Who is Homeschooling - what works and does not?

skeeter1

My in-laws really wished they had taken control and homeschooled their one granchild.

Today, I witnessed a middle school bus stop bully and another group of teenaged girls smoking something illegal. My 5th grader is headed to middle school next year. I don't want to go the public school route. I am thinking of a Charter School or a Private School that I know well.

However, teachers have told me that she would do better with one-on-one learning because she has a few learning disabilities, Attention problems & Math problems. However, she's a very social girl. She does extra-activities right now - in fact - 4 days a week after school. I am not 100% sold on homeschooling. But, I am thinking of homeschooling. At least, I want to explore my options.

Please let me know what programs you liked and didn't like. What works and what does not? PM me if you'd rather.

Thanks,

Skeeter

Found Sheep

you had a rough day! I don't have kids but it seems the parents that stay involved dish out better homeschooled kids... and from what I gather you would

PaintedToeNail

The Saxon Math program is fantastic! My family and many other homeschool families use Saxon, as well as some school districts. You can order the program new from rainbowresource.com (they literally have a hardcopy catalog with over 1200 pages of homeschool supplies, free for the asking, it has great descriptions of products), or order used parent/teacher lesson books from e-bay, as well as the workbooks and daily meeting books, which should be new to be of greatest benefit. PowerGlide has a really great foreign language program, we like it better than Rosetta Stone (we have both), my kids really beg to do Spanish, they love it so much. E-bay, Amazon, alibris are all good sources for homeschool supplies. Having a globe is really fun to, we often reference where places are in relation to our geographic location.

If you are in the USA, I'd recommend the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Assoc.) if you live in a high compliance state, and even if you don't. They are big proponents of parental rights and will advise you should you run into problems with your school district, even supplying you with an attorney if necessary. You can get a yearly membership, and a card announcing that you are a homeschool teacher. It has gotten us discounts for the entrance fees for some educational places we have visited.

Homeschooling is fun. Maybe your daughter only needs a little more individual one-on-one education to really excel. The one size fits all of public school doesn't allow for variations in the individual child, and in many areas the class size is increasing.

We have a weekly group we join for socialization, so the social aspect is taken care of.

Calvert Home School in Maryland, which also has a private school, has a comprehensive curriculum and offers an advisory teacher program, where your child has a teacher they are accountable to. It can be pricy however, and I don't like their math program-I and my kids find it confusing. They do have a good English/language program however.

Hopes this info helps you a little.

CJ

GLTirebiter

Look for a local support network that can arrange some field trips, curriculum help, state achievement tests, and compliance with the laws in your area. We have used both an independent home-based school and a "virtual academy" operating as a charter school in a nearby school district. Both of these worked well, but be sure to check into the quality of the academics and support system before you sign up. There are good ones and there are some that do as little as possible.

Several math programs are available, but also many awful ones. I agree with PaintedToenail's recommendation for Saxon math texts. See the reviews at mathematically correct to compare math programs.

The most important part of home schooling is your involvement. It is a lot of work for the parents; the patience and discipline to do that work every day is important for your child's educational progress.

I wish you the best if you choose home schooling. It is a lot of work, but it can bring tremendous rewards too!

talesin

I can't speak to specific programs that are in place in the school system, but the issue of home-schooling 'in general', is one that I feel passionate about. If it's used to isolate kids (as the JWs do), of course it's not good. BUT, as an independent parent, who is not home-schooling your child to isolate her/him,,, it is a good thing, in my opinion.

We all have a fairly short attention-span when we are put in boring, stifling environments. What is more boring and stifling than school for a child? If kids are home-schooled, they can have a much more natural life. Parents who are home-schooling can network, and the one who is good at math, can trade a lesson with the one who is good at english,,, etc. Kids are sponges!!! They will soak up knowledge -- don't you remember what it was like as a kid? Every learning adventure was a new one!~ Healthy parenting, and enjoyable home-schooling and parent/child networking, can make a real difference in a child's life.

Much social networking can be done between families that are home-schooling, and when the kids get to high-school age, they can go to 'regular' school. Often, the kids that are home-schooled, are far ahead of the regular 'curriculum'. This is my experience of families who are NOT JW, and who home school.

tal

talesin

GLT -- right on!

mummatron

Hi skeeter1, I really want to reply to this in depth but it's 3am here and I need to put my 3 year old back to bed and get some sleep before my youngest wakes me!

To cut it short, I'm in the process of training to become a teacher (I've also worked as a one-to-one Learning Support Assistant to autistic children) and have worked in what can be considered to be 'rough' schools in areas of concentrated social deprivation, so I can identify with what you experienced. I can understand your frustrations as I've had bad experiences with the teens in my area lately but I can say that what you experienced isn't typical of the behaviours displayed in schools. Behaviour management techniques are a high priority for teachers nowadays (at least it is here in the UK), and consequence systems of punishment are employed as an aid in both deterring and punishing bad behaviour. Teens will always push the boundaries and it's those areas which we adults can't monitor, where they really go for it. Even as a good little Dub teen I got up to all kinds of bad behaviour on the school bus and on the way to and from school. Most, if not all, of my behaviour was a subconcious cry for attention and help from my parents, which I didn't get. I was always happiest on the rarer occasions when one of parents was able to drive me to, or pick me up from, school. As a teacher, and as a mother, I personally wouldn't go down the home school route. I do feel that school has far more benefits than home as an educational environment particularly for gregarious children. A good balance between the two, in my opinion, would be having the child attending school and the parent doing the school run and supporting their extra-curricular activities.

For your daughter I'd recommend investigating all options where she may get one-to-one assistance to help with her learning disabilities, or an alternative method of schooling that supports her personal and emotional growth just as much as her academic growth - Montessori and Steiner schools are excellent for this. Maybe do a trial run of homeschooling for 2 or 3 days over the holiday period using it as opportunity to get her homework done and see how you both take to it...?

talesin

mumma, you are so f****ing smart,,, and yes! (if I may say so, having no kids myself).

t

Berengaria

I've only dealt with homeschool parents as a library asst helping them with books. I find them to be ignorant in the extreme. If your kids can't handle school, how will they handle life???

ssn587

My daughter is currently on home bound studies and is excelling. She had missed two weeks of school, was behind and within on week of home bound studies she not only caught up. but really likes it, the quiet, no interference from others talking and fooling around has really focused her on her school work. She is now appling for Texas Tech University Independent School District on-line studies. Now think how much better that will look to have a diploma from Texas Tech University Independent School District. She doesn't miss public school at all, and wants to stay in home bound if she can't get into TTUISD (but she will be accepted her grades are will above normal).

By enrolling in TTUISD she can study anywhere and really concentrate on her studies.

Who is Homeschooling - what works and does not?

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