Should I homeschool my kids?

Question

I have three boys - 7, 5, and 3. My oldest is finishing 1st grade this spring, and I just haven't been impressed with the schools. I think I could do a better job teaching him, and since I'd only have a few students, we could be done within a few hours. He has so much curiosity and a strong desire to learn, and I feel the public school cannot feed the fire as well as I could. I'm getting the impression that he's bored in class and would like to pursue the things he's interested in. I don't see any downsides to homeschooling...at least in the elementary years...any thoughts?

Answer 1

I'm only 15, but trust me, you shouldn't. Your sons will lose the interaction time with other children, and they'll never go through learning how to deal with various personalities (which is a quality they'll need as adults in the world outside your home). Also, my neighbor homeschools her kids(ages: 10, 8, and 7) and it's more work than it seems. Plus her kids are not good with other children, they think every person has to be friendly and don't deal with problems correctly. Hope i helped! Good Luck! :)

Answer 2

for my opinion, no

School doesn't only  teach their knowledge on books, but also ,  offers an environment to build a relationship between kids and their peers.

How to deal with each other, That's important. no one could live without social. Though he's a talent

Answer 3

Of course you should homeschool your kids! You have already answered your own question! You ARE your children's best teacher. Learning is not just about academics. Learning is knowing how to find answers, how to ask questions, how to fail (not allowed in school), how to make choices and decisions, and how to live life. Academic knowledge is just a byproduct of homeschooling. Please do not hink I am discounting knowledge, as I am not, but there is much more to learning than grades!

There are some really great books you should read as they will inspire you even more than you already are.

Here is a list of some books that you will find wonderful:

Dumbing Us Down, by John Taylor Gatto

The Underground Hstory of American Education, by John Taylor Gatto

A Different Kind of Teacher, by John Taylor Gatto

How Children Learn, by John Holt

How Children Fail, by John Holt

Homeschooling For Excellence, by David and Micki Colfax

The Unschooling Handbook (How to use the whole world as your child's classroom), by Mary Griffith

And all of these can mostlikely be found at your local library.

I highly recommend Homeschooling For Excellence first, then Mary Griffith's book, then anything by Holt or Gatto. As you look into these you will find other interesting and wonderfl books on homeschooling and education.

I have been homeschooling for 15 years and love it!!! I love the freedom, the closeness, and the wonderful people my kids have grown up to be. I still have two kids homeschooled, one is graduating from our homeschool this year and one has two more years. We have two others who have already graduated from our homeschool.

If you have any other questions or would like to discuss anything, contact me! I am passionate about homeschooling.

And I believe you will be, too, once you get your feet wet! Your kids will also love you for it.

Answer 4

I have the same question

Answer 5

It's a wonderful idea.

You are getting a bunch of hogwash about socialization.  

Read the facts here:

http://www.homeschool.com/articles/Socia...

and here:

http://learninfreedom.org/socialization....

and here:

http://homeschooling.about.com/od/social...

and again here:http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/arti...

Finally, for a good overview on homeschooling, try this link:

http://www.homefires.com/

Answer 6

I think that it is better off that you will let them stay in their public school because if you teach them at home they would be away from other people. For me, i think that is is better going to schools than learning at home. Or is you would like, you could teach them when they go home, help them review their lessons, and help them for any question they have.

Answer 7

I feel like this will effect how they social skills.

Because I went to china when I was 9 years old to study Chinese, my parents put me in 1st grade to start over and learn from basic. All the classmates are 3 years younger than me. I'm like an older sister to them. I get along with them well. But when it comes to hanging out with children at my own age or older children, I don't know how to act. I have many different personalties.  

I was hanging out with younger children for 3 years. after that, I wasn't really social acceptable by my classmates in USA when I'm attending J.H. and they were the same age as me. because I don't know the rules and how to act when I was with them.  And that also affected me a little through H.S. too.  

That was my experience. it might not apply to your children.

Answer 8

Well, being a future teacher, it may be hard for me to be totally unbiased. I do, though, basically agree with what most people have said. School is about more than just learning facts and stuff. Working with others is a huge thing. Many home-schooled children are not very good when it comes to the social aspect. Homeschooling is also tough because of the time commitment. Only you, though, truly know what would be best for your boys!

Answer 9

The only downside to homeschooling at such a young age is the social aspect. While he may learn more at home and have a lot of fun, it won't teach him how to interact with his peers and deal with social problems. So maybe you want to consider keeping him in school until he's had that background and doing other things at home with him that are more what he's interested in. It doesn't have to be school or working at home. That way he gets the benefits of school and still is able to pursue what he is interested in. Then, once he has developed socially, you may want to ask him if he wants to be home schooled. I was growing up and I think it really stunted me in a social way. I think, for the most part, it should be left up to the kid when he is old enough to make that kind of decision.

Answer 10

I think the way you go about home-schooling is what is going to make the difference. My cousins are home schooled and they dont do anything because there mom gives them all of the answers. To be quite honest i dont think they even do school half of the time. My cousin..who is my age..(16) has a 4th grade reading level because my aunt took her out too early and didnt do enough with her. She has a learning diability and it would have been smarter to keep her in school. On the other hand, my good friend and her brother/sister were home schooled from a very young age, they didnt even go to public school until their senior year so they could get a diploma, were schooled so exceptionally well it was unbelievable. They were ten times as smart as anyone in the class they graduated in and did phenomenal. I think that if you truly took all of the time needed to teach them, they would do perfectly fine...just dont be like my aunt . ;-)

Answer 11

You seem to be able to teach your boys better than a school. It might be a good idea to teach your kids yourself. If they are bored in school the won't care to do well and will get bad grades. You might also look into online schooling like k12. It allows for you to have some more hands on to your children's teaching without need to spend hours getting together course and other things. This might be good if you are a stay at home mom and need to clean things because you could set your children to do a specific assignment and then vacuum the floors.

If you are not a stay at home mom I do not recommend that you home school or online school your kids until they are a little bit older. Kids will lose interest in what they are suppose to be doing if there is no one to guide them.

If you do decide to home school your children. I recommend that you look into programs like Dive, Saxons math, and Standard Deviants. The Dive and Saxons math go with each other. Dive is a DVD that has a white board and teacher who can help explain advanced math. Standard Deviants are commonly found in some libraries and are films covering almost all subjects. They are made from Harvard Graduates who add a element of fun from learning. Also sometimes you can find bookstores for home schooled kids that give away free text books.

You will also need to be organized. Staples and Office max will have calenders and daily planners. Each kid will need one. If you are good with computers and have Microsoft 2003 or higher you should have a program called outlook. This program will help a lot and if you don't know how to use it local libraries will most likely have a Microsoft guide in the computer sections.

I am pretty sure I told you most of what I know. If you have any more questions you want to ask me then feel free to e-mail me I am on almost all the time.

P.S. If you are worried about your kids social skills just have them join sports or other activities. Take them to the library once a week. Getting them out of the house every once and a while is going to be important. Like a field trip or something. Otherwise they might get bored and depressed. One last thing to note. If you want to do homeschooling do it early otherwise it might not work when the are older. This is because they will be use to the ways of public school. It is easier to transition a child into public school rather than out.

P.P.S. Another thing is you will be able to do more because you won't have to limit your vacations to children's breaks. Also,  you are going to want to teach your children about the wrongs of the world along with the goods. Some of my friends are home schooled and I fear that they will befriend the wrong people. If you do all this then you should be alright.

Answer 12

the biggest downside i see is that he will miss out on all the socialization with the other kids.  i think that THAT is the most important thing that i took away from my elementary schoool years.  because if he doesn't learn how to interact with other kids now, then he's going to have a lot of trouble fitting in and making friends later.  when the homeschooled kids changed to public schools, no one would really talk to them because they were really weird and they just...missed out on social cues that the rest of us picked up on.  so it was really awkward and hard for the ones that i knew.  my young neighbor is homeschooled and i feel so bad for him because he gets bored out of his mind.  he's always running around the neighborhood alone because he has no one to play wtih and he's already finished his work.  it's really hard for him.  is private school an option?  are there any charter schools in your area?  you might look into those if you want to step up the pace and allow him to have a more personalized education.  just my thoughts...  good luck!

Answer 13

I'm a 13-year-old boy, who is homeschooling. I like homeschooling, but I would have liked to have a choice. In my opinion, they would be too young to make a good decision right now. I like the idea of homeschooling for elementary school and then letting your kids decide on there own whether they want to switch or not.

Also, people may tell you home-schoolers are anti-social. I disagree 80%. My older brother (16) is home-schooled also. He sits on the computer all day. He doesn't like girls. He's the ugliest thing I've ever seen. He doesn't like to go ANYWHERE. He has no interest in sports. The point is, there is danger of becoming anti-social, but it isn't likely (my other two siblings are half-normal (11 and 6)). Most NORMAL home-schoolers are very social. For example, I have events every night. So does my sister. I have soccer practices two nights, baseball practices two nights, plus games, home-school co-op twice a month, and violin lessons. My sister has dance for 14 hours per week. Sound anti-social?

Sorry for ranting. Most of that didn't have ANYTHING to do with your question. lol

Good Luck!

Answer 14

Omigosh, can you believe how many people are still stereotypically beating the dead socialization horse?  Please believe the people who actually have experience in the homeschooling realm.  It's NOT an issue.  If being harassed, embarrassed, bullied, bored, intimidated, "peer" pressured, robbed, called names, assaulted, spit on, ostracized and frightened is "socialization" then we, as a family, will pass.  Thanks anyway.  That said, we love homeschooling.  My kids get to choose what they learn, so they're always interested.  They're all one to two grade levels ahead.  We rarely school past 11:00 am, so our afternoons are used for sports, outings, field trips, volunteering, get togethers, hikes and what not.  My kids see a lot more people (of varying ages)  then they ever did in school, and because there's no homework, the evenings and weekends are completely freed up.  The only downside I've discovered is that my housework sometimes suffers.  We deal with this by having daily twenty minute tidy ups and mass cleaning on Saturday mornings.  We use a program called Sonlight.  We really like it.  It's especially good if your family loves literature.  Here's a link to their site:

http://www.sonlight.com/

I hope you go for it.  You sound like you have a genuine concern for your kids and their education.  They'll love it and you'll do great.

Edit to Catie:  You sound like a really articulate, well spoken kid. Your parents must be proud of you.

Answer 15

Am a real school student

Answer 16

Defiantly!! I am home-schooled and have been my whole life. I am NOT socially challenged, as some people might think. In fact, I can relate to people of all ages will no problem. I am thankful to my parents for home-schooling me, as it has benefited me greatly. With the program I use, you don't have to be a teacher, and your son could work at his own pace, as fast or as slow as he would like. It covers all the basics and give extra options so well. My seven year old brother is doing it as well as me and my other two sisters and my brother lives it. He also love how, if he works hard, he can get finished in an hour or less. Its great. Its not expensive either. The web site address is www.schooloftomorrow.com. I hope this helps you in your decision.

Answer 17

We did because of the poor education aspect of public schools as opposed to the wide field of education we have here. If you notice, the only real argument people put up about home schooling are the social aspects. They never talk about the educational aspects which convinces me that public school kids care very little for education and more about friends. Public school kids think the only place in the world you can make friends is in a public school. That is very narrow minded.

Social aspects do not include 8 girls beating the h**l out of one girl like it happened in the news recently. There is nothing social about bullying and harassment. Our kids were attacked in a public school that claimed zero tolerance. It wasn't until I confronted the fathers of the bullies that this stopped because the school sure wasn't going to do anything.

Our curriculum here is so wide spread that our kids actually love the challenge. It's not even the end of the school year and our kids are already done and have the rest of the year off.

Yes, while public schools waste their time with demeaning holidays, PTA, and snow days our kids are still working. We do honor Christmas and Thanksgiving break though. Our kids even elected to work through spring break.

I've got a laundry list of history questions here now that no public school kid could answer correctly without looking them up right away but our children got them correct.

Plus, besides that fact, with your children at home getting schooled, no teacher can walk out on strike and deprive them of an education. No teacher can molest them. No student can come into your home and shoot the h**l out of your kids.

Many teachers today are nothing more than glorified babysitters.

Edit: I hear how people say you should have a teaching degree to home school your kids. Educated teachers don't take courses in molesting, drug use, playing favorites, or standing by while a student gets beat down like a wonded dog. Yet it happens.

Answer 18

Homeschooling is pretty sweet, I was home schooled from start to finish, and my mom got the "oh they won't have any social skills" speech dozens of times, It such a crock,. if your with a home school group, they organize Field trips and swimming lessons etc, I have/have tons of friends, and the better thing is that most of my home schooled friends parents had the same idea's so we didn't have to worry about making the "wrong" types of friends,. My brothers are still home schooled and very young, and are curios about lots so my mom takes his interest and incorporates them in the lessons:)

Answer 19

yes!

i am home educated and i love it (much better than going 2 school) well i suppose I'm one to talk seeing as Ive never been 2 school but lots of people i know think home ed is better and i have lots of mates of all different ages....

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 20

Do it. In my case, the public schools were killing my daughter's desire to learn. She is so much happier homeschooling.

The socialization thing is complete bunk. You have more opportunities to socialize with homeschooling. You just have to step out your door and -viola' you are out in a world full of people. My daughter takes about two outside classes at a time (martial arts and music). She hangs out with her friends and does all thing things a normal kid does.

Answer 21

My thoughts: schools are for those who are unwilling or unable to take on their children's education and full-time upbringing themselves.

You sound like you have a good goal in mind, you are concerned with your child not losing his love of learning, it sounds like you would do what you could to make it fit his needs... In other words, you sound willing and able. I would say go for it!

ADDED: *sigh* I do wish people would stop thinking homeschooling means being at home all the time and never interacting with others. I hope you (the asker) don't believe that. Homeschooling shouldn't mean being at home all the time. With the little time you know it will take to cover academics, you will be able to participate in homeschooling activities with other families in the afternoon (park days, field trips, play dates, parties, lessons, etc.), plus they could do things like Scouts or swimming lessons or community sports or other. People do not need to be surrounded by 30-some kids the same age for 7 hours a day, 180 days a year, to be social.

Answer 22

Mixed in with all those "social rejects" comments, you've been given some good answers.

I'd bet money that most of those socialization comments have come from people who don't know homeschoolers. I, even as a homeschool student, am in awe of the number of fellow homeschoolers that I meet through co-ops, sports, seminars, online school.

Being that it isn't your question I'll get to the point. Homeschooling, is not for everyone, but by the description you've given, homeschooling sounds like something that would be suitable for you and your family. I would recommend that you don't stop with elementary school. Chances are that your son will be way ahead of the students in his school if he goes back into school, and he would again be bored. Keeping him home during his high school years will give him the chance to learn and explore areas that most intrest him especially into subjects that may further a possible career for him.

I'd say more, but a lot seems to have been said by everyone above. Good luck with your decision!

Answer 23

I just thought this needed to be said:

To all those that think that once your child is homeschooled, they will lost social interaction and not understand how to deal with people, well, we don't send children to school so they can "hang out" and talk. We send them to learn. Thus, School. So that's just going to show how poorly some people think of their education that they would automatically assume that you have to hang out in school with your peers, instead of learning and studying like you should. I'm fourteen, and even I know this. I know I will probably get some bad comments on this, but it's true. I'm getting homeschooled next school year because I figure that I need to seperate my social life from my schoolwork, because right now those two things at once just aren't working for me, and they are hurting my grades.

So, personally, I think you should homeschool your kids. Just keep in mind that school come's first, then friends. And once your done with the schooling, take them out on "fieldtrips", and put them in clubs and groups so they can interact with others, and lookup some homeschool groups in your area, so your children can hang out with others that are homeschooled.

Also, as well as letting them persue there own interests in homeschool, make sure they do things they don't like AS WELL, so they get the experience. And also, it teaches them that your not always going to be able to do things that you want to, plus you'll be exposing them to new things. For example, if one of your children has no interest in being an artist, or doesn't like art, do some arts&crafts with them.  And if one of them hate's sports, go swimming with them, or play ball, etc. You'll be exposing them to new things and all the while giving them skills they will need to learn.

But when others mention social interaction and the lack thereof at home, ignore them. They're just showing what they think of their own education.

Just make sure that you know what your taking on, and teach them everything you can, and make everything a lesson, and you'll be good to go!

Good luck, and the best of wishes!

Answer 24

Get A Beka Academy. They are a Christian text and when you the ACADEMY DVD there is a actual teacher in a class room with kids teaching you. All you have to do is check their work.

PS:I am homeschooled. Im socalized. If I was in Public school I would be with my age group,Not where I am now. (Two grades ahead) I go to Church,I have hobbies,friends and I do tons of stuff.

Answer 25

The negative comments about socialization are coming from those who are uneducated about homeschooling and have done nothing to educate themselves.  There are homeschooling support groups, church groups, community activities, park district classes, and many ways for children to learn/exercise their social skills.

Currently, I am homeschooling my 8-year-old second grader and began homeschooling him shortly after he began first grade.  I started homeschooling him, because he complained about boredom in first grade and was already starting to lose his love of learning.  He is now doing extremely well.

Shortly after I began homeschooling him, I had him evaluated; he was diagnosed as "cognitively gifted," along with some challenges.  However, his challenges did not cause me to homeschool him, but his boredom did.

Public schooling does little to fire the imagination or increase bright children's desire to learn.  I was one of those children, and by the time I graduated high school, I decided that I could not take any more formal schooling.  Yet, I have done extremely well.  I am a writer, editor, proofreader, transcriptionist, etc., and have my own business.  Later, I completed a year of vocational-technical training and two years of college.

Throughout my elementary, junior high, and high school career, I kept reading and kept learning.  Once I finished high school, I continued to do the same.  Homeschool your children, and feed the intellectual fire.  You'll teach them to be lifelong learners and to find the answers for themselves.

Answer 26

Yes, you should home school your kids :)

The only downsides to homeschooling are those that all ready exist in any family. We should all try to cope with and deal with the weaknesses in our families whether we home school or not.

Socialization:  Yes, notice how this topic only comes up in regards to home schooling. There are no socialization classes in school, no: "How to help your student succeed socially" seminars for school teachers.

So what are our options? Is it limited to: a) Home school them and they will be outsiders and socially awkward or b) Send them off to school where they are socialized randomly as a pack?

I say No! We can home school and actively set out to positively socialize our kids! As a matter of fact, home schooling is the only avenue of education that has such potential to pro-actively socialize kids.

For the last 13 years I have been in leadership in a large (avg. 175 families) support group. By far, most of the kids that have been home schooled in our group for the bulk of their k-12 education are way better socialized than their "peers." For the most part, problems they have socially are mostly related to seeming "old" or "serious" compared to others in their age group. They tend to laugh it off.

I home schooled both my children. They are now 25 and 27. One is married and they are both gainfully employed.  They have tons of friends ... many home school alumnus. People are surprised to learn they were home schooled. Many times the reaction is: "Oh! That explains why you're so mature/nice". One person said to my son (when he was 19) "No wonder you're so stable."

Now, I wont deny for a minute that there is a percentage of home schoolers that are nerdy, geeky, weird, awkward or outsider types. Is the percentage higher than in "institutional" learning? I don't think so. But, if it is ... I think that it would be because those nerdy, geeky, weird, awkward or outsider type parents are more likely to think outside the box and home school their kids.

Answer 27

it will be grate if you will teach him but if he will spend time on the school and the he will spend time to do home work and then he will spend time with you to learn more.. he will lose all his childhood for learning... im telling you this because this is what happened to me..

oh yes and he will be even more bored in school because he will know every thing they are about to learn... sorry it can be positive and negative this is you choice.