Anyone home/cyberschooling for the first time on here

Question

If this is your first time home/cyberschooling do you have any reservations or concerns about doing so? If you have more than one child that you are attempting this with do you feel even more overwhelmed at the concept of trying this with more than one child? Are you worried that with more than one they may prove a distraction to one another? Any veterans on here that could offer advice to newbies?

Answer 1

Yeah, It is odd but it's true, I agree.

Answer 2

I homeschool my children-they are about to enter fifth and third grades and I have a baby as well.  They have always been homeschooled.

My advice to you would be to relax.  You are going to have good days and bad days, you are going to find that some of the ideas you start out with are going to change-let things evolve from your experience.

Find a support group in your area, if you have not already done so.  You can visit http://groups.yahoo.com and type in "MyCity homeschool".  These groups will be your best resource-they get together for field trips, coop classes, park days, etc.  

There is also a homeschool section here at Yahoo! Answers, under the Education and Reference heading, as well as other online forums for homeschoolers.  Get all of the support you can.

Do not defend your decision to anyone.  Be confidant in your decision, and let anyone (friends/family/neighbors/strangers) know that it is not up for discussion.  Generally their concerns are about the mythical lack of socialization for homeschoolers-I always figure if that is the only thing that I have to worry about, then we are in a pretty good situation because we have no lack of opportunities there.  I used to get flustered, but not anymore.

My children do their independent work when I am working with the other on a part of a lesson that needs my direct attention (we do a traditional program, not online) and then we do activities together as well.  For the most part, things go well-sometimes there are distractions but usually they want to focus and finish their lessons so they can do other things.

It will probably never be perfect, but after a period of adjustment it can be nearly so.  I wish you the best!

Answer 3

I think this is a wonderful option for some families.  We tried it, for various reasons, but it really didn't work out well for us.  I was trying to do 3 boys (2nd grade, 4th grade and 7th grade) and it was overwhelming.  We used a "cyber" school, which I felt comfortable with because I didn't have to do all the planning.  It was a very good program and one that I would recommend.  However, it just wasn't a good fit for us.  My boys all decided to return to our local public schools (which are also good schools).  Do I have any advice?  Don't think you have to get everything done every day.  Be flexible.  One of my boys was a great speller and he would generally finish his spelling unit in 2 days instead of working on it for a while everyday.  You can also do that with math.  Sometimes it's easier for kids to work on one thing instead of going back and forth between subjects.  Just keep an eye on your overall progress, but there's no need to go the traditional, every subject every day route that most schools use.  I also found it easier to work with my 4th grader in the morning and then my 2nd grader in the afternoon instead of doing them both at the same time. I don't know if I helped, but I do wish you the best of luck.