What EXCITES you about homeschooling?

[Tracey in TX]

Is there a particular subject which you love to pass on to DC? If so, what is it and have they developed the same passion?

I LOVE HISTORY! A great teacher intro'd me to its usefulness and wonder, and I've been hooked ever since. My kids definitely think it's cool.

I got goosebumps telling them we begin Middle Ages this summer and just can't wait to share all the exciting things mankind experienced then. When it comes time for American history, I'll be just as giddy. I swear if I didn't care about my children's education, we would *only* do history and language.

 

Math, on the other hand. ugh. Is it finished yet? :rolleyes:

[Mom2legomaniacs]

I am just the opposite. I have a past history in math. So when they get some cool concept in math, I become very excited! I LOVE math. It's fun.

 

Also, when there is an area in which there is a struggle and I make a decision to take a more gentle approach, I feel truly rewarded with the results of that decision. When they get it on their time, it is totally cool!

[Deece in MN]

The freedom to explore. I love that we are not tied to a specific time frame of when things have to be done. If we go off on a tangent, it is wonderful and we can come back to where we left off without a problem.

 

I really had to think hard on this recently as my dh & I were considering a virtual high school for our ds this coming year. Our decision to continue hs'ing on our own came down to the flexibility and freedom we have. This is why I love hs'ing.

 

As far as subjects, I really don't have one that I love more than the others. I really like history, but I also like math, science, literature, hmmm; see I just can't decide. :D

 

If you ask my ds his favorite, he would say math (this surprises me) and my dd would say history.

 

Since I don't have a *favorite* subject, I think our enthusiasm comes from just being able to do what we do. We started out hs'ing with the idea that we would take it year by year. This is our 9th year and we are still enjoying the journey.:)

[Plaid Dad]

Being there to see when the light bulb goes on, whatever the subject. :)

[dangermom]

There's something great about most of our subjects, I think. I'm not a big math person, but I get very excited to see our daughter (7yo) pick up on the new concepts. Latin and grammar are cool because we're learning them together, and Latin is very exciting! My big favorites are reading and history, like the OP. I'm just thrilled to be able to introduce my kids to my favorite books and that we can learn all this great stuff. And science is also great--especially because we're now in astronomy (my favorite) and then chemistry (my other favorite). I even think copywork is neat.

 

Thinking and planning is probably more exciting than doing daily lessons, though. I get all the fun of imagining, instead of the reality of interruptions and struggles!

[Rich with Kids]

Lord, help me! Buying curriculum. I love finding new ways to teach them something and I love getting boxes on my front step. So, see? Everybody wins!

[WTMindy]

I love to plan and organize curriculum. I love learning alongside the kids and discovering things together. I love sharing my favorite books from childhood with the kids and sharing the memories of places visited together.

[Mrs. Readsalot]

OK So I know I am wierd, but I think Algebra is fun. Ds is doing really well with it too. History is so much fun to plan and teach. Their are so amy great living history books available I just want to buy them all LOL we would never have time to read them all.

[elegantlion]

Not a subject so much as just being in a mentor type relationship with my son. We have a very conversational style of schooling and we love to run off on tangents. He has been blessed with the same strain of goofiness that I have, and we have been known to break into spontaneous song during any subject, but especially math.

[PixieKris]

I think what excites me has changed over the years.

 

At first, it was the field trips and opportunities for real life learning.

 

Then it was the chance to make a difference in the community I believed in - the homeschooling community.

 

Along side of those, history excited me; in school history was misery. Now I had a daughter who loved history from 1st grade on - we studied culture, relationships, and history as a sequential event, not isolated events.

 

Now, I love the depth of conversations about philosophy. I love talking about consciousness, how we define it, and which creatures are thought to have it. I love talking about politics and political agendas. I love exposing her to the adult world, and taking a step back to see how it is perceived by an 11 year old. I love talking about what it means to be me, and what she thinks it means to be her; how selves are constructed, the role of nature, and the role of nurture. I love learning new things from her as I send her more and more into the world to follow her interests, and have her come back with new thoughts, ideas, and passions.

 

But I don't love math. I love Singapore Math, how it's taught, and that she likes it. And I don't really love grammar this year. But that's ok.

 

: ) Kris

[battlemaiden]

I would also have to say those "lightbulb" moments.

 

I love that we can sit on the couch and discuss topics. The fine art of asking questions to stimulate their thinking process.

 

Last week I had to go to the elementary school to turn in my notice of intent. I watched a classroom full of wiggly, distracted students, whispering to each other while the teacher was saying something. I had been particularly burned out at this point but I left that school seeing what a gift personalized education can be.

 

More specifically, I have been delighted to teach my children through the Revolution of the United States and the Constitution. My children have naturally drawn connections with modern politics. This to me is delightful. Government is so much clearer to them then it ever was to me at their ages.

 

Jo

[Beth in Central TX]

Okay, I'm a nerd, but I enjoy the planning & researching, and I love buying new books.

[Basketmaker Amy]

Ditto! :0

[Heather in the Kootenays]

and by the leaps in maturity that ds is taking right now.

[kalanamak]

Being there to see when the light bulb goes on, whatever the subject. :)

 

it is a book about prairie dogs.

[Janet in WA]

What excited me about homeschooling were the non-academic opportunities. The opportunity for our sons to work or do volunteer activities during the school day. The opportunity to play golf with Dad on school days. The opportunity to travel with dh and me during the school year. The opportunity to work on Boy Scout merit badges during the school day (and consequently, the time to earn their Eagle ranks when so many boys their age have abandoned that hope due to school-related time-sucking). The opportunity to develop and pursue hobbies (again, due to no school-related time-sucking).

[Mamagistra]

Okay, I'm a nerd, but I enjoy the planning & researching, and I love buying new books.

 

Me, too! Me, too! Nerds, unite! ;)

[Friederike in Persia]

Surely buying new books (lots and lots of them;)) isn't nerdish!!!

 

 

Did you see????? I'm a nurse bee now!!!!!!!

[Closeacademy]

Being there to see when the light bulb goes on, whatever the subject. :)

 

This is it for me too. To know that I helped my dd learn to read. To watch them get math or find science or history fascinating. That is the big pull for homeschooling.

[Tracey in TX]

Okay, I'm a nerd, but I enjoy the planning & researching, and I love buying new books.

Nerds Unite! I still dig the smell of new texts, putting together related activities... Too bad we don't have the carbon copiers b/c that was the best school smell ever :D

Designing a curriculum is half of the fun on some days!!