The lies we tell about homeschooling...

[Laura Corin]

I don't think I had many expectations when I started home educating. School wasn't working, so I knew I could do better, surely.

 

I don't tend to 'sell' home educating. I usually answer the questions that are posed honestly and leave it at that. The most that I say is, 'It works really well for some families.' I've seen enough to know that results will vary wildly.

 

Laura

[lauranc]

I don't tell any lies about homeschooling :001_smile: There are good days and bad days, just like anything else.

 

When I started homeschooling 13 yrs ago, I knew absolutely nobody who homeschooled. Our family thought we'd lost our minds. My oldest was 4 and had never been to school--- but I just had this feeling that his life would be somehow better if he homeschooled.

 

I don't know, of course, if it was any better--- none of my kids have ever been to school. But I do know that I feel confident that all 3 of my kids are growing into the people they were supposed to be, and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to homeschool.

 

I wanted them to have the freedom to think what they wanted, learn in a way that best suited them, and have a whole lot of time to wonder, play, explore etc.. All of those goals have panned out. So, I feel we've had success!

 

I don't try and sell homeschooling--- I've known (and know) many people who do--- I just do my own thing and if people have questions, I answer what I can.

[sunnylady303]

I also understand what you are saying. When I first started looking into homeschooling, the books I read talked about how wonderful it is. And it is. I wouldn't trade it in for almost anything. But the books I read did not spend so much time talking about how hard it can be.

 

The first year we homeschooled, I started with this expectation that it would be all roses all the time. And you know what? It was hard. We were basically unschooling that first year and (probably because I am not a good facilitator) no one learned anything. Then we moved to a more Waldorf-y curriculum and my older DD couldn't stand it. She needed more structure. Then we found Sonlight and then WTM and we are just now (like the last 6 months) starting to flourish.

 

I was utterly unprepared for how long it would take us to get our feet under us and the worry I would have as we searched for the best things for my childrens' learning styles and my own sanity. :) I worried and researched and worried and stressed and watched and struggled. That was not in the books I read on homeschooling. :lol:

 

I know now that that is just part of it. It takes time to find a rhythm. My kids are young; I did no permanent damage (I hope). I will continue to tweak and I know there will be other rough spots. But it took me by complete surprise. And I suppose I did feel, to some extent, that I had been "sold" on something that was not working out for me the way "they" said it would. At least I felt that way while I was in the middle of the turmoil.

 

Even then I wouldn't have exchanged it. We are all close. I am so blessed to be with my children and to know them better as people as I teach them. But I do think I get it.

 

And when I tell people about homeschooling now - like friends who are considering whether to homeschool their 4YO, I tend to tell them the good stuff. Although now I think about it, if they decide to I will have to warn them!

 

Sorry this was so scattered. Just my thoughts...

[TravelingChris]

I will respond as I am nearly done with homeschooling after 18 years or so. I have three years to go.

 

My kids argued. They probably argued a lot. We are all stubborn people here. BUT- as 23, almost 19, and 15.5 year olds, they spend more time together and have more genuine affection for each other than the families that I have met who did regular schooling.

 

TIme- even when my son was just starting homeschooling, we always did more than 2 hours. He started with second grade (with a short trial of a few months in first grade). It was mainly because we did more subjects. But while now, with only one high schooler left, I have much more time, she still does many hours of school. I just don't need to do all of them with her so I am now at only two hours or so of active homeschooling. She does more than six hours of work.

 

Field trips- I don't know how to answer. Group field trips they did do some but much less in the last six years- mainly because I was dealing with older kids only who had more responsibilities and also there were less opportunities. But they did some. However, we went on lots of trips as a family too. So, for example, last year, we went on a family vacation and visited lots of museums, national historic parks, and other educational venues. That is what we like to do as a family. So this last year, we had many visits and trips that could count- Chattanooga Aquarium, four botanical gardens including ours, Huntsville Botanical, repeatedly, Space Museum a number of times, Art museum a few times.

 

Now organization, I haven't been good at that for 18 years, and I have decided it really doesn't matter. They have all learned a lot and they are all still learning as are we, the parents. I don't need to keep such detalied records to know this is happening. I do what is necessary to get them into college and here, to do what the church school wants. The rest is not done.

[Mom-ninja.]

Ex:

- Really short days (2-3 hours) with the rest of the day free.

- Better sibling relationships

- hands-on learning

- field trips all over the place

 

 

I already posted that I don't "sell" home schooling. Ever. I'm not trying to get people to home school, and I don't care if other people believe in the benefits of home schooling.

 

That said I'll address this few points you listed.

 

Short days: sometimes we have short days and sometimes we have long days. It depends on a lot of other things.

 

Better sibling relationships: my boys do have a great relationship. I have been told by many that they have a better relationship then other siblings. I'm always getting comments from other even strangers remarking on how nicely my boys are to each other. Does that mean they never fight? Nope. They get on each others nerves. I get on my dh's nerves and he on mine yet we have a great relationship/marriage.

 

Hands on learning: we do our fair share. My kids are young so it should be hands on.

 

Field trips: Not too many for various reasons. I have a 3 yr old and he doesn't mix well with field trips. Also money plays a factor. Plus, driving time (and cost of gas) as we live far out from most things.

[AngelaNYC]

I stumbled onto this thread today: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=261674

 

Ex:

- Really short days (2-3 hours) with the rest of the day free.

- Better sibling relationships

- hands-on learning

- field trips all over the place

 

 

 

All of these are true for me.

 

The short days and afternoons free are part of a CM-based education, which is what we do. 2-3 hours is all we need. Ds spends his afternoon pursuing his own interests.

 

I had all 3 kids home at one point and it was the best year ever. They got along better than they ever had.

 

We do hands-on learning all the time. It works best for ds's dyslexia.

 

Field trips are a significant part of ds's education. We go on 2-6 per month - almost all the places we go are for a class and/or tour. (I already have have 6 on my calendar over the next 6 weeks and these are all before our school year officially starts: a visit to the 911 Memorial, an historic tour of Governor's Island, a tour of Grant's Tomb, a tour of Hamilton Grange (Alexander Hamilton's home), a class on banking at the Museum of American Finance, and a tour of the NY Federal Reserve). I document all our trips (usually with photos) on my blog.

[Aspasia]

I guess I didn't add that I actually really love homeschooling. But I didn't take the OP to be stating that we (general we) didn't, or that she thought people didn't. Of course, I also didn't take it to mean that she was saying everyone is trying to 'sell' homeschooling. :rolleyes:

I took it to mean that there is some propaganda out there about homeschooling and how it's better for certain reasons (some of them are really snarky and rude, actually, but I can't remember where I've seen those...ones like, 'because we care about our children's education' and junk like that - as though assuming that people who choose otherwise don't?) and that it is actually kind of prevalent for them to list things like shorter days, hands on learning, field trips, etc, etc. I think that there are some people who may be drawn to homeschooling because what they have in their head is something that this propaganda has made them believe is the truth. (Granted, I wouldn't be surprised if some of these people don't make it very long once reality sets in - and that's OK, too) I just took it to be speculation - 'huh, why do all these things say that xxxx is true, when that isn't necessarily the case?'

I think that the OP is well aware that as individual homeschoolers, an overwhelming majority are not in the business of recruiting. :rolleyes: I also think she figures that we aren't disappointed with the experience and hating it.... otherwise, wouldn't we have all quit by now? Just saying...

 

Thank you! Apparently my online communication skills could use some work, but it feels nice to be understood, even with my apparently poor word choice. :001_smile:

[joannqn]

It really depends on the family. We do have short days, a lot of hands on learning, and take a lot of field trips. My kids typically get along well, though my boys have difficulty in that area. The boys issues seem to stem from age difference (5 years) and personality differences, so it would be there regardless of schooling.