What made you decide to afterschool?

[DianeW88]

I have always been a full time homeschooler and none of my children has ever attended a traditional school (public or private). My oldest is 19 (graduated from homeschool) and my youngest is 9. That info was just for reference. :D

 

I read the blog referenced in "waxing philosophical" and I guess I didn't quite understand the point she was trying to make. No, afterschooling isn't homeschooling, but who cares? I personally don't know any afterschoolers....at least none who've made me aware of it, anyway.

 

My question is why afterschool? And, I don't mean this to be snarky in the least little bit, I'm genuinely interested in why you've made this choice? Do you feel your public schools aren't adequate and if so, why keep your child enrolled at all? Again, not being judgemental, just curious. Are you nervous about homeschooling and feel you need the "back up" of a public/private school? Do you have family who are opposed to homeschooling?

 

And, how excited is your child to do more schoolwork after spending a full day in public school? I can tell you that I would meet with a brick wall of resistance. :lol: Do you ever feel like you are requiring too much of your child by doing this?

 

These are just questions I've been wondering about since first learning of "afterschooling". I often get comments from other moms who say things like "I wish I could homeschool, because Susie just isn't getting what she needs at our public school, but I can't." I'm thinking this might be a good alternative for folks in that position and I'd like to be able to provide them with good info about it if I can.

 

TIA

 

Diane W.

married for 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[MBM]

My question is why afterschool? And, I don't mean this to be snarky in the least little bit, I'm genuinely interested in why you've made this choice? Do you feel your public schools aren't adequate and if so, why keep your child enrolled at all? Again, not being judgemental, just curious. Are you nervous about homeschooling and feel you need the "back up" of a public/private school? Do you have family who are opposed to homeschooling?

 

The reasons I afterschool:

 

To shore up weak subjects. For example, grammar was fine in the younger years, but then the school switched to a program that I think is horrible, so at home we use Rod and Staff, oral lessons. The school uses a good science curriculum, but the teacher, who left this year (hooray), slacked off too much, IMO. The school's history and literature classes are really good. They're similar to what SWB suggests, and the teacher is like a modern-day Mr. Chips. So, some things are good while others need improving.

 

To supplement subjects. My son (in 8th) really loves math and takes advanced classes at the high school, but his favorite curriculum is AoPS which he does because he wants to do it. We don't assign it at all. I'm not complaining!

 

To add subjects not taught at school. That would be Latin. We try to keep lessons light.

 

To make sure certain good books are read. We read Shakespeare together so that we can see the plays in Chicago at the Shakepeare Theater, which I highly recommend to anyone reading this.

 

And, how excited is your child to do more schoolwork after spending a full day in public school? I can tell you that I would meet with a brick wall of resistance. :lol: Do you ever feel like you are requiring too much of your child by doing this?

 

He comes home, throws his backpack up in the air and shouts, "Yippeeee! Bring on more school work." Oh, wait, that was a dream I had. :D

 

Seriously, it really doesn't take us too much time, and since we started some of this in the early years, I think it just feels natural to all of us. Most of the work during the school year gets done on weekends with reviews during the week. Also, because the school teaches some of this to a degree, we don't have to belabor some topics. Summers are heavier, and in high school, I suspect what we do now will be dramatically curtailed.

[LibrarianMom]

My question is why afterschool? And, I don't mean this to be snarky in the least little bit, I'm genuinely interested in why you've made this choice? Do you feel your public schools aren't adequate and if so, why keep your child enrolled at all? Again, not being judgemental, just curious. Are you nervous about homeschooling and feel you need the "back up" of a public/private school? Do you have family who are opposed to homeschooling?

 

I first heard of afterschooling as an official term in the WTM. I think I always knew I would, but SWB gave me confirmation and encouragement. I afterschool for several reasons. First, I have chosen to work outside the home in a ministry-related position at a Christian college. Second, there are subjects the curriculum doesn't cover thoroughly or at all at the younger grades. Finally, enrolling my children in school does not mean I have washed my hands of their education. It is still my job to see that they obtain a good education.

 

And, how excited is your child to do more schoolwork after spending a full day in public school? I can tell you that I would meet with a brick wall of resistance. :lol: Do you ever feel like you are requiring too much of your child by doing this?

 

My children see it as a special time with mom and dad. We emphasize reading aloud, games, and projects. Workbook pages are usually done orally rather than written.

[EmilyK]

Happy to expand, but I'll try not to go on and on.:001_smile:

 

For me:

 

-- homeschooling is tough because my husband isn't supportive and I work (part time) outside the home. The latter could be gotten around, but me working outside the home is really important to my husband and our relationship.

 

-- I have one kid in public school and one now in private. Our neighborhood public school is perfect for us in terms of values, diversity etc. I think it is/was a great social experience for my kids. There is zero bullying and complete acceptance of my older son's quirks. They've/we've met and befriended people very different from us. The school is diverse economically, racially, language spoken at home, different family configurations etc. The teachers are mostly smart and amazing people. The problem? So much time is spent on tolerance -- and there's such a range of ability levels -- and no one wants to make any kid feel behind. So it is not challenging, especially for kids like my older one, and doesn't really cover things we have a passion for like history and science. I really got into WTM when my son was begging for more about history in K and i was looking for resources. I also had the feeling there was so much I wanted him/ them to know that wasn't being covered.

 

--We now do less formal afterschooling. At my laziest, it is mostly about creating a family culture of learning. Schoolwork takes more time as they get older, plus they are developing good passions for music, art, dance etc that I want to encourage (and I see as part of afterschooling). So we are doing way less in the way of workbooks (and they used to be mostly oral).

 

--We still do a lot of educational vacations and local museum visits, audiobooks, music, reading, documentaries etc. I get a lot of ideas from here.

 

A good book for your friend would be Raising Lifelong Learners.

[easygoer]

I am on the cusp of this decision, so I'm not very qualified to answer.

 

If my DD goes to public school next year, it will be for 100% logistical reasons, not educational (because I fear homeschooling or something.) My family is in a time of tough decisions, and that may be the best pragmatic plan for next year.

 

I feel that the public school system, and also compulsory 'typical' school as we now know it, is a less-than-ideal model for the individual (but good overall for society that it exists.) But life is sometimes less-than-ideal and this is one of those years for us. And I think children are remarkable at thriving in the less-than-ideal, too.

 

Our plans will be to continue as we have, with a lifestyle of learning and close attention to creating an environment and opportunities to expose her to...blah, blah, blah :glare: I've also felt like if I am organized and structured carefully, myself, her life flows pretty organically and we fairly seamlessly hit all the 'lessons' I've arranged (she's young, keep that in mind.) You can see in my signature what she's working on, and it's working for us fairly well on a CM-type 10-minute-at-a-time-ish schedule, with content subjects making a nice 30-60 minute read/discussion/project/game/whatever once or twice a week apiece.

 

For your friend, this book might also be helpful:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Learning-Education-Without-School/dp/0471349607

[easygoer]

I don't know why I didn't think before...the E.D. Hirsch books (Books to Build On, What Your X Grader Should Know) are absolutly written on this 'afterschool paradigm' (whatever it is.) They are something I'd recommend to anyone.

[PenKase]

My question is why afterschool?

 

 

We have always afterschooled. When my first daughter was a preschooler my dh and I came up the ridiculous notion that we could teach her how to read before starting Kindergarten. We figured this would give her a strong advantage and set her on a successful path in her education. We were indeed successful and figured, "hey, if this worked out so well why not keep going?" Haven't looked back since. Afterschooling is woven into the fabric of our family life since our dc could remember. They know it is expected of them and they realize it helps them perform better in school.

 

 

 

Do you feel your public schools aren't adequate and if so, why keep your child enrolled at all?

 

Our public schools are indeed very adequate but also overcrowded. We live in a richly diverse area and as a multicultural family it is high priority that we expose our dc to such an environment. Unfortunately our schools are also overcrowded. I afterschool as a way to ensure that my children have as little holes as possible in their education.

 

If you are not involved as a parent your children will fall through the cracks, whether you choose to send your dc to school or homeschool. It has been imperative for my dh and I to be known in our school disctrict and assert our expectations and needs with regard to our dc's education. Just because we chose to send them to school does not mean we have given up control of how we want our children to be educated. They've had excellent teachers and wonderful experiences so far. They are thriving and they are happy. If that changes, we will adjust accordingly and find other solutions, homeschooling being one of them. Ultimately we strive to help our children become well rounded, independent learners.

 

 

 

 

And, how excited is your child to do more schoolwork after spending a full day in public school? I can tell you that I would meet with a brick wall of resistance. :lol: Do you ever feel like you are requiring too much of your child by doing this?

 

Although my dc are in school for 6 hours a day, they are not being "schooled" the entire time. They spend an a good amount of time in transition, waiting in line to go to lunch and come back from recess, 1-2 specials per day, plus any disruptions there may be in class. However, because I do realize that they are away for 6 hours, I am very careful with the amount of seatwork I expect them to do once they get home. Really, the only workbooky stuff they do are math and my dd6 loves her ETC books. Other than that we read, read, read, discuss, discuss, discuss and experience, experience, experience whenever possible!!! If my dc have a heavy school workload any particular day or week I know to back off. I also take full advantage of weekends, days off and vacation days. Mind you, we never sit down to do "work" more than 1-2 hours at a time. It's amazing how much more time there is to do things when you turn the t.v. off!!

 

I suppose my dc are like any other children in that they push back on what they don't like and eagerly do the things they do like. For example, my dd10 is not a math lover, only a math tolerator. Math is definitely an area that she needs to keep working on so that she continues to grow. At the rate of speed that topics are introduced and worked through at school, there is no way my dd could gain enough momentum to gain strength in this area. So, we afterschool math heavily. I figure I'd end up having to pay a tutor to help her so why not access and utilize the wonderful curricula out there to help her myself. Enter Math Mammoth, which she actually now enjoys doing.

 

 

I end this ridiculously long post with this:

 

School ended this year at the end of June. We went on vacation for a week and then had a visit from my parents for another two weeks. Although we got some work done, it was nowhere near what I had planned for this summer. A couple of weeks ago, when I announced that we were going to start our "smartwork" as we call it here, my dds both replied, "finally!" When I asked them if they missed it they said, " yes, things just aren't the same without it."

 

I nearly fell out of my chair!!

[PenKase]

I don't know why I didn't think before...the E.D. Hirsch books (Books to Build On, What Your X Grader Should Know) are absolutly written on this 'afterschool paradigm' (whatever it is.) They are something I'd recommend to anyone.

 

Ditto.

[OrganicAnn]

I would say that I was afterschool. I remember saying when I was in High School that I was learning as much outside of school as I was in school. I think of afterschooling as involved parenting with a little extra academics thrown in.

 

We decided this year my DD 6 will go to a local Catholic School. She has some fine motor skill issues. So we will be working on handwriting. And we will be working on whatever issues arise in school. Also we are doing some Spanish.

[LimitBreak]

My son will be in 1st grade this September and attends a public school.

 

My question is why afterschool? And, I don't mean this to be snarky in the least little bit, I'm genuinely interested in why you've made this choice? Do you feel your public schools aren't adequate and if so, why keep your child enrolled at all? Again, not being judgemental, just curious. Are you nervous about homeschooling and feel you need the "back up" of a public/private school? Do you have family who are opposed to homeschooling?

One of my strengths is teaching, which was NOT known to me until a few years ago. There were clues along the way. For example:

* As a teenager, I would visit teacher supply & office supply stores & just salivate over the supplies.

* I would go to the kids section of bookstores and fantasize about the books I would buy for my future children.

* I've been working for the same company for the past 11 years & I finally noticed this pattern: I am very effective at hiring, training and motivating. In my spare time, I was constantly researching new ideas on methods of training & motivating the staff.

 

Unbeknown to the above clues, when I became pregnant I made a decision that I would teach my child at home instead of enrolling him in preschool. I taught him to read & write, with a little help from my husband and a lot of help from my side of the family.

 

I then started discovering the homeschool community online. I brought up the idea to my husband, but he was not buying it. It took me a long time to get over the fact that we were going to enroll my son in ps. I was a little devastated because I had all these good ideas from WTM and ideas online that I really wanted to try. My husband did not have the same passion for teaching as I did. He also wanted my son to socialize with the kids in school...he was afraid that he wouldn't be exposed to other kids as much if we hs. I tried convincing him that there were plenty of homeschoolers that he could socialize with...we just needed to connect with the community.

 

Alas, I was defeated. I didn't want to go ahead with hs with a reluctant husband. It just wouldn't work, especially when I had a full-time job & the SOLE breadwinner. I can't quit my job because I need the group health insurance plan so that both my husband & son can have coverage for their pre-existing conditions.

 

I made a decision that I would "homeschool part time". The only reason why I thought about the word "part-time homeschooling" was because I didn't have a Term/Word for what I was doing (which I felt was very unique :D). I didn't have a word for my Teaching Experiments. I then came across the forum here and discovered they call it Afterschooling. So then I referred to myself as one.

 

I really didn't think that what I was doing at home was "homework help" or "supplementing". My relatives on my side of the family all value education & they are always supplementing with worksheets & books and they are all expected to graduate from college & become doctors, dentists & lawyers. Study, study, study!

 

But what I'm doing with my son is a little different. I read books about different teaching methods. I try them on my son. I observe my son 24/7, I'm always trying to figure out who he is so that I can expose him to the appropriate activities & the appropriate books.

 

During family gatherings, we share with each other our children's accomplishments. I always hear that so and so won 3rd at the District Math Challenge or so and so beat out students older than them to win the District Spelling Bee or that they won the Karate Tournament.

 

When it's my turn, I always get puzzled looks & no responses. Maybe it's my lack of verbal ability, however I just don't think they understand my excitement for the Singapore Math Method or the MEP Method. Or how I finally gave up Spelling Workout & am now currently experimenting with a mix of McGuffey Reader/Quizlet/Vocabulary Games...etc :lol:

 

And, how excited is your child to do more schoolwork after spending a full day in public school? I can tell you that I would meet with a brick wall of resistance. :lol: Do you ever feel like you are requiring too much of your child by doing this?

There are days that he won't cooperate but that is the Beauty of it...knowing when to back off & knowing when to throw in a challenge. I am only concentrating on Math, Music and English...I haven't been able to figure out how to fit the rest of the subjects & probably won't.

 

I also am thankful that I have a flexible job. I have my career work around my Family Schedule :D

 

Mia

[Word Nerd]

For me it was a matter of practicality, as I had to return to the workforce after homeschooling 3.5 years.

[DianeW88]

Wow, thanks everyone for your great responses! I feel like I understand where you're all coming from a lot better now. I really had no concept of what afterschooling actually was....or why you would even choose that for your child. I now consider myself enlightened. :D Thank you again for answering my questions.

 

Diane W.

married for 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[MBM]

...I'd like to be able to provide them with good info about it if I can.

 

Another book that I found helpful is The Educated Child: A Parent's Guide From Preschool Through Eighth Grade by William Bennett, Chester Finn, and John Cribb. It's what I initially used to judge what our prospective schools were doing.

 

Count me as another fan of the E.D. Hirsch books, too.

[mich311e]

Another book that I found helpful is The Educated Child: A Parent's Guide From Preschool Through Eighth Grade by William Bennett, Chester Finn, and John Cribb. It's what I initially used to judge what our prospective schools were doing.

 

Count me as another fan of the E.D. Hirsch books, too.

 

I also read The Educated Child and the E.D. Hirsch books and recommend them.

 

Like someone else mentioned, I got the idea that I could teach my kid to read in preschool. And I did. I think the products Hooked on Phonics makes could be a gateway for the average parent to venture in to Afterschooling. :) At least they were for me. My son finished Hooked on Phonics kindergarten level reading before he started kindy. He did Hooked on Handwriting, he's done counting and spelling through HoP products. Then I discovered Kumon books and Singapore math....oh my! ;)

 

We make conscious decisions to choose great books. We visit the library often. We watch educational programs as a family and limit mind-numbing television. We visit museums often. Maybe those are more parenting things than afterschooling.

 

Is my son always excited about it? Not always. Reading and phonics work is just part of our routine so he never complains about that. For the summer I tried to do math 2 or 3 days a week, just a few pages from the text and workbook. I got my son to do copy work a few times this summer, lol. ;) Any reading we do in history and science is usually well received. So far he's loved his exposure to Egyptian times, Greek myths, the American Revolution, etc. I wouldn't have known to even read these subjects with my 4 or 5 year old if I hadn't stumbled upon afterschooling.

 

As far as the why.. Well, you always read that boys are falling behind in schools and I was sure that wasn't going to happen to my kid. So teaching him to read well was something I could do to make sure that wouldn't happen. And then you read about how the young people of today don't know their math facts and don't know how to write. If there is any way I can help out and make sure that doesn't happen to my kid I'm going to try it.

 

I don't homeschool because I work full time, as does my husband. It's nice to know we have that option if we ever needed it.

[ack25]

Another book that I found helpful is The Educated Child: A Parent's Guide From Preschool Through Eighth Grade by William Bennett, Chester Finn, and John Cribb. It's what I initially used to judge what our prospective schools were doing.

 

 

 

 

I also strong recommend this book!

There are also tons of suggestions for what a parent can do at home....afterschooling!

[Alessandra]

I have two dc in an excellent ps, but there was never a time when we did not do some kind of afterschooling (although I didn't know the term when we began).

 

-- I think we school partly because I enjoy the interaction of mutual learning with dc.

 

-- ps essentially has no decent literature component, and I like reading aloud.

 

-- We build on ps, coordinating science & history with what they do at school.

 

-- I add some basic math, reading comprehension etc, but nothing intensive.

 

What Emily wrote about a "family culture of learning" would apply to our family too.

 

We now do less formal afterschooling. At my laziest, it is mostly about creating a family culture of learning. Schoolwork takes more time as they get older, plus they are developing good passions for music, art, dance etc that I want to encourage (and I see as part of afterschooling). So we are doing way less in the way of workbooks (and they used to be mostly oral).

 

--We still do a lot of educational vacations and local museum visits, audiobooks, music, reading, documentaries etc. I get a lot of ideas from here.

 

A good book for your friend would be Raising Lifelong Learners.

 

We use Core Knowledge. And, btw, the Lifelong Learners book is a favorite of mine.

[Shay]

Why afterschool? Watching Jay Leno's street interviews :lol:.

 

Seriously, like many of you, I've been inspired by Hirsch and TWTM (oh, and Ravitch, and the list could go on). But, the intense desire of my oldest to learn all he could was the real driving force. For the most part, I'm satisfied with my kids' ps or else we wouldn't be there. The biggest piece that is missing, though, is history and geography ('cause it isn't tested??).

 

Since many have mentioned Core Knowledge in this thread, I thought I'd mention that I am beginning to use a guide (The Artner Guide, sold by Memoria Press) to help us learn US history. Artner's utilizes the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade books of the "What Your __grader Needs to Know" series. This is recommended for grades 3-8. US history is broken into 8 units and you utilize many Landmark books as well as listings of historical fiction. There are suggestions for memory work with each unit as well as poetry, songs and famous phrases such as "Go west young man!"

 

I'm only AS'ing history and will combine my 2nd -6th graders with this. I'll also have my 9th grader do some of the advanced readings. My kids are not up for much of anthing other than a good read aloud after school, and I think this will fit the bill well. Since we are ps'ers and have to deal with Accelerated Reader, I've looked up all the in-print titles and found the ones with available AR tests and levels/points and have marked up my guide. The kids have to get so many AR points anyway, and they can earn them from read-alouds as well as reading some of these independently.

 

I need to get The Educated Child (Bennett, Finn, Cribb), so thanks for the recommendation~I haven't read that one:001_smile:.

[Maverick_Mom]

It's been a while since we after-schooled -- the child whom I afterschooled is almost through with college. But the reason I did it was because I felt that there were gaps in what she was learning in school. Not in terms of the basics (although I did do some occasional grammar with her) -- it was more in terms of things like music, art, poetry, reading classic literature.

[Shay]

Another book that I found helpful is The Educated Child: A Parent's Guide From Preschool Through Eighth Grade by William Bennett, Chester Finn, and John Cribb. It's what I initially used to judge what our prospective schools were doing.

 

Count me as another fan of the E.D. Hirsch books, too.

 

So glad our library had a copy of this...it is wonderful, thanks for mentioning it! Mastering a particular body of knowledge is not held in high esteem here at our school. I love this from p. 588 in the "Skills Versus Knowledge section":

 

"The problem with this rationale, of course, is that skills don't help students much without knowledge to apply them to. No child can think critically or conceptually about U. S. History, for example, if she doesn't know who George Washington was, or what took place at the Constitutional Convention. Without basic information, all you're left with is uninformed opinion. Knowledge is to skills as bricks are to mortar. You need both for sturdy intellect."

 

IMHO, our school is turing out great numbers of graduates with "uniformed opinions." One member of our school board researched and kept pushing Core Knowledge to our administration (they didn't even know about it) and the admin. viewed it as "just a set of things you should know, or facts" and viewed it is "lower than us." I will tell you that my kids are appalled at what kids they are in class with do not *know*! (And my 9th grader is finding the young teachers are lacking, too).

[mich311e]

 

Since many have mentioned Core Knowledge in this thread, I thought I'd mention that I am beginning to use a guide (The Artner Guide, sold by Memoria Press) to help us learn US history. Artner's utilizes the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade books of the "What Your __grader Needs to Know" series. This is recommended for grades 3-8. US history is broken into 8 units and you utilize many Landmark books as well as listings of historical fiction. There are suggestions for memory work with each unit as well as poetry, songs and famous phrases such as "Go west young man!"

 

 

 

Is this the guide? http://www.amazon.com/Artner-Readers-Guide-American-History/dp/193095316X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282757048&sr=8-1

 

So just one book covers 3 - 8 grade? The way you are describing it sounds great. I do plan on using books this way to cover history and science after school style. They simply don't cover enough of this in school, I don't believe they can.

 

Thanks!

[Shay]

Yes, that is it. They also suggest you use Everything You Need to Know About US History along with the 3-6 Core Knowledge books.

 

This is a guide only, with no daily lesson plans~so this may not be for some who like a more detailed plan. It is a 50 page slim guide. For afterschooling, that is what I'm wanting. I've gone through my guide and listed all those titles that there are AR tests for, so that we focus on those. Since many listed are OOP, there aren't AR tests. Many of the books are also recommended books by Beautiful Feet.

 

It goes like this:

Unit 1: Exp. & Settlement (Core Knowledge 3rd Grader)

Unit 2: Colonial Period (CK 3rd Grader)

Unit 3: War of Ind. & New Gov. (CK 3rd grader and 4th grader)

Unit 4: Nat. Devel. & Westward Expan. (CK 4th Grader and 5th Grader)

Unit 5: Civil War & Reconstruction (CK 5th Grader)

Unit 6: Ind. Rev. & Rise of Amer. Leadership (CK 5th grader)

Unit 7: Boom, Depression, & WWII (CK 6th grader)

Unit 8: American Century (CK 6th grader)

 

I have no idea how long this will take us, but I hope 2 years max. Some units we will spend more time on.

 

Some of the Landmarks that were OOP are back in print now. Also, I will have to tread a little more lightly with my 8yo, and I plan on having him read lots of the Childhood of Famous Americans books.

 

HTH! Feel free to pm me also.

[mich311e]

This is a guide only, with no daily lesson plans~so this may not be for some who like a more detailed plan. It is a 50 page slim guide. For afterschooling, that is what I'm wanting.

 

HTH! Feel free to pm me also.

 

I totally agree with you, this helps a bunch. Thank you so much for the tips!

[BabyBre]

Do you feel your public schools aren't adequate and if so, why keep your child enrolled at all?

 

Yes. Dh insists on it.

 

Are you nervous about homeschooling and feel you need the "back up" of a public/private school?

 

Not in the slightest. I'd give my right foot to homeschool again. I've never not taught them at home.

 

And, how excited is your child to do more schoolwork after spending a full day in public school?

 

 

Our lessons at home are far more thorough and rigorous than those they receive at school, so I teach them before school. Dc are truely held to very little accountability in their classrooms, but the days are long. I wouldn't dream of asking them to do in the afternoons what they do in the mornings.

 

Some subjects they enjoy more than others, of course. History is both of dc's favorite and they beg to read from history together before bedtime. :)

 

Do you ever feel like you are requiring too much of your child by doing this?

 

 

Occassionally, but I also volunteer in their classrooms and work in their school and so I see quite well what it is that goes on there (or doesn't, as the case may be). That's all the reassurance I need that, while they're working harder than most of their peers, it's the right thing to do for them. And it's clear that it pays off.

[Tullia]

We moved from afterschooling (K-3) to full-time home school (4-12). We decided to afterschool because the ps math instruction was deficient. Also, I believe that even "good" schools tend to focus so much on the "parts" that students often enter adult life without a sense of the role education can play in their lives. Both homeschooling and afterschooling can help give students a larger perspective on academics.

 

My son was usually too tired at the end of the day to do very much of what I would describe as formal academics. So, with the exception of math we focused on reading aloud with discussion, nature journals, and field trips. We did most of our "work" in a fairly relaxed informal way during school breaks and on weekends.

 

Every situation is different. As the years went by, we found more subjects where we felt the school curriculum was inadequate. After a few years we reached a tipping point and decided to homeschool. Also, my dh was all for hs'ing early on, but I didn't think it was a good idea. I'm not sorry we afterschooled. We had a lot of fun with our activities, and the ps teachers did an outstanding job of teaching ds to read--something I didn't think (at the time) I had the patience to do well.

[OlgaLA]

I afterschool my daughter because the PS curriculum is inadequate and way too focused on test preparation. I also want her to learn languages now. I don't homeschool mainly because my English is not good enough and PS works as an immersion environment. I just don't see how I can provide her with so many hours of native English conversations. In a year or so I may decide that her English is settled enough to homeschool, because honestly time IS a big problem.

 

As for her enthusiasm... Well, she is not too happy, but she sees the effect of it, and so she accepts it. Just today she came to me and said that we need to do more Language Art, since she didn't feel she got enough. I honestly didn't expect that from a 7yo.

Edited August 31, 2010 by OlgaLA

[scrapbookbuzz]

We are afterschooling because the public schools here rank 48th out of 50 states! My dd is there because of special education classes but we may be changing schools. Anyway, we also have some wonderful literature we have not yet read, from previous curriculum, and I see no reason why we can't still enjoy it together!

 

Mostly, it's because we want our kids to have a thorough education and we don't believe a public school education, by itself, will ever provide that.

[Amy loves Bud]

We are six weeks into our first experience with PS. My son is in 6th grade. He is doing incredibly well and overall I am happy with it. He's getting excellent and appropriate instruction in math, history and science, plus he gets to participate in orchestra playing the bass, which wouldn't otherwise be available to him. He also loves PE, and 45 minutes of sports oriented games every day with a big crew of other 12 year olds is definitely something I can't recreate for him.

 

He's doing great and he's happy, though overtired. Besides school, homework and orchestra practice, he is on a club soccer team and plays in a worship band at church. The schedule is wearing him out.

 

I hope he decides to come back to homeschooling, but I understand if he stays in school, too.

 

If he does stay in school, I will have to afterschool English. I am really unhappy with the instruction and it won't do for the long term. I'm holding off until the first 9 week grading period is over and he decides whether to stay or come home. If he stays, we'll begin afterschooling.

 

So I guess, if we end up staying in school, we'll afterschool to make up for the weak spots. It's a trade off. Luke could come home and miss out on orchestra and PE and the fun things he is doing, or he can stay in school, get those things and I can supplement his English. Both options have positives and negatives.

 

I read the article, too. I've homeschooled my DS his whole life until this year, and I'm still homeschooling his ten year old sister. I don't really care what that woman thinks. It's unimportant. I'm the mom, I do what's best for my kids. If she wants to call it salsa dancing instead of afterschooling, she can feel free. I don't really get the hubbub or why anyone cares about her opinion anyway.

Edited September 29, 2010 by Amy loves Bud

[aly9712]

I am actually a public special ed. teacher. My daughter attends a private montessori school. Our neighborhood school is excellent (truly the top in testing scores, etc.), however lacks diversity. We afterschool because we need the joint incomes and my daughter really loves her school. Afterschooling has become a natural way of life for us. It may be a trip to the museum and studying various artists in the evenings or something as simple as reading/researching a topic and then reporting on it. In the mornings- we are more structured. Before school she works on her math facts, does 1 handwriting sheet, practices her spelling words and reads until it's time to go (usually she has about 45 mins) to do everything. I figure- better to be productive in the mornings versus watching cartoons on the sofa plus it's the only routine we've ever known, so there's no "fighting" it.

 

(don't get me wrong- she does get to watch TV) 30 mins per day and it's usually while I'm cooking in the evenings.