I Have Been Homeschooled All My Life and I Would Love to Homeschool My

[sarahmarie]

I have been homeschooled all my life and I would love to homeschool my children someday (I am only 19 so it will be a few years! I need to get married first!). Are there any homeschooling moms or homeschool (ex)students out here?
Do you recommend homeschooling and PC? It seems like a business that could easily be done while homeschooling.
I cant wait to hear from everybody!

 

[jenniferlynne]

Hey, I started this thread myself not too long ago. Do a search under "homeschool" and you will see. There are several Cheffers that homeschool.

I was not homeschooled, but am considering it for my son. Do you feel at all like you missed out on anything? Was your family a member of a homeschool support group?

 

[sarahmarie]

We were in a Christian support group that met once a month. We didnt do alot of the field trips but we did a few group classes and some field trips (like to the local philharmonic, Publix, Olive Garden, SEA WORLD, etc.) Yes i do feel like i missed out on stuff. I missed out on the sex, drugs, and peer pressure of middle and high school! he he. alot of people think that homeschoolers have poor social skills. while i do know a few who have NONE, most of us have above average social skills. Growing up I never had any friends my own age. My best friend was/is 3 years younger than me and i had alot of friends that were must older than me (like in college and/or young married people). Most of my social upbringing was done in my church instead of in a school.
Homeschooling lets the individual child learn according to his/her learning styles and lets him/her focus on what they want to do. I was never a science-type person so i didnt have to focus on that. I love ballet. i was taking classes every afternoon and homeschooling freed me up to do that. I love children. At age 12 i was babysitting for a bible study at my church on monday mornings. I had 11 children under the age of 5. But i loved it.
I will, without question, homeschool my kids. if you have any questions about it please let me know. i love talking about it!

 

[jenniferlynne]

I hear that all the time. If you homeschool your kids they won't know how to socialize. Well, that is crazy. When people go out into the real world, what are the odds they are going to work some place where everyone is their age? They aren't!! So what difference does it make if they go to school with a bunch of kids their age or they are homeschooled. They need to interact with people of all ages. My son gets plenty of socialization now. He's around all kinds of kids of all ages at Church. When I take him to the park or to the McDonald's playland, he always makes a new friend. I went to public school my whole life and I was never as outgoing as he is now. I would have never had the nerve to just walk up to a kid and say "Will you be my friend today?" like he does all the time. I'm not worried about that at all. Yes, you did miss out on all the bad stuff, which is a good thing. I graduated in '90, so I know things are 10 times worse now then they were when I was in school.

Anything you want to say about homeschooling, you just go right ahead. I'm ready to hear it all. I think I go back and forth with it every day. Can I do it or can't I? Will I end up messing my kid up instead of helping him? Whatever I decide, I know I have to do it in the next couple of weeks

 

[Laura1293]

I am starting my first year of homeschoolingI am starting soon!!! Both my boys are in 4th grade. We are all very excited. I worked in the school system and I saw alot that went on that did not make me or my husband happy. I know that we are doing the right thing for our children!!! Laura

 

[jessica_momof6]

yes, I homeschool

first off, I don't want my kids socialized, I want them civilized. They do not learn socialization in school. They learn to sit at a desk, raise there hand...they aren't allowed to talk to other kids during class, and then they go run and scream on the playground.
yup-teachers are sure teaching socialization there

*not to bash teachers at all* I just don't see them learning those skills at school. they learn to be social by being out in the world. they interact with "real life" scenarios and learn how to respond to all ages--not just their peer group.

plus, if you have a child that is advanced or behind--well, teachers teach to the middle of the class....so the others, they either get left behind too often or are bored and twiddling their thumbs.

I like that with homeschooling, I can teach to my childs ability level. and with my son and his neurological "issues" I can teach in a way that he learns, instead of just falling further and further behind like he was in school.

 

[jenniferlynne]

What homeschool curriculum do you all recommend?

 

[sarahmarie]

When I was being home schooled I used everything! Abeka, Saxon, Greeleaf, Alpha Omega, Florida Virtual School, etc. My favorite was Greeleaf history. We never read textbooks. We read books like Stalin, Ivanhoe, and a lot of great books. Mom would always read to us while we did something with our hands. My brothers would play legos and I would usually crochet.
We also did a co-op with history. A few families would all study the same period (like ancient Rome) and we would get together once a week for an activity. We made costumes (RESEARCH!) and weapons. We did a Caesar play and the boys all had cardboard daggers with blood painted on them.
For ancient Egypt we painted flowerpots. I was so proud of mine! And the next day the moms wanted us to help plant a garden so we got out the shovels and dug where they told us. They had broken our pots and buried them! We had to glue them all back together. I was kinda mad but it was a lot of fun!
Home schooling lets you be creative and the students will remember the fun stuff! I remember Queen Hathseput (spelling?) from ancient Egypt because I made a big drawing of her pyramid and I got to dress up like her! Home schooling is all about making it memorable and growing closer as a family!

 

[micocina]

I am the proud homeschool mom of three (ages 6, 8 and 10). All three went to preschool and I've homeschooled from then on.

My kids and I enjoy homeschooling very much. They are not "socially deprived" like many people think that homeschoolers are. My children do not have any problem making new friends. Like Jennifer said above, homeschool children are very outgoing. They can have a conversation with ease whether that person be years younger than them or decades older.

I too wish I would've been just a little bit as my kids are. I homeschool in the same town that I graduated HS from and if school was tough then ('88), I know it's no better now. All of the neighborhood kids know that my kids are homeschooled and they are always sharing with us how lucky we are and how hard it is in the public schools. The public school bus stops at our driveway every day and my kids say that they don't want to go to school. They say that they are very happy to be home "schooled". They are the only kids in the neighborhood that play an instrument (Piano) and are tri-lingual (English, Spanish, Sign Language). Every day my doorbell rings at 3pm and it is the neighborhood kids wanting to play with my three. I've had as many as 18 kids play in my front yard at once. Now you tell me, does it seem as if they are deprived of anything? I don't think so!

Don't get me wrong, it's not all that bad in public schools. There are many great people that have succeeded coming from public schools, but if it is within our reach to offer our children a better academic education along with instilling in them important life skills, good morals and Godly character, then I believe it is worth the sacrifice.

It is not always easy to homeschool. IT IS a challenge, but a rewarding challenge.

Thank you Sarah for your post. You've just incouraged me to keep going. I will be sharing your post with my kids.

Rosie

By they way, we've used Alpha Omega in the past (www.aop.com), but we have been using Abeka Academy DVD Program for the past 4 years (www.abekaacademy.org).