Mothering Forum banner

Were you homeschooled? And if so....

931 views 13 replies 13 participants last post by  marilynmama 
#1 ·
1) did your experience lead you to educate your children the way that you have (private, public, hs'd, other)?

2) are there any times throughout your hs'd life that you look back & think you missed out on something by not being in school?

3) do you have any distinctive positive memories? Times when you were aware of being at home & happy because of it?

4) do you have any distinctive negative memories? Times when you desperately wished you were not at home with your family?

I suppose I'm looking for experiences not necessarily related to education & learning but just the overall feel of being homeschooled. Did you feel unique & independent? Isolated? Free?
 
#2 ·
1) did your experience lead you to educate your children the way that you have (private, public, hs'd, other)? Yes. I have been both home-schooled and gone to botth public and parochial school. There are a lot of things that I really like(ed) about home-schooling, so we have decided that home-schooling is what will be best for our DC. (Not *quite* ready to start with it, DD is 3, but we're going to start with some stuff over the summer and fall.)

2) are there any times throughout your hs'd life that you look back & think you missed out on something by not being in school? Yes, but then I *did* go to ps, and I wished I was still home-schooling.

3) do you have any distinctive positive memories? Times when you were aware of being at home & happy because of it? Yes. There are/were a lot. The field trips, especially, were neat--fossil hunting, science central, etc. Additionally, I liked all the hands-on activities we did. Fossil hunting when we studied about dinosaurs, backyard looking for insects, microscope to check out cells of basically whatever we wanted, etc. At least IME, there weren't *any* hands-on activities in higher grades in ps.

4) do you have any distinctive negative memories? Times when you desperately wished you were not at home with your family?
Yes, but none pertaining to home-schooling.

I suppose I'm looking for experiences not necessarily related to education & learning but just the overall feel of being homeschooled. Did you feel unique & independent? Isolated? Free?
I really liked it. A lot of people think that because you are home-schooled, you won't get to be social, and you miss out on on something or don't have any friends, but that's not true. When I was home-schooled, we had gym class every Wednesday, courtesy of the local college's physical education majors. (It was divided up by ages, and each age had 2 or 3 of the college students to lead that class.) There was home-school bowling and skating every month, where the bowling and skating places would let just the home-schoolers group skate. Every year, there is a home-schooling convention in Indianapolis, and the students are divided up by age and they have different activities. (I think I heard my mom talk about there being one somewhere closer to Chicago, as well, but I'm not sure about that.) Not to mention, once ps let out, we could go out and make friends with the ps students, or at church, or anywhere, really. I had plenty of friends, and would have even without the home-school activities (although those were always fun.) I've never understood that line of thought...

I'll be watching this thread, I'm interested to hear other people's answers
 
#4 ·
My dh was homeschooled for 6-8th grade and has very positive memories from it. He met his high school sweetheart through all the homeschool activities. He was telling me last night about all the different things the homeschoolers in his area did as a group. Tons of different activities. Anyway, I think because of his positive experience (versus my very negative PS junior high experience) is what led us to homeschool, combined with a lack of good school options.
 
#5 ·
I'm answering for DH who was hs'ed from 1-12 grade.

1) did your experience lead you to educate your children the way that you have (private, public, hs'd, other)?
Yes - it will

2) are there any times throughout your hs'd life that you look back & think you missed out on something by not being in school?

Only in a negative sense. I would hear stories from ps'ers about anything from bully's on the bus to horrific homework and teachers.

3) do you have any distinctive positive memories? Times when you were aware of being at home & happy because of it?
Yes - too many to recount. I suppose the most recurring memory is having been out of school for three hours when everyone else was just coming home


4) do you have any distinctive negative memories? Times when you desperately wished you were not at home with your family?
None whatsoever.

I suppose I'm looking for experiences not necessarily related to education & learning but just the overall feel of being homeschooled. Did you feel unique & independent? Isolated? Free?
I realized after I'd graduated that I had actually had more opportunities as a homeschooler than I ever could have had as a public/private schooler. Anything from: free labs at a local college to interactions with a diverse group of people. Plus, hsing let me get way ahead in subjects I enjoyed.
 
#7 ·
1) did your experience lead you to educate your children the way that you have (private, public, hs'd, other)? Yes, I was homeschooled K through 12. I will be HSing my children because I want to give them the same sort of childhood I had.

2) are there any times throughout your hs'd life that you look back & think you missed out on something by not being in school?
Nope. We did everything that the school kids did. We even had a prom.

3) do you have any distinctive positive memories? Times when you were aware of being at home & happy because of it? I have tons of positive memories. I really enjoyed my childhood! I loved being homeschooled so much!

4) do you have any distinctive negative memories? Times when you desperately wished you were not at home with your family? Nope.

I suppose I'm looking for experiences not necessarily related to education & learning but just the overall feel of being homeschooled. Did you feel unique & independent? Isolated? Free?

It was very freeing to be homeschooled. I think I wouldn't have been very comfortable with myself if I'd been in school. I think homeschooling lets you be who you are without having to worry so much about "fitting in".
 
#10 ·
These are my Hubby's answers. He was homeschooled from 9th grade through 12th grade, but graduated a year early, so 3 years.

1) Did your experience lead you to educate your children the way that you have (private, public, hs'd, other)?

Not really, although it informed my decision. I wouldn't do it the way I was homeschooled, but it does lend legitimacy to homeschooling and there are some things I will and won't do as a result of my own experience.

2) Are there any times throughout your hs'd life that you look back & think you missed out on something by not being in school?

I feel like I missed out on some of the higher academics I might have been able to receive if we'd lived in an area where there was a good private school. I can't think of a single thing I missed out on from the local (rural) public school. I should note that during the whole time I was homeschooled I was still involved in some school activities at the PS including football, golf, track and band.

3) Do you have any distinctive positive memories? Times when you were aware of being at home & happy because of it?

I enjoyed getting my coursework done quickly every morning and had the afternoon free to pursue hobbies, the main one being computer programming which later became my career. I was also able to graduate a year early because I was anxious to get off the farm and go to college, which I did at age 17.

4) Do you have any distinctive negative memories? Times when you desperately wished you were not at home with your family?

Yes, I often wished that I was on my own at college! I wanted to be free of my parents and of the area but I don't think that had anything in particular to do with being homeschooled. I would have felt the same way if I was in school.

It also helped to do a lot of activities outside of the house. The whole time I had 2-3 really good friends (who went to the PS) who I saw several times a week. I had met them in PS and was able to keep the friendships even after I started homeschooling. They never minded that I was homeschooled. I also took Tae-Kwon-Do and was in the community orchestra. I suppose people at school in general thought I was nerdy, but they thought that before I homeschooled! So my homeschool experience was a positive one overall. Looking back, the main thing I would change if I could would be to study different or additional material from the curriculum my mom chose which wasn't particularly engaging. I could have pushed to do something else but I didn't think of it at the time.
 
#11 ·
I was homeschooled until 8th grade when my parents divorced, or else I would have been homeschooled all through high school as well


1) did your experience lead you to educate your children the way that you have (private, public, hs'd, other)?

Yes. We will be homeschooling- we just bought my son his preschool curriculum (he will be 4 this summer). I truly enjoyed being homeschooled. I also want to add home ec. Bible classes, etc into my curriculum, and I would love to make daily errands into a learning experience for the kids


2) are there any times throughout your hs'd life that you look back & think you missed out on something by not being in school?

Not for a moment. We were still able to participate in sports, have friends, etc. I think often people seem to think because you are homeschooled, you are overly sheltered and gain no social skills. While I am sure that *does* sadly happen, MOST still have many friends from church, homeschool group, and after-school sports (most schools will let a child join, even if they dont attend).

3) do you have any distinctive positive memories? Times when you were aware of being at home & happy because of it?

Yes. I loved being home
We started school at 9 or 10, worked for a few hours, had lunch and a play time, and then we did a little more work. Far less time "working" but a lot more time learning. We were far ahead ( my siblings were also homeschooled) when we went to public school- just about all of us skipped a grade, and I qualified for two, but 12 is a bit young for highschool. LOL

4) do you have any distinctive negative memories? Times when you desperately wished you were not at home with your family?

I did have times where I wished I was not with my family, but I dont think it had anything to do with homeschooling. It tended to happen if a sport was canceled for some reason, and I was stuck (which rarely happened). And any child is going to be annoyed with that!
 
#12 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by 2mama View Post
I was not homeschooled, but that is part of the reason I am homeschooling. Middle school and High school were torture!
ditto
 
#13 ·
Well, not in the sense we use the word now. Looking back, I was homeschooled. I didn't go the preschool or K. We just didn't have the facilities. My mother taught me at home. By the time I started Grade 1 I was reading and writing at Gr 3 level.

I haven't talked to my mom about homeschooling. It will be an interesting discussion. She's a VERY strong education advocate BUT it has always been framed in the b&m school sector. She's part of the colonial past that fought for the right to education so to her it might seem unthinkable not to send kids to school. We'll see.
 
#14 ·
1) did your experience lead you to educate your children the way that you have (private, public, hs'd, other)? Yes, I was unschooled and I loved it, wanted the same for my kids.

2) are there any times throughout your hs'd life that you look back & think you missed out on something by not being in school? No. I had been to public and private schooled until about the 6th grade so I knew quite well that I was missing nothing at all.

3) do you have any distinctive positive memories? Times when you were aware of being at home & happy because of it? Yes, I was thrilled to be out of school and to join the real world. I loved being hs'ed. I loved kindergarden and I think 1st grade in ps, after that....not so much...lol. I had some great friends, but I remember how strong the peer pressure was, how it made me feel that I was never good enough, shot my self esteem (I was too tall, my feet were big....and of course everyone made sure that I knew all my faults ya know?).

4) do you have any distinctive negative memories? Times when you desperately wished you were not at home with your family? Besides regular teen feelings? No

I suppose I'm looking for experiences not necessarily related to education & learning but just the overall feel of being homeschooled. Did you feel unique & independent? Isolated? Free? I felt free. I knew what school was like (public and private) and I was sick of it.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top