The evenings are getting cooler as fall approaches. The Back to School sales are already disappearing from advertisements. My friends are complaining about school shopping and having to drag their kids out of bed in the mornings again.
But here at my house, we’re feeling pretty removed from the back-to-school scene. We’re adding new routines, too, but none of them involve rushing to put shoes on before the bus drives away or making sure we have four boxes of eight crayons, a jumbo bottle of hand sanitizer, and 20 glue sticks. The letters show up in my mailbox inviting us to school orientations and open houses, but I don’t mark the dates on the calendar.
Because when you homeschool, there’s no need to orient your child. Home is still home.
Not that things are entirely relaxed. I’m ordering books and investigating learning opportunities. But suddenly the choices are all mine and my husband’s. Ours and our daughter’s, that is, because her appetite for learning is a big reason we’re trying a year off from public school. I’m not going to bore you with all the details, but I have a little girl with an enormous appetite for books. She knows more about Greek mythology and trees and insects than I do, and she’s six. And I sort of felt that school was cutting into her learning time.
Many people don’t realize this, but a young child can cover as much material in 2-3 hours of home instruction as they would in a full day of elementary school. And with one-on-one attention, it will be easier for me to focus on problem areas and skip over the things she already knows. She can use the rest of the day for socializing, playing, reading, or whatever!
Of course, this will not exactly do good things for my writing time. Instead of the respite I would get with one fewer kid to look after during the day, I’ll have to quadruple my parenting efforts.
But I have to say there is something liberating about following my own schedule and not one determined by the state and the school district. Every decision has its tradeoffs, and this year is going to be one big experiment to see if the pros outweigh the cons.
Let the adventure begin!
I’ve often felt that school was limiting for my kids, though I didn’t homeschool. Kudos to you for being brave enough to do it! It will be wonderful for your child to have the time to dig in and explore topics she’s interested in without having to move on to the next subject or unit.
By: Andrea on August 28, 2010
at 7:55 AM
Andrea,
Thanks for the positive comment! A lot of people are opposed to homeschooling, so it’s nice to hear supportive words.
By: kathleenwall on August 28, 2010
at 8:56 AM
As a teacher, I’ve seen two opposite results of homeschool. There are those kids who come back to the school system and are way ahead of their peers, and then there are those that have massive gaps and don’t know how to act appropriately in school. Successful homeschool is enitrely dependent on the dedication of the parent. That being said, the older my daughter gets the more I hope that when she’s ready for school I can home school her! Good luck with the new school year.
By: angelafristoe on August 28, 2010
at 5:36 PM
Angela,
Thanks for your insights as a teacher! I feel like I’m pretty on top of things. And I’m homeschooling this year to see how it goes, so I’m very aware that I don’t want my daughter to have gaps if we choose away-from-home school again next year. I think those of us who have had experience as school teachers are definitely at an advantage when it comes to homeschooling our own kids. At least I’m hoping so!
By: kathleenwall on August 28, 2010
at 8:30 PM
I think it is wonderful you are homeschooling for a year. I agree that school often cuts into kids learning time (and I am a teacher ahaha the current school system and “right way” to teach is wrong so so many levels.. but I digress)..
I also agree with the above comment. I sometimes tutor a kid who is 13 and home schooled, he had been his whole school life and he’s started tutoring because he can not read. WTF!? What has his mother been doing?! I won’t even go into what I think of that.
But if done right, your child can benefit a lot from homeschooling. Just don’t forget to enroll her in a few out of school activities so she can get the social skills she needs too and she will be fine
Goodluck
By: Rachel on August 29, 2010
at 7:39 AM
Rachel,
I wonder if your student had been “unschooled.” This is a homeschool style in which a student’s interests drives what he or she learns. Parents who use this believe strongly that you can’t assign an age to when a child is ready to learn a skill. So, some children are ready to read when they are 3, others when they are 6 or 8 or… 13? I think that this style could work with certain kids, but I think for kids with learning disabilities or who just aren’t hard-wired to pick up on reading easily, it’s dangerous. At least this boy’s mother recognized that he needed serious help with reading and hired you!
By: kathleenwall on August 29, 2010
at 12:42 PM
My boys were like that, but I didn’t feel like I had the disposition to homeschool and I wanted to keep them socialized (which I know there are many opportunities for these days with home-schoolers). We put our kids in a Montessori school (from K/PreK through 2nd/3rd grade) which let them go at their own pace and gave them more individualized attention.
It was great. They actually spent more time playing outside and were way ahead of the local public schools where we lived.
When we moved to Virginia we bumped my older son up a grade and they both made a smooth transition into the graded environment, with a solid foundation and love of learning under their belts. Since I wasn’t going to home school it was the next best thing.
Anyway, good luck with it, and I’ll be curious to hear how it goes!
By: Gwen Hernandez on August 29, 2010
at 10:38 AM
One of the disadvantages of living in the country is that there aren’t as many educational opportunities. We’d have a long haul to get our kids to a Montessori school or the like. I’m not complaining about the public school here even. I just had problems sending her back once I’d come to the conclusion that I thought she’d learn better at home.
We’ll see if I have the disposition or not! Wish me luck.
By: kathleenwall on August 29, 2010
at 12:49 PM
Oh how I would love to work at a Montessori school!
By: Rachel on August 29, 2010
at 8:30 PM
Rachel: It was a great experience for all of us, and you could tell the teachers liked it too. We were very lucky to have a good Montessori school nearby.
By: Gwen Hernandez on August 29, 2010
at 8:36 PM
I realize I’m late to this party, but a friend linked me to your blog and I just have had fun looking around.
I’ve homeschooled for 13 years, so I was interested in how your first semester of homeschooling went. Have you and your family enjoyed it? Academically my children have done well as homeschoolers, in fact my 17 year old just got accepted to a top-notch college. There are areas where we’ve seen weaknesses, but I know that all educational systems have weaknesses so I accept it as something to overcome. (We’ve tried to counter those weaknesses by outsourcing. Physics, Trig, to local colleges for dual credit.) However, one happy surprise has been our family relationships. Going through the “teen” years has not been the nightmare that it was advertised to be, and we credit our homeschooling. It forced us to see each other as the flawed but loving individuals that we are. (Not claiming this isn’t possible through public or private, but do believe it’s more difficult b/c parents & children get to escape and pretend all is well since there is a buffer.) Anyway, that’s my experience. Really enjoy your blog.
By: Bridgette Booth on January 7, 2011
at 5:50 PM
Bridgette,
Congratulations to you for all your years of successful homeschooling! And tell your 17-year-old well done! Our first semester has gone pretty well. We have our good days and not-so-good days. It does require more time than I initially imagined (which is why I gave up blogging for now), but it is so rewarding to see the learning process first-hand. We are still undecided about next year but are looking forward to the flexibility that homeschooling allows us to travel and set our own schedule for how we want to live our lives this spring.
By: Kathleen Wall on January 9, 2011
at 9:15 PM