Poll: when did you consider yourself a homeschooler?

[Mrs Mungo]

I'm writing the poll, it takes a second to show up!

 

eta: D'oh!! I left out when they reached mandatory school age. Crud! Sorry, you'll have to vote other and elaborate if that was/is the case.

Edited June 21, 2011 by Mrs Mungo

[JudoMom]

I'm writing the poll, it takes a second to show up!

 

:toetap05:

[Mommy22alyns]

Kindergarten age for Rebecca.

[UnsinkableKristen]

The day we decided to pull T from preschool (for getting sent to the directors office for not napping. Ugh.) and I decided that I needed to figure out a way to keep my daughter's spunk from being squashed.

 

We haven't looked back :D

[JudoMom]

I considered myself a homeschooler when I started a formal preschool program at home with my oldest, but if I have to give a number of years that I've homeschooled, I count from the time my oldest started K at home.

[Dobela]

The day we turned in the paperwork to the school district. Yeah, I taught him preK and all that, but turning in the intent is when it became real life, serious stuff. I knew lots of moms staying home and doing just like I was before. It was just when they made a different decision than me that it became real.

[Dinsfamily]

We always knew we were going to homeschool but I considered us actually homeschooling the day ds7 started Kindergarten.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Preschool but mainly because I was 100% committed to homeschooling and even our preschool choices were with that in mind.

[melissel]

The day I decided that we were not going to send DD8 (then 4) to the cruddy school she was tracked to in our town because it was the worst school in town, and because she was already reading at a first or second grade level.

[Sputterduck]

Other. I was so excited about homeschooling that I sang the ABC's to my newborn. LOL

[abbeyej]

As preschoolers... But *not* because they were learning at home so much as because I was *committed* to home schooling even then. I get sort of irked when people say they're "home schooling preschool" when they, in fact, have every intention of enrolling their kid in kindergarten (or even public preschool, which starts here at 4).

 

There was a woman who went on a tirade about the classes our local home school group offers, since there weren't enough available for her 3 and 4 year olds. She went on to say she was leaving the group anyway, since she was enrolling them (at 4 and 5) in public school. ... ?!? I suspect she misunderstood the intent of our group, which is to support families that home school their children (including the little ones, of course)...

[Violet Crown]

Other. It's irrelevant when I considered myself to be a homeschooler; as far as someone who wanted to report objectively on the matter is concerned, I was a homeschooler when my child reached compulsory school age but was not enrolled in a brick-and-mortar school.

 

I say this without any attempt at disingenuity, special pleading, or consequentialist ulterior motive, but because I believe it to be true. ;)

[Murmer]

My dd is in preschool but I don't consider myself homeschooling. Right now I call it mommy schooling because that's what I am doing mommy schooling my preschooler. That said I am using this time to learn about homeschooling with the intent to homeschool my children when they are old enough for Kindergarten.

[TracieT]

I voted the day I sent them to Kindergarten, but that won't be until September. But we already missed the Kindergarten sign-ups at the city building, so I guess that was probably the actual time. I was having panic attacks that week because it felt like I had to make a concrete decision that week. I mean, I'd already made the decision, but that made it REAL for me.

[RoundAbout]

We have been committed to homeschooling from day 1, but this year with Pre-K I'll consider it official. He's on the cusp of reading independently so I'll do a bit more formal work at home starting this fall.

 

Mostly though, I identify as a homeschooler now, because I am literally the *only* one I know who is not sending their kid to a formal preschool program. Even my friends who plan to homeschool are doing outside preschool. It's already getting to be a problem because our weekday programs (library, nature group, etc.) are now dominated by younger kids, but he's not really old enough to participate in school age programs. All the 4 year-olds have just disappeared!

[nukeswife]

I didn't send my kids to preschool and I also didn't go out of my way to anything with them for when it came to my oldest two.

 

I consider myself a homeschooling mom from the day we pulled our son out of PS 1st grade.

 

My other two I count from the day they started Kindergarten.

[Greta]

Well, my opinion is that the intention/plan to be a homeschooler does not make one a homeschooler. If your children are not yet school age, then you are an active, involved parent which is a perfectly lovely and wonderful thing to be, but you're not a homeschooler.

 

I don't think my opinion would be very popular where I live, because lots of people here call themselves homeschoolers from the moment they make the decision to do it, whether the children have been born yet or not! :D

[T'smom]

Technically, I'm not a homeschooler. My ds is only 3 (almost 4). I don't believe that I "work with" him yet. But he still knows his numbers, letters, sounds, so on and so forth. At this point, I don't think that there is a difference between playing and learning. I'll consider us technically homeschoolers when he would be going off to K. HOWEVER, I do think of homeschooling as not just school at home, but also a way of life. A way of life that we've been living since the day he was born. I'm also pretty committed to not sending him to a brick and mortar school.

[daffodil]

I voted the day I didn't send them to kindergarten, but actually it was the day I didn't send her to public Pre-K, which is the norm here for 4 year olds. I considered myself a homeschooler when I kept my daughter home instead of sending her to elementary school.

[Wabi Sabi]

I voted other.

 

I sort of started considering myself a homeschooler when ds finished up the school year last month (he has attended a private school up until now.)

 

However, I'm still just a pseudo-homeschooler IMO. I won't consider myself an honest to goodness, "official" homeschooler until fall when all of the other kids go back to school and I don't send him!

[mom4him]

I voted other as I think it was when I sent in my first order for curr. They were 3 and 4.

[Aquinas Academy]

The day that kindergarten started and I didn't send DD. I'd known for several months that we would homeschool, but that was the moment when I though, "Oh my, I'm a homeschooler now". :)

[Whereneverever]

When I didn't send them to kindy. It felt all well and good to "homeschool" preschool since lots of kids don't attend- but it was different and a little frightening at first to not do kindy.

 

Now it feels right. :001_smile:

[Kirch]

I said preschool, but not so much because we were doing preschool at home as because we'd known almost since ds1 was born that we'd be homeschooling and it was already pretty ingrained in my mindset by that point (mentally identifying our family as a hs'ing family). I considered Kinder as our formal "beginning," though.

[Mommy22alyns]

Other. I was so excited about homeschooling that I sang the ABC's to my newborn. LOL

 

 

I sang the ABC's to my newborn because I was so brain dead I couldn't think of anything else! :lol:

[arghmatey]

Fall 2012. That's when my daughter is supposed to enter 1st grade.

 

I'll just keep non-home schooling our way through all our curricula until then!

[Parrothead]

Technically it was preschool because dd was learning at home. But what she was learning was kindergarten level material. She is an October baby. If I could have gotten her into an academic preschool at 4 years 11 months she would have gone to school.

 

As it was Fate stepped in and we've now been homeschooling for 7 going on 8 years now.

[snickelfritz]

I voted other. For me, it was when I didn't send them to pre-k. Everyone goes to pre-k around here.

[Rivka]

I put "when I didn't send her to kindergarten," but living where I do, my real "this is it, we're homeschooling" moment came when I let the private school application and charter school lottery deadlines go by.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Well, my opinion is that the intention/plan to be a homeschooler does not make one a homeschooler. If your children are not yet school age, then you are an active, involved parent which is a perfectly lovely and wonderful thing to be, but you're not a homeschooler.

 

I don't think my opinion would be very popular where I live, because lots of people here call themselves homeschoolers from the moment they make the decision to do it, whether the children have been born yet or not! :D

 

Your opinion isn't popular with me because the question was when we considered ourselves to be homeschooling - not when someone else would judge if I was homeschooling or not.

[Ellie]

Well, my opinion is that the intention/plan to be a homeschooler does not make one a homeschooler. If your children are not yet school age, then you are an active, involved parent which is a perfectly lovely and wonderful thing to be, but you're not a homeschooler.

:iagree:

 

I don't think my opinion would be very popular where I live, because lots of people here call themselves homeschoolers from the moment they make the decision to do it, whether the children have been born yet or not! :D

True dat. :001_smile:

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I count my beginning to officially homeschool from the date I replaced any other mandatory schooling options.

 

I don't think that discounts any time I spent working on learning activities with my kids when they were younger. I certainly did and do spend time with them. That is all valuable but it doesn't make me any different than any other parent who has little kids. I became different when I didn't send them off to a traditional school.

[MrsBasil]

I put other. I'm not a homeschooler, but I don't think there's any "technically" about it. :D

 

DS is 2. I've always leaned towards homeschooling him, but I won't consider us a homeschooling family until I send in the notice of intent when he reaches the compulsory age.

 

My official title is "mom who is stuck in bed and enjoying researching options, books, and curricula a little ahead of schedule." Beats daytime TV. :tongue_smilie:

[trailofsparks]

Preschool but mainly because I was 100% committed to homeschooling and even our preschool choices were with that in mind.

 

 

Same here.

[snickelfritz]

Well, my opinion is that the intention/plan to be a homeschooler does not make one a homeschooler. If your children are not yet school age, then you are an active, involved parent which is a perfectly lovely and wonderful thing to be, but you're not a homeschooler.

 

I don't think my opinion would be very popular where I live, because lots of people here call themselves homeschoolers from the moment they make the decision to do it, whether the children have been born yet or not!

 

 

But, what is school age? Our public schools start at 4. Some schools (public and private) go a full day. The kids are learning how to read and work with numbers. Some do it half. Our old governor tried to get the age moved down to 3. Kindergarten is almost always full day at 5. Compulsory? I'm not sure. Oklahoma laws are so lenient that I don't even remember. But, if it's 7, I taught my older dd to read before she was 7. My 5 year old dd can already read, but she's too young to be called homeschooled? I think I earned the right to call myself a homeschooler whenever I want to call myself a homeschooler.

Edited June 21, 2011 by snickelfritz

[Hunter's Moon]

I'm a homeschooling student, not parent.

 

:D

[OLG]

The day when we yanked ds out of a private school mid-year:D

[matilda]

I did preschool and afterschool for years, but it wasn't until I pulled them out of ps that I considered myself a real homeschooler.

[Julie Smith]

Well, my opinion is that the intention/plan to be a homeschooler does not make one a homeschooler. If your children are not yet school age, then you are an active, involved parent which is a perfectly lovely and wonderful thing to be, but you're not a homeschooler.

 

I don't think my opinion would be very popular where I live, because lots of people here call themselves homeschoolers from the moment they make the decision to do it, whether the children have been born yet or not! :D

 

I always considered myself a homeschooler. My dh and I talked about it on our second? date and how no school for our kids. But until my eldest was kindgergarten age I would state when the conversation came up, "That we intend to homeschool". I didn't call myself a homeschooler to anyone till then. And didn't really start to till my eldest was in grade one.

[stripe]

My daughter 's doctor and I were having a conversation about vaccinations and she made the comment that there's no homeschool preschool. I found it sort of funny but then sort of true. I considered myself intending to homeschool until I started to do things beyond what I think normal involved parents do, like reading stories.

[Krista in LA]

I said other. I started homeschooling the summer before my dd should have started school - that way, if it wasn't working out by the end of the summer, I could go ahead and send her!

[AndyJoy]

Well, my opinion is that the intention/plan to be a homeschooler does not make one a homeschooler. If your children are not yet school age, then you are an active, involved parent which is a perfectly lovely and wonderful thing to be, but you're not a homeschooler.

 

I don't think my opinion would be very popular where I live, because lots of people here call themselves homeschoolers from the moment they make the decision to do it, whether the children have been born yet or not! :D

 

I don't tell people I'm a homeschooler yet--I tell them I intend to homeschool (and have since before I was even married!). However, we are completely committed to homeschooling as a family philosophy and way of life. I am a homeschooler in spirit. I've spent 10 years reading, researching, and developing relationships with homeschooling families and gleaning from them. I've started collecting resources and developing my educational philosophy. I've prepared my parents and in-laws so they wouldn't build up a picture in their minds that doesn't match our plans. When I make plans and dreams for the future, they take into account homeschooling. I'm not educationally neutral until my kid is 5, at which point I officially become a homeschooler or "public-schooler", or "private-schooler." So while I can't technically be called a homeschooler yet, to me I'm not only an active, involved parent. Maybe I'll start calling myself a pre-homeschooler since pre-(public)school is so ubiquitous today!

[cindergretta]

The day I first submitted a DOI. Boy, that was real!!! :lol:

 

I have known so many young and eager mamas who are "homeschooling" and their babies are 3, 2, or even 1. Then little one hits 4 and suddenly they are in preschool and then a "really nice kindergarten!" Ok... :tongue_smilie: That is why *I* identify homeschooling (in general) as 4 or 5 or older and making the deliberate choice to not send them to school. But that is my own internal, mental thing and if a mama of a newborn calls herself a homeschooler, GO FOR IT!!!! Maybe by the time the child is 4 or 5, it won't seem so huge and scary!! :D

[Meriwether]

My Dd started K at 4. I didn't know if I was supposed to answer choice A. My perfect answer would be when my oldest started K at home.

[Sahamamama]

I voted "when she was a preschooler," although at the time I personally did not think of myself as "officially" homeschooling. We identified ourselves as homeschoolers when our children were so young because other people kept asking us, "Is she in school yet? Where does she go to preschool?"

 

At the church where we attended, there was not one other family that kept the toddlers or preschoolers home with a parent. All the moms were ecstatic when they could finally (whew) send their two or three year old children to preschool, at least for a few days a week. The attitude was "What a relief." :001_huh: At the moms' group, my children were the only children their ages -- it was awkward. I would hear subtle and not-so-subtle comments about a "really nice preschool" down the road, blah, blah, blah...

 

It was so "other" to keep the girls home. KWIM?

 

Ironically, I have found much more acceptance of this way of life now that my oldest is "school age." I never would have expected that now people would say, "Oh, you're homeschooling? Great!" :001_huh: But when the girls were 2, 3, or 4 we were holding them back by not having them in a program.... :glare:

 

Last year when the bus rolled down the street on what would have been my oldest child's first day of school, I thought there would be a change in my perspective... some epiphany, LOL. Yawn. It was such an ordinary day. We were actually finishing up Kindergarten before she was due to start it.

 

It was then that I realized how irrelevant the school system had become in my thinking. Nothing changed. I'm not any more or less "officially" doing anything now with a First Grader and two Pre-K'ers, because in New Jersey nothing changes... there are no reports or evaluations or tests or portfolios or attendance records, thank God. No one has to approve us here.

 

We just go on learning day after day. It's a good thing. :D

[NanceXToo]

The day I pulled my daughter out of public school toward the end of her third grade year and started homeschooling her instead.

 

My son is 5.7 years old and I don't really think of myself as "homeschooling" him per se yet.

 

This fall is when he would be official kindergarten age here in our district and it is when I plan to start my kindergarten curriculum with him. That is when I will consider him as being officially homeschooled.

[mamatohaleybug]

The day I decided she wasn't going back to PS for 2nd grade. Awesome, scary, wonderful day! :D

[dirty ethel rackham]

When we could not send our son to preschool, we happened upon homeschooling and fell in love. Around here, it is the rare kid who does not go to preschool. I considered us homeschooling from that day on. We planned activities, went on field trips, worked on our long term plans. Even though we were not doing seat work, we were consciously choosing a lifestyle where the world was our classroom and every day was a learning opportunity. We were active in a homeschooling community.

 

We live in IL where compulsory school age is 7 years old.

[stripe]

My neighbor asked me about preschool when my oldest was 2.

[Desert Strawberry]

With my first, I started preK work and joined HS groups when he was 3. Not because I thought he needed it, but because I wanted to learn how to teach him.

 

We made the decision to HS him before he was 2, but it was just a decision. There was no action following.

 

I count from age 3, because I pulled him out of preschool, I was teaching him at home, we had made the decision to HS, we were involved in HS community and activities, and really nothing changed when he got to K age. We changed some curriculum choices, but most were the same as they had been for preK.

 

Compulsory school age here is 7. I doubt that anyone would say that you can't count anything before 2nd grade, just based on that. And what about states like Texas where you never have to register? Are you never an official homeschooler if you don't fill out any paperwork?

 

ETA: I don't even remember the day he would have started PS K. He's a December bday. I think at that point he was already halfway through first grade, because the local public school would have held him back a year, and I start their school year on their birthdays. He was 6 and doing first grade work. Public school rules seemed completely arbitrary and irrelevent.

 

FWIW, I started HSing my 2nd at age 4. A year later than my first. because that's when he was ready to start. I might start my littler ones at 3 or 4 or 5. Heck, i might even wait till 6. Whenever they are ready.

Edited June 21, 2011 by strawberrymama