Does your child enjoy homeschooling?

[Euromom]

Or would he/she rather go to school?

How many hours/day do they spend in the computer?

 

My child is 6 and this is our first hs year. I am concerned he will not like to stay home all the time. I have three other children , including a newborn and a toddler and we cannot go out often... it's just too hard and too many things to pack and worry about . We only go out in the weekend when my husband is home.

 

Also I am concerned my son will spend too many hours in the computer if he stays home all day.

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

I just asked my 5 year old, and she said she likes it. She does not think she would like public school. She is actually eager to get started back up in a couple weeks. This will be our 3rd "official" year with her.

[Crissy]

My older son would have been content to homeschool until college, but I was not prepared to teach higher math and science at the level he deserves. So far he loves public school, and still loves the afterschooling that we do together.

 

My younger son loves homeschooling. He recognizes the flexibility he has at home and appreciates the input he has in his education that he wouldn't have at school.

[phathui5]

My eight year old says that he would choose homeschooling over being sent to school. He knows that his friends have a much longer school day than he does and prefers to homeschool year round to avoid the long days.

 

He spends about half an hour a day on the computer, usually in the morning before I've got my act together.

[gingersmom]

My son is deliriously happy with homeschooling. He loves loves school!

 

My daughter is looking forward to her first year of homeschooling.

[WTMCassandra]

My children like school well enough, but they don't have anything to compare it to. I would encourage you to encourage your son to develop interests that do not include screen time. The sky is the limit.

 

Make sure you have open-ended play options for him--Legos, cars, blocks, Snap Circuits, board games, puzzles--whatever interests him. Does he like gardening? Animals? Airplanes? Model rockets? Musical instruments?

 

See also the other thread about "introverted Moms" for ideas about afternoon downtime. If he is reading, have him read for an hour. If he is not, he can look at picture books.

 

My children spend less than 30 min per day on the computer. They do practice their typing with Mavis Beacon several times a week (while the other sibling is practicing the piano). They also play chess once in a while or do a physics game that we allow them to use. We don't watch television other than science videos and the very occasional family movie (three or four per year).

Edited August 2, 2009 by WTMCassandra

[Guest janainaz]

My kids don't know any different. My oldest ds9 is busy with school during the day, has limited computer time, and is content with our life and it shows. Does he LOVE school? No, he does not love school, but he does his work. As far as homeschool vs. public school, I have emphasized the pro's and con's of both. He gets to sleep in more, makes his own schedule, and has far more time for other things. He's not part of the rat-race and it suits his low-key personality. We do get out, we run errands, he plays a sport, but he always loves to come home. My younger ds4.5 is a bit more social. He loves being around other kids. He is involved in one outside activity and plays with kids at the park, etc. It's all a matter of your attitude about the whole thing. If you look at it like, "I don't think my child will like sitting home all day....." that will be the tonality of the experience. I don't look at it like my kids sit home all day.

[elegantlion]

My kids don't know any different. My oldest ds9 is busy with school during the day, has limited computer time, and is content with our life and it shows. Does he LOVE school? No, he does not love school, but he does his work. As far as homeschool vs. public school, I have emphasized the pro's and con's of both. He gets to sleep in more, makes his own schedule, and has far more time for other things. He's not part of the rat-race and it suits his low-key personality. We do get out, we run errands, he plays a sport, but he always loves to come home. My younger ds4.5 is a bit more social. He loves being around other kids. He is involved in one outside activity and plays with kids at the park, etc. It's all a matter of your attitude about the whole thing. If you look at it like, "I don't think my child will like sitting home all day....." that will be the tonality of the experience. I don't look at it like my kids sit home all day.

 

 

:iagree: My ds is not a fan of school at this point, but he'd rather homeschool than attend public/private school. The flexibility of homeschooling suits our lifestyle. We only had one car for the last couple of years so we were home during the day. We have a car this year (yeah!) and so I imagine our daytimes outings will increase.

 

We limit TV/computer time during school but we do have some personal down time once we are done with school for the day and he'll usually watch TV then.

[jujsky]

My son will be 6 next week, and he and DD (almost 5) both like it. It's hard to keep DS on-task at times, but he and I both know it would be worse for him at PS than it would be at home! Our situation is different than yours, so we do manage to get out regularly.

 

Could you host a playdate once or twice/week at your house? Maybe you could start a small co-op with other area moms who are homeschooling a child your age.

 

Enjoy your journey :001_smile:

[Sue G in PA]

My children are suffering from the "grass is always greener" syndrome and so my oldest 4 are going back to ps. My 6yo and 4yo will be homeschooled b/c they want to be. They are proud to be homeschooled and will tell you! The baby doesn't have a choice. :)

[Euromom]

He likes to read books and he reads pretty well for his age but he would never read for more than an hour. He doesn't like puzzles or any other games. Computer only and tv . I try hard to limit his computer & tv time... it's just not good ,even if he only plays educational games...

 

We don't know other hs families but I will probably put an ad on craigslist to start a play date with other hs children.

Edited August 3, 2009 by Euromom

[athena1277]

My 6yo dd asked to have school today - it's Sunday! So I guess she likes it pretty well.:D We just started our 2nd year of hs. It has been really great and she loves learning about everything.

 

She doesn't use the computer much, mostly because I use a laptop and don't have a mouse. The touch pad is a bit hard for her. Our problem is too much TV time, but we are trying to cut back.

[TwinMominTX]

I guess first of all, my kids do go to school...at home. They sometimes mention they'd like to go to governmental school, but then we get excited about something - an extended nature study, an afternoon of read alouds or a day of horseback riding and they understand that government schools would preclude doing much of this.

[Jean in Newcastle]

There are aspects of homeschooling that my kids enjoy very much. There are aspects of public school that I'm sure they would enjoy if they were there. Having said that, my ds12 is very much aware of the difference between what he is learning and what his public-schooled peers are learning. And he appreciates homeschooling very much because of it.

 

Dd7 would probably choose public school at this point if she had a choice (which she doesn't). I know however, that she is getting a better education at home. Though I should point out that the better education isn't just because it is at home - but because of the thought I've put into curriculum choices etc. to choose "the best" (or as best as I can find for my particular children).

 

My children do not get to choose how long they are on the computer. Dd7 gets 1 hour of non-school related computer usage a week. Ds12's computer time has recently been lengthened to 2 hours a week.

 

Dd7 will have 15 min. of typing instruction as part of her school this year. Ds12 has about 4 hours of school related computer work - most of it internet research for reports, some typing practice and actually typing of reports.

[Starr]

My dc had very little screen time. I just said no and turned it off. I agree with the other posters, lots of legos, art supplies, building materials, playmobile...We also had an afternoon rest time for at least 1 hour. On the bed with books. Soon your little ones will be more portable. Enjoy!

[TravelingChris]

NOne of my children have wanted to trade homeschool for regular school. I homeschooled one from 2nd grade through graduation, the second is starting her 11th grade, always homeschooled, and the youngest is starting 7th also always homeschooled. Do they love it- parts but they prefer it to the alternative. MOre sleep, less drama, pets, drinks, snacks, etc. all help.

[nukeswife]

My kids love being homeschooled and we don't leave home all that often.

 

They do go to gym class once a week but that's all the outside stuff we have other than weekend family stuff when dh isn't on deployment.

 

My oldest was in PS for k and half of 1st. Earlier this year there was I was telling the kids we had to go to the PS to get my dd a speech evaluation, but they both got a shocked look as said "we don't have to go to school there do we?" I told them not unless they wanted to and they said "No, you scared us"

 

So I would say for now they are perfectly content to stay home and go out the little bit we do.

 

Oh and my kids have unlimited screen time as long as they get their work done and they don't rush through it sloppily just to get it done. This has always been a rule and my kids, so far, have been really good about self regulating.

Edited August 3, 2009 by nukeswife

[David]

My 13yo son would much rather be in school (public or private) with other kids because of the social aspect. He went to private school for his first several years, then to public school for two years, where he was involved in band, was class president, and was active in sports.

 

Probably the social aspect would be less of an issue if:

1) We had homeschooled the entire time

2) We belonged to an active homeschool group (there are many around, but all very religious) or went to church

3) We didn't live way out in the country

 

Still, we're not as mean as he makes us out to be. He plays soccer at a level where he has practice/games 5-6 days a week during the spring and summer, and 2-3 days a week during the entire rest of the year. And at some level, he realizes his soccer -- which is very important to him -- would be much harder to do if he was in public school.

 

I don't know what we'll do for the 2010-2011 school year. He desperately wants to go back to private school, and we want to keep him home to give him a huge jump on college, and life.

 

I'd love to hear how other parents of upper middle school/high school kids cope with their children missing the social aspect of school.

 

About computer time: He would spend every waking moment he wasn't playing soccer on the computer if we let him. I think for the coming year, he will not be allowed any screen time (except for school work) before 6 p.m. or until his school work is finished. Since he has soccer on so many nights, that should dramatically cut down on screen time. Only if we won't let him on the computer will he go for bike rides, read, play with the dog or other animals, walk in the woods, etc.

[Mom22ns]

My son is deliriously happy with homeschooling. He loves loves school!

 

My daughter is looking forward to her first year of homeschooling.

 

Me too!! My kids have been to ps. Dd liked it better than the ds. We pulled ds out first and how much he loved it is part of what has influenced dd to join us.

[Rosie_0801]

He likes to read books and he reads pretty well for his age but he would never read for more than an hour. He doesn't like puzzles or any other games.

 

He will learn to like them. My mother taught us the value of these things by making us clean the bath if we were bored. We only fell for that once! It's amazing how many things we can find to do if the alternative is housework, eh?

 

Rosie

[ncmomo3]

We are beginning our 6th yr. hs'ing and every year my dds appreciate the freedom hsing affords more and more. They are actively involved in curriculum decisions. They are becoming increasingly self-motivated and have no desire to be in that large group type setting which they see as restrictive.

yeah--they really enjoy hs'ing and that is a blessing, as I do fret over their contentment from time to time(as we moms tend to do:tongue_smilie:).

[DaisyMay]

My kids enjoy homeschooling and would not want to go to school. We've talked about options with them, but they don't want to change what we're doing.

 

I don't allow them to do any "screen" time during the week, so that's not an issue for us. They earn screen time to use on the weekend. We have so many other activities during the week that they just don't have time to even think about electronics.

 

Gayle

[Garga]

My son likes homeschool (except for math) and says he really does NOT want to go to a regular school.

 

Regarding your computer issues:

 

At Christmas, my kids (4 and 6 yo) got GameBoys as gifts. They also have a few free games they like to play on the internet. And they love tv.

 

At first, in January, it was getting bad with the GameBoys. They were begging for them non-stop and getting angry when I said no. So, I had to write out (using pictures, because they don't read very well) rules for when they could play with gameboys/online/watch tv.

 

They only play with the GameBoys when I grocery shop at Walmart (they sit in the cart and play) - about 2-3 hours a week.

 

They only play games online with their Daddy about 1/2 hour before bed--if Daddy feels like it.

 

They only watch TV while they eat breakfast and lunch.

 

At first there was anger and dismay. It lasted a couple of days. But I stuck to my guns and they got over it.

 

You'll just need to come up with rules about the computer that fit your needs and stick to them. Turn it off or unplug it when the time is over. Stick to your rules with vigilence. Make sure you have Legos, blocks, k'nex, action figures, cars, washable markers, kid scissors and paper, or whatever else he might like. After a few days, he'll come up with something to do on his own.

[tricia]

So far they all love it. And the older ones tell me they will homeschool their own children. And they don't use the computer at all outside of using the Robinson Curriculum. If I don't have the book they are on then they read from the computer which I don't like but at this point I have no other choice.

[Pamela H in Texas]

my son doesn't like homeschooling, but he most certainly doesn't want to go to school. He tolerates homeschooling so as not to attend public school. My daughter mostly liked homeschooling.

 

As for computer time? Simply limit it. Whatever you feel is reasonable, keep it at that level or lower. If you don't want him playing on the computer more than an hour per day, then don't let him. If you don't want him playing on the computer except the weekends, then he can't. whatever limit you put on it, he'll deal with.

[Gigi]

Each of my children are different and I let one attend public school for a year and he chose to come back. My oldest (14b) talked of going back but we adjusted his school and now is content to stay home.

 

When I started my kids were 7, 5, 3, & 1 and we did a few play dates and that was all. Then they started growing up and we were able to do more things. Every kid is so different and every family. If there comes a time he wants more social/friends then you can search out those opportunities. I don't think you should stress about it unless it becomes an issue.

[abbeyej]

Both kids are happy and have no desire to go to school. They do not spend time on the computer during the school day, and have very limited screen time overall.

[Gigi]

 

I'd love to hear how other parents of upper middle school/high school kids cope with their children missing the social aspect of school.

QUOTE]

 

My 14 yo has a friend who also homeschools and they do certain subjects together. That has been the number one reason he is willing to stay at home. We also started a teen group where they meet twice a month (one outside activity & one "hang out time") and he is in scouts & active in our church youth activities.

 

I know you are out in the country but maybe instead of looking for a group you can find 1-2 other kids do some activities with?

 

For my 12 yo I have to schedule time for him to be with his friends and it is difficult but one of my priorities for him or else he would watch tv all day. He is not good at group situations as he tends to move into the background.

[joannqn]

My kids don't love homeschool either but they would rather homeschool than go to public school. They have no desire to live the public school schedule or be stuck with the public school scope and sequence and repetitive curriculum.

[Michelle My Bell]

Truly, all my children love being homeschooled. I have asked them many times and they have told me many times. I am very blessed.

 

 

We limit computer time, very little for the younger kids and just about 3-4 hours a week for the older two.

 

Michelle

[Janet in WA]

Our sons who were homeschooled both went to ps for a few years (through 3rd and 1st grades). They were quite content to homeschool thereafter, and never asked to go back to "real" school. As for time on the computer -- we limited screen time for them just as we would have had they been students in ps. They abided by those limits and found other things to occupy their time (with my help) when they weren't on the computer/tv/video games. For one thing, they both had daily chores to do before they could even think about turning on the tv or computer.

[skaterbabs]

Dot is a very social little girl; she would undoubtedly ADORE school and getting to play with other children every day. Except for the whole getting up early thing.lol

 

BUT, she's a chronological kindergartener doing first and second grade work. Academically, this would be a wasted year if we sent her to school.

[Rhonda in TX]

We pulled her out of private school in 2nd grade. She used to cry and beg to go back to school. However, last year it finally changed and she started to enjoy it. I think the key is to find out why they're not happy and see if you can find a way to meet that need. My DD really craved more social interaction, so I found a class she could attend. She made friends and was so much happier. I think it also helped for her to be a part of a group of homeschoolers. That way she didn't feel so different and knows that there are a lot of kids just like her.

 

We try not to do any screen time (computer, TV, video games) until school work is done, but I'm sure she still spends too much time on the computer. She does a lot of artwork on there, so I hate to limit it severely. School work has to be done first, though.

 

Oh, I haven't mentioned DS. He's fine with homeschooling and always has been. Well, actually, he doesn't like any type of school, but prefers hsing to public/private school. :tongue_smilie:

[Cindyg]

My son loves homeschool. Seriously. Well, he doesn't love doing the work, but he loves being home, and he loves being "smart' (well educated).

 

He told me the other day that he wants me to "force" him to do more Latin roots. He said, "I know when it's time to study them, I'll say I don't want to. But just ignore that and force me to learn them anyway!" LOL!

[Imprimis]

My 13yo and 10yo both recognize the benefits of homeschooling. My 5yo, who will be starting kindergarten this month, says wants to go to a "real school" so she can ride the school bus...

[MeAndTheBoys]

My boys tell me daily that they would rather do homeschool :) They do NOT want to go to school.

 

We don't stay home every day though; I take them all out at least 3 days a week--even just to Publix to grab a few things, or we'll have doctor's appointments or whatever. I like to be home most of the time, but I like to get out every now and then---- And we have neighborhood kids to play with---

 

So your circumstances may be different. My boys don't spend any time on the computer, and might watch a 30 minute DVD, some days. They mostly just build a lot of block worlds in the playroom :) They have a Leapster and the days they ask (which they usually don't; they forget about it), they play 15 minutes. We are very low tech; I'm the one who spends all the time on the computer :)

 

Betsy

 

Or would he/she rather go to school?

How many hours/day do they spend in the computer?

 

My child is 6 and this is our first hs year. I am concerned he will not like to stay home all the time. I have three other children , including a newborn and a toddler and we cannot go out often... it's just too hard and too many things to pack and worry about . We only go out in the weekend when my husband is home.

 

Also I am concerned my son will spend too many hours in the computer if he stays home all day.

[ChemMommy]

All four strongly liked being taught at home. They gripe about the workload (I require a lot of work) but the 10th grader really sees that he is learning FAR more than his peers, is given more control of his learning, and has more interesting coursework. He also see that he has more time for fun and for sports. My 8th grader considered her peers to be boy-crazy, silly girls, who waste tons of time on trivial stuff. My 4th and 3rd graders just like being at home with me.

 

When they were younger, we didn't go places much: the park, McD's playland, the backyard. All were adventures at that age.

 

Screen time is limited for all kids, although it has crept up in past years.

 

When they were little, they got to watch some PBS-type shows in the afternoon (when I needed a break) but we did more play-in-your-room, read-a-book, play-with-your-siblings kind of activities.

 

My most social child did complain at that age about not having friends but he imagined that school was one be social partytime. He made a few friends through sports and scouts and his complaints eased up.

 

Your 6yo, imho, will not suffer from reduced activities in any long-term way. Your kids will get older and going places will get easier.

 

Stay the course

[2_girls_mommy]

Yes mine do. My oldest (6 also) is very social and outgoing. I do keep her active in activities. That helps. But we have months between activities (like August) where we have nothing going on but church on the weekend and the occasional playdate, and she does fine with that too.

 

We treat screen time the same as it would be if she was in school outside of the house. It is not allowed until all schoolwork is complete. She cannot argue about getting off or just a few more min if she knows it is not allowed on. I am the only one allowed on the computer before school is complete.

 

My 6 yr. old played online for about 30 min. after school this afternoon. Then we ran errands. Now she is watching a Disney cartoon w/her sis. That is all she gets today.

 

It is too hot for outside time until later in the evening right now. So they will get even less screen time come fall when I send them outside until dinnertime.