for discussion -- be nice -- how is real homeschooling differnt....

[momma aimee]

than what you 'pictured' homeschooling to be?

 

Espcailly if yo have homschooled for a while.

[Alte Veste Academy]

In my dreams, no one shrieks at me over math. Seriously. That's pretty much it. :tongue_smilie:

[----]

.

[Jennifer in MI]

In my dreams, I'm not the policewoman! You know - "Sam, have you finished your book?" "Andrew, have you corrected your math?" "William, how's that geography coming?" Yeah. I hate that.

[cindergretta]

I envisioned school at home, lessons very organized each morning and afternoon, everybody around the table with me teaching and helping. :lol: No even close! 10 years and 5 students later (I started with 2,) school happens all over the place and at all times of the day, year 'round, while we go on field trips, visit with friends, do crafts, goof off... ;)

[Elizabeth in WA]

In my dreams, I'm not the policewoman! You know - "Sam, have you finished your book?" "Andrew, have you corrected your math?" "William, how's that geography coming?" Yeah. I hate that.

 

:iagree:

 

In my dreams, they do the work I assigned when it is assigned as a matter of course and without endless nagging.

[emzhengjiu]

We've been homeschooling 10 years. As much as I love teaching and studying with my girls, there are days when I question my sanity. If only I could be as organized as some on this board. I fantasize about clear-cut schedules and lesson plans being followed flawlessly. Not happening! But my daughters are growing and learning wonderfully well, in spite of my lack of organizational skills.

 

Ann

[Myeightkiddies]

When I started there was some information but not much. It was hard to glamorize it because it just wasn't common. If you homeschooled you were truly "weird" because so many didn't know anyone who did it or ever heard of it (still run into that today). Even though this was just 25 years ago and many had homeschooled even longer than that, it was rare in my community.

 

My first year of homeschooling, I over did it. I don't mean by a little. It was a lot. It was so much that the teacher who evaluated the portfolio couldn't believe it, and the school board psychologist we had to meet with (illegally because the law didn't require it at that time but the school board insisted) was shocked. My daughter is very academic but it was a lot, too much.

 

Now I have a realistic view of homeschooling. We certainly do a lot, and I'm constantly reigning myself in to keep from overdoing it. I'm not sure if I expected to do a solid 7 hours a day or if I felt that I had something to prove (too much is better than too little). I can't recall. It was less accepted back then so I probably wanted to be sure no one could question that we did enough.

[Daisy]

In my dreams, no one shrieks at me over math. Seriously. That's pretty much it. :tongue_smilie:

 

:lol::lol:

 

:iagree::iagree:

[Aquinas Academy]

I envisioned school at home, lessons very organized each morning and afternoon, everybody around the table with me teaching and helping. :lol: No even close! 10 years and 5 students later (I started with 2,) school happens all over the place and at all times of the day, year 'round, while we go on field trips, visit with friends, do crafts, goof off... ;)

:iagree:

My kids were going to be so perfect. They would never argue, complain, or procrastinate. It hasn't worked out that way, but my kids are still great. :D

[Halcyon]

In my dreams, my kids would find learning about the slave passage from Africa more compelling that who has more Skittles.

[elegantlion]

In my dreams ds would work compliantly and meet all deadlines. honestly, the reality is way more awesome than I could have imagined.

[KarenNC]

We were going to cheerfully learn all sorts of things:

music (we managed appreciation, but playing an instrument or singing is out--her area is art)

Latin in elementary school (didn't happen, just getting really going with Spanish now, the summer course in French was a total waste)

building all sorts of cool paper models and things (she hates them)

 

My child was going to be an enthusiastic, self-directed learner who couldn't wait to find out more.....:lol: She's overall a good student, but self-directed.....not at this point. Here's hoping for the future.

[chepyl]

We were going to get up every morning and do school at the same time with no argument....we start anywhere between 10 am and 2 pm....school has happened at 9 pm some days. Sometimes we just need to sleep in a watch tv - today we watched "How It's Made" instead of school :) It's educational...right? (we only need 4 more days before January 1st and we will be at 90 days, half way there. We deserved a day off).

 

School with my first grader is a lot harder with my preschooler around! I thought I could entertain her with coloring books. That worked for a couple of weeks. Now she wants to do school the whole time bubby does and he needs my help on a lot of things.

 

I wouldn't send him to school for anything, but it is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I keep hoping it will get easier :) And then I read the High School boards!

[MamaT]

In my dreams, no one shrieks at me over math. Seriously. That's pretty much it. :tongue_smilie:

 

In my dreams, I'm not the policewoman! You know - "Sam, have you finished your book?" "Andrew, have you corrected your math?" "William, how's that geography coming?" Yeah. I hate that.

 

That pretty much sums it up.

[Tabrett]

Real homeschooling has taught me that LD's are not the product of neglect or poor teaching. Honestly, I thought if you started teaching a dc to read at 3 with a solid phonics program, they would be reading chapter books in 1st grade.:glare: Dc will only learn as much as they are capibable of learning no matter how hard you push. Some dc are natural readers and can learn via any method. Some dc need tremendous repetion for a simple math fact to stick. Real homeschooling has taught me that we expect way too much from PS teachers.

 

Real homeschooling consists of trying lots of curriculum to find the right one. Instead of being a fun learning experience, it has turned into a fight to help my dd stay at grade level.

 

It has also taught me how important it is that I keep homeschooling. If I were to send my dd to PS, she wouldn't learn anything.

[amyable]

In my dreams, I'm not the policewoman! You know - "Sam, have you finished your book?" "Andrew, have you corrected your math?" "William, how's that geography coming?" Yeah. I hate that.

 

:iagree:

 

And I never dreamed how hard it would be to teach 4 different children with wildly different personalities, learning styles, and special needs while my 4 year old runs back and forth in front of us calling out in a funny accent, "Mom, would you like to polka?" :lol:

[MtnTeaching]

I keep hoping it will get easier :) And then I read the High School boards!

 

I don't know what I thought. I guess I just never thought that high school would happen this FAST! The kids are like puppies, they grow up and you don't even realize it is happening.

 

I miss the days of construction paper all over the floor, "educational" field trips to the zoo, cuddles in the basement tent while we read "The Story of the World", owl pellets, and mummified chickens.

 

Now, it seems to be more about rushing here and there and shoving information in so that everyone is ready for the PSAT/SAT/ACT. I wish it would slow down some.

[Mama2Many4]

I envisioned lazy days in the springtime sitting on blankets in a beautiful field, sketching drawings of wildflowers and nature. I dreamed my kids would lay around on the carpets on their tummies. Feet kicked up in the air reading a good book. I thought that reading books to them would be the sweetest thing ever.

 

Then I woke up.

[elegantlion]

Real homeschooling has taught me that LD's are not the product of neglect or poor teaching. Honestly, I thought if you started teaching a dc to read at 3 with a solid phonics program, they would be reading chapter books in 1st grade.:glare: Dc will only learn as much as they are capibable of learning no matter how hard you push. Some dc are natural readers and can learn via any method. Some dc need tremendous repetion for a simple math fact to stick. Real homeschooling has taught me that we expect way too much from PS teachers.

 

 

I will agree. I would have never guessed my ds would be a delayed reader and writer. I was writing stories as soon as I could hold a pencil. It took me until last year before he could write a decent sentence. It wasn't for lack of effort on his part or mine. It took almost 5 years of concentrated effort before he could read well. Those are the struggles I didn't anticipate.

[zenjenn]

Honestly, by the time I started homeschooling, I didn't have a lot of preconceptions about it. I went through my self-righteous phase with pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding toddlers. I'm a California native and rather unexpectedly ended up living in Alabama. The only thing I've learned is I don't know squat about anything, and all I can do is the best I can with what I know at the time.

 

I don't even necessarily presume that homeschooling tomorrow is going to continue the way it does today. If it does, I'll continue doing what I'm doing as long as it works - if it doesn't, I'll change what I'm doing, or even send them to school if necessary. I even got a brochure for boarding school - not even on my radar, and I certainly can't afford it, but I read the brochure and filed away the information. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

[Mommyfaithe]

In my dreams is a Victorian household with a CM nanny...and we read books and practice Latin....totally dreamy...

 

Reality....I have my kids....just give me a workbook and let's get this over with. :glare:

 

Serious.....

 

Faithe

[Mommyfaithe]

I envisioned lazy days in the springtime sitting on blankets in a beautiful field, sketching drawings of wildflowers and nature. I dreamed my kids would lay around on the carpets on their tummies. Feet kicked up in the air reading a good book. I thought that reading books to them would be the sweetest thing ever.

 

Then I woke up.

 

:iagree: this is part of my picture too.....sigh.......

[butterflymommy]

I really thought we would be TV and computer (read, video games) free. That's been the biggest shock, because we're anything but.

 

My oldest son turned out to be obsessed with computers and DH wanted his flat screen TVs with zillions of cable stations and netflix.

 

I thought we would be outdoorsy and hands on, lots of experiments and learning through doing. I thought the kids would gravitate toward science and math (engineers run in my family). But the kids hate going outside, hate sports, and want to spend their free time drawing and cartooning.

[*Lulu*]

Real homeschooling has taught me that LD's are not the product of neglect or poor teaching. Honestly, I thought if you started teaching a dc to read at 3 with a solid phonics program, they would be reading chapter books in 1st grade.:glare: Dc will only learn as much as they are capibable of learning no matter how hard you push. Some dc are natural readers and can learn via any method. Some dc need tremendous repetion for a simple math fact to stick. Real homeschooling has taught me that we expect way too much from PS teachers.

 

Real homeschooling consists of trying lots of curriculum to find the right one. Instead of being a fun learning experience, it has turned into a fight to help my dd stay at grade level.

 

It has also taught me how important it is that I keep homeschooling. If I were to send my dd to PS, she wouldn't learn anything.

 

:iagree:

 

I had this vision of self-motivated learning, children happily working math just because it was fun. I thought the lazy days of chasing "rabbit trails" would last through elementary school. The reality is that if I do not maintain a fairly rigid schedule my SPD kid cannot function enough to actually complete anything, and the work we need to do just isn't going to happen unless Mom is also task master.

[BillieBoy]

We knew we going to homeschool before DD was even born. (I was teaching in PS at the time) I pictured a room with $20,000 worth of shelving, cabinetry, specialty tables for computers and crafts, and all the best educational tools money could buy. All my books would be categorized with the dewy-decimal system, my notebooks color coordinated, nay, covered with beautiful matching fabric. I pictured my child diligently reciting Latin chants in a pinafore (not really). I had my curriculum planned out years in advance and everything went according to plan, if not better than.

 

My reality: I wish there were no eye rolls as my DARLING DAUGHTER slams her head down on the dining room table. Our crafts cupboard, an old converted armoire, exploded sometime in grade three. The dictionary still has glitter in it. Last week I discovered the missing Science Encyclopedia, in a stack of my husband’s guitar and log home building magazines, in the guest bathroom. Note books that lay haphazardly on the kitchen island bar are the blue or white Staples specials.

 

BUT, my curriculum plans, for the most part, did pan out and she does recite her Latin chants albeit while on horseback in jean shorts. AND I wouldn’t trade my reality for the world.

[justamouse]

That learning is a much more organic, full time thing than the pubic schools would have us think. That "it's a life".

[cin]

In my dreams we HOMEschool. Reality: We are going somewhere every day of the week. Piano, OT, Coop, gymnastics, and Counseling. MTWTF. Every Week.

[rwjx2khsmj]

In my dreams we got up at 9a.m. had breakfast then snuggled together on the couch while I read aloud and they listened with eager ears. We worked happily and diligently until 1pm when we enjoyed a lovely lunch knowing our school day was complete. Our afternoons were taken up with pursuing individual interests and physical activities.

 

Reality is that teaching three children is a full time job and our school day lasts, most days, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. or later. We rarely get the time to pursue individual interests and physical activity until after the school day is over. Much of our day revolves around me juggling lessons and keeping everyone on track. I'm as much a fascilitator as much as a teacher.

[Pretty in Pink]

I learned that life is so much messier than I ever thought it would be. Holy cow, the messes. The laundry. The scraps of paper all over the floor. The books -- piles and shelves and cupboards full of books. And more laundry. Always more laundry.

 

I realized that homeschooling is not about me. It's not about my perfect little vision of what I thought it would be. It's not about proving myself, proving that I can teach my kids, proving that I can homeschool them all the way, proving...whatever. It's about them -- their goals, their relationships, their acheivements, what's best for them. They are not extensions of me. They are awesome little people, individuals.

 

I realized that I've been doing this for nine years and still feel like there is so very much to learn.

[sewingmama]

In my HS dreams I was going to have two girls and we were going to live in the country with big fields to run around in and unschool. My girls would spend every day making daisy chains, reading and creating great works of art and craft :lol:

 

Well I didn't have my two girls and we can't afford a house in the country. If I let my kids unschool they fight or beg to watch tv. :glare:

 

My DD is indeed artistically inclined and spends about 5 hours of every day engaged in creative endeavours - although they aren't exactly works of art -more like cardboard cereal boxes with crap stuck to them with lots and lots of tape ;)

 

I also forgot that I wouldn't have a maid and would have to do all the cleaning and housekeeping myself ;)

[Garga]

All my books would be categorized with the dewy-decimal system, my notebooks color coordinated, nay, covered with beautiful matching fabric. I pictured my child diligently reciting Latin chants in a pinafore (not really).

 

 

Laugh out loud funny!!!!

 

I also forgot that I wouldn't have a maid and would have to do all the cleaning and housekeeping myself ;)

 

 

Yeah...I didn't get that memo either--the one about doing my own housekeeping.

[Chris in VA]

I didn't realize how stupid I was, and how much I'd forgotten, and how much information I'd need at my fingertips. IOW, I didn't realize that I'd wandered thru my own education and didn't pay as close attention in school as I'd thought. I learned a ton in Dd's first grade!

 

I also didn't realize how molding it was to my own character--wow, I had to confront some laziness that wasn't quite as evident until I had to homeschool.

[The Girls' Mom]

In my dreams everyone was going to LOVE learning, and they would each find a passion that they worked hard for.

 

Instead, it's a little more like dragging them along behind me as we tread through middle and high school, and every interest involves more money than I can come up with, or more time than I have to shuttle people around :glare:

 

But I still wouldn't trade it all for public school. BTDT.

[mom2scouts]

In my dreams, we would be going on exciting weekly field trips, frequent nature walks, leisurely bike rides and exciting outdoor adventures in the middle of winter. In reality, if I don't plan those things into my lesson plans, they don't happen. As for outdoor fun in winter, we're usually enjoying the cold weather from inside the house.

[Mary in VA]

In my dreams, I'm not the policewoman! You know - "Sam, have you finished your book?" "Andrew, have you corrected your math?" "William, how's that geography coming?" Yeah. I hate that.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree: And I think my kids think I like doing that! It was one of the best things about my oldest going to college-it wasn't my business anymore!!

 

Mary

[ciyates]

In my dreams he would be inspired to learn and dig deep into obscure subjects. He would appreciate the sacrifices we have made to homeschool him. We would be neat and tidy, well planned and academically advanced. :lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

Reality is we starting over in math, he would rather read Guns and Ammo than Dickens, and we spend more time looking for the science book than doing it! Would not trade it for the world!

[butterflymommy]

I also was unprepared for how much the criticism/ skepticism of others would affect me. My family was (and still is, but less so) horrified that I am homeschooling "all" of them "through high school" (gasp). And in my old neighborhood people didn't even know what homeschooling was. Cue the shocked/ horrified/ dubious stares once I explained it. It got to me and made me doubt myself in a way I didn't anticipate at all.

[Plink]

I learned that life is so much messier than I ever thought it would be. Holy cow, the messes. The laundry. The scraps of paper all over the floor. The books -- piles and shelves and cupboards full of books.

 

Yeah, that sums it up for me. I guess I thought that there would be a tiny book-loving fairy with a sparkling magic wand that would visit each night to put our home back in pristine order. She would file completed work, sweep up after our craft projects, and lay out all of the supplies for our science experiments the night BEFORE we need them. During her visits I would be hosting dinner parties and reading intellectually stimulating bedtime stories to my brood.

 

I think the book fairy lost my address.:tongue_smilie:

[LNC]

I envisioned nature study and lovely journals filled with watercolors in the elementary years. Neither can even draw! I envisioned a love of humanities -literature and living book history study. They tolerate those subjects but live for math, textbook science with experiments, piano and latin. Oh yes, they both enjoy grammar more than literature. :tongue_smilie:

[Night Elf]

I have homeschooled for 10 years now. My vision has changed many times and I always tried to make changes to meet my expectations.

 

As for right now? Homeschooling my kids would look like 4 to 5 good solid hours of their high school courses. My dd13 is doing a stellar job with writing her own schedule and following through, well, minus the times she procrastinates and doesn't get something done. However, if she gets behind, her 4-day week turns into a 5-day week so she weighs that consideration very carefully! My ds15, otoh, does not follow any type of schedule. His work takes twice as long to complete than I usually allow. I make the same mistakes every single week. I'm constantly tweaking our weekly schedule to accomodate for his struggles. To be fair though, he has Aspergers and his issues with school work are valid and not just laziness. We work on and off from about 2pm to 9pm because he requires long breaks. Our sleep patterns are way off due to both of us suffering insomnia most nights. Yeah, our current mode of homeschooling is very far off from what I consider my ideal.

[Dana]

Yeah, that sums it up for me. I guess I thought that there would be a tiny book-loving fairy with a sparkling magic wand that would visit each night to put our home back in pristine order. She would file completed work, sweep up after our craft projects, and lay out all of the supplies for our science experiments the night BEFORE we need them. During her visits I would be hosting dinner parties and reading intellectually stimulating bedtime stories to my brood.

 

I think the book fairy lost my address.:tongue_smilie:

 

I want a book fairy!

[eternalknot]

When I decided to homeschool, I envisioned lazy mornings coupled with lots of reading and discussions and living books and field trips. I'm not an unschooler, and we'd have formal work, but ... it'd be a lots of interactive, hands-on, back-and-forth between us kind of learning, especially in the early years. Relaxed.

 

Turns out my kid is a give-it-to-me-I'll-learn-it-myself-and-get-it-done homebody who prefers worksheets and learning things on his own (instead of us bouncing off of one another and working together). He has interests, but by and large he prefers to read a textbook, learn the material, fill out a worksheet, take the test, and call it a day. Yawn! What's the point of staying home, then??! (For me, that is LOL.)

 

It took me a few years to accept my freak son, and adjust our home school philosophy and planning. And now my other kid is at schooling age, but (yay!) she's not like my son. She's like me. And much more fun to homeschool :D

[LaxMom]

In my dreams, no one shrieks at me over math. Seriously. That's pretty much it. :tongue_smilie:

 

That. And we would have fewer lessons where people "forget" how to read. I hate the days when they're being deliberately obtuse. :glare:

[PhotoGal]

:D

 

Well, coming from the kids being in school, I expected homeschooling to be like helping ds with homework - me begging him to do his work and him resisting, stalling, complaining. Luckily, our reality is a lot better than that!

 

I'm actually surprised how willing the kids are to do things. There have been occasional sighs or minor complaints, but it has gone a lot smoother than the homework battles of previous years. :thumbup1:

 

I better knock on some wood before I jinx myself.

 

I do think we are busier than I pictured, but that is my fault for signing them up for things. ;)

[Rosie_0801]

We're not even school age and the plans have already gone awry!

 

Dd was supposed to be well on her way to bilingualism in English and Auslan by now, but not only did dh decide not to exert himself to teach her Auslan, but both kids have turned out language delayed. I expected dd to memorise the nursery rhymes I sang before the Red Dwarf theme song. I sing a lot more nursery rhymes than I watch Red Dwarf.

 

They were supposed to like snuggling up and reading stories. They were never going to grab the book and run off with it. They were definitely never going to run away without even taking the book. I was supposed to increase my enjoyment of reading aloud once I had kids. Why doesn't that happen? Shouldn't there be some kind of post partum hormone for that? :confused:

 

The next castle in a cloud they will likely demolish is the one where, once ds is of a more civilised age, they are going to enjoy working at science and math lab tables. Without the materials being ground into the carpet, naturally. But I can hold onto that one a while longer. :)

 

Rosie

[Catherine]

It's not all bad, but I had hoped for more positive feedback from my students :glare:

 

One of mine is back in school now, for ninth grade. He is doing fine, and he says he's been well-prepared. That's gratifying, but I guess I fantasized that he'd miss us more. Given that I have all boys, I knew my fantasies of making things (that *I* know how to make-food and clothing) were probably not going to be fulfilled. They can cook a little though.

 

I also didn't anticipate that any of my children would not be readers. One is not, and it feels like a failure.

[Donna]

When I first started homeschooling, I also pictured "school at home" with the kids sitting around the table doing their schoolwork and me with plenty of time to keep my house up because I'd be home all day with them. I was very set on getting such and such done each day and having a plan for the day/week/month/year.

 

Ha! I am much more relaxed now and we get done what we get done. Sometimes it is more than I have in my head to do and other times it is less but we just roll with it. I don't plan on paper and stress myself out but just have a basic outline in my head of what I want to accomplish with dd that year and keep moving toward that goal. I keep track on paper of what we did rather than what we should do. We never sit at the table...mostly lay on the floor or cuddle on the couch or do school in the car. I give dd input into what she wants to learn and fit that into our lives as well so it takes some of the burden on me.

 

As for that perfect house....Ha! in another 10 years when all of them are either in college or done college, maybe I'll have time for that. LOL Right now if it gets cleaned once a week I am happy and maybe I'll get a load of laundry washed, dried, and someone will fold it for me every day. :001_smile:

[Dmmetler]

That it would be easier to teach one child than a classroom of them (I think it's harder-in the classroom, I simply taught what they gave me and somehow made it work. It's a lot harder to keep charging on when your DD is falling out of her chair and claiming "Mommy, it's BORING!!!")

 

That DD would LOVE hands on projects (nope-she's very happy with a book and a worksheet, and could care less about mummifying a chicken or building a model for school.)

 

That we'd read together a lot (nope-by the middle of the first Sonlight Read-aloud, she asked if she could just read it on her own because I was too slow).

 

That homeschooling would save money over private school tuition (well, I guess if you count just school books, maybe, but once you count that I discovered that I couldn't homeschool, be a good parent, and work part-time at the same time, it ended up costing more than expected. Not to mention that all those neat homeschool activities end up costing money, and the little bits add up. Our "free" co-op has ended up being about as expensive as any outsourced class by the time I bought materials for the classes I taught.)

 

That we'd just do school every day (Well, I guess we probably learn something every day, but we've had more days that the books weren't even cracked recently than the other way around-and DH has suggested that we join him on another work trip next month!).

 

And, after all that, I wouldn't go back for anything.

[ma23peas]

I am in my 11th year of homeschooling...things I expected were minimal, had little exposure to families that homeschooled...so we set our own agenda and started out with loads of reading and fun stuff...although I will say I was worried how in the world I could teach my children to READ...I loved 100 EZ lessons, once we got over that barrier, all else seemed achievable.

 

Now that I have 7th grade and up...I see my role as more of a facilitator...the only video teaching they use is Rosetta (which I love) and I ferret out their sciences (but sadly, the amazing teacher who has taught over 10 courses to my children will be leaving for lifelong mission work next year! Luckily I saved all my older child's tests/work...so I guess I'll be teaching sciences to my daughters in high school)...they take on their math/language and I do teach their writing (alongside 30 other children in my writing classes) once a week, but they do the work..I'm just here to help with struggles, teach the newer concepts in math that they struggle with and make sure they have opportunities these high school years to plug into their community (volunteering), participate in sports, and help mold their character...

 

I honestly think right now the hardest challenge has been the character development, I think sometimes in a school setting children are exposed to a huge number of personality issues where they work it out for themselves what is acceptable either by failing and bearing the consequences or just learning from others missteps....I'm catching their missteps and having to stay on them...(If I fix dinner plates and one has more mashed potatoes than the other, do not sit there and make sure you get the one with more...if your brother is eating more than his portion of cookies, don't be his momma, if your sister asks you to walk the puppy because she walked it 3x before, do not tell her you will not do it....) I honestly think working through these self-centered desires at this stage in their lives is the toughest job I have right now, they're pretty good at getting their work done (now that the Xbox and Wii no longer exist in our household) and get praises from other families all the time about how sweet/nice/helpful they are...so some of it is working, just looking for that realization that being nice and considerate as a teen is more beneficial to all than being snarky and putting self first :) Since, I'm with them most the time, I have more responsibility on helping them through these issues...which I think I dealt with more on my own when in the traditional school setting.