Any Jewish Homeschoolers out there? I've got a question

[Stacey B]

So this is sort of a two part question, the first part is more literal the second more philosophical.

This week during Rosh Hashanah I volunteered to co-ordinate the child care during the adult service. It all went well and the kids were all wonderful, but ds felt out of place a little. He was literally the only child not in school. We were planning on signing him up for religious school when he was five but now I am not so sure. We follow a child led philosophy, which I feel meshes well with our religious beliefs but it seems as though the rest of the families are on a different page.

For myself I love our Temple, it also has a lot of kids and children focused activities, but I wonder if sending him to religious school is sort of contradictory to our educational beliefs.

[Mama Shifra]

I have considered sending my son to a Chabad Hebrew School for this reason. Unfortunately, the Jewish community is so small that homeschoolers do stand out, especially if at your temple the majority of children go to the same schools. But would Hebrew school help your child feel less "different" if all the children went to the same schools? Or would he/she feel more "different" as the only homeschooler?

As far as whether the temple school is child centered, you could ask to sit in on classes and see for yourself. Most children are resiliant to less than an ideal educational situation, but only you can tell if you want your child to go through that. Sometimes, children are pulled along educationally by their peers and teachers going at a quicker pace then they would have in a child centered environment. Of course your temple's school could be wonderful, too. But, if I were you, I would check out the classes first and see if it is to your liking.

[Stacey B]

No it isn't an issue that they all go to the same school, just that they all go to school (even the 12mo!). It is more that they are all so involved with school as whole families. They can't even understand why anyone would want to do it. I am not concerned about the learning as much the social "stigma" of homeschooling. From what I've watched with these kids they are all nice most of the time but they are also very willing to speak their mind.

[Smithie]

My 1st grader and 4Ker go to Religious School. All of their peers there are in public or private institutions for secular schooling. I actually have found it to be a great way to keep my son acquainted with the reality of what most kids' lives are like and what the behavior expectations truly are for a 6 y.o. I think that his experience with Religious School, which is necessary in our area if you want to raise a child who identifies as Jewish, has the important incidental benefit of helping him learn the coping skills he'll need to do sports, orchestra etc when he is a bit older.

My daughter, well, she was just born to go to school. I may end up afterschooling her because she so desperately desires to be institutionalized Our temple runs a preschool and she attends three mornings a week and just adores it. RS is an obvious choice for her.