Is this a bad idea?

[foolishpony]

I intend to homeschool. Are we setting ourselves up for problems if we were to move across the street from an elementary school? DD is 3 and DS is almost 1 year. DD already thinks that school is "neat" thanks to my meddling MIL. I just have visions of her standing at the door watching all her neighborhood friends walking to school and wondering why she isn't joining the "fun". I'm probably overthinking this, but wondering if anyone has any experience with this situation.

[frugalmama]

I'd say yes it would cause trouble.

We live in a neighborhood with k-12 levels, the high school is across the street, middle is a block over, and elementary is a block down.

We rarely go out during the day, because I don't want DD exposed to the high school kids {and coaches - some of the coaches behavior is blatant verbal abuse!}, and because when we do everyone assumes she's skipping, even if she is with me. It's gotten to the point of us having a school day uniform {off colors and plaids} to differentiate her from the public school kids who may or may not wear uniforms, depending on grade. I got tired of truancy officers showing up because of "reports" at least once a week.

If I had it do over, I wouldn't have bought so close to the school. Maybe a few blocks away, but not so close.

[fruitfulmomma]

We live a block from the school, can see it from my front porch. We've had zero problems. My kids are outside the house a lot too. Our neighbors homeschooled too and as far as I know had no issues either.

[jane-t-mommy]

My first thought is that she would see the kids entering the school at 8 (or whatever time) and not leaving until 3 (or whenever) and you could easily point out that they have been at their desks for that time, while she has been playing with her sibling, going for a walk, helping you bake, whatever. We live a little ways away from schools, but have to drive by them whenever we go somewhere, so if it is during the 3 o'clock exodus, I always point out to my kids that those kids have been at school since we saw the bus drive by that morning! It makes an impression. Also, she may have the chance to use the playground when it is NOT overrun by multitudes. That is a bonus to living so close to the grounds. This year my 9 yo dd is taking specials (art, gym, music) at the school, and if we lived across the street it would be so easy! Honestly, unless the school has kids draped out of the windows eating cotton candy and has clowns and ponies walking in the front door it wouldn't even begin to tempt my kids. Even going for the "fun" classes my dd is much happier homeschooling, by her own account!

I remember when mine were your kids ages. It seems like the whole world is geared up to make school seem like the best thing in the world. Every book seems to be about starting kindergarten, or is set in school, and everywhere you go adults seem to be luring kids into loving school. It's everywhere, even if you don't live across the street, if this is the house for you, there are pluses to be found! Good luck!

[audreyhorne]

we are a few houses away from our elementary school, and it hasn't been a problem for my kids at all. they watch the kids hustle to school in the morning, dragging their feet and their giant backpacks and watch them walk home seven hours later and disappear into their houses for homework for at least an hour. some days we can hear the kids screaming on the playground at recess, and my kids feel sorry for them. my kids cannot fathom having to ask permission to use the bathroom, or to have to wait til a predetermined time every day to eat. their neighborhood friends envy them, and have, since about the second month of kindergarten. unless you plan to stay at home all day and do school at home, i imagine what you'll be doing will be much more enticing than watching a bunch of harried, hurried parents shuttling their kids to school.

[OkiMom]

The bus for Pre-K stops right in front of our building to pick up kids. My daughter sees it and knows the kids are her age but never has wanted to go to school. She feels bad for the kids because they have to leave their mommies (some of them are crying/screaming when they get on the bus so obviously not happy about going to school) and miss out on all the "fun" of being at home.

[MamaMonica]

I don't think it would be a problem. We lived behind an elementary school for awhile and the kids loved to use the playground on evenings and weekends and ride their bikes on the asphalt.

[Tjej]

Originally Posted by jane-t-mommy

Honestly, unless the school has kids draped out of the windows eating cotton candy and has clowns and ponies walking in the front door it wouldn't even begin to tempt my kids. Even going for the "fun" classes my dd is much happier homeschooling, by her own account!

You're awesome.

I talk with my kids (4 and 2) already about different kinds of school - local school, home school, church school, etc. That way I feel like I'm laying the groundwork for understanding that different people go to different types of school, so it won't be a "surprise" to them, and so they won't feel like they are just missing something - but they'll know they're just doing something different.

Tjej

[JuniperBCN]

Tjej beat me to seconding janet-t!

I feel like observation of school groups has been the single biggest factor in DS deciding that school really isn't that interesting to him!

[phathui5]

I think it all depends on how you present it. When the schoolbus passes in the morning to collect our neighbor kids, my 9yo, 7yo and 5yo pretend to hide so it can't get them. They know that in school you aren't allowed to eat when you want to, to go to the bathroom without asking permission, to play outside because it's a nice day, etc.

[CrazyCatLady]

I think it would be a bonus. Then your kids could play with the kids that hang around the campus after school and get some play time with kids in that way (no having to drive anywhere). That's what I did when I was homeschooled anyways...maybe things have changed over time.

We live pretty close to an elementary school and all my dd is upset about is that they have a cooler playground than our local park does. She has no desire to actually go to the school. She really loves homeschooling.

[kittie313]

We live across the street from the house next door to the elementary that shut down when dd1 finished K there. I had NO problems with her the first half of the year wanting to go, she and I had discussed why she wasn't going to go and what they did all day there and I even had her enrolled and we went to the orientation (then withdrew her a few days before school started for the year) so she even saw the inside of the school and the classrooms. She knew it wasn't all fun and cool stuff like her grandma (and the rest of her daddy's family) kept telling her it was. And after doing the second half of her K year there, she is GRATEFUL and THRILLED that she can learn at home, although sometimes she looks across the street and tells me about some of the things she did there that were kind of cool that we can't do (not enough kids in the right age range to play some of the games they did in PE). But she doesn't ask to go back, because she knows she'd go to a different school now that is further away and she'd have to be up and ready even earlier and get home later because she'd ride the bus every day. We had no real issues with living so close to the school, in fact it helped us to reinforce the downside to ps when she saw the older kids walking home hunched over from the weight of their backpacks (we're talking 4th and 5th grade kids) and how little time the kids got to play on the playground (15min recess at lunchtime and MAYBE another if the kids were good and did all their work if the teacher decided to do it)

[meesh933]

My DD is 3.5, and we live a couple of blocks from an elementary school. I think, like someone else pointed out, that at this age (and especially this time of year), there is so much propoganda out there trying to convince kids that school is fun. It's hard on DD - she knows that different people do different things for school, and her friends from ballet and the library will probably all go to school. Between that and the playground and school bus, she was mad at me for planning to HS for a month or so.

Now, though, we talk about how the kids that go to school have to sit inside and be bored most of the day, and only get to use that cool playground for a few minutes a day. (We also walk to the playground on weekends, so she gets to play without having to be in school, which helps.)

Another thing that made an impression on her was reminding her that all the loud, crazy PS kids at the zoo/museum/whatever act crazy when they're on field trips because they only get to go to the zoo once a year. We can go anytime we want!

If this house is the perfect house for you, I'd do it. It may be hard for your DD at first, but really, I don't think it takes much for them to realize how much more fun they're having at home!

[MamaMonica]

Please remember to not put down public school or public school students as you discuss this issue. This is a forum to share resources and discussions of homeschooling. While public school does come up in these discussions, we don't host negative discussions about public school students. Thank you for your understanding.