Homeschooling concerns...

[cindyanne1]

Hi everyone! I'm looking for some advice/experiences.

I really want to homeschool my children. It's something I've thought about nearly every day for the last eight years. There are several reasons, but mostly it's something I feel will give me a sense of peace in my family that I don't feel right now (and is getting worse over time).

Yet I do have concerns...

I worry I won't be up to par as a teacher. What happens if I do this... if I pull them out of their public school and set all of this up... only to find out I'm terrible at it?

I don't want the kids to have a sub-par education because I'm not cut out for being a home educator. At the same time, however, I don't know that I'm not going to be good at it... I just worry I won't be... and that it will be the kids that pay the price of missing a year or more of school and getting behind.

Also, I have a tendency to hole up in my home. If I didn't have to go out, chances are I wouldn't leave the house for weeks at a time (the result of my generalized anxiety). While this might be okay for me, I'd hate to confine the kids to the house along with me, since they would be dependent on me to take them anywhere.

Now, it's quite possible that once I'm homeschooling, a lot of the anxiety I'm feeling will subside, so my reluctance to do anything outside the home might remedy itself, but I'm still worried. I mean, we have a farm and lots of room for getting outside, and lots of things to do; animals to be taken care of, etc... but I know how they get during summers and long breaks. It's great for maybe about four days, and after that they start to get a bit stir-crazy.

Lastly, I have six children of varying ages. I worry that it will get too confusing to keep all of their different material straight, and I worry that I'll neglect what the older kids need to be doing while I'm dealing with a toddler and preschoolers' antics. Also, will the older kids be able to concentrate on their work with their younger siblings around, when I can hardly even have a telephone conversation without being interrupted?

Anyway... I'm wondering if any of you dealt with any of these issues and how you overcame them, and any suggestions you might have. Hearing about it from people who have been there would really help me.

Oh, I'm leaning toward using this for curriculum.

[iamme]

Originally Posted by cindyanne1

Hi everyone! I'm looking for some advice/experiences.

I really want to homeschool my children. It's something I've thought about nearly every day for the last eight years. There are several reasons, but mostly it's something I feel will give me a sense of peace in my family that I don't feel right now (and is getting worse over time).

Yet I do have concerns...

I worry I won't be up to par as a teacher. What happens if I do this... if I pull them out of their public school and set all of this up... only to find out I'm terrible at it?

I don't want the kids to have a sub-par education because I'm not cut out for being a home educator. At the same time, however, I don't know that I'm not going to be good at it... I just worry I won't be... and that it will be the kids that pay the price of missing a year or more of school and getting behind.

Also, I have a tendency to hole up in my home. If I didn't have to go out, chances are I wouldn't leave the house for weeks at a time (the result of my generalized anxiety). While this might be okay for me, I'd hate to confine the kids to the house along with me, since they would be dependent on me to take them anywhere.

Now, it's quite possible that once I'm homeschooling, a lot of the anxiety I'm feeling will subside, so my reluctance to do anything outside the home might remedy itself, but I'm still worried. I mean, we have a farm and lots of room for getting outside, and lots of things to do; animals to be taken care of, etc... but I know how they get during summers and long breaks. It's great for maybe about four days, and after that they start to get a bit stir-crazy.

Lastly, I have six children of varying ages. I worry that it will get too confusing to keep all of their different material straight, and I worry that I'll neglect what the older kids need to be doing while I'm dealing with a toddler and preschoolers' antics. Also, will the older kids be able to concentrate on their work with their younger siblings around, when I can hardly even have a telephone conversation without being interrupted?

Anyway... I'm wondering if any of you dealt with any of these issues and how you overcame them, and any suggestions you might have. Hearing about it from people who have been there would really help me.

Oh, I'm leaning toward using this for curriculum.

Hugs, momma!!

We have a lot in common in some areas! I am super busy, but want to address some of your worries, and have questions for you. If I don't get come back to this thread, will you please PM me??

Em

[ktgrok]

First, most homeschool curriculums are designed so you don't have to know how to teach. It is all laid out for you. As for the anxiety, would you be the kind of person that ends of getting out more because you know the kids need it? What I mean is, it may force you to get out more. But with 6 kids they will be getting tons of socialization just interacting with each other anyway.

As for time...the curriculum you are looking at has a LOT of work for each student. I would recommend a program that lets you combine multiple ages together...I think that would be easier. I am going to be using Sonlight, which allows you to combine children that are about 3 years apart or closer. There are others that let you combine all the children to an extent. If you go to the Sonlight website there are forums, and the choosing forum could be helpful to you.

[Shellie]

I agree that most curriculum sets do have it all laid out. K12 in particular. It's really more of a school-at-home approach rather than homeschooling. (Which is FINE!) I find there is less anxiety about my performance in making sure everyone is learning enough when we're using something prepared and boxed. That can be something as highly structured and labor intensive as K12 or it can be something like Moving Beyond the Page which is structured but in more of a relaxed and non-traditional way.

I think the thing to keep in mind here is that you are your kids' mom. You do know what they need and what is best for them. If your intentions are good (which of course they are) then really, you cannot fail. It is an unknown you're walking into, so anxiety (if you are an anxious person...I am so I understand) is part of the territory. But there is no reason to think that you cannot successfully school them well.

My 14yo is starting at our state's K12 VA and will be doing K12 for high school. It's a move that I feel good about, because I do want to make sure she has a solid, college preparatory high school experience. She's been homeschooling for the better part of 7 years and we've loved it but decided mutually that she needs the outside motivation and input of this type of program. That's one of the things that is so great about educational freedom is that we can choose from so many options--and for the most part, they're all quite good.

[MissRubyandKen]

cindyanne1- You can definitely do this if you want to. It sounds like you have a great place for it, with the farm and animals. This isn't a permanent decision. There are many schooling options available. Public, homeschool, homeschool with part time attendance to public, virtual academy, charter, private, etc. And you don't 'have to' make the same decision for all of the children.

I've had experience with OHVA in Kindergarten and part of 1st. For us there were more cons than pros. We homeschool on our own now and I wouldn't choose to go back. That said it does work for a lot of families. If you are worried about the kids keeping pace with peers having them do K12 would ease any concerns, so long as the kids are able to progress through the curricula. My advice, just from the info I'm reading over the internet, is try K12 for the oldest child or two if they are middle or high school aged and if that will help ease your concerns. Homeschool any younger children. With OHVA you do have to comply with yearly testing for each child, four trips where they can set eyes on your child, phone conversations with the child's 'teacher', submitting samples of work, keeping daily attendance, and keeping the child progressing through all of the subjects. An older child would likely be able to log on and work through most of their work independently, with you available to help answer any questions and check to be sure they complete everything. With a younger child K12 is very much parent-child oriented. A lot of preparation, a lot of involvement, which is fine that is how it is with small children. However, I felt a lot of the work unnecessary busy work.

You can go the route of boxed, or you can do it on your own. I suggest checking out some homeschooling books from the library to get a feel for the different philosophies and that may help you decide where you are at. Personally I'm eclectic. Meaning I'm all over the place, snagging what I like best from each ideal and combining what I feel works best for my children and family. I don't do boxed around here. K12 didn't work for us and any other boxed is too expensive for us to try and not like. It really doesn't have to cost a lot to homeschool on your own. I order for rainbowresource.com once a year. And I'm all about combining grades. It works wonderfully for us. If I knew the ages of your children I could make some curriculum suggestions. Also if you are within the Columbus Metro Library system it rocks! I do have some Ohio specific homeschool info on my blog if you want to check it out. Taking the leap was the hardest part in my experience.

I also suggest you visit the Well Trained Mind forums and another forum Homeschool Spot. Read here, read there, ask questions until you get comfortable with whatever decision you make. Remember you can change that decision at any time. Also most seasoned homeschoolers would tell you it takes some time to settle in, get to know the students personal learning style, and adjust the curricula to be the best.

My last bit of advice is if you older children are 8, 9, 10, and up (depending on the individual child's maturity and abilities) they can and should be contributing to the household. Chores, making simple foods, caring for those animals, helping with the littler ones by playing with them and 'teaching' them pre-K things. I have three children, 2, 8, and 10 so you have twice the kids to deal with. Some moments will be crazy and hectic, some peaceful, and some will make it all worthwhile. That's life.

[MrsJewelsRae]

I don't have much advice cause I've never used PS and my oldest is only nearly 8. But I wanted to say HI!! - I think you're from ovusoft, right?

My good friend who has been a lot of help and inspiration for me started homeschooling her 6 kids when the oldest was in grade 5, she pulled them from school (she had a 4 yr old, a toddler and nb at home and 3 in school). Her first year was tough, especially as she tried to find her groove and her style and all the 2nd guessing herself not to mention everyone else looking on in shock! Anyhow, that was about 10 years ago now and she made it! I think she did a fabulous job and she's never been big on organization (makes me feel better! ) but she survived and had a great time doing it. Her oldest son is in police college, 2nd is graduated and working as a manager somewhere, 3rd is teaching piano and in her first yr of college doing ECE. The other 3 are still happily homeschooling.

If you decide you can't keep at it with all or some of them then put them back in school or some of them back in school. I don't think you can screw them up too bad in just a year! At least you know you opened that door and gave it a try vs always wondering.

Don't know anything about K12 but if you have any littles I would go for a loosely structured path for them, IMO and work more on the older ones. My littles (7 and 6) have learned SO much and are doing great yet we've done very little formal curriculum to this point. But you've got to find what works for you and yours! Good luck Cindy!