Posted on 09/14/2007 5:40:01 AM PDT by cinives
I can’t wait to start homeschooling my babies! (well, I only have one baby right now..more to come in the future!!)
All I can say is - enjoy. It is not always easy, but in the end it is so rewarding. And IMO, it’s a lot less stressful on the parent than schools.
I actually dislike the word “homeschooling”. If you just continue your babies’ educations as they reach traditional school age, “home” is more important than “school”.
Thanks for your answer. I was curious because many of those at the worst schools have single working parents, and if it was clear how to do it I think many of the more motivated would seek out homeschooling.
Good for you and your family. We, too, homeschool. Two now in college. Think how your children would have become different people if government schools had raised them for 8 hours per day, you had 8 hours per day, and they sleep 8 hours per day. Quiet a contest would have been going on. They become different people when one gives them over to government schools....too many bad influences try to seep in.
You’d need to overcome years of conditioning of subservience to “experts” to convince these parents that they are capable.
My father’s 1st cousin opened a “school” in 1968 that was essentially homeschooling with tutors available. They used Calvert School and American School curriculums and just provided a place for the kids to study and get help as needed.
She retired and sold the school facilities 5 years ago and the new owners turned it into a traditional private school with a yearly tuition of 18K. It’s a loss for working parents.
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Institutionalization! I hope to see that term used commonly.
Homeschooling is the best way to raise and educate a child. It is a shame that some children will need to be institutionalized for their education. We need orphanages too, but no one is arguing that orphanages are the best way to raise up a child.
Some schools are great, because they’re a haven from chaos at home. Most are worthless.
My kid was with a friend recently, a kid who (this year) graduated #3 in her public school class, 5s in 11 AP classes etc, off to Yale this fall.
I said to my kid that we had to leave soon because the grandparents were arriving home from Maine with arthropod for dinner and we had to get the pot ready. She, being homeschooled, understood immediately, but the “smart” kid from a well-to-do family, with the AP Biology background, had no clue what arthropod meant. I then said it was indigenous to Maine maritime life and had an exoskeleton that turned red when cooked. She still didn’t understand, so I finally said “lobster”.
Unbelievable. A 5 on the AP Biology test and they can’t understand the meaning of exoskeleton. BTW she has ambitions to be a surgeon. I hope she learns more in med school than any other school she’s attended.
My kids love Blue Planet! We have it on DVD.
LWalk18,
I've known three single moms who homeschool. One was widowed and homeschooled her two children successfully for years. Another had taken in a nephew, and her husband left her because of it. I believe both employed the help of relatives to watch the kids while they worked.
A third mom stayed home with her two young children and homeschooled for a short time before the ex-husband sued to put them in school. (He'd cheated on her while she was pregnant with the second and physically abused her, too. I never understood why he was given any say at all.)
Cinives,
I think you should write a book, too. :-)
As you well know, kids mature at different rates, so you might have one that’s ready for it at 5th grade, and another that’s not ready until 8th.
But that’s the beauty of Homeschooling. You can keep on an eye on each child and show it to them when they are able to handle it.
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Bingo! You win the prize!
That parents can undo the damage done by the government indoctrination is BUNK!
It is recommended that teens get 9 hours of sleep and younger children 10 or more. Add to that, the hectic early morning rush, time waiting for the bus, riding the bus, after school activities, time outside for exercise, government homework, and time for the child to socialize and relax with friends via phone or Internet or watch a TV program,,,,well,,,add it up. Just exactly when is this wonderful time that parents have to undo the damage and instill their wonderful values? Answer: Almost none.
John Taylor Gatto has written many interesting and incisive articles about public schools and their true purpose. The forced confinement, dull & repetitive tasks, confusing instruction methods (whole-word reading being the most obvious), and atmosphere of stress & boredom does not bring out the best in its students.
A few months ago we took the kids up to Flagstaff for a quick weekend trip. It ended up that we hardly left the room. Barbarians II was on TV, and we were riveted. Our kids were almost-8 and 5.
I’m glad I’m not the only fan! I really liked the series. Some of the Mom’s probably love the long kindergarten because some of them have been watching Jr. night and day for 5 straight years and others have been paying for someone else to if they work . . . Hubbies have to go out of their way to give mom a break, pay for some classes or school or nanny or to live around family or whatever it takes to give Mom a regular break if they want a sane wife.
We got the Successful Homeschool Family Handbook. Thanks for the recommend.
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