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 POSITIVE Home School stories December 15, 2004 4:10 PM

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it works for us April 11, 2005 7:15 PM

What we used to do when we first got started homeschooling was go to Barnes & Noble and pick out the workbooks that were at my son's level, whatever it was at that time. Then each morning I would assign a page or 2 or more out of each book, and he'd have that stack of work to do. He'd go through that and do the work, and I'd check it in the back of the book, and he'd re-do anything that wasn't right. Sometimes, though, he was right and the book was wrong, but that wasn't that common. It was just common enough that I looked out for it, though.

We didn't just do that. I figure that life as a whole is an education. We ran around doing all kinds of things and talking about everything that came to mind. I love homeschooling.

Kanga

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I am from Europe June 21, 2005 1:51 AM

and here there arenīt home school. why a homme school?while we love than our kids learn from other people out why in US?thanks and pardon for the question.  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
why home school July 11, 2005 6:35 AM

Hi Jose,

Perhaps people there can home school and you simply aren't aware of it. People have home schooled for thousands of years. It's about teaching your children at home. There are as many reasons for doing this as there are children who are home schooled.

One on one with your child, a parent can ensure that everything the child studies is at their level - not too easy, and not too hard.

At home, a parent can ensure that a child continues to bond more closely, having a one on one relationship all day rather than for 15 minutes "quality time".  A parent can ensure that his or her kids aren't being taught revised history, and that they aren't falling behind "everyone else" in math. A parent can make sure that the child isn't learning that education is about pointlessly waiting around for something to finally happen (often in lines).

A child in school learns to focus on grades, and bells. Homeschooling is just a totally different thing. Spending time with public schooled children and with homeschooled children, a person can feel a lot of difference. Public schooled children spend a lot of time with age mates and don't get a lot of time with adults - and the time they do see adults, the adults are guiding the herd with some disappointing platitudes meant for the few who can't manage to follow the rules.

There's a lot to this subject. What drew you to ask?

Kanga Ruth

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Why we home schooled and how it turned out January 10, 2007 8:15 PM

I am a mother of 5 kids, all home schooled from preschool through high school.  I have just one child still home schooling.  I had a long conversation with a public school official before I started home schooling, and he convinced me that the public school system would NOT meet the needs of my child. 

My oldest son was reading very early.  He was reading the Bible at age 3 and begging me to give him 20 new words a day instead of 10.  He loved learning but obviously would not fit in with his age mates, and the school official told me he would not be able to go ahead of his grade in school.  I looked into the public school independent study program (home schooling with the public school in charge) and they said if the word "God" was in any book I used it would be automatically disqualified. 

I have taught before and know from experience that a teacher cannot meet the individual needs of every child in the classroom.  Slower kids get left behind, while brighter kids are bored to the point of becoming trouble makers.  Any teacher will tell you, "We have to teach the middle ground, the average student."  So if a child is gifted or slow (ie born with a different time table) their needs are much better met at home with one on one attention, and an education program that is tailored for each student. 

Plus if you want your child to have real values, such as religious values, as opposed to growing up in a moral vaccum, that works best at home because Christianity is banned at school, as is Islam and other religions.  Sure, you can share your values at the end of the day if your kids are public schooled, but you will be fighting with 40 hours a week of values deconstruction.  Whereas if you home school, you can pass your values on joyfully and easily.  (I personally believe my values are worth passing on- and yours probably are too.)

Now past the why question.  Our famly had a fantastic experience home schooling.  My kids read through their text books very quickly, so we began going to the library every month, checking out hundreds of books each time, all of which all the children read.  They loved it.  These were mostly non-fiction books that taught a huge amount more than a text book does. 

Home schooling gave us more time to be in nature.  We went to the park at least twice a week and often every day.  My kids fell in love with nature, identified 250 different birds in our area, learned the names of plants and trees, and became motivated to care for our natural environment.  They became enthusiastic organic  gardeners. 

And we had a lot of fun.  We would walk from 1 to 4 miles, not out of duty but joyfully.  The kids used bikes, wagons, scooters, or skipped and danced.  Our walks in nature brought us so close as a family, and also gave my kids a keen sense of the need to protect and care for our earth. 

Even though we didnt' have "normal" socialization, everywhere we went, people would come up to us and say, "You don't know me but I just wanted to tell you there is something so special about your family. Your kids seem so happy and I can tell you really love each other." 

Now that they are all grown up and graduated, people still love our kids.  They tell us all the time, over and over, how much they love our kids.  And unlike the stereotype people may have of Christian kids being ingrown and closed off to other cultures and religions, my kids love meeting people of other religions and cultures and are able to talk joyfully with them without prejudice or condescension.  THey love all kinds of people and all kinds of people love them. 

Because they were never peer dominated, they feel free to be thermselves, don't feel down on themselves. and don't easily feel threatened by other's disagreement or competition.  They are secure, emotionally stable, warm, loving, thoughtful, and sweet.  I don't think they would have turned out this way in the public school system under peer pressure and domination.  I'll always be proud that they grew up free. 

If you are truly interested in home schooling, there are people home schooling throughout western Europe.  But the laws there are harsh and formidable at the present time.  In the future, I hope that Europe will become more open to home schooling.  What country in Europe are you from?  (I have been to Europe and enjoyed it very much.)


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Our story April 06, 2007 10:27 AM

HI everyone! I learned about homeschooling later on, so my daughters had some public and private schooling behind them when we made the decision to homeschool. I started when they were in the 4th and 5th grade. The first year was trial and error, we tested a lot of books and curricula to find what fit us best. We settle on a colorful mix of books, some Christian, some secular, some books, some workbooks, some correspondence, etc. They both gradutaed from High School and receive a HIgh School Diploma from ME... My oldest daughter works for Sprint, my youngest is in her senior year of Pre-Med and has chosen to be a neurologist. Both are well-adjusted people, caring, hard-working, intelligent, settled, open-minded and very glad they were homeschooled. I feel it is important to find the right mix for yourself and for your child/ren. Stick with what works and feels right. Drop anything that is not working for you and find something new. </p><p>If there are any homeschooling parents that need any advice, feel free to contact me with your questions!  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
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