Ohio12 Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 How important is it to make a long term commitment to homeschooling? I have decided to hs dd for kindergarten next year, but can't make myself commit to it long term. The more research I do, the more excited I get, but it seems so daunting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam "SFSOM" in TN Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 How important is it to make a long term commitment to homeschooling? I have decided to hs dd for kindergarten next year, but can't make myself commit to it long term. The more research I do, the more excited I get, but it seems so daunting! I make a year by year commitment to doing what is best for a particular child a year at a time. Because we moved so much, and because such strange (and ultimately wonderful, I guess) opportunities arose for my kids here and there, I promised myself that I would remain committed to flexibility and excellence. For each of them, it turned out to be four years each of homeschooling and eight years of something else. We'll be doing the same for the 4 y/o as she comes up in years. I love consistency, but I avoid it when it becomes a *foolish* consistency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partyof5 Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I don't think you need to make a long-term commitment. I have always said "we take it year by year" and if it ever became apparent that another option was best for my dd's, then we'd change direction. You have plenty of time to see how things go with kindergarten and decide from there. Best wishes to you! I hope you love learning at home!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 We were several years into it before we made a long term commitment. For now, just take it year by year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 How important is it to make a long term commitment to homeschooling? I have decided to hs dd for kindergarten next year, but can't make myself commit to it long term. The more research I do, the more excited I get, but it seems so daunting! I always say "one child at a time, one year at a time." I have never seriously considered sending my younger boys to school. And I never considered homeschooling the eldest, but there is a ten year age difference. So for me, I take it year by year, and I tell people who ask, "how long are you going to homeschool" that. But in my heart, I am pretty committed to homeschooling for the foreseeable future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I've been homeschooling, one year at a time, for 8 years. I intend to homeschool next year, too. I'm not sure yet whether I'll have 1 student or 2, or whether I will continue to homeschool high school past 9th grade. It depends on what is best for each individual child every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 How important is it to make a long term commitment to homeschooling? I have decided to hs dd for kindergarten next year, but can't make myself commit to it long term. The more research I do, the more excited I get, but it seems so daunting! We've always been a "year-by-year" family, too. Originally, we said we'd hs for preschool and that would be our "test it out" year. It went wonderfully and we continued to K. After K, we evaluated where we were and decided it was all good, so proceeded to grade 1, and so on. Each year, we think about it, we talk about it. Now that ds is older, he gets included in the conversation, somewhat. The only thing we agreed was that if we make the decision to hs for X grade, then we're hsing the whole school term through -- no switching gears mid-year because something isn't working out. The time to evaluate whether or not homeschool is working or not working is not when you are in the middle of a rough spot. It's come to the point now that we feel confident in what we're doing, so that we look at it as a long term committment now. I plan ahead for next year -- heck right now, I'm roughly sketching out general plans for grades 5-8, and ds is just finishing up grade 3! :D Truth be told, I even think about ways that high school might work. However, I know we still take things a year at a time. It's important to evaluate each year on its own merit anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in Orlando Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Another vote for taking the year-by-year approach. We're into our eighth year and have just this year committed to going through high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 We make long range plans but year - by -year commitment. Our plan is to homeschool all the way through h.s., but we also plan to re-evaluate every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 In Dh's words "you couldn't mess her up too much in one semester." It did not take Dh more than a few weeks to see how well homeschooling was working for our family. Even then, we still said that we would "never say never." After a couple of years, we committed to "never public school in CA" We are starting our sixth year homeschooling, and have just in the past couple of years been saying "never public school period." I am not ready to totally rule out private schools. However, since I do not see it being financially feasible any time in the near future AND the fact that one of the main reasons why *I wanted to homeschool was because I enjoy having my children around and seeing them learn new things...I see us homeschooling for the long haul. All that to say, if committing long term is too scary for you, commit to really giving it your best shot, for a short amount of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Agree with the others. Totally unnecessary to make a long term commitment. For me, the only way I was able to jump in was to give myself permission to reevaluate any time I thought the situation warranted it. We pulled our oldest out in 1st grade and she graduates this year :) I don't think I would have made it had I put all that pressure on myself 11 years ago. Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osaubi Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I have not made a long term comitment, but I will standby no public school. The public schools in my area are bad(learning wise). I can say though that my ds and myself are loving homeschooling esp now since we have worked out most of the rough patches. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 We took it year by year, step by step, until it came time to commit to high school. Many of the books I bought were intended to be used for more than one year and I wanted to make sure we knew what we were doing before I made that investment. For three months I must have asked several times a week "are you *sure* this is what you want to do?" So at this point, we're committed through high school. Things may still change -- but I can't imagine what could happen, other than a total disaster, that would change our mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I have not made a long term comitment, but I will standby no public school. The public schools in my area are bad(learning wise). If something happened that we couldn't homeschool and my son *had* to go to public school, it wouldn't be here. We'd move. I don't know where we would go, but it wouldn't be here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I make a year by year commitment to doing what is best for a particular child a year at a time. I initially did make a several year commitment with Calvin - his combination of giftedness and dyspraxia forced me to delay any stress on writing with him, until his coordination had caught up a bit. He had been to school and it was a horrible experience for him. Now that his writing has (mostly) caught up, I am fairly flexible. I assume that I homeschool each year, but if something better came up, or homeschooling started to work less well for either child, I would definitely consider a change. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Well, I am going to answer a little differently than the others. Homeschooling takes huge commitment. (well, not quite so much for K ;)) I agree that you don't need to make a huge "I am going to homeschool through high school" type commitment. But, mentally, I think you need to be prepared for the daily grind, time, and loss of personal space/time that the commitment actually requires. The parent/teacher hat is full of significant rewards, but it can also be full of daily struggles and challenges. W/o some sort of long-term commitment, the bumps may ultimately overwhelm you and may leave you feeling like a failure. The reality is.......conflicts/frustrations/re-evaluations are a reality and part and parcel with homeschooling. With the right frame of mind/commitment......you will be able to ride through them and keep perspective of their insignificance in the larger scheme of your child's education/formation. I'm not sure that if I hadn't made some serious commitment to making homeschooling work, if I would have even survived a yr. :) I have been homeschooling 14+ yrs and I am actually becoming less committed to homeschooling long term (high school specifically)......so I definitely agree that long term, no other option, type mentality is not needed. But it does require a mental shift of some sort.....at least it did for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 We were several years into it before we made a long term commitment. For now, just take it year by year. Same here. At a certain point, we were so far off the beaten path that we had pretty much set our path, anyway. We are a little different than most homeschoolers, I know, but we have committed to do this long term. Anyway, I agree with Kelly, give it a few years first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in Central TX Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I don't think you need a long-term commitment to homeschooling. Many (if not most) homeschooling moms and dads that I know take it on a year-by-year basis. However, I felt a conviction to homeschool through high school the minute we made the decision to homeschool after reading TWTM. I won't say that I don't waiver from this commitment because I do; some days are just more challenging than others. In addition, I was very tempted this summer to enroll my boys in a local private school that uses most of the curricula that I do. I would have had a paying job there on top of full tuition coverage for 2 of our 3 boys. It was extremely tempting, but DH stood firm on our conviction to homeschool until all 3 boys were graduated. I did let my emotions run away with me for a little while, but when it came down to it, I just could not imagine sending my boys off to school. I'm a planner, so our long-term vision to homeschool works very well with my personality. The research and excitement increase my desire to homeschool. Since you find this aspect daunting right now, more than likely a year-to-year commitment works best with your personality. In addition, as you become more confident with homeschooling, your vision might change. If not, rest assured that a yearly commitment will still enable you to be a successful homeschooler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I'm with Momof7. How important is it to make a long term commitment to homeschooling? I have decided to hs dd for kindergarten next year, but can't make myself commit to it long term. The more research I do, the more excited I get, but it seems so daunting! While I don't think you need to have a long term commitment to initiate homeschooling, I think that a commitment to it becomes important. Making a counter cultural choice often means living with the *cultural choice* as the constantly looming default. "School" is so indoctrinated in our culture and in many ways, we don't even see it. Even homeschoolers organize groups and activities to mimic/mirror the activities available if their kids were in school. Many homeschoolers still operate as though Public School is the gold standard. When public school looms as the other option, it becomes the solution when your homeschool hits a bump in the road. Without a commitment to approaching life/education through the homeschooling paradigm, it becomes difficult to continue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Our commitment is to homeschool all the way through. I have a general outline through the end of where we want to be but I am flexible and revamp my plans regularly. The big commitment is like Mom of & 7 said to take homeschooling as a serious endeavor and as not something to take lightly. I do think that if you are going to homeschool you need to commit to it. Whether that commitment is for 1 year (and keep them on ps standards) or for a long-term (follow your own course). You have to decided that homeschool teaching is your job/career and you need to make it a priority, set time/routines, have a plan/stuff that you do, and keep your records. If you homeschool it comes first before the housework, the nosy neighbors, the interrupting phone calls, etc. But homeschool is also flexible enough that you can take it on the road or to help care for Aunt Mable who bedridden. You have to commit to doing the work, getting it done and keeping the records that your state requires and once you get to Jr. High keeping transcripts and portfolios even if you don't think your kid is going to go to college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 While I have a strong desire to homeschool through highschool, I am still taking it one year at a time. My dh is not as passionate about hsing as I am. He started talking about putting the kids in school last summer. So I am very much aware that our situation is very much a year by year thing. Julia mom of 3 (8,7,5) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 We make long range plans but year - by -year commitment. Our plan is to homeschool all the way through h.s., but we also plan to re-evaluate every year. This is our approach, too. Life is too variable for me to say for sure what we'll be doing 10 years from now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Well, I jumped on the "all the way through" bandwagon pretty quickly. I was willing to look at options, of course, but homeschooling was our default. I was going to make homeschooling work period. But I definitely think it may be easier for some first timers with very young kids to say "we'll see how this goes." And things change as time goes by. We didn't use a full curriculum before but then did with my daughter in 7th grade. It was only one grade though. The virtual academy opened here and my son has done 7th grade that way and will be doing 8th grade that way also. We HOPE that they open high school by the time he's ready for that. It is a good situation for him. So be open to options :) One consideration: Don't go back and forth to an extreme. I wouldn't necessarily commit to a whole year because if you aren't doing right at home, school is better and if something awful is going on with school, then you need to get kiddo home. But the back and forth a couple times per school year is not a good idea. I've seen it twice and both times the kids' education suffered GREATLY (being several levels behind, not having foundational skills/tools/information, self-esteem issues, etc) as well as their behavior. But you aren't going to hurt a Kindergartener just about no matter what. And if you would like to get your feet wet this year and make the decision for 2009-2010 next Spring, I think that is perfectly reasonable :) Just remember that homeschooling DOES take some time to get used to and you are going to have doubts along the way. Keep coming back for support :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I always say "one child at a time, one year at a time." I have never seriously considered sending my younger boys to school. And I never considered homeschooling the eldest, but there is a ten year age difference. So for me, I take it year by year, and I tell people who ask, "how long are you going to homeschool" that. But in my heart, I am pretty committed to homeschooling for the foreseeable future. This describes us also!! I can still remember a conversation where dh and I both acknowledged that we would realistically homeschool all the way through. I can remember how relieved I was that we were on the same page. But, we also are willing to not homeschool if that seems best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I agree. I started out hsing as a stop-gap until we could get into the private school we wanted. Along the way, my older son decided he liked it and wanted to continue it, so we did. He visited the private school several times, but ultimately always decided to stay home. When he became a teen and was more dissatisfied with his options at home, we allowed him to return to a private high school. My younger son wanted to come home from Montessori for first grade. Right now, he seems committed to staying home. If that changes as he gets older, then we'll regroup and go from there. We can only school one year at a time, so I try not to worry about the rest, Regena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 While I don't think you need to make a long term commitment, new homeschoolers need to know that it takes at least a couple of years to get your feet under you. Our fourth year was the first year I felt like I was doing it...and doing it well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raders Fan Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Great advice from everyone here. Up through 8th grade, you can choose to return your child to ps without any major difficulties. But once your child is in high school, the high school can decide whether to accept or reject any work that student has completed. Once you start homeschooling for high school, it seems you have to be committed to it, or risk having your student repeat work in order to gain credit. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkInTheBlue Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I would say at the beginning it was a commitment and now it's split between commitment and year-by-year. That's only because of the changed happening in my 11yr old makes for some stressful days and that makes me pretty sad and frustrated at times. Would we be better or worse if I put private school in with the mix? I don't know. I'm very torn right now and putting any of the guys in school would really throw a wrench into our lives. I love us all being home and learning together and I believe I'm offering the best option for the personalities and education. Can you tell I'm a bit torn lately? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I make a year by year commitment to doing what is best for a particular child a year at a time. This has been true for us too, and it has worked out well. Do your first year and then see where you stand and go from there. Enjoy the experience! Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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