Homeschool school

[almama]

Have any of you ever heard of a homeschooling school -something where the majority of the education is done by the parents, but classes are offered 2-3 days a week or something like that.

I enjoyed PS, and would like my sons to have the opportunity to experience the good things about it: meeting friends and sharing educational experiences throughout the years, getting away from mom for a bit (i.e., feeling like they have their own thing). Just wondering. . .

[Openskyheart]

Yes, we do this! When my son (8 1/2) decided to leave school to homeschool at the beginning of this school year, one of the things he was most concerned about was having kids to play with regularly. We live out in the country, so don't have a neighborhood full of kids for him to play with.

We investigated our options (we're lucky enough to have many homeschooling options in our community), and chose a public school program for homeschoolers which has regular classes two afternoons per week, extra science classes 16 weeks out of the year, and monthly field trips. They also have talent night, potlucks, family night, and a family camping trip every year.

Going this route has been a very good decision for us. My son enjoys it very much, and has made good friends. We do have some requirements the public school placed upon us. Of course, because it is our choice to participate, we don't have negative feelings about these requirements. A lot of the parents in our program unschool. We've chosen to do about 4 - 5 hours a week of basic skills, and the rest is completely child-led. Once a month, my ds and I meet with our program coordinator, and give her one sample for each of 5 areas: Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, and PE/Art/Music. I'm welcome to offer as samples activities he's participated in at the program itself. We usually have projects to show, paperwork to give, but many families are creative and bring photographs of things their dc have done, describe what their children have done, have the consultant come to their home to see what their children have done. It's very flexible.

Attending the classes is completely optional. He can go for three weeks, then not show up for 2 weeks, then come one day, and not show up for another 4 days, etc. No attendance requirements whatsoever - as long as we meet with our consultant once a month and show "progress" (which is loosely defined) in each area.

If you're interested in a program like this, be sure to ask questions about requirements, attendance, etc. and make sure it fits your style of homeschooling. If it does, it can be a great option!

Cheers!
Laura

[almama]

Thanks so much Laura -that is exactly what I am interested in finding. I'd love to get the contact information, seeing that we are right down the road in San Jose !

My oldest son is not yet three and we'll be doing parent participation preschool next year (an probably the next too), so I'm in no rush.

Thanks!!

[khrisday]

almama,
Many of the charters here in Cali have these types of options. They hold their own classes, and some will pay for the children to take classes elsewhere as well.

[CAmomto1]

I know of one charter here in So Cal that offers classes for roughly 4 hours a day, twice a week. The classes cover all sorts of topics. It's a new charter and I don't know much about it, but the idea appeals to me. Of course, I need to find out what regulations might be placed upon us, given that it's a charter. On the plus side, since it's a charter it's free.

I met with a hs'ing mom not to long ago who told me that where she used to live (I think it was Florida) there were classes organized by the hs'ing community on an on-going basis. They would rent out space for classrooms and organize the kids loosely by age and interests. There was a fee involved, but it wasn't tied to the state in any way whatsoever. Seems like a good idea, and she encouraged me to consider trying to get something like that going around here as DD gets older. (DH and I are both former teachers and pretty good organizers.)

[Openskyheart]

Almama,

I'll PM you with specific info that I have. My son and I were in PP preschool when we lived over the hill (in your direction, that is ). Both my kids continued PP preschool over here. In certain ways, homeschooling through the ISP (independent study program) is like a continuation of PP preschool - but I don't have to scrub little toilets!

Laura

[hydrangea]

We have a great group like that. It's a homeschooling cooperative that meets two mornings a week for two "semesters" of about ten weeks each. Parents have to stay with their children. Parents teach the classes -- whatever they are interested in teaching. One can sign up for whatever one wishes and attendance is very much not mandatory. Things are very open and flexible. There are also field trips and events planned.

Today was the last day of our first semester doing this. We loved it! I didn't have to teach a class this semester, but in the fall I will be doing a 4-session class for 5-9 crowd called "World Safari," and am right now looking up the books I might use. I will also be leading the "junior" gym session each week, and am looking into cooperative games.

My six-year-old really loved the whole experience. We are unschoolers, but I guess she gets a charge out of classes, . She did like getting to know some other homeschooling children, too, but we haven't made any close friends there yet.