Considering homeschool

[bccc624]

I've always had homeschooling in the back of my mind since my daughter was just a baby. She's now 3 years old, and it's really looking like a possibility. My issue is, I know nothing about it. To the best of my knowledge, there aren't many homeschoolers around here, so I can't really ask questions to anyone locally. A friend of mine homeschooled her kids, and she pointed me to this forum.

We just did my daughter's 3 year well check today, and I discussed her education with her. She's totally on board with homeschooling, as her sister homeschools her children. So she's going to try to get some info from her for me. As far as I know, my state (Illinois) doesn't require testing.

Other than that, I'm really at square one. My daughter is pretty smart for her age, so I think she would be okay with a Kindergarten curriculum at least. Any advice, tips, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Stacey B]

Three things.

One don't push her to do school yet, it's really important developmentally for her to be spending her time playing and living life.

Two now is the time for you homeschool yourself on homeschooling, read threads that come through here, books on theory and personal experiences, articles and blogs (they're fun and dangerously time sucking).

Three read to her tons.

I know the feeling to get started it huge but it really is best to learn about how you want to approach education let your DD revel in childhood. I don't mean that you should stifle her, offer her stuff but at three sitting for lessons is a lot too soon.

Here are some resources:

Articles on Homeschooling, especially a lot of excellent ones on the early years.

This is a huge amount of basic information, it isn't a pretty site but it's got lots.

Look up homeschool webrings, they with lead you to many homeschooling blogs. Once you figure out what philosophy interests you there is probably a webring for that.

Make lists, ask questions, read, play with your daughter, figure out how all of this is going to fit into your lives.

[bccc624]

Originally Posted by Stacey B 

Three things.

One don't push her to do school yet, it's really important developmentally for her to be spending her time playing and living life.

Two now is the time for you homeschool yourself on homeschooling, read threads that come through here, books on theory and personal experiences, articles and blogs (they're fun and dangerously time sucking).

Three read to her tons.

I know the feeling to get started it huge but it really is best to learn about how you want to approach education let your DD revel in childhood. I don't mean that you should stifle her, offer her stuff but at three sitting for lessons is a lot too soon.

Here are some resources:

Articles on Homeschooling, especially a lot of excellent ones on the early years.

This is a huge amount of basic information, it isn't a pretty site but it's got lots.

Look up homeschool webrings, they with lead you to many homeschooling blogs. Once you figure out what philosophy interests you there is probably a webring for that.

Make lists, ask questions, read, play with your daughter, figure out how all of this is going to fit into your lives.

Thanks so much for these links! I really appreciate it! I'm planning to wait a little while before introducing any sort of curriculum. I just really need to educate myself about homeschooling like you said. I want to find others that homeschool and be able to ask questions, and just get all the information I possibly can.

For now, I let her play educational games on my laptop when she wants to, same with flashcards and worksheets. She very rarely ever tells me she's done with whatever it is, I usually say okay, that's enough for now. At least I know she has a good hunger for knowledge.

Thanks again for your input and those links. I will definitely be looking into them :)

[pigpokey]

Most home school groups will have a google or yahoo group.  Groups typically are all-inclusive (secular) or religious.  If you can get on the email list that will start to acquaint you with resources you might want to use when you start in a couple of years.

Developmentally appropriate home schooling at 3 might include second language immersion, listening to music, and audiobooks at a slight vocabulary challenge level, and sports such as swimming and gymnastics.

[heatherdeg]

ETA this link for preschool/kindergarten "curriculum"--excellent article by an MDC momma that I have been referring out for years!:  http://www.besthomeschooling.org/articles/lillian_jones_ps_kdgtn.html

I'm in IL.  Where are you?  I could possibly point you to groups, etc.  I'm in the Aurora/Naperville area, but we also looked heavily into the Rockford/Belvidere area before we relocated from NJ (which has ZERO.  I repeat ZERO. regulation--and I'm very comfortable here because there is pretty much no regulation here).

Like in every other state, if you pull a kid mid-year, best to let them know so they don't misconstrue it for truancy.

IL has no reporting or testing requirements and their "law" says that you just have to provide "an education equivalent to the public schools".  In their minds, that's 176 days of instruction that include math, language arts, science (biological and physical--but you can lump them together), social studies, fine arts and phys ed.  That being said, you don't report this to anyone at any time.  It's just that heaven forbid someone calls you in, the burden is on you to "prove" that you're doing this.  Not particularly difficult--especially since you're not likely to have CPS at your door asking and that's about the only time you'd be "on point" to answer to it.  

And school isn't mandatory here until the age of 7yo--so even if you're a delayed academics family, you're really pretty well covered.

I'm finding that there are way more opportunities to be involved with other homeschoolers here than back home.  And the museums are pretty homeschool-friendly with reduced or free admission.

There is a tax rebate or credit or write-off of some sort that allows you to claim some of your homeschool-related costs within some pretty defined parameters; and it's not much--but it's something.

Some of the school districts allow the kids to attend electives/enrichment courses (art, music, etc.) at the public schools.

Some of the local colleges also offer courses to homeschooling high schoolers that have some sort of benefit (whether it be reduced tuition, or free tuition if they do so many courses with high enough grades, etc.)

Look to see if there's a H.O.U.S.E. organization near you.  They also have good info on their site.

What else??

Edited by heatherdeg - 6/9/11 at 5:04pm

[SweetSilver]

Definitely give yourself time to become a "homeschooling parent".  Despite what schools think, academics don't have to start early.  (Waldorf schools are stories and art until 1st grade, and even then academics don't start in earnest until the 2nd.)  So you have a lot of time.

     "You are your child's first teacher" is not a homeschool book per se, but is filled with good ideas.  Also, investigate "unschooling", with authors such as John Holt and others.  You might not feel comfortable with the philosophy, but it's good to see that "homeschooling" doesn't have to be "school at home".  You don't have to know more than your kid to learn something (I am now a veritable Shark Expert thanks to my daughter).  So you can find what feels comfortable for you and your family.  Most homeschoolers fall somewhere in between.

     The first thing I did to get myself into feeling homeschoolish is getting into the habit of helping my daughters with their interests.  Library books, art, whatever, cooking, gardening.  The next thing was to learn when to Not Interfere unless they asked.  Often parental involvement can be very off-putting, I would venture to say most parents have already experienced this at some point.  Lastly, I find that when That Age comes and your kid is NOT enrolled in kindergarten, to start out slowly, if you change anything at all.  Diving in with a full curriculum and over-earnest teaching can be unsustainable, both to your energy and your children's.

     You've given yourself ample time to investigate, and I imagine things will change again and again according to the needs of your family.  That is, I think, as it should be.

[SaveTheWild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SweetSilver 

 Diving in with a full curriculum and over-earnest teaching can be unsustainable, both to your energy and your children's.

oh, my, thank you for this helpful statement.  When I read it i immediately realized this is EXACTLY what I am starting to do and need to reverse course. 

[bccc624]

Originally Posted by pigpokey 

Most home school groups will have a google or yahoo group.  Groups typically are all-inclusive (secular) or religious.  If you can get on the email list that will start to acquaint you with resources you might want to use when you start in a couple of years.

Developmentally appropriate home schooling at 3 might include second language immersion, listening to music, and audiobooks at a slight vocabulary challenge level, and sports such as swimming and gymnastics.

I will definitely check out Yahoo Groups to see if there's anything around us. Kind of coincidence you mention second language, as she already dabbles in Spanish and Chinese :)

Originally Posted by heatherdeg 

ETA this link for preschool/kindergarten "curriculum"--excellent article by an MDC momma that I have been referring out for years!:  http://www.besthomeschooling.org/articles/lillian_jones_ps_kdgtn.html

I'm in IL.  Where are you?  I could possibly point you to groups, etc.  I'm in the Aurora/Naperville area, but we also looked heavily into the Rockford/Belvidere area before we relocated from NJ (which has ZERO.  I repeat ZERO. regulation--and I'm very comfortable here because there is pretty much no regulation here).

Like in every other state, if you pull a kid mid-year, best to let them know so they don't misconstrue it for truancy.

IL has no reporting or testing requirements and their "law" says that you just have to provide "an education equivalent to the public schools".  In their minds, that's 176 days of instruction that include math, language arts, science (biological and physical--but you can lump them together), social studies, fine arts and phys ed.  That being said, you don't report this to anyone at any time.  It's just that heaven forbid someone calls you in, the burden is on you to "prove" that you're doing this.  Not particularly difficult--especially since you're not likely to have CPS at your door asking and that's about the only time you'd be "on point" to answer to it.  

And school isn't mandatory here until the age of 7yo--so even if you're a delayed academics family, you're really pretty well covered.

I'm finding that there are way more opportunities to be involved with other homeschoolers here than back home.  And the museums are pretty homeschool-friendly with reduced or free admission.

There is a tax rebate or credit or write-off of some sort that allows you to claim some of your homeschool-related costs within some pretty defined parameters; and it's not much--but it's something.

Some of the school districts allow the kids to attend electives/enrichment courses (art, music, etc.) at the public schools.

Some of the local colleges also offer courses to homeschooling high schoolers that have some sort of benefit (whether it be reduced tuition, or free tuition if they do so many courses with high enough grades, etc.)

Look to see if there's a H.O.U.S.E. organization near you.  They also have good info on their site.

What else??

I'm down in Southern Illinois, right by Rend Lake, so a long ways off. It is definitely nice to find someone in my state that is familiar with the laws and regulations. I never knew about the delayed academics here either! That's actually pretty neat. I will check out that curriculum you suggested for sure, thank you for that. I looked at the H.O.U.S.E. website, and there is a group near me but no contact information for it. So I'll have to look into that one more. I'd love to discuss this stuff with you more if it would be alright for me to message you I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks again!

Originally Posted by SweetSilver 

Definitely give yourself time to become a "homeschooling parent".  Despite what schools think, academics don't have to start early.  (Waldorf schools are stories and art until 1st grade, and even then academics don't start in earnest until the 2nd.)  So you have a lot of time.

     "You are your child's first teacher" is not a homeschool book per se, but is filled with good ideas.  Also, investigate "unschooling", with authors such as John Holt and others.  You might not feel comfortable with the philosophy, but it's good to see that "homeschooling" doesn't have to be "school at home".  You don't have to know more than your kid to learn something (I am now a veritable Shark Expert thanks to my daughter).  So you can find what feels comfortable for you and your family.  Most homeschoolers fall somewhere in between.

     The first thing I did to get myself into feeling homeschoolish is getting into the habit of helping my daughters with their interests.  Library books, art, whatever, cooking, gardening.  The next thing was to learn when to Not Interfere unless they asked.  Often parental involvement can be very off-putting, I would venture to say most parents have already experienced this at some point.  Lastly, I find that when That Age comes and your kid is NOT enrolled in kindergarten, to start out slowly, if you change anything at all.  Diving in with a full curriculum and over-earnest teaching can be unsustainable, both to your energy and your children's.

     You've given yourself ample time to investigate, and I imagine things will change again and again according to the needs of your family.  That is, I think, as it should be.

Very insightful response :) Thank you! I have been wondering about the differences between "homeschooling" and "unschooling". I just need to do some more research and read read read. My daughter is a very independent child, and like you said I pretty much don't interfere unless she asks me to. She likes to do things on her own, but will occasionally ask for help if it's something difficult.

[SweetSilver]

I forgot to mention one of the best resources, actually the folks that got me wanting to homeschool my (future) kids almost 15 years ago.  Let's see if I can figure out this link-thing:

http://www.homeedmag.com

Yaaaaaay!  Idid it!  This is the website for Home Education Magazine, which I finally get in the mail after years of borrowing at the library.  Rebecca Rupp's articles alone are worth the price of a subscription, now that I finally have real kids of homeschooling age.  Her column covers one subject (say Engineering) and lists tons of resources, websites, games, books, whatever for kids of every age group.  HEM leans towards the unschoolish, or at least eclectic end, and is secular, but it appeals to homeschoolers on every point of the spectrum.  Their website includes some free (and complete) articles, and "liking" their Facebook page didn't bring me Instant Regret as other commercial pages do.  It sounds like I must have been paid to say all this, but over the years I have been consistently impressed and continue find it invaluable.

One last bit of pre-homeschooling advice, especially for little ones: try (try! it's so hard!) not to purposefully make "lessons" out of the ordinary.  Be relaxed, be yourself, try not to be the "teacher". Your actions and your natural rhythms of conversation teach them constantly without parents making a point of it.  

[SundayCrepes]

Here's something I wrote for someone else with a bunch of links:

Homeschooling isn't hard. AND the way we're doing it, it will only be fun. If you want to follow a curriculum, there are tons of them out there you can buy for next to nothing to super expensive. Most cities have homeschool groups you can join for ideas, support, and social activities. Tomorrow we're going on a tour of the miniature horse farm. We've been to a print shop, tortilla factory, recycling center etc. And my oldest is only 4.

I'm doing a lot of reading about delayed schooling. Most European countries don't start formalized education until 7 and their kids do much better than ours.

Here are a bunch of links that I hope are helpful:

Homeschooling and Socialization:

http://learninfreedom.org/socialization.html

http://www.homeschool.com/articles/socialization/default.asp

Movie about problems with education system:

http://www.racetonowhere.com/

Do schools kill creativity? Very entertaining video with some good points to ponder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

Article on why young kids’ brains aren’t ready for early reading/writing instruction:

http://www.lilipoh.com/articles/2007/fall2007/teaching_children.aspx

Here’s an article that discusses how children who start academics at later ages do better in the long run:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/2752895.stm

Youtube videos:        

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQQyP9WXKk8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIOogqa-5GA

Unschooling definition:

http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/earl_stevens.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unschooling

I did a search on Peter Gray on the Psychology Today website and he has lots of interesting looking articles. Here are a couple I read:

Math:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201004/kids-learn-math-easily-when-they-control-their-own-learning

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201003/when-less-is-more-the-case-teaching-less-math-in-schools

Reading:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201002/children-teach-themselves-read

Sudsbury School:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/200808/children-educate-themselves-iv-lessons-sudbury-valley (The closest we have to Sudsbury in Tucson is the Kino Learning Center.)

Homeschooling forums (mdc):

learning at home

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=50

curriculums

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=425

unschooling

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=439

Tons of great articles about homeschooling. http://www.besthomeschooling.org/gateway/inted16.html

[Keeta]

Some books I like (check your library!):

Free Range Learning by Laura Grace Weldon.  Awesome, inspiring, tons of good ideas.

Homeschooling FAQs: 101 Questions Every Homeschooling Parent Should Ask by Tamra Orr.  Very basic, not tied to any kind of homeschooling, but brings up a lot of stuff you (or family/friends) may wonder about.

One of the first homeschooling books I read was the fabulous Homeschooling Our Children, Unschooling Ourselves by Alison Mckee.  Both parents are/were educators, so I really felt like they had some good insight.  Also, it takes you from when the kids are little to being college-bound, and I really appreciated seeing the whoooooole journey.

I enjoy Home Education Magazine, as well as Life Learning (e-magazine).  It has more of an unschooling slant.

Start a new electronic document and cut and paste links, ideas, etc.  You think you'll remember it all, but trust me, there is so much info out there, you'll lose track of some if you're not careful!