Homeschool

Melissa - posted on 03/27/2009

Brooke--I also had a problem with my son fighting me with schooling. He is only 3 1/2 but is advanced for his age. We do "school" 3 days a week. I prayed for the strength to be able to teach him. It was difficult at first but once he got use to the routine he has done fine. We do "school" Mon, Tues & Fri mornings. We do it in the same place & same time every day. This has helped him understand the difference between fun time with Mommy & school time with Mommy. Also, he is a hands on learner. He likes to learn by doing stuff rather than just be told what stuff is. Once, I figured out his learning style it has also been easier. My aunt gave me some good advice. She homeschooled both of her boys. She said not to make it a chore but a way of life. If you just work it into your everyday routine like it is no big deal it will be easier for you & your child. I hope this helps.

Brooke - posted on 03/27/2009

My husband and I are praying about homeschooling our 4.5 year old daughter. We applied for the school at our church. It is a covenant school( parents have to be born again to enroll children). It's incredible: they are 100% Christ based, teach creationism and everyone there knows and loves our daughter. Th problem is the cost. We have gotten 1 scholarship which brings her tuition down to $230.00 monthly. Still not an option for our home. My husband is in college full-time (for elementary ed.) so $ is very tight right now. I struggle with belief that I can offer my daughter academically what our church school ( which is a college-prep school) can offer her. WE could care less about the socal aspect of her attending school. We both care #1 about her knowledge of Jesus Christ and loving Him and then #2 about her academics. We know she will be offered both of these at our church school. BUT, if we cannot get another scholarship we are definately homeschooling. I did some PK4 with her this year but, honestly, she fights me on "schoolwork". She sees me as "mommy" only. I worry about this with homeschooling her. Any advice from other mommy/teachers? Also, please pray for our family and daughter that whatever God's will may be He would provide wha we need: $ for Christian school or strength to homeschool. Thanks !

Melissa - posted on 03/26/2009

I have a 3 1/2 hr old little boy & 9 month old little girl. I have planned on homeschooling my children even before we had them. My son is advanced for his age(already starting to read). I feel like putting him in school would hold him back. I also don't want him to be forced to learn beliefs that we don't believe just becuase that is what is "politically correct" to teach. We are very strong in our faith & we have been teaching our children(since birth) about God. I think that anyone that can homeschool is helping their children tremendously. As far as the social aspecxt of it, I don't think this is a problem. There are plenty of other ways for kids to socialize. We go to a playgroup once a week & storytime at the library once a week. There are several homeschool groups in our area & we will join one of them when they are actually old enough to be in "school". My son does have school 3 days a week for about 3 hrs during the day now. He absolutely loves it. When people ask him about going to scholl he tells them he gets to stay home & have school with Mommy. I think it is cute. Our families do not agree with our decision to homeschool. We feel that it is the right choice for our family & we have told them that they don't have to like it but we will not allow them to be negative about it around the kids.

Cheryl- Chris - posted on 03/26/2009

My husband and I are also planning on homeschooling our boys. Our oldest one is 3.5, and he is learning at his own rate. We don't force it on him, but I do look for more oppurtunites to "teach". We are also planning on allowing our children to learn at their own pace and rate. We want to gear them towards things that they like. EG: trucks and cars- an easy way to teach physics and what not. My biggest struggle right now is being consistant, but I am not to worried about that. (That will change once we are on a more normal schedule. My husband is currently going to school for his R.N.) As of right now, I have not sat down to write down why we plan on homeschooling. I think every family should have their own personal reasons and goals for choosing to homeschool. I already know that my in-laws aren't that keen on the idea, but we have to consider what is best for our children.

Rhonda - posted on 03/26/2009

I've read all the great reasons for homeschooling (and I agree with them all!), but I have to add one more. After 23 years of homeschooling our three boys, I found that I had learned more than they did. Teaching the academics that I had learned as a child gave me a new appreciation for English, Math, History, Science, etc. as an adult. As any homeschool mom knows, academics are secondary to the character values that are taught. And I learned a lot about my character! God used homeschooling to grow me in ways I never expected. May you persevere through the tough times (in your own personal life, as well as the lives of your children) to enjoy the fruit God promises to those who do not become weary in well doing.

Bryony - posted on 03/25/2009

Many people focus on sounding words, but I found actually that when I started working on some sight reading she finally got the concept that all those letters put together were actually words! She was very excited when she realized that, and more interested in trying to sound out the others. I started out making a poster with the colour words written down one side in the colours they represent, and on the other side the same words written in black and white, in a different order and I had her match them up. "Which one is the same as...?". I started with that because I had a 2 year old and a 8 month old as well at the time and she wanted to do workbooks all day long. Once she knew her colours and the word circle she could do a lot on her own... Also I taught her words on signs, like "stop", "No Pets", "coca-cola" etcetera. Also my mom is a teacher and got me a copy of the Dolce Word List. I made word cards with recipe cards and went through them every couple of days with my 2 oldest. You will be amazed at how fast they pick it up. Lots of positive praise if they even get the word with hints. As for websites, I always just google whatever we want to learn about. Parent center has a very good learning styles questionaire you can work through that totally changed how I was going about teaching my oldest. She is an auditory learner and I am a visual learner. I was teaching her in my style which was leading to much frustration for both of us.

Melanie - posted on 03/25/2009

Homeschooling is amazing. Children learn so fast and it is a thrill for me, the parent/teacher. I could send them to private school and go back to work to earn tuition, or I can spend the time with them here. For me, it is a no-brainer. Public (Government) schools are not an option for us, especially given the socialist rhetoric they are teaching these days. When I get discouraged about the state of things, the Lord reminds me about all these kids who have been homeschooled the last 20 years. There is much hope in our rising generations!

For Moms with young kids who are looking at curriculum, there is a ton out there and it is easy to get overwhelmed. I found a few people whose educational goals lined up with mine in choosing a classical christian model for my children and used a mix of what they used. I will say, I did love the American Language Series Kindergarten reading program. It was easy to follow, and incremental for the learner. My first grader reads books including the Bible, with such ease. I would easily put her reading at a 4th-5th grade level. (This curriculum can be found at Children's Books in Greer, SC; online store as well)
Here is direct link: http://www.homeschooldiscountproducts.co...
But whatever you choose, you and your child will be successful. You know your child better than anyone, and one on one instruction is outstanding. God bless!

Ashley - posted on 03/25/2009

Leslie... I agree with Rebekah...there are other places to share Christ with others besides at a school...have you thought about doing volunteer work with you rkids like visiting a nursing home, or a Children's Hospital,...etc?

Keep praying about it and God will lead you right where your kids need to be and if it means changing your husband's mind...God can do that too! :) Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.

Rebekah - posted on 03/25/2009

Quoting Leslie:

This is very encouraging!!  I am a mother of 2.  My husband and I had decided when we had our son that we would homeschool.  He is now 5 and has been in Pre-K this year.  I do a lot of work at home with him and my daughter.  They are both very smart and I am now struggling because my husband decided he wanted to do public school.  His decision was based on the fact that he was homeschooled and never had the oppurtunity to share Christ with others until he was much older.  He doesn't want our children deprived of that chance.  How do you argue with that?!  However, I've been thinking a lot lately about it, with my daughter showing signs of being a very fast learner, and I'm not sure that I shouldn't go back to homeschooling completely.  There is a program here that is homeschooling with a Christian school 2 days a week.  I have a friend considering that route.

I can understand your husband's point of view, but I guess I would question would your children be in contact with other kids - such as the park, the neighborhood friends, social clubs, etc.? Isn't that prime opportunity for your children to share about Christ? They don't have to be in school to share these things.  And by no means do I encourage you to argue the topic, but if you both felt at one time you wanted to homeschool why the change all of a sudden?!

I think that's awesome there is a Christian school willing to work with homeschoolers like that.  What an amazing opportunity for your kids to get the best of both worlds - mom as the teacher and a teacher 2 days a week to learn with kids their own age.

Leslie - posted on 03/25/2009

This is very encouraging!!  I am a mother of 2.  My husband and I had decided when we had our son that we would homeschool.  He is now 5 and has been in Pre-K this year.  I do a lot of work at home with him and my daughter.  They are both very smart and I am now struggling because my husband decided he wanted to do public school.  His decision was based on the fact that he was homeschooled and never had the oppurtunity to share Christ with others until he was much older.  He doesn't want our children deprived of that chance.  How do you argue with that?!  However, I've been thinking a lot lately about it, with my daughter showing signs of being a very fast learner, and I'm not sure that I shouldn't go back to homeschooling completely.  There is a program here that is homeschooling with a Christian school 2 days a week.  I have a friend considering that route.

Joy - posted on 03/25/2009

quia.com and freerice.com  are both websites that make learning fun.  Get points for correct answers, itc.

Joy - posted on 03/25/2009

PS.  All of my kids got honors when they went to college.  It takes God's patience and sacrifice, for sure, but this is an investment for eternity in your own beautiful child!

Joy - posted on 03/25/2009

I homeschooled 7 kids over 26 years - DO IT!!   No one loves your kids like you do.  God gave parents the responsibility of training your kids.  You'll get to see all the awesome 'lightbulb' moments.  You'll be a much closer family.  You'll get done school (if you don't do computer school) by lunch and have all that free time to teach wood-working, cooking and other fun skills.  He'll learn at his own pace - one-on-one is always the best way to learn.  If he's slow on one area, he won't be left behind by a big class.  If he's quick in another area, he won't be held back and get bored by having to wait.  There are heaps and heaps of other ways to get the opposition's cry of "socialization", and you'll spare him all the filth other kids bring to school.  You can teach anything, because it's right in their book, and you also have plenty of support from other homeschooling moms.  Don't miss this one-time opportunity - at least for his beginning 'greenhouse' years!

Ashley - posted on 03/25/2009

I have taught in public schools and my first 2 years years were great, but then they started pressuring us more to teach the state test to make sure the kids did well on it and it cut back on our time to do fun, out of the box, creative things that invoke learning. Plus kids learn differently and one method may not work with all the students. By last year I didnt enjoy teaching because I didnt feel like I could explore other avenues of teaching to reach all of my kids.

I truly believe God has laid it on my heart to homeschool. I have every ability to do so and to make sure my kids are learning, engaged, having fun, etc....plus I can instill ministry work/volunteering into our days :)

My town does have a Christian homeschooling group that offers co-op, plus my son is involved in other activities, like church, swimming, and t-ball. Thanks so much for yall's encouragement and help!!!

Please post any websites/books/ideas you like using with your kids that may help me with my 4 year old! I so appreciate it!!! :)

God Bless!

Ashley - posted on 03/25/2009

Quoting Bryony:

I am also homeschooling for several reasons. The first reason was that my daughter was reading very early (started at 3 1/2) and could not yet register for kindergarten when she turned four. I did not feel that it was fair to hold her back, so I started on Kindergarten myself. She was done Kindergarten by February, so this year we started grade 1 (she'll be 6 in May). Another reason is that I feel there is too much bullying in school and was a victim of bullying all through elementary myself. I feel that the socialization argument many bring up is totally invalid if you make sure they are involved in other things (we go to church, Awana, swimming, and dance lessons). These are well-supervised social opportunities compared with school. I feel that we can do a better job of teaching the kids because the teachers in school have a lot more kids to have to teach (no time for one-on-one), and also because we have the opportunity to cater learning right into what they are interested in. For example my 4 year old son is learning to read "popcorn", "tonka", and other words he wants to know. Another reason is that I have more control over what I want my children to learn like creation science, bible stories, and abstinence compared to evolution, safe sex and acceptance of wordly morals. I agree with the others, you do need to be disciplined in actually doing the teaching and I am not extremely structured but we do have "school time" each day, and we do make sure we cover everything she needs to learn but I like to add in extras that we do for fun. My advice is to start with little things early and make it as fun as you can! There are many great websites with games for learning counting and letters/ reading. I have oodles of ideas if you want help getting started.

Do you have any websites or tips you'd like to pass on to me? Also how did you get your daughter started reading...my son, 4, knows all letters sounds and can spell some small 3-4 letter words but when he sees them he spells them not reads them :)

Rebekah - posted on 03/25/2009

I will homeschool IF the private schools in our area get shut down, since many of them are struggling right now due to the economic state.  My child will not go to public school until high school, and that's a maybe as well, depending on what happens by then.

My reasons for homeschool, (1) I don't agree with the school system and them forcing views that I don't want taught to my child, (2) Homeschooling has come along way from it used to be and many excel through this as well as socially, and (3) I want my child rooted in values, morals and teachings of God before entering into a public school once they know the difference of right and wrong.

Jennifer - posted on 03/24/2009

Ashley,



This is my veiws on homeschooling and it will be long. I am currently working on getting my BA in education and one day would love more than anything to teach my children at home. For every con that people can come up with, I can come up with three pro's for homeschooling your children. I had to do a 25 page essay on a topic that was informative as well as an argumative topic (our topic had to have a at least two sides) I choose homeschooling and even taught myself way more than I even knew before.



First and foremost, most people homeschool their children because schools are taking our Lord in Saviour out of public schools. Our children are not able to worship as they please in public schools so there for we have to keep our mouths shut while those who do not believe in God can have their say and take Him out.



I think it is an honor for mothers and fathers to teach their children the education along with learning about our Lord and Saviour.



Second those that are against homeschool only feel they have one "big" argument against it, social skills. That is such a bunch of bull! Sorry but it just is. Our children do not need to go to public schools or any schools to get socialized. There is so many sports activites we can put our children in, there is also homeschooling co-ops for our children to become a part, there is other such activies such as girl/boy scouts for them to join, 4-H, the local YMCA, which is Christian based, your church, and if it is anything like mine, we are always doing something with our kids, at least one play a month and we practice the month prior to get them ready, play dates and so forth for parents to get their children involved in to get them around the children.



A few things I do have against public schools is their teaching cirriculum. It is based for the teachers to teach the children only what is on the SAT's, ACT's and so forth. They are not allowed to think outside the box to really get children to think.

You have the issues with bullying. Now don't get me wrong some school systems are trying to crack down on them, but honestly how can they when they have anywhere from 20 to 30 students they are overseeing. They can not catch everything and if your child does tell the teacher it becomes he said she said stuff and nothing really ever really happens. I say this because if something actually did happen to those children that started bullying at young ages then we would not be hearing of children posting videos of them fighting with each other, we would not be hearing of children doing it for the sport of it, we would not hear of children dying because they just couldn't take it anymore and felt this was their only way out.

In public schools, it has to be the way of the educational learning system. What if your child does not pick up on things quickly and may require a little bit more attention to understand what is going on. Because teachers have so many students they tend not to have the time to spend with them to make sure they are not falling behind until it is too late.

Going back to bullying for a bit...I have heard people say, "they need to learn to defend themselves" and "it makes them stronger". I really get applauded by these statements and it really shows the ignorance of the person...I am sorry if I say something out of the way. But if I am going to send my child to school, I am sending them there to learn and to be educated not to teach them to defend themselves, if I wanted that, I would sign them up for karate not send them to school. It just kills me that people are so vain to say such statements because it is those very parents and people that are sitting on a stage on national TV trying to defend their child's actions of bullying.



Homeschooling you are able to control what your children will learn and you can start as early as you want. My son which is 4 now can count to 100, knows his ABC's can write his name...though the S's are a tad off, he still can, he knows that when he colors he doesn't color all over the place but to stay in the lines, and a variety of other things. My daughter which was in Pre-K last year and now in K this year had letters sent home telling me they do not have to worry about her because she is ahead of her grade already. I do spend time with my kids to make sure they do not fall behind.



Now don't get me wrong because I am not putting teachers down at all. I applaud them for the job that is set forth for them to acheive. The are underpay for the things that are required of them.



Down side of homeschooling which has already been talked about is the well disciplined teaching. You need to have the teacher and student relationship while you are teaching your child and not let your mommie side come out so much. Set up a schedule for the week for you guys so your child knows just what is expected. If you feel that your child isn't getting what is being taught, think outside the box of things you can do with your child. If they are not getting math problems, look around the house for things you can do because you really can apply math to just about everything in life. If your husband can and has the time to build something with your kids that is a great learning curb for them. Or if they are struggling with science, take a trip to the local musuem. Yes public schools can do this as well, but 8 out of 10 times, they do not have the time to do it either.



Hopefully this is some insight for you to think about. But more importantly pray about this and really listen to what the Lord is telling you and not what you are wanting him to say to suit your own needs. Have others pray for you and don't make any rash choices in the matter.



If you want to email me so we can talk about things a tad more my email is jennifercase_avon@yahoo.com.

Bryony - posted on 03/24/2009

I am also homeschooling for several reasons. The first reason was that my daughter was reading very early (started at 3 1/2) and could not yet register for kindergarten when she turned four. I did not feel that it was fair to hold her back, so I started on Kindergarten myself. She was done Kindergarten by February, so this year we started grade 1 (she'll be 6 in May). Another reason is that I feel there is too much bullying in school and was a victim of bullying all through elementary myself. I feel that the socialization argument many bring up is totally invalid if you make sure they are involved in other things (we go to church, Awana, swimming, and dance lessons). These are well-supervised social opportunities compared with school. I feel that we can do a better job of teaching the kids because the teachers in school have a lot more kids to have to teach (no time for one-on-one), and also because we have the opportunity to cater learning right into what they are interested in. For example my 4 year old son is learning to read "popcorn", "tonka", and other words he wants to know. Another reason is that I have more control over what I want my children to learn like creation science, bible stories, and abstinence compared to evolution, safe sex and acceptance of wordly morals. I agree with the others, you do need to be disciplined in actually doing the teaching and I am not extremely structured but we do have "school time" each day, and we do make sure we cover everything she needs to learn but I like to add in extras that we do for fun. My advice is to start with little things early and make it as fun as you can! There are many great websites with games for learning counting and letters/ reading. I have oodles of ideas if you want help getting started.

Melissa - posted on 03/24/2009

I do it with both of my children, God laid on my heart espically with my daughter because she needs a lot of one on one.  It has been a privledge and a blessing to see the growth in my children spirtually and mentally.  I have been doing it for a long time and it is a blessing

Ashlee - posted on 03/24/2009

I am the mom of a 2-year-old who is considering homeschooling when the time comes. this is mainly because i was myself homeschooled from 7th-12th grade and i loved it! it is true, though, that you have to watch it on too much lenience, because staying at home and setting your own schedule just feels very relaxed, and it's easy to let this get in the way. i do think it's important, though, that you let your child have plenty of chances to socialize and get to know other children - that is the one thing i have heard for years from those who don't homeschool, that public school just allows so much more in terms of socializing. but that is just not true at all! my sister and i had many, many friends through a local homeschooling group, and the best part of it was that we had almost no peer pressure in terms of the things you think of with public school (drinking, drugs, sex, etc.) because the homeschool group was largely christian. it made us both that much stronger when we eventually graduated and went on to college to face bigger stresses and pressures.

i think if you feel strongly about it and if you are willing to give it 110% then homeschooling is one of the best choices for your child that you can make.

April - posted on 03/24/2009

I do not homeschool, but I applaud moms and dads who do! i think it is really important and great for being able to teach God's word, your family values, plus its a lot of hands on learning-EVERYTHING is a learning experience to a kid! I would make sure to balance it with activities outside of the home with other kids so that they still have that interaction with others and incorporating their skills in dealing with people from all walks of life. let us know how it goes, also, if you are interested, I believe I saw some home school communities in COMs that could probably help you out too!

Liesl - posted on 03/24/2009

Hello.. I am a teacher at a Christian School, and I feel that if you are going to be able to see it as a teacher-student role then you will succeed with God's spirit. It also gives you financial opportunity to take them for craft of sport classes. However, if you are too leniant in his learning if ever he has to go to a school he will struggle with the concentration time and discipine of the teacher-learner role.

If you really have the opportunity and are qualified to teach the foundation stage which is the most important stage of education, then ask for God's peace and take that step of faith. All the best.