old

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[myfatherslily]

My oldest is just in 1st grade, so I have a LOT to learn!:) However, I was also homeschooled myself from K through 12 which lends a different perspective occasionally.

[shinyhappypeople]

We're in our 2nd year and I'm just beginning to feel like I almost have a clue. It's taken me this long to figure out what kind of teacher I am and what kind of learners I have. i finally found curriculum that works for both of our styles. In our case, pretty much anything PHP is a hit.

 

The best bit of advice I've picked up from this board:

 

"The best curriculum is the one that gets done."

 

Amen.

[JudoMom]

My oldest is in 6th, so I chose 7-9 years (we've always homeschooled, so we're at 7 years counting K).

Edited February 27, 2011 by JudoMom

[JudoMom]

My oldest is just in 1st grade, so I have a LOT to learn!:) However, I was also homeschooled myself from K through 12 which lends a different perspective occasionally.

 

Did I know that? I love to hear the perspective of those who were homeschooled and who now homeschool :001_smile:. What is one thing you've changed in your homeschool vs how you were homeschooled?

[FairProspects]

While I agree it may be a factor, how long we have homeschooled is not the sum of my experience, nor is it the deciding factor in whether or not I respond to a post.

 

Before kids, I was a High School History and Writing teacher. I also worked for a major test prep company tutoring SAT prep, and have tutored privately, so some of my responses are on the High School board even though my own kids have not yet reached that age. I do, however, feel that my experience as a teacher and tutor lends credibility to my replies, regardless of the age of my children, or how long we have homeschooled.

 

I know I have a ton to learn about young children and their development, and I'm sure when my own kids are teens they will have their own special ways to shock and awe me. :D I would hope I never stop learning no matter the subject, but I don't think that should prevent me from posting about topics I find interesting or contributing to the conversation.

Edited February 26, 2011 by FairProspects

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

I've been homeschooling my children for 12 years.

[AmyP]

I chose 2-3 years. My oldest two have been homeschooled since 2008. My youngest two have been homeschooled always except for a brief stint in public school last year when I went back to work.

 

I have so much to learn, especially with the older ones. Sometimes I feel like I should apologize for using them as experiments--at least, I hope I have it down by the time my younger two are in high school.

[mytwomonkeys]

this is our 4th year of "officially" homeschooling. my daughter is 9 & my son is almost 7. my daughter has an early october birthday though, so even though we weren't registered with an association the year she turned 5, i do feel like we homeschooled that year, (as we joined a co-op and really started to get our feet wet) ...so in that regard we are in our 5th year:) i'm still learning everyday and taking it year by year.

[GWOB]

I've been homeschooling since Dec 2008. I still feel like an idiot and rely so much on everyone's perspective and experience.

[Susan in TX]

The older I get, the more I realize how much I don't know. I've been homeschooling for 18 years and despite having one graduated from college cum laude, a college sophomore with a 3.8 GPA, a high school senior who is 12th in her class and has received merit scholarships from three colleges, and a high school sophomore who is excelling, I feel like less of an expert every day. Each child provides one with new challenges. At times I really miss having that youthful confidence I once had.

 

Susan in TX

[2_girls_mommy]

5 yrs counting my odd's 4 yr old prek year (the year I decided we were hsing, and I began purposefully learning about and doing so.)

 

4 yrs if you count official school years (k is required here.)

 

I am an opinionated one on the things I have used (love most everything we have done,) but do not comment on things I haven't. So I hope it isn't me that you are thinking of :tongue_smilie: I also have not switched around a lot, and try to let people know that when they are "comparing" things. I can't compare as we have stuck w/the same things from the beginning. But I can offer several years worth of opinions on what we have done.

[SilverMoon]

I'm in the 7-9 years category. My poor oldest is still the family guinea pig, but I've got it goin' on with my little crew. :coolgleamA:

[2cents]

12+ It doesn't seem that long! :D

[Mommyfaithe]

April 1 will be 17 years. Only 10 more to go.

 

Faithe

[bluemongoose]

I voted 2-3 years. We are at year 3.5.

 

We started "officially" homeschooling when my DD turned 3yo. Yes, it was "officially" in the sense that it was a full K curriculum. Per the state, we are not "official" yet as DD is 6yo and they don't want to be notified until she is 7yo.

 

Prior to hsing, I was a substitute elementary teacher (never full time due to lack of jobs in our state), a preschool teacher, and a nanny. I have a lot of experience with children and education, so I do respond at times with confidence even though I have not homeschooled as long as many others on the board.

[Mommyfaithe]

Recently, I've noticed some very new homeschoolers with very young children posting some very opinionated responses. It kind of reminds me of how I knew everything about child rearing before I had children. ;) I love the conviction of new home schoolers, but it is funny to me how some folks have such strong opinions about curriculum / co-ops / situations with which they have no personal experience. So it got me thinking, how long have you been homeschooling?

 

The poll is blind, but feel free to post your comments.

 

:auto: Yep...it is like the moms with 1 toddler and no other kids who feel like they have to offer me parenting advice. I just nod and smile. :lol::lol::lol:

Faithe

[angela in ohio]

I start counting at kindergarten (the year the child would have actually gone to kindergarten.) This is our 10th year.

 

This is not a new issue on this board, nor in homeschooling circles. I have been to many a homeschool meeting with a mom of a 4 yo telling us all how we should be doing things. Or the mom of an 8 yo telling use she has 6 years of homeschool experience and knows how to homeschool teens. :D

 

It's part of the reason I like WTM. Jessie Wise actually homeschooled children all the way through. She knows what she's talking about. :)

Edited February 26, 2011 by angela in ohio

[AngieW in Texas]

I began hsing in 1998 when my oldest was 5yo. It has definitely been an adventure.

[SilverMoon]

When are we starting to count? Birth? Kindergarten? That would give a better persepctive.

 

The question right above the poll said (K-12). I started my count with K.

[homeschooltoone]

This is year 7 for us.

[HappyatHome]

This is our 18th year to homeschool. Started when my oldest started 1st grade.

[MominIN]

This is our sixth year - which is hard to believe. I still have a lot to learn! Every year is different. We've added children to the family and to our homeschool over the years. Each and every year has a learning curve as I figure out how to balance everything. What works for one kid doesn't for the next. What one kid struggled with, the next catches on to with no problem. And I have no clue about the middle and high school years.

[angela in ohio]

The question right above the poll said (K-12). I started my count with K.

 

I just saw that! I edited my post. :001_smile:

[TracyP]

I marked 4-6. This is my 4th year since I started hs'ing when dd was 4. I know some will laugh at that but that is when *I* decided I was going to hs and it was a. big. deal. So laugh away.:lol:

eta: I should read better apparently. I see we are supposed to start with K. That makes me in my 3rd year.

 

I always try to preface my comments (when applicable) with the ages of dc and/or amount of time I have used a program. I do wish that was done more often. I noticed very early on that some would gush about a program they started two weeks earlier, then post how it wasn't working 8 weeks later, then gush about the next thing. I worry that some parents may take that advice w/o realizing. That is sorta their one fault if they are going to blindly take the advice of a stranger in cyberspace but ....edit: I will just stop now.

Edited February 26, 2011 by TracyP

[MerryAtHope]

9 years! Can't believe my oldest will be high school next year.

[2_girls_mommy]

I missed the K-12 too. So officially, I am 4 yrs. It keeps me in the same 4-6 that I voted (even if I count prek :)

[Angel]

We are in our 7th year homeschooling. We began we my older dd was in 5th grade. She's now in 11th and my younger dd in 4th.

 

Your post made me laugh! Strong convictions and amazingly brilliant dc at a young age is the norm around these boards :D Of course my older dd at 4 was amazingly brilliant too :tongue_smilie: I have learned from my mistake of starting her in school too early and my younger dd has benefited greatly from me learning my lesson. If only I could impart some of that wisdom...but everyone has the child that is certainly the exception and doesn't need that advice :lol:

 

Every year is something new in homeschooling, whether you are an old pro or a newbie. Kids are constantly changing and therefore each new year brings different highs and lows. I'm always worried about thinking I've got it figured out, because usually that means the girls are going to change it up on me :)

Edited February 26, 2011 by Angel

[TheAutumnOak]

My oldest is 10 and we have homeschooled for 4 years...He did one year at a private school when he was 7, but was homeschooled before and after that...

[angela in ohio]

I marked 4-6. This is my 4th year since I started hs'ing when dd was 4. I know some will laugh at that but that is when *I* decided I was going to hs and it was a. big. deal. So laugh away.:lol:

 

I always try to preface my comments (when applicable) with the ages of dc and/or amount of time I have used a program. I do wish that was done more often. I noticed very early on that some would gush about a program they started two weeks earlier, then post how it wasn't working 8 weeks later, then gush about the next thing. I worry that some parents may take that advice w/o realizing. That is sorta their one fault if they are going to blindly take the advice of a stranger in cyberspace but ....edit: I will just stop now.

 

I've started adding that to my posts about curriculum that I have used for years. For exmaple, I have used all fo the R&S English books, and I'm now into my third dc in them. I know those books. :D Same with the other laundry list of things I have always used. I also try to say when I am in my first year using something, because it does matter.

[Homeschooling6]

8yrs. My where has the time gone :D

[TheAutumnOak]

I've started adding that to my posts about curriculum that I have used for years. For exmaple, I have used all fo the R&S English books, and I'm now into my third dc in them. I know those books. :D Same with the other laundry list of things I have always used. I also try to say when I am in my first year using something, because it does matter.

 

This is true and it does matter...I feel like such a beginner because this is my first year doing classical, so this is my first year with everything we are using now...I am stuck with only saying what I like or dislike so far, but can't really give strong advice about curricula we are using, or what will happen in the future...I do also notice that there are some homeschooling experts with very young children :ohmy:...I just figure it is like before I had children when I knew EVERYTHING about being a mom!...Sooner or later we all learn that we don't know everything and never will... :tongue_smilie:

[FO4UR]

We are in our 3rd year, starting from K.

 

Yeah...I don't make a habit of going back and reading my older posts.:blush: They do pop up now and then, especially when I'm using the search function...it's like Ghost of Christmas Past reminding me that I still don't have this thing figured out.:tongue_smilie:

 

I also color any advice through the lens of #1 the ages of the poster's dc and #2 their overall philosophy gleaned from many posts over time and #3 if they have dc with some of the same struggles as mine.

[Outdoorsy Type]

This is our 4th year homeschooling, and I was homeschooled from 8th-12th. I'm comfortable educating my children, but I still feel that I have a lot to learn!

[carrie_irene]

I guess this is our 1st official year of hs'ing. My son is in K.

 

It took me a long time to come out of lurking. The amount of experience on this board is a wealth of information. And while I myself am a homeschool graduate, much has changed out there. Not to mention it may be a just a little different homeschooling kids rather than BEING homeschooled. :tongue_smilie:

 

I do have to say, though, that posts like this deflate me. I am opinionated. Honestly, I have to be. I have people questioning my decision right and left right now and I have no "proof in the pudding" so to speak, yet. I can't point to my adjusted, educated children and say, "See. It's ok." So I have to have that gut conviction that it is the right thing, and that I CAN do it (because honestly, there are still days when I cry about if I can! And that coming from someone who TAUGHT for a living before having kids!)

 

All that to say, please be gentle with those of us who are just starting out. I am sure we can seem naive. We are.

[luvtheOzarks]

"The best curriculum is the one that gets done."

 

:iagree: Yep. Works for me! Fifteen years and counting. :party:

[newbie]

One twelve years and the other only has two more to go . Yaaaaa.

[JessieC]

I'm not homeschooling yet, but I've been in the education field for ten years. I have an M.A. in English and an M.Ed. in literacy. I teach college writing and teach college courses for teachers or potential teachers in the field of literacy. So I may have come across as opinionated on some posts about curriculum for an inexperienced homeschooling parent, but we're all speaking from a unique viewpoint, and I think a wide range of backgrounds and experiences are valid.

[rafiki]

.

[Karenciavo]

9 years. I think we need to be careful not to simply discount a person's pov based on number of years homeschooling and/or age of children, as someone else mentioned other things such as work and life experience are important as well, and then there are those intangibles. I do know what you mean though Shari, I find the people that get my eyes rolling are often arrogant in their advice. Humility goes a long way.

[carrie_irene]

Humility goes a long way.

 

:iagree:

[JudoMom]

9 years. I think we need to be careful not to simply discount a person's pov based on number of years homeschooling and/or age of children, as someone else mentioned other things such as work and life experience are important as well, and then there are those intangibles. I do know what you mean though Shari, I find the people that get my eyes rolling are often arrogant in their advice. Humility goes a long way.

 

Well stated, Karen.

[Embassy]

I think we need to be careful not to simply discount a person's pov based on number of years homeschooling and/or age of children, as someone else mentioned other things such as work and life experience are important as well, and then there are those intangibles.

 

:iagree:

 

Maybe we should all put a brief bio in our signature. :tongue_smilie:

 

There are so many things other than the age of children and time spent homeschooling that go into a person's experience and knowledge.

[razorbackmama]

We are in our 10th year.

 

And what I have learned is that I know a lot less about homeschooling now than I did when I started.:lol:

[Tree House Academy]

Haha - I have noticed that before too. I love it when someone whose oldest child is 3 gives me advice on parenting my pre-teen too. ;)

[laughing lioness]

20 years here. I know a whole lot about some things and nothing about others.

[Shellydon]

We are wrapping up our 4th year.

[~Kirsten~]

I do have to say, though, that posts like this deflate me. I am opinionated. Honestly, I have to be. I have people questioning my decision right and left right now and I have no "proof in the pudding" so to speak, yet. I can't point to my adjusted, educated children and say, "See. It's ok." So I have to have that gut conviction that it is the right thing, and that I CAN do it (because honestly, there are still days when I cry about if I can! And that coming from someone who TAUGHT for a living before having kids!)

 

All that to say, please be gentle with those of us who are just starting out. I am sure we can seem naive. We are.

:grouphug: If it's appropriate for me to say, as a newbie myself, hang in there. :grouphug:

 

To answer, this is just my second year, as my oldest is in 1st. Personally, I try not to post on things we haven't used, and in those threads, I'm usually trying to just give our (admittedly limited) experience. Though I do know the kinds of posts and posters you're asking about, I find that more often than not, people qualify their experiences here really well. It's hard not to be opinionated when we all take homeschooling and our choices so seriously. Of course, as was mentioned above, humility goes a long way.

 

I'm so, so grateful to the experienced homeschoolers here who continuously answer the same questions over and over, and give the same reassurances (and warnings to enjoy the early years) over and over. I hope that, some day, I'll be able to do the same. :001_smile:

[Punks in Ontario]

It's been 10 years here. I know quite a bit less now about the how's than I did 5 years ago.:tongue_smilie:

[silliness7]

I'm on my 9th year and I still feel like a novice in so many ways. It is a great personal triumph to finally figure out a piece of the puzzle. :001_smile: