Who shouldn't homeschool? ? about time

[sonuptosondown]

Hi Mamas,
My ds is 3 and we are researching homeschooling. I'm so glad we started researching now and not 3 months before he was scheduled to start kindergarten because I'd be freaking out! There is so much to absorb and so many seemingly life-changing decisions to make.
My dh is concerned that I will be overwhelmed by hs. He worries I will need to spend a lot of my current "down" time, like after the kids go to bed, working on curriculum and planning activities. I'm worried about this, too. We also have an almost 1 yo and hope to have another baby in a couple years, so that will add to the chaos.
I tend to get stressed out when I have a lot to do and need time in the evening just to chill in front of the tv for a little bit. Would I be a poor fit for hs? Does it consume all of your time, what with the planning and all?
Thanks so much. I will continue to read all the posts with interest!
Deb
p.s. Anyone know of a hs secular support group in Bucks County, PA? I've checked yahoo groups but found nothing

[saintmom]

Hi! congrats on thinking about hs,It's been one of the many joy's in my life.Kindegarten really is more about learning through play and it really shouldn't be all that structured.you will and should be reading alot.Learn about different learning styles and what works for your family.Waldorfbooks .com has some sweet preschool kindergarten books.paper scissors stone,I thinkthere web address is waldorfsupplies.com,has beautiful art supplies.If your child wants some workbooks sams club and walmart has nice big fat workbooks by macgraw hill that cover the bases really well.I found when I first started that most of my stress came from trying to do school at home rather than just relaxing and learning with my children through the ordinary and everyday living....so get ready to have fun!

[Queen Gwen]

I agree with Saintmom -- the most time-consuming, stressful thing to do is to try to recreate the school environment at home. I think this is especially true if you're trying to "do" Waldorf or Montessori at home (otoh, if you just decide to have a Montessori or Waldorf attitude towards life, it's not too bad).

What works for our family -- I research curriculum like crazy (we are not unschoolers -- that just doesn't work for us). Decide what's going to work (probably) for us, including my kids in the discussion as much as possible. Then, the day-to-day stuff is very seat-of-the-pants...4yo says "I want to work on reading" and I'm ready to pull a book off the shelf, open a workbook or play a game. For math for 8yo we just open the book and do the next lesson. Same with grammar, handwriting, whatever. Somehow we hit upon studying history on MWF, doing science-type stuff on TTh. The science takes a bit of time to organize if we're doing experiments.

Soooo...I do all the work and planning in big chunks, then on a daily basis just go with the flow. The biggest time and energy drain for me is that I spend way too much time hanging around homeschooling forums online, which I think is my psych. equivalent of vegging in front of the TV.

[Brenoi]

We do the same - longer chuncks getting a feel for where we may be going but open to change with the kid's thoughts. The day to day is fairly minor. We do not follow a strict curriculum, I prepare it and piece together many different pieces to fufill my chilren's needs. Prep time is not bad at all - certainly no more time than I would have spent waiting for the school bus - ha ha. Welcome

[Jen123]

I want to add that your child is just three and needs about another three years of play before you consider anything remotely formal. By then you'll have developed a better understanding of which type of homeschooling you are capable of.

[stafl]

Homeschooling doesn't have to be complicated. It can be as easy and natural as you want it to be, or it can be as structured and planned and stressful as you want. By the time your children are "school aged" you will know what works for your family, and probably will have already been doing it for a while.

Learning doesn't just magically start at age six. My DD is only three, and I see no reason to change the way I'm teaching her just because other kids will be starting institutionalized learning at a certain age. Obviously, unschooling isn't right for everyone, but I feel it is certainly the best approach for my family.

[Jen123]

Stacy said what I tried to say. Only a lot better. Thanx.

[anythingelse]

The amount of time spent on planning and preparing for hs is your choice.

If you get stressed out easily, you may find that hs is the better choice.

IME with kids in school

6am we are up and it is making sure everyone eats, gets dressed, hurried packing/grabbing lunches, and backpacks. carpool does not show up so I'm driving them to school, no time to shower for me youngest is crabby and wants to go back to sleep but we are hitting the grocery store instead
time for snack, a tv video so I can shower and change, put away groceries, I make some phone calls and then am driving to school to volunteer or pick up someone that has thrown up, if it's tuesday playgroup is at my house, if its wed we got to run to mom and me fun class ( I don't work but I am exhausted from SAHMwork) We swing by the cleaners and post office to drop off ebay stuff and I go home to let the dog out to pee. Several phone calls, ds# 2 is crying again at school or fell or he stuck foil up his nose or forgot his gymshoes. Run back over to school to pick up kids, run home to move laundry and empty dishwasher, its time for homework no time to play outside for kids, while I am doing homework X3 I am making dinner and reloading dishwasher, move laundry again, dump clean stuff on bed to fold later while reading ds#3 a story before bed. Hurry to get kids through bath and shower, hurry to pjs. DS #2 cries and wants to talk about school and day but no time for that cause youngest dc#3 needs me too & dog needs to go out. bedtime. I am exhausted and go right to bed with the kids. where's my sweetheart and partner- he was right there working along side me, he took out the trash, picked up some dog doo, sopped up the water all over the bathroom floor and repacked the kids backpacks for tomorrow, had to go buy one box of kleenex so ds could be in the class pizza party list (no supplies no pizza), now sweety is snoring and we had no chance to talk either, I run to move one more load of laundry.

IMHO public school & more then 2 kids is like a hamster wheel. Homeschooling is something our family does not because ps stinks, the kids needed a better education that only I could give them, or because we were called to hs for religious reasons.
Our secret is that we homeschool because it is easier for me. Much much easier and any time I have ever had doubts about hsing I spend time in the early am with my family/friends that ps. Not only am I more relaxed, healthier, and happy, but my kids are as well and my husband is happier too cause I have free time to be with him and we can arrange the kids day so he has more time with them also.

HTH
mary
mom to ds15, ds10, ds7, and dd 4 1/2

[rowantree]

Originally Posted by Vanna's Mom

Our secret is that we homeschool because it is easier for me. Much much easier and any time I have ever had doubts about hsing I spend time in the early am with my family/friends that ps.

um, yeah, me too!
PS was so hard to accomodate. Mt dd is 6 and we are just starting using Oak Meadow Curriculum cause I want to be run through an umbrella school for the first few years, JUST TO GET THE HANG OF IT. That means that they will deal with the school district and the child is certified for the year. With OaK Meadow its a very rythmic day and not worksheets and such (which we get a Kmart). I like it for younger kids, its mellow but it begins a good structure to the day. The actual curriculum changes as the kids get older into more acedemic stuff.

[phathui5]

I think that you would do fine homeschooling. Three kids is still going to be easier than a teacher in school who has 20-30 kids.

About time: You can plan out stuff for your "school" a month or week ahead and then you'll be able to have down time with your dh after the kids go to bed. I'm pretty sure that what I'll be doing is taking about half an hour on Saturdays or Sundays to plan out the coming week.

[atypicalandrea]

Also in the first few years, you don't have to do *all* the subjects. Really the only work you need to concentrate on (if you want to do work at all) is math and Reading/Writing. At that age, science and social studies are all around and are absorbed and heck, even read about once they get going!

[Fieryfly]

It is great that you are researching homeschooling right now, it really helps to get these questions addressed early.

You are a regular mom, and you have lots of "mom" duties and responsiblities. This does not mean you cannot homeschool. If you and your DH are worried about the time factor, make plans to address that problem *now*. Your DH could help you either with school planning or house cleaning, or taking care of the kids. Sometimes using prepackaged curriculums complete with lesson plans and teacher's guides help to reduce the amount of planning and prep required, although they usually will cost more.

Homeschooling is sometimes a learn-as-you-go type of lifestyle. It is hard to know if your prep and planning will take too much time, and even if it does you will have a vast amount of options on how you will deal with that issue.

Take it one year at a time, and keep an open mind. Start slow and work you way into your own homeschool style and method, which will take as much time as you want it to.

HTH!

[sonuptosondown]

Hi,
I want to thank everyone for the helpful advice--I feel so rude for not writing back sooner! I was reading your replies and looking up the books on homeschooling recommended to me and reading reading reading.
I just haven't found any homeschool groups in my area. My son really likes to be around other kids and learns alot from them, so at this point I don't see how hs could work.
We visited some preschools this week, including a Friends School (Quaker). We totally fell in love with the Friends School--their philosophy on education and the individual and involving the family and supporting the community...but so expensive
Thanks again everyone, and I will continue to read the threads here!
Deb

[raleigh_mom]

I think you are smart to research now. And I agree with you that finding a support group would be a big help. Try asking your local La Leche group for any contacts. (That's how I found my favorite group.) Try to see if there are any Attachment Parenting groups in your area. They might know of a homeschool group. Call local teacher's stores. Look in the phone book for a homeschool store. (There is one here in Raleigh.) Are there any local parenting magazines or guides? They might list something to help. Email your state's homeschool group - I think every state has one, right? They could certainly let you know what might be in your area. Oh - call your local chamber of commerce. They might know of something.

If you know of a religious group, but are looking for secular, call the religious group and ask the leader if they know of one. Most groups seem very willing to share information.

Good luck!

[raleigh_mom]

I just googled - "homeschool groups, Buck County, Pennsylvania" and got:

http://hometown.aol.com/totsntikes/m...age/index.html

Should be for the educational resource center. Looks like they would have lots of information about local homeschoolers and groups.

There were also some other links.

Keep us posted!

[MamaMonica]

You can probably get by for kindergarten without a group if you have few good friends of your dc's age by then. I'm on an email loop for a local group- but it's a 40 min. drive so I only got to a few actvities. Mostly we're hanging out with dd's friends of similar age and just going about life for this year.

It seems so many HS group activities are for age 6 or 8 and up.