What do you love most about HSing?

[TKDmom]

Help! I just sent in my Letter of Intent to HS dd. Grandpa will be coming into town this week and has expressed negative sentiments when I told him I was "thinking" about HS. Well, now I'm not just thinking about it and I need lots of positives to bolster my confidence when I have tell him!

 

I'll start. Now, this is certainly not my main reason, but living in FL, summertime is the worst time of the year to go outside. I'm looking forward to having school all through the summer so that we can have vacations when it's cool and dry and beautiful outside. And maybe we could even visit a place that has snow this winter. . . .

[sixpence1978]

I'll post some...

 

1. The biggest reason is that my kids are free to be who they want to be. I sent my DS to a private school for K. The school was awesome, but my DS ended up more shy by the end of the year. He couldn't find any friends like liked the same things he did or had the same interests and he was bullied a little bit. Now that he is going on his second year at home, I can see who he really is. He is able to enjoy those things that appeal to him without judgement. All in all, he is getting more and more confident each year.

 

2. My DS also spend about 5 months straight in K sick. Now that he is home, he is going on a year without ANY illness. He is finally able to gain some weight and grow!

 

3. We really like to be around each other. And while school isn't always fun, it is so nice to be able to explore things that are interesting and have the kids learn more.

[Emmy]

1. A closer knit family with great relationships between my kids. I started homeschooling my oldest when he was 6 and I had just had my 4th son - he would have missed so much time with his newest baby brother were he in school all day.

 

2. No jumping through hoops for the school. We never have to do a project that is pointless or read books that aren't interesting. We never have to do a math problem in a crazy roundabout way.

 

3. More free time. My kids have more "down time" and more time to pursue their hobbies and have fun than kids that are tied to a school schedule. My dh and I specifically try to pursue a more slowed down relaxed lifestyle than many of the people we know - we like to just have TIME.

 

4. Personalized academics.

 

5. No boring textbooks. :)

[Heather in Neverland]

I love that my kids will keep their own unique personalities instead of being forced to conform to the group in order to survive.

 

I love that my kids will learn at their own pace and not the pace of the group.

 

I love that my kids will learn OUR family values and not the values of some stranger they spend all day with.

 

I love that my kids do not know how to bully someone and don't have to suffer from being bullied.

 

I love that my dh and I are the primary influences in their lives and pleasing us is far more important to them than pleasing their peers.

 

I love that we can show our children God's hand in all that they do and learn instead of them spending most of their waking hours being taught that "man is the measure of all things".

[gratefulmother]

I love it that we have so much time together as a family and our life doesn't revolve around a school schedule. I pray that my daughter and son will have a closer relationship with one another because of the time they have spent together, rather than in school. For a child that is working above or below grade level, a group setting has less to offer them than individualized instruction. We have time to pursue other interests in depth. Having been a public and private school teacher, I believe that in general the curriculums chosen by homeschoolers are superior to most curriculums used in the classroom. I don't always do a good job of it, but we have more opportunity to impart our values to our children as opposed to public school values, which leave out God, and private school values, which in my opinion, often encourage elitism.

 

I will add that my parents had strong reservations about homeschooling, but having seen our results and the neat things we are able to do (including spend more time with them) they are very supportive now. My dad has a very strong personality, so I learned a long time ago, to not try to convince him of anything by talking to him about it, but to just let my confidence and the results of what I am doing speak for themselves. And in the end, we have to make the decision that is best for our family whether he understands or not. I don't know if that speaks to your situation or not, but I thought it might help if it did.

 

Best wishes!

 

I will just add that

[lionfamily1999]

We've become a lot closer. I look forward to cheaper family vacations. An easier schedule. More realistic system, at no other point does life mock the situations found in school. My children won't have the ageism issues (I hope) that nearly everyone I know has. Oh, and my son can move as fast as he wants or as slow as he needs too. In two weeks of homeschooling he has surged ahead of his friends in ps in math, handwriting and grammar. Our approach to science is so different that it's hard to say if he's gotton ahead or not, we take a more in-depth/hands-on approach. The same goes for history, he knows more about the Egyptians ;) , but we have not spent the past two weeks learning about George Washington...

[FO4UR]

#1 I maintain the authority over my dc's education decisions. A risk of ps is having a dc with a need that gets glossed over in order to maintain a classroom. No child is a PERFECT fit for any curriculum, and at home YOU have the power to speed up/slow down/change curricula as necessary. Your goals are different. Your main goal is an independent, well-equipped child. The ps's goals are to pass a dc through the system, high test scores, ...not to even mention political agenda in the classroom.

 

#2 The ps methods of socialization don't work well. When was the last time you ever sat at a desk with 25 other people your exact same age in the "real world?"

 

#3 Waiting at the bus stop, waiting to potty, waiting for the other kids to finish their math page, waiting in the lunch line.......steals away precious time that your dc could be playing with legos, painting, digging in the backyard, etc..... I think it's important for kids to be responsible for filling free time with productive activity, but in ps they have very little room for that -and very little time at home after school.

 

#4 Many ps's use methods to teach reading and math that are just not working! Many teachers KNOW that the curriculum is holding kids back, and yet have ZERO say in what they use.....which brings me back to my #1 reason...

[swellmomma]

I love that I can tailor the curriculum to each child's needs, no missed lessons due to dr appts, or if they are sick or having a bad day, we just pick back up where we left off. We can have more fun as a family, if we want to spend the day at the science center I don'[t have to wait until the weekend, when we go to guatemala next year we don't have to chose between missing a whole week of school or waiting until the ps holidays., today we are headed to a potluck lunch at my sister's for her mom's group, if the kids were in ps we could not particpate in things like that. Or spending the day sledding, on the 1 warmish day we have had here in weeks. Basically we can take full advantage of what is around us without having to wait until 3 pm to do so.

 

If we want to take a bunny trail and spend a month learning about teeth we can, or if we want to do dissections at the elementary level(or not at all without jumping thorugh hoops for the ps) we can. I control what my children are learning, which for some subjects I find very important (sex ed, science etc). If we want to learn a second language other than french(the mandatory second language in ps from gr 4 until high school) we can without any problems.

 

When is is -40 out we don't have to face icy roads, or frostbite, we can be safely snuggled up reading together, while fresh cookies are baking.

 

I can maintain more of the child/parent bond and not "lose" them to peers as early as would happen in ps. Theya re free to be themselves, at 10 my son can still freely give me hugs and kisses without worrying how his buddy's will respond, he can play star wars to his hearts content without anyone calling him "nerd". DD can stay a little girl much longer, I see her ps peers already worried about clothes and boys and makeup etc while she is happy to be playing littlest pet shop etc.

 

HOmescholing with a new baby is WAY easier than getting the kids to and from ps with a new baby (I've done both), now my 2 littles can get all the sleep they need without me rudely waking them up to get the older ones off to school. I don't have to stop nursing the little one just because it is almost 3 and time to pick kids up. again dealing with the cold temps, and being around so many people exposing the baby to colds, flus etc unneccessarily.

 

Homeschooling is cheaper than ps in my experience. In ps after you pay fees, supplies, new clothes, bus passes(or gas for transporting them), then you have monthly fundraisers, feildtrip fees, hot lunch days, school pictures, teacher gifts and the list goes on and on. I spent $1000's each year on ps. Homeschooling, no extra fees, I buy what I want for books(which in my prov is partially funded), I can reuse the curric for other kids so I am not out that amount each year, I buy the items once rather than pay the school fees etc every year. I don't know about you but I am not made of money and homeschooling has made such a cost savings for us. (not a reason on it's own to hs but definitely a perk)

[Trivium Academy]

I don't know how much this will help you with a naysayer (I have a few too) but...

 

1. Homeschooling allows me to be my children's mom in all ways. I have full parental rights with them, to be able to help them as they need it instead of waiting to be told they need help (most of the time, it's too late or past the point of being a small problem). I can see when they need to be pushed to achieve more and not just academically. I can identify the source of a problem more quickly and respond naturally.

 

I can be a role model for them instead of allowing Hannah Montana or someone else to be. I can teach subjects they would never be taught and avoid the topics I wish they would NEVER be taught. I can mold their education to their talents and work on the areas they need help with at their pace.

 

2. Time. Time is so fleeting. We only have children for a little while before they are starting to break away from us and be their own adults. As a mom, I want to provide my children the BEST childhood they can have and I don't believe being away from the family unit for 8 hours a day is the best way to accomplish that. I want my children to have a childhood filled with dreams, imagination, adventures and discoveries.

 

Also under the category of time...with homeschooling the kids can do more social activities, share in the real world more and learn a myriad of things that public school students don't have time for. We can have piano lessons at 9am, karate lessons at 2:00pm, participate in more contests and service opportunities such as volunteering in the church or community.

 

I have plenty of more reasons but in my experience with naysayers, they are concerned that:

1. The child won't have enough social interaction with other people, mainly other children.

2. The child will be sheltered, which will cause a social disadvantage for the child when they are older- that they will not know how to conduct themselves within society.

3. That you are not qualified to teach or don't know what you're doing, b/c public school teachers have degrees. This also comes from the media representation of homeschoolers, which are mostly unschoolers from what I've seen.

 

These are all laughable but it really depends on each person's situation. The decision to homeschool is yours and your dh's decision- no one else in your family has a say in it b/c they will not be DOING it and it's highly unlikely they will even help pay for it. I would set the boundary right away that the topic of whether it is right/wrong is off the table for discussion. Homeschooling is legal and a viable option for educating children- end of story. Hold your ground now and your path will be easier as the years go on.

 

The kids will be in 'school' no matter what form that takes. That is what is important, nothing else.

[Pam in MA]

Why not tackle the discussion by asking him what his reservations about homeschooling are? Ask him what he knows about homeschooling or if he personally knows anyone who homeschools. Then you may find out where your challenge lies in convincing him.

[Blue Ray]

My first thought is grandpa has preconceived notions of hs in general. By inquiring here, I think that's great. It will help you come up with some solid answers and help with an open discussion with him.One issue he may have is what so many of us hear when we brought up hs..socialization. I know at first my mom had her opinions. But over time, she came around and even helped me read about curriculum. So that was cool.

 

So here are a few of mine - and I will say all the posts above reflect a lot of my own.

 

1. My son has weaks, strengths. The ps system tested him and agreed he has some learning disabilities but not enough that they would help me. I was essentially on my own with it all. That pushed me to take it on as I knew I would do a better job. I did not want him to get left behind.

 

2. I love, love, love the empowerment to create his own curriculum ( and of course praise WTM big time) and have the power to speed up or slow down anything we so desire. There is no pressure to 'get it done" to satisfy an institution.

 

3. We love the idea that we can slow down his exposure to the real world out there. We can protect his innocents even longer. That is HUGE to us.

 

4. We love the fact that we can incorporate God's Word every day during school without being told we cannot do that.

 

5. When my friends mention their child is up until 10:30/11:00 pm doing mindless homework, jumping through hoops, paying money to create the projects for a grade, I just smile and nod. I am so releived he will not be doing that.

 

6. And we love more free time and love being able to spend more time with him.

 

Explain to grandpa that the school he attended is not the same school your kids face. It has a whole new dynamic to it and it is not good enough for your kids. lol

 

 

Hopefully your hubby can also arm himself with some good dialog.I know my father in law had a moment of negativity but then came around very quick.

 

In the end, its your kids, your choice. But harmony is nice in the family.

 

Blessings!

[Closeacademy]

1. The school does not direct my schedule or our values.

 

2. Time to be with my children and be a family.

 

3. Watching my children learn.

 

4. My children can remain children while they are children. There is no pressure to like "in" things and wear "in" clothing or give up toys and childish things too early.

 

:001_smile:

[Haiku]

What I love most about homeschooling is that I am the one with my kids when they make amazing discoveries and learn things that are meaningful to them.

 

Tara

[Tree House Academy]

I didn't read other responses so as not to cloud my train of thought...

 

I love that we live our lives the way we want to and that we are not subject to the "system." I like that my kids work hard to please us and that they do not worry so much about being accepted by their peers. They are becoming individuals. I like that we can travel when we want or we can stay home when we want. I like that they are not subject to the whims of the school system. They don't have to miss a day if it snows and then, in turn, go to school into their vacation time. We live life for US and not anyone else. :)

 

I also love that I can teach my kids about God and the Bible each day and they can learn in a safe environment where they are not influenced by others who do not share our beliefs.

[SonshineLearner]

It depends on how old "grandpa" is. Schools aren't what they use to be...goes farther with someone older... Also, just remember that it helps to pick things that won't make him feel defensive about how he raised his children.

 

Carrie:-)

[Janice in NJ]

No list from me this morning, Bonnie. I've been ten years in this process; a list can't convey how I feel or what I've learned.

 

I've taken up the gauntlet on that one.

I've thrown down the gauntlet on that one.

...and I've been left with nothing but battered gauntlets. :001_smile:

 

It's generally a fruitless venture if the grandparents already come to the conversation "very" concerned. If they are just mildly curious, you can probably discuss this without any hard feelings. But if the grandparent already has lots of big, waving, red flags, then you might have a tough row of it. :001_smile:

 

I'm not trying to be negative, really. But don't be discouraged if the conversation doesn't go the way you want it to. :001_smile: Very often folks have had an experience or have heard about an experience with homeschooling that either leaves a really positive taste in their mouth or a really negative one. More samples of things that taste different won't always "fix" that. The thing that you taste first is the thing that sticks with you.

 

Sometimes you just have to proceed; whip up your own batch of yummy stuff; and let the grandparents taste that... and even then some of them may still persist in saying, "Yea... BUT..." Life is still grand. All is still well. And you still have the pleasure of following your gut. :001_smile: Homeschooling is a grand, grand ride.

 

Our lives are rich and beautiful, pleasant and relatively peaceful, challenging and close. Neither my husband nor I would change the plan if we had a do-over. BUT there are plenty of parents who have sent their kids to public school who can/do say that with just as much peaceful assurance. And I believe them; they have great kids!

 

Which brings me to my point:

 

1. It is easy to be confident because your grand-kids are in public school; there are so many outstanding success stories that you can point to. Public school is such a great choice for so many kids.

2. It is easy to be concerned that your grand-kids are in public school; everyone has heard the horror stories. What if the public school system fails YOUR grand-kids. What then?

 

3. It is easy to be confident because your grand-kids are in private school; there are so many outstanding success stories that you can point to. Private school is such a great choice for so many kids.

4. It is easy to be concerned that your grand-kids are in private school; everyone has heard the horror stories. What if the private school system fails YOUR grand-kids. What then?

 

5. It is easy to be confident because your grand-kids are homeschooled; there are so many outstanding success stories that you can point to. Homeschooling is such a great choice for so many kids.

6. It is easy to be concerned that your grand-kids are homeschooled; everyone has heard the horror stories. What if homeschooling fails YOUR grand-kids. What then?

 

Not trying to be cheeky! Really! :001_smile::001_smile: I wish you a PEACEFUL and productive conversation, Bonnie! :001_smile: But as in all things parenting and grand-parenting, there are no guarantees. We each carve out our path, and then life takes over - the good AND the not-so-good. Don't forget to enjoy the ride! Generally, it's just grand! :001_smile:

 

Peace,

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

Edited December 18, 2008 by Janice in NJ

[PeterPan]

Well I have my reasons for homeschooling, and those are something I suggest you have very firmly planted in your mind, as it WILL come up that you question them at some point. Vacation times won't be quite a good enough reason. ;) For us, the thing that surprised me most, the reason that WASN'T on my original list but now is, is the ability to tailor the levels to dd and take things up/down as needed. It has turned out to be more important than I anticipated. And now, as a pleasant surprise, she gets more time with her widely spaced brother (9 1/2 years) than she would have attending school. Both are important to me and things I hadn't anticipated going into this adventure.

 

But as for loving homeschooling, well you've got to be joking. I work my butt off at it, I'm tired, house is never as cleaned or decorated as I want it to be, and it generally consumes me. I do it, I enjoy it, I'm glad for the rewards. But don't ask me to LOVE it on top of that, kwim? I think you better be realistic, going into it with stairsteps and a new baby on the way. It AIN'T gonna be pretty, romantic, or like those things you see in the SL catalog. It's going to be hard, tiring, and something you do because it's what you've decided is best. So have your reasons to stick through it and enjoy the fun times ahead. It won't all be fun, but there will be days. During the rest, well you better know why you're doing this! :)

 

Oh, and I'm with Janice on giving up talking about the grandparents about it. As with all parenting things, it is YOUR decision, not theirs. Don't even try, don't argue, and don't let it be a point of disagreement. Pass the bean dip, move on, talk about other things. Somehow outside people feel free to give their opinions or disagree with you when it ISN'T THEIR DECISION. It doesn't matter one particle what they think or whether they're right or wrong frankly. YOU have to decide. Don't mean to be strong there, but I've had flack from a variety of people because my dd was an only for so long. You'll get flack for some other reason (new baby, whatever). You won't convince people with arguments, and it may take some time for them to change their minds or even just decide to shut themselves about giving their own opinions. So don't open yourself to their criticism, that's my advice.

Edited December 18, 2008 by OhElizabeth

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

Help! I just sent in my Letter of Intent to HS dd. Grandpa will be coming into town this week and has expressed negative sentiments when I told him I was "thinking" about HS. Well, now I'm not just thinking about it and I need lots of positives to bolster my confidence when I have tell him!

 

Where you're likely to have the most luck with the older critics is by emphasizing to them that schools these days in no way resemble schools from his generation. Not. Even. Close. They don't even resemble the schools of my generation and I'm only 36!

 

Before I had kids, I worked as a Social Worker in local elementary schools. I promise you, it is not pretty. Socially, I saw terrible things. Academically, I saw that for struggling kids, there was not enough individual attention to go around. For advanced kids, there was not enough individual attention to go around. For average kids, there was not enough individual attention to go around but, ah, there was no guilt here on anyone's part because at least these kids were doing okay. They weren't going to be lifted out of intellectual mediocrity, but, at least they were making it and not requiring individual attention--which is ridiculous, of course, because all children require individual attention. In schools, they rarely get it. The teachers just don't have the time. But you do!

 

Luckily, I have complete support because my in-laws had actually homeschooled my husband's (much) younger sister and my own parents just know the utter futility of questioning any decisions I make. :) My husband had heard enough of the horror stories I brought home to be on board. He also got to see that his sister had turned out pretty darn well after homeschooling K-10 (only going to public school after his dad, the primary homeschooler, passed away when she was 15).

 

I would highly recommend reading Rachel Gathercole's The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of Homeschooling. I know the weekend is almost upon you though and you won't have time before your grandfather arrives. For future reference though...

 

http://www.amazon.com/Well-Adjusted-Child-Social-Benefits-Homeschooling/dp/1600651070/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229618949&sr=8-1

 

I'll start. Now, this is certainly not my main reason, but living in FL, summertime is the worst time of the year to go outside. I'm looking forward to having school all through the summer so that we can have vacations when it's cool and dry and beautiful outside. And maybe we could even visit a place that has snow this winter. . . .

 

This is a great reason, really. I live in Texas so I have similar sentiments. I know you said it's not your main reason and it's not mine either. It also would definitely not be my lead-off reason in trying to convince people of the merits of homeschooling. Especially among the older critics, you're likely to get a lot of "well, that's just life" kind of responses. You're getting some gems here though. If you're worried about verbal stumbling under duress, I would print them all out, rank them and practice the most important and convincing ones to be ready for his arrival. We don't know if he's a drill sergeant type or just quietly concerned so you'll be the best judge of how much practice you need. :)

 

My personal favorites...

 

I can teach my kids at their own pace. I don't have to teach to a test. I can simply teach what I feel it is most important for them to learn.

 

My kids have a greater shot at being best friends for life.

 

My kids will be allowed to develop their personalities without undue pressure from peers--without concerns about looking or being cool. And they can remain kids longer. It makes me sad how quickly kids grow up these days. (To me, that's a misnomer. They're not actually growing up more quickly. They're still just as immature as they ever were. They're just little kids playing at being older when they should still be playing with dolls and Legos and flying kites instead of texting friends...but I digress.:glare:)

 

My kids will be exposed to subjects that public schools now deem unnecessary but that I feel are of extreme importance to the soul (art, music, nature study, etc.).

 

My kids will get individual attention from a teacher who has their best interests at heart.

 

I'll add one last thing. If grandpa is Christian, he might respond to this. My husband's 82 year old Granny (a retired public school Enlish teacher and 100% supporter of homeschooling) said it was the best thing she had ever heard in defense of homeschooling. For those critics of homeschooling who say that kids need to be in school to learn to toughen up or to learn how the world really works, here is a great response: Don't send your kids into the lion's den until they are as strong as Daniel.

 

Good luck!

 

Kristina

Edited December 18, 2008 by Alte Veste Academy

[Janice in NJ]

 

Oh, and I'm with Janice on giving up talking about the grandparents about it. As with all parenting things, it is YOUR decision, not theirs. Don't even try, don't argue, and don't let it be a point of disagreement. Pass the bean dip, move on, talk about other things.

 

Yes. And one more thing. Your parents raised you. They did a GREAT job; tell them THAT. Now it's time for them to TRUST the work that they did by letting you do yours. They get to just have fun being grand-parents. No hassles. No worries. No responsibilities. They've DONE their part; respect them for that. But now you get to do yours. All's well. Tell them to just relax and focus on enjoying their grand-children. Take the responsibility for your role, and it will be easier for them to accept your authority. :001_smile:

 

Peace to you and yours!

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

As with all parenting things, it is YOUR decision, not theirs. Don't even try, don't argue, and don't let it be a point of disagreement. Pass the bean dip, move on, talk about other things.

 

:iagree:

 

If an initial conversation leaves him unconvinced, move on. You are the parent. You are in charge!

 

Totally agree... Please pass the bean dip! :lol:

 

Kristina

[TKDmom]

Thanks for all the great advice. I was glad to see the comment about it being easier to HS with a new baby than to get kids off to ps. One of my bigger reservations is, will I be able to deal with morning sickness and HS? I'm still very early in my pregnancy with #4.

I also especially like the doses of reality posted above. I think it's important not to get my hopes up about how perfect everything will be. When is like EVER perfect?

A little background: my dad and I don't talk about things :) When my mom was still living, she would call and we'd talk for an hour to an hour an a half. More than once a week. I'm an only child and she just needed the contact. Now my dad calls every few weeks and we never stay on the line for more than 20 min. And I think we're both ok with that. I can't imagine us ever getting into a "fight", though. Neither one of us handle confrontation. He may not agree with what I'm doing, but he'll just express his opinion and leave it there. When I talked to him last he mumbled something about "socialization" and I just shrugged my shoulders because I hadn't really formed an opinion on that yet.

 

So, here are my real reasons for wanting to HS. I've had plenty of practice talking these over with dh and convincing him that this will be best for dd (we haven't discussed weather or not it will best for ds's yet--dd is our guinea pig, I suppose)

 

1. She does not learn a the same rate as the "group". She sits around doing nothing half the day, waiting for the rest of the class to finish an assignment, but consistently misses recess for not finishing other assignments.

2. She needs individual attention, especially in math. She's just not getting it the way they approach it school.

3. Our relationship is suffering when she's gone all day. She leaves at 7 am, comes home at 3pm, and then she's just exhausted and grumpy. (I'm hoping that our relationship won't suffer when I'm her teacher. I think that this will either be the time when I learn more patience or a time that we realize she's better off letting someone else teach :001_unsure:)

4. There's a lot on negative socialization at school. I've already noticed that what so-and-so thinks is more important than what she wants. Ugh! Can't she be social and learn to relate to other people in normal situations, rather than just conforming to what so-and-so thinks at school?

[Colleen in NS]

3. Our relationship is suffering when she's gone all day. She leaves at 7 am, comes home at 3pm, and then she's just exhausted and grumpy. (I'm hoping that our relationship won't suffer when I'm her teacher. I think that this will either be the time when I learn more patience or a time that we realize she's better off letting someone else teach :001_unsure:)

 

 

I would guess that teaching her at home will improve your relationship, because she won't sit around bored and waiting, she will finally learn math, and she will do it all in far less time than in school that you mentioned, which will leave her lots of time to relax and play, and she will be grateful to you for bringing her home! Good luck!:)

[PeterPan]

Bonnie, men are different in relationships than women. Women need to talk all the time, whereas men can just pick up after a year like nothing happened. Just food for thought.

 

Your reasons for homeschooling sound terrific and well thought out! Those will definitely help bolster you through the tough spots. Now as for homeschooling with morning sickness, yes it's possible. My baby is 2 months old now, so I just did it. Can she read? Keep her in books. Pick a sensible math curriculum and do it every day. Find what she likes to do and have supplies on hand for that thing (science kits if it's science, art supplies if it's science, whatever). You now have three things going! Really, we were able to keep going in some fashion (not fully, but at least 1/2 speed) up till a month before the birth. At that point it went out the window and was ugly, way too ugly, to keep going. About 6 weeks after the birth I finally felt like we could start back in. In other words, plan on 3 months off. Just plan on it. The ONLY thing we've gotten done consistently during that time is math, and that's because I'm a real stickler about it. But you know, there are only a couple subjects like that that are cummulative and hard to catch up. You can accelerate science or history or reading, but math, there you just have to plain do the work. So find a sensible math curriculum, make sure that happens daily, and anything else is bonus. That's my experience. Oh, and given her age, you probably better add handwriting to the list. Ask me how I know. ;)

 

Your family is going to be so proud of you when they see how hard you're working to make this happen. It just blows their mind for a while because it's so different. Then they'll start to see how common it is and chill out. Just give them time. Socialization is a non-issue, an utter non-issue. You'd think an only would be the most extreme case, and my dd is the most delightfully social dc you could hope for. They'll interact with people the way you do and learn from you, rather than nose-picking, back-talking peers. Yup, schools are a great place to get "socialized." Not. Oh, but I do make effort to get her out among people that I consider mentors. She's done athletics, piano, learned to knit with an older lady, etc. Any time you can find another person, a good role model, to put them with for a while it's a good thing. You're going to need breaks and it gives them variety. It's something my dh really clued into a year or two ago, that we really need BREAKS when we're with each other all day. And dd interacts with others on a different level and in different ways. So if you can find mentoring relationships for your dc, that will be a good thing. And they're going to LOVE being home with the new little one!!! :)

Edited December 18, 2008 by OhElizabeth

[Peela]

The truth is I like to be a bigger influence on my kids than their peers. I like to teach them, read with them, share our lives together, rather than send them off to school where they learn to become institutionalised. I also love the freedom of our lifestyle.

[angela&4boys]

The relationships that are deepened and it just feels right... natural.

 

After reading all the others, I wanted to add...

Talking about God, reading our Bible, and praying freely.

Schooling year-round and vacationing when everyone else is in school! ;-)

And, being able to customize the boys academics.

Edited December 19, 2008 by angela&4boys

[iquilt]

Listening to the school bus drive by at 7:15 am while we are just crawling out of bed, and we still have more than enough time to cover more than would be done in school!

 

The ability to school year round in a more spread-out schedule helping with retention and our sanity.

 

No homework!! Last night we had the choir Christmas party at church (preK-4th grade) and many families had to hurry up and get home to do homework - at 8 o'clock at night! I can't imagine that those poor kids got any decent rest last night.

 

The positive feedback I received this morning from our eye doctor who saw the girls for the first time; he used to work solely with pediatric patients and has nothing but high praise for homeschooling families. He spoke to the kids directly and they were so good. It was a great way to start our Christmas break!

 

Hot chocolate with my kids for lunch.

 

And on and on and on.....

[Carol in Cal.]

It is SO much easier to homeschool than to help with after-school homework that you just will not believe it.

 

When you homeschool, you get your child's attention during her sweet spot in time--that's when you teach math, reading, and maybe writing. You will be amazed at how much more ground you can cover when she is fresh. For my DD at that age, the difference was literally between 1/2 hour of math in the morning or 2 1/2 hours of math, protests, and drama in the afternoon.

[Caroline4kids]

When we lived in Pensacola I l loved the fact that we could watch the Blue Angels over our house and go to the beach if it was too hot to play outside otherwise. We also did "school" all year long.

 

I love the fact that we can leave on the spur of the moment and go anywhere we want. My kids would have missed out on so much had they been in traditional school.

 

I adore not being on anyone schedule.

[EKS]

I love that I know how my kids think and what they know so that I can help them make connections in their daily lives.

 

I love that my kids are getting a rigorous education *at their level* in each subject so that they can't coast or be left behind.

 

I love that we can take vacations whenever the time is right and not when everyone else takes them.

 

I love that my kids have no trouble interacting with *all* different types of people: young and old, various races and religions, developmentally disabled and exceptionally intelligent.

 

I love that my kids don't blindly follow the crowd and aren't peer obsessed.

 

I love that *I* am learning things this second (and third) time around and that I can see now how a fabulous education opens whole worlds to a person.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

I would guess that teaching her at home will improve your relationship, because she won't sit around bored and waiting, she will finally learn math, and she will do it all in far less time than in school that you mentioned, which will leave her lots of time to relax and play, and she will be grateful to you for bringing her home! Good luck!:)

We took DD out of school last spring and we are just now starting to get the hang of it. No improvement in the relationship at first, but I needed some better parenting skills, and it is better now.

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

Why I love homeschooling:

 

1. When my son is having trouble with a certain concept or topic, I can slow down and help him understand it better. We can practice for as long as it takes. Inevitably, there are topics (I'm thinking of math, mainly) that we speed through because they are "easy" and others than require some extra time. My sons' educations are tailored to their needs and they are getting a better education because of it.

 

2. I am able to work on my sons' character all the time, not just on the weekends and after 3 pm.

 

3. My son cannot fall through the cracks in my homeschool.

 

4. Most importantly, I can pass on our family heritage and values more consistently during our homeschooling.

 

If you have access to Debra Bell's The ultimate homeschooling guide" (I think that is what it is called), she puts forth a good argument for homeschooling. When I had to explain to my parents why we were choosing to homeschool, I actually just handed the book to my dad for him to read (since I agreed with her). After reading that chapter, he felt better about our calling to homeschool, and I know know that both my parents support us 100% (not that it matters, because I'd do it anyway....)

 

Blessings,

[Colleen in NS]

I needed some better parenting skills, and it is better now.

 

Another reason to like homeschooling, eh? More time to develop good parenting skills. I am very grateful to be homeschooling even through difficulties, because the time together gives us a chance to improve our relationships.

[sweetbaby]

What do I love the most about homeschooling?

Being here for my children. Plain and simple.

Time goes by so quickly and they are only each age once.