CatholicSteph Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I never really thought I would have just two kids, but God had other plans. Now I have one at home and one in school because she is severely delayed and it's just a way better environment for her. And, while homechooling just one works ok in elementary school, I don't know how much she will miss out being with just me. All. Day. Every. Day. I read about and hear about siblings interactions in their school day, talking about books, putting on spontaneous plays, and just all the extra fun and learning that goes on when you have a peer and sibling around, and I feel sad for my daughter that she's missing out. I have been worrying about whether we were send her to highschool, and if/how that changes what we do at home, now. I know I don't REALLY need to know now, but I want to have a general idea, because it also affects where we live, when I plan to go back to work, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Coast School Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I'm listening in on this one. DS wants to homeschool, DD wants to stay in PS. So I might be HS'ing just one. I HS'd DD on her own when DS was little, and I enjoyed it, but DD did not. She is a social butterfly and needed more people than just me. DS is quieter and more introverted, so HS'ing suits him better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I'm homeschooling just one in high school, and I'm not even home with him a lot of the time. What has worked for us is a lot of outside activities so even though he's not seeing other kids at school, he's seeing them other places. He is involved in theater, volunteers, plays a sport, and is hoping to find a part time job. Having said that, he also has chosen to go back to PS next year. He says he's not lonely, and likes the academic side of learning at home, but he really loves football, and in this area there are no good options for him to play if he's not in school. For almost any other sport we could find a substitute, but not for football. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Just one here. I used to also homeschool her best friend, but she moved. The plan is homeschool through 8th grade, then PS. Her younger sister prefers school and is doing great, so I don't mess with what is working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyz Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I homeschool one only. He's involved in several activities outside the house, and has a lot of varied peer interactions. We plan to homeschool until college. We'll continue accessing resources (classes, activities, etc) outside our house as needed. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I have an only. He's quite the homebody and would hate all the drama of middle school so is very content to be at home. He participates in sports at 2 local schools, so he gets plenty of interaction *for him*. The high school question for us isn't one of social time, but academics. He will want and need lab sciences, higher math and a general atmosphere of deeper learning than we can provide at home. Whether that's the local high school, cc, or some combination I don't know yet. Since I don't yet know what that will look like--and it's only 2 years off-- I'm spending the middle school years trying to ensure he'll be academically prepared for whatever decision he makes for high school. Some days that's a huge weight on my shoulders and other days I feel confident he's on the right path. I'm not sure how old your daughter is, but how does she feel about it? What are HER goals? I'd start there before worrying too much. Then together you can make a game plan of how the next year/years might look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pronghorn Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 My daughter is a very happy only child. She enjoys more activities than average and enjoys the extra parental attention. She does not want to go to school because she really enjoys the freedom to follow all her interests. Homeschooling one may require more of the parent, who becomes the main person to interact with at home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Also homeschooling our only child. And no it doesn't influence how long we will homeschool. We do what is best for dd. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddlemomma Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 My DDs are 24 and 12. Needless to say, the eldest went off to college when I started homeschooling my youngest. My youngest has been attending PS for at least one to two classes (Music, PE or both) since K. I did this on purpose to make sure she got some exposure to PS, other kids, and how PS operates. This year (6th) DD is doing Band/Flute classes. While she likes the classes, she hates the PS system. What are her reasons? She intensely dislikes the lack of respect the students show towards the teachers, she really hates the foul language she hears, and she doesn't appreciate the girl "posses" (or "clicks" as we called them in my day and age). To her, they just seem immature and pointless -- but then what can we expect when she lives with a couple of old fogies like us? Anyway, each year she reiterates her deep desire to never attend PS full time. She would much rather continue her studies at home. She does have a few friends she gets together with, and she has several extra-curricula things like To-Shin Do and Puppet Ministry. She has no trouble going to camps or other places without knowing anyone else and quickly making friends with a few select girls and/or boys. She freely converses with adults quite well also. So the lack of constant "socialization" hasn't seemed to impede her in the least. Honestly, I think she would operate the same way if she did attend PS full time. She just doesn't go for the "group" thing and is much more of an individual who will seek friendships based upon another individual's character rather than if they are in the right "posse". So, for us, it hasn't been a problem at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I have three children, but only one is still at home. The other two have graduated homeschool and are now in college. I will still continue to homeschool my youngest through high school. I'm not sure why just having one at home would cause someone to change their educational plans. :confused1: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatholicSteph Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 I have three children, but only one is still at home. The other two have graduated homeschool and are now in college. I will still continue to homeschool my youngest through high school. I'm not sure why just having one at home would cause someone to change their educational plans. :confused1: I don't think it's confusing. Even SWB decided to send her daughter to school rather than have her home by herself with her siblings off in college. Obviously it's going to be different for every family, but I am concerned not about "socalization" but the opportunity to learn in a rich envirnment with other people, to have someone besides mom to talk to, eat lunch with, study with. I am also not sure I can adequately provide her with the higher level academics that she deserves, but that obviously doesn't have anything to do with how many children one has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflowerlady Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Yes, I have one child. No it does not factor into my decision on how long to home school. We started in K and she is now in grade ten. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker of Schole Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I have what we call two onlies - age 20 and 7. Our journey didn't even start until the oldest was in high school. She came home for her Junior and Senior year, and every year of college has shown that to be a great decision. For our youngest, who started K when the oldest was starting College, our current plans call for her to be homeschooled until college. The reasons we homeschool will not change between now and then without some sort of major overhaul. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I homeschool an only. This is our kindy year, so we're just starting. At this time, the plan is to homeschool until she goes to college. I do have it in my head to find online literature classes at some point in the future (around middle school or high school) so that she has the benefit of group discussion. The social side is currently covered by various activities. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I only have one. It does make me work harder to find opportunities for DS to spend time with other people, but I don't think those will need to be academic. In theory, all options are on the table for high school, but he is thriving at home and we may well homeschool all the way through. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 You might get closer to the answer you're seeking by asking those who were homeschooling multiple children and then dropped down to schooling only one. I think you may get different answers from those who have only one child and school only one child. We have an only and I fill in as the other student(s). DD is active in Girl Scouts and gymnastics at the moment. We will continue to pursue Girl Scouts (lots of opportunities for working with others, etc.), camps, classes, etc. appropriate for her interests as she grows. Perhaps researching co-op opportunities might fill your void? If you live close to a large city, I suspect there are many opportunities that would allow your only student to work in a group. What would be good for her is that she could pick and choose when to partake in those experiences instead of being shoved-offed into a group every single project in public school. Those daily interactions are highly overrated, IMO. (I guess they teach a motivated student to work through annoyance.) It's really no fun when teachers divide the few workers and thinkers in a class among all of the apathetic nonparticipants. Nothing like having to do the work of five or six instead of just your own. (Ugh, yeah I'm bitter.) At least when you're paying or signing up for an opportunity, the assumption would be those students really want to partake. Thus, a richer experience. I'm sure there are "classes" she could sign up for through the internet to interact and work with other homeschoolers as well. Large libraries surely have book clubs for teens. Like I said, opportunities abound, you just have to look for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 My daughter is a very happy only child. She enjoys more activities than average and enjoys the extra parental attention. She does not want to go to school because she really enjoys the freedom to follow all her interests. Homeschooling one may require more of the parent, who becomes the main person to interact with at home. Same here. The only child thing has never been a factor in our decision to homeschool. In fact, it probably made it more likely for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca in KY Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 My only child thrives at home and doesn't want to go to school. He's always been a homebody. That said, we do seek out opportunities for him to interact with others - to learn that he's not the center of the universe, that other people can be incredibly annoying and you just have to deal with it, to learn to stand against the crowd and peer pressure.... But he doesn't have to go to school to get that. As others have said, opportunities abound. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Ivy Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Jimmie Lanley (a blogger) had an only child and chose to homeschool her. They seemed to do just fine. Each family is different and you just need to feel it out and see what your child needs. Like others have said, seek out other opportunities - club ball, theater, choir, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I am homeschooling three kids right now, and always feel like I am bouncing between people trying to meet everyone's needs...I think it would be easier to only have one at home...I can't imagine choosing school only because I had one to school...That sounds like an ideal fantasy to me most days ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatholicSteph Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 Actually you're definitely right about that. It's way easier. Most days I can do all my housework, all the schoolwork, make the meals, and work. But of course that's not the main issue. I guess I'll just have to see where the years take us. I really need to start thinking about getting back into the work force down the road, so that's part of why I am thinking about it now. I want to know she's prepares for highsxhool if I send her, and I want to know when I need to start thinking about my own career path in the next 5-9 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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