s/o What IS the homeschool "weak spot"?

[Jenny in GA]

Okay, I really enjoyed the thread about writing.

 

A couple people said they thought math and/or science was, generally, the "weak spot" for homeschoolers.

 

 

Anyone care to elaborate on that one?

[KidsHappen]

You know, I would have thought that math would be a weak spot for use because it is not my best subject and therefore I didn't feel that I was the best prepared for teaching it. However, my children must be mathematically inclined as they have all done really well in math. I don't know if they are naturally gifted or if we just got the right programs for them.

[Mom-ninja.]

Keeping my house clean is a weak spot! ;)

 

 

For me, foreign language is a weak spot. Even though I speak the language the kids are learning, I haven't found a curriculum I like.

[Mommyfaithe]

I think the weak spot is deadlines. I am not sure about subject wise, but all in all, I find sticking to a deadline for assignments, tests, finishing texts etc. are a real struggle. My kids had to learn to prioritize and use their time much more efficiently once they began college.

 

It is very difficult for mom to stick to strict schedules when many time LIFE gets in the way. When a student is in school...they are IN SCHOOL. When an adult is at work, they are AT WORK. It is focused time where most everything else can be shut out. When you are home....there are things that come up which can be distracting...postal deliveries, sick parents, sick siblings, emergencies, not to mention dishes, laundry, younger sisters and brothers etc. Me, being the mom take those things into account, and somehow adjust my schedule of academics, or drop assignments, extend deadlines etc. Some of that is extra time for deeper and more thorough understanding, which happens in a homeschool, but NOT in a structured class. Most teacher do not give a fig newton that you grandma is sick, or your baby brother puked on your homework. Due is due...and if it isn't submitted you are punished accordingly.

 

This is our greatest weak spot...from my oldest student, to my youngest. NOT finishing our subjects as planned (or at all)

 

~~Faithe

[1bassoon]

Sticking to a deadline is definitely a homeschool weak spot (pointing the finger at myself, here)

 

It's too easy to "put it off" b/c life got in the way. . . .

[keptwoman]

Science and Art.

Science because I'm flying blind. Thankfully though, DH is pretty handy in this area.

Art because we never seem to actually get to it.

[Wheres Toto]

Definitely keeping the house clean. But, that was a weak spot for me even before we started homeschooling.:glare:

 

Other than that, I don't anticipate any problems with Math or Science (I have a science degree and I'm good at math). Art will probably be a problem if I don't find an outside class because I don't like messy stuff and I'm not very creative. I also think a foreign language will be a problem. I barely passed two years of Spanish in high school and remember very little.

[chiguirre]

I'd say our biggest weakness isn't an academic subject, but rather the ability to deal with boredom and conform in a group. Yeah, I know, those are prime reasons to hs, but I've noticed that dd can be very spacy in a group situation compared to ps kids. She's still the one playing in the sand while fielding in softball, the one picking clover at soccer, the one twirling around while waiting in line at ballet....

 

I do think this will get better as she gets older and spends more time in group activities, but the ps kids definitely are better able to stand still right now. I'm also sure it's not an attention issue because dd is able to complete most of her assignments on her own without me hovering and reminding her to get busy.

[MissKNG]

I think math is going to be the weak spot for ME. I am completely average in math and my big girl is incredibly bright in math. She is out of my comfort level already when it comes to math plus we have different learning styles.

[EKS]

Sticking to a deadline is definitely a homeschool weak spot (pointing the finger at myself, here)

 

It's too easy to "put it off" b/c life got in the way. . . .

 

I'll have to agree with this. Also, it seems so artificial to rigidly enforce deadlines in a homeschool situation. But I'm trying to get better at it.

[FO4UR]

Music. I have to say though, it's a weak spot in most ps's too...so it's a toss up.:glare:

 

I had a very good music education growing up, and there is no way I can reproduce that for my dc without getting out of the house, outsourcing, and figuring out how to make it work.

 

There is nothing to compare to playing in a band or singing in a choir.

 

That said, when I did my student teaching (music ed), I was told (by a teacher I highly respect) that my teaching was great and those kids will always remember the lessons.....BUT, the STUPID TESTS at the end of the year must dictate what I teach and the pace I set. Yep, teaching to the test even in elementary music!!!:glare:

 

It really is a toss-up...best case scenario is a dynamic co-op situation. jmho.

[FriedClams]

Socialization.

 

 

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

 

You knew someone would say it. LOL. And no - I don't see It as a weakness.

Edited April 30, 2010 by Kayaking Mom

[MIch elle]

That's only one of the many reasons I CAN'T homeschool my dc in high school. :tongue_smilie:

Edited April 30, 2010 by MIch elle

[MIch elle]

It was for my older ds when he transitioned from homeschool to school in grade 9. He studied Latin (LCI & II, some of Henle) and felt that didn't help him with French. He said English grammar (R&S) helped him the most.

 

Many kids take Spanish/French in grade 7 & 8 around here (sometimes in gr. 6 too). He struggled with French and still does in gr. 10.

 

For my younger ds, we dropped Latin and are studying Spanish so that he will not struggle with it when he attends high school.

[HRAAB]

My biggest weak spots are consistency and deadlines. I struggle constantly with these. When I'm consistent, stick to an overall set of goals, even math and science come along fine.

 

However, I wouldn't hesitate to outsource either math or science at the high school level to make sure my girls are getting what they need.

[TXMomof4]

I'd say whatever the mom's weak spot is will be the homeschool's weak spot as well.

 

I agree. Deadlines are my weak spot. I'm a procrastinator and I see it in my kids already. It's hard to demand something of your children that you aren't good at yourself. It's possible, but it's hard.

[Peela]

Lots of weak spots here. I wouldn't generalise to say all homeschoolers have them though- just that we tend to b a bit unbalanced. My kids are not doing much higher level sciences altough theyhave a good foudnation if they were to choose o go further. They are both only going for average maths. We did Latin for years and never got very far- but we alway did it for the sake of the doing of it, not to get anywhere, so thats ok. Iwanted to do a modern language but that just hasnt happened.

So, its unbalanced, yet I think I have catered pretty well to my own kids, one of whom is arty/literary and heading toward journalism, and the other is fairly non academic and is constantly working on the basics because his brain is like a sieve.

 

 

What I have noticed is that my kids are a little naive socially. Even though they are very social kids and have lots of friends, they havent had the same saturation with socialsing (which most of us would agree is a good thing) or exposure to the more negative side of teens, as schooled kids. Little things like dd15 trusting at a party recently that she could leave her handbag somewhere in the host's house, even though she only knew half the people there. Her mobile phone was stolen. She has also had a camera stolen at another event. And she gets quite let down when her friend in Venturers "let the team down" by phoning up the day before a big event where they are a team member and saying they cant come. She is not jaded by people the way other kids can be, and is qute trusting and enthusiastic, even though others are already quite "world weary". I suspect this sort of prolonged innocence is quite common in homeschooling circles.

 

I agree music is difficult. My kids have both learned instruments and been in group music situations- but it cant compare to the fantastic choir Iwas in in the private school I went to, that specialised in music. I was just thinking how singing in that choir has had reprocussions all my life, and how much I lvoed it...and how neither of my kids have had that opportunity- or felt drawn to it. Not their destiny I guess.

 

As for deadlines...my kids get a lot of gaps filled in by being in Scouts/Venturers. Dd15 is the vice chairman for our state of the Venturer organisation. She knows all about responsibilities and deadlines and being accountable. Also leadership. She stood up and have a talk in front of 100 kids her age, and it didnt phase her at all. And she has done online courses which have deadlines. So thats not really lacking for us.

 

I think we need to trust that we simply cant give them everything but they are with us for a reason.

Edited April 30, 2010 by Peela

[DarlaS]

Keeping my house clean is a weak spot! ;)

 

 

For me, foreign language is a weak spot. Even though I speak the language the kids are learning, I haven't found a curriculum I like.

 

:iagree:

 

I live in an area (small town) where finding tutors for this kind of thing would be pretty hard too. I don't think my kids are going to get any real instruction in foreign language until they can take community college classes.

[Heather in the Kootenays]

Sticking to a deadline is definitely a homeschool weak spot (pointing the finger at myself, here)

 

It's too easy to "put it off" b/c life got in the way. . . .

 

That would be our weakness too.

[DarlaS]

That would be our weakness too.

 

Oh yeah.... I think we need to make keeping some sort of schedule an academic subject next year. :D

[Lara in Colo]

I'd say our biggest weakness isn't an academic subject, but rather the ability to deal with boredom and conform in a group. Yeah, I know, those are prime reasons to hs, but I've noticed that dd can be very spacy in a group situation compared to ps kids. She's still the one playing in the sand while fielding in softball, the one picking clover at soccer, the one twirling around while waiting in line at ballet....

 

I do think this will get better as she gets older and spends more time in group activities, but the ps kids definitely are better able to stand still right now. I'm also sure it's not an attention issue because dd is able to complete most of her assignments on her own without me hovering and reminding her to get busy.

 

 

This why I pulled my dd out of public school--I think its personallity thing -not a homeschool/ public school thing

 

Lara

[AuntPol]

Our school weak spots

 

*House Cleaning

*Art and Music (do fine on appreciation which I can do but no on hands on which I can't do. My Art program requires too much copying for me (no copier) so it doesn't get done. They do handicrafts though so I don't feel bad. We outsourced music lessons for awhile but kids would not practice w/o a fight, argued every week on lesson day to try and get out it and it just wasn't worth $90 each to deal with that. I think my one will get into more when he's older.

* Spanish (I don't speak it but DH does but I can't get him to help out here by having conversations. He agrees but keeps delaying). My languages are not that practical to teach).

[Country Mouse]

For us it's foreign language because I am not fluent in another language.

[joannqn]

I think it depends on the parent/ teacher.

:iagree:

 

 

In our house, it would be music because neither DH nor I have any knowledge in this and our kids have no interest, so I don't worry about it. It hasn't hurt us to not have musical ability or knowledge. I'll be happy with a survey of composers.

 

Art appreciation/history would be next. I'll be happy with a survey of classical artists. The hands on is fine because I'm pretty crafty/artistic.

 

Lab science is an issue, too. So very many of our experiment attempts do not work out as they are suppose to. I'm hoping to find a way to fix that.

[Liz CA]

I was the primary teacher and neither art nor music figure prominently in my life other than enjoying listening to good music. We did basic note reading and composers. Dh picked up the slack with guitar instruction. I cannot play a single instrument and let's not even talk about singing.

I did get a hold of a small booklet that taught drawing techniques and it was very helpful. Any other art skills ds will have to acquire in college. :001_smile:

 

Joann: There is little paperback book in our library titled something like "100 Science Projects" and their "labs" are pretty reliable in outcome. But it may be too young for your dc. As ds got older, we had very good experiences with the Rainbow Science curriculum - it comes with ALL the ingredients for their experiments.

[lllll]

I said math. I was thinking of most of the math curriculum I've seen over the years, and, also, the kinds of things hs'ed kids seem to excel at or go into.

[Allearia]

I would say foreign language. Foreign language is better started young and practiced daily. Of course this isn't true for some families, but those who have little language background have a hard time teaching it on their own. Hiring a tutor or taking a class is expensive and won't usually provide the daily hearing and speaking of the language. Even though I have background in three languages and lived for a year in a foreign country, my language skills are rusty, I am not proficient in Spanish the one I want to teach, my accent is pretty bad, so we still aren't doing much. I will be attempting to do more this fall when hopefully we can afford some classes/tutor, but with kids at two different ages and wildly different ability levels I am still not sure how effective it will be.

 

On the other hand the Spanish classes I had I high school were pretty terrible, so it is not like school is the answer for everything. I just drool over some of these private schools that start foreign language in Kindergarten and Latin in 6th grade.

[WTMindy]

Art

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

I'd say whatever the mom's weak spot is will be the homeschool's weak spot as well.

 

:iagree: That, and each child is going to have their own weak spot. I didn't think math would be a problem (it wasn't for *me* in school), but it certainly is for my son. But I think most children in public school will have their weak spot, too. Mine was science despite being public schooled.

 

Generally, in our homeschool, it is consistency. But there again, it's my problem, not necessarily homeschooling.

[Jean in Newcastle]

You know what is funny? I would think that math and science would be our weak spot because it is mine. But we have good materials for both (Jacobs and Apologia) and ds12 (7th grade) is doing great even though he has surpassed me in many ways. Art (which I'm good at) is our weak spot because I have a hard time fitting it in. Same with foreign language. I used to teach Japanese for pay but I gave up last year with my kids because again I had a hard time getting to it.

[angela in ohio]

Study skills, from what I have seen, more so that any specific academic area.

[silliness7]

Sometimes I think when our children hit a snag we are very quick to go looking for another curriculum that will be more friendly. I like friendly :001_smile: But there are times we may be missing the character building value of gutting it out.

 

I also struggle with imposing deadlines. LIFE derails us more often than I would like. But I think being accountable to getting a job done to a certain standard by a certain time is a Very Necessary Skill.

 

The ability to gut it out and the ability to meet a deadline...those are my picks :001_smile:

[6packofun]

I agree. The mom's abilities, personality and motivation--or lack thereof--play a huge part. Certain family situations and constraints also factor in.