How old are you?

[Ann.without.an.e]

Just for fun. I know years ago I was considered pretty young on here but I feel like I'm around the same age as most of who is here now. Where are we now?? Actual age, not the age we wish we were lol

ETA: Poll is private. 

Edited April 5, 2023 by Ann.without.an.e

[stephanier.1765]

Oh, good poll! I've often been curious if the numbers were weighed more heavily on the retired, ex, or older homeschooler end, rather than the youngsters just getting started end, which is perfect for me.

[Ann.without.an.e]

10 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

Oh, good poll! I've often been curious if the numbers were weighed more heavily on the retired, ex, or older homeschooler end, rather than the youngsters just getting started end, which is perfect for me.

It feels like it is weighed heavier in the first and I've been curious too. I know many used to homeschool but now are retired. I still have one left to go so I'm a bit in the middle.

Edited April 5, 2023 by Ann.without.an.e

[wisdomandtreasures]

I turn 35 on Monday! 

[BusyMom5]

I wish there were more younger moms on here.  My youngest is just 5, and there are so few responses on posts regarding K/1St grade stuff 😞 I am trying to look at new programs, and would love to be able to discuss those things here. .. but just not many moms in this phase.  I find this board much more useful for my high schoolers.  

[alysee]

I am 36.

[Heatherwith4]

I’m 40.  I’ve been here since I was in my mid 20s, which is insane.  I’ve learned so much from y’all. 

[Elizabeth86]

I’m about to turn 37. I was thinking this the other night. I’ve always felt like the baby of the group. I adore that because I always prefer the company of older people rather than my peers. So much to learn. I was thinking how nice it was to have all the knowledge and experience when I was waiting impatiently for my ds to make his appearance. You all felt like a group of big sisters.

[wintermom]

You may want to include the same poll in another section of the forum. The Chat may have a different demographic than "Education" areas.

[Ann.without.an.e]

19 minutes ago, Elizabeth86 said:

I’m about to turn 37. I was thinking this the other night. I’ve always felt like the baby of the group. I adore that because I always prefer the company of older people rather than my peers. So much to learn. I was thinking how nice it was to have all the knowledge and experience when I was waiting impatiently for my ds to make his appearance. You all felt like a group of big sisters.

 

funny, I was thinking of you as I posted and how you were the youngest that I knew of for sure and it feels like you are where I was just a few years ago. I just turned 45. Turns out you’re not alone. 
 

32 minutes ago, BusyMom5 said:

I wish there were more younger moms on here.  My youngest is just 5, and there are so few responses on posts regarding K/1St grade stuff 😞 I am trying to look at new programs, and would love to be able to discuss those things here. .. but just not many moms in this phase.  I find this board much more useful for my high schoolers.  

I’ve also noticed the younger education boards are pretty dead. I hate that for y’all. 

[sassenach]

15 minutes ago, wintermom said:

You may want to include the same poll in another section of the forum. The Chat may have a different demographic than "Education" areas.

I bet this is true. When I was actually homeschooling, I spent the vast majority of my time on the education boards. Now I only visit the chat board. 

[sassenach]

2 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

 

I’ve also noticed the younger education boards are pretty dead. I hate that for y’all. 

Ah, that's a bummer. That was my lifeblood when I was in the trenches.

[Ann.without.an.e]

21 minutes ago, wintermom said:

You may want to include the same poll in another section of the forum. The Chat may have a different demographic than "Education" areas.

 

4 minutes ago, sassenach said:

I bet this is true. When I was actually homeschooling, I spent the vast majority of my time on the education boards. Now I only visit the chat board. 

 

 

4 minutes ago, sassenach said:

Ah, that's a bummer. That was my lifeblood when I was in the trenches.

Even the upper grades has slowed down a lot but the younger grades are definitely super slow. I don’t know what I would’ve done without the Hive in the younger years. Where do younger moms get support now? DD wants to homeschool and it’ll be here before you know it. 

[WildflowerMom]

I'll be 45 this year.  

[saraha]

I just turned 46 and have been on here for 12 years. I had 6 kids in 10 years and the boards were a Godsend for sure. Now I’m only homeschooling 2!

[gardenmom5]

Well, I'm a month away from bumping into the next higher age category (So I still get to be "younger".)  🙂

Edited April 5, 2023 by gardenmom5

[SKL]

I had to think about it for a second.  If that tells you anything.  😛

[Ann.without.an.e]

Just now, SKL said:

I had to think about it for a second.  If that tells you anything.  😛

My dad used to round up for most of the year and one year he was convinced he was turning a year older than he was actually turning since he had spent most of the year saying he was the year he was turning. He thought we were messing with him and we literally had to sit him down and show him the calendar math. It was funny 

[alisoncooks]

7 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

My dad used to round up for most of the year and one year he was convinced he was turning a year older than he was actually turning since he had spent most of the year saying he was the year he was turning. He thought we were messing with him and we literally had to sit him down and show him the calendar math. It was funny 

I always do this too, but it’s because I was born in a year that ends in ‘0. So it makes me mentally age up at the beginning of the year. (Born in ‘80, so in ‘23 I turn 43. And even though I don’t turn until September, I start thinking of myself as 43 from the start of the year.) 😂

[mlktwins]

I’m in my first year of one of the older categories. I am retiring from homeschooling in 2 months 😁. I do plan to continue hanging out in the high school and college forums for the next 4 years though.

[Clarita]

4 hours ago, BusyMom5 said:

wish there were more younger moms on here.  My youngest is just 5, and there are so few responses on posts regarding K/1St grade stuff 😞 I am trying to look at new programs, and would love to be able to discuss those things here. .. but just not many moms in this phase.

Me too. My oldest is K this year and younger will be K next year. The questions get answered but there is less discussion.

[rebcoola]

I've got a few months until I hit the 40 category. 

[wintermom]

4 hours ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

 

Even the upper grades has slowed down a lot but the younger grades are definitely super slow. I don’t know what I would’ve done without the Hive in the younger years. Where do younger moms get support now? DD wants to homeschool and it’ll be here before you know it. 

I used the Education areas more when my dc were younger, and then when we hit high school and college, the differences between US and my country made the information less relevant. I spent more time on the chat, as the international connections were interesting and fun.

[Hannah]

13 minutes ago, wintermom said:

 when we hit high school and college, the differences between US and my country made the information less relevant. 

This was the same for us. I joined the old boards around 2004, shortly after the first edition of WTM was published. Our homeschool journey would have been so much poorer without the book and the  recommendations and advise on the education boards.

High school we needed to follow a more standardised approach with exams written through a recognised exam board to get into university.

Edited April 5, 2023 by Hannah

[JustEm]

I'm 36

[Kassia]

Very interesting!  I'm so glad you posted this poll! 

[LMD]

I'm 38, I've been here a while (oldest is nearly 18) but I also just had a baby so I'll be around a while yet 😄

[Momof4sweetkids]

8 hours ago, BusyMom5 said:

I wish there were more younger moms on here.  My youngest is just 5, and there are so few responses on posts regarding K/1St grade stuff 😞 I am trying to look at new programs, and would love to be able to discuss those things here. .. but just not many moms in this phase.  I find this board much more useful for my high schoolers.  

Me too! My oldest is 5. I assume most homeschooling moms are chatting on FB now.

[Guest]

I turn 52 this Saturday. No homeschoolers since before the pandemic (unless you count the “homeschooling” of the pandemic). My kids all went to B&M school for high school and my youngest is a senior. I’ve been on this board since my “baby” was four. 

[purpleowl]

My age is the answer to life, the universe, and everything. 😁

 

[Melissa in Australia]

Old enough to be a grandma

[BusyMom5]

46 minutes ago, Momof3sweetgirls said:

Me too! My oldest is 5. I assume most homeschooling moms are chatting on FB now.

If you know any specific groups, please message me!  I prefer the anonymity of a message board, though.   I also feel like FB groups tend to have very brief discussions.   

What math curriculum for my kid? 

Answer:  Try this one I'm using- without and discussions about learning styles, parents involvement, time commitment.   

[Clarita]

56 minutes ago, Momof3sweetgirls said:

Me too! My oldest is 5. I assume most homeschooling moms are chatting on FB now.

This is hard also because it's such a mixed bag on FB. I read the posts and between 60% of kindergarteners on FB are blowing through 4th or 5th grade math, and discussion boards that are curriculum specific so you can't discuss anything else, I haven't found the FB groups as useful as this board in general.  

Maybe they are talking to people in real life or something.

[Garga]

7 hours ago, SKL said:

I had to think about it for a second.  If that tells you anything.  😛

I chose the wrong number first and frowned at it a bit thinking, “I don’t think it’s right…” until I realized I had chosen the wrong number. 

46 minutes ago, Clarita said:

This is hard also because it's such a mixed bag on FB. I read the posts and between 60% of kindergarteners on FB are blowing through 4th or 5th grade math, and discussion boards that are curriculum specific so you can't discuss anything else, I haven't found the FB groups as useful as this board in general.  

Maybe they are talking to people in real life or something.

I think a lot of people have gone to FB, which is such a shame. FB doesn’t work as well for storing information and seeing all of the replies to a question. But I figure that’s where the younger homeschoolers are.

I’m 50 and have been here since I was in my mid-thirties. It’s been a loooong time and I’m a completely different person now than I used to be then. The forums helped me grow up. (I was rather immature for someone in their 30s.)

Edited April 6, 2023 by Garga

[rebcoola]

1 hour ago, BusyMom5 said:

If you know any specific groups, please message me!  I prefer the anonymity of a message board, though.   I also feel like FB groups tend to have very brief discussions.   

What math curriculum for my kid? 

Answer:  Try this one I'm using- without and discussions about learning styles, parents involvement, time commitment.   

I'm in some groups I made an 2nd profile that's our homeschool name for more privacy.

[Garga]

I found the first thread I ever started 15 years ago here. I was 35 when I wrote it. The little 6 yo son I had back then is 20 now and in college. 🙂

He did learn to read, but he still doesn’t like reading on his own. Looking back, I think he had (has) a bit of dyslexia and I never knew it. Hindsight is 20/20. He enjoys audio books though. 

He detests writing, so he’s a math major and getting great grades in all his math classes. Well, he gets great grades in all his classes, but he loves his math classes and only endures through the ones that make him write. 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Garga

[Not_a_Number]

10 hours ago, BusyMom5 said:

I wish there were more younger moms on here.  My youngest is just 5, and there are so few responses on posts regarding K/1St grade stuff 😞 I am trying to look at new programs, and would love to be able to discuss those things here. .. but just not many moms in this phase.  I find this board much more useful for my high schoolers.  

Yeah :-(. My youngest is 6. I wish there was a livelier discussion about that age!!! 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

I’m 41, my youngest is in second grade.  I’m basically stumbling through homeschooling, making it up as I go and hoping for the best.

[Not_a_Number]

1 hour ago, Clarita said:

This is hard also because it's such a mixed bag on FB. I read the posts and between 60% of kindergarteners on FB are blowing through 4th or 5th grade math, and discussion boards that are curriculum specific so you can't discuss anything else, I haven't found the FB groups as useful as this board in general.  

Maybe they are talking to people in real life or something.

Which FB groups have the advanced kindergarteners?? 

[Spy Car]

1 hour ago, BusyMom5 said:

If you know any specific groups, please message me!  I prefer the anonymity of a message board, though.   I also feel like FB groups tend to have very brief discussions.   

What math curriculum for my kid? 

Answer:  Try this one I'm using- without and discussions about learning styles, parents involvement, time commitment.   

Seems like only yesterday when I was on here talking about math for 5 year olds. Now I'm old.

Sunrise, sunset.

Bill

[Elizabeth86]

2 hours ago, Momof3sweetgirls said:

Me too! My oldest is 5. I assume most homeschooling moms are chatting on FB now.

I was thinking this. Message boards are so old fashioned, right? I love them so much more than Facebook 

[Spy Car]

6 minutes ago, Elizabeth86 said:

I was thinking this. Message boards are so old fashioned, right? I love them so much more than Facebook 

Old fashioned??? I thought they were newfangled?!

And don't worry about me, it beats the alternative  

A Grumpy Old Man

[Clarita]

16 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Which FB groups have the advanced kindergarteners?? 

Beast Academy. I joined because that's the curriculum we are using, but sometimes it feels like I'm using a totally different curriculum than they are.

[DawnM]

11 hours ago, BusyMom5 said:

I wish there were more younger moms on here.  My youngest is just 5, and there are so few responses on posts regarding K/1St grade stuff 😞 I am trying to look at new programs, and would love to be able to discuss those things here. .. but just not many moms in this phase.  I find this board much more useful for my high schoolers.  

That is so interesting because there used to be the opposite.   Many sent their kids to school for high school.

I currently have a 5 year old also, but he will be going to school.   My homeschooling days are over.   I mean, I will never say never, but I am pretty sure.

 

[DawnM]

56 minutes ago, Garga said:

I found the first thread I ever started 15 years ago here. I was 35 when I wrote it. The little 6 yo son I had back then is 20 now and in college. 🙂

He did learn to read, but he still doesn’t like reading on his own. Looking back, I think he had (has) a bit of dyslexia and I never knew it. Hindsight is 20/20. He enjoys audio books though. 

He detests writing, so he’s a math major and getting great grades in all his math classes. Well, he gets great grades in all his classes, but he loves his math classes and only endures through the ones that makes him write. 

My oldest is 25 (and my youngest is 5).   He didn't read until he was 9.   I remember he was so excited and went to scouts and showed the guys what he had read and their response was, "Oh, yeah, I liked that when I was 6."   He was crushed.

[purpleowl]

30 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Which FB groups have the advanced kindergarteners?? 

Parents of Gifted and Twice-Exceptional Kids (I just sent you an invite for it so you don't have to search, lol). It has a pretty nice group culture too.

[Ann.without.an.e]

1 hour ago, Garga said:

I found the first thread I ever started 15 years ago here. I was 35 when I wrote it. The little 6 yo son I had back then is 20 now and in college. 🙂

He did learn to read, but he still doesn’t like reading on his own. Looking back, I think he had (has) a bit of dyslexia and I never knew it. Hindsight is 20/20. He enjoys audio books though. 

He detests writing, so he’s a math major and getting great grades in all his math classes. Well, he gets great grades in all his classes, but he loves his math classes and only endures through the ones that makes him write. 

I liked it … just for fun 😂. There weren’t likes back then that I remember 

[EKS]

10 hours ago, sassenach said:

I bet this is true. When I was actually homeschooling, I spent the vast majority of my time on the education boards. Now I only visit the chat board. 

This, definitely.  I know that over the years I've gone from never looking at the chat (or equivalent) board to it being the main thing I look at.

[BakersDozen]

6 hours ago, Hannah said:

This was the same for us. I joined the old boards around 2004, shortly after the first edition of WTM was published. Our homeschool journey would have been so much poorer without the book and the  recommendations and advise on the education boards.

High school we needed to follow a more standardised approach with exams written through a recognised exam board to get into university.

I think I joined the board around that time or just before...my #4 was still a wee one and he's almost 23 now. I cannot imagine getting through the last 2 decades w/o WTM/the Hive.

[BakersDozen]

Quote

I think a lot of people have gone to FB, which is such a shame.

I saw this happen with pregnancy/parenting boards back in...2011-2014, maybe? Once active boards went quiet, then gone because the younger/newer moms wanted to start FB groups instead. I never got into that as I much prefer chat boards. Now I suggest WTM and the younger/newer folks don't even know what it is. 😞