How long do you plan on homeschooling?

[AngelaNYC]

The decision is his, but I think that it's about 60% that ds will attend high school and about 40% that he'll do high school at home. We'll go through the whole application process: Open houses, the TACHS test (for Catholic schools), the SHSAT (for the specialized public high schools), auditions at the performing arts schools (for vocal), and picking his top 12 mainstream public high schools based on his interests (science, math, film, architecture, history, and whatever else). The process here is almost like applying for college.

 

By late winter we'll find out which school(s) he was accepted to and take it from there. We'll both be ready either way.

[Jpoy85]

well some days I wonder why i ever thought of it but most days I think til graduation. :lol:

[slackermom]

DD will probably be attending a competitive public 7-12 school (entrance by exam only). Her current school goes through 5th, so my plan is to afterschool (or part-time school) through 5th, and then homeschool full-time for 6th grade.

[JFJ in IL]

That is the second question people ask me when they find out I am homeschooling the kids. What I usually say now is:

I plan to continue homeschooling until it no longer works for us...I have no idea when that will be :001_smile:

 

Just for the record, the first question I get asked is some version of the standard "How are you socializing your kids?" What I usually say now is:

Well, for starters he/she is here at soccer/basketball/choir talking and playing with your child right now :tongue_smilie: not to mention church, everyday errands, visits to the animal shelter, library, neighborhood friends, blah, blah, blah....

[Runningmom80]

We are reluctant homeschoolers. Well, I am, DS loves it. :001_smile: We will take it year by year, and the goal is always to try to find a good fit in a b&m school, but as time passes, I'm beginning to realize that it's probably a pipe dream. I would like for him to at the very least go to high school, but again, I'm seriously doubting we will find a good enough fit.

[kareng]

I used to reply (when people asked me this question after the socialization question, of course) that we were taking it one year at a time. But I have come to a place where I know we're going all the way through until graduation. :001_smile:

Edited October 21, 2012 by kareng
ETA: It's taken us 10 years to get to this place :-)

[mommymilkies]

I plan on it. I find the high school years to be particularly important ones to homeschool. :)

[kareng]

I plan on it. I find the high school years to be particularly important ones to homeschool. :)

 

I TOTALLY agree!!!! :iagree: :iagree:

[Michelle My Bell]

My oldest is 18 and a senior this year. She has always been homeschooled. You can see the ages of my other kids who have also always been homeschooled. Honestly, from the moment I heard of homeschooling, I knew I would never send my kids and I have never wanted to.

[3Blessings]

We'll almost certainly continue through high school, though we'd planned to have them do the last two years in an IB program. I'd still like them to have that part, but it may not be feasible unless we can send them to one of the fairly impressive private schools in the area because a public IB program may not be enough of a challenge. They also both say they want to be professional ballet dancers for their first careers, and that would mean they'd either have to drop out of high school or just finish early (no problem). If they still want to do that at that point, we'll be all set, and if not, they can do the IB or an.exchange program and independent research until they're ready for university.

 

 

We've been considering the bolded as well. I can't speak to PS IB programs, but the school at which we taught was very rigorous and the IB itself is certainly quite challenging.

[serendipitous journey]

Well, we figured through elementary 'cause it would take that long to get Button's behavior "normal" enough to send him to public school. Then middle school 'cause it seems cruel to send the child to middle school (DH and I have low opinions of middle school generally, and it is specifically the weak link in our "very good" local school system). DH was convinced we should do high school for the physics and chem labs, but we have tons of space and a good shop so I've convinced him (mostly) that building your own low-friction air table is EVEN BETTER than using the one in your well-equipped high school ...

 

That said, we both had really wonderful relationships & conversations in high school, and think the boys could learn a lot from good peers & great teachers in an academic setting. So we're not sure. But through middle school is the current plan; and DH thinks if we do that they'll be too far ahead for all but the most elite (and, therefore, incredibly expensive and also full of problematic values) high schools but who can tell ...

[KAR120C]

Just curious ... how many families plan on homeschooling all the way through high school?

 

At first I was thinking we would just homeschool through the elementary grades ... but now the thought of sending my oldest to a middle school sounds so unappealing. For us, it will really depend on circumstances at that point, and where my kids are emotionally and academically. (We are a semi-military family and could really be anywhere at that point).

 

Anyone else playing it by ear? Or do you have definite plans in place? Do you think that plays into what sort of content/curriculum you use? Pacing, etc?

When we started, the plan was definitely to get through middle school (ugh... middle school!) and then take high school as it comes. And we have.

 

We're looking at high schools now... DS is ready to spread his wings out in the world, and if we can find a really good, challenging (almost certainly private) high school for him, we'll both be thrilled. Unfortunately a lot of what we've found is only moderately passable.... but there are some promising possibilities still on the list. We should know by Thanksgiving if any are worth pursuing. If nothing pans out, we'll continue to homeschool... but it's going to need to take a different approach, with him much more self directed and working with outside mentors.

 

As far as how it has affected our content, curriculum, and pacing... I've always done what worked right then. Squashing it into a format that looks like a transcript is a little challenging (lol) but I don't regret it at all.

 

The only last minute preparation for high school has been, honestly, in handwriting. So far every place we've seen is very typing-heavy, which means this is probably my last chance to improve his penmanship. :lol: We're also putting some time in this year to work on the specific skills of time management and keeping an agenda... not so much for going to high school as for the possibility of continuing to homeschool. It's good for both of course, but if we do homeschool for high school he is absolutely going to need to manage his own time and do it well. He and I are both busy, I can't juggle both calendars reliably, and there is absolutely no reason he can't manage his own. He does need some practice though, so I'm sitting with him every Saturday to help him plan out his next week.

[nitascool]

All the way through high school. For so many reason, not excluding the academic lethargy in both the public and private schools in our area. There are social and philosophical reasons as well as a few religious reasons. In the beginning it was mostly academic but more and more I fear for the safety of my nieces and nephews in the public schools. I would not wish to place my children into the dangerous situations that our neighborhood kids have to face each school day. We do not live in a "big" city, but we are not exempt from the big city problems of student violence and teacher abuse.

 

If I could no longer home school the way that I am now I would likely do an umbrella school or online schooling over public or private given our current choices.

[Reya]

It would be pointless to send my kids back in high school. We will be homeschooling until college--and even homeschooling a bit of that!

[Whoareyou]

Well... if my 12 yr old is technically getting high school credits attempting to 'enroll' him in public school is going to be difficult. :lol:

 

I was advised at a very early age when I was getting consults and evaluations that DS was HG/PG and to never/ever even consider traditional school for him. I settled on CTY starting at 3rd grade and haven't looked back. We've homeschooled from the beginning. I have a child who is able to complete CTY courses in a matter of weeks, not months so I have no idea how traditional school would figure this whole thing out.

[Storm Bay]

Well... if my 12 yr old is technically getting high school credits attempting to 'enroll' him in public school is going to be difficult. :lol:

 

I was advised at a very early age when I was getting consults and evaluations that DS was HG/PG and to never/ever even consider traditional school for him. I settled on CTY starting at 3rd grade and haven't looked back. We've homeschooled from the beginning. I have a child who is able to complete CTY courses in a matter of weeks, not months so I have no idea how traditional school would figure this whole thing out.

 

They wouldn't. Traditional school isn't an option for dc who are hg/pg and motivated. I do know of pg kids who don't show it at all & enjoy being around their age peers.

[ccolopy]

At least through 8th grade for both. DS will likely do partial enrollment in high school so that he can play public school sports. I can see DD doing well in an IB program, but it'll be a few more years before we start looking at high schools.

[Mommy22alyns]

My plan is through high school. This will be especially necessary if Rebecca continues on the gymnastics track. I won't even consider putting them in school in middle school though.

[Aurelia]

Through middle school at least, and probably high school. Ariel has NO interest in going to school, even high school, at this point.

[HeatherDanae]

We take it year by year.

[Greenmama2]

Not sure if I've responded here yet. I find this thread a bit of a difficult one emotionally actually. We decided to homeschool when DD was 1, made all kinds of wonderful plans to continue all the way through. To my surprise, when she reached K starting age (4.75 due to cut-off and birthday date) I had a period of intense mourning as I realised this wasn't really our (parents) decision at all. When the reality of asynchrony and accelerated learning (her pace - we were unschoolers) set in and I realised school would never really be an option I felt horribly claustrophobic. Forced into homeschooling even though I had chosen to do it. Of course we could still choose to send her to school, but at this point the advocacy that would be required, the testing (which DH is opposed to) in order to get any kind of accomodation etc etc etc. I can't see how any of those things would impact our family life positively.

I do wish I could find a workable brick & mortar option for high school. If she decides to put her energy into music or dancing that may be an option - there are schools here with good programs for students talented in those areas. If her current interest in science continues, not so much. She and I are currently reading a seventh grade science text for fun (she is 6) and when I say fun, I mean fun. There is no new material there for her. I can't see that any school will have advanced enough science to keep her engaged by the time she is 11/12.

[Storm Bay]

.

I do wish I could find a workable brick & mortar option for high school. If she decides to put her energy into music or dancing that may be an option - there are schools here with good programs for students talented in those areas. If her current interest in science continues, not so much. She and I are currently reading a seventh grade science text for fun (she is 6) and when I say fun, I mean fun. There is no new material there for her. I can't see that any school will have advanced enough science to keep her engaged by the time she is 11/12.

 

How about her math? Will she stay that way with math & be doing Calculus before high school? It's often hard to know at 6:001_smile:. Eventually Physics involves math she might not have had yet, and there may be AP science classes she could take in high school, or she could do dual enrollment. You may find she opts for that even if there is no new material because she simply wants to be there. Or she may never want to do that & you end up doing college work at home or something.

[higginszoo]

It depends on the child.

 

My oldest is now high school aged and has made the choice not to go to traditional high school. He'll do a combination of studies at home, outsourced high school classes with other homeschoolers, and starting next year he'll also take courses at community college until he's amassed enough credits and maturity that he's ready to go away to a four year school (when he's 17 or 18).

 

My second has decided that she will go to public high school. there's a chance she'll get in to the science and technology charter school, but the neighboring school district is having such problems that there are many more students in the lottery than spaces. So she'll probably be attending our district's International Baccalaureate program.

 

My third is too young to tell for sure yet. So far, he has no interest in attending brick and mortar school. He is intrigued by the concept of our state's Science and Math college high school program, where high school aged students live in a specific dorms and take courses that count for both high school and college. We'll see where he is as we get closer, in about 4 years. Otherwise, I expect his plan to be much like his brother's ... home and group homeschool classes, adding in community college at about age 15, and graduating to a four year college at 17 or 18.

 

The little one will likely go to brick and mortar school, maybe sooner rather than later, but we're waiting for the right situation to present itself, as the local school district doesn't really have the appropriate resources or programs to meet her needs (they're hesitant about accelerating, yet she doesn't have the maturity yet to control her boredom without her ADD going off the charts). The same charter school that older dd might go to has a lower school that may be a good fit, if she ever gets a spot.

[Arcadia]

She and I are currently reading a seventh grade science text for fun (she is 6) and when I say fun, I mean fun.

 

For science, how about reading non-textbook. Like Fermat's theorem, Stephen Hawkings books and others depending on her interest in science.

Also if you have a science center / tech museum near you, your daughter might have a great time discussing science with the volunteers/docents there. My boys had interesting discussions with docents who are retired scientist/mathematician and the docents enjoyed the discussions too.

[Barb_]

We'd planned to take it year by year, but ended up homeschooling 2 all the way through to graduation. I felt less pressured (or as the poster upthread mentioned, less claustrophobic) being open to a return to school should the circumstances warrant it. That won't work for everyone, but I feel better when I'm not backed into a corner. No one was more surprised than I to find we chose homeschooling year after year.

[8filltheheart]

Not sure if I've responded here yet. I find this thread a bit of a difficult one emotionally actually. We decided to homeschool when DD was 1, made all kinds of wonderful plans to continue all the way through. To my surprise, when she reached K starting age (4.75 due to cut-off and birthday date) I had a period of intense mourning as I realised this wasn't really our (parents) decision at all. When the reality of asynchrony and accelerated learning (her pace - we were unschoolers) set in and I realised school would never really be an option I felt horribly claustrophobic. Forced into homeschooling even though I had chosen to do it. Of course we could still choose to send her to school, but at this point the advocacy that would be required, the testing (which DH is opposed to) in order to get any kind of accomodation etc etc etc. I can't see how any of those things would impact our family life positively.

I do wish I could find a workable brick & mortar option for high t school. If she decides to put her energy into music or dancing that may be an option - there are schools here with good programs for students talented in those areas. If her current interest in science continues, not so much. She and I are currently reading a seventh grade science text for fun (she is 6) and when I say fun, I mean fun. There is no new material there for her. I can't see that any school will have advanced enough science to keep her engaged by the time she is 11/12.

 

You are at the beginning of this adventure. You need to allow both you and your daughter grow into homeschooling instead of thinking so far into the future. As you progress through yrs, you may find numerous resources that allow both of you to thrive. Textbooks are only a sliver of the available options and ones that I personally avoid for whole books on subjects instead. The options for indepth studies on subjects via whole books are pretty much beyond any individual's ability to "run out of." Experts in subjects may enter into your life and bless your child in ways you can,t even begin to imagine. (Kathy in Richmond entered ours and changed my ds's life. Five yrs ago I couldn't

have anticipated that sort of thing. Anyway, my main pt is to enjoy the journey instead of anticipating it bc the route has numerous paths and you don't need to worry about them all now. :001_smile:

 

(please excuse my errors. I am typing on an ipad.).)

Edited November 4, 2012 by 8FillTheHeart

[PentecostalMom]

We started taking it year by year as well, but it quickly morphed into forever. We have two grown graduates and three younger ones following. My older ds has already asked me to hs his kids! :blink:

 

I cannot imagine letting anyone else educate my children and plan to go all the way through. I :001_wub: homeschooling and spending most of my time with my immediate family!

[Greenmama2]

I think my post was misinterpreted. I wasn't asking for advice on the practical side of homeschooling, I'm comfortable with what we do with that (and to a large extent we are still unschoolers - just ones that use a lot of curricula because DD likes it). I was just sharing some of the emotional journey ;)

We'd planned to take it year by year, but ended up homeschooling 2 all the way through to graduation. I felt less pressured (or as the poster upthread mentioned, less claustrophobic) being open to a return to school should the circumstances warrant it. That won't work for everyone, but I feel better when I'm not backed into a corner. No one was more surprised than I to find we chose homeschooling year after year.

Yes, I feel better when I'm not backed into a corner too.

[MrsBanjoClown]

We are taking it year by year. We will most likely homeschool next year, and then I will give the boys the choice to continue or go back to b&m school.

[Joshin]

I'm planning to homeschool through high school, with some help. We have a great home school/public school cooperative that the kids can take classes at. The campus only has homeschool students attending. DS12 is going to begin taking some classes there next year so he can begin preparing for our state's dual enrollment program in high school. They only take classes twice a week and do the rest of their classes at home with the curriculum of our choice. We do have more reporting requirements through the cooperative, which bugs me, but we do what is best for the kids. DS12 also wants to attend for the electives. He has no idea what he wants to do with his life so he wants the ability to try out a bunch of things.

 

I may also enroll DS7 next year. He is very gifted in several subjects and is already almost beyond me in math, so I could use the help. Unlike DS12, he knows exactly what he wants to do and already has a plan of his own devising for his education, and if he decides to stick with it I'm going to need help!

 

So they'll likely homeschool all the way through, but with the help of our public school cooperative.

[Runningmom80]

Not sure if I've responded here yet. I find this thread a bit of a difficult one emotionally actually. We decided to homeschool when DD was 1, made all kinds of wonderful plans to continue all the way through. To my surprise, when she reached K starting age (4.75 due to cut-off and birthday date) I had a period of intense mourning as I realised this wasn't really our (parents) decision at all. When the reality of asynchrony and accelerated learning (her pace - we were unschoolers) set in and I realised school would never really be an option I felt horribly claustrophobic. Forced into homeschooling even though I had chosen to do it. Of course we could still choose to send her to school, but at this point the advocacy that would be required, the testing (which DH is opposed to) in order to get any kind of accomodation etc etc etc. I can't see how any of those things would impact our family life positively.

I do wish I could find a workable brick & mortar option for high school. If she decides to put her energy into music or dancing that may be an option - there are schools here with good programs for students talented in those areas. If her current interest in science continues, not so much. She and I are currently reading a seventh grade science text for fun (she is 6) and when I say fun, I mean fun. There is no new material there for her. I can't see that any school will have advanced enough science to keep her engaged by the time she is 11/12.

 

I completely understand! I personally like options, and it's scary that we have so few. :grouphug:

[Mommyfaithe]

Until my youngest is finished with high school, I am put in the looney bin, or I drop dead.....yep, That sums it up.

[DaffodilDreams]

Most likely all the way through, but I'm open-minded if another plan appeals more to dd when she's older.

[Mommee & Baba]

I have intentions of homeschooling the whole way through for all three of our children.

 

I also understand things may change and I'll do almost ANYTHING to keep the changes from making it where our children have to go into a public school.

 

With all that said...I too thought for elementary school for sure, wasn't quite as positive about middle school, and my dh think it's a joking matter to think we can homeschool them through highschool. My goal is to educate myself enough to have the confidence to show him I can do it! :) I'm now more and more sure I can do it with peeking in and out of the upper grades board here!

[IceFairy]

All the way through :)

[Greenmama2]

I completely understand! I personally like options, and it's scary that we have so few. :grouphug:

 

Thanks for getting it :)

[suzielou]

We started this journey with the intention of schooling through high school. Now, I still feel that way, but also feel that we have come too far to back out now. My DS11 turns 12 next month. He is finishing up Pre-Algebra and Physical Science (which counts for HS credit here) and starts Algebra I and Biology in January. What 12yr old would get to take those courses in PS? Even doing what we call Pre-AP here, he wouldn't see it. His Dec. birthday would have put him in 6th this year, but since he was reading at 4, we started K at 4.5. What would have been his 7th grade year, he will take Geometry and Chemistry. By the time his peers are finishing middle school, he will have completed his HS math/science requirements. We had him tested at 6 and the psychologist told us that while he normally recommended public school for kids with ADHD, our son was too advanced and would lose any advantage he had. He told me to keep him challenged and the at he would be able to handle anything I gave him. So far, he has exceeded my wildest expectations and we have done it without medication. My DD8 was completely opposite. She struggled to learn to read and struggles to retain information. Her processing speed is lower than average and she requires more exposure time to material. She is performing a grade behind her peers and we put in a ton of work to get her to where she is. It is the beauty of homeschooling, though! I couldn't imagine her frustration if she were in a PS school setting.

[Storm Bay]

We started this journey with the intention of schooling through high school. Now, I still feel that way, but also feel that we have come too far to back out now. My DS11 turns 12 next month. He is finishing up Pre-Algebra and Physical Science (which counts for HS credit here) and starts Algebra I and Biology in January. What 12yr old would get to take those courses in PS? Even doing what we call Pre-AP here, he wouldn't see it. His Dec. birthday would have put him in 6th this year, but since he was reading at 4, we started K at 4.5. What would have been his 7th grade year, he will take Geometry and Chemistry. By the time his peers are finishing middle school, he will have completed his HS math/science requirements. We had him tested at 6 and the psychologist told us that while he normally recommended public school for kids with ADHD, our son was too advanced and would lose any advantage he had. He told me to keep him challenged and the at he would be able to handle anything I gave him. So far, he has exceeded my wildest expectations and we have done it without medication. My DD8 was completely opposite. She struggled to learn to read and struggles to retain information. Her processing speed is lower than average and she requires more exposure time to material. She is performing a grade behind her peers and we put in a ton of work to get her to where she is. It is the beauty of homeschooling, though! I couldn't imagine her frustration if she were in a PS school setting.

 

You may well be right. My ds wants to go to ps, but I really think he would flounder if he went full time.

 

However, my eldest started Algebra at 11 (but hated math so I let her take 2 years to go through it.) Then I had her do it again even though she did well so that she really understood the theory behind it (there are some strong advocates of this practice.) However, I expelled her during her sophomore year, at which point she was only a grade ahead in math, but right at the level of the honours math classes. Had someone told me I'd put her back in ps like this I would have thought they were crazy;) and that it would have been a cop out on my part.

[sgrcn77]

We plan on homeschooling until we get our own school is up and running. I will allow my daughters to choose a school that specializes in the arts, if they're interested.

[shawthorne44]

We plan on going all the way through, and then do dual enrollment when she can drive.

Although, the Dallas Science Magnet might be an option if she really wants the high school experience.

But, we have several major universities within driving distance, and I like the idea of decreasing the cost of college. The college class will be more likely to accepted for her college degree, and I remember that the actual college class was easier than my AP classes.

[Parrothead]

All the way through.

[Mommee & Baba]

We plan to homeschool all the way through highschool.

[kohlby]

The plan was originally to take it year by year. But by now, my oldest is in 4th grade, it's obvious that I really need to homeschool him since there's no schools for kids his age set up for kids like him. (He's doing AoPS intro to Alg as a 9 year old 4th grader). However, our state has a public boarding magnet math and science school for 11th and 12th grade that I'd love for him to get in. It offers a lot of college level courses. And though I know I can handle college level math, I don't have all the cool science equipment that they have. I'm really hoping ODS still wants to go to that school when the time comes and that he can get in.

 

Not sure with my other two kids. Though my second is also gifted, she would do just fine anywhere, though homeschooling benefits her the most. Since ODS will likely be homeschooled through 10th grade, I'd imagine DD would be homsechooled until at least high school. My youngest will be 4 years old in a couple of months so it's way too early to figure out how long to homeschool him.

[JennW in SoCal]

I don't know if any of you ever browse the high school or college board, but if you do you will find there are many of us who homeschooled all the way through. This recent thread, http://forums.welltr...i-input-please/ is full of replies from veteran homeschoolers about the reasons, the benefits and drawbacks to homeschooling high school.

 

Bottom line is that no matter what you plan for and dream about, your teen will have his or her own unique educational trajectory. Fasten your seat belts!!

[nov05mama]

Taking it one year at a time, but I hope to continue through the highschool years.

 

 

Ditto!

[nov05mama]

Taking it one year at a time, but I hope to continue through the highschool years.

 

 

Ditto!

[texasmama]

Until my youngest is finished with high school, I am put in the looney bin, or I drop dead.....yep, That sums it up.

 

This. :)

[Clarkd]

We take it one year at a time. I love hsing and feel it is the best possible situation for my kids. My 5 and 6 yo were in childcare for a stint and think this is what school would be. They frequently ask when they will get to go to real school :-( I have given up on trying to predict where we will be in the far future. Every year we homeschool is another bit of a stronger foundation for them. I love seeing their progress and how much we grow together as a family, but it isn't only my decision. My partner is supportive, and so far our jobs have been flexible enough to allow a workable schedule. I don't want the girls always feeling like they missed out on something. Hard to know what will happen.

[Juliegmom]

We are taking it year by year. This is our first year homeschooling. My initial thoughts are to teach through middle school and then explore high school options. Maybe by then, I'll feel brave enough to teach high school to my youngest. :drool5: :001_smile: