Pls finish this sentence: "The longer I homeschool, ...

[mirth]

... the [more/less] I find I have to learn from other families who do.

 

(Though I am not sure if the way I wrote it is really a sentence!)

Edited April 25, 2010 by mirth

[jld]

Interesting! It does seem like there is always more to learn. It's good to keep an open mind and thoughtfully consider what others (especially those with more experience) have to say. At the same time, we do seem to eventually settle into patterns that work well for our families, perhaps with some variation for each individual child.

 

Maybe at some point we say, well, that does seem to be a sensible approach for that family, but it probably just isn't the best idea for our family.

[phathui5]

Less, at least right now. I'm comfortable with where our family is in our homeschooling adventure.

[LibraryLover]

None of those speak to me. I learn from families who do intersting things and respect their children. It's got nothing to do with ''more' or 'less'.

[mirth]

None of those speak to me. I learn from families who do intersting things and respect their children. It's got nothing to do with ''more' or 'less'.

 

not applicable, n/a?

[IsabelC]

I think I'd have to say I am learning a lot from others, but not learning from as many others. When we started, I had a lot of concerns, and I did the info overkill thing. I read everything I could lay my hands on. I spoke to everyone I could. I seriously considered everything I read and heard. Now that we've been doing it for a while, I am more confident that I know what's right for my children, and I'm more at peace with the fact that I can't do everything. So, while I still agree that there is much to be learned from others, I am far more selective. I am at the stage where I'm OK with thinking "Well that may work for you, but it's not for us", or even "Yes, there is a book about home education that I haven't read. No, my kids won't be ruined for life if I don't get around to reading this book". :lol:

[Jean in Newcastle]

It goes in spurts for me. Early Elementary - I learned a lot. Later elementary not so much because I was comfortable with what worked for us. Early Middle school - I learned a lot. Later middle school not so much. Early High school (starting late, late middle school) - I plan to learn a lot.

[Peela]

Now that I have teens, I find our path is much more individual to us, and less applicable to others, and other's paths are less applicable to mine. We diverge. So I voted less.

I have done the curriculum junkie thing- I have bought and used and sold a lot of what is out there. I have been obsessed with homeschooling. Nowadays, its just what we do; the kids have some homeschooling frends they see regularly, but their main socialising is through Scouts and Venturers (and i dont know how kids who go to school keep up with the amount of activities that our groups do, every week). We no longer attend what you guys call a co-op.

My life now has other interests. If I didnt come here, I probably would barely ever talk about homeschooling. I stopped going to the curriculum board long ago, and I only visit the high school board ocasionally..mostly, I am happy with what we are doing and dont want to be triggered into buying more curriculum or feeling we are not doing enough. I am spending my spare money on essential oils and health superfoods- thats my "thing" at the moment, and my raw food fling is benefitting everyone with a healthier diet.

There are seasons for everything.

If I had peopel IRL who I was close to who were doing something I admired, I woul be influenced. But I don't. I have been influence by the uniqueness ofsome of the highschool mum's paths with their kids...and I think that is probably what happens in highschool. Real life and academic work, outside classes and part time work form a kind of unique hybrid thing that cannot be replicated, so others experience can only help so much.

[Tap]

N/A but not because I don't learn from others, but because it varies on a day to day and family to family basis.

 

I am learning a lot from other families right now who have kids who have been dual enrolled in highschool/homeschool and college. It is a very expensive time to make mistakes so I take every opportunity to learn from others.

I ask a lot of questions.

 

I have learned over the years to appreciate that what works for someone else most likely won't work for me. I allow my kids to lead their learning much like an unschooler does, but I use quality curriculum also. My kids may want to do just math for a week completing a months work at once or to ditch the day to day curriculum for a while...that is fine with me. I have small goals for academic pursuits in the year, the rest of the time their education is interest lead. So, on one had I am a curriculum junkie and have multiple variations of most subjects. But, we pick and choose what works for each person at different times. Because of this varied approach I can learn from heavy classical methods as well as Charlotte Mason and Unschoolers. The people who I seem to have the least amount in common with are the 'start and stop on a schedule, finish it all' homeschoolers. I appreciate their methods, it just isn't who I am or who dd11 is. Ds15 was more this way, so I have experience with it, but this method speaks more to us right now.

[Carrie12345]

Less. It's undeniable that there is plenty more I CAN (and do) learn, but I'm quite confident that I could happily and successfully graduate my children if everyone else suddenly went mute. ;)

[RoughCollie]

I answered "more" because there is always uncharted territory ahead that I prefer not to navigate alone. By the time elementary school had been completed, I felt like an expert and I wished we could turn back time so I could incorporate all I had learned.

 

I do feel competent to homeschool without help, but I would prefer it because I can't think of everything and lots of people are available to consult.

[Dobela]

 

Less, at least right now. I'm comfortable with where our family is in our homeschooling adventure.

:iagree:

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I put n/a...

since I am still a relatively new homeschooler and I began homeschooling in junior high I find that there are things I can learn from others but the more I learn the more confused and befuddled my brain becomes.

 

I have too much knowledge to claim ignorance but not enough to claim expertise.

[smrtmama]

I'm learning more and more about what NOT to do from other families! I don't even mean that in a spiteful "you're doing it wrong" kind of way, but I'm able to see what curricula really wouldn't work for our situation by watching other families struggle with it, or observe what might be too much in a child's schedule.

[laughing lioness]

I'm not learning much from other home schoolers, per se, but I am still learning tons from other educators: Marva Collins, Rafe Esquith, folks who started the KIPP program, to name a few.

[LG Gone Wild]

Now that I have teens, I find our path is much more individual to us, and less applicable to others, and other's paths are less applicable to mine. We diverge. So I voted less.

I have done the curriculum junkie thing- I have bought and used and sold a lot of what is out there. I have been obsessed with homeschooling. Nowadays, its just what we do; the kids have some homeschooling frends they see regularly, but their main socialising is through Scouts and Venturers (and i dont know how kids who go to school keep up with the amount of activities that our groups do, every week). We no longer attend what you guys call a co-op.

My life now has other interests. If I didnt come here, I probably would barely ever talk about homeschooling. I stopped going to the curriculum board long ago, and I only visit the high school board ocasionally..mostly, I am happy with what we are doing and dont want to be triggered into buying more curriculum or feeling we are not doing enough. I am spending my spare money on essential oils and health superfoods- thats my "thing" at the moment, and my raw food fling is benefitting everyone with a healthier diet.

There are seasons for everything.

If I had peopel IRL who I was close to who were doing something I admired, I woul be influenced. But I don't. I have been influence by the uniqueness ofsome of the highschool mum's paths with their kids...and I think that is probably what happens in highschool. Real life and academic work, outside classes and part time work form a kind of unique hybrid thing that cannot be replicated, so others experience can only help so much.

 

I am sort of along the same lines as Peela only I don't have teens yets and my "thing" is so totally different. I've found the path that I've been searching for since I started homeschooling and it's quite a narrow one. I don't really find other homeschoolers, much less other moms, in my sphere.

[LibraryLover]

I voted n/a. We're in a good place. We do learn from others, but they aren't listed in the poll.

[myfunnybunch]

I wish I could vote for both more and less.

 

I have less to learn from others about practical day-to-day homeschooling. I feel confident, like I have the basics under my belt and know how homeschooling works for our family. So I don't have a lot of questions any more.

 

And, I find myself more and more curious about how others do things and why, about educational philosophies, about lifestyles. I appreciate different perspectives in a new way now that I'm not trying to figure out whether it will work for us.

 

Cat

[lllll]

...

[bookfiend]

I voted less because to "learn" seems to imply observation, inquiry and then CHANGE on my part. So while I'm still very interested in other's experiences, I am more confident in my own choices and no longer influenced to the point of changing our path.

[Denisemomof4]

less. I hear what other's are raving about, and trying to push, that works so well for them. I know our style, I know what works, I know what doesn't work. I don't even like dh's opinion. He pushed TOG for a few years, I absolutely KNEW it wouldn't work, and I know I'm right. I've never tried it, and sorry to offend anyone, but it's the ONE curriculum I'll NEVER recommend to a new homeschooler, or to a veteran who isn't prepared for it.

 

I really only look for advice for things that haven't worked For Us (spelling for older dd) but other than that, I'm on my own by choice. It took me two years to realize this, and I'm in my 12th year of homeschooling.

 

I hate to sound like a snob, but like someone's dh here said, you ask two homeschool moms for an opinion, and you'll get three. I agree. ;)

[mirth]

I think the poll results might be surprising to people who don't hs. But it does confirm something I had long suspected: hs'ing moms fall on the hard-nosed side. Either that, or they think they do. It takes a certain toughness just to go on year after year.