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What do you do?  

post #1 of 27
1/4/04 at 1:01pm
Thread Starter 
I have been looking into homeschooling...........doin a lot of reading. I am curious what styles people here have chosen, charter, unschooling, etc. We live in CA, so the laws don't seem to be too bad and I will have some decisions to make. Just wondering what styles, or combinations of, you all have chosen and why they work for you. Thanks for any input.
post #2 of 27
1/4/04 at 2:23pm
We are unschooling. Given my personality, approach to life, our family dynamics, and my understanding of how the learning process happens, it is really the only way I could possibly consider homeschooling.

(Click on my "education" link below for some articles that support/explain what I believe...)
post #3 of 27
1/4/04 at 2:27pm
Oh, and I live in Oregon where the laws are pretty decent (compared to some places) but there are still requirements, and I refuse to subject my children to the absurdity of standardized testing, so I'm hoping to stay out of the system as long as possible.
post #4 of 27
1/4/04 at 2:43pm
we are unschoolers. now my oldest loves workbooks and while this is not usually considered to be "radical unschooling", i feel unschooling means "child-led learning" and if my child wants to work in workbooks, textbooks, colouring books, whatever - thats what we go with. it works well for us, both my husband and i were homeschooled with various methods and have found that this works best for our family.

edited to add:
we live in georgia were hs laws are pretty lax (declaration of intent once a year, attendance records every month, annual progress report that doesnt need to be sent in anywhere and testing in 3rd, 6th, and 9th grades that also only have to be kept in our home and not sent to anyone)
post #5 of 27
1/4/04 at 5:53pm
I have just recently decided to homeschool dd...we chose unschooling...based on her personality, learning style and our basic life routine...

I am in ontario canada which is pretty cool for homeschooling.. i just send a paper with my daughters name and birthdate before school starts in sept that im homeschooling and thats it... since ive pulled her out as of xmas vacation we will be sending that paper on monday...
post #6 of 27
1/4/04 at 6:54pm
We use an eclectic combination of Classical (Well Trained Mind), Waldorf, Montessori, Charlotte Mason and whatever else suits our fancy and seems to work at the moment. By "working" I mean that it's letting dd and I do the things that she wants to do, like hang out with the 3rd graders ("um, Mom, I need to learn cursive so I can read what the other kids are writing"). Dd likes to have structure, to the point of wanting a little checklist and schedule of the week printed out for her. So, compared to many on MDC we're very structured, but compare to folks on the Well Trained Mind forums we're totally laid back.

We're in Ohio, where we have to have some sort of evaluation each year. We've been doing Iowa Test of Basic Skills, which I can administer in the comfort of our own kitchen. I like it because dd is learning test-taking skills in a very, very lowkey environment. If she decides to take SATs or apply for a driver's license someday she'll feel comfortable with the format of the written tests. If dd had to go somewhere else to take the test or have someone else come in and administer it I'd probably be singing a different tune, though -- I've realized this as we're faced with the prospect of moving to a different state.
post #7 of 27
1/4/04 at 7:43pm
We started out with an eclectic school at home style but it quickly failed.

(Why I thought that would work I can't tell you--ds had been to school and that was such a disaster that we pulled him out. Duplicating it at home certainly wasn't the answer!)

We looked into classical, unit studies, school-in-a-box, etc. but found we needed more freedom, so following ds's lead, we arrived at unschooling. Charter schools, at least here, are public schools and not for homeschoolers--umbrella schools have their own requirements and our bottom line became that we didn't want to have to answer to anyone--we want our children's learning to be their own.

We have no legal requirements where we live, so we didn't give that any consideration. I've heard from other hsers though that, whatever your style is, it's possible to manage the state's requirements--even if you're unschooling.
post #8 of 27
1/4/04 at 9:50pm
I think for a lot of us it takes awhile to find what "type" of homeschooling is best for your family, your lifestyle, interests, etc. It took me some time.

First I started with an eclectic approach but right now with my kids ages (5 and 2) we are really enjoying unit studies and unschooling in other areas. We just use whatever works for us.

Blueviolet what great links you have for education and birth!! I've sent it to a few friends on mine who were wondering what unschooling was!

I know homeschooling families that do "school at home", unit studies (those can really be fun!!), Charlotte Mason method, etc and what works for one family does not work for another...that is the beautiy of homeschooling is you can pick and choose what works best for you *and* your child.

Marilyn
post #9 of 27
1/5/04 at 3:52am
Ditto what Blue Violet said...
Quote:
We are unschooling. Given my personality, approach to life, our family dynamics, and my understanding of how the learning process happens, it is really the only way I could possibly consider homeschooling.
post #10 of 27
1/5/04 at 5:30pm
We are in CA. My daughter will be 4 next month, so thus far all we've done are lots of child-led activities and lots of things that are fun. It's working very well for us, so I can see continuing in this manner for a while. If her needs change, we'll change with them. In the meantime, I continue to read up on various methods and curricula, just in case. But for the most part, we're going with the flow and following her lead. It hasn't failed us so far!
post #11 of 27
1/5/04 at 9:36pm
Hi Erin,

We live in California too! We are relaxed eclectic homeschoolers - meaning we do a little bit of the 3 Rs (about 4 hours a week). My son is 9 and also goes to an Independent Study Program through the public school system for about 5 hours a week.

We are fortunate in that our ISP does not require curriculum, attendance, or standardized testing. In fact, our "consultant" talked my son out of taking the standardized test last year! (Yay consultant!). Our only requirements are that we document progress in Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and P.E./Art/Music. There are no specifications as to how we show progress, or as to how much progress we have to show. In addition, we meet with our consultant for less than an hour once a month during the school year.

Since you live in California, you have the option to fill out a piece of paper establishing your home as a private school, or to sign up with a charter or ISP. If you decide to sign up with a charter or ISP, I would recommend asking lots of questions. Do they require a particular curriculum? How do they expect you to document learning? Do they require standardized testing?, etc.

This type of homeschooling fits my son very well - and even though I periodically bring up unschooling, he wants nothing to do with it. He loves his ISP program, and enjoys the little bit of academic work we do.

No decision regarding homeschooling is permanent. I'm sure what we are doing now will change in the future.
post #12 of 27
1/5/04 at 9:40pm
Classical
post #13 of 27
1/6/04 at 2:48am
On record we are ecclectic homeschoolers who touch on the three Rs three times a week and science, social studies, music and foriegn languag on the other two days. in reality we unschoolers We never do any of the above. And don't feel guilty about it.

We live in a pretty lax stats. She will have to do standardized testing next year. she will have finished third (or there abouts) and the test wil be aimed at second graders (we register he a year behind to delay the test) so she shouldn't have any trouble.
post #14 of 27
1/6/04 at 10:35pm
We've been HS since 1998 and have pretty much tried it all. My 2 ds were 4th and 2nd grade when we began and I so wish we'd started earlier. Because they got a taste of "regular" school our attempts at unschooling weren't too successful. (I'd met a woman who unschooled her kids from birth to college. Those kids were incredible!) For several years we used a classical (Well Trained Mind) approach but again, I think it would have better suited us if we'd had it from the start. (I am hoping to use it with my lil' one tho.) So I suppose we're pretty eclectic now. DSs are doing a few subjects with a homeschool co-op. We're college planning with my older ds so we have a lot going on now.
post #15 of 27
1/6/04 at 11:22pm
I'm in Ontario, Canada, too, and I'm hs'ing ds for kindergarten. He is planning on going to Grade 1 at the local French Immersion PS, so I'm helping him read and write in English. We are more or less aiming to have him at the same level as the kids who'll be leaving kindergarten in June with respects to reading, writing, and math. After that, he is free to follow his own interests. They are hockey, hockey, ancient Rome, hockey, and knights. In many ways, I wish that he'd be happy to stay home from school next September, but I am also aware of the limitations that a child would see in that, and I'm happy to work with what he'd like to have happen. That makes me a public schooler with the mindset of an unschooler, perhaps?
post #16 of 27
3/2/04 at 2:50pm
After reading the article in this month's Mothering on Waldorf, I almost despair that we don't have a millionaire relative!! We are dead broke after my choice to stay home with DD and we care so much about her brain and spirit, I can't bear to have her crushed in the machine when she is 4-5!!

Anyone successfully public schooling and homeschooling in the evenings?? I thought the term "unschooling" meant to undo the damage of P.S. after they get home each day!!

Any suggestions or success stories would be extremely helpful. DD is only 18 mo, so we have ample time to wring our hands in worry!
post #17 of 27
3/2/04 at 4:25pm
Quote:
Originally posted by stellasmum

Anyone successfully public schooling and homeschooling in the evenings?? I thought the term "unschooling" meant to undo the damage of P.S. after they get home each day!!
Unschooling refers to child-led learning. A learning style without a teacher or parent imposing a curriculum or outline of what the child will learn.

"Deschooling" refers to the process that kids go through (and parents too) after having been in school for a time. It's getting out of the mindset that one needs to sit and wait to be given assignments, amoung other things.

In my experience, I don't think that homeschooling in the evenings after having spent the day in school would be possible, nor would it be desirable. When my ds was in school, by the time he got home, did homework, had dinner and a bath, it was time for bed.
post #18 of 27
3/3/04 at 3:49pm
I'm in CA also. I have just filed the paper work to establish a private school at my home. My first grader will have his last day in public school on Friday. My third grader will have his last day in public school next Wednesday. We will probably spend the rest of the "school year" deschooling. You know, getting out of the "sit down, be quiet, and do your work" mentality. We might take a road trip to Utah to visit my sister who has homeschooled her kids.

After that I am undecided. Unschooling appeals to me, I think my kids will learn better when they are the ones choosing what to learn. Joining a charter school doesn't rule out unschooling. As long as you can show your kids are learning, you can use what ever teaching method you want. We have a pretty good homeschooling charter school in our area. That might be an option next year if I find that the boys and I need more support.
post #19 of 27
3/3/04 at 4:20pm

We use a charter school but practice child led learning

We have a charter school for stuff I want to use, like a butterfly pavillion, a root vue farm, a worm vue farm....really neat stuff like that. I also have used my funds for paints, and brushes, nice books, dance lessons, etc. BUT, we maily follow a child led learning style, with the exception of having to turn in a learning sample every month. Sometimes this is nothing more than a picture of my oldest at a museum or at the park getting exercise. So far we like how things are going.
post #20 of 27
3/3/04 at 9:56pm
What is a charter school? Is there ever a point in the child's education that they are required to pass a test (other than G.E.D.)? Has anyone had homeschooled children already gone on to college and made the transition just fine?
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