Does anyone here homeschool their children?

PaintedToeNail

I homeschool my son, he has just been accepted into the local community college in the dual-enrollment program. He scored higher than average for English and slightly above average on math. I don't homeschool because of the 'worldly' kids at the school. But, rather I decided I didn't want my child assaulted by other children on school bus. School buses seem to be roving zoos. My 8 year old told me about the teens in the back-having sex on the seats. I just could not force him to get on that bus every morning and facing the gauntlet on the why home for school. So we've been doing it for five years and really like it. He is starting advanced mathmatics and chemistry this year. He studied American Authors last year, the year we will be focusing on British Lit. , Critical Thinking 101, World history from 1500 through the 1900s. Last Year he studied world history from the begining of time to 1850' . He is also learning Spanish, his third year. My daughters are also learning spanish.

Our family loves to travel to national parks or state parks, hike, swim, or just observe fasinating features like geysers, erupting volcano, desert ecosystems, cave formations or just animals.

W e belong to the HSLDA because we are in a high compliance state that require lots of docmentation, portfolios, interviews with the child and sometimes its nice to know the HSLDA will be there should you encounter problems.

Sorry if some of my words are misspelled or the grammar stinks, I just took an ambien and am righting this completey zoned out and flying high.

CJ

Berengaria

talesin

Hi, PTN. I think home-schooling is the way to go, if it's done right. The school system is rife with problems, and for many reasons.

School is set up to produce workers, not to educate children.

For one thing, the classes are too large. The teacher has to deal with far too many discipline problems to spend his/her time 100% teaching. Also, the larger the class, the broader the range of abilities. That is to say, if a child has difficulty with a certain subject, either the whole class must go very slowly, or the child with difficulty in that subject is left behind. Another student, who has natural ability in that subject, is left to be bored out of her/his mind.

Another problem is that it's just not natural for children to be expected to sit in a classroom for hours on end. The average attention span for concentrated learning is only 15-20 minutes at a stretch.

Also, children who live in affluent school districts get a much better education than those who live in poor areas. That's a fact.

The educational system should be modelled on the best way to teach kids, not a 9-5 workday. It's just ,,, well,, effed.

Children are no longer taught phys ed, music or art in most school districts. How is that a well-rounded education?

It sounds like you've been doing a bang-up job. Good for you,,, lucky kids yours are!!!

tal

ps. I'm taking muscle relaxers for a sprained neck/back, so I hear ya. Trouble sleeping? Yeah, me too. Too many GD nightmares.

PaintedToeNail

talesin-thanks for your vote of confidence. Yes, my ambien use is due an old back injury too. Can't sleep because of the pain, which aggravates the pain. So per the new doctor, use the ambien, amrix and pain med to get to sleep and stay there for awhile. No, unlike yourself I don't get nightmares, just really bizarre dreams which I actually enjoy most of the time.

In my school district the class size has jumped, and the only thing getting funding is the sports program-new stadium.

L ast year we studied classical musicans and listened to their music-the evaluator was impressed, and all my kids loved the classical music.

My seven year old studied ancient civilizations using Usborne World History, along with the state required social studies. We finished completely the Saxon math program-I do not ever remember finishing a math book when I was in school, there simply wasn't enough time by the time the teacher got the class to settle down. We also finished a science course, book, workbook, experiments, vocabulary and so forth, we even made our own 'fossils'. She also started Spanish, which is unheard of in second grade in this area.

stillin

My wife schooled two of our children for a few years and they were consistently in the top percentiles in our state. I always responded to people's argument about "social skills" with a smug "what social skills do these kids nowadays have to offer?" But my feelings have changed in the years since. They need interaction with peers. It's part of growing up. But that might not be so important, either. I think it comes down to the parent's level of competancy, how well they cover the bases.

My hat is off to you for your giving it your best effort!

White Dove

I think schools provide an overdose on socialization with peers.

Home learning is the way to go if it's done right.

Did it with mine.

OneDayillBeFree

My best friend's little brother is/was homeschooled... he is only 13, but he hates school and doesnt know anything about anything. Its quite sad really. his sisters (2) did a mix of regular school and home school. His brother dropped out when he was a freshman.

The kid is so socially retarded it makes me mad at the parents (a JW couple, dad an elder, Wife a depressing dub). Its so hard for him to articulate or even say hello. Its not his fault though, and I dont blame him.

Did i mention his older brother is currently disfellowshipped and working at a donut shop... what a waste.

Oh and at the pioneer school where I'm at, there are 4 teens (2 are 17yr olds, one is 18, the other is 19) 3 of them are currently homeschooled... one already graduated high school. But they are so socially awkward to be around, they dont know anything about anything in the world... The parents created this bubble for them and they like their bubble... so sad...

But Im not saying that Home school is bad or anything, It has worked for some. Everyone is different. But just make sure that if you take the homeschool rout, you do it right!

Hope for the best!

White Dove

It sounds like a possibly disfunctional family that would be that way anyway, but is just a bit worse for being so gosh darned sheltered.

I didn't shelter mine. They had their activities with others often.

JeffT

Our granddaughter is in a guided home school program. She goes to the school three days a week and we work with her the rest of the week. She is doing very well and we love the school she's in. It is very small with a student-teacher ratio that the public schools can't even dream about. A couple of the teachers at the upper grades have PhD's.

Ding

They need interaction with peers.

There are lots of ways to interact with peers besides school: local sports teams, 4-H, scouting, neighborhood clubs, and the like.

Does anyone here homeschool their children?

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