*Homeschoolers*

B

Blueyedog

New member
Hey ya'll,

Rather than change the subject in mid-thread, I thought I'd start us a new one.

Darthmaum,
How old are your kids? Are they still excited about homeschooling?

We will be starting our 3rd year of homeschooling this coming fall. My son went to public school K-5. It was a great elementary school. (However, some things have happened there in the last 2 years that have made me glad we are no longer there.) When it was time for my son to start into the jr. high I decided it was time to say goodbye to public schools. Since our only other choice in this area is parochial schools (which I am not comfortable with), our decision was homeschooling. I have really enjoyed it. My son, who will technically be in 8th grade next year, is doing high school subjects. I am lucky because he can get wood and metal shop classes from my father, who has his own workshop, and he can get computer classes from my brother, who is a puter-geek. ;) (No insult intended, computer literate people are far smarter than I'll ever be.) I just attended the Indiana Homeschool Convension yesterday. I got all but his biology books for next year.

Homeschooling is a great way to teach your kids and it gives you time to really get close. It's not for everyone though. My step-grandson (8 years old) stays with me while his mom works. He thinks that when he starts jr. high, I will homeschool him. Homeschooling will not work with this child. He is too geared for the social part of school and sports. He'd be miserable. His parents also think more highly of sports and the social part of school than of education. I don't agree with this thinking, but then, it's not my kid. So, he would not be a good candidate for homeschooling.

And yes, I spell better and use proper grammer when I'm teaching my son. :p I just sort of relax here.

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Refuse to be a "helpless" victim.
Knowing Your Rights WAGC in Indiana
Come have some fun at theTFL End of Summer Meet, August 12th & 13th, 2000
 
I have given tours at different jobs to both home schooled and public schooled kids and have been more impressed with the home schooled kids. One thing I have noted at least in my area is that many people who home school do join with other families so that you have more depth among the adults teaching and so there is "interaction" or "socialization" among the kids. I think kids need to learn more how to interact with adults and to care for little children, since those are skills they will need as adults, than how to "get along" with various types of good, bad, & ugly kids in a public school.

As to sports, there are many options that are not connected to public schools. Martial arts, YMCA, Clubs (shooting, golfing, tennis, etc), dance schools. Physical conditioning/ed. in public schools is no better than their academics IMHO. I don't think many olympic level performers attend public schools for sports.
 
Now that my kids are mostly raised (one finishing college now, one halfway through) the one thing I most regret is not looking into home schooling more. Luckily they both survived high school with their morals intact but basically had their days wasted. I sometimes think that they were 'half home schooled' because we spent a lot of time with them and communicated our slant on things to them very clearly. If I had it to do over I would definitely have kept them out of the school system. All schools are today are propaganda mills and sports programs disguised as schools. They took my taxes and made a fool of me--but I have a long memory.

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Are kickin-a**, they have been wining the spelling bees and history bees lately.

The big problem with home schooling is keeping the damn government out of them.
Comrade Klinton sure wants to put his bloody mits into that realm.

Waterdog
 
Blueyedog,

My kids are 7years and 11mos, so right now I'm only schooling one of them, but I plan on starting the baby when she's ready. We are getting into our 2nd year of HSing. I just went to a used book-fair on Saturday and picked up some great deals on books! :D

We pulled our daughter out of kindergarten in 98 and I homeschooled for a while, then came the baby. I took a few months off and then started back up. I like being able to control what she learns, WHEN she's ready to learn it!

She really enjoys school, and LOVES to read. I bought her a book with 5 stories of "Frog and Toad" the other day, it was a 100+ page book, and this kid sat down and read it in 2-3 hours at one sitting! :) I was amazed.
We enjoy the time we spend together doing school!

I feel that homeschooling prepares kids for the "real world" much better than public school. Where else in life are people segregated by age, other than in PS? In the workforce and even college, people of all ages are lumped together and work w/ one another. HSing, IMHO exposes kids to a wide variety of ages and people, thereby preparing them for real life.

Disclaimer: My child will be much more proficient at writing than me, I'm pathetic!

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"At last we shall reveal ourselves to the Gun-Grabbers, at last we shall have revenge at The TFL End of Summer Meet on August 12 & 13, 2000..."

"Pray as if your life depends on God, Act as if it all depends on you..." -Texas Preacher

[This message has been edited by Darthmaum (edited June 14, 2000).]
 
Blueyedog,

I'm just about to finish homeschooling with a GED. I've been homeschooled since 5th grade, and at one time burned out on it. One problem was a screwed up circulum, but that's another story. Having a goal(graduating) is what brought he back, so to speak. From my point of view however, public schools are screwed up, because they tend to penalize the smarter kids. By teaching to the lowest segment of the class(as they have to do) you make it mind-numbingly boring for individuals in the class that are smarter. But my biggest problem with public school is that your not allowed to express an oppion. Anything other than what the cirriculum says is wrong.

(note: please excuse certain grammar and spelling errors, I don't keep a dictionary by the 'puter)



[This message has been edited by PKN (edited June 14, 2000).]
 
We've been homeschooling for 2 years now (officially anyway, we've been teaching them since they were born) and it is going very well. The oldest (8) is doing work a grade or two above his age. The four year old is learning to read and can do simple multiplication. The two year old has a pile of books in her crib that she "reads" (she screams when you turn out the light because she wants to read some more).

As far as "socialization" they are involved with 4H, soccer, and running around with the kids in the neighborhood. One thing that I've noticed about ours and other homeschooled kids is that they have the ability to converse/interact with all age groups. Our oldest can carry on a conversation at an adult level with adults then turn around and play with a two year old on their level.

Plenty more good things that I could say about this, but no time at the moment. As of now the plans are to continue homeschooling as far as we can.

Greg


ps. Hey PK, didn't see you sneak in the door. Glad to see you over here. Good group of people here too (and a few familiar faces).
 
Well seeing that I am on my way out the door to go sign my daughter up for K :( this thread is making me think.

First, what exactly is home schooling? Are you, the parent, teaching the child or does a hired teacher come over?

Second, where do you get all the materials for this?

What about interacting with other children?

Personally I think its great if a parent can do this. I need to get a job and have been waiting for her to get to school to do just that. I would love to do this but obviously I am not in a position to do so. I had planned on sending her to the public school down the block, the students are limited because it is a neighborhood school, you must be in a certain district to attend that school. I figured when she hits 4th or 5th grade, job pending, I would like to send her to a Catholic school. I went to one and I could see a difference between a private school and a public school. My only problem is these private schools cost sooooo much money, but anything good for her would be well worth the sacrifice I may have to take. Do you guys see Catholic schools or private schools for that matter as better than a public school?

Well I am going to sign her up anyway, its only K so I am not too worried just yet, she is looking forward to it and meeting new friends (hopefully the moms won't be soccer moms ;)) I was just curious to learn some more about this home schooling,the family I come from believes that all kids should be in school, but I do tend to worry about these other kids and how much attention my daughter will be getting. Thanks in advance. I give you parents that are doing this alot of credit!

:( My little girl is growing up.
 
Ms D,

I know, I think the first day of K is harder on moms than on the kids. :( It's the first time you send them off somewhere without you cause they're growing up.

First, you, the parent, are the one one to teach your child. Each state has different laws. Some require that the parent be a certified teacher, others don't. Indiana is quite liberal in their homeschool laws. When tested against public schooled children, homeschoolers out score them almost every time. We also have many state legislators who homeschool, so we got it pretty easy in this state.

Second, you can get the materials almost anywhere. When the kids are younger it is easy to pick up books they will learn from. The hard part is when they start getting into high school subjects. There are many places on the Internet to get supplies. Go to Yahoo and do a search on 'homeschool' and you will get many places for resources. This last weekend I went to the State Homeschool Convension that they have once a year. I picked up all the materials he will need for next year, except for his science and biology books. Those I have to get somewhere else cause they only had those subjects from a 'Christian' point of view. (That's a whole other subject, but IMHO that's not teaching science it's teaching religious doctrine.)

Private schools are almost always better than public schools. However, personally I wonder how much 'book' learning goes into parochial schools (Catholic included). I'm worried they will have doctrine pushed at them and not enough schooling. BUT, that's just me. A lot of people are very happy with Catholic and other parochial schools. I would have sent Rick to a good private school but we have none in the area that are not parochial.

Rick went to school K-5. The elementary school was great. I just don't like the way things are done in the upper grades. I also don't like the high percentage of test failures happening in this area.

There are many groups kids can get involved in socially. My ex is always saying he doesn't like Rick being homeschooled cause he gets no social interaction. So, like the only place you can be social is at school?!? There are many places kids can interact. I always say, "Do you really want your kid learning social skills at school?!"

Go with what works for you and your daughter. I chose homeschooling and I think it's the right choice for us. However, like I stated above, I don't think it would be the right choice for my step-grandson. Part of the reason is I'd probably kill him before the first year was up. Just kidding ... :D ... He is a handful though.

I know the whole first year we tried this I would dwell on the subject everyday about whether I was doing the right thing or not. I knew he'd learn much more, but was I taking something else away from him? Well, I think this last year has pretty much settled that question. Everytime someone tells me how 'grown-up acting' Rick is, or how well behaved he is, I think, "Yeah, I made the right decision." :)

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Refuse to be a "helpless" victim.
Knowing Your Rights WAGC in Indiana
Come have some fun at theTFL End of Summer Meet, August 12th & 13th, 2000
 
Sandy,
In a couple of years, I'll be in the same boat. When I hear all the public school nightmares, it scares me, but I have to work.
One thing I've found (my son's already on the waiting list for 2002!) is a charter school. The one I'm looking at has an excellent curriculum. Kindergarteners start learning geography and even cursive writing. The cool thing (I think) is that it is a public school. Some charter schools are former private schools, some are started by a group of parents, etc.
From what I've read, though, they are very good.
Also, like you said, it's just kindergarten. It's really up to us as parents to teach our kids what we want them to know. From what I've read, you're already way ahead of the game!
You could always move out here to Colorado and we could co-op homeschooling for our kids! :D
Curriculum:
Firearms safety
Shooting precision
Firearms cleaning
Self defense
History (taught by us, of course) ;)
Math----firearms balistics (sp?)
Reading-----Unintended Consequences
etc......
:D :D :D
 
Cindy,
I actually have the first three 'courses' in your curriculum down in my 'Subjects we have studied' book. If they ever want to see a record of his work, the school officials will more than likely be glad he's not in their schools. "You teach your son to shoot GUNS! Yikes! Yes, I do! :D In fact, I was on a local news show last month just because of that.

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Refuse to be a "helpless" victim.
Knowing Your Rights WAGC in Indiana
Come have some fun at theTFL End of Summer Meet, August 12th & 13th, 2000
 
Thanks for that info Blue. I had heard of it so much but wasn't too sure exactly what it was. I think it's a great idea if it is possible. I've got awhile yet but I am going to keep it in mind. BTW, today was just signing her up, sheesh if I can't handle just that how am I going to handle the first day? LOL IT reminds me of that Adam Sandler movie "Ya buddy so where's the dope? Ya got any dope on ya" (the kid with a bewildered look on his face LMAO) [If you didn't see it, its a hilarious movie]

Cindy, I like your activities :D We could call it Cindy2 and Sandy2 school or Aprils school of Moonflowers ;) On a serious note (and its hard to be serious around you I can never stop laughing) I have never heard of these charter schools, I think I will look into that as well. The school I signed her up at today was very nice and I was pleased so far. (cleanliness and new materials wise) I get to meet the teachers in August and Sammi is VERY excited about going, so that makes me feel a little better. But like I said, I don't know if I want her there all 8 years so maybe I will look into the charter thing. I guess our choices are limited when we have to work, but just as long as they are safe and sound thats the best we can do. Enjoy your little guy now they grow way too quick! :)
 
Glad to see so many parents taking an interest in making sure their kids get the best education possible!

My .02 -- for materials, most cities have nice big teacher stores, but Blueyedog is right; most of the materials are for elementary level. Sometimes you can contact a rep for textbook sales who can help you; call your local private schools to get some numbers.

Also, at least here in Richmond, several dozen homeschool families have gotten together and contracted teachers and tutors to work in sort of a cooperative -- for instance, for physics (something many parents aren't comfortable teaching tnemselves), they hired a local science teacher to teach classes for 10 students and they all chip in and pay him and pay for a space to meet. It works out well for everyone!

I am a big public school booster, having been educated K-12 in the Richmond Public School system, but I know times have changed and that's easy for me to say because I don't have kids of my own yet! I just bought a house that is on the edge of the neighborhood that was basically the birthplace for Project Exile :eek: -- so I may change my mind about things when I have a school aged child! Time will tell.

I just got a call this week from a kid I homeschooled four years ago. He is a youth minister and doing great. He said he just wanted to thank me because, in his work, he has to research a lot of activities and lessons at the public library and since we spent so much time there (and I always had him hunting stuff down and researching things), it's a piece of cake for him now. There is so much "practical knowledge" that homeschooling can provide that just isn't stressed in a classroom.

PKN -- just a question -- why are you going for a GED? Doesn't your locality provide for diplomas for home schooled students? If you've been following a curriculum and attending home school, I should hope you would be able to earn a diploma instead! You sound like an ambitious, studious young person. Good to see you here.

An aside -- since TFL doesn't have a spell checker, sometimes when I'm feeling rigorous I'll type my post in Word, spellcheck it and then paste it onto the "Submit Reply" field. It helps when I haven't had my coffee yet ;)


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*quack*
 
Duck hunt,
Most states, mine included, don't give diplomas on parental say-so. If I enroll my son in an accredited school that offers a diploma on completion AND has exam protors, then he can get a diploma from that school. There are several of those on the Internet. You get materials, lesson plans, etc. from them. The kids still work at their own pace, and still under your supervision, but they turn certain lessons in to the school. When exam time comes you must get an exam protor, that's someone who will officially give the exam to them. Many schools require that the exam protors be teachers, other require that they have a college degree, and others just require that they be an up-standing person in the community who is not a relative or close friend of the family. Schools with these requirements make it possible for kids to get a diploma instead of a GED and they also provide grade transcripts that most colleges will accept. HOWEVER, these are usually expensive. I think they are well worth the cost, but not everyone can afford them. Of course, they are no more expensive than private school.

Duck hunt, don't feel bad about spelling here on the forum. I always say - I spell better when I'm homeschooling. Here, I just relax. :p

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Refuse to be a "helpless" victim.
Knowing Your Rights WAGC in Indiana
Come have some fun at theTFL End of Summer Meet, August 12th & 13th, 2000
 
Hi all,

We're homeschoolers too: five boys, ages ranging from 4 to 10. (Yep, on purpose. No, we're not Catholic, not Mormon, and we we didn't used to be crazy.) :p

The kids are mostly doing well on "academic" subjects and really doing well on "real life" subjects such as carpentry, yard work, getting along with people of all ages, cheerfully helping with housework, etc. They have time to get deeply involved in their own projects without being told it's time for the next subject -- great for the attention spans.

One real life subject we haven't done anything with yet is guns. Partly this is because my husband is not a shooter, so any training will fall upon my own shoulders. But the kids are getting bigger and ... it's time.

They do have a BB gun which I've used to teach the basics of gun safety and which they've used to knock over empty Coke cans. They 8 and 10 year old are both trustworthy with the BB gun and are really ready for the next step.

So, fellow gun-toting homeschoolers -- what is the next step? How do I set about instilling a healthy fear/respect for guns in these guys?


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"In life, as in chess, forethought wins." -- Charles Buxton

[This message has been edited by pax (edited June 15, 2000).]
 
Pax,
You're braver than me. 5 boys?!?!? :D

I'm no expert, but my first move was to take my son (now aged 13)and then later my step-grandson, to the range and show them what damage a gun can do. Shooting a gallon of water is a good lesson. If the boys are the type need extra emphasis on a safety lesson (such as my grandson), a watermelon is quite a dramatic target. Remind them that could be a person and not an innocent piece of fruit.

We then drilled my son on handling unloaded firearms. He learned how to handle them unloaded long before he ever touched a loaded one. If he handled the unloaded one the least bit carelessly we would take him back to square one and push his 'live fire practice' way back. Once he showed enough responsiblity, we started letting him shoot at the range. Even though he knows how to handle the firearms, he still knows he must ask before handling and cannot fire until given the 'all clear' from by husband or myself. He's also become real good at remembering to check every firearm he touches to see if it's loaded before he does anything else.

Mostly have them learn from example. My son knows that firearms are the one thing in this house that we NEVER horseplay with.

My grandson (aged 8) is still to 'wild' to trust with a firearm, even an unloaded one. That boy can be something else. His shooting debute will be a ways off yet.

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Refuse to be a "helpless" victim.
Knowing Your Rights WAGC in Indiana
 
We have homeschooled all 5 of our children. The last one is still at home. One third of America's adult population is functionally illiterate. That's one good reason for me to teach my kids at home. They can read and do math and function in life. I think public school is too little about education anymore. I think this would be a better nation if more children were spending more time learning from their parents and under their direct supervision. I appreciate the farm life I had growing up where I worked with my dad and grandad. So many kids are aimless and not under there parental authority and into trouble. Our society is married to this idea that kids are suppose to sociallize each other. I think that is wrong. Kids need more interaction with adults.

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Alexander Solzhenitzyn:
"Freedom is given to the human conditionally, in the assumption of his constant religious responsibility."
 
I would love to homeschool, and would consider it in a few more years when my son is of Kindergarten age. The one complaint that bugs me is that "those homeschool kids don't get any socialization". What a load of dung! I can offend a lot of people when I get on my rants so if you're thin-skinned, then pass this over now.
A first grader doesn't need any time to learn how to be a first grader. They already act like a first grader. Same goes through all of the grades through 12. For God's sake, people, we aren't raising children, we're raising adults. When a kid is segregated into age groups as in Public School, he doesn't grow up, he just grows older with a bunch of kids his age. The maturity level of homeschoolers is much higher than that of your average P.S. child. There are always exceptions to the rule, but not many. Our local school in our town of 600, consistently ranks in the top 10 in Texas. They don't have a bunch of fluff courses, and they don't play the PC game as much as others I've seen. We chose this place for its outstanding school. Every year though, the Federal and State Governments want to close it down and bus the kids to a larger town 30 miles away. I guess our PS makes the rest look bad. Anyway, before I'd send my kids to any other school besides ours, I'd homeschool.
Proper Socialization can be done at Church, 4H, ect... You can involve your kids in sports such as soccer and swimming without a PS affiliation. Across Texas there is a program called United States Swimming which is the organization from which most our olympic swimmers came from. The coaching is much better than a kid recieves from a guy who has a degree in Kinesiology, and only wants to teach Football. There are intermural activities you can do too. Heck, if you've got the time and want to get involved in Sports with your child, you can go skydiving, golfing, or even big game hunting.
I have the highest regard for those who homeschool, and hope to join your ranks in about 4 years.
 
KJM, we discussed the socialization bugaboo at a libertarian meeting last night. The general feeling was, "Are any of us here separated by age? Obviously not, and that's exactly what schools do. The argument is specious."

Homeschooling is the best way to go, but unfortunately requires jumping some major hurdles.
 
We have homeschooled all of our 7 kids at one time or another. Some more than others. I'm a deep believer in the virtues of home schooling. When my kids are in public school, they always score top 10%. Home schooling is far more time-efficient than most realize. Think how many hours in public school are actually spent on instructing--after recess, lunch, study hall, study/work time in class, etc. Home-schooled kids get 1/1 instruction, which is far more effective than group instruction. Differenct kids learn in different ways. A parent can accommodate. The school teacher in a class of 30+ cannot (usually).

I have to say something nice about Kalifornia. When we lived there ('88-'92) They had a great statewide support program for home schoolers. State money for buying curriculum materials, state-provided testing and access to a "supervisor" who was not too intrusive. (Though probably because my wife is degreed, taught school and REALLY knows what she's doing).

Here in Idaho, we have a neat "dual enrollment program" where kids can take some classes in public shcool (band and sports in our case) and other subjects at home.

People who don't think they can homeschool their kids, please realize:

1) You know the subject matter--at least through high-school, right?
2) You can give your kid far more individualized instruction than anyone else.
3) You can probably get more done in 2-3 hours per day (and some partially supervised work-alone time for the kids) than a teacher could get in a full day. If you're in public school, and active in PTA, fund raisers, helping kids with homework, etc, you may be spending nearly that much time already.
4) There are LOADS of resources available. Curricula that you can buy, used textbooks, etc.
5) If you spend ANY time looking for other homeschooling parents to help you, you will find the hlep you need. Most homeschooling parents are EAGER to share and help. Most home-schoolers do some kind of cooperative sharing.
6) Don't foget that there are many resources available via the internet. You're here, aren't you?

Do it and you will be investing your time in the area where you will make the best possible contibution to society--the next generation.
 
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