School at home?

[Jean in Newcastle]

I know that I've been doing this homeschooling thing for 10 years now but I'm still a little bit confused when people say that they are not doing "school at home". Does that mean that they are not sitting at desks in a row? Does it mean they are not using textbooks? Does it mean different things for different people?

 

Do I do school at home? We don't use desks but we do use a mix of textbooks and living books. For the upper grades I actually grade and give tests. It is not child led, though we do rabbit trails from time to time based on interest. The thing is, I used to teach at a private school that was pretty much exactly like this. . .

[melissel]

I think it depends a little on who's saying it. I have unschooling friends who refer to "school at home," and they pretty much mean any schoolwork the kids are required to sit and do, rather than work they don't ask for. For less relaxed schoolers, it think it means more like specific school seating, a chalkboard or whiteboard, specific subjects on specific days, with schedules and time limits.

 

Hmmm, the more I think about it, the more I think "school at home" means anything more structured than what the speakers themselves are doing :D Kind of like how "old" is always 10 years older than YOU are!

[Trresh]

This doesn't answer your question, but my 3 kids started out at a Montessori school (my youngest still goes there) and they don't have homework. They do work at home, instead. My dad thinks it's the dumbest thing he's ever heard.

 

Basically, they want the child to do hands-on, real world learning at home instead of workbook type stuff.

[clementine]

I take it to mean that the kids are at desks/tables during their subjects. Each subject is allotted a certain amount of time and the normal school hours are somewhat followed. I might be wrong though. ;)

 

We do our school wherever it's comfortable, in whatever subject order you want, we're not always going by 8am and we're not always done by 3pm. Lunch is when we're hungry, a run around the house might be necessary to get the blood pumping, and an afternoon of Gone With the Wind might happen when we've lost our marbles.

 

Sometimes 'school at home' might be the only way to keep kids focused and on track. I know a few friends where this could be the case.

[mommymilkies]

When I hear it, I generally envision parents who make their kids ask permission for bathroom breaks, raise their hands to talk, etc. I do a lot of "school" things because it works for my big family. But not the above.

[momma2three]

I always figured it meant doing a public school/charter school program at home.

[Impish]

I think it does vary, depending on the individual.

 

For me, school at home would be a regimented, scheduled out the wazoo kinda day. LA from 9-10. Math 10-11. Science 11-12. Lunch, 12-1. History 1-2. Geography 2-3. And so on. Trying to mimic exactly what happens in ps, but on a smaller scale. No flexibility, minimal creativity.

 

Diva has assigned subjects a day...but what order, how long it takes, if she does it in her room, at the kitchen table, or outside is all open for discussion. She doesn't *have* to spend exactly 60 minutes on anything. If she finishes in 20, so be it, as long as its done according to the standard set for her. If it takes 90 mins, fine. She doesn't have a 'seperate' History/Social/Geography. Its blended together in her year long unit study.

[FaithManor]

I think it depends a little on who's saying it. I have unschooling friends who refer to "school at home," and they pretty much mean any schoolwork the kids are required to sit and do, rather than work they don't ask for. For less relaxed schoolers, it think it means more like specific school seating, a chalkboard or whiteboard, specific subjects on specific days, with schedules and time limits.

 

Hmmm, the more I think about it, the more I think "school at home" means anything more structured than what the speakers themselves are doing :D Kind of like how "old" is always 10 years older than YOU are!

 

I think this is very accurate. Conversely, I've witnessed that "unschooling" can also mean nothing more than less structured than the speaker or less textbookish. I have friends who compare their homeschooling to unschooling by comparing it to what dh and I do (well, when I don't have a hurt back - such as today - and sick kids....we are sooooo unschooling today) and yet they are definitely not "unschooling" in any traditional sense of that word.

 

The perspectives of the source are the key indicators.

 

Faith

[Veritaserum]

I agree with the "more structured than the speaker" definition. Around here any required content gets the "school at home" label.

[TXMary2]

I have grown to dislike that term. We have a school room, we use textbooks, real books and workbooks. We also use a white board and store things in folders and binders. That is probably how many people define "school at home" yet I feel we definitely home school because we don 't follow a set schedule with certain times dedicated to certain subjects, my kids don't have to raise their hand or ask permission to use the bathroom or eat something. We don't form single file lines and we often do reading on the couch. We also use tv programs and DVD's as part of our schooling and we take more field trips than the schools do. That's my .02:tongue_smilie:

[mamajudy]

When I think of school-at-home, I generally think of families that use materials that were created for the classroom. Readers, some with poorly written stories, are used instead of good children's literature, and science textbooks are used in the early grades instead of looking at nature and reading real books. Multi-level learning, in which children of different ages learn about the same topic using age appropriate materials and assignments and actually doing things together once in a while, is unheard of. (The idea of children raising their hands and asking permission to use the bathroom seems ridiculous to me.:tongue_smilie:)

[Farrar]

I was just in a thread about this on another board recently. In the end, no one could really agree.

 

For me, I think the phrase is really about how many people initially come to homeschooling thinking some combination of the following things:

* you need to hold school from roughly 9-3 like ps does

* you need to follow the same sort of curricula they use in schools

* you need to do the majority of work at a desk or table

* you need a school room

* you can't really question when a curricula tells you to do something

 

But then... people move away from that and over the first months or maybe the first year or two, they break out of that mold and begin doing things differently, at least to some extent. They realize that homeschooling is different in lots of ways. So to distinguish that they've moved away from a "school" paradigm into a "homeschool" paradigm, we say "school at home" to refer to trying to replicate a school environment in your home instead of finding your own way.

 

But... I think it's more about a point of view than about the specific trappings of school.

[sheryl]

Jean, I believe the meaning may vary "some" from one family to the next. Yes, we homeschoolers provide education, academics at home and the phrase was coined as "homeschooling".

 

I actually saw the error in this a while back and while I use the term homeschooling; I've tried to mostly replace it with "home teaching"....brainstorming here, "home training" may even be better. :001_smile: Why you ask. Because I not only think academics is important, but to me a healthy spiritual life and life skills are more important!!

 

Now, back to your question. "School" looks like many kids sitting at many desks. They are there for many hours a day. They are confined for the most part until they reach high school where they may have more freedom with leaving the campus to eat lunch out, let's say, then return to finish the day. They are in their street clothes and no external stimuli will enter their eyes and ears except what is in the institutional setting of a school. There's more, but I'll stop there.

 

Here's our day. We've decided to get up and go on a short 2/3 mi walk with the dog 3 mornings a week. That's to wake up, spend time together outside of the home, walk the dog, help with my weight loss goal. We start school. For break, my dd may make a hot chocolate, hug the cat, play with the dog, run outside and swing for 3-4 minutes, skype a family member/friend, etc........ So,

 

we provide the "book learning" at home, but we do not carry over the "institutional environment" of it. We may stay in our pj's until 4 pm...now, you're not going to find that at the p.s.:lol:

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I have grown to dislike that term. We have a school room, we use textbooks, real books and workbooks. We also use a white board and store things in folders and binders. That is probably how many people define "school at home" yet I feel we definitely home school because we don 't follow a set schedule with certain times dedicated to certain subjects, my kids don't have to raise their hand or ask permission to use the bathroom or eat something. We don't form single file lines and we often do reading on the couch. We also use tv programs and DVD's as part of our schooling and we take more field trips than the schools do. That's my .02:tongue_smilie:

 

We are very much the same way. My older son went to public school for two years, and with his Asperger's syndrome, he doesn't adapt well to change. He wanted to follow a "schoolish" routine. So, I made a set of magnets with subjects and activities on them, and every morning, he puts them up in order of what we are going to do. He wanted break time to be called recess, so we call it recess. We don't have a set time to start the day, usually happens around 9:00 AM, though. We don't have set times for subjects, either. However long it takes to do math, or reading, or history is how long it takes. Many times we are cuddled on the couch, but I do have a table where they sit and a whiteboard where I can put instructions. We definitely use textbooks and other types of books, magazines, DVDs, websites, etc. We do have a structure to our days, but it's much less rigid than a traditional school setting.

[texasmama]

They way I understand "school at home" is that it is an attempt to replicate a classroom in the home, whether by using similar curriculum, keeping similar hours and/or sitting at desks.

[LucyStoner]

We did not have a schoolroom or desk set up for our son for the first year. Now we do. And we do this because it works better for us- the school room is located adjacent to the backyard so work and random breaks can move outdoors if desired, having a sep. room means we can keep our overall tiny home organized, and having a desk and space means that I don't have 47 books piled on my dining room table all the time. :glare: If I had a big enough dining room, or no other choice this might work for me but since we have an otherwise basically unusable room (small and the only room on the lowest floor of a vertical box town home) it was a change that grew naturally and has really improved this year for all of us. It is actually a fave room of all of us and it is not uncommon to find all 4 of us in there reading and whatnot all at the same time. Because we both work out of the home, we keep odd hours. We study on the weekends, some during the day M-W and some in the evenings a few days a week.

Edited September 22, 2011 by kijipt

[tricia]

I think when I say school at home what I really mean is "my children are being educated at home and through life." Really, the world and home is our classroom. I think most would agree that just being out of the traditional classroom environment would mean life and living for the education of their children.

[angela in ohio]

Hmmm, the more I think about it, the more I think "school at home" means anything more structured than what the speakers themselves are doing :D Kind of like how "old" is always 10 years older than YOU are!

 

Yep. :lol: It is usually used as a derogatory term to make anyone who is doing anything more structured feel bad.

 

If my child takes a pile of work and textbooks up the tree and stays there from 9-3, does that mean they are school-at-home or they aren't? If they are in the house, but they sit under the table as opposed to at a desk, does that mean they aren't or they are doing school at home? :lol:

 

I think I could apply the term to a very limited numer of homeschoolers (maybe two or three out of the dozens and dozens I know) who literally have a school in their home, with seasonal bulletin boards, desks, bathroom passes, a bell, and so on. They usually have an education degree. But you know what? If that makes them confortable, and they are spending the day with their dc, it's not a bad thing. Maybe they will relax later, maybe they won't. Maybe they don't care what anyone says, and they know what works for their family. :D

 

We've become more structured over time. When dc were little, no one was at a table or desk with a textbook much. We didn't have a school room. Now they are (no hallpasses or bulletin boards or anything, though.) And we have a school room, because we need a place to keep science and math materials, textbooks, art supplies, etc. We even have a whiteboard (because tough high school math problems solved as a team demand one. :D) Luckily, I am far enough along and happy enough with our results to not care if another homeschooler thinks our structure and long days means we are school-like. :hurray:

Edited September 22, 2011 by angela in ohio

[Dmmetler]

Well, we DO school at home-because that was what my DD wanted. Every day she brings in her "Classmates" from her room, and she makes them worksheets and grades them, as well as sitting at her little desk to do at least some of her "Schoolwork" daily. She LOVES it. And she REALLY loves the bulletin boards and white boards-which aren't just in the "School room", but in her bedroom, too.

 

I keep expecting her to want to go back to something that's...well...less schooly, but so far it's lasted a month :)

 

Here are some pictures

http://makingmusicwithkids.blogspot.com/2011/08/homeschoolplaying-school-in-our-case.html

Edited September 22, 2011 by dmmetler

[Sun]

I think it depends a little on who's saying it. I have unschooling friends who refer to "school at home," and they pretty much mean any schoolwork the kids are required to sit and do, rather than work they don't ask for. For less relaxed schoolers, it think it means more like specific school seating, a chalkboard or whiteboard, specific subjects on specific days, with schedules and time limits.

 

Hmmm, the more I think about it, the more I think "school at home" means anything more structured than what the speakers themselves are doing :D Kind of like how "old" is always 10 years older than YOU are!

 

I think you're probably right! It explains why everyone seems to have a different definition of it. Just one quibble: Old is way more than 10 years older than I am!

[Ginevra]

How very interesting! I had no idea there was such a range of what this means to people, except perhaps for staunch unschoolers, for whom most anything I do is "school at home."

 

For me, "School at home" means Grade-One-In-A-Box type schooling. You buy Calvert (or whomevers') grade for your child's age and do everything in there as scheduled.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I think it depends a little on who's saying it. I have unschooling friends who refer to "school at home," and they pretty much mean any schoolwork the kids are required to sit and do, rather than work they don't ask for. For less relaxed schoolers, it think it means more like specific school seating, a chalkboard or whiteboard, specific subjects on specific days, with schedules and time limits.

 

Hmmm, the more I think about it, the more I think "school at home" means anything more structured than what the speakers themselves are doing :D Kind of like how "old" is always 10 years older than YOU are!

 

This basically confirms what I was thinking:D How old are you? I think that I might be considered "old". . .

[melissel]

I think you're probably right! It explains why everyone seems to have a different definition of it. Just one quibble: Old is way more than 10 years older than I am!

 

This basically confirms what I was thinking:D How old are you? I think that I might be considered "old". . .

 

:lol::lol::lol: It's funny, because I recently mentioned the "10 years" thing to my dad, and he said, "Wait a minute. Now that I'm older, I've realized that old is actually 20 years older than I am."

 

Jean, I'm 37 :tongue_smilie:

[Tigger]

They way I understand "school at home" is that it is an attempt to replicate a classroom in the home, whether by using similar curriculum, keeping similar hours and/or sitting at desks.

 

This is what I think when I hear the words too.

[Jean in Newcastle]

 

Jean, I'm 37 :tongue_smilie:

 

That is hilarious! I'm 47!:lol:

[Joanne]

I know that I've been doing this homeschooling thing for 10 years now but I'm still a little bit confused when people say that they are not doing "school at home". Does that mean that they are not sitting at desks in a row? Does it mean they are not using textbooks? Does it mean different things for different people?

 

Do I do school at home? We don't use desks but we do use a mix of textbooks and living books. For the upper grades I actually grade and give tests. It is not child led, though we do rabbit trails from time to time based on interest. The thing is, I used to teach at a private school that was pretty much exactly like this. . .

 

It's not a standardized phrase, so making any meaningful response to it becomes elusive.

 

The last couple of years of my homeschool looked more schoolish than many homeschools because I was educating additional children. We did a traditional text, living book, eclectic resource "thing". We didn't have a school day done by 1 hour per subject, but we weren't student led at all.

[Farrar]

Yep. :lol: It is usually used as a derogatory term to make anyone who is doing anything more structured feel bad.

 

See, that's how I've seen it too - it's set up as against homeschooling and is generally a negative term. But I had a bunch of people tell me no, it just mean the formal school time. As in, we do a little school at home in the morning but the rest of our time is spent on nature walks - that sort of statement.

 

It does chafe against me, but not so much about structure, but rather that it implies that you are trying to recreate school when I see homeschooling as being substantively different from school. We may have structure, some of our materials may even be schooly, but I have no desire to recreate school. I don't see that as a positive goal.

[Jenny in GA]

Haven't read the replies yet, but I think that's funny you posted that Jean, because I always thought the same thing!

 

I used to be an unschooler and very big in the on-line unschooling community, and when we talked about people doing "school at home" it was obvious we meant people who were doing math lessons, following curriculum, etc.

 

But it has never made to sense to me to hear people proudly say, "We don't school at home!" or "I finally learned that homeschooling doesn't mean school at home!" (which always seems to be the way the term is used), and then in the next breath say they're using Math-U-See, or just had a phonics lessons, or whatever.

 

Huh? Isn't that school ... at home?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

When I say school at home, I usually mean it to say that the parent has checked the age or grade box on an order form and gotten a full set of curriculum. That they then follow the given curriculum exactly as prescribed, with no deviation, allowances for the kids' levels of understanding or interests and without substitution. They don't add on experiences, books or outings unless the guidebook tells them to.

 

In my head, the parent who makes a choice like this is unconfident or perhaps fearful. Of making the wrong education choices, or being the person responsible to make choices, or of their own lack of ability to teach or lead discussions.

 

In my experience, some of the parents who do this are those who have felt "forced" into homeschooling by some set of circumstances. Maybe they moved into an area with really bad schools. Maybe they are military and are waiting out 1-2 school years befor transferring back into a "good" district. Maybe they were in a religious school but aren't any longer (money or a move, perhaps).

 

Though having typed that out, I think maybe it is a heart attitude that you could have towards curriculums that included lots of trade books as well as those that were textbook or video/computer based.

[Word Nerd]

The definition varies, but in general—at least on most homeschooling boards I've been on—it means using a boxed/all-in-one curriculum.

[SweetMissMagnolia]

yeah really depends on the one saying it-I mean it can mean different things to different people--but when I've heard that it means that they aren't sitting in a desk all day with their noses in textbooks......

[HS Mom in NC]

Over the last 11+ years of my homeschooling, I've heard it used all those different ways.

 

I use it in reference to people who use only (or almost entirely) grade based textbooks, workbooks, typical testing methods, grading, and every child doing the same thing at the same age or in the same order (if the child has a LD.) If it's basically private school or public school materials and methods in a household setting, then that's how I classify it.

[NanceXToo]

To me it means they are not trying to replicate a public school style education or methods in their home, that they're more relaxed and making their own choices regarding curricula, how long to spend learning, when and where to learn and so on, not trying to make a kid sit at a desk/table for 6 or 7 hours doing textbook and workbook stuff and so on.

[Crimson Wife]

The definition varies, but in general—at least on most homeschooling boards I've been on—it means using a boxed/all-in-one curriculum.

 

:iagree: Except it's a textbook/workbook all-in-one rather than a more "living books" one like SL or HOD or MFW.

[SeekingHim77]

I've always thought it just meant trying to replicate the school experience at home-trying to make your homeschool like a little classroom for your children. It so broadened my horizons to realize that I could do things much differently and it made my homeschool a much more productive and happy place to be. :001_smile:

 

A home should first and foremost be a home-not a school.

Edited September 23, 2011 by Melanie32
forgot something...

[ElizaG]

When I say school at home, I usually mean it to say that the parent has checked the age or grade box on an order form and gotten a full set of curriculum. That they then follow the given curriculum exactly as prescribed, with no deviation (...)

Is this what most schools do? It wasn't my own experience at PS. We had textbooks for most subjects, but the teachers didn't use them exclusively. I can remember having a lot of discussions, chalkboard and overhead lessons, skits, projects, and so on. Even when we did use the textbook or workbook, we didn't do all the chapters or answer all the questions. Given all the shelves of stuff for sale at our local teachers' store, and the suggestions I've read online from classroom teachers, I had assumed that this was still the case. But maybe it's exceptional.

 

In answer to the OP, I don't use the term "school at home," for reasons others have mentioned (too vague, usually used in a derogatory way). But I'd associate it more with the outer trappings: themed bulletin boards and calendars, reward stickers, circle time, uniforms, individual desks with children's names, the Pledge of Allegiance, etc. We do a few things along those lines, because my children seem to like them and they give me visual cues that help with the transition from housekeeping mode to teaching mode. (If I applied the same level of diligence and professionalism to homeschooling as I do to keeping house, heaven help my children's education. ;))

 

dmmetler, thanks for sharing the photos. I love the "using your heads" one. :D

[Janie Grace]

Most people I know who say this regularly seem to feel worried/defensive that they aren't doing enough. It is an accepted way to say "but it doesn't matter!"

 

JME!

[Frontier Mom]

I say this but it is because I see home education as who we are, not somewhere we go or do for a set time each day. School for me has the stigma that it is a place to go for a set time and then, when it is over the learning ends. We have always home educated and I believe our entire life is just one continuous educational experience. We have school-type work and non-school activities. I just don't use it because my dcs hear their friends speak so negatively about their time "at school" and I want them to have a different feel about what we do here at home.

 

I think it is a family by family thing. We have just always called ourselves Home Educators.

[justamouse]

FOR ME, it means that I do not have alphabets on the walls, no desks, no cut outs, no bright things hanging. I have a room for school, but it's not a schoolroom. And I think as the littles get older, it will be even less of a room for school.

 

No unit studies, no boxed curriculum, no master teacher schedule and grade books.

[justamouse]

Well, we DO school at home-because that was what my DD wanted. Every day she brings in her "Classmates" from her room, and she makes them worksheets and grades them, as well as sitting at her little desk to do at least some of her "Schoolwork" daily. She LOVES it. And she REALLY loves the bulletin boards and white boards-which aren't just in the "School room", but in her bedroom, too.

 

I keep expecting her to want to go back to something that's...well...less schooly, but so far it's lasted a month :)

 

Here are some pictures

http://makingmusicwithkids.blogspot.com/2011/08/homeschoolplaying-school-in-our-case.html

 

I must admit, if that's what my kid wanted, then yeah, I'd accommodate her, too.

[Aubrey]

I think it's a buzz phrase that's used to insult other hs'ers. Like "helicopter parenting" made some people worry for a while, perhaps even moving some to change their parenting styles to suit this new fad. When we hear phrases w/ negative connotations, I think human nature is to jump up & move away from that faster than we can really question if it NEEDS to be moved away from.

 

Honestly? I think there can be good reasons for hs'ing that have little to do w/ the particular academic bent of the parents involved, so if they choose to hs in a way that looks like school-at-home, WHO CARES? They're pouring themselves into their children earnestly. They're making sacrifices. I don't want them criticizing my choice of a more creative approach--of MCT or learning math facts later or whatever.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I think it's a buzz phrase that's used to insult other hs'ers. Like "helicopter parenting" made some people worry for a while, perhaps even moving some to change their parenting styles to suit this new fad. When we hear phrases w/ negative connotations, I think human nature is to jump up & move away from that faster than we can really question if it NEEDS to be moved away from.

 

Honestly? I think there can be good reasons for hs'ing that have little to do w/ the particular academic bent of the parents involved, so if they choose to hs in a way that looks like school-at-home, WHO CARES? They're pouring themselves into their children earnestly. They're making sacrifices. I don't want them criticizing my choice of a more creative approach--of MCT or learning math facts later or whatever.

 

Well said. :001_smile:

[SeekingHim77]

I think it's a buzz phrase that's used to insult other hs'ers. Like "helicopter parenting" made some people worry for a while, perhaps even moving some to change their parenting styles to suit this new fad. When we hear phrases w/ negative connotations, I think human nature is to jump up & move away from that faster than we can really question if it NEEDS to be moved away from.

 

Honestly? I think there can be good reasons for hs'ing that have little to do w/ the particular academic bent of the parents involved, so if they choose to hs in a way that looks like school-at-home, WHO CARES? They're pouring themselves into their children earnestly. They're making sacrifices. I don't want them criticizing my choice of a more creative approach--of MCT or learning math facts later or whatever.

 

I have never looked at it as an insult! I think it's meant to be an encouragement. Realizing that my little homeschool didn't have to look like the public school was very freeing for me. We have a school schedule, have a book for each subject-some are textbooks, others living books, and are very structured. I don't consider that school at home at all because I've learned to that I can teach different ways, use different learning materials, do different subjects on different days, stop in the middle of the morning to build a tent in the living room so that we can all crawl in and finish our school snuggled together inside, interrupt history to share a story that the book reminded us of, etc.

 

It's about working school into the atmosphere of the home-not home into the atmosphere of a school.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Is this what most schools do? It wasn't my own experience at PS. We had textbooks for most subjects, but the teachers didn't use them exclusively. I can remember having a lot of discussions, chalkboard and overhead lessons, skits, projects, and so on. Even when we did use the textbook or workbook, we didn't do all the chapters or answer all the questions. Given all the shelves of stuff for sale at our local teachers' store, and the suggestions I've read online from classroom teachers, I had assumed that this was still the case. But maybe it's exceptional.

 

In answer to the OP, I don't use the term "school at home," for reasons others have mentioned (too vague, usually used in a derogatory way). But I'd associate it more with the outer trappings: themed bulletin boards and calendars, reward stickers, circle time, uniforms, individual desks with children's names, the Pledge of Allegiance, etc. We do a few things along those lines, because my children seem to like them and they give me visual cues that help with the transition from housekeeping mode to teaching mode. (If I applied the same level of diligence and professionalism to homeschooling as I do to keeping house, heaven help my children's education. ;))

 

dmmetler, thanks for sharing the photos. I love the "using your heads" one. :D

 

Re-reading what I wrote, I realize that it could have come off as slamming classroom teachers. That wasn't actually my intention. Though I do think that ps teachers have less and less opportunity for creative lessons as states dictate lessons for classes in order to meet the milestones of state standards.

 

Perhaps what I WAS trying to get across was that when I use the phrase "school at home" it is partly to get across a feeling I have that some parents aren't familiar with having the authority/responsibility of making the educational choices. These families are more comfortable using a curriculum where somone else is making the choices on books and pacing. And (in my head) a school at home family feels a lot of pressure to conform to that curriculum package because that is what the "educational professionals" have deemed appropriate (even if that was for some notional average kid).

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I have never looked at it as an insult! I think it's meant to be an encouragement. Realizing that my little homeschool didn't have to look like the public school was very freeing for me. We have a school schedule, have a book for each subject-some are textbooks, others living books, and are very structured. I don't consider that school at home at all because I've learned to that I can teach different ways, use different learning materials, do different subjects on different days, stop in the middle of the morning to build a tent in the living room so that we can all crawl in and finish our school snuggled together inside, interrupt history to share a story that the book reminded us of, etc.

 

It's about working school into the atmosphere of the home-not home into the atmosphere of a school.

 

Just as a FWIW, I think there was some pressure back in the day (say 1980s and early 1990s) to display some of the trappings of the classroom (even if that were an old time one room schoolhouse) in order to assuage concerns that a family wasn't taking education seriously.

 

I remember hearing a couple speakers who started homeschooling before the laws in their state reflected this as a legal option. The restrictions they were under, even if self imposed, are so different to the choices I have. Not only did they have far fewer curriculum choices to pick from, but there was the spectre of a possible visit by someone who would tell them they couldn't homeschool. (Zan Tyler is one speaker I recall listening too. I remember hearing another older woman talk about how she always made sure the kitchen was clean and kids were dressed, because she feared CPS or a truancy officer coming to the house. This is not a concern that most contemporary homeschoolers live with.) I think if you felt that Big Brother's arrival at your door was a daily possibility, then you might be more schoolish and less eclectic in your choices too. JMHO.

 

In a setting like this, an all in one package like Calvert or ABeka would give some peace of mind that you could show you were covering all the bases.

[annandatje]

I think it's a buzz phrase that's used to insult other hs'ers. .....

 

My experience has been decidedly different from those who deem it an insult.

 

In my circle, it is used to described a certain form of homeschooling where: the 3rs plus social studies and science are covered, at least some texts are used as well as "live" books, a fairly strict schedule is followed, periodic assessments (not necessarily tests in traditional sense) are administered, and grades may or may not be assigned.

 

I never knew the term had anything to do with physical setup of the schooling area in the home.

 

Certainly I hope it is not an automatic insult because I have often used to describe our manner of homeschooling to other homeschoolers when we were using "school at home" style of learning.

[Dmmetler]

The thing is, though, at least for my daughter, having the trappings of "school" makes her feel more comfortable in having our actually fairly relaxed days. It's like having a desk in the room makes it OK to sit under it and read MoTH and write poetry lying on the floor :). And doing math on the BIG whiteboard is SO much more fun than doing it with paper and pencil-or even on a small whiteboard on the couch, apparently. She also LOVES getting to pick out stickers for her work and choosing what to display on the bulletin board (mostly drawings of Egyptian dressed up animals recently). She's currently in the process of deciding which president each one of her stuffed animals is going to be, and trying to make costumes/props for them based on what the president did in office (the stuffed ghost is William Henry Harrison :) ). She's much more into "school at home" than she was into being "homeschooled".

 

 

I was reluctant, initially, to admit what this had turned into among my homeschool group locally because "school at home" has such a bad rep. The idea of actually setting up a classroom, was a little disconcerting-but DD got so into the project that even the people who were very extreme unschoolers quickly realized that she was the one driving it-and that I was basically, going along for the ride. And we'll ride as long as it lasts-when she no longer needs/wants bulletin boards and cutesy borders and sticker charts, she'll let me know.

 

I wonder if some of the people choosing in the box curricula are doing so for similar reasons-that they've found that their child really DOES do better and is happier with that situation, and that it's not a case of lack of confidence or "not knowing any better" or "wanting to be just like school" or "not being committed to homeschooling" (all phrases I've heard tossed around with the "school at home" statement) but that this is what WORKS.

 

One of the moms in my homeschool group really, really wants to unschool, or at least be very relaxed about school, and has a daughter who wants nothing more than to be able to open book 1 to page 10, read the chapter, and answer the questions at the end, and then go on to book 2. She WANTS structure. She craves it. And I suspect she'd be a much happier child if her mother WERE to buy ABEKA or CLE or another canned "third grade" program and let her work through it, while going on with her unschooling life with the other kids in the family, and let the girl decide when, and if, she's ready to move to a more relaxed form of education.

[Veritaserum]

I've only ever heard "school at home" used as an insult. I have no qualms at this point about our schoolroom, desks, etc. We even use textbooks for some things. I've moved past the point where I feel a need to justify our methods to others. :) I am a reformed unschooler and the transition was difficult at first because I was abandoning a philosophy that I had fervently believed it. But I'm glad that I was able to move past philosophy and on to what's practical. Practical for us is a schedule, daily lists of what lessons to complete, textbooks for some subjects, etc.

[angela in ohio]

I wonder if some of the people choosing in the box curricula are doing so for similar reasons-that they've found that their child really DOES do better and is happier with that situation, and that it's not a case of lack of confidence or "not knowing any better" or "wanting to be just like school" or "not being committed to homeschooling" (all phrases I've heard tossed around with the "school at home" statement) but that this is what WORKS.

 

Exactly.

 

I've shared before about a close friend who unschooled her young dc. When her young man bucked and showed every sign of needing more structure, of prefering the textbook approach, she was told to ignore what he needed in pursuit of what outwardly looks like other unschoolers. It wasn't until she left the unschooling community that she was able to learn to do what her dc needed.

[higginszoo]

I agree that it means different things to different people. Lately, I've thought of it as people who use virtual charters and the like. People who are basically under the authority of a public (or private) school, do exactly the prescribed curriculum, etc. It wouldn't work well for our family, but I have several friends who, for various reasons, have found this kind of situation very helpful, whether to remove a child from a negative social situation, adjust to a child's competitive sports/acting/arts career, or to be able to give a child extra one on one attention. It's attractive to me on some levels, but my dc are even more asynchronous in their development now than they were when we started that I would have no clue as to where to begin to pick a grade out of a box.