What made you decide to homeschool? How old are your children? Thank you.?

Question

What made you decide to homeschool? How old are your children? Thank you.?

Answer 1

I decided to homeschool when my daughter was in 2nd grade at public school. After 6 weeks of class her teacher still couldnt remember her name,(she has a very common name) and since she was well behaved, the teacher made her sit next to the class troublmaker, hoping it would keep the boy out of trouble. All the boy did was torment my daughter all day.

As it turns out, Homeschooling is the best thing we could have done for our family. We are now in our 4th year, and I will homeschool all 3 of our children until they graduate high school.

Answer 2

I decided to homeschool because my ds kept getting bad teachers every few years.  my dh is military also and trying to keep up with the different curriculums from different states and DODDs was overwhelming,  I didn't want him to have big gaps in his education, like I have in mine.

Answer 3

I homeschooled my 3 kids for 6 months when they were aged 10, 7, and 6.

My reason was that we were living abroad and got evacuated back to the U.S. So my kids attended a school overseas part of the year and one in the U.S. part of the year. Then we moved to the D.C. area while my husband was in training for 6 months and back overseas to yet another school.

I just didn't have the heart to stick them in a school where they had no friends for 6 months knowing full well that they would get pulled out when we moved, alfter all the disruptions we had already been through.

And since we were in the DC area, we were able to do a lot of neat field trips to museums, monuments, and historical sites that tied in with our curriculum.

They did fine once they went back to school again, and it was a lot of work for me but also a lot of fun. The hardest part for me was working at three different levels at the same time.

Answer 4

I was bullied to death and went through very very bad emotional trauma that scard my life. This is my first year and I'm doing it for seventh and eight and that will be enough time for me to build up my self estem and go back for high school. Right now anyways it's working because I am independent. I'm ahead of my grade right now. It's much harder because you actually learn things while in most cases public schools in the USA only study for the FCAT. Discipline is much stricter and I have way more responsibilities. When I grow up I am planning on homeschooling my kids for better curriculum.

Answer 5

my nephew was homeschooled from 8th to 9th grade, and it was the worst thing his parents could have done! he didnt learn everything he should have and when he finally went back to public school, he was so far behind

Answer 6

My Daughter is going to be 6 in April and we do Natural Learning. I don't like to say Homeschooling because we are not doing school at home. We learn thru everyday life.

I use to teach in both Public and Private schools so I know firsthand what they are teaching and what they are not teaching. I quit work 4 years before we decided to have our Daughter and both my husband and I decided we wanted to homeschool here before we even conceived.

Why? Many many reasons. I homeschool because I can and it is the right decision for our family.

My Daughter is very bright and is a self learner like her Father. She thrives from giving her the tools and letting her take it from there. She needs very little instruction.

I don't think adults give children enough credit when it comes to learning. Children naturally want to learn and are pleasers. If you start out at a young age that learning is fun then you can succeed at homeschooling. Children do not need to be forced, handheld, pushed, and coerced into learning.

Schools believe in a "One Curriculum Fits All" approach and that just has been proven to fail.

The only reason some of the children make it thru is because their parents work with them at home when they are off of work and at nights. Little do they know they are "homeschooling".

I am so very happy to have my Daughter at home. I will continue to allow her work at her own pace at home until she is grown and ready to leave the nest someday.

I believe online Universities will continue to get more popular in time as will homeschooling because people are fed up and are coming to the realization that their children are not being allowed to be "all they can be".

Answer 7

My daughter was having some trouble in a new school with bullies and with the fact that she had already done the exact same 3rd grade curriculum in another school in the 2nd grade. These problems caused me to take her out for what was supposed to be a temporary basis until I could get her back into her old school.

Turned out we liked homeschooling, and it was very successful, so we kept on homeschooling her, as well as her two brothers who have never gone to school.

EDIT-- I forgot to add that my daughtere is not 17 yrs old, graduating from homeschooling in June, set to get her AA degree in December because she's been taking college courses since she was 15, is a very active community and church volunteer, has some good friends and good times and is a pretty well-rounded and talented, responsible individual... I almost feel like calling that school to thank them, lol.

Answer 8

I have six kids now (three bio. and three adopted)  my oldest has been HS snice 4th grade she is now in 11th.  She loves it (and I'm not just saying that for her) I wanted to HS because I wanted us to be closer as a family.  My kids are not locked up in the house (like people think HS kids are)  My oldest drives around with her friends and goes a lot of places.  She planes on getting a job soon, if she were in school I don't know if she would have enought time.

Answer 9

Like Singlemom, I plan to HS our son next school yr & our reasons are very similar.

My son will be in 7th grade & this will be our 1st time HSing altho we have toyed w/the idea for several yrs.

Our son was diagnosed with ADHD in kindergarten & we have been heavily involved w/his schooling (public) every year since. If not for that, he would be way behind (& completely discouraged!) as his experiences w/his teachers would not have been as positive or as enriching.

Having said that, I have always been less than satisfied w/the way of public schools/education. For kids like my son, w/ADHD (& a somewhat 'mild' case of it at that), movement & action are essential to his learning. He actually absorbs facts better while moving than while being 'forced' to sit still & focus. Recess time has gradually decreased over the past few years & now they have none (6th grade!!). And a lot of the time, what recess he did have was taken away due to 'mis-behavior'! I've had to step in & point out that it is essential for him to expend energy to focus & would behoove the teaching staff to allow this & find another form of punishment.

Bullying & negative peer pressures are also a factor. He started middle school this year & now rides a bus with high schoolers. Needless to say, he's come to me with a lot of adult questions!

To top it all off, I'm tired. Tired of the CONSTANT day to day, year to year involvement with school & teachers, just to keep him afloat. I'd much rather put my energy fully into him rather than into trying to encourage & appease his teachers.

He is all for trying HSing, too, so we've decided to give it a shot.

Religion is not a factor in our decision however morality, the love of our son & the freedom to expand his learning outside of the 'walls' of public education are.

While our family & friends support & respect our choice, we will definitely be on the outskirts of our social groups & local community. I am happy to recognize that myself & my family have always been 'fringe thinkers' which allows us to be very open minded & somewhat fearless. We plan to take this exciting, new experience head-on, openly & with the intent of making it work for us!

I hope you find this encouraging & best wishes to everyone here!

Answer 10

I'm the child of a Naval officer and wife; we changed schools and moved; that was not easy on friendships etc.

Throw bad teachers in the mix...  Why not support your child and his great qualities and his interests and pursuits by supporting him by homeschooling him?  Hooking up with a great support group and finding great materials...  You can do it; sounds like you've made a good deciscion.  He doesn't need to be exposed to bad teachers.

Answer 11

My children are 7, 4 and 1.  My aunt homeschooled her children and her adult home school graduates are some of the greatest young adults I know.  They are confident, adventurous, and extremely social.  

I started spending time with her and she encouraged me to homeschool.  She told me about the problems she saw with traditional school and how homeschooling addresses it.

At the same time, I noticed some things I didn't like about my son's preschool and realized I was pretty much powerless to do anything about it and no matter how much I volunteered, I was very much out of touch with what happened with him from day to day.

So, after much research, I decided to try homeschooling him for K.  It worked out so well that we haven't looked back and I hope we will go all the way to high school.

I don't know if this is true for others, but once I took my son out of the traditional school system, I started to see things I hadn't noticed while we were a part of it. I could see how the system harms many children and keeps even the brighter students from reaching their full potential.

Anyway, here are some of the benefits of homeschooling that led us to our decision.

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

Answer 12

We are going to start home schooling this coming school year. Some reasons: My 7 year old daughter has autism. She was diagnosed in October, the school was notified, so tell me why now in February she still hasn't had an Occupational Therapy Evaluation? It's not acceptable in my book. This school is now basically over regarding therapies and services. My other issues are with the gym teachers. I called and spoke with the principal at the beginning of the year about gym and the use of a microphone. He stated that it was an easy fix; No microphone during my daughter's class. 2 days per week she comes home upset that her ears bother her because the gym teacher uses the microphone, despite calls and meetings. Lunch is beyond rediculous; They have 20 minutes, and have to be quiet or recess is taken away.

My daughter can name 5 places where it's "safe" to kiss a boy because no one can see you (she's only in first grade). She's doing well on her report card, yet still can't name the 4 basic coins, and next year they start counting money. I'm not allowed to hand my daughter her special birthday snack, I have to leave it in the office. I am not allowed to observe her during gym, the school's psychologist will supposedly do it and never get back to me.

The after school rush is horrible. By the time she gets home it's too late for outside activities (like dance, or gymnastics). Everyone needs a bath, dinner, homework, study, and reading. There's no time for Violin practice, or to simply play and be a child. My kids go to bed early- Between 7 and 8, so they can be up for school the next day (up at 6:30).

I'm homeschooling so I can teach her at her level, so I know she understands a topic before we move on, or put that aside for a few weeks and go back to it. I want to give her more time to socialize, and make friends. She's going to have OT and speech services through the hospital, and homeschooling allows a better schedule. My son will have OT/PT/Speech, and going to the hospital 5x every week is not my idea of fun. She loves playing her Violin and wants more time to practice. I could go on with whys all day.

It works for some, not everyone

Answer 13

Hi, I am a 13 year old homeschooler.  I have been homeschooled for 3 years and my family is homeschooled because we had a lot of problems with my private school.  So we were actually kicked out....  I LOVE homeschooling, and I have two other sisters, ages 12 and 8.  I hope this helps.  Good luck in your decision!!

Answer 14

im actually a homeschooled...in highschool, juinor year. I chose to homeschool, because the public school wasnt teaching me anything. My brother and sister are homeschooled...age 13 and 6. Im able to work at my own pace, take time off, and really concentrate, while also learning while doing everyday things.I have alot more opportunities to go place and do things.

Answer 15

My DS is almost 10 and has been HS'ed for five years.  The main reason we HS him is because he's profoundly gifted and no B&M school setting will work for him.

If you search the forum, you'll find all sorts of detailed messages from HS'ers about their reasons.  It's usually different for each family.

Answer 16

My kids are 9, 5, and 21 months.

We decided to home school because we felt that my oldest wasn't being taught very well at the school she was in. On top of that my son's pre K teacher wanted him to be diagnosed as ADHD and put on meds. He was 4 at the time. Needless to say when I told the Dr that he wasn't happy. Kids aren't diagnosed with that until they are at least 5.

We also wanted to give our children an education that was more faith based that secular. We love education and believe that children should be taught more sides of the story that just the one's presented in Public Schools. Evolution is the easiest target for me but as we go on we find that if I let the kids explore all possibilities then they will 1: learn more and 2: remember it better. I can't say how much History I have learned that we were "taught" in the public school that I never remembered because we weren't allowed to explore the history. I don't necessarily mean explore the place things happened. I mean if they show an interest in the American Revolution  then give them books and recourses to explore it. If you give them more chance to explore it and from the side of American and Brittan you can learn so much more that just the war. You get to learn the politics behind it and what the King of England was really like. You don't just get the feelings of the American people.

Answer 17

My son is dyslexic.  Unfortunately, public school is set up to reward those that read, and embarrass those that aren't. Even with an IEP, my son was often treated like he had a behavior problem rather than a learning disability. It was either sue the school board under the ADA or homeschool.  It's been a lot simpler to homeschool. He's learned quickly and easily when not forced to absorb everything through reading (there are lots of ways to learn!) and is on grade level in every way. He's been homeschooled for 2 years now, from 5th through 7th.  It's fun, actually, and has made a huge difference in his happiness.

Answer 18

I started because I was a widow who expected to travel with my work. I wanted my young son to have a consistent school experience, without being dragged out of school to travel. And, after all, he was going into kindergarten! I know my colors, right? ;o)

It just always turned out to be the right thing for us. When I remarried and had more children, I knew I could do it, and both my husband and I had extensive educational backgrounds, so we weren't concerned about the material. We built a network of homeschooling opportunities, co-ops and classes, so we could cover things as they came up. Our kids are active in the community, and the neighborhood, and do team sports and youth groups, so we didn't worry about their social opportunities. But they also are a very close family, and have the chance to explore things that interest them on their own schedules. That helps them build time-management skills, too.

My oldest is on full merit scholarship to college, Dean's list, and you'd think I was lying if I told you his accomplishments. My next one is 12, then there's a 10 year old, a 7  year old and a 4 year old. We examine it every year, to make sure we're doing the right thing for each individual child, but so far, homeschooling has suited us.