to get into high school years.  

 

Perhaps this should be phrased, what do you think is most important topic/subject to cover each year but often isn't in public school (or isn't done well)? 

 

I'm at the end of my homeschooling journey.  Looking back, I realize how I focused on so many of the things that everyone else said I should, when I should have listened more to my child's voice.

 

If I had to send him off to school, I would find out his passion and do everything I could to support and foster that at home.  In ds's case, it would be music and art.  I can homeschool the music, no problem.  The art takes some outside help, but I can get him what he needs to keep that passion going. 

 

Schools are great at killing passion, but in the long road of life, being able to have my passion supported and being able to carry that forward though my life is the most valuable thing I've ever had.  The other stuff... meh. 

Edited March 28, 2017 by Audrey

[eternalsummer]

When DD was in a Waldorf charter it was obvious she would make almost no academic progress without afterschooling.  They taught her a lot of things, and the social environment was wonderful, but when she left the school 1.5 years after starting she had progressed about 3 months in math.  Writing had almost gone backwards.  She had no systemic science understanding at all (that is, she could draw flowers and knew how to feed a chicken, but things like reading a chart or hypothesizing about weather formations just completely eluded her). She is highly gifted.  

 

So I decided to try some afterschooling; we were going to do writing, math, and Latin.

 

By the end of the day, though, the motivation for either of us to do any of the above was almost nil.  We got through GSWL (slowly) and she took AoPS to school to work on during math time.  It's just hard, at the end of a long school day (as unacademic as that day may be) to gear up again for a rigorous program of academics.

 

If we had to do it again, I'd focus on just Latin, maybe, or just writing (maybe Killagon).  

[Liz CA]

Latin. It's rarely taught anywhere else. However, it may make most sense to see what subject is the weakest and devote the homeschooling time to that.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Liz CA

[Pegs]

I've been thinking on this one, and I just can't pick something. I love so much of our homeschool.

[AppleGreen]

My now 11 year old headed to school last month.  :sad:  We support the decision and feel it is something this child needs to do. We have been doing a bit of math because that is the area the school seems to be weak in. My child got to school and had already covered the concepts the school was working on before Christmas. (Yay for Math Mammoth!) The problem is after a day a school and being around people all day, there really is not a lot of energy to do a lot of supplemental academics, even though the desire is there. We try to do a page here and there. We'll see what next year brings. Right now, this child wants to be home for 6th grade (but to finish out this year), but I realize that may change. We'll just play it by ear. It is a little disheartening, but I will do what I can to support and challenge as the desire and need arises. 

[regentrude]

Math.

The public school math education is typically weak, and this is a subject where a shaky foundation causes lots of problems later on.

If a kid did not learn about Charlemagne in school, she can still understand the French revolution and can read up about Charlemagne later in life, but if a kid did not master addition of fractions, she will have problems in algebra and higher math and college chemistry and physics courses, and the problem will be very hard to fix.

 

Edited March 28, 2017 by regentrude

[BooksandBoys]

Math.

What that looks like would depend on the child, but we would largely be seeking the opportunity to share the wonder and fun of math.

We love math in this family. Talking through tricky ideas and word problems is a favorite pastime in the car or at the dinner table. I would never be able to just do math drill and let the rest go because I love challenging my kids to think mathematically. My oldest has recently begun to make up problems for us, and I just love being on the receiving end of the challenges!

[Spryte]

If the PS is excellent in all subjects, then I'd go with chronological history. Then lit and fine arts, as needed.

 

I think PS tends to miss the boat on history.

 

We'd do our usual heavy on science home discussions, because we are science people and discussing, watching docs, listening to lectures, and field trips are part of our family culture (even pre-kids). Same with the arts - we just have a heavy emphasis on the arts due to our personalities and lifestyle.

 

If the PS is not excellent in math or English, then I'd be supplementing for their lack.

[Pink and Green Mom]

When my oldest went back to school in 6th I intended to afterschool him in either history(although he had already done one complete cycle) because I don't like "social studies", or writing (because let's face it, individualized attention is usually better than group instruction).  However, the reality was after a full day of school and several hours of crappy busywork brought home, there just wasn't time or energy left for him to do any additional school work.

 

But I guess my answer would depend on:  (a) what I thought the school was lacking, (b) what I thought my child's weaknesses were, or if neither of those was a factor, © where their interests lie.

[minuway]

History! I love the discussions we have.