New Here

[tricia80]

I am quite new to this portion of mothering....

I've been thinking about homeschooling my dd who right now is in kindergarten at a public school... I just wanted to know have any of you started your kids off in school then switched to homeschool? How did you start out? Also is there any single parents who homeschool?

I've been reading alot on the web and gathering advice and I think for my child homeschool would be more beneficial... i homeschooled in high school and graduated at 16...so i kinda know what to do then but not out in these early years... i visited my library online last night and reserved quite a bit of homeschooling books....

i guess i more looking for personal experiences, downfalls, problems, advantages, etc....

thanks in advance....

tricia

[Dar]

I'm a single mama. Rain went to kindergarten (two different funky schools, neither of which met her and our needs). We decided to homeschool near the end of the school year, and started calling in sick on Thursdays so we could meet the hsers at park day. We were lucky to already have homeschooling friends, too.

I started out with major detox, although I didn't have much of a choice because Rain was really against anything that smelled of school by then. We played, hung out, played games, I read to her, and we did stuff that seemed like fun... and almost 5 years later we're still doing the same thing It's pretty great...

Dar

[tricia80]

Dar,

Since your a single momma and you homeschool.... how long a day do you "teach"...lol... do you find homeschooling is easier to work around then having your child attend a regular school? If im being to nosey jus let me know...

[Liam&Aiden'sMom]

I am also new to this part of MDC and am considering homeshcooling as well...I would love to hear some stories and anyu advice too. Are there ways to find out about groups in our area, etc..........Please help!! I really want to do this too. My children have not started school yet so my situation is a little different. TIA

[teachinmaof3]

Just wanted to say WELCOME!!!

[Dar]

Originally posted by tricia80
Dar, Since your a single momma and you homeschool.... how long a day do you "teach"...lol... do you find homeschooling is easier to work around then having your child attend a regular school? If im being to nosey jus let me know...

We unschool, so I basically teach when Rain asks me to teach her something. Not very often. We do do a lot of stuff together, I have plans and she has plans and our plans intersect and diverge.

Two years ago I was saying it was much, much easier than sending her to school. We could make our own schedule, I didn't have to undo all the teacher-induced crap she came home with, she didn't have to an hour every afternoon recovering, and she was joyfully being and learning and doing.

Now, I'm becoming more aware of the trade-offs. I chose a job based on having maximum flexibility. I made the same trade-off when chosing where we would live - we chose the option that was free after barter but required lots of driving to get anywhere and is a pretty run-down place. I have put things I wanted to do on the back burner, because there just wasn't enough of me left.

Rain is almost 11, and I'm starting to pick up some of the threads I dropped now that she's able to stay by herself more, or wait a half hour in the lobby of the dance studio for me to finish a class and then pick her up. I still don't regret it at all, it was and is the right choice and if I had chosen differently I wouldn't feel good about it, but there was a cost, and I can acknowledge that, too.

Dar

[tricia80]

Dar,

Part of my decision is yes that it would be easier to work around...but in a few years maybe not soo much.... khaila is in kindergarten now and shows no interest in reciting her colours or letters for her teacher...but i know she knows them cuz she points out colours when we walk and so forth and sometimes i will ask her and she will tell me she doesnt want to right now...so i think she would benefit from unschooling....

being a single momma with no support from dh im jus worried bout money and unschooling can really be done any time of the day so i could work shifts for now and still make sure she is learning...if that makes any sense.... i could be wrong tho....

since im still learning about unschooling, homeschooling etc.... i wonder if most people who do book work or whatever (cant find the word...brain is fried) in the daytime... or if people mix it up and thats still ok... my daughter couldnt sit on one subject for any longer than 30 mins unless its drawing...she does that all day long... i dont know...im finding old posts on this forum quite useful....

[Openskyheart]

Hi Tricia,

There are many "methods" of homeschooling. Many families start out one way, and change over time - in fact, I'm sure everyone does as the parents and children change over time.

Unschooling is a specific term which refers to a subset of homeschoolers. There is a great thread on the topic going on currently. Many of your questions about what unschooling entails may be answered there.

There are also lots of mamas on this board who do more bookwork, or unit study type of homeschooling (myself included). We did unschool for a year, but my son has decided he doesn't want to do it that way. Different strokes for different folks! So, we spend about an hour to an hour and a half on schoolish type work 4 or 5 days a week. My son is 9, and this is plenty. Often, lately, he gets really excited about something he is exploring through the school-type work, and he will extend the amount of time he spends with it. That's fine, too.

Since your daughter is so young, you really don't have to make a big decision about homeschooling vs. unschooling. She doesn't need to know her letters and colors right now. When she does need to know them, she'll find a way to learn them. Bring her home from school, play with her, hang out with her doing fun stuff, and read, read, read about homeschooling/unschooling - it will all fall into place for both of you.

Welcome to the wonderful world of homeschooling!

Laura

[tricia80]

Her school right now focuses soooo on reading and writing and phonics... meanwhile my little one wants to color and draw and have me read to her...but sometimes she doesnt let me read to her...she looks at the pictures in a book and jus makes up stories....

my dad is amazed she is this creative at her age...and i thought in my head arent all kids supposed to be.... lol....

does anyone consider it to be "detrimental" (looking for a better word) if i bring her out halfway through the school year... i dont know how her school is gonna handle that one... or should i just let her finish off this year...

im not worried at all about socialization because we have a big homeschool group here...and i was reading the unschool thread... and found it helpful..im checking out a bunch of links as we speak.... and still looking at archives in this forum...i think theres 66 pages...well im on 6..:LOL

thanks for the input it helps alot....

[Openskyheart]

I pulled my son out 2 months into 2nd grade. He was so happy, he wrote "I QUIT SCHOOL" in 18 inch letters across the driveway! We've never looked back. (I also have a daughter who still goes to school. She's in 2nd grade now, and it looks like we'll be homeschooling her soon too. We've given each child a choice, and she has chosen school, so far, but wants to stay home for 9 days after Christmas break to try homeschooling.)

If you are sure you want to homeschool your dd, why wait? She'll only be made to feel more and more inadequate and "behind" because of her current preference for the arts over phonics and writing. The sooner you bring her home, the sooner she can "deschool" and be respected as her true self.

I'm so happy for both of you! And how great that you already have a support system ready for you.

[phathui5]

I can't see how it could be detrimental to pull her out during the school year if it's something that the two of you agree on. I can see how it could hurt her to have to stay if she's not comfortable there.

[tricia80]

Final decision.....

Hey...

well the decision has been finally reached... after reading multiple books, searching inside me, thinking bout my child and her needs. I have finally decided to homeschool dd... we had a talk bout it... shes kinda understanding but still associating with the only school she's known for the last 4 mnths asking for a calendar like her class, and friends...lol... we have joined up with this local homeschool support group... and so im eagerly excited... now all i have to do is get out of the school mindset and comparing her knowledge with others her age and making sure shes " normal" (not my term)... i hope to have further discussions with everybody.... and i will probably be asking tons of questions....

[Openskyheart]

Congratulations, Tricia!

Unsolicited advice alert!

The best advice I got (from message boards like this one, actually) was to give homeschooling a whole hearted try for one year.

I had homeschooled my son for close to nine months when he was in kindergarten, but we were radically unschooling, TCS, etc. which was a disaster for my son. He really likes more structure and parental authority than we were providing for him at that time. Instead of tweaking our homeschooling, I sent him to an alternative private school. Looking back now, it probably would have served him (and our family) better to have changed our homeschooling method than to have sent him back to school.

Now, we've been homeschooling (relaxed eclectic :- ) with the right amount of creative autonomy and parental authority which feels secure for my son for the past 15 months- and we are both soaring! I'm an unschooler at heart, so I periodically ask him "Are you sure? We can unschool, you know." And he clearly does not want that. Other children thrive with unschooling.

The main things I've learned: - don't be afraid to try different theories. Listen to my child and myself. There is no one "right" way to homeschool.

I'm excited for you and your daughter!