Homeschooling.?

Question

Even though I'm 17 and have 6 years to find a husband and even have a kid. (i want to be married and first kid before 25) i've decided to home school my children since my brothers and sister go to really bad schools. I just wanted to know what your homeschooling lives are like.

Answer 1

I'm a college senior and was home schooled until high school. Home schooling can be a blessing or a curse, the main focus should be doing it right. I was home schooled because the schools in my city were not very good and I am thankful I did not have to go to them. However, since my parents worked, I had to keep up with schoolwork during the day on my own. NOT A GOOD IDEA. You really should only home school if the children can be supervised.

I was thankful for being home schooled because it gave me a chance to quench my thirst for reading hours on end. Because I was able to spend most of my time pursuing my own interests, I have actually found that I now do much better in school than my peers and I am the one people ask for help on assignments. There are several other students here who were home schooled as well and they also excel in school. It could just be the individuals or it could have been the home schooling.

Home schooling, if thoughtfully approached can be an excellent alternative to public school, especially if the schools in your area are lacking. I have found that home schooled children tend to be more respectful and all around nice people. Public school children tend to either be bullied or become bullies while home schoolers do not. Being home schooled allows parents to instill their family values in the children away from negative influences. Also, home schooled children tend not to be so concerned with the fleeting values of most young people (make up, body image, relationships, cool clothes). They tend to be more mature and honestly, make better long-term decisions.

Of course, this is entirely from my own experience as a home schooler who has home schooler friends, and every child is different. I have also met home schoolers who fell behind in schooling and ended up much worse off then if they had attended public school.  I believe that home schooling should not be forced on a child unless the only other option is a very dismal school. Home schooling will only be beneficial if the child embraces it. Also, know that home schooling is A LOT of work for the parent and you must be willing to take all of that on. On top of being mother, cook, cleaner, chauffer, and personal ATM, you also become their teacher. Many children end up resenting their parent because they never get out of teacher mode.

Be aware that there are many people out there who find home schooling some kind of horrible set back for children and they will judge you harshly. But take it from a former home schooled college senior who double majored and is gradutaing a semester early, magna *** laude, that we turn out just fine.

Answer 2

Home schooling can be a wonderful experience. There is so much more opportunity for socialization than in public school. You get to meet all kinds of people of all ages, not just be forced to sit in a room with 25 other kids your same age that you are not allowed to talk to. You get a much better education, and many more college and career choices. The only bad part is dealing with ignorant people who are under the impression that home schooled kids are unsocialized. That shows how ignorant they are. Home schooled kids actually learn how to think and problem solve, not just memorize answers for test taking. The only kids that truly are "no child left behind" are home schooled. Public school just passes kids on without making sure they are learning, where home schooled kids actually will work on things until they learn them.

Answer 3

My homeschooled children are now all older than you are, but I think I can answer your question anyway.

Life wasn't always a lot of fun, or even very interesting as a homeschooling family. We focussed on doing things together that meant something to each of us, rather than on 'getting an education'. It was important to me that the children grew with self-confidence, realising that they have their whole life to learn whatever it is they want to know and do... All I needed to do was make sure they had the tools and know how to use them to help them learn.

This made homeschooling life much easier because most of the pressure parents and children feel to perform academically or otherwise were removed. Life - and homeschooling - is what you  make it!

In retrospect, with two decades of experience, I'd say that the most important thing to remember as a prospective mother intending to home educate is to be a parent first, teacher second (or not at all!).

Concentrate on bringing up healthy happy children. Make sure they get to play, sing, dance, run, hop, skip, tell stories, laugh, sleep and imagine every day. Give them quality toys that make them use their imaginations. Spend hours every day talking to them. Play with them. Pretend with them. Ask them what they need, what you can do for them. Protect them. Feed them good quality nutritious food and give them an unpolluted environment in which to live and play. Allow them access to lots of friends, but don't over do - children need time to be alone and love to spend endless hours daydreaming or doing nothing at all!

Get to know your inner child and be guided by her wisdom. Don't completely grow up. Retain your curiosity about the world. Help your children retain theirs...

Be the best parent you can be. That way you know that homeschooling is going to be great for you and great for your children.

Whenever we felt insecure or unsure about homeschooling it was always because we were comparing ourselves or what we did to what was happening out there in the world - looking over our shoulders to see if we were measuring up to other people's expectations. This usually made us unhappy and we'd stop learning; learning would stop being a wonderful family journey where we helped each other achieve our individual goals.

It can be frustrating at times - you know the old saying - you can choose your friends but you can't choose your relatives! However, being together for a lot of time meant that we couldn't let relationship problems fester, we couldn't ignore problems, we had to sort them out as they happened. This has meant that we're very close as a family - not only then, when we were homeschooling, but also now, as a family of five adults.

cheers

Beverley

http://homeschoolaustralia.com

Answer 4

First of all, it is good to have goals in life but do not rush into marriage and family just because you want to be married and have a child by 25.  What if your soul mate is not destined to enter your life until you are 26?  Follow your heart.  Things may change a lot between now and then.

To answer your homeschooling question-you are going to get a lot of different answers, and still not hear all of the possibilities for how a day in the life of a homeschooler can be (because it will be different for each homeschooler/family).

I am a married homeschooling mother of three-a fourth grader, a second grader and an infant.  Our life is something like organized chaos.  We have a routine, but it varies from day to day (and season to season).

We get up each morning, feed our animals (we live ona hobby farm) and then start our day.  In the evening, we have supper together and end our day.  What happens in between varies.

Some days, we have nowhere to go (seems rare).  All of our work is done at home.  Some days we have coop classes or field trips, etc.  Is it a day when there is scouts, ball practice or a game, church?

Since I do not think you are really wanting to know our schedule or routine in detail, I will tell you some of what our lives are like.  We are a very close family that loves to learn (together-even as adults my husband and I are always learning).   We value family over the latest trendy toys or clothes (though we do have some of that stuff, but because we want it rather than because it makes us look cool).

Like I said, the next answer will be different.  Some people take a more strict school at home approach, some unschool (no curriculum).  What we do is something in between-a mix of the two.

I think homeschooling is a great thing, and I would certainly never discourage anyone from doing it (I think EVERY child would benefit from homeschooling if they had parents that could make the commitment), but just because your siblings go to a bad school does not mean your children will.  You could live in a good school district.  Even so, "good" schools tend to have a lot of problems as well.  I am glad that you are researching your options this early.

I wish you-and your future family-the best!

Answer 5

I HATE it. My life is so boring. All I do is lay on the couch and watch tv or sit on the computer! I want to go back to school!