Saturday, July 26, 2008

Homeschool Questions

Ok so over at I'm Just Sayin she has some questions on homeschooling. It's a respectful post about wanting to understand the reasons why people homeschool. Keep in mind everyone has different reasons of doing so but I thought I would answer her questions on why we have decided to homeschool. So here are her questions and my answers :).

1. What was your motivation for homeschooling? There were a lot of different reasons. They change all the time. Was it based on religious reasons? My hubby would probably say yes LOL but for me that wasn't an issue really because I could teach them about our faith at home. So I guess that would be a yes and no answer? LOL. Was is it based on curriculum - did you want more freedom in choosing what your children were being taught? Yes, I guess you could say it was because I have one child who learns things quickly and another child who is a very hands on learner. So this way I could teach them at their level and not where the schools think they should be Was it based on socializing - wanting to have more control in the people with whom your children came into contact with? Another yes/no answer for me LOL. My boys will eventually see bullying (and they have) and other behavior issues of which we don't agree. I like it that we can train them on how to deal with these situations before letting them handle it all on their own. Was it based on logistics - the nearest school being 20 miles away? No What made you finally decide to go this route? Hubby and I talked about it a lot and I did a lot of research on it. We thought at least for now (who knows in the future :) ) this was the best option for them. Will we always homeschool? I can't say for certain but I and they are enjoying it while it lasts :D.

2. Don't hate me for asking this. How to you handle socialization? LOL I don't hate you and this question is asked a lot. We are involved in many things so they don't have any social awkwardness :) What steps do you take to make sure your children are around other children and adults? We have play-dates of many different age of kids, I joined a homeschool group and a MOMS Club® also the boys are with us all the time so they can interact with adults well because they see how we interact with them. We go to the Library for Library activities and they have church friends. Are you active in a home school group? Not as much at the MOMS Club® but we do, do things with them at times. Do you spend a lot of time at church activities? Yes Maybe you utilize the local Y for activities and they meet friends there? I could go to the Local Y but I haven't as of yet. Just haven't had the time with everything else we do.
3. Do you use the public school system for any part of your child's routine? No Some children here come to the school for band or chorus, or maybe for science class. Do you send your child to the public school to take advantage of any of their programs? No, but one day I might who knows :)
4. Do your children begin and end school at the same time each day? usually but if something comes up then we alter our days. Do they have a strict schedule, at least as far as waking up and reporting to the school area of your home? If not, when/how will you transition your children into following a more rigid schedule - awaking at the same time each day so that they can follow a routine outside of the home like for college and work? Sometimes and sometimes not. As for preparing them for when they work or go to collage that can be done with any routine really. What I mean is if they were in sports(hopefully I will get them in a sport right now money is tight though.) or if they had an appointment of some kind they would need to be there at a certain time and have to get up and go. With the MOMS Club® that I am in they do certain activities at certain times so we need to get up and be there by then. This would be the same for appointments and sports etc. There is a lot of things you can prepare them for this. I could go on but then it would become a long long post LOL.
5. How many spelling bees has your child won? Oh, I'm kidding. We all know most of the recent national spelling bee winners have been home schooled children. I just wanted to throw a little funny in there? LOL good one and no they haven't won any hehe!!

6. Do you have a sense of humor? I sure do hehe :). It's probably a little late for me to ask that but...
7. Where do you find your curriculum? Do you shop for it and order it? Do you create your own? I get most of our stuff from www.rainbowresource.com . It has a lot of different curriculum so I pick and choose what I think will work (still haven't found the perfect curriculum yet LOL) we use a little bit of everything. I also print free stuff on-line and use the Library a lot ! :D
8. Do you have any worries at all about teaching your teenagers the higher level math and sciences? I, for one, could not teach chemistry to my children but I could probably teach them calculus. Is this a concern for you? No, because by the time they are older they will be doing more independent work and not need me as much. There are teachers book that help explain things and what I don't know I will find someone who can help :) or get a tutor. More than likely though they will find the answers they need on their own. Also as they get older at the age of 15 or 16 I believe they can start taking some collage courses at the local collage. They can learn things like Calculus or Chemistry there.
9. What bothers you the most about the reputation home schoolers have? What things do you hate to hear people say about you for your choice? I really hope you don't say that it's my previous post. It used to be people saying lack of socialization but I just laugh any more at that because if they knew my kids they wouldn't even ask (most people when meeting us have no clue they are homeschooled). Now I think because of the California ruling what bugs me is needing a teaching credentials to homeschool. If they would only bother looking at what the statistics of homeschooling they would see that teachers credentials have no bearing on homeschooling. Besides I have a class of two not 15-30 and most of the teachers I know (I am friends with a few ) will tell you that they are teaching things they didn't even major in at all.(like a math major teaching English)
10. Be honest, do you, at least in your mind sometimes, judge those of us who choose public school? No, because then I would be judging a lot of my friends and they wouldn't be my friends LOL. I think parents do whatever works for their family and homeschooling isn't the end all :). Do you ever think we are making a bad choice for our children? No Are you vocal about that disapproval? No, because I don't disapprove :).
11. Is "home school" one word or two? I've seen it both ways. With spellcheck, it shows it as ONE word when used as a verb, but two words when used otherwise. Please enlighten me. It can be done either way. I think we have made it pretty much one word though. It's just something we do LOL.

I hope that has answered your questions for at least my part of it and how I feel about it all. Other's will have different reasons but those are mine :). I hope that has helped in some way to help you understand.

3 comments:

HW said...

Jody -
Thanks for your time and input.
Also thanks for mentioning in your post that mine was a repectful one. I really want it to come across as such. My motivation in this list of questions was to do my part in easing the tension between those who do and those who don't. It seems in so many areas of mothering there is an "us vs. them attitude."
I thoroghly enjoyed reading your answers.

Unknown said...

its becoming more common now days and people are exploring their options I think

Anonymous said...

Good answers! :D