FR Homeschool Haven

June 14, 2004 | Ladyshallott

[LadyShallott]

I have had many freep mail me about starting a thread just for homeschoolers. Well I am taking the plunge. This thread is for those who homeschool, those who want to homeschool, and those who support homeschool families. I know that we face many obstacles, and this is a place for support. Let's create a true "haven" for us to gather and discuss homeschooling within our FR home.

Monday always seems to be the most hectic. I thought if we started this group on Monday that the start of the week wouldn't be so hard to handle. :) So this weeks topic is:

Why do you choose to homeschool? Why do you support homeschooling? Was your choice faith driven? Academic driven? Or both? Tell us about your first lesson and what it meant to you. I know that this covers many aspects of homeschooling, but I wanted everyone to share why and how we got into homeschooling. God Bless!

[LadyShallott]

I am starting a new weekly thread and I hope you like it. Your input means so much to me and I am sure that it would mean so much to others. Ping! :)

[LadyShallott]

I know that I took the liberty to ping you here. If you would like to be off this specific ping list, let me know. :)

[dd5339]

Vic3o3 and I will be homeschooling when our 2.96 are of an age.

We've read "Well Trained Mind" and will go with a classical eduction method to start. As we go we will probably modify that as the situation requires.

Semper Fi

[kassie]

Our two daughters went from K-12 in parochial schools. By the time our youngest graduated, both my husband and myself were dissatisfied. Our daughters were 17 and 20 when our son was born.

We started home schooling when our son was 4. He will turn 14 in Aug.

I tried the traditional school year at first, but he would get too bored in the summer and reviewing took too much time in the fall.

Probably around 3rd grade we made the switch to year round. Now we study 3 months take 1 month off, 3 months studying, 1 month off, etc. Right now he is finishing up his studies for 2003-2004 year.

He'll begin again the first Monday in Aug.

When we lived in San Antonio there were many support groups. Even a home school 4-H club.

[kiki04]

Can you add me to the list?

We plan on homeschooling for both faith and academic reasons, and know many others in our area with the same plan, so we are going to try to do this in a group (currently all children are infants, still waiting for my little girl to make her appearance). One big reason that made me want to homeschool is my experiences as a teacher. Even in good schools the classroom teacher is forced to teach to the median, often then trying to keep the lowest common denominator up to speed. I have seen many brighter kids get board and either act out or zone out. I don't know why schools don't teach history anymore, and as far as any values, forget it.

[GOP Soccer Mom]

I thought for a long time about homeschooling. I was a teacher in a public school, but also worked as an interpreter/assistant there before going freelance as an interpreter. My reasons are varied. I think I can do a better job, I want a Catholic education for my girls, I can take school on the road and crate family vacations that act as a field trip for school at the same time... One big reason, too, is that my daughter (5 years old, born Oct. 15) misses the cut-off for school. In Virginia (where we are now) it's not that big a deal, I'm sure. If I wanted to push it, I could test her and force a placement in first grade next year. However, we just moved from Florida, where she missed the cut-off by not two weeks, but SIX! Everyone said that she wouldn't be mature enough for mixing with the "older" kids (ha).

So, I just finished up Kindergarten with her. She reads easily at a second grade level (Junie B. Jones is one of her favorites), and we are doing fun summer vacation stuff like flashcards to prevent math atrophy. ;) She reads all the time, and I just try to mix in various skills with fun things. For example, we baked cookies after we moved and I wasn't doing "school work." Baking cookies covered reading, math, following directions, and home economics. Man, school can be a drag. LOL She does complain when we sit to do "regular" work, but I'm not comfortable enough to just make up a curriculum at this point.

This could be fun. I get such great ideas from other H.S. moms online.

[LadyShallott]

I have also got some great ideas from others online. I hope this thread provides some great stuff for us to share. It sounds like you are doing a great job. :)God Bless-

[LadyShallott]

BTTT

[prairiebreeze]

Please add me to your ping list. I'm interested in the subject. Thanks

prairiebreeze

[StarCMC]

Homeschool Thread Ping, Diva!!!!

Woo-hoo!! Thanks Lady!!

I homeschool #1 in 4th grade, #2 in 3rd grade. #4 is in preschool at our church, and #4 is about 1/2-way here! He he he!

We chose to homeschool for Lots of reasons. I like that we can put our spin on the things our kids learn. I know who my kids teachers are. It fits our lifestyle -- we don't have to conform to someone else's idea of what our day should look like. We can go on vacation anytime we want. The kids can stay up late at night to see Dad when he comes home from work. If they were in "regular" school, I'd have to put them to bed many times before he gets home.

We use SOnlight curriculum and I enjoy the literature based instruction and that I don't have to create my own lesson plans.

Thanks for this thread!! I will visit often!! HUGS!

[TontoKowalski]

Why do you choose to homeschool? Why do you support homeschooling? Was your choice faith driven? Academic driven? Or both?

M'Lady and Friends,

When my wife first started making noises about homeschooling, our son was three. I was against it... homeschooling was for the nutty fringe, not something that our family should be doing. We were going to send our son to private school.

Well, that was before I met so many people that homeschool, and found that they were people just like us. Not a bunch of hermits at all, but involved in all aspects of the community.

Well, not long after that, during his nightly bedtime story, my son said, "Daddy, I want to read my own stories." So, I said to my wife, "You think you can educate him at home, then teach him to read."

She accepted the challenge, and also provided me some research she had done on homeschooling, and he was reading at age three. He's nine now, and is surprised that people have to learn to read... he doesn't remember ever NOT being able to read.

[TontoKowalski]

I've heard good things about Sonlight. We use A Beka. We're happy with it overall, especially the math. We also like the concept of "school in a box" so you don't have to make up lesson plans and schedules.

We are unhappy with certain aspects, so we will modify next year (fourth grade). We're dumping their art program altogether... it's a lot of cut out construction paper and pasting. We're amending the language program by incorporating Writing Strands. We're also beginning Latin next year. Should be fun... neither my wife nor I speak Latin!

He and my wife also take Piano and Tae Kwon Do, which we count as Music and PE, two requirements in our state.

[StarCMC]

Which Latin are you going to use? We just started Matin Latin. (I am getting a head start on next year because I will be having a baby in October or so and usually have some bed rest involved before the date!)

[TontoKowalski]

To be honest, I don't remember which Latin program it is. We picked it up at a homeschool convention. It's a DVD program, which, in our case, is essential because neither my wife nor I will be able to teach it on our own.

I know it's not Christiana Latina, because we didn't choose that one... after much debate. The one we got also had a host of other languages available.

[netmilsmom]

Ping!
Be back after lunch!

[GOP Soccer Mom]

ping

[GOP Soccer Mom]

I should PING when I'm ready to walk away from the puter from now on.

[I got the rope]

Could you add me to the list? My wife and I are going to start homeschooling our children here in Florida.