Nan in Mass Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Well, a few of the many things... I love it that my son can work on something, get frustrated, go off and play the piano for a few minutes or go outside for a few minutes, and then come back and tackle it again. He isn't trapped in a seat in a room without the ability to move for the best hours of the day. I love that we can pick which books to read for English, and that we can choose to read them aloud together cuddled on the sofa in front of the fire. I love that the animals are involved. The cat sits on our lap or next to our head on the desk. The dog sits on our feet and keeps them warm. We can feed the fish our sandwich crumbs while we read on the sunny dock. I love that we can reschedule things to take into account life. I love that we can pare down the academics to just essentials some years in order to leave time for independent projects or travel or sports. I love that we can use a history program meant for French middle schoolers for high school history. I love that I can take the time to work on the things he struggles with. Last year, we spent a ton of time on some chapters of the math book and whizzed through others. This can be done in public school, obviously, if the whole class is struggling, but it would be unfair to hold up the whole class just for one student. There are advantages to going to public school. When we chose to homeschool, we knew we were giving up many of those advantages. But there are also many advantages to homeschooling and today I am feeling very grateful for those. This is a transition year for us, a half-and-half year where my son is taking math and science at the community college and doing French and great books at home with me, and that is making me extra aware of the niceness of homeschooling. : ) What do you love about homeschooling? Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 public/private school course selections. We can choose to do the typical bio/chem/phys or algebra/geo/algebra II, or we can choose a completely different sequence and curriculum to fit the needs of my child, preparing him for his real world needs instead of some idealized, "comprehensive" education. What do you love about homeschooling? Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nscribe Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Flexibility! Flexibility! Better materials, better schedule, better choices. I can choose the best available for my child and not be randomly stuck with whatever we happen to be assigned. When I want my child to learn to accept the world as it is and go along to get along, I can choose to make it so. I love that she is learning to be a selective consumer. Something I greatly appreciate is the social aspects. When D was in school it seemed so hard to spend real time with friends. Now, her social life is wider and deeper. We really get to know so many more people and know them more fully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nscribe Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Forgot one huge thing...I love that she is learning independence and self determination along with learning the need to be able to function interdependently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I love that we get to read really good books. And that I get to choose which ones. I love that when the dc are really into something I can decide to "count" it (in my own mind) as school. I love that they can learn at their own pace and not be given a label because they are "behind" the rest of the students. I love that I get to learn right along with them. I love that as their needs change, I can adapt what we are doing to fit them. I love that on bad weather days (snow) we can still do school so that we aren't still doing this at the end of June, like the local ps. I love that if we want to, on occasion, we can just drop it all and go swimming in October. I love that they have t-i-m-e. Time to be creative, time to be outside, time to pursue their own interests, time to get bored, time to really be with friends (not squeezed into after school time or on weekends). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kile529 Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I love being able to make my own schedule....to pick what works best for MY kids....and to be able to spend time with my kids. They can make me want to pull my hair out....but I wouldn't change it for the world! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I love that we can make school fit our lives rather than plan our livess around school. I love that I get to spend so much time with my kids. I love getting to see their faces wheb they finally "get" something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggiegal Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 that we can be working well above 'grade level' in one subject, and below in another...and it doesn't matter. It'll get sorted out in the end, and we're one OUR time table, no one else's. that my kids are not constantly exposed to the commercialization of childhood. They are free to not like Harry Potter (though all their friends do), to continue to pursue their passion in dinosaurs and other prehistoric life (though their school friends think 'that's for babies'), and so on. Not that you can shelter them from everything (or should), but I am not listening to a constant stream of "I need bakugan! No...wait...now the 'in' thing is Pokemon! No, wait...now everybody at school is into X, Y, Z, arrgghh!" that my kids are comfortable talking with and playing with all ages. They have younger friends and older friends, and can talk to adults in more than mono-syllablic grunts. that I get to be there for more of their 'awesome moments' of childhood. Yeah, I know it means being there for more of the 'yuck moments' too. that our family can have a more flexible schedule (it also helps that dh is self-employed), so we can travel off-season, go to movies / museums / science centres when its less crowded, etc. that I get to learn from my kids more than I might otherwise. Over the past few years I have developed a passion for birding and nature photography that I doubt I would have without the near constant company of my nature-crazy 9 year old. that I get to spend time with my children at a time of day when they are most refreshed and pleasant. By the late afternoon 'witching hour' the boys take their screentime break while I recharge, and we're not battling through homework in the evening when they are tired after a long day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Other than the better academics and better environment and better family bonding I love that we're not slaves to the typical school schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayb842 Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I love that my child is working on material that challanges him. I love he's beside me and wants to snuggle. I love that we're a family all the time. We're the biggest influence in his life not his peers. Jenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 So many of these resonate with me today. I like that this is one area of my life that doesn't involve red tape. I like that we have a teacher's pet, the dog. The cat only ventures in when he feels like it. I like that my son doesn't have to get up early unless he wants to. I like that he has time to explore his passion, which currently is computers. I like that he still enjoys being read to. I like that we can cover subjects when he is ready. I like that we can cover subjects like Latin, formal logic, and Japanese. I really like that he has a well developed sense of who he is. I really liked when we read Fahrenheit 451 together a few years ago and he got it. He quit watching TV after that. I asked him the other how he got so smart. His reply was that he quit watching TV. Dh and I still watch TV, ds not so much. I really like that, at 14, I have a real relationship with my son. I can have an in-depth conversation about anything with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvingLife Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I just love Homeschooling! There are so many things I love about it that I don't know where to start. Let's see... I love that if I am sick, I can take the days off and get right back on track without falling behind too much and playing catch up with the rest of class. I love being able to pick out my own programs and integrating them into my essential courses. I like how some days are relaxed with only 3 hours of school a day or can be a full 5 hours with lots of studying. I like how I can be finished with school and not have to stay and wait for the rest of class to finish. I like being able to do so many things that I never would have been able to do before but now I can with homeschooling. I am so glad I am homeschooled and I can't wait for college!!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferlee Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I love that my oldest is so self-confident. She's entering 8th grade, a time when so many kids are tormented by peer-pressure and self-doubt, fitting in, etc. I love seeing that she has her own style and presence and has been able to develop who she really is without always wondering what others think of her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanadu Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I love letting the kids attend school in their pajamas. We are not morning people.....so letting the kids move slowly in the morning instead of rushing them to be awake by 6am, dressed by 7am and out the door by 8am means they spend more time learning and less time fighting to stay awake. I don't sweat the small stuff. My only morning rule with regard to appearance is hair & teeth are brushed before we start lessons....... They do eventually get dressed for the day....:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegularMom Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I love the non-hectic mornings. I love that I can take time to make real breakfasts and sit with them and eat with them and linger over the last of the meal and talk a few minutes about something I saw in the news. I love the absence of the morning rush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Thought of something else to add: I like that my kids can be geeky, nerdy (or whatever the latest term is) and not care. I like that they haven't even heard these words and have no concept of it. I like that they and their hs friends just get to be who they really are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquinas Academy Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I love that evenings aren't taken over by homework. I love that read alouds are such an intergal part of our family culture that my teens still want to listen. I love that my children have time to practice their musical instruments. I love going on nature walks in the middle of the day. I love the strong relationships I have with all my children and the I love learning languages that aren't normally taught at school. I love doing school wherever we feel like it. I love how much time we spend reading. I love praying the Liturgy of the Hours as a family. I love going to the library during school hours. I love that my children know who they are. I love how much my children love learning. I love the discussions we have. I love not being tied to the school schedule. I love when my children point out faulty arguments. I love that my children don't care how old their friends are. I love how my children have passions. I love self-educating. And a whole lot more. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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