How did you end up homeschooling?

[Immi]

Just wondering how everyone on this board ended up here. :)

[BooksandBoys]

My husband agreed to a "trial period" that turned into a "well, this works."

 

I was homeschooled for 8 years and loved it, so I was hopeful that I could make this work with my own children.

[AmyontheFarm]

A friend show me the Bible on Homeschooling.

 

The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Edition)by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise

 

Then I discovered to my delight that thousands of ladies have shared all their wisdom in one location and I was completely smitten with this forum!

 

The catalyst to actually remove my kids from the school system and start homeschooling?  A kid kept throwing chairs in the spec. ed classroom and I wasn't "allowed" to complain until my child actually got hurt. 

 

Biggest regret?  Not starting to homeschool with my very first child.

 

 

[purpleowl]

When I decided to quit my job teaching at a private school after DD#2 was born, I was choosing to give up the tuition benefit that goes along with teaching there. Since a Christian worldview in my kids' education is important to me, deciding to quit that job was equivalent to deciding to homeschool.

 

I've since found other reasons why homeschooling is a great fit for our family, but that was what got us started on this road.

[Garga]

My son went to three years of preschool.  We were ready (overly ready!) for him to go to kindergarten.  He made the cutoff date to enter kindergarten by 3 days.  

 

But then, 2 months before K was to begin, they changed the cutoff date and he missed the cutoff date by 12 days.  They were firm, even at privates schools, "No, he can't go to K because he was born 12 days too late.  No exceptions."

 

I could not send him to a fourth year of preschool.  He had been bored out of his mind there for months.  So, I kept him home and taught him K.  I figured that we'd worry about school "later."  

 

He's in 7th now and the plan is to keep homeschooling all the way through unless something changes.

 

P.S.  He was a full 2 weeks late being born.  If he'd have been born on schedule and made the cutoff date, our lives might be very different right now...

[Gil]

We live in a really crappy school district  and my boys are the ideal demographic to fail long and hard in the PS so I took matters into my own hands. I started them on reading and math as toddlers and kept it going until they were school age. A few months in PS was a horrible fit and so I brought them home and we just continue to do what we've been doing.

[RootAnn]

I don't really know when we decided to homeschool. All I really remember is that dd#1 didn't make the K cut-off & there are no exceptions here. I taught her at home that year & went to the Kindergarten information meeting in the spring. Since we'd covered everything they talked about & all day K looked like a complete waste of time, we went ahead & started 1st grade. The rest of it all fell into place.

[eternallytired]

A wide variety of reasons, including the following:

 

• Local public schools switched to full-day kindergarten the year before ODS would have gone.  Kindy students were organized in classes of roughly 25 and given one recess each day and an hour of homework each night.  The district prided itself on the academic rigor of its program (read: lots of worksheets and teachers declaring, "Your child WILL read by Thanksgiving!")  That didn't seem like the right way to nurture a love of learning (especially not in my ADHD, introverted oldest).
• When I looked at our school district's posted goals, ODS had already achieved nearly all the kindy outcomes a year in advance (as had DD, a year younger).
• I was homeschooled for two random years and thoroughly enjoyed it.
• I went to school.  I was miserable.  (Excelling academically was not popular with peers, and somehow teachers didn't appreciate it either--they preferred the sporty kids who barely managed a respectable grade.)
• I was a teacher.  As much as I loved my students, I only really got to know the outgoing ones; about half of those with whom I spent 7 hours a day, I just didn't have enough time one-on-one to get to know much about.  I was mostly stuck teaching to the middle, because I couldn't hold the whole class back for the three who didn't understand or move on to the next step for the four kids who understood right away.  I could only do one fieldtrip each year.  I handed out a fair amount of busywork in order to check off some of the endless subject requirements or fill pre-determined time requirements for certain subjects.  I could only do activities that were easy to do with one adult (or three, if I were really lucky in garnering volunteers) and 24 kids.  We lost lots of time transitioning between subjects, restoring order, lining up and walking the halls.  Need I go on?  :-)
• DH tentatively agreed to see how they progressed the year before kindy (and maybe homeschool kindy).  Six months into our informal preschool-unschool trial period, he was sold.

[Arcadia]

I got tired of advocating for subject acceleration and hubby got tired of public school bureaucracy. Also we have a very political local PTA and school board so it was interesting in a melodramatic way.

 

One of the elementary school principal was arrested for selling drugs while he was still a principal.

 

We toured k-8 private schools and none seems worth the tuition fees.

[Rachel]

We lived in a crumby school district and couldn't afford private school. About the time I came to that realization I was in a church group with a family who homeschooled. They made homeschooling not seem so strange and even fun. I hadn't ever considered homeschooling prior to that. Now I am so thankful we went that route, it's been great for my family.

[Ellie]

We decided that our children would go to Christian schools, and so older did kindergarten at a Christian school, then started first grade at the same school. I was excited about her going to school, imagining all the things she'd learn, and the friends she'd make, and all that warm fuzzy stuff.

 

A family moved in down the street, and we became friends with them, even though we were very different. We were basic white-bread Christians :laugh: Little girls dressed in white ruffly socks and black patent-leather shoes, parents in dresses and suits, church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, while our friends (who were also Christians) were vegetarians (I had never met a vegetarian); they were slightly slovenly in their dress; there was a lock on the fridge because their children would eat all the food; :huh: no furniture in the living room except for two chairs, because the children used to schlep all over the furniture, so the parents said Fine, you can schlep on the floor when the parents are sitting in the chairs, and sit in the chairs when the parents aren't; they were really *into* sci-fi--I enjoyed sci-fi, but they were rilly, rilly *into* it; they were really *into* computers (which you understand in 1980 was a Commodore 64)--Mr. Ellie had a computer, and wrote code and stuff, but they were rilly, rilly *into* computers...and they homeschooled. I thought to myself, "Well, they're the kind that would do that." :lol:

 

And after Christmas of first grade, dd began to act differently. I couldn't put my finger on it, and since her grades were still excellent, and she never really complained about school, I didn't think it was actually school. I did decide to let her finish out the school year and attend a different school the following year, but...one day, about two weeks before Easter vacation, she came home and cried for 40 minutes over a half sheet of arithmetic homework. And I went right over to my weird homeschool friend and asked her about homeschooling. For the next two weeks I read everything she had (John Holt's newsletter, Growing Without Schooling, plus a couple of his books), and then the rest of his books I checked out from the library. I was at her house every day, bless her heart. I'd dump everything on Mr. Ellie when he came home, and prayed bunches.

 

Finally, I decided that although I didn't know if I could teach dd everything, I could at least teach her how to learn, and so during Easter vacation I went down to the San Diego County Office of Education and filed a private school affidavit (funny story on that, but I'll save it for another time); and on Monday morning, I took dd to school so she could say good-bye to her teachers and friends, and I went to the office to withdraw her. I am not exaggerating when I say that I was the very first homeschooler they had ever met (several families did not send their children back the next fall and homeschooled instead, but I was the first). Dd was excited...until the next morning, when we slept until we were finished sleeping, and she realized that she was not.going.back...and she cried for 40 minutes. :blink:

 

I decided that I would consider this just an extra long summer vacation, and that we'd Officially be homeschooling in the fall, and if by November we were all still normal and we all still liked each other, we'd continue. And here we are. :-)

[JenneinCA]

My daughter's birthday is in October. We lived in Arizona with a very firm August 31 date for school entry. So she couldn't go to school the year she was four almost five. So we did kindergarten at home. And then we just kept going. And going. And added my sons when they were ready.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I was a teacher.  And hated what was happening in the classrooms.  I read Susan Schaeffer Macaulay's "For the Children's Sake" and wanted that in my classrooms but was not allowed to teach like that.  I decided then, as a single woman, that if I ever had kids I wanted to homeschool.  When dh and I got engaged, whether or not he would want to homeschool future children was a potential deal breaker.  Fortunately he made the right choice!  

[happypamama]

My parents pulled two of my younger siblings out of school while I was in high school, and they remained homeschooled until graduation.  So I already had the idea of homeschooling in my head, and seeing the frustrations that my parents dealt with regarding my other brother and me in our pretty good public school, I knew I wanted different for my children.  My DH went to the same school as I did, and we have some of the same complaints about good students falling through the cracks and not getting enough challenge.  We always planned that we'd have a parent at home with our children when they were young, and homeschooling just seemed to make sense to us, like it was a natural extension of our parenting and family life style.  So even before we had children, we were planning to homeschool them.

 

Then we actually had children.  One of our children is a bit 2E, and another one is a late bloomer.  Neither of them would have fit well into a traditional classroom environment at five and a half.  I'm really glad I had already intend to keep them home, but I'm sure I'd have been looking into it if I'd sent them to school.

[ElizabethB]

My third tutoring student in 1994 convinced me years before I had children that I would homeschool until they could read well unless we were in a district that taught a good phonics program with less than a dozen sight words. Then I met normal homeschoolers and their children and they were all really nice families. That started me thinking about homeschooling for more than the first few years. We are still going and I am still tutoring as well!

[Lori D.]

How did we end up homeschooling?

DH and I leaned towards homeschooling after our first was born. When DS#1 was old enough for kindergarten, circumstances were such that we felt private school would be best for him (he went for preschool, kinder and 1st). DS#2 was a grade younger, and so we sent him as well (for preschool and kinder).

 

The year DSs were in Kinder and 1st grades, the private school fell apart, and the public schools here are so under-funded that the academics and extracurriculars are sorely lacking. We also saw that sending DSs to school was not addressing the circumstances as we thought it would, and we strongly felt led to homeschool. That summer, a good friend who was homeschooling loaned me her (original edition) copy of WTM. Another homeschooling friend sat me down and showed me oodles of curriculum (she homeschooled 8 DC) and explained what subjects I would need to cover. And DH and I attended the state homeschooling convention, bought armloads of materials, and we were off and running starting in the 2000-2001 school year! :)

 

We did prayerfully consider what was the best educational choice for DSs each year, and always felt strong confirmation to keep going with the homeschooling. And there were hiccups along the way -- esp. struggling the first 4 years to figure out one DS's LDs and find what would *work* for math, spelling, writing!  :ohmy:  :eek: -- and me having to overcome the year 7 "burn out".

 

Along about grades 5/6 we all *finally* started to hit our stride, and every year got better and better. And then it all culminated with the bittersweet moment of graduating each DS! So proud of them. :) Homeschooling has been the best, hardest, most meaningful work I've ever done. I cherish every minute of it -- even the darkest moments in those first 4 years with the one DS, and I really thought I was going to have to throw in the towel. ;)

 

How did I end up here (on this Board)?

I "met" a lovely homeschooler [Kimberly in Sedona] on another homeschooling Board, who encouraged me to check out this site. I logged on somewhere along about 2003, and never logged off… ;) Don't think you could pry me loose, now…  :laugh:

 

Warmest regards, Lori D.

[sbgrace]

Special needs child.

 

I didn't picture life this way! In fact, I went into teaching imaging how great it was going to be to be off work when my kids were out of school.

 

My special needs son had been in early intervention (birth to three). I talked to the K teacher in our old school system and realized that this was not going to be a good fit for my son at all. It was scary, because I didn't know anyone homeschooling.

 

I mourned it actually. Particularly, I mourned that I wouldn't be sending his twin either. While I knew it was right for the special needs son, I was sad the twin would miss school experiences, because that was my only perspective at the time.

 

 

 

 

[3 ladybugs]

I was a nanny when I decided that I wanted more for my future children. I have a sister who is 12 years younger then me and I saw school go downhill in that time. I also knew that I was fighting my school when I was in school for a better education. They got rid of a years worth of history due to budget cuts (no really this actually happened) when I was in high school. My sister's education when down from there!

 

So when I was dating this was a big question I would ask men. Most ran, far far away. My DH didn't. He wanted someone to either use private schools if she was working or homeschool.

[LaxMom]

My daughter's birthday is in October. We lived in Arizona with a very firm August 31 date for school entry. So she couldn't go to school the year she was four almost five. So we did kindergarten at home. And then we just kept going. And going. And added my sons when they were ready.

This, exactly.

 

And ten years later... Still going.

[UCF612]

My oldest has severe food allergies (dairy, egg, peanut, tree nut). I was very anti homeschool until he turned 4. I knew we could skip preschool but we debated for a year about what to do for K. I have a master's in Early Childhood education so we decided to do K from the safety of our home (I was hime with our younger son anyhow). Our plan was to keep him home until he could read and make safe choices for himself. We were home for K and 1st. He asked to go to school for 2nd and since my youngest would be starting K we agreed to try school provided I could find a teaching job. Well here we are at the end of that year. We've been together at a wonderful small private school with me teaching K (with my youngest in my class). We've all decided we prefer homeschooling so we're going back next year. We still plan to take it a year at a time.

[Heidi]

Lots of reasons, many already listed, but the final straw was on day 2 of Kindergarten for my oldest, the teacher sent home a note with a frowny face for "not staying on task." The task was a learning station she wasn't interested in. I knew she would rather climb trees or play with our goats and sheep than sit in an overcrowded classroom 8 hours a day doing "learning" stations she didn't want to do. So I pulled her out and she has thrived.

[Luckymama]

I was tired of fighting the school for math acceleration. Their constant answer was to give dd more of what she had mastered years before :rolleyes: I afterschooled her some days; other days she sat at the kitchen table while her much older siblings did their msth homework and picked up the subject by osmosis :lol:

 

I didn't want a grade skip for dd. She was tiny and very young-looking (still is). She had good friends in her grade. I just wanted better math for her.

 

I was tired of dd crying in the morning.

 

I really should have pulled her in second grade, but my mom was sick and that was all I could handle.

 

So we made the decision to homeschool her during January of fourth grade. She finished out that school year where she was, while I researched and researched and mourned my mother.

 

We said we'd only homeschool for grades 5-8 because there would be plenty of high school private or charter options for dd. Well, here we are finished 9th grade and planning for 10th :lol: Turns out if you allow a student to accelerate at their own pace, they can achieve amazing results :)

[AsgardCA]

My oldest taught himself to read when he was 2. It was completely unexpected. He did those store-bought workbooks for the heck of it. He just liked learning, and I loved that.

 

Kindergarten here is broken up into Jr. K and Sr. K, both of which are optional. Hubby says I bugged him for about 2 years to homeschool. I do remember arguing that since K isn't necessary, there'd be no harm done if it doesn't work, and we could send him for grade 1.

 

I kept reading about how the school system was going downhill, and I wasn't terribly fond of anything about my own public school time. They sucked the joy of learning out of me, and I had bouts of anxiety. One of my grade 4 teachers threw a classmate over some desks in anger. Um. No repercussions whatsoever.

 

So we gave it a shot. Or, rather, I gave it a shot. Hubby wanted nothing to do with it. He said if I wanted to try homeschooling then it was up to me to do it all. He's not so unwilling now. I don't know if Hubby realized it was a good idea or just gave in. By the time DS1 was 6, and ready for grade 1, DS2 was ready for Jr. K, and we just kept adding in kids as they were ready. They've never been sent to school.

 

Thinking back to school when I was young, and seeing the same school now, my kids would never survive with the rules they've put in place. They're energetic, loud, have a hard time listening, are very emotional. DS1 could spend all day on a single 2-sided page of math (that he understands) if I'm not constantly reminding him to concentrate on his work. He gets upset if he doesn't get to finish it, but takes a long time doing so. And lastly, they're rough. They push and shove in play. I'm not fond of it, but at least here they aren't being suspended for physical contact with another kid.

[Wheres Toto]

My son was in Early Intervention from 3 to 4 for speech delays (he "talked in his own language except for letters and numbers.  He was totally fascinated with letters and numbers from a very young age) and general -not sure what this is but it's certainly odd- quirkiness.  He advanced very fast once he started EI and since most of his class was in their last year before kindergarten (and he could) he did all their math and reading stuff with them, and advancing very quickly.   

 

We went to a parents observation day and I watched one of the teachers (three teachers in a class of 6 boys) get extremely frustrated with ds for not sitting still.  I started wondering what it would be like for him in a class of 20 or 25 or 30 if the trained teachers in a class of 6 couldn't handle him. 

 

Then they told us in May that he was declassified and wouldn't be eligible for the program anymore, even though he clearly had something more going on, and most of the preschools around here fill up enrollment in February.   So we decided I would do preschool at home.

 

Then they told us he shouldn't return to the school for kindergarten until he was 6 (late August birthday).  We started thinking about where he would be at when he was 6 if he continued progressing the way he was. We thought about how my very active, not a shy bone in his body so not quiet or intimidated by adults even slightly, son would behave in a kindergarten classroom where he was bored.  Thought about how often I would wind up in the principals office and how much he would really be learning under those circumstances.

 

Dh was bored in school (way before any form of gifted program).  I was already a SAHM, had everything except my student teaching for a teaching certification (not that I found it necessary but it shut up some of the nay-sayers in the beginning), and we decided to start homeschooling.  We started right away figuring we could take it slow and easy before we had to worry about "official" school.

 

It's been going so well for both kids that even when I had to return to work, we took steps to make sure they were still educated at home, even though it's not by me.    It's been the best thing for my sons mix of quirky, socially awkward, academically advanced.  For both kids, being able to move at exactly the pace they need in every subject, move faster when they can, take extra time to really cement facts before moving on, being able to address social missteps immediately, not when a teacher notices and decides to send a note home.

[happypamama]

 

Thinking back to school when I was young, and seeing the same school now, my kids would never survive with the rules they've put in place. They're energetic, loud, have a hard time listening, are very emotional. DS1 could spend all day on a single 2-sided page of math (that he understands) if I'm not constantly reminding him to concentrate on his work. He gets upset if he doesn't get to finish it, but takes a long time doing so. And lastly, they're rough. They push and shove in play. I'm not fond of it, but at least here they aren't being suspended for physical contact with another kid.

Yes to this! I really feel sorry for children, especially little ones, who aren't allowed to expend all that energy regularly. I love that when one of mine isn't focusing, I can send that one out to run a couple of laps in the yard or have him practice some of his martial arts moves. I love the freedom to do math orally if we want, as well.

 

And I love that my children are together. I'm so grateful that my 3yo doesn't have to say goodbye to his best buddy, his 6yo brother, every day. I'm glad my big ones have conjugated Latin verbs while snuggling with a baby.

[G5052]

I went to one of the top-rated public high schools in the country.  I saw how the education I received there set me up for success in college and beyond.  

 

I've worked as a community college since mine were babies, and I see vividly there how receiving a poor high school education is very, very difficult to overcome.

 

The local schools aren't that great.  A study several years ago indicated that 2/3 of the graduates going to college were needing remedial college classes, and I could see in my own classes that the academic level of even their top graduates wasn't much to write home about. We can't afford the local prep schools.

 

Looking back, I know that my oldest would have been labelled early on.  He was a very high-energy kid that would have gotten into a lot of trouble, and he didn't really take off reading until 3rd grade.

 

There was also some religious motivation there, but the academics came first.  This month my oldest graduates, and I have no regrets.

[lmrich]

I was working at a private school that my children were attending. I had loved working there, but then the principal asked me to lie on her behalf to the parents about her plans for next year that involoved me (not) teaching these parents's kids. I told her I would not lie, but I would not reveal her plan unless asked; she demanded that it be kept a secret, even if someone asked me - I was to lie and say I was teaching the 3/4 combo class. (She wanted me in first grade - and I was happy that) I looked her in the eye, and said I could not work for anymore! That same day a parent asked if would consider homeschooling a small group of students. Apparently she knew about the secret.... This mom actually wanted me to open a new private school. So glad I homeschooled instead. And I ended up tutoring her kid for three years. 

 

My son was entering 5th grade our first year at home, and he graduates Friday. 

[Ethel Mertz]

We started homeschooling when we discovered DS's preschool teacher pinched little boys (including him) who wouldn't conform (e.g., those who wouldn't sit quietly in circle time). 

[Mimm]

I needed to stop paying tuition at their private school and my husband was very firmly against public school. (Our oldest now attends eighth grade in PS, which he's not thrilled about but recognizes is the right decision for her.) I had just graduated college and spent a year job hunting, but with no work history and people in my field being laid off, I was competing for entry level positions with people who had five, seven years experience. I could have found work that wasn't in my field, answering phones, data entry, stuff like that, but we decided that homeschooling would be a better thing to direct my energies into. We're now winding down our fifth year.

 

I won't say it's been smooth sailing by any means. I dealt with a pretty bad few months of depression in the middle of the winter a couple years ago, and that was very rough. We have weeks that just fall apart and we seem to get nothing done. I do wish I had put my oldest in school earlier, because I just don't think homeschooling was very good for her. And now I have to do everything with an 18 month old toddler that thinks me reading aloud is an invitation to a yelling match. But with all the ups and downs, this year was the best ever for my middle child and I am looking forward to next year and to getting started with the baby in three or four years. :)

[desertflower]

My husband travels and we go with him.  For instance, when he had a project in PA we went back and forth every 2 weeks for months. 

 

I had no choice, but fortunately it's the correct one.  :)  I'm so glad he has to travel.  I love homeschooling.  (most days lol) 

 

How about you? 

[73349]

It was a perfect storm. :)

• DH and I were not impressed by our own PS experiences in states rated better for education than this one.
• This school district here was experiencing growing pains (massive population growth) and some political, financial and logistical issues.
• I realized that sending DS to the private school where I taught would mean a 50- to 55-hour workweek for each of us, and this hardly seemed appropriate for a person his size.
• Our DS is an intense, passionately curious individual, rather firm in his opinions and not disposed to be compliant just because it's wanted of him. (Imagine the sort of baby whose parents start making emperor jokes in the NICU. That's my son.) He did not enjoy his preschool experience, and kindergarten would've been worse.

 

So rather than starting to homeschool at K, as we'd supposed by the time he was 2 that we'd be doing, we started at preK, thinking we'll send him to a b & m high school. Now I'm leaning toward teaching him until it's time for college, although all options are officially still on the table.

 

[clementine]

Our reason is sappy. Homeschooling was never on our radar. I didn't want to send them to preschool, I loved being with them! So, we were one of the only families who skipped preschool & kindergarten isn't manatory in our state, so we skipped that too. We are getting ready to graduate our first! I have no regrets at all!!!!

[Cottonwood]

I was homeschooled in high school back when no one knew what it was. Lol my siblings were too, at different points. I was familiar. My career ended up being in the school system and I decided after that exposure that when I had kids I would hs by the time they hit middle school, if not before. Many moons later, I found myself with a husband and kids across the country in a dangerous school district so I hs the kids in that couple of years in elementary. We moved to Montana and I let them go to public school through the rest of elementary here. But as each hit middle school, I brought them home.

[Artichoke]

Quite simply, we ran into a teacher in second grade who absolutely refused to allow our son to deviate from any of her plans. We tried and tried to problem solve with her, but her only answer was for ds to sit quietly with his hands folded on his desk while he waited for everyone else to finish. No, he couldn't read. No, he couldn't draw. No, he couldn't have extra work. She was impossible to deal with. We brought ds home mid-year, and that was that.

[Soapy]

We had a babysitter one night that was the daughter of a member of my husband's business networking group.  She was this awesome, well spoken kid and we thoroughly were impressed with her.  Then she started talking about how she was homeschooled rather randomly.  It made a positive impression on us.

 

At the time, my kids went to the best elementary school in our state.  They've won lots of awards.  I think the teachers were really trying their best, but my kids were young for their grade and didn't test well.  Basically, not doing well on screeners and standardized testing made the teachers feel that I should hold  back my son (and consequently his twin sister who was excelling) so he would do better on state testing the next year.  

 

There were other things at school.  DD was SOOO anxious about everything.  DS couldn't sit still.  Lack of recess, constant testing, too much homework, and my husband's travel schedule for work also made us start thinking about it.  I thought and thought and thought and agonized over it.  Then we went and met with that babysitter's parents.  DH was sold and we pulled them for second grade.  

 

Best decision ever.  I know some family thinks we're crazy.  Friends in our neighborhood think we are crazy for sure... best school in the state and all.  But we don't care. :) 

[Southern Ivy]

After teaching in a school district with an academic core with which I am unimpressed coupled with several years of violent students and no support from the administrative staff, I determined that my child would never attend school in this district. 
She is not homeschooling yet, but I'm on here "researching", asking questions, and learning so that I'm prepared when she's old enough. 

[Peaceful Isle]

My dh was always for homeschooling. He gave me  TWTM book to read when my first dd was a baby.

Before I put my dd in school at 5, my dh talked long and hard to me about the benefits of homeschooling. I really didn't want to because of my own childhood experience. 

 

When my dh was diagnosed with an extreme illness a year later, I stopped teaching at b&m school, brought my kiddo home, and started homeschooling. It was the best choice ever. I never regret one moment of homeschooling. Sometimes I question my sanity lol, but not my choice.

[Dramorellis]

We had considered it before we even had children as an option. Everyone here sends their children to school starting at 2-3 and it just didn't feel right to us. Then he turned 4 and it didn't seem like a good idea then either. Then came time for K and we were pretty sure we would continue to homeschool until 1st grade. He has an August birthday so would be young for the cutoff and we just didn't feel like full day K was appropriate. However to keep our options open, we applied to 20 schools which is the norm here. It's a very, very competitive and political process. We were turned off by the whole thing and I was set on keeping him home for another year unless we got a fabulous offer. So on the last day to accept a school, we got a fabulous offer! Kindergarten was wonderful. It was a combination of a fantastic principal,engaged and motivated teaching staff and a really active parent community. I remember looking over at my husband during their Winter Holiday program and he was crying and I was crying because these kids obviously were just so loved and protected and everyone was there to help them learn and grow. We thought we had found a home and community and were prepared for all the children to attend. Then cue first grade and city politics forcing the principal out and the valued staff, too much rigor with no purpose, forced longer school day etc. I was so broken-hearted. I also missed him desperately all day. He was having all sorts of problems and we could not find any workable solution to solve them. The schedule was harming our family dynamic.I started researching options around January of first grade. We knew what we wanted for them educationally and for some reason a "classical education" kept coming up in our discussions without us really knowing what that meant in real terms so I googled and ended up here. Our first year was an amazing success and so much fun. This year DD has been folded into our activities and DS2 will join us in the Fall. I'm now committed to continuing all the way through high school. 

[Runningmom80]

It was the least-worst option.  DS is gifted and quirky and we live in a not great school district.  He also has other medical problems, so it's continued to just make the most sense. Now, anything else just feels like a compromise.  I love that he has 1/2 of his day to play.  I can't even imagine sending him to a full day of school anymore!  It all seems so absurd, and I do realize our children are the minority. :laugh:

 

My twins have one last year at their wonderful Montessori school, and then they will be home schooled too.  Not because they need it, because I want it for them.

 

 

My how I've changed. ;)

[J-rap]

Actually, I don't exactly remember.  We didn't have strong feelings either way, but thought it sounded fun.

 

Turns out it was a blast.

 

[Dmmetler]

Two steps

1) when DD was 3, I gave up on preschool playgroups and, by accident, stumbled into a group of homeschoolers having park day. DD did much better with the mixed age group, the moms were nice, and we stayed. The following year she got early entry to K, and I found I missed the moms, so I'd go to park day and spend time with them until I had to go pick up DD, who was getting more and more frustrated, even with a gifted IEP and a teacher who was really trying. My homeschool friends listens to the complaints, and, without saying "I told you so" directly, encouraged me to try homeschooling.

 

2) In January, DD's teacher asked me what my plan was when school stopped working for DD since she was so advanced. My reply was "I guess we'll homeschool". She responds "well, it's time. You should keep her home at least until everyone else learns to read and do math". So, we spent the rest of the year researching, let DD finish K, and planned to homeschool in the fall.

 

After about a month of researching, DD asked "Am I going to be homeschooled next year?" When we replied that this was the plan, she asked "I can see my friends, right? And I won't have to keep learning things I already know!"

 

We ended up starting to homeschool the day after her K graduation, when she pulled me out of bed at 6:30 in the morning, on Saturday, eager to start. We've been homeschooling ever since.

[VorLady]

I was homeschooled from day one. My husband was homeschooled from 6th grade on. We're both engineers now and a commitment to homeschooling was one of the things that drew us together so there was never a question that we'd homeschool. It makes our lives so much easier though - husband's job requirements are a bit eclectic and we end up with a thousand or more mile move every few years. We're eyeing one of those moves right now, and I'm nervous because this will be our first "school-aged" move, but how much easier it's going to be because we homeschool! We can move somewhere with terrible schools and not sweat about it! 

 

My daughter gets to spend her afternoons playing with legos, doing art, reading or acting out games with her squad of dragons, and she's well advanced academically for her age. That's what I want for her, for as long as it's possible.

[Heathermomster]

My children are home for health, worldview, and learning issues.

[regentrude]

Low academic standards in poublic school. Particularly math.

 

my kids went to elementary ps and that was fine, albeit not exactly challenging.

In 5th grade, they switched to middle school and the learning stopped. The social atmosphere was atrocious as well.

Realizing that, at the beginning of 6th grade, DD was a full year behind in math compared to her peers at home where we were planning a sabbatical and she'd have to attend school, I pulled her out. And after our return, never sent her back and pulled DS as well.

 

 

[Desert Strawberry]

I was afterschooled. I knew I didn't want that for my kids. One or the other, but both is too much IMO. 

 

When my first was born, my cousin and I had a long talk which included a lot of homeschooling info. At 2.5, I put him in daycare/preK and we both hated the whole experience. It was a good enough place, it just wasn't for us. We brought him home at 3.5 and never looked back. 

 

When he got to 3rd grade, I needed to crank up the academics, but didn't know how. The same cousin recommended this board. Here we are.

[MinivanMom]

I was a public school teacher. When oldest dd was born, I quit my job and swore I would never send her to public school.

 

 

[Hwin]

Dealing with the school district when my autistic kiddo was in special needs preschool. I realized I didn't have it in me to be "that parent" and if I wanted my child to have any type of education at all, I would either have to be a squeaky wheel with the school district or do it myself.

[Amira]

I randomly got a homeschooling catalog in the mail when oldest ds was 3 or 4.  It was a not a secular catalog so it wasn't very useful for me, but it got me thinking about homeschooling so I checked a few books out of the library.  One of those was the first edition of TWTM (this was in 2003) and I was blown away that someone had actually put together a homeschooling plan that was nearly perfect for me.  Dh wasn't enthusiastic but went along with it, and then we started moving and homeschooling became the only option sometimes.

 

Oldest ds is finishing 10th grade and middle ds is finishing 9th grade.  They would have been in 11 different schools so far in several states and countries with another two moves and a new country planned before they graduate.  Despite all the craziness, TWTM has made it possible for me to at least provide some educational continuity in their lives.

[Insertcreativenamehere]

I always had homeschooling in the back of my mind but DH wasn't on board. I read TWTM years ago and it always resonated with me. 

 

About 3 years ago, our family went through a traumatic period with a new baby's life-threatening health issues and frequent hospitalizations. This had a major impact on our then-5 yo son and he developed anxiety and depression. He did fine in ps kindy but the transition to 1st grade was extremely difficult. I had to carry him kicking and screaming into school and he frequently made disturbing comments about hating his life. He was getting lost in the midst of his little brother's crises and just needed more attention. Counseling had little impact on him. 

 

My MIL (a retired principal/teacher) recommend we homeschool him and initially, I thought there was no way I could do so. We decided to enroll him in a virtual academy for 1st grade and he was a completely different kid -- much more carefree, happy and thriving academically, well above grade level. At the end of the year, we opted to withdraw from the VA and homeschool independently for more flexibility. 

 

Meanwhile, our oldest son had completed 3rd grade in ps and I was concerned about the quality of his education. He was not challenged in school at all. When I picked up some curriculum I'd borrowed from a friend (MFW's Exploring Countries and Cultures), he looked through the books and asked to be homeschooled, too. 

 

This is our first year homeschooling with both boys and it's been great! We are implementing many elements of both Charlotte Mason and classical education into our school days. Both of our older boys have asthma and we have all been much healthier since they've been home for school. 

 

We also have a 5 yo daughter that I planned to send to ps K for half-days next year, thinking that she'd love it. She's my social butterfly and adores her preschool class and teachers. But when I toured several classrooms, I was shocked at how much kindy has changed just in the few years since our older boys were that age. While I'm all for academic rigor at older ages,I didn't want that high-pressure environment for my daughter. I wanted her to have time to paint and do playdough, play outside and generally enjoy learning. As it turns out, she's already reading and would be bored in a kindy classroom. So we're homeschooling her, too. :)

 

Our 3 yo boy has Down syndrome and is now doing fairly well, although he still requires home nursing care for his complex medical needs. I am not sure what we will do with him -- we'd planned on special ed preschool for the fall, but I am now re-thinking that for health reasons. He has ongoing respiratory issues and even a simple cold can send him to the hospital so we may be doing either homebound instruction or homeschooling preschool, too. 

[Michelle in MD]

My academically inclined firstborn was endlessly bullied in elementary school--for example, glasses torn from his face and dismantled, pants pulled down on the bus--and when we went to the administration, their response was (and I quote), "Your son needs to get tougher."  He was nine.  We began homeschooling and that same son made it all the way through with full scholarships to undergrad here in MD and grad school at Princeton.  I do not believe this would have happened had he remained in public school.  Sometimes I even wonder if he'd still be here.

 

Along the way we also discovered that we love this learning lifestyle with all the rest of our children!